Title: Birth
Author: Donna Russo Morin
Series: Once, Upon A New Time #1
Publisher: Creativia
Publication Date: February 15, 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Received an copy from the author/Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review on this blog tour

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Rating: 2 stars

New worlds don’t appear. They are born from the labor of those who envision them.

Count Witon has grown weary of the constant war between the races. Together with his wife Belamay, and Persky – first of a rare Human / Elf breed – Witon plans to create a new society: a utopia for anyone who longs for peaceful coexistence.

They recruit pilgrims from every city and species; most to success, some to failure. Together, they set off to a small, yet promising island, found by chance in the middle of the churning ocean.

But the journey there is fraught with challenges, and none of them is as dire as the one they face once they reach their destination. Will they have the strength and determination to give Birth to this New Time?

Once, Upon A New Time is a medieval fantasy with a double-edged sword: one of blood, the other of lust.

Review:

For me, fantasy novels are either the best thing I’ve ever read or I’m just not into it. Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me.

I did love the bravery of Witon to strike off on his own and gather other kinds of creatures to go and create their own world filled with a peaceful coexistence of almost every breed of creature. It’s a damn big risk to take, especially in a world full of hatred. So props to him for doing that.

But oh man, I just couldn’t get into the story itself. Sometimes there was a lot of action for a brief period and then for long bouts of the book, it was straight up information being thrown at you. And yet with so much information, I still felt like it was all so surface level and I wasn’t learning much about all of the creatures and the new land they made their life on. It seemed like it was one thing after another, but was lacking the flow that makes it all go together naturally.

About Donna Russo Morin:

Donna Russo Morin is an award-winning historical fiction author. Donna has dabbled as a model and actor, working on Showtime’s Brotherhood and Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. Branching out with her storytelling skills, Donna is now a screenwriter. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Donna lives on the south shore of Rhode Island close to the ocean she loves so very much. She is the proud mother of two sons, Devon and Dylan, her greatest works in progress.

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