4 out of 5 stars
Book by Mandi Oyster
Magic, prophecies… and a demon!
Dacia Wolf just wants a normal beginning for her freshman year in college. Her unique abilities – unexplainable fires, weather changes, and earth tremors – have made everyone fear her back at home, including her own parents.
Dacia is keen for a fresh start with her best friend Cody Hawks, the only person she feels safe enough to be herself with, but when her powers surface in class, she draws the attention of Dean Aspen. The Aspen’s are the protectors of a prophecy, and the Dean believes Dacia is the key to saving the world from a menacing demon.
Plunged into a world where magic exists and monsters are real, Dacia must learn to control her powers and find a way to return the demon to the Abyss.
Mandi Oyster’s Dacia Wolf & the Prophecy is the first novel in the Dacia Wolf series, a YA adventure filled with magic, romance, and fantasy. Even though this book is in a college setting, the language and characters are more suitable for younger readers of the YA fan base. Dacia is a young girl with self-esteem issues, finding her place in the world not only as a young woman, but as a saviour to an ancient prophecy. The writing is engaging and the pace works seamlessly from its slower scenes to action-packed gripping scenes.
My only criticism is that this story would have been better suited to a high school setting. Dacia and her friends Cody and Samantha come across as a little too immature for college, and the language and writing style, while engaging, just seems targeted to a younger audience. Dacia’s nemesis, Cassandra and her crew, acted and showed cruelty that were at middle school age.
Overall, Dacia Wolf and the Prophecy is an exciting YA novel for younger teenagers who love a good coming of age story filled with magic and a little darkness.