Seventeen-year-old
Meaghan has no idea her perfect life has been a lie — until she
witnesses her parents’ brutal murders at the hands of red-eyed
creatures.

After nearly sharing their fate, she escapes with her
best friend, Nick, who tells her the creatures are called Mardróch. They
come from another world, and so does she. Now that the Mardróch have
found her, she must return to her homeland of Ærenden or face death.

Left
with little choice, she follows Nick into a strange world both similar
to Earth and drastically different. Vines have the ability to attack.
Monkeys freeze their victims with a glare. Men create bombs from thin
air. Even Meaghan’s newly discovered empath power turns into a danger
she cannot control.

But control becomes the least of her worries
once the Mardróch begin targeting her. When Nick confesses he knows the
reason they want her, she learns the truth behind the kingdom’s
fifteen-year civil war — a long-buried secret that could cost Meaghan
her life.

For more
information about this series please go to Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble,
Smashwords, Kobo, Ibooks, Audible Audio and Itunes Audio. 

When I
first read the description of ‘The Child Returns’ by Kristen Taber I
immediately thought this book was something for me. I soon found out that there
is already a whole series out there of which I had no clue. I loved the covers
for the Aerenden series and when I saw the sign up on Candace’s Book blog for
the ‘Aerenden Blog Tour’ I just couldn’t resist and signed up.

In ‘The
Child Returns’ we meet Meaghan, a seemingly normal girl and her best friend
Nick. Meaghan and Nick are having a little trouble in their friendship since
Meaghan tried to kiss Nick a couple of days ago. When Nick decides to go away
to make sure nothing more can happen between him and Meaghan, Meaghan is
heartbroken. But Nick never gets the opportunity to go away because soon Meaghan
witnesses the murders of her parents and Nick is the only one who can protect
Meaghan. Soon Meaghan finds out that Nick isn’t who she thought he was and that
there are evil beings after her. What Meaghan didn’t expect is to find out that
she also isn’t who she thought she was and soon Meaghan is on her way to
another world in which she had an important task.

There
are a lot of books in which the beginning isn’t all that interesting or is just
very slow, but you just have to get through it to understand what is happening
and most time the beginning was completely worth it because the rest of the
book was just really good. In ‘The Child Returns’ there was no such thing as a
not interesting or slow beginning. Right from the first page you’re immediately
part of the action. There is no slowly getting to know the characters. Right
from the first page you’re completely pulled into the story of Meaghan.
Everything is happening and changing very fast for her and this made this book
very exciting and thrilling.

From the
beginning I loved Nick and I immediately felt like there was more to him than
you think in the beginning. The chemistry between Meaghan and Nick was almost
flying of the pages and I really didn’t understand why Nick didn’t acknowledge
his feelings for Meaghan.

I also felt
really sorry for Meaghan. She was just overwhelmed with all this new stuff and
finding out there is a whole other world out there but there just wasn’t any
time for her to think about all these new things. To be honest I think she
handled everything perfectly. She just trusted Nick with whole her heart. I
just loved that about Meaghan.

I realise
that this review is a little chaotic, but that is exactly how this book made me
feel. There is so much happening and there is a lot of things to find out. I
couldn’t stop reading this book because I just felt like I was sitting next to
Meaghan and finding out everything at the same time she did. I loved to learn
more about the new world and this book was just the perfect mix between romance,
action, friendship and fantasy. I really loved it and definitely recommend it
to other readers. 

Book two: ‘The Gildonae Alliance’:

Several months after Meaghan’s return to AErenden, the
kingdom’s war has taken a turn for the worse. The Mardroch army hunts the new
King and Queen, destroying villages in its wake. And Meaghan and Nick, training
for battle in a remote section of wilderness, are far from safe. Danger hides
in shadows and behind innocent faces. Allies become foes. Each day is a fight
to survive. But in the end, only one threat matters. And it’s a threat they
never see coming.   

Book three: ‘The Zeiihbu Master’:

Separated and on opposite sides of the kingdom, Nick and
Meaghan face different pursuits which could change the balance of power in
Ærenden forever.

While Nick trains the villagers to be soldiers, Meaghan and a small rescue
party venture into Zeiihbu to find Faillen’s young son, before Garon can use
the boy’s power to destroy those still fighting against his rule.

Everyone knows Meaghan could be on a suicide mission, but when Nick stumbles
upon a secret concealed in one of the southern villages, he realizes that Garon
might not be Meaghan’s greatest foe. The enemy most likely to kill her is
someone who has also promised to keep her safe.

For more information about this series please visit the Aerenden website. 

Born in
Bangor, Maine, author Kristen Taber spent her childhood at the feet of an Irish
storytelling grandfather, learning to blend fact with fiction and imagination
with reality. She lived within the realm of the tales that captivated her,
breathing life into characters and crafting stories even before she could read.
Those stories have since turned into over a hundred poems, several short tales,
and

five manuscripts in both the Young Adult and Adult
genres. Currently, Ms. Taber
is completing the five-part Ærenden series from her home office in the suburbs
of Washington D.C.

For more information about Kristen Taber and the Aerenden series please visit her website, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter.  

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.