First Chapter Review: Curse of the Sea by Joni Parker

Title: Curse of the Sea, Book One of the Admiralty Archives
Author: Joni Parker
Publisher: Village Green Press LLC
Pages: 287
Genre: Urban Fantasy

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I wanted to review this but because of time restraints I am going to post a first chapter review.

BLURB:

A NATO training exercise goes terribly wrong when five warships from different countries are mysteriously transported to Eledon, the Realm of the Elves. The warrior Lady Alexin is charged to escort the troops back home to London in the year 2031 with the aid of the Wizard Ecstasy and a magic shrinking potion. Yet, when the authorities question her story, Alex is detained and imprisoned under suspicion of terrorism. Caught in a web of politics, betrayal and bungling bureaucracy, the confusing world of the future will push her magical gifts to their limit, and her own future will hang in the balance, caught between “justice” and the place she calls home.                                                   

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM FIRST CHAPTER:

"Tendrils of fog wrapped around her head, enveloping her in a shroud."

BOOK COVER:

Love the picture of the woman coming out of the sea; nice backdrop to the ship.

FIRST CHAPTER REVIEW:

Elf ship 'Kite' appears to be in rough water. We are introduced to Alex along with the rest of the crew making its way through the perilous waters. Alex is a young water Elf and is female. We are also introduced to Cresten, the ship's captain, who it appears has a crush on Alex only the others were forbidden to talk about the relationship which right there makes me wonder there's more going on here. And not because it's supposed to be a secret but the fact that she could be dangerous and no one wants to see something bad happen. We are then taken to the USS Gerald R. Ford CVN-78, back on mortal Earth where the captain discovers five ships are missing like they had vanished into thin air.  The Elf ship sees another Elf ship in the fog, or so they think. Only this ship wasn't made of wood like other Elf ships; it is made out of metal. They begin to rescue passengers who had fallen off the ship. Then they see other ships who had become shipwrecked who were part of the same outfit as the first one. Non-Elf ships. People from mortal Earth who had somehow wandered off and into the world of elves. The mortals asks them how to get back to earth. The elves tell them they will ask their mentors for help and meanwhile they will take of them. And the chapter ends.

What a neat premise for a story! Imagine you are transported to a different land altogether; possibly not even on Earth anymore? The imagery is amazing and the author uses descriptive verbiage that helps you to visualize the story happening. Parker is a great wordsmith! Something tells me that Alex is going to become an important character but we'll have to see!

KEEP READING?:

I will definitely keep reading!

I give this first chapter 5 book trees!

About the Author

Joni was born in Chicago, moved to Japan, and returned to live in Phoenix, Arizona. After joining the Navy, she lived in Lakehurst, New Jersey where she met her husband, a career sailor. They moved to Jacksonville, Florida, from there to Pensacola, Florida where Joni attended the university. Upon graduation, she returned to the Navy and was stationed in Naples, Italy. From there, the Navy sent her to live in a number of U.S. cities and even spent a year with the U.S. Army at their Command and General Staff College obtaining a Master of Military Arts and Sciences. Upon her retirement, she traveled the country in an RV with her husband until he passed away. She returned to the workforce living in Dallas until she discovered a passion for writing fantasy novels. She retired for a second time and now lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Website Address: http://www.joni-parker.com
Twitter Address: @ParkerJoni
Facebook Address: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJoniParker