Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Every life has a story. Even the secondary characters in a fictional novel have a story to tell. Albina is one of these secondary characters, but her story is worth telling, too. And what better way to tell Albina’s story than in her own words, as a memoir, from her earliest memories until adulthood. There must be more, but this in itself paints a picture of a fascinating character that will find her place in several fictional novels situated in fictional settings in a fictional world, in a fictional time.

Aleksandra Layland has written several novels (and children’s novellas) in The Windflower Saga series, taking a fictional world, Kimbria and Pomerania and many other communities around the Great Aspatrian Sea. Most of the Windflower Saga stories capture the growing power of the royal Ansgar family of Kimbria. But, as so often is the case, some characters capture the author’s attention and demand that their stories be told in greater detail. This is what happened. Albina captured the author’s attention and her story was revealed. Albina: A Windflower Saga Novella is Albina’s story and, by allowing Albina to tell her own story, the author has given her story more character, more life.

This sweet young girl, the only daughter of two other characters in The Windflower Saga series, Tribune Loris Kennet and Lady Keridwen, the former Duchess of Ansgar, grows up, matures and shows a brilliance in science that takes her far in her studies and her research, all for the benefit of her people. She is also portrayed as a very sweet-natured and caring young lady. A charmer. Through friendships gained and friendships lost, and romantic challenges of the heart, Albina is a very lovable character full of zest for life and her story, as much as is told in this short novella, makes the reader want to know more about her and her adventures. A pleasant read.