Muse of the North

By Sara Ruth Murray (Bingeable Press, 2026)

Genre: Fiction – Fantasy

Via: Author request

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.

“Love is there to help and protect us.”

Kimber: Mom and I are Big Tolkienians. New word I just made up. It means loving all things Tolkien-ish and Middle-Earth-ish. Like The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien’s first book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Got that, Cookie? Good. Cuz our favorite character in the entire LOTR trilogy, hands down, is Samwise Gamgee. Frodo’s gardener. Sam is also our nominee for Hero of the Entire LOTR Saga Award. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say there’d be no Middle Earth, no Shire, no Gondor or Lothlorien, no Rivendell, Rohan or even Middle Earth without Sam. In fact, there’d be no Frodo without Sam. Dear, unassuming Sam. Sam the Stout-hearted. Sam the Selfless. Sam the Unstoppable.

“They are annoyingly fond of one another.”

So, when one of the main characters in The Muse of the North reminded us of our LOTR hero, we dove right in! He’s a young farm lad named Nico. Just as Sam’s story is inexorably intertwined with Frodo’s, Nico’s story is also intertwined with its heroine, Aniella. Like this:

Magic is gone. Only fear remains.

Long ago, the Fata – ancient beings of light – came from the stars to bring joy and peace to humans and magical creatures alike. But then the ruthless Queen Antea and her Dark Army destroyed the source of their power. The Fata were consequently locked away in their hidden palace, Stelleterrena, forced into an endless sleep.

Now, for those living under Antea’s merciless rule, happiness has been replaced with misery, And only thing can free the Fata – a long-forgotten melody known as The Song of the Fata.

In a small village, Aniella*, age 13, has lived her entire life in service to the queen, invisible and powerless. An orphan, Aniella is at the mercy of the cruel, tyrannical orphan mistress, Mrs. Bevilacqua. Think Cruella de Vil. Or  Miss Hannigan. This chick gives pit vipers a bad name.  (*Most commonly interpreted as a diminutive or elaborated form of Anna, carrying the core meaning “grace” or “favor.” Yeah. We checked. We’re just funny that way.)

But then a chance discovery reveals Aniella and a necklace may be keys to bringing back magic and light to the world. And everything changes.

Yea, verily. Muse of the North begins with a bang. More like a “thunderous boom” as the entrance to Stelleterrena slams shut following a desperate battle with the evil Antea and her foul mahra hordes. (Kimber: I’m seeing the White Witch like in that Pevensie kiddos wardrobe-y thingy. What?)  With the abrupt closure of the Fata palace, “the protectors of all that was right and true were hidden, locked away from the world. Hate, fear, and sadness were now free to grow and spread unchecked.”

You might call it a bad day.

But wait. It gets worse.

The scene quickly shifts to a “charity home for girls” run by a Grade AAA jerk named Mrs. Bevilacqua. Mrs. B. makes skunks looks bad. See above. Mrs. B. is in league with – big surprise – Queen Antea.  The orphanage is where the gentle and compassionate Aniella lives. So does Gordiano, the kindly orphanage cook.

But all is not well in orphan-land. Or anywhere else.

Hunted by Queen Antea and her Dark Army Elite (think Orcs), Aniella must make a dangerous journey into the unknown in search of the hidden Fata palace. With the help of a small band of misfits and outcasts, Aniella and her best friend Nico must find Stelleterrena and awaken the Fata—before darkness descends and tightens its grip forever.

Scene stealers: Ettore*, Intrepid Dog Extraordinaire (of course). The Green Man (Kimber: I’m seeing Treebeard.) Eugenio, humungous jutul with a heart of gold. (*An Italian masculine name meaning “steadfast” or “holding fast,” derived from the Greek name Hector. Yeah. We checked again. Still funny that way.)

We like, Totally Love-ified this book. It’s a little The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. A little Peter Pan. A little Narnia and Hogwarts. And a little The Fellowship of the Ring, as noted previously.

Caveats

Chapters 1 to 3 all begin on page 1. No. Really. Chapter 1 begins on page 1. Chapter 2 begins on page 1. Chapter 3 begins on page 1. Page numbers don’t become sequential until chapter four, which is 38 pages long. So total pages is anybody’s guess. Additionally, several of the chapters are overly long to the point they come within a cat’s whisker of cumbersome. Also, there are a few typos and mechanical errors here and there. Dropped commas or periods, omitted words, and misplaced quotation marks.  But these are minor and do not detract from the overall read.

Overall

This book is just Too. Much. Fun! The writing talent is formidable. Like a blade dipped in ink. A story engine that never stalls. We loved the illustrations of the main characters at the front of the book. Reminded us of another old favorite: J.M. Barrie. And that the world is more beautiful with song.

Muse of the North is the kind of story that settles into your bones and stays there. It’s a curl-up-with-a-hot-cuppa-and-a-fuzzy-blankie kinda read. Indeed, the world melts away as you step into this magical world of intrigue and adventure. Bitterness and betrayal. Courage and honor. Loyalty and love. Pages spill adventure and intrigue like a new dawn: light, rich, and alive with promise. It’ll steal your heart. Or as one of us would put it: Reading this book is like chowing down on a nice, thick New York steak with a chaser of extra crispy bacon.

We didn’t want it to end.

Our Rating: 4.0

Note: We would’ve rated this book higher except for the caveats noted above.