Geek Girl Authority Reviews Lenore Borja’s YA Novel, The Lost Portal
This sequel will have you invested from beginning to end. I know it’s so cliché but I could not put this book down. Literally, I carried this book around the house with me if only to fit in a few paragraphs while waiting for my coffee to brew. Forget one more chapter, I almost read the entire book in one sitting. And I rarely do that.
Excerpt below:
THE LOST PORTAL | MIRROR REALM SERIES, BOOK II
In The Lost Portal, Hadley Caldwell and her huntress sisters have been protecting humanity from evil entities hiding in the mysterious Mirror Realm for years. But when the realm is destroyed, the ancient Greek gods who relied on the Mirror Realm for strength now need another source of survival.
From Ancient Greece to Modern Cairo
The first book of the Mirror Realm series, The Last Huntress, focused on the creation of the Mirror Realm by ancient Greek gods. Whereas, The Lost Portal shifts to ancient Egyptian lore to bring back the Realm. Borja pivots seamlessly between Greek myths, Egyptian lore, and modern life. The novel genuinely sent me on an intellectual journey and had me researching myths because I wanted to learn more. The Lost Portal is intellectual but also beautiful, creative, and original.
A good portion of The Lost Portal details the huntresses hosting all sorts of Olympian gods in their dreams from Hermes to Hera. The best part is that they are manifested by the dreamers so they are often comical interpretations. For example, Hermes is basically a UPS delivery person, complete with the signature brown uniform. The gods just randomly show up in their dreams, judge the Hades out of them, and then make ridiculous demands. It’s interesting, funny, and terrifying to think of such powerful beings using the unpredictable dreams of mortals as their personal playground.
Sisters Before Misters
The first novel focuses a lot on the romantic relationship between Alice and Colin (now known as David) but, in The Lost Portal, David makes himself scarce. This allows Borja to focus on the sisterhood and delve deeper into the lives of the huntresses. The strong sisterhood theme really sets this novel apart from the typical fantasy romances that have saturated the market. It also allows the reader to develop an even stronger connection to the characters, especially Hadley.
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