Last Updated: 12 September 2021
Antonia Korelli is on the run from her coven of priestesses. She never desired a life confined to the temple, relegated to chastity and service to the goddess, Azea. Instead, she longs for true love and adventure in the Kingdom of Elat.
Enter Robin Watkins, a fiery dreamer on a mission of his own, to uncover the legendary lost Red Pearl. Only, he must first regain his treasure map, which was stolen by his former best mate and conniving ex-girlfriend.
When Antonia becomes unwittingly entangled with Rob, she's more than dismayed to find herself stuck on his harebrained hunt. But somewhere amidst their bickering and banter, their plight for survival through desert and tropics, and the joint pursuit of impossible dreams, Antonia begins to realize that perhaps she might have found the unforgettable adventure - and romance - she was seeking.
The Red Pearl is a quick read but a good one, offering a great way to escape reality for a few hours!
The story centres around Robin, an adventurer on the hunt for the long-lost ancient Red Pearl – his most coveted piece of treasure. When Robin’s hunt takes an unfortunate turn for the worse, he happens to cross paths with the story’s second main character, Antonia.
Antonia is on the run from her previous life, an existence where she had no choice but to prepare to become a future priestess of the Temple of Azea. Forever longing for something more, she finally makes her move and escapes the temple, fleeing wildly until she runs into Robin in his hour of need.
By a curious set of events, the two eventually join forces and seek out the Red Pearl together, encountering all manner of strange lands, sticky situations and emotional revelations along the way.
The pair’s journey takes them many miles away from home, and with danger around every turn, it’s no surprise that this is a fast-paced, engaging read. It’s fun, interesting and involving – and being quite a short book, it’s easy enough to devour in only a few sittings.
The emotional depth and complexity of the characters were good, as was the fact that both principal characters had varied, well-rounded personalities. Antonia is not your typical damsel in distress character archetype, and in a story of this genre, that fact was particularly refreshing. Both Robin and Antonia have flaws, can be stubborn and hot-headed; this really helped to make the pair more lifelike and realistic despite the short length of the book.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen a little more world-building and explanation of various events that happened throughout the story, but as the book focuses mainly on the principal characters and their development, luckily this didn’t detract from the overall storyline too much. However, as The Red Pearl is the first in a series (The World of Jordinia), I hope that this will be addressed, and the fantastical world will be fleshed out a little more as the series progresses further.
Exciting, fast-paced and engaging, The Red Pearl is a great little read for fans of romance and fantasy alike.
Rating: 3 stars
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* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
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