Starchild: The Age of Akra (Book One) by Vacen Taylor

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):
When Mai is chosen to take a pilgrimage to the Valley of a Thousand Thoughts to train with the oldest and wisest master of their people, an ancient prophecy is set in motion. The events to come have been predicted but are not unchangeable. When the Starchild returns to the planet of Sage, the foreknowledge of the prophecy begins to gain strength.

Four children come together and become linked to the events that lie ahead. In The Age of Akra, the first stage of their journey has them facing the deadly spiderflax, only then to be confronted by a creature of the underworld, an evil Dementra called Amual.

The struggle to bring peace to the world of powerful energies lies in the hands of these four children and a strange little lizard. And it will not come easy. This journey is only the beginning.

My Review

***I received the eBook free as a review copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

An amazing book with a fast-paced plot.
This book is a fantasy book revolving around a prophecy involving four children with awesome powers. Mai is a thoughtbanker and is selected by the Ministers of the Elements of the world to undertake a pilgrimage to the Valley of Thousand Thoughts. Her brother who is also chaperoning the journey, Long, joins her and they embark on an adventure.
I definitely enjoyed reading this book because the plot was fast-paced. Vacen Taylor didn't waste any time on too many, long descriptions of the environment. It was all really brief and yet we could envision everything sufficiently. I enjoy reading fantasy books and this one had all the important powers introduced at the very beginning of the book. I was trying to keep up, but then realized that it's pretty easy to remember all of the powers which is a good thing. I just got kind of confused when it came to the different nations and regions of the fantasy world.
All of the characters had vastly different personalities. I think that Mai was my favourite character out of the ones to pick, even though I felt that I couldn't really connect properly with any of the characters. Mai was the more responsible, rational one and actually knew what she was doing. Long was really annoying at times because he is unreasonable and acts silly and childish.
As I said, I really liked how Vacen Taylor focused more on the action instead of the descriptions. Everything was written briskly and yet the action and adventures were exciting to read about. It was really enjoyable to read about and the adventures were nice and imaginative.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book but I can't give it a full rating because I wasn't able to fully connect with the characters and for a while the story as well. I liked the story the more I read it and I give it 4 out of 5 stars!