The Portals of Sparkling Falls

A very cute book starring a teenage girl, complicated like all teenage girls, but smart, empathetic and perceptive. After making who knows what disaster and losing her memory due to a fall, Laura ends up in a time-space portal that deposits her in Sparkling Falls. The small town seems to be taken over by the past, but if so, it is not the past she knows. Even the deity the villagers worship has nothing to do with the God she knows and has disturbingly human traits. Soon Laura discovers that she is not the only one from another reality and finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy. As her memory gradually returns, she realises that someone has been playing with space-time rather casually. Pleasantly unclassifiable, this is a genuinely show more entertaining novel and even the final hook, which hints at a sequel, does not bother. Too bad about the cover, because it is really ugly. show less

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

Sixteen-year-old Laura wakes up in a strange house with no memory of who she is. Things go from bad to worse for Laura when she is transport back in time to Sparkling Falls. She is forced to try and fit in with the Villagers while trying to find her way back home and who she is. But when a little girl goes missing it is up to Laura and her new friends to find her before it is too late.

I found this story to be very engaging. My only critiques would be that the ending felt rushed and there was an emphasis on the Christian religion that felt out of place in the story. However I enjoyed this book overall.

This book starts off interesting and gets really good about halfway through. I wasn't expecting the twist towards the end. Highly recommend as it gives us something to contemplate about where our society is heading.

"You see, the world is one unending chess match, and I play it how I please. I poke and prod to move my pieces wherever I want to, and the defiant ones who resist me, I simply remove from the board."
At the start of the Portals of Sparkling Falls, Laura (quite literally) falls into a new and mysterious world. The year is 271 and she meets a village that worships a creator called Litchfield. She gets caught up in a plot to discredit Lord Arcturus and his family. When his daughter daughter, Spicca is kidnapped, Laura heads out to try find her with the help of a few newfound friends.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to love it - I was intrigued by the concept - but is was missing something. It had a typical YA fantasy show more tone and was a little simple at times. But it was a fun read!
Laura is a highly inconsistent character. At the start of the book she reads as being far younger than she's meant to be. About halfway through she suddenly starts reading as older. I felt like it was a very sudden shift and confused me a bit. She felt almost like a different person.
I love portal fantasies and I enjoyed seeing her discover the village of Sparkling Falls. The world feels well developed, even if not a lot of details are always given. I don't quite completely understand why the amnesia subplot was so necessary though (it actually got a bit annoying at times and sometimes felt like a scapegoat). I see how it relates to a twist at the end (which I already suspected after the first interlude) but I feel like there are better ways around it.
This book becomes weirdly religion focussed with lots of mentions of God and prayer. I think it should be tagged as such as not everyone particularly wants to read about it. It didn't detract much from the story, but there were points where Christianity was discussed for a weirdly long time (especially since the inhabitants of this world worship Litchfield rather than God).
I think this book would be most enjoyed by a younger audience. I think it'd be good for readers looking for a lowish fantasy novel to start their journey into the genre. Although older readers and those who already love fantasy should enjoy it too. show less

Portals of Sparkling Falls is what publishers like to call a romp. Through a portal Laura is transported to a place where her memory is gone but she remembers technology that doesn’t exist where she is now.
She settles into life rather easily and meets another person who also came through a portal. Laura knows something is amiss when she hears about their ‘god’ who created them. When a child is kidnapped she sets off to find her following a voice in her head that tells her where to go. She decides this is an answer to her prayers. The rest of the book is an adventure that resolves all. Laura is too brave, too all-knowing, too complacent about her situation and what she has to confront. The ending which ties everything up nicely is show more too facile where everyone smiles and agrees to going into a portal with no questions. A fairly original story with a few flaws. show less

**LibraryThing Early Reviewers Win**

The Portals of Sparkling Falls is one part Sci-Fi and one part M. Night Shyamalan film to me. The main character, Laura loses her memory and ends up in a parallel world which is basically like a frontier town (something I kept thinking of was The Village).

There's something weird about where Laura has landed and she can't figure it out and the villagers aren't up to talking.

There's a mystery element built into this story as well and I think some readers will be disappointed in some scenes but don't despair! I liked this book and found the ending to be okay. I did have to read a few things over twice and that is okay too!

**All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you LibraryThing and J.S. Bailey for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This story follows a girl named Laura as she accidentally falls down a flight of stairs, causing herself to lose consciousness, along with her memory upon waking. Laura can't remember how she ended up where she is, and does some digging to find answers about who she is, if anyone should be expecting her, and so much more.

When her digging results in her stumbling through a portal into the old world of Sparkling Falls, Laura is completely overcome with a feeling of loss as she tries to navigate her new life with the hopes of finding her way back home. Should the place she came from even really be her home.

Laura is a show more truly kind hearted, empathetic girl who does right by the people around her. She is intuitive and steadfast as she faces conspiracies, portal travel malpractices, and the worship of an unusual deity.

The novel read well. Laura is an easy character to like and her journey was one that gave me hope for good people in this world. show less