Candlewax by C. Bailey Sims

YA Fantasy

The first lines in Candlewax caught my attention and I had to read the rest of the story.  I received an uncorrected proof of Candlewax from NetGalley.  The book is due out April 3, 2012.  Here is the opening:

"The fairrier cat’s whiskers tingled.  This never failed to annoy him, for it meant his concentration had faltered.”

Pokos, the fairrier cat is the size of a horse and is 732 years old.  In the land he protects he is the last fairer cat in this land and he is waiting for the holder of Ancient Onyxes to join him on a journey to find and return with more of his kind. 

The holder of the Ancient Onyxes is 16-year-old Princess Catherine.  She has been told that she must marry the King of Candlewax and in an act of rebellion runs away from home.  When she and Pokos meet they start an epic journey to save two kingdoms.

This is the first book in a new series and there is a lot of world building that slows the story down somewhat.  Even so there is enough action, tension, and danger to satisfy most readers.  There is a large cast of well-developed characters who keep the action going.  One problem is solved in Candlewax but the ones that are left unresolved are ready for their own adventure.

Terabyte Press published Candlewax by C. Bailey Sims in 2012.