Title: Jasmine and the Lamp of Spells
Author: Leonard Tate
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1-4620-0000-5
Pages: 352
Genre: Fantasy
Reviewed by: Suzanne Gattis
Pacific Book Review
Leonard Tate’s Jasmine and the Lamp of Spells is a mesmerizing book of sorcery, witches, mythical creatures, far-off lands, and wars. It is also a story of love, friendship and courage, which any young adult or adult would enjoy and benefit from reading. Following the young heroine Jasmine through the book and the adventure, the reader can’t help but ask what is going to happen next.
In a land where sorcery occurs despite being forbidden, it is easy to see from the beginning that this will be a story of adventure and that the author is one with a creative imagination. There is a darkness in the woods and in the world that needs to be explored and contained. With help along the way, Jasmine is able to save the world as she knows it, while learning it’s not what she thought she knew at all.
Several different literary devices are used well throughout the book. For example, the use of foreshadowing runs rampant throughout the story, dropping clues here and there about what might be revealed next. One such example is that of the calico cat, Jasmine’s best friend throughout her adventures. The reader can tell there is more to the story and bit by bit it is revealed. I was quite proud of the fact that I figured it out before the end!
While the story for me started off a little slow, I do understand the need to build a foundation and I appreciate that right of the bat the missing children and the possibility of sorcery were introduced. However, by midway and towards the end, I could not put the book down. Twists and turns, wars and creatures, filled the pages of this book. I would recommend this book to others who are looking to be transported to another world and have an adventure.
