Child of a Hidden Sea

Dellamonica (Indigo Springs) introduces a charmingly wide-eyed heroine to open a contemporary fantasy series. Sophie Hansa is on a quest to find her birth mother, Beatrice. When she rescues Beatrice’s sister, Gale, from an attack in a San Francisco alley, the two are whisked away to Beatrice and Gale’s home of Stele Island, part of the magical world called Stormwrack, where Sophie’s relatives are less than thrilled to see her. At first, Sophie is thrilled to be in this land of beautiful people and wondrous happenings, and she manages to get her adoptive brother, Bram, to join her there. But when she’s taxed with the investigation of a relative’s murder, she begins to realize that Stormwrack is not a wonderland. While Sophie’s relationship with Stormwrack and its people develops slowly, her amazement at this new world and its varied fauna is shared in a satisfying manner that leaves the reader looking forward to the next installment. (June)