Author: Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon
Publisher: Zondervan / Blink
Publication date: August 20, 2013
Publisher: Zondervan / Blink
Publication date: August 20, 2013
Genre(s): Young Adult Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 368
My Rating: ★★★★★
Veronica doesn't think she's going crazy. But why can't anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months.
But the Scottish countryside holds other plans.
Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna's great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica's daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they've longed for...or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.
But the Scottish countryside holds other plans.
Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna's great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica's daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they've longed for...or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.
Doon follows the story of two best friends who are spending their holiday in Scotland as one of the girls has inherited her late Aunt's cottage in Alloway. The other girl, Veronica, keeps having hallucinations of a handsome blonde boy in a kilt and he seems to be calling to her to follow him. The girls start to uncover some strange secrets about Kenna's Aunt and they find themselves crossing the Brig o' Doon and stepping into another world with castles and handsome princes and magic.
The setting is definitely one of the things that made this book so fantastic because I could clearly picture everything in this world and it was all so magical and enchanting! It was honestly like I was stepping through the pages and entering this magical kingdom myself!
At first I was hesitant because I found out that this book is published by Blink, which is a Christian YA publishing group stemming from Harper Collins and I'm an Atheist. However, I was so pleased to see that the story isn't trying to push religious aspects across and it was just honestly giving us a fantastic and magical story. It has elements that I wouldn't expect from a Christian book as there were mentions of sex and cheating and all sorts of contemporary aspects that are usually found in YA books. So don't let this put you off, because there were only two instances where I thought the 'Christian' aspect was coming through, and that was when Veronica recalls going to Church as a child and misses the community, and when she prays to God to save someone she loves. I'm sure that you could try and tie the story to Christianity like people have done with Narnia and the Lord of the Rings and such, but to be honest, I'm just in it for the story.
The two main characters were really relatable and had personality traits that I personally loved. Kenna is a musical theatre girl, and I absolutely LOVED that. It had a lot of contemporary aspects that balanced out the fantastical elements and it was just PERFECT. It honestly has everything I could ever want from a YA fantasy and I am so glad that I picked it up! The authors have also created a playlist to go along with the book which I will link down below but it is so perfect and I highly recommend listening to the songs while reading or after you finish the book!
The plot was really interesting and it kept me hooked the entire way through and also had some surprising twists that I honestly didn't expect! The ending wasn't too abrupt and left me wanting the next book desperately! It also almost reads like a contemporary (especially at the start) which made it so much easier to get into the story and it made it so relatable. What a fantastic start to a series! I can't wait for the next book!
Doon Series Website: http://www.doonseries.com/
Doon Playlist: http://www.doonseries.com/doon-series/doon-playlist/
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