Of Starlight and Midnight

This stand-alone novel takes place in modern day Norway and also travels to the realm of the Norse gods, a hidden magical world of elves who use light and shadow. The elves’ different abilities have led to wars, and now tensions are rising again. Asta is a human librarian whose mother recently passed away and left her with an ancient book she doesn’t understand. Søren is an elvish assassin looking for that book of magic. When fate brings them together, and attraction sparks, they are left with the choice to fight together or against each other as the hostilities continue between the elvish kingdoms. Kuivalainen incorporates Norse mythology into the interesting premise, telling the story from multiple perspectives that reveal the many layers of the plot. Abrupt scenes and underdeveloped characters, however, may leave readers spinning from some rushed plot points.