The Unraveling of Emlyn Dulaine: Volume 1

by Lindsay A Franklin

Overview

A shattered heart, a fate foretold.
The world undone by tales of old.

Emlyn DuLaine just wants to know what happened to her sister, Camille, seven years ago on the fateful day she vanished—literally. Emlyn witnessed Camille unravel and disappear, but no one believes her. Since they think she’s crazy, the least the cops could do is solve Camille’s case. Is a little closure too much to ask?

But Emlyn’s life is upended when she is pulled through a portal into the fantasyland of her childhood imaginings—a magical library holding the storyworlds of every story ever published. And trouble is brewing in the land of Rivenlea. Rogue characters threaten their plot lines, and broken classics are beginning to crumble, but Emlyn only wants to find Camille.

As she searches for her sister, Emlyn begins to learn the reality of Rivenlea and her own origins. A nefarious plot is afoot, and the line between fact and fiction is becoming hopelessly blurred. The truth threatens the storyworlds, Rivenlea, and Earth—the fabric of creation, itself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798886051780
Publisher:	Enclave Escape
Publication date:	02/04/2025
Series:	The Rivenlea Sphere
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Lindsay A. Franklin is the Carol Award–winning author of The Story Peddler, ECPA best-selling author of Adored, and Managing Editor of Enclave Publishing. She would wear pajama pants all the time if it were socially acceptable. Lindsay lives happily among the rain and evergreens of the Pacific Northwest with her scruffy-looking nerf-herder husband, their three (nearly) grown geeklings, and three demanding thunder pillows (a.k.a. cats).

Editorial Reviews

"This is a fantastical ode to the love and joy of storytelling." ~ Booklist
 

Booklist

"The worldbuilding and descriptions of the setting are nothing short of beautiful...an inspiring tale about finding yourself and the power of sacrifice and remembering." 

Kirkus Reviews

"...a fun and promising start to a new YA fantasy series."
 

Redeemed Reader

"In this cheekily meta look at young adult fiction, Franklin sincerely tackles themes of grief and insecurity while providing laugh-out-loud moments...a unique adventure into storytelling that will keep the pages turning."

Lorehaven

"Using snarky, genre-savvy first-person narration, Franklin...spins an inventive, fourth-wall-breaking portal fantasy that lauds the import of connection and storytelling." 
 

Publishers Weekly

This love-letter to the power of stories is a compelling take on the portal fantasy genre.” —The Hub, a publication of YALSA (American Library Association)

The Hub

2024-11-09
A young storyteller sets out to find her sister but discovers her own power instead.

Emlyn DuLaine has carried the weight of her sister Camille’s disappearance for seven years. After speaking to a cold-case detective, Emlyn is forced to relive her grief. She notices the world around her losing color, and when a character she created for a story—a dark-haired woman—starts speaking to her, Emlyn isn’t sure what to believe. But when a small, dark blue dragon shows up in her bedroom and leads her to the portal where her sister disappeared, she knows this is her chance to get answers, and she plunges through it. What Emlyn finds is a Novem, a nine-member “special ops team assigned to missions together.” Her mission is to help repair broken stories—the classic tales that “shape culture” and “echo through centuries.” Emlyn encounters Wistlee, a Gryphon with a damaged wing, and Phen, a handsome Sentinel with anxiety. The worldbuilding and descriptions of the setting are nothing short of beautiful, particularly the Ambryfell library, which is every reader’s dream. Franklin weaves in references to stories such asThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz andA Little Princess. The multiple plotlines and characters can be hard to follow at first, but by the final page of this series opener, it’s clear that everything is intentional. Main characters are cued white.

An inspiring tale about finding yourself and the power of sacrifice and remembering.(Fantasy. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews