Magical Riddles Book One: Shaking Palace

Author Raju Vashishta has created an enchanting world full of mystery and adventure. Magical Riddles Book One: Shaking Palace is a fantastical children’s novel that keeps the reader’s interest from beginning to end. In the land of Magija, four clever students are selected to solve the mystery of the Shaking Palace. Cole, Isis, Henry and Amber are charged with this mission to restore the land of Galdur to its former glory and bring prosperity to their friends and family. To accomplish this and restore King Blain to his throne, they must complete a series dangerous tasks and puzzling riddles.

Shaking Palace takes you on a twisting journey full of suspense and action. Vashishta draws the reader into the magical world of Galdur and the student’s mission with clean, detailed writing. Each chapter moves the reader effortlessly toward learning the mystery of the Shaking Palace. The students’ journey progresses at a consistent pace to keep your attention and keep you wondering what is coming next. You are invited to come along with the students’ and solve the riddles as they encounter them. The intelligent story keeps you intrigued with each interesting and unpredictable turn.

Shaking Palace is perfect for young readers who love magical fantasy stories. Although the young main characters are involved in a mystical undertaking, they are easy to connect with because they remain true teenagers. Not only are they intelligent and witty, capable of solving one problem after another, but they also dealt with identifiable teenage problems, such as angst and jealousy. I would recommend this book to pre-teens, but would not be surprised if their parents were equally as interested in the thrilling outcome of the story. I am interested to read what Vashishta cooks up for the second installment of the Magical Riddles series.