Knightmare Arcanist by Shami Stovall

July 18, 2019 By 5 Comments


Knightmare Arcanist by Shami Stovall
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Length: Full Length (360 pgs)
Rated: 5 stars
Review by Rose

Magic. Sailing. A murderer among heroes.

Gravedigger Volke Savan wants nothing more than to be like his hero, the legendary magical swashbuckler, Gregory Ruma. First he needs to become an arcanist, someone capable of wielding magic, which requires bonding with a mythical creature. And he’ll take anything—a pegasus, a griffin, a ravenous hydra—maybe even a leviathan, like Ruma.

So when Volke stumbles across a knightmare, a creature made of shadow and terror, he has no reservations. But the knightmare knows a terrible secret: Ruma is a murderer out to spread corrupted magic throughout their island nation. He’s already killed a population of phoenixes and he intends to kill even more.

In order to protect his home, his adopted sister, and the girl he admires from afar, Volke will need to confront his hero, the Master Arcanist Gregory Ruma.

A fast-paced flintlock fantasy for those who enjoy How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, Unsouled (Cradle Series) by Will Wight, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan.

I stayed up way too late two nights in a row reading this book because it drew me into this world, and I didn’t want to have to leave it for anything as mundane as sleep (despite having an early morning wake up call!) The story is told from Volke’s point of view, and it was interesting to see just how badly he wanted to get out of the situation he was in and what he would do to reach his goal. I’m left wondering if the other books in the series, the other kids we get to know will get their own chance to shine.

We follow Volke, three other teens from his island home, as well as two other kids who join the same guild as apprentices after having been bonded to magical creatures – a wide variety of eldrin are described quite well – not only those of the apprentices but also the masters. Each character, human and mythical, have their own unique personality – great job on that!

The story grabbed me at the first page and kept me enthralled as I followed Volke on his quest, through heartbreak as his first plan didn’t pan out, then the excitement of discovering Plan B. There was plenty of action, but more than that, there was a great deal of character development. I am a sucker for character-driven fiction and, with Ms. Stovall’s first book in her new series, you have that in spades. I loved the characters in this book and am really looking forward to following them on their missions as part of the Frith Guild.

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Jamestowne by Tim Black

July 11, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Jamestowne by Tim Black
Tesla’s Time Travelers, #3
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Length: Short Story (137 pages)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

With Nikola Tesla at the controls, teacher Nathan Greene and the time-traveling teens journey back to 17th century Virginia to witness the founding of Jamestowne. As the famed Serbian-American scientist brings the classroom portable in for a landing, two young Native Americans witness the portable’s descent from the sky. The boy and girl quickly return to their village and the girl tells her father, Chief Powhatan, that People of the Sky have landed. Called “playful one,” Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas, is known to tell imaginative stories of her own creation. Still, as a precaution, Powhatan sends his brother and a group of warriors to investigate his daughter’s claims.

As Greene and his students trek across a grassland in the direction of the English settlers’ landing site, Chief Opechancanough and his warriors surround the time travelers and take them hostage, leading them to Powhatan’s village where Mr. Greene faces execution.

So begins the third adventure of the students of Cassadaga Area High School, whose latest trip includes meeting the famed adventurer John Smith and witnessing the beginning of the first English colony in North America, all while being chased through time by the most dangerous Native of the 17 century.

There are some parts of history that can only be rediscovered by visiting the past for yourself.

The descriptions of Powhatan culture were fascinating. I appreciated the fact that Mr. Black went into so much detail about what life in this tribe was like for people of all ages. It made it easy for me to picture what an average day for them involved and why they were so confused and irritated by some of the decisions the European characters made.

This tale never really had a clear narrator. There were a few difference characters that kept popping up regularly, but the plot moved among them without ever making it clear to the audience which perspective or perspectives we should be giving the most attention to. My preference would have been for Pocahontas to take on this role, but any main character would have done nicely as long as it was clear who was in charge of keeping the storyline moving forward.

One of the things I appreciated the most about the plot was how careful the characters were to avoid changing the past. This is always a temptation with time travel, but it’s terribly risky. I liked the fact that the characters were aware of that risk and did everything they could to let history unfold the way it had in our timeline regardless of how much they wished they could change certain things.

This is part of a series, but it can be read as a standalone work.

Jamestowne should be read by adult and young adult history buffs alike.

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The Jumble Sale by Lily Rose

July 10, 2019 By Leave a Comment


The Jumble Sale by Lily Rose
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (68 pages)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Zadi is part zombie, part fairy with a little bit of robot, which makes her a misfit monster. She lives with other misfit monsters, with their quirky parts in their makeshift town. They survive by hunting at the nearby hunting grounds taking items discarded by humans and making them into something useful. Hunting is risky because they could be captured by humans. Zadi is an excellent hunter and maker, but now she’s finding it difficult.Something unusual has happened. There have been no new deliveries to the hunting grounds. This means there are no new items which can be used to recycle into something useful, and they are beginning to worry and fight with each other. Can Zadi come up with a plan which will help the misfit monsters and bring them together as a community? Enter the world of the misfit monsters, their quirky lives, and be part of their fun and adventures.

Anyone who wants to do well in this world needs to be able to adapt quickly to new circumstances.

One of the first things that attracted me to the blurb was the references to the characters having ancestry from a wide variety of different types of creatures. I truly enjoyed seeing what the author thought someone would be like if, for example, they were part zombie, fairy, and robot. There was so much creativity woven in these moments that they made me curious to see what Ms. Rose will come up with next. I’d definitely like to see more of her ideas in the future.

With that being said, the cast of characters for this story was so huge I had a lot of trouble remembering who everyone was. There were something like fifteen different individuals featured in the plot. At less than seventy pages, there simply wasn’t enough room for all of them to get a fair chance to shine in the storyline or for the audience to get to know who they were. This would have worked much better as either a full-length novel or a series of short stories that focused on a few characters at a time in my opinion.

The world building was well done. Zadi and the other misfit monsters lived in a society that relied on human trash to survive but that also wanted as little to do with humans as possible. These sometimes contradictory rules lead to all sorts of interesting developments in how they spent their time. I can’t go into a great deal of detail about this without giving away spoilers, but I did enjoy the vivid imagery of what her culture looked like.

I’d recommend The Jumble Sale to anyone who enjoys creative science fiction.

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The Magical Meniscus by GranRan

July 8, 2019 By Leave a Comment


The Magical Meniscus by GranRan
Publisher: NuSaga Press
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (150 pages)
Age Recommendation: 8+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

In Fairytale Land, there lives a gentle-hearted cyclops known as Cleo who wears bells on his large toes. Headaches plague the one-eyed giant, causing Cleo problems at work, at home, and with his girlfriend, Nellie. The migraines force Cleo to seek help from a powerful wizard. He must battle witches, ogres, and a bog creature. Will perseverance and determination be enough for Cleo to fix his headaches and win true love from Nellie? This tale includes sixteen illustrations.

Some heroes come from unexpected places.

As someone who dealt with many stubborn headaches when I was growing up, it was so cool to read a story about a character who had the same problem. This isn’t something that’s talked about much in children’s fiction, but I would have loved to read about it when I was a kid. It was nice to see some representation for this health issue, especially since Cleo’s headaches kept coming back and resisted so many of the different cures he tried for them.

This is a minor criticism, but it would have been helpful to have more descriptions in this story. The plot itself was a great deal of fun to read. What it was missing were more detailed descriptions of the characters and setting. I knew what the personalities of the characters were like and what it might feel like to visit the places they saw, but I wasn’t so clear on what they all physically looked like. If not for this, I would have easily gone for a five-star rating as everything else about it was quite well done.

One of my favorite things about this tale was how self-aware it was. There were a few times when certain characters made comments that let the reader know that these individuals knew they were in a fantasy setting and had some idea of what generally happens in those worlds. This is something I always enjoy reading about, so it was a real treat to realize that I’d stumbled across yet another book that managed to both remain true to its genre and poke gentle fun at itself at the same time.

I’d recommend The Magical Meniscus to anyone who enjoys fantasy that includes a slightly modern twist to it.

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Cyber Sprite by J.S. Frankel

June 27, 2019 By 2 Comments


Cyber Sprite by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Devine Destinies
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (252 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Jake Cullen, a disabled teen novelist, is contacted from the great cyber beyond by a person who calls herself Miranda.

It turns out that Miranda isn’t a hacker, but an AI program, a free-roaming, independent program that can go anywhere and do anything it likes within the confines of cyberspace. Jake finds her creator, Doctor Helena Schreiber, and receives the greatest gift—a way to link up to her creation, Miranda.

Jake enters the internet and finds a cyber world that’s much like our own, but more so. He and Miranda go exploring together, and also find out they’re more into each other than they thought possible.

While all is fun and games at first, trouble looms in the form of Marvin Throckmorton, Schreiber’s former employer. He’s aware that Doctor Schreiber has created a sentient program, and he wants it.

To that end, he sends his enforcers to coerce the information out of Jake, and they attack him and threaten his life and the life of his mother.

What he does not know is Doctor Schreiber’s ultimate goal—to make her creation more human. Jake also has a goal—to survive. With Miranda’s help, he finds a way to fight back and discovers just where he truly belongs.

Nothing is impossible online.

One of the things I appreciate the most about Mr. Frankel’s writing is how his tales discuss characters who have physical or mental health problems that impact what they’re able to do. He has always written those scenes with a strong sense of compassion, and this book continued that trend. The best parts of it to me were the ones that showed how Jake dealt with his disabilities. He had more than one diagnosis, and all of his diagnoses affected him every day in ways that I couldn’t have guessed ahead of time. This is one of the many reasons why I enjoy this author’s work so much and why I continue recommending it to everyone I know who reads the young adult genre.

Not only was there a great deal of character development for Jake, the ways he changed as a person made perfect sense. No one can roam the Internet without learning and growing in some way, especially when all of their senses are telling them that everything they’re seeing, touching, and hearing is as real as our world. The only slight adjustment I would have made to this part of the plot would be to do a little bit more with Miranda’s character development as well. She did change, too, but I would have loved to see a few more scenes showing how her relationship with Jake had an influence on this. With that being said, this was something I barely noticed. I still had a fantastic time following their adventures.

The world building was spectacular. I especially enjoyed seeing what happened to Jake after he entered the Internet. How the human mind might adapt to such an experience is something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about, and I was fascinated by the way Jake’s mind adapted to a digital world. There were a few plot twists concerning this that made me grin. They couldn’t have been written better, although I’ll leave it up to all of you to figure out what they were for yourselves.

Cyber Sprite was a wonderful tale I’d recommend to anyone who has ever had a problem that they know will be permanent.

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Dreamland: A Ghost Story by Nick Clausen

June 25, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Dreamland: A Ghost Story by Nick Clausen
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Middle Grade, Horror, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (162 pages)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Some nightmares never end
In his sleep, Louie starts visiting a magical world where he meets his father, who died when Louie was still a baby. But nothing turns out to be what it seems, and great horrors loom very close by …

Welcome to Dreamland

A magical ghost story about fear, loss and losing yourself in dreams, Dreamland was originally published in Danish to great reviews, and is now available in English.

For fans of Coraline, Un Lun Dun and Alice in Wonderland, this book will appeal to young and grown-up readers alike, as it takes you on a journey both magical, mysterious and emotional.

Not every dream is necessarily going to be a cheerful one.

The world building was well done. Dreamland, the magical place Louie visited while he slept, was particularly nicely written. There were layers to it that weren’t revealed until quite late in the timeline. I enjoyed exploring what this place was like and seeing how the main character responded to it when he realized that his first impression of it wasn’t necessarily right.

I would have liked to see some more attention paid to the ending. The narrator described everything so quickly that I wasn’t entirely sure I understood how everything worked and why things turned out the way they did. This was especially true when it came to the main conflict that Louie was trying to solve. While I was satisfied with how it was all wrapped up, a more detailed explanation would have lead to this book getting a five star review from me.

A few different genres were mixed together in this story. I liked seeing how the author gently combined everything, especially when it came to the scenes that lead me to mark this as horror. With only about a hundred and sixty pages to work with, Mr. Clausen had to be creative with how he wove everything together. This is something that would work best for fans who like getting a little bit of everything in a plot instead of concentrating on one specific type of storytelling.

I’d recommend Dreamland: A Ghost Story to anyone who enjoys paranormal tales.

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Junior Paranormal Investigators: The Haunting of Room 909 by Michael James

June 24, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Junior Paranormal Investigators: The Haunting of Room 909 by Michael James
Publisher: Hollow Hills
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (85 pages)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Summer is usually a time of fun and games for most children, but Hanna and Ben Littleton are not your average eleven and twelve-year-old. Their father is Percy Littleton, a famous paranormal investigator, and this summer they are traveling to different locations to investigate unexplained phenomena. Things are rather boring until they stop at Castleridge Hotel.

Though warned by their father not to meddle in his investigation, the brother and sister are convinced they can prove their worth as true investigators. Their eagerness soon turns to terror when Hanna begins having visions about a certain former employee of the hotel, the elevator takes them to the ninth floor on its own, and ghosts interact with them. The building seems to have a mind of its own as Hanna and Ben are forced to figure out what really happened one hundred years ago at Castleridge Hotel, before the spirits trapped inside decide to make them permanent residents.

Some ghosts simply aren’t ready to live this realm yet.

The explanation of why Room 909 had become haunted was thorough and wonderfully scary for its middle grade audience. I appreciated all of the time the author spent in building up the audience’s expectations of what might have happened there while also giving us small pieces of the puzzle in various scenes. It was nice to have so many details about the origins of this haunting.

It would have been nice to know what Ben, Hanna, and their dad looked like. The ghosts were described with a lot of detail, but the same thing wasn’t true for the living characters. Based on the book cover, I assumed they were Caucasian, but even something as simple as their race wasn’t mentioned in the plot itself. I sure would have liked to know if they were tall or short, wore glasses, were covered in freckles, had curly hair, or had any number of other physical characteristics that could help me picture what they looked like, too.

Hanna and Ben were such brave kids. Some of their paranormal experiences would have frightened people who were decades older than them, so I was impressed by how persistent they were during this case. They did a great job piecing the clues together and continuing to try to figure out what happened no matter how unpredictable their ghostly opponents were. The final scene made it sound like this is part of a series, so I’ll be curious to find out what might happen next to Ben and Hanna when they meet their next ghost.

I’d recommend Junior Paranormal Investigators: The Haunting of Room 909 to anyone who enjoys a good haunting.

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Dark Lands: War of the Sentinels by Lyn I. Kelly

June 20, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Dark Lands: War of the Sentinels by Lyn I. Kelly
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Heat Level: Sweet
Length; Full length (307 pages)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Welcome to the Dark Lands…again. In one explosive instant Sundown Thompson has found herself lost in the Dark Lands past, a world with which she is both familiar and estranged. The Willkeeper has no record of her. The Glorian Council does not recognize her. And the names Webb, Raven, Caleb, and Just Jake mean nothing to those around her. In the third book of Lyn I. Kelly’s Dark Lands series Sundown must tenuously navigate between a future she knows all too well and a past not prepared for what is coming. All the while an unrestrained evil known as Hekla, born during the living world’s creation, marches across the centuries intent on entering the Dark Lands and claiming what he perceives as his birthright. With horrors from Sundown’s future finding their way across time, she and her new allies, some familiar, some new, must stop these nightmarish intercessions before the past and future collide and the Dark Lands is irreparably marred.

Having read the first two books in the series, this third is my favorite so far, even better than the others. The author has continued an exciting story of a brother and sister in the afterlife dealing with a great evil. We learn more about Sundown and her brother Webb, but this installment is Sundown’s chance to shine. She is a great character and really grows during her time in this story.

Sundown was pulled from a battle in the last book, trying to save her brother, but something went terribly wrong. Sundown woke up…in the past. What happens there is fascinating. She discovers an awesome new talent and more hidden inner strength. She meets with the ruling council but cannot tell them what she knows about the future. Here, she meets younger versions of some of the people she knew in her present (in this afterworld). Readers are treated to the inside scoop of some of those interesting characters. They add a lot to the story, and there are some very touching moments, especially with a new, young character. Different types of relationships are explored in this story, adding depth. There are moments of exquisite happiness and others that are heartbreaking. The good and the bad alike have well-written backstories.

The tension escalates throughout the novel to an explosive end (cliff-hanger). Important people are lost in this book, but underneath this sadness, readers will wonder what actually became of them. Hopefully the next book will answer that important question, as it gives a sense of hope that maybe all is not lost for them.

There are some intriguing turns of fate and paradoxes, and the world-building, like in the previous books, is done by the hand of an artist. The author does a great job revealing things little-by-little while at the same time increasing the suspense of the story. It is clearly written, even with the complications time travel can bring. Symbolism is done well and really paints a picture, adding to the somber mood. Dialogue is realistic. This is a great third part to the series, and I look forward to the conclusion. I recommend this book.

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NUTSI Wants to Catch the Moon by Emma Paidge

May 24, 2019 By Leave a Comment


NUTSI Wants to Catch the Moon by Emma Paidge
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Childrens, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 3+
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

NUTSI has a terrible secret. He asks his friend Lili for help. Meet our two little squirrels in a beautiful story with the funny stuffed hazelnut.

Every problem has a solution if you look hard enough for it.

There was so much empathy in this tale. Nutsi’s secret had to do with something that kids can often be embarrassed about. I won’t give away what it was in this review, but I will say that I was impressed with how kind Lili was after he shared his problem with her. Her reaction was exactly how I’d hope any child, or in this case a squirrel, would be treated after admitting something that was such a sensitive topic to them. She was a wonderful role model.

Only one thing held me back from giving this a perfect rating, and it had to do with what Nutsi and Lili did in order to help him fight his fear. Their plan involved the two of them leaving the house late at night without telling anyone where they went. If this had been written for an older audience, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it. With that being said, the importance of not going out alone, especially at night, would be something I’d want to talk about with a child this age after reading this story to them. While it’s a great way to get a plot moving, it’s also something I’d want to make sure the preschoolers in my life weren’t going to try to imitate.

Ms. Paidge has a vivid imagination that shone through every scene. I appreciated all of the plot twists she included. They were obviously tailored to young children, but they were so unique when compared to most of the other picture books I’ve read over the years that I’ll be keeping this author in mind for the next time someone asks for a recommendation for this age group. She knows how to keep her audience on their toes in a good way, and it shows.

NUTSI Wants to Catch the Moon was an adorable adventure that I’d recommend to kids of all ages.

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Matthias: The Ghost of Salvation Point by Jodi Auborn

May 20, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Matthias: The Ghost of Salvation Point by Jodi Auborn
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (197 pages)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Ten-year-old Dylan is excited when his father inherits an old lighthouse and cottage in Maine. Dylan and his family get to live there all summer! He goes sailing on the bay, explores the small town down the road, and searches for a legendary pirate treasure that was said to be buried nearby. After mysterious things start happening at the cottage, Dylan meets Matthias, a gruff lighthouse keeper who had died in a storm one hundred years before. A ghost! Dylan is startled to find Matthias living in his bedroom, but he is glad when they become friends. It’s the best summer ever! Things change when they learn that the lighthouse is threatened by a greedy treasure hunter who also knows about the pirate legend. He will do whatever it takes to find the treasure…even kidnapping! As Dylan and Matthias team up to protect their home, they begin an adventure that changes Dylan’s life forever.

There’s nothing like spending the summer in a haunted cottage.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about this story was how much attention it paid to Matthias’ personality. Just like the living, he didn’t react the same way to everyone he met. Some people got along with him well, while others saw a scarier side to his personality. There were reasons for these shifts that were explained in the plot, but I appreciated the fact that the resident ghost developed individual relationships with every person who crossed his path. It made me even more curious to see why he’d stuck around after death and what would happen to him in the end.

There was a small plot hole involving how much Dylan’s dad knew about the famous ghost in his hometown that I wish had been explained better. Some scenes made it seem as though the dad knew almost nothing about this piece of folklore despite spending his whole childhood in the tiny town of Salvation Point. Other scenes appeared to hint that he knew far more than Dylan realized. While this wasn’t something that I spent too much time worrying about, it would have been nice to know for sure what the dad knew, when he knew it, and why he stayed so quiet at first about the paranormal rumors about the cottage they were staying at.

Dylan was such a likable kid. He assumed the best in just about everyone he met, and he did a wonderful job of entertaining him in what was a pretty isolated, quiet place to stay for a family who had two active kids. While he definitely had his share of flaws, I appreciated the fact that they were balanced out with so many positive character traits. He’s definitely someone I’d want to explore a haunted house with.

Matthias: The Ghost of Salvation Point was a friendly paranormal tale that I’d recommend to kids and adults alike.

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