Rants N Scribbles: [Review] The Wise One by K.T. Anglehart

The Wise One
K.T. Anglehart
(The Scottish Scrolls, #1)
Publication date: October 28th 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Mckenna’s never thought much of her nightmares, but on her seventeenth birthday, a vivid dream of burning at the stake awakens her dormant abilities, thrusting her into a world where faeries are real, spirits hold a grudge, and a High Priestess obsessed with a 16th-century prophecy is tracking her every move.

Now, her overprotective dads, Seán and Andre, are forced to tell her the truth—they know who her birth mother is, and her life is not the surrogate story she’s always been told. Abigail, Mckenna’s mom, is some sort of mystic, and Mckenna a Wise One.

Whatever the hell that means.

With the help of a persistent little wren and company of a newfound friend, Mckenna journeys to Ireland in search of her mother and real answers. Along the way, she learns to harness her innate magic and trust her intuition, as best she can anyway—Cillian, a kind and passionate delegate who crosses her path, is proving much harder to read.

Only her mother could truly help her halt her ill fate and prepare her for what’s to come . . . before she gives in to the darkness she knows is buried deep within.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Katrina Tortorici Anglehart is a born and bred Italian-Canadian from Montreal. A devoted academic, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism; a graduate certificate in Scriptwriting; and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. After dabbling in TV writing and working as a digital marketing content manager, she left the nine to five to launch her freelance editing and coaching career. Today, she relishes in helping aspiring authors to develop and refine their stories.

Besides English, Katrina speaks French, Italian, and Spanglish. When she’s not writing, diving into magical reads, or Netflixing, she’s travelling with her favourite human–her high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband, Andy–and obsessing over her pet bunny, Magic, and newly rescued pup, Nessie. Katrina currently lives in Toronto, Ontario.

My Thoughts:

I'm going to be honest...this one had me a little worried at the start, but it won me over by the end.

I had a very hard time getting into the story initially. I felt the writing style was awkward and simple and not completely polished. Fortunately, as the story progressed the writing became smoother and easier to follow. There were still issues with pacing and the story being jumpy in parts, but overall it was good read.

I felt the story was too convenient a lot of the time, especially at the beginning. I found it hard to believe that a 17 year old girl would steal money from her parents and then take off on them, leaving to go to another country, all on a whim basically. That was hard to swallow. Together with other convenient occurrences like meeting the sweet couple. I don't like when things are too easy. I also found it hard to believe she would be away from her parents for as long as she is and not call them at least once to let them know she was safe at least.

The strengths of this book are the story itself, and the characters. Nissa was my favorite, reminding me of myself in my younger days, outside reading propped up against a tree. Sean and Andre are a cute couple. The sweet old couple later on are adorable (although too convenient), and Cillian has great depth and experiences growth throughout the book.

The story is very interesting. The author does a fabulous job of drawing you in by sprinkling little bits of information here and there to keep you intrigued enough to turn the next page. It's genius. And she got me. I had to keep turning those pages.

The author does a great job describing Ireland. I can't wait to visit one day now! The descriptions of the gorgeous views, stunning castles, beautiful nature, cozy bars and bed and breakfasts overwhelm you. The intriguing tidbits of Irish folklore were very interesting, and I enjoyed learning.

The ending was a bit out there (holy cliffhanger!!!), I had to re-read it a few times, and the epilogue left me like huh? But, the main thing is I can't wait to read book two! I need to know more now!