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Reviewed by Teresa M. Shafer for Readers' Favorite
"Jewel of Shaylar" by Laura Eno starts out a lot like "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". A man falls through a portal that takes him to another land that is full of magic and creatures of myth. After the initial landing and meeting up with a half-satyr, the story takes its own unique path. The man is searching for his father who he believes accidentally fell through the same portal. In his journey he discovers that his father is actually from this land and that they both are heirs to a long lost kingdom. He makes several friends while on his search. All of them are outcasts of one kind or another and as a group they compliment each other.
The only real battle in this story is the main character's battle with his own emotions and thinking. The group, nevertheless, manage to run into their fair share of difficulties and make quite a handful of enemies. The initial parallels to the famous book put me off of "Jewel of Shaylar". But only at first. The story manages to resurrect itself by introducing other characters and situations that give it a unique flavor. The characters are well-designed and impressive. It is nice to see a female author tackling a male lead character and handling it so well. He is likeable while not being too mushy. I like that about him. The story itself is fun. I enjoyed the pace and couldn't wait to see what the author had around the next corner for the heroes. "Jewel of Shaylar" is a wonderful romp through a magical world, with a klutz at the wheel. Sweet!
