Inspirational Wink and the Altogether Extraordinary Notebook - Delaney Evers - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Delaney Evers

GENRE: Cosy Fantasy

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A cosy fantasy adventure with a sixty-year-old protagonist and a whole horde of magical creatures. A fun read when you want something sweet and salty at the same time. Loved it!

Story Synopsis:

Sixty-year-old Inspirational Wink has always lived an ordinary life with her ordinary family in the ordinary town of Whisper. She has rarely wondered what lay beyond the Three Creek Bridge at the end of the town; her soul has always been happy in its routine.

This changes after the death of her father Steadfast. Her widowed mother Belladonna, though grieving the loss of her beloved husband, hands Inspirational an important task of retrieving the Notebook of Whim, which Belladona had stashed in a secret safe place somewhere in Mirror City many years ago. Inspirational knows that she doesn’t have the choice of refusing this mission, or else her mother will keep nagging her. So she sets off, accompanied by a pink horse, a shapeshifting otter, a “fixer” elf and a hired orc. Along the way, the motley crew meets more than its fair share of adventures and dangers, but they trudge along united and focussed, because the missing notebook, unlike Inspirational Wink, is ‘altogether extraordinary.’

The story comes to us mostly in the third person perspective of Inspirational Wink.

Bookish Yays:

✨ I loved the eponymous character! Of course, considering she was fond of rational thinking and keen to stay within her comfort zone, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I found her my kindred spirit. 😄 Inspirational is truly inspirational, right from her attitude towards her family, to her approach towards dangerous situations, to her ability to keep her head even in times of panic. It is a treat to see her naiveté disappear as the story proceeds.

✨ It is amazing to see such a great representation of a senior character, especially considering the genre. At sixty, Inspirational is not a typical lead you see in a cosy fantasy. But the author makes her as realistic as possible, without making her sound like a senile geriatric with one foot in the grave. The portrayal is spot on, with Inspirational being as active and strong as her work on the farm would have made her, but feeling tired, sleepy or hungry after a day’s worth of adventure. I loved the age rep.

✨ The character names are so quirky! In what book would you find a cast with names such as Inspirational Wink, Bruise, Regret, Left Ear, Steadfast, Before and After?! The names steal the show with their wackiness.

✨ With such whimsical names, is it any surprise that the characters are also appealing? I loved Inspirational Wink’s group, right from Bruise the Orc to Fleet the mouse. They were an eclectic bunch, and their bond and their repartee was a joy to read. To put it in Bruise’s dorky style, “a bit of a charming gang, this one.”

✨ Despite the overall lightness of the writing, there are dark and dangerous scenes as well. These are mostly written at a casual level of intensity. The real danger is visible on page only during one important action sequence in the second half. This might be dissatisfying for adult fans of darker fantasies. But to cosy fantasy lovers and fantasy dabblers, this approach makes the content palatable as the gory stuff stays behind the scenes.

✨ The plot works well as an adventurous road trip to locate the titular ‘altogether extraordinary notebook’. The details of the journey are as real as a fictional tale can be, including mentions of tiredness, hygiene issues, and hunger pangs. I loved the ordinary realism of their journey. (Which is quite ironic as no character except Inspirational Wink is “ordinary”!)

✨ Most of the plot is straightforward, but the fun lies in the details. Though we know that the journey can have only a happy conclusion, the path leading to that satisfying destination isn’t always guessable. And even when it is, the characters make the ride worth it.

✨ Despite the older mc, the book works well as a coming-of-age story, with many life lessons for all. The journey to retrieve the missing book is a journey of self-awareness and growth for many of the characters.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

💫 There is a whole variety of fantastical characters in this little book. We have the usual familiars such as fairies, dragons, gnomes, orcs, trolls, dwarves, shapeshifters, witches, and so on. And we also have an equally lengthy list of characters that have sprung from the author’s imagination. While I loved most of the characters, a part of me feels like the number of distinct creatures was too high. Some of the creatures could have been repeated instead of having a new one in every new action scene.

💫 Inspirational Wink is known by her pet name, ‘Good Idea’. So for most of the book, she is called ‘Good Idea’ by her family and friends, and ‘Inspirational Wink’ in formal settings. I love her actual name, though her nickname also suited her well. I would have preferred her to be called ‘Inspirational’ throughout the book.

💫 The story is divided into four broad sections. Each section is announced in a grand way, with an image containing the section number and an indication of its content. You could say that these contain spoilers. But as I said, the story is quite predictable, so these just add to the cutesy factor.

All in all, this is a delightful adventure filled with endearing characters and loads of magic. As the story is cutesy and even cheesy at times, I wouldn’t recommend it to those looking for a dark fantasy or an intense reading experience. The vibe of the book is exactly as the cover suggests – tongue-in-cheek fun.

Definitely recommended to lovers of cosy fantasies. It would also be great to those wanting to try out the fantasy genre but are unsure of checking out more complicated fictional worlds – this might work great as an entry-level fantasy. Because of the clean approach towards danger and the age of the protagonist, this ought to click well for all age groups from teenagers to golden agers.

My thanks to 235 Alexander Street, the author and NetGalley for the DRC of “Inspirational Wink and the Altogether Extraordinary Notebook”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Unlike what I first assumed, this isn’t a debut work. ‘Delaney Evers’ is the pseudonym used by indie author Dee Ernst for her fantasy debut. Under her own name, she writes women’s fiction and cosy mysteries. I am going to keep an eye out for future works by this indie author, regardless of which of the two names she uses. This line on her Goodreads bio won my heart:

“Dee loved chick-lit and romantic comedy, but hated the twenty-something heroines who couldn’t figure out how to go and get what they wanted. She began to write about women like herself — older, confident, and with a wealth of life experience to draw upon.”

Yay to that! More power to self-published authors who can follow their heart without succumbing to the pressures of trad publishing.