Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: The Tyro
SERIES: The Dreamwalkers of Larreta Book 1
AUTHOR: Carol Holland March
PUBLISHER: Ellysian Press
LENGTH: 207 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 19, 2016
BLURB:
Larreta, home of the dreamwalkers, is being torn apart.
Rifts are forming and swallowing everything in their path. People, structures, entire villages, are disappearing. No one knows where the rifts come from or how to stop them. And they are getting worse.
Leo, a Senior Dreamwalker, is recalled from Earth, where he fled rather than face his failures. His heightened ability to connect with the past is crucial to combat the rifts. He’s drafted to train a handsome new dreamwalker, Jesse: a young man whose own talents are part of the solution to stopping the destruction.
Together, the two must form a complicated passage through time and space, and they can only succeed with mutual trust. First, Leo needs to overcome his personal demons in order to make the necessary connection. But getting closer is not something he wants to do, in spite of his attraction to Jesse. However, the fate of more than one world rests on their success. And time is running out.
REVIEW:
So, while I had found the blurb for this book interesting enough to pique my interest, I wasn’t entirely certain I would actually like this one once I’d started it…and boy, was I totally wrong! When you start the book, there is a glossary of terms and while it isn’t the first book I’ve seen to have one right at the beginning, this is probably one of the only books that reading said glossary is, in my opinion, totally necessary. The idea that the life I’m currently living is actually just a dream is intriguing and not all that hard to understand but, there are terms and concepts used by the author that without a reading about before hand, I wouldn’t have understood at all. Even so, I was a little confused for about the first 10% of the story before I found myself so absorbed in it that whatever lingering puzzlement on my part ceased to matter.
This was probably one of the most unique stories I’ve ever read and with the amount of books I own, that says a lot! I absolutely adored the setting and the inhabitants of Laretta were unique and interesting; the Mentor in particular is one of my favorite secondary characters and I’m hoping I’ll get to see her more in the next book. The overall plot was interesting in its own right but it gained an unexpected depth as the book progressed and Jesse began to come more into his new found abilities. His connection with Leo was already enough to garner my attention but the deepening bond between the two men, and the plan to stop the rifts, looks to be setting up for an amazing sequel. And the ending? Oh man, that unexpected glimpse at the reason behind the rifts just made me even more anxious to continue this series.
*sigh* It can be so difficult to adequately describe a book such as this but it was just so good. The creativity that went into it and the different elements all woven together to make such a unique world and story were just amazing and I was hooked much quicker than expected. If you enjoy fantasy books but are tired of reading about elves, shifters or orcs, you have to give this one a try.
RATING: 
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