Arriving on bookshelves in October, Road of the Lost by Nafiza Azad is a story ten years in the making! Set in a fantasy world of faes, brownies, kings and queens, readers will be enthralled as they journey with Croi through the Otherworld.

Croi is a brownie living in the human world. She visits the human city often from her home in the Wilde Forest and causes mischief since she is glamoured to be invisible to humans. One day, while helping to save her beloved stone maid, she sets in motion events that will not only change her but the fate of the Otherworld as well.

Nafiza Azad has expertly crafted a world of magic for readers. Throughout the story, readers, along with Croi, meet all manner of different creatures and are always left questioning who is friend and who is foe. There is a mystery that weaves throughout the whole story of Croi’s true identity. When we first meet her she is a mischievous brownie but she begins to change, shape shifts throughout her journey due to the Glamouring spell she has been under for seventeen years. Road of the Lost is the first fae story I have read so it took me a minute to get into the world and understand its inner workings but thankfully the author expertly guided me along the way.

Nafiza Azad has included everything one could want in a great YA fantasy. There is mystery and suspense, love, families with deep dark secrets and a world that needs saving. The protagonist is naive but has courage and strength. There are times when you want to yell at the pages and times when you want to scream in triumph. The writing is accessible and I really loved the dual personality aspect, when we learn that Croi is two halves with an inner dialogue and an outer dialogue. That element fit seamlessly into the story and was easy to navigate.

Nafiza Azad ends the story with a bit of a conclusion but a lot of questions so I hope this is just the start of a YA fantasy series and I cannot wait to read what happens next.