Editorial review
One in the Hand
By Rhonda Parrish
Some family secrets stay buried for a reason.
Reviewed by CANREADS
Some family secrets stay buried for a reason.
Rhonda Parrish’s urban fantasy One in the Hand is a fast-paced, refreshing modern take on Norse mythology that blends ancient magic with contemporary life. When Autumn discovers that her grandmother—recently moved into a care facility—possesses a mysterious sword that certainly wasn’t packed in any moving box, she knows something is very wrong. But her grandmother is too afraid of watchful eyes and prying ears to say much, only offering cryptic warnings about change coming. And the changes are much worse than Autumn could have imagined: soon after, her grandmother is attacked, her boyfriend goes missing, and she . . . sprouts wings. Yes, you read that right—wings! Autumn must make quick sense of an even quicker moving, suddenly fantastical world. Family drama is one thing; discovering you're tangled up in Norse mythology is quite another.
Infusing modern-day life with magic, Parrish builds worlds that threaten to leap off the pages. Whether depicting Autumn’s family home, her grandmother’s residence, her workplace, or the city itself, Parrish grounds the extraordinary in the familiar. One in the Hand features a world that feels lived-in, and is the perfect launching point for the challenging and sometimes heartbreaking journey that awaits Autumn.
Parrish also demonstrates a keen sense of pacing. While the book starts out slower than what the urban fantasy genre can often be associated with, Parrish deftly threads elements of mythology, family drama, and multi-layered plot points to create a cohesive and exciting novel. The story takes its time to establish the world, character voices, and important plot beats from the first chapters. Although this means that, initially, some plot points can feel slow—especially after the inciting sword manifestation—it also means that the story carefully builds to the main conflict, and each revelation feels well-deserved.
While One in the Hand features a plot that is hard to set aside, the main characters are undoubtedly a treasure as well. Particularly, Autumn’s sharp inner monologue anchors the book, providing an engaging hero readers can’t help but root for: when her world turns upside down, she fights back with everything she’s got. Wings may change Autumn's future, but it's her resilience that makes her soar. While she and her grandmother can at times outshine other characters, both of them deeply enrich the story as powerful female leads navigating complex lives.
Fans of Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series will love the magic realism of One in the Hand. Like Clare, Parrish has crafted a pulse-pounding, original urban fantasy story that feels both immersive and addictive. With its engaging storytelling, memorable heroine, and delicious worldbuilding, One in the Hand introduces its audience to an exciting and folklore-rich tale that will leave its reader base hungry for more. By the final page, one thing is certain: some inherit money, Autumn inherits a mythological crisis. And now that Autumn is armed with a new sword and wings, her story is far from over yet.
—CANREADS BOOK REVIEW
Published by Poise and Pen Publishing