{TALES OF AVALON 1}: THE NEW LAND.

 One of several bloggers who over 7 days will be participating in this Blog Tour {the full schedule for both of which can be found at the bottom of the post} Today {the 7th day of the Tour) its my pleasure to be sharing my thoughts on ...

THE NEW LAND by DAISY BOURNE.

Target Age ... YA 

Genre ... Fantasy Fiction

Publication Date ... originally 2016 but republished in 2018.

Standalone First Book in the Tales of Avalon series

Estimated Page Count ... 95

Purchase Link ... https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Land-Tales-Avalon-Book-ebook/dp/B077PQPV3T/

What happened to Arthur, King of the Britons, after he was allegedly killed on the battlefield? Legend has it that Merlin, the mighty sorcerer, put the king’s body in a boat and set it sail for a mysterious place called Avalon. However, many Britons refused to accept that Arthur was really dead: instead believing that Merlin had taken the king to a place of safety. There have been many theories as to the whereabouts of Avalon, but none proved to be accurate.

​The New Land is the first book in the Tales of Avalon series. It tells the story of how Arthur, magical beings, and other Britons, who feared for their lives, sought refuge in a far-off land. They hoped their new home would be a place where magical beings and humans could live together in peace and harmony. Did the travellers find the new life they so desired? Well, they certainly found a land full of surprise and adventure.

​The Avalonians soon find that they have to form new and unusual alliances in order to protect themselves against an unexpected enemy.

​If you like stories about witches, wizards, fairies, elves, giants, and unicorns, you will enjoy this book. ... SYNOPSIS

Mankind had been foolish and destructive for far too long. ... FIRST SENTENCE {Prologue}

Willy continued. "I talk to the trees, They tell me when they are sick and need help. They tell me when they are ready to be cut down to make room for others. This old oak tree here, which has spread its branches wide, has told me that he has shed many acorns, but for more than a century, none have grown, because his saplings cannot see the light from the sun. His roots are failing now, and the time has come for him to make room for new growth. ... MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 16}

MY THOUGHTS ... Targeted at the Young Adult market, to my mind The New Land, the first in the Tales Of Avalon series, is just as well {perhaps more} suited to the 'tweenager' to mid-teen market and maybe even to confident mid-grade readers. That said, I'm well past my YA years {to say nothing of my tweenage years} and I thought this an enjoyable  read. 

Often asked about books that young pagans might enjoy ... there's a huge gap in the market ... I actually think this is a good choice as as well as the magical/mystical element; the giants seeking homage to their ancestors, the spell casting witches, the tree wizards who speak to the trees, it also speaks of a land in which 'the flowers mankind struggled to grow in the gardens on earth grew in wild abundance', a land in which 'colourful flowers had sprung up among the vast meadows - wild pansies, cowslip, daisies, scarlet pimpernel' {pg 1} all of which speak to many of the nature based faiths.

For myself personally, I'd like to see a book longer than the current page count of 91 pages ... some of which are devoted to full page pen and ink illustrations, others left blank plus a list of characters, a map of Avalon and the prologue which account for a further 10 or so pages.

All in all though, a promising start to what I believe is to be as series of eight books in total. The New Land sets out the story well, has a nice mix of interesting characters, great world building and exciting adventure {including a literally magical battle} ... oh! and unicorns, mustn't forget the unicorns, offering enticing glimpses into the past histories of the characters AND potential futures.

ABOUT DAISY BOURNE ... 

Daisy Bourne was born in England, in 1917. Nothing much is known about her real parents, except that their lives were changed dramatically by the First World War. At the age of six, Daisy was unofficially adopted by a farmer and his wife. They changed her name and took her to Canada. There are several similarities between the real Daisy Bourne and her namesake in this book. To a small child, Canada, with its heavy snowfalls, huge forests, and grizzly bears, must indeed have seemed like some kind of new world. Although Daisy loved Canada and the farm on which she lived, she was not happy and ran away. She returned to England at the age of 16. In later life, she took up farming again. She also enjoyed her garden and preserving much of its produce. This is where the similarities between the real Daisy and the character in this book end. I am proud to use my mother’s birth name as a pseudonym when writing the Tales of Avalon series. My ambition is to one day write the story of the real Daisy Bourne. In the meantime, I shall work to complete the other seven.

FOLLOW DAISY BOURNE ... ~ Website ~ FaceBook ~ 

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE ... ~ 26th November: @fantasybookcraz_mum ~ The bookish hermit ~ 27th November: Splashes Into Books ~ B for bookreview ~ 28th November: sharon beyond the books ~ Kate Kenzie Writes ~ 29th November: TBHonest ~ Reading Tonic ~ Scintilla.Info ~ 30th November: @penfoldlayla ~ Kirsty_Reviews_Books ~ 1st December: Westveil Publishing ~ BetweenTheLines ~ Cheryl M-M's Book Blog ~ 2nd December: Felicity Grace Terry ~ Curled Up With A Good Book ~ Jav Bond Blog Tours