When a book has the word prophecy in its title and there’s a picture of a crow on its cover, I’ll buy that book!

Reyna Joseph Sinclair is the Chosen One, born to unite the human and animal worlds. Set in Sri Lanka, the novel describes Reyna’s life from birth in 1995 through to 2008. During this time, we get to know her family and her various animal friends (crows, dogs, elephants, leopards and a family of mongooses)—all of whom she can converse with! As we follow her adventures, we discover that couched within our all too human world is a secret animal world. Only a few humans are privy to it and Reyna is one of them.

I lost myself in the story, which cuddled my inner child. Reading about Reyna’s antics, there were times when I felt I was caught between Gerald Durrell’s, My Family and Other Animals and C S Lewis’s, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Be warned, Reyna is quite petulant during the book's latter two thirds. Fortunately, her annoying behaviour is countered by her younger brother, Raj, and the nobility of the animals who appear and—sadly sometimes—disappear from her life. There are also subplots that help take the focus off Reyna and hint at things to come in the next two books. While the twist at the end was unexpected, it raised more questions than answers.

Reyna’s Prophecy is the first in the Kingdom trilogy. Published in 2014, there’s no sign of a second instalment. I have no idea what that portends. I am, however, keeping my fingers crossed that book 2 surfaces in the not too distant future.

Image: goodreads.com, 09-Oct-17

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