Wayfinder

Written by C.E. Murphy

Narrated by Em Eldridge

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE—IF IT DOESN’T KILL YOU FIRST

Lara Jansen is a truthseeker, gifted—or cursed—with the magical ability to tell honesty from lies. Once she was a tailor in Boston, but now she has crossed from Earth to the Barrow-lands, a Faerie world embroiled in a bloody civil war between Seelie and Unseelie. Armed with an enchanted and malevolent staff which seeks to bend her to its dark will, and thrust into a deadly realm where it’s hard to distinguish friend from foe, Lara is sure of one thing: her love for Dafydd ap Caerwyn, the Faerie prince who sought her help in solving a royal murder and dousing the flames of war before they consumed the Barrow-lands.

But now Dafydd is missing, perhaps dead, and the Barrow-lands are closer than ever to a final conflagration. Lara has no other choice: she must harness the potent but perilous magic of the staff and her own truthseeking talents, blazing a path to a long-forgotten truth—a truth with the power to save the Barrow-lands or destroy them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Publishing
• Release date: Jan 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094437613

C.E. Murphy

C.E. Murphy is the author of more than twenty books—along with a number of novellas and comics. Born in Alaska, currently living in Ireland, she does miss central heating, insulation and—sometimes–snow but through the wonders of the internet, her imagination and her close knit family, she’s never bored or lonely. While she does travel through time (sadly only forward, one second at a time) she can also be found online at www.cemurphy.net or @ce_murphy on Twitter

Reviews for Wayfinder

[Karen Chandler · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This storyline has a lot of adventure and twists in it.

[Sam Ashish · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The narrator's voice did not have a hint of magic in it. Totally unsuitable for this book in my opinion. So I skipped it after chapter 1

[Lori Curran · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Monotone audio but the story was fairly good. A little long and not quite predictable but not quite as fun as I hoped.

[swasha · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

More time spent world and story building. Also, different narrator.

[mary1963_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Wayfinder by C.E.Murphy One of the things I really liked about this book was that I could understand what was happening even though I had not read the book that came before it in the series. There was non stop action throughout the book. There were not too many characters and I those seemed well defined. I enjoyed the book for the most part, it was a fast read, interesting plots and view points and descriptive writing. However, it was not interesting enough for me to search out the other in the series or even others by the same author. I did not feel passionate about the characters and their problems and I did not sense that the author did either. It seemed like a rather pale book emotionally.

[sharidragon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Though I did not read the first book a prologue at the beginning of this books brought me up to date. I enjoyed the book and characters and had no problem following the story though as stated before I didn't read the first book. I enjoy C.E. Murphy's writing style and can recommend this book.

[leahsimone_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed reading the first in the Worldwalker duology, but I liked Wayfinder even better. The plot was well-paced and I found I liked the characters better this time around because we get more back story. My favorite aspect was how the characters traveled between worlds and how the time difference made for some interesting plot directions. The conclusion was satisfying and the twist at the end gave insight into a character I couldn't connect with before. My only complaint is the is the role of one of the villains. I would've liked to have been shown his motivations instead of told them. Nonetheless, stories about the Fae are some of my favorites to read and Murphy does a great job with her world building and characterization. Recommend.

[twilightblue · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received an ARC copy of this book though Early Reviewers. I had not read the first book, Truthseeker, but I didn't feel as if I missed anything. There was an prologue that filled me in on the story thus far. I got into the story right away and was interested in finding out the rest of story. Lara from Earth and therefore mortal, is a truthseeker, someone who can hear the discordance of a lie, and the sweet harmonies of the truth is found by Dafydd and elf and therefore basically immortal. Dafydd has been accused of killing his brother Merrick and needs a truthseeker in order prove his innocence and to help in the healing of Annwin, his homeland. I quite enjoyed this story, the characters where real to me, each having their on personalities and desires. Their own insecurities and strengths. The story line moved along fluidly, not rushed but quick, if you know what I mean. . All in all a good read for me.

[April Davis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

PG Fantasy Romance - Both books were a great length, had solid character development & world building. A hero's journey, young-ish adult (early 20s heroine). There's one "off book" sex scene, mentioned but not explicit in the second book Two coitus interuptus in the first book where it's stopped before it gets started. A clear HEA :)

[ladycato · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this as an ARC through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program.One of my complaints about the first book in this series, TRUTH SEEKER, is that it ended on a major cliffhanger. The good news is that the second book begins right at that point and the action is intense. Lara Jansen used to be a high-end tailor in Boston. However, she has always had an uncanny knack for discerning the truth. That ability gets her into trouble when an exiled Elven prince recognizes her as a truth seeker and begs her to return to the Barrow-lands to solve his brother's murder. Things don't go well. According to prophecy, the truth seeker is also the world breaker. Endless warfare between the seelie and unseelie has already driven their realms to ruin, and now Earth is suffering as well. It's up to Lara to figure out how the world breaker can become the world's healer as well.This book is a fast read. However, I have to repeat my opinion from my review of the first book: this series is nowhere near as good as Murphy's Walker Papers series. The intensity and chemistry just isn't there. There were also some bothersome plot holes, like how why Halfgar went to the Drowned Lands at all, how Daffyd ended up in a particular place there, and how Merrick manages to fool everyone even though it's known that his power is air and can extend to illusions. Lara is in some ways too gifted and things just happen to fall into her lap at times. That said, it's still a fun read. The action is pretty consistent and I like Daffyd as a romantic lead, though I never felt he had a chance to develop much in this book. One of the strongest aspects of this duology is the idea of truth as a sort of magic, and how it can be manipulated through white lies and expectations. That created some brilliant plot twists and I especially like how the truth is akin to beautiful music and lies are discordant notes.

[thehistorychic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Received from Library Thing Early Reviewer ProgramOverall Rating 3.75Story Rating 4.00Character Rating 3.50Note: I did not read the first book in the series. There is a recap at the beginning of the book that brings you up to date. However, I do believe I missed some connection to the characters by not reading Book 1. I am also not a huge fantasy reader but wanted to try this story. It was worth my time!What I Loved: Lara was a great leading lady to follow through Wayfinder. Her fight for love, truth, and justice (yes sounds a bit wonder womanish but she truly was searching for all those things) was really interesting to read. The ups and downs that she faced were the kind that kept you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.What I Liked: While I did not love Daffydd but I could see why Lara was drawn to him. The whole political landscape was very well done and you could draw many parallels to our world.Complaints: The pacing was a little uneven but I think that has to do with me. I am not read enough fantasy to determine if this is normal.Why I gave it a 3.75: The story was compelling and the characters were intriguing. I believe most fantasy readers would love the series!

[Angel McBrayer-Humphery · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Quite an interesting tail without the adult only thing keeps you listening/reading because of the twist and turns throughout.

[nazazael_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I recieved this book through Librarything's Early Reviewer. I hadn't read the first book and was very glad that there was an update at the beginning of this book about what had taken place in the first book. I hope that for other readers who might pick this book up with out having read the first one that that makes it into the final printing.I enjoyed this book very much the characters are well developed and the action is paced well. I do wish I had read the first book though because when the climax takes place I felt I had missed something. The character who is the "big Bad" in the story is the only character I felt I didn't really know, and I wonder if he was more developed in the first novel. All in all I recommend this as a good action romance sci-fi book, but I think when referring people to it I will suggest they read both.

[morphidae_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In a lot of children's stories, I find an annoying plot device I call "it just so happens." Right when a person or item or locale is needed, it shows up - just in the nick of time. With this story, its evil brother occurs far too often. When things start to go right for the heroes, something awful happens. Again and again and again. Also, I felt at times that the author wasn't playing tricks just on the characters, but me. Lastly, the plotting felt disjointed and episodic. The story was mostly saved by Murphy's usual smooth writing and interesting, approachable characters.