Splintered: Sierra’s Legacy
The Eldwitch Chronicles, Book #1
Leslie Ann Wright

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell Cadiz

Note: Contains spoilers!

Synopsis:

Born to save a dying Planet, Sierra must first find herself. A foundling at birth, unaware of her heritage, she must learn to use her magic and find the answer to save their worlds from destruction. It will take three of three worlds to hold the magic. Who will it be, and how can she, a girl on her own find the answer and fulfill her own destiny in return. Can she live up to the legacy she was born for?

Review:

There are three planets: Allure, Aldur, and Eldwitch. The planets having held great beauty and abundant life, are now dying and withering away. Mutations through the Allure people have created children known as the Berserkers, driven by anger, they commit heinous acts. The Keepers are meant to guard the World-Gates and keep the raiding Berserkers from continuing to wreck havoc. But things have spun out of control and the destruction seems to have no end in sight. Sierra is a half-breed, born from a mother who is half Allure and half Aldur and a father who is a full blooded Eldwitch. The three planets are in desperate need of repair and salvation or else everything will be lost. There is an ancient prophecy, foretelling of the birth of a three who will be born tri-blood (a child of all three worlds) who will have the ability to save the planets from destruction. Sierra has very special abilities, ones that could change everything. But there are those who will set out to destroy her as she ventures on the quest to understand where she came from and what her powers really can do. Can Sierra find the courage and the strength to face her destiny and save her home? Time is running out!

Splintered: Sierra’s Legacy was in many respects a very interesting and thought provoking read. As a reader, I could see how much time and research the author had implemented into the story. I really enjoyed the premise behind it: we must be more careful of the destruction we render to our planet and learn to love and care for it better.

I love the Eldwitch race. Able to heal and communicate with nature as well as born with beautiful wings making them able to fly, they were a strong and wise race. Geffen is kind, strong, and peaceful. He was one of my favorite characters.

I also found the story behind the splintered worlds and the creation of the World Gates very intriguing. The Eldwitch had built the World Gates in order to travel between worlds for trade and to gain knowledge from each other.

I also really loved the moral behind the story: love is what saves us. Murder, slavery, sex trafficking, rape, anger, and greed are explored throughout the novel. The author manages do bring to light such heavy topics with discretion and wisdom. I appreciated that since so many stories nowadays have lost that.

Sierra’s, Kenna’s, and Kreesa’s abilities sound very fun! I would definitely like to be able to merge into nature, especially because of my nerdy, crazed obsession with trees. I loved the way the author portrayed the wonder and overwhelming beauty of nature throughout the book. You wind up with a better appreciation for the planet we live on.

However, there were certain aspects of the novel I did not enjoy. The constant amount of repetition throughout the novel caused me great difficulty to get through the chapters. Everything was always being repeated both through the plot and the dialogue of the characters. Sierra’s too naïve at times. She has seen the horrible things berserkers do and must remain in hiding because of her heritage, yet she believes things too easily. The shift in point of view from past to present back to past again was confusing. The transitions between past and present could have been written better. I would need to reread the beginning of chapters to figure out which era I was in. The pacing was too dragged causing the story to become dull at times. Even for a book so short, I still had a rough time finishing it. The dialogue was too rough and sometimes too dramatic. The most frustrating part of the novel (aside from repetition) was that the story was told more than shown to the reader. I often felt I was reading a history novel full of facts than an actual fantasy, sci-fi epic.

There is great potential in Splintered: Sierra’s Legacy and I feel if the book went through a good content edit, the novel would be far better than it is now, reading more like a rough draft than a finished product.

The story has a heartbeat to it and a wise message behind it, I just wished the execution followed suit.

For more information on the author and her novels, check out her website here.