PSA: Fantasy title that might be worth a read.

I stumbled across an author I'm unfamiliar with today, Daniel Arenson. I love a good fantasy and if it's by a new author, all the better. The title, Firefly Island, caught my eye. I wasn't too keen on the cover, I think it's a tad cheesy, but I never judge a book by it's cover.

I read the brief blurb:

A cruel king, his flesh made of stone, tyrannizes the enchanted Firefly Island. No sword or arrow can harm him. Aeolia, a servant girl, can magically share feelings and senses... even pain. Only she, by hurting herself, can hurt the mad monarch. But can she save the island from his grasp?

Ok, my first thought was, "her name sounds way too much like areola to me." I admit to wondering if it was YA at first. Even though the blurb didn't give me the WOW factor, I was still interested so I popped over to his site and read the prologue and first chapter. Two immediate things put my reader radar up, first, every time I read the girl's name I couldn't help but think "nipple". Second, the behavior of the ten year old brother struck me as unbelievable, but sometimes that happens when you don't know the character. Even though these two points stuck out a little, they are both items I can put aside. As I develop a link with the character, I will stop thinking of her as something from anatomy class and think of her as a person. Once I get to see the brother's character, his behavior in the prologue will fall into place for me as a reader.

So far, the writing is fairly tight. The premise is definitely interesting and I like the glimpses into this new world. The book is released in hardcover in August. I have added it to my "to be read" pile because I'm interested enough in the story and the first two chapters hooked me enough that now I must satisfy my curiosity.