The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): The Dark Realm (Feyland #1) by Anthea Sharp

Welcome to The Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

These are the rules:

1. Grab a book, any book.

2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.

3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

4. Post it.

5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.

I'm also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader.  The rules are pretty simple - you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires.  Don't forget to link up your post's url with Rose City Reader.

This week I'm spotlighting my current free for Kindle read called The Dark Realm (Feyland #1) by Anthea Sharp.  I've had this one on my tbr for quite some time, but I finally took the plunge and downloaded after a friend of mine decided to try it and came back with great things to say about it.  So far I'm on page 58 of 319 and I'm really enjoying it so far.  The story combines immersive virtual reality gaming and a modern take on The Ballad of Tam Lin (one of the main characters is actually named Tam Linn, so it's pretty easy to pick up on) - it sounds like a strange combination, but somehow it's managing to work well.

Beginning:

Jennet faced the Dark Queen, her mage staff at the ready.  Excitement fizzed through her blood like it was carbonated.  This was it.  She'd completed her quests, mastered each level of the game, and made it here.  The final boss fight.

56:

Tam lifted a finger, and his Sorcerer's arms rose.  Magical energy gathered in a ball of glowing light between his hands, then spread down over Lorne's figure, encasing him in a layer of invisible armor.  Another wave of his hand, and potions appeared, hovering in the air before him.  Blood red, glimmering orange, dark purple - without hesitation, the Sorcerer chose two, uncorked the vials and drank.

Magical preparations complete, Lorne stepped over the litter of bones and walked to the edge of the darkness.

Truth time.  Jennet held her breath as the pebble of fear in her stomach turned to a boulder.  What if Tam wasn't good enough?