Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call

By: Jodine Turner
Publisher: TAG Publishing, LLC
Release Date: August 2011
ISBN: 978-1-9346-0629-2
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: august 2011 

The magical, mystical Glastonbury - with its Arthurian ties, as well as biblical ones - is always a fantastic location for a novel. And this author has certainly done the ‘myths and legends’ absolute justice with her imaginative and incredible story.

Readers stand beside Sharay Kallah, a teenager who is going through a ‘raw’ deal. Her parents passed away in a horrific car accident a while back, and her horrible Aunt and Uncle showed up immediately to take over her care. Now, Auntie is more than a bit mean. Of course, she has an ulterior motive for being Sharay’s caretaker that goes well beyond capturing the fortune that was left behind by Sharay’s parents. The first order of business? Auntie has Sharay sitting in front of a court psychiatrist trying to get her locked up in a mental facility and declared ‘crazy.’

Sharay is anything but crazy. Sharay comes from a very long line of Priestesses who guard many secrets, mysteries, and relics. Sharay’s Mom had “second sight,” and was in line to become the High Priestess of the Red Well. In fact, there are a great many things that Sharay’s mother was set up to accomplish but, with her death, her sister Phoebe was the next in line to receive an ancient talisman, an ancient destiny, and take a journey that must be taken in order for the real and mythical worlds to survive. However, when the priestesses got together, they decided that Phoebe was just not the right woman to count on and they passed the High Priestess job over to Rosheen. Rosheen is a priestess who will keep everything safe until she can get Sharay out of her Aunt’s control in order to train her for the destiny that is hers and hers alone.

Having to escape from a mental hospital is not exactly easy, but Sharay soon finds that she’s not alone. An elderly named Dillon Emrys - who is a bard from the mystical world - has a link to Sharay that she doesn’t quite understand as of yet. Sharay knows a little about the Goddess and the visits that she makes to Sharay, but when this old man speaks a line and a language that only Sharay knows, she comes to the conclusion that she must get out of the hospital and head to the place that needs her the most.

Rosheen waits at Little St. Michael’s Retreat House, which is a four-hundred-year-old cottage that is located in Glastonbury by the Chalice Well (a location that is said to be the final resting place of the Chalice used at the Last Supper); and in the shadow of the Tor (which still remains the gateway to God, as well as other Arthurian legends that all readers HAVE to research because they are absolutely cool). Along her journey to get to Rosheen, Sharay and her bard are joined by the bard’s grandson - a young man who definitely has a future that is inexorably linked to young Sharay.

From a talisman that has been stolen, to an Aunt who turned from Priestess to angry, back-stabbing witch over time, Sharay must find a way to learn the ways of the Priestesses, help the Goddess, save humanity, deal with first love, and stay hidden from an Aunt on a black-hearted mission. Being Book I is a very good thing where this adventure is concerned because the plot, characters, dialogue, and wonderful historical research offered by this author is beyond captivating.

Quill Says: There are many magical stories out there in the publishing industry, but this is one author who has created a new fresh mythical tale that readers will love.