Huge thanks to the Write Reads blog tour team for sending us a copy of Undine’s Blessing by Tessa Hastjarjanto.
This story follows Marella as she heads to sea with her father, after her mother is forced to travel to receive proper medical care. Marella’s mother’s illness reads a lot – to me at least – like chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and given the author’s experience, this would make sense (see bio below).
The fact that Marella is a young carer is dealt with sensitively and sympathetically – she doesn’t resent her mother’s condition or the amount of work she has to do in comparison to the other children she knows. She works hard to protect her mother, and in the world that Hastjarjanto has created, disability seems to be looked on in a much kinder light than modern-day Britain. It’s an incredibly refreshing thing to read.
The worldbuilding of Undine’s Blessing is something that really struck me from the outset. As someone who has spent a lot of time in fishing communities in rural Scotland, the descriptions of Marella’s daily life felt real and familiar, and the descriptions are beautiful. I can see people arguing that the plot takes a while to get going, but I didn’t mind spending a few chapters with Marella and her mother in their home, before she sets out to sea with her father.
My main criticism of this book is small; some of the language seemed jarringly modern at times. It’s one thing having a character use the word ‘kids’ to describe a group of children, but it alters the tone of third person narration when it happens in the main body of the prose. This is a small complaint, but it did make the story feel slightly less immersive for me. And this is a ‘unique to UK-English speakers’ problem, but the same happened when I read the word ‘Mom’ (albeit to a lesser extent).
Overall though, this was a lovely book – absolutely full of magic.
Blurb
A dutiful daughter, a mystical archipelago, and a hidden power waiting to command the tides…
Marella spends her days caring for her sick mother and selling her father’s fish. Bound by duty and love, she dreams little of adventure. But when her mother must travel to the city for treatment, her father takes her out to sea, despite her fear of water.
A storm steers them to Emberrain, home to a tribe of magical nymphs and a place of secrets, where Marella discovers a startling truth: her father is a frequent visitor to these mysterious islands. Soon she learns that Emberrain isn’t the only secret he had kept from her.
Marella has the power to control water and communicate with aquatic animals.
Overwhelmed by the magical but dangerous islands, and the secrets of her father, Marella must learn to harness her powers to save herself and her new aquatic friend before they are separated from their parents forever.
Undine’s Blessing is a journey of wonder, where fears are faced and mysteries unravel, and a young girl learns that true adventure begins when you dare to embrace who you truly are.
Book Details
Length: 298 Pages
Genre: Fantasy
Age Category: Young Adult
Date Published: January 27, 2024
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/3A6CTUC (Canada) https://a.co/d/cFNzg3k (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/iR6Injk (UK)
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199001923-undine-s-blessing
The Story Graph Link:
https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/acdc824e-225e-40be-9778-03566593b1cb
Author Bio
Tessa Hastjarjanto is a Dutch/Indonesian writer from the Netherlands. She writes speculative fiction, and blogs at narratess.com about books, fountain pens, and writing.
From a young age, she imitated popular stories and games in creating her own worlds. This love eventually led to a master’s degree in media and game studies at the University of Utrecht. However a mundane desk job was enough to inspire her to follow her creative passion. The first fanfics were written in lunch breaks and soon original fiction followed.
With the support of her husband, she now focuses on her writing career while battling chronic pain. Swiss white shepherd, Shiro, acts as a therapy dog to keep her healthy and reduce stress through extensive cuddle sessions.
You can find her on Twitter (@endalia), Instagram (@tessa.hastjarjanto), or on Bluesky (@endalia.bsky.social).
Undine’s Blessing was the 12th place finalist in BBNYA 2024!
About BBNYA
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.
THE INQUISITIVE NEWT 