This is an adorable tale with characters you can’t help but be enthralled with. It very much has a “The Hobbit” vibe which I love. And the illustrations were such a lovely addition!! I do wish there was more advertising for the book, like a page on Goodreads at least.

I loved the drawings, the prose and the way this was written. It was a poetic tale of heroic fantasy and really well written. The best part was how it read like a true fantasy series, drawings included and immerses the reader.
Queen Kristina deserves all the kudos and Tam was a character worth following. This felt like a small fellowship, but I guess it was a quest to reclaim. I love Tolkien so this fantasy was right up my alley.

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley for the purpose of a fair and honest review.

Overview: Tam has grown up in a small village complete with some schooling and some church. Now he wishes to make his way to Colonia. He wishes to find a job, and to make his way in the world. On his way, he finds that he is part of a prophecy. What is the golden eye that he has found? Who is the old man who he met in the woods? Colonia can't be that bad, can it? Let's find out.

Story Telling: This is a middle grade fantasy novel. It's closer to the old King Arthur legends than to the fantastical worlds of Professor Tolkien or Mr. Lewis. I'd be careful about offering this book to anyone under the age of nine.

Artwork: We get nice pen and ink illustrations at or near the end of the chapters.

Dislikes: The Thorn family is rather wicked. The point of a militia, military, or a government, is to defend the rights of the citizenry. These guys took the wrong path, and seemed little more than the leaders of a glorified bandit crew.

Ruth Cutler really should buy a conscience with all that gold that she's squirreled away.

Likes: The elderly sisters were fun to hang out with. Toesy and Bootsy didn't care for financial wealth as much as they did doing the right thing.

Solly and Fergus played a nice set of decoys when it was asked of them.

While the militia in Colonia was rather wicked, there were several members that were good people.

Conclusion: This was a good book. If you are looking for a new fantasy book for your middle-grader, then this book is for you. Enjoy the read.

This is a story in the vein of The Hobbit or The Chronicles of Narnia, not purely a children's story but definitely one that will be adored by teens who can usually be found with their nose in a book.

Tam sets out on an adventure from his meager village to reach the city of Colonia. He faces adventures along his odyssey and helps a young queen reclaim her throne. It's classic heroic fantasy, influenced by John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress.

My main criticism is that it's hard to determine which age group this is written for; there are a few places where the story would give me pause to read to young children, where it would otherwise seem perfect for them.

Thank you to Mount House Press for the ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.