"Autumn Eternal" - Middle grade fantasy book review

Fast Facts:

Title: "Autumn Eternal" (Book One of the Fantastical Stories Told Beneath the Willow Tree)
Author: Kyle Bagsby
​Genre: Middle-grade Fantasy
Rating: 5 stars 

A refreshing adventure filled with courageous characters and mischievous creatures that will capture the hearts of young readers (and older!).

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"Kip looked at Marleigh. 'What should we do?' he asked in a hushed tone. 
'This.' She grabbed the door knocker and let it fall."
-Autumn Eternal

I picked up "Autumn Eternal" a little biased... I LOVE THE FALL! For my #authorconfession folks, you know I love pumpkin EVERYTHING.

But in all seriousness...

Keep in mind this review is for a book that is classified as middle-grade, but even as an adult, I genuinely enjoyed this book, and I'm holding onto it tight until I can pass it down to my youngin'... "Autumn Eternal" is about a shaggy-haired boy named Kip whose curiosity and courage sucks him into an adventure he never anticipated! The story takes place in a town where it's consistently fall and birds moo. Yes. Moo. This story is plenty creative with quirky creatures, witches, and a mysterious book. What I appreciate most is that the author is able to create refreshing concepts through impressive prose. There were some repetition, but it was done purposefully like "the second from the bottom step that hardly counted as a step at all". Well placed patterns makes it ideal for the target audience. The strongest aspect about this book are the descriptions. Every page was filled with vivid details that indulge every sense. It immersed me in the fictional town of Arno.

This book is independently published, and it impresses me like a book from a major publishing house. Sure, I could put on my editor's hat and nit-pick small things (i.e. quotations, capitalizations); however, I don't usually consider those in my book reviews unless it impacts the quality significantly (and in this case, no). Looking at overall content, I can say this is truly a gem.

I don't want to neglect another wonderful aspect- the illustrations (done by Yevhen Kerpenko). There are beautiful ink drawings throughout the story. 
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True, this is a middle-grade book, and I'm almost thirty (DON'T REMIND ME!!!!!!!!); however, I can say with confidence that this is a GREAT read for youngins or just those young at heart. Oh, and the epilogue leaves a tantalizing hint for another adventure in the next book. Which, by the way, I am definitely ordering when it's released. Bagsby is a talented author to keep an eye on.

Peace! J.E.