The Floating Island (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, #1)
by Elizabeth Haydon

4 out of 5 stars

Ven’s family are shipbuilders, and when Ven goes on a ship to inspect it, the ship is sunk by Fire Pirates and Ven is left adrift in the ocean. He is rescued by a merrow/mermaid and taken aboard a passing ship on the way to Serendair, an island nation where adventure awaits.

This book has an enchanting fantasy world! There are little variations on different typical fantasy creatures. Ven is a Nain, which is similar to a dwarf. There are merrows, like a mixture of mermaids and selkies. The Spice Folk are like nature fairies or brownies who are invisible. The Lirin are sort of like forest elves. They all have their own characteristics and skills and magical abilities. I was delighted with the details about each culture!

And the places are just as fascinating as the people… The Floating Island is a remnant from the creation of the world where earth and sea and wind meet together. It’s a magical place where the balance must be maintained and it follows its own rules of magic. The Crossroads Inn on the island of Serendair is haunted by ghostly wolves and mysterious deaths. Every place that Ven visits has its own secrets and mysteries to be discovered.

I loved the adventure and the magic and all the mystery! I really loved Ven’s character and his character development as he learns to trust his own skills in difficult situations. All the supporting characters are excellent too, with well fleshed-out personalities and interesting backstories!

The only thing I didn’t like is the constant interruptions from the journal entries. Most of the story is told in third person, but then there are random snippets from Ven’s journal in first person. It breaks up the pacing and flow of the narrative and it serves no real purpose in the story. It would have been better to have the entire story as a first person narrative with the entire book as his journal, or just stick with third person the entire time and do away with the journal framework.

I was also very confused by the dragon on the cover, since there are no dragons anywhere in the story. No dragon characters. No dragon stories. No mention of a dragon anywhere in the entire text. There is a place on the fantasy map that shows Dragon’s Lair, but Ven didn’t go anywhere near that place on the map. The third book in the series is titled “Dragon’s Lair” so obviously the dragons will show up later, but still… it’s a very strange choice for this book cover.

I loved the book so much that I immediately ordered the second book in the series! Can’t wait to read more about Ven’s adventures!

This book has been screened on the Screen It First website for some mild dark content and mild violence. https://screenitfirst.com/book/the-floating-island-the-lost-journals-of-ven-polypheme-1-1368440