The Dark Lord’s Daughter by Patricia

Source: Netgalley, so many thanks to the publisher!
TL;DR: If you enjoy middle grade fantasy this is a must read!

Plot: Fantastic. It makes several reference to castle building games, and you can feel that in a very fun way in the story
Characters: I enjoyed them! Everyone fit a narrative role, but they were strong and not caricatures of that role.
Setting: While it’s obviously set in the Dark Lord’s Castle and feels dark, the setting also felt almost homey and waiting – as most the story is about waiting for Kayla to find her gift and claim her magic
Magic: This was my favorite part. The magic of the world is what helps make the Portal part palatable and the way her tablet becomes a familiar but also with some… computer style features? Perfect.

Thoughts:

I am pretty open about the fact that Portal Fantasy books just simply don’t work for me. I get real twitchy about them in fact. You tell me it’s got portal fantasy in it, and I’ll exit that stage in a hurry. I can happily report however that (not knowing that it would be portal fantasy going in) I wound up loving The Dark Lord’s Daughter. Let me explain.

This follows Kayla, who with her Mom and brother, is whisked away by a man in a funny costume to a fantasy world. There she finds out she’s the daughter of the Dark Lord, and gentleman who brought her (the man who is now wearing a suit of armor) has been searching for her for over 10 years. The story follows Kayla and her family as the adapt to this new world, find out more about Kayla’s birth parents, and her magic and inheritance. It’s funny, fun, and has a good message at it’s core. All while setting up what I genuinely hope is a series because I didn’t get nearly enough of these characters.

Here is where the book sold me. When Kayla and her family is portal’d (if you will) to this fantasy world. Everything they have on them, is changed to match the world they are in. This means her mom’s cell phone became a purple messenger mouse. The ibuprofen in her first aid kit? Magical healing herbs. And the tablet computer in Kayla’s backpack became a familiar. Not only a Familiar but one that still talked in it’s assigned voice, responded to computer style commands, and had the best attitude the whole book. Patricia Wrede made Portal Fantasy work. Not only does everyone involved in the magic know about other worlds, but the worlds themselves will adapt to the portaling individuals.

Thank you Mrs. Wrede. You took my least favorite trope and made it fun.

But seriously, I enjoyed a lot of this book and want so much more. If you’re a fan of Patricia Wrede or Middle Grade Fantasy this is a must read. I will be continuing when more books release, and honestly… I think I’m going to go pickup the Enchanted Forest series again. It’s that good.