Fallon’s Hope by Narah Quinn is a fun YA fantasy adventure that will take the reader on an emotional journey!
My Review of Fallon’s Hope:
Fallon’s Hope by Narah Quinn is a fantasy adventure that is lots of fun! My favorite part about this book is the characters. Quinn does a great job of pulling from all different veins of world mythology in order to create a unique cast of characters with distinct personalities. You will find all of your favorite mythical creatures living together (more or less) peacefully in the quiet town of Fallon’s Hope.
A fun for fans of YA fantasy!
If you’re familiar with the YA fantasy genre, you’ll feel right at home in the town of Fallon’s Hope. Conversely, if you’re not a fan of mythology or the fantastical, you might have a little trouble getting your footing in this fantasy world. I devoured YA fantasy novels when I was growing up, so I really enjoyed my time in this world.
The residents of the town include angels, vampires, elementals, and other mythological creatures. These fantastical denizens live alongside humans and order is maintained by three very special sisters. Then, one day, a mysterious stag appears to one of the sisters in her dreams. After that point, nothing will be the same for the peaceful little town or the three sisters.
A great story!
The story moves along at a quick pace and the reader is quickly pulled into this magical world. I was never quite certain what was going to happen and I was interested to see how the story would end. I was invested in the story because the author made me care about the characters.
The author creates a sense of immediacy by switching viewpoints between the characters in her story. This allows the reader to see the world through the eyes of the cast. It also helps the reader to empathize with the emotional heart of the story.
The characters are my favorite part!
I had lots of fun reading this book. I recommend this book for fans of YA literature and fantasy. If you’re a fan of character driven drama and world mythology, then I’m certain that you will enjoy reading Fallon’s Hope.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Fallon’s Hope is a small town.
A peaceful town.
And home to the Keepers.
Ember and her sisters have lived many lives, in many places, while they help to keep the earth balanced, good and evil, natural and unnatural, one to represent each of the plains, physical, spiritual and heavenly.
But strange dreams and new neighbors are about to change things in ways that they could never have imagined. Will they be able to remain balanced when they’re at the center of it all?”
*Potentially upsetting for readers 16 and under*
Book Details:
Title: Fallon’s Hope
Author: Narah Quinn
Genre: YA/ Fantasy
Length: 365 Pages
Format: Kindle
Available in paperback from and on Kindle from Amazon!
My Interview with Narah Quinn:
One of my favorite parts of writing a book blog is that it give me the opportunity to talk to author’s about their creative process. I had a delightful time interviewing Narah Quinn about her writing process for her first novel and her inspiration for Fallon’s Hope,
Rebecca: Fallon’s Hope was lots of fun to read. I liked the fact that you blended together many different mythologies. What are some of your favorite world myths or mythologies? How did they impact your writing?
Narah Quinn: Thank you!
I have been fascinated by the supernatural, history, world mythology, astrology and religion since I was old enough to read. My Mums mum had a really mixed heritage, and as a result I am really drawn to Russian and Armenian folklore and Mesopotamian mythology. One of my favourites is Tiamat – you should look her up!
My Grandfather was Scottish, descended from the Picts, so I am also drawn to Celtic mythology.
In my writing, though, I wanted to steer clear of any known Gods for fear of not quite doing them justice, and also because I wanted to put my own spin on the legends of supernatural beings and Gods abilities. I did draw (for my Gods) on elements of Celtic mythology more than others which helped with Connors role in the story.
Rebecca: In the novel, why was the name of the town, “Fallon’s Hope?” How did you decide on the title for your novel?
Narah Quinn: One of the first things I had planned out was a map of the town that the girls lived in – the place is always important to know, and to visualize if you are not using an actual place. Fallon came to me as a name for the towns founding family, and I had the towns history in mind, with early settlers finding this fresh water source and it bringing hope that maybe this could be home, somewhere they could be happy.
As for titles – I am terrible at deciding what to name something! I was calling it Fallons Hope while writing it (the town being central as the girl’s home) and it stuck 😊
Rebecca: What inspired you to write Fallon’s Hope? What is the one thing you hope readers will take away from your novel?
Narah Quinn: I have written for years, and I have binned so many because they were unfinished, or samey, or I read something and I was sure the author had reached into my brain and taken my ideas out! But more than all of that, I doubted myself. Doubted I was good enough to write a novel and definitely doubted that even if I did people might want to read it.
About 2012 I decided that I was going to shove that doubt aside and I was going to write a book that I would want to read, Fallons was born and while I knew where the story was heading its path took some detours to end up where it did.
My hope is that they are left feeling happy, and hopeful. That despite tragedy and heartache there is still love in the world and that the things that happen to you do not have to define who you are, or who you become.
Rebecca: Could you share a little bit about your writing process? How long did it take for you to write Fallon’s Hope? What was your favorite part about writing the novel? What was the most challenging?
Narah Quinn: Fallons actually took me about 4 years to finalize (from pen and paper first draft started in 2012 to Amazon upload in 2018!) but I had a good 9 months where life didn’t allow for writing time (and the desire just wasn’t there).
I love the planning stages, though I nearly always start with an opening scene or a character I just can’t ignore!
I spent 2016 submitting it and this was by far my least favourite part – but, it was my final submission in the December that led to some really helpful feedback in January 2017.
When I got back from my honeymoon (I organized a wedding and holiday in 2016 too!) I went back, added more, tweaked, edited, edited again and finally then between May and August last year had a mad rush getting it ready to enter into Amazons Storyteller Competition. I had decided that while I would love to be traditionally published, having it out there was more important after so many years working on it!
Rebecca: My favorite character of the novel is Elijah. I find his character to be very dynamic and fascinating. Your novel is full of great characters. Do you have a favorite character?
Narah Quinn: Thank you – Elijah was one of my favourites to write. I needed him to be an inherently good person and at times I worried that maybe he was a little too good, but people like that do exist – I know a few! I love all my characters, I’m not sure I could pick a favourite, but I do have a soft spot for Connor!
Rebecca: Are you currently working on other projects? Will there be a sequel to Fallon’s Hope?
Narah Quinn: I am currently working on book one of a trilogy. It actually started out as 2 separate stories but I could see a blend between them, so I have merged them and it works better than they did alone! I am excited for it – but I like things to flow naturally so I write when it comes to me and the last month I have been reading like crazy so I’ve not done much writing!
Fallons I wrote as a standalone, I wanted it to have an end – but during the whole writing process I had a vision for it to be more (TV too – I can see it as a series!) in that I could move forward or go backwards to another life and incarnation of them. I could also focus on just one of them, or an origin story for Connor, or Joe, maybe even Matthew. I love that the possibilities are almost endless!
Follow Narah Quinn:
Twitter i@NarahQuinn
Instagram @NarahQuinn
Narah Quinn’s Blog
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Rev. Rebecca Writes 
I always have a hard time getting into fantasy but this one sounds good
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