Twelve-year-old Micah Murphy’s life has been turned upside down. First, his parents move him to a small boring town on the other side of the country, and now, his friends are not even messaging him back. The prospects for a great 8th grade are not looking good.
With nothing else to do, Micah decides to go exploring. After stumbling across an old kayak, he heads off to explore the shore of the Atlantic, but finds himself horribly lost and trapped in a strange land. All he wants to do is get home. Even if that means his parents will ground him the rest of the summer.

Isdralan is a world in the shadows of our imagination, balanced between light and dark. When characters he meets offer to help him get back, he has to learn who he can trust, in a place where nothing is as it seems. Time is about to take on a new meaning and he will come face to face with secrets that will change his future in ways he could never have imagined.

Will Micah be able to face his fears and return to his parents via a treacherous journey, or will he be stuck in Isdralan forever?

This book had elements that were absolutely fantastic and I enjoyed the magical world that Connor created and her characters were intriguing and unique. However, it took a little long to get into the storyline and the plot was a little convoluted at times and hard to follow which made me lose interest at parts. Nevertheless, I will be waiting for the next book in the series as Connor sneakily left the ending open so I need to find out what happens next.

Bored and lonely in his tiny new town, Micah sets off exploring and stumbles into a magical adventure where he must decide who to trust as he learns that nothing is really as it seems.

Beautifully written with well-crafted wordplay, Micah and the Candles of Time is the perfect middle-age fantasy book for fans of time travel and portal fiction like Narnia and Oz, and Beth Connor should be commended on her fantastic job of world-building and characterization. Her wonderful depiction of the uncertainty young Micah feels with the sudden changes in his circumstances hits home and will resonate with any reader, especially those going through their own life adjustments.

Creative and captivating from the start, this book is truly a fantastical read! Many thanks to the author and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This worked perfectly as a young adult novel, it had a great fantasy element going on in this series. Beth Connor had a great writing style that I was invested in what was happening to the world and the characters. It was a great start to this series and I hope there is more in this series. I look forward to reading more from Beth Connor.

"Hawke’s fists clenched even more tightly, fingernails drawing blood from his palms. Before anyone could stop him, he exploded into motion. He reached the portal in two bounds and jumped through."