Breed by Niki Cluff

October 2, 2018 By 1 Comment


Breed by Niki Cluff
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Full Length (191 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

A comet is set to destroy Earth, but Kyle Singer is determined to survive. Tired of being treated like a second-class citizen thanks to her perfect brother, Kyle doesn’t think twice when offered the opportunity to attend an academy formed to stop the comet. It’s not like there’s going to be much left after the comet hits, anyway. She’s drugged, shipped off to the school, and thrown into a relationship with Ichiro Seung-hun, an exchange student from South Korea. The school isn’t just about stopping the comet. It’s a breeding program for after the comet hits and wipes out the human race. Terrified of becoming a baby-making factory, Kyle and Ichiro will do whatever it takes to escape. Even if that means dying.

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When several teens are collected in a desert facility Kyle wonders why she is one of them. I liked the way the story dwelt on her inner thoughts and self doubts. I would imagine many teenagers today feel as she does even though the end of the world is not about to happen – hopefully.

Ichiro a boy from South Korea, is assigned as her flatmate but is there more to the sharing than it seems at first?

I didn’t completely understand this story but thought it would resolve itself by the end. Maybe I missed something but I was still confused at the end of the story. The actual incidents that happened throughout the book were good but didn’t lend itself to leading me on to what was happening. The only thing I was sure of was the world was ending and these teens were supposed to be the salvation of mankind.

This is a good idea, it’s written proficiently and most of the characters were portrayed well: Kyle unsure, Ichiro withdrawn and Ms Hartmann cool and unfeeling with a hidden agenda. Good character building throughout.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

A Bit of Kissing by Jon Ripslinger

October 1, 2018 By 2 Comments


A Bit of Kissing by Jon Ripslinger
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (94 pages)
Age Recommendation:14+
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

I’m a male virgin. Eighteen. I’m going to stay a virgin until I fall for a girl I really love. My buddies think I’m weird, odd, stupid, crazy. But I’ve got my reasons. My womanizing dad has inflicted so much pain on my mom, my sister, and me it’s unbelievable. Get this, a seventeen-year-old jerk knocked up my fifteen-year-old sister. Now she’s struggling to meet the needs of her three-month-old son and stay in school. My friends’ lives are in chaos because of sex. Man, celibacy makes sense—no one’s life is disrupted. No one gets hurt. No one’s future is in jeopardy. Celibacy is the only way to go.
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Then I meet blonde, beautiful Penny Nichols. She’s rebounding from an abusive relationship. We both feel abstinence and a bit of kissing are cool. What can go wrong? Well … in one word—plenty!

There’s nothing simple about sex or love.

Charles was a complicated, realistic, and downright fascinating character. There were times when he was so judgemental about the choices other people made that I didn’t like him much at all even though I understood why he personally felt the need to be cautious about expressing his sexual desires in even small ways. I appreciated the fact that one of his biggest flaws was something that had a meaningful affect on the plot and that his reasons for behaving that way were explained clearly, though.

This story spent a great deal of time telling the reader what was going on in the lives of the characters instead of showing how their earlier life experiences were still negatively impacting them. I noticed this most clearly when it came to the unhealthy attitudes that Charles and his sister Andrea had developed about love and sex as a result of their emotionally unhealthy relationship with their dad. They were both very hurt by certain parts of their childhoods, but there weren’t a lot of concrete examples of what had happened or explorations of why that pain was still so fresh for them many years later. If not for this problem, I would have chosen a much higher rating as I loved everything else about this tale.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about the storyline was how timeless it felt. While it was set in the present day, it discussed issues that were just as relevant fifty years ago and will almost certainly continue to be things teens worry about fifty years in the future. This isn’t something I’ve been seeing done as often in the young adult genre lately, so I was quite happy to run across an author who is keeping this tradition going. There is definitely something to be said for writing a book that should remain meaningful to new readers for a very long time.

A Bit of Kissing should be read by anyone who has ever felt confused about sex or remembers what that stage in life was like.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Sleepless by Melissa Frost

September 25, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Sleepless by Melissa Frost
Tales from Esteria 3
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (64 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

This Sleeping Beauty won’t take things lying down…
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After being shoved from a high castle balcony into the moat below, Princess Talia searches for the man responsible for saving her from certain death. After much digging, she is surprised to find that her rescuer is none other than an outlaw named Phillip Aurora—an enemy to the crown. Once she tracks Phil to the castle dungeons and helps break him out, the two unlikely allies must band together to take down the crime lord responsible for the attempt on her life.

As the two battle bandits and take on impossible odds together, Talia finds herself falling for the rogue at her side. If they can survive the challenges in front of them, perhaps she’ll be able to put to the test that they aren’t all that different after all.

Sleeping Beauty with a difference. Talia is a feisty young princess who is frustrated with life as a royal in the castle. She likens herself to a hermit, hidden away from the world.

After an attempt on her life she has a unique way of finding who rescued her, she kisses every possible candidate for her hero. Together they set out to find the actual assassin.

I found this book to be delightful, but it didn’t really grab my attention. The hero and heroine were strong characters but the storyline didn’t really have any true excitement until the end. The first part dwelt on her kissing to search for her rescuer, but I felt it went on for too long.

However, the end came through with excitement and in the last page or two humor came to the fore. Definitely a cozy read for a rainy afternoon in front of the fire.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

September 17, 2018 By 1 Comment


My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: Historical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (491 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

Like that could go wrong.

My Lady Jane is definitely not a story you’ve read in any history book!

When I first picked up My Lady Jane, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew it was supposed to be a humorous, alternate history version of the story of Lady Jane Grey, but since the reality of her story is far from funny I had no idea how this could work. My curiosity was piqued, and I eagerly dove in with an open mind.
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My Lady Jane is told from three viewpoints, Jane, Gifford (or G as he prefers to be called), and Edward. The switches between each character are clearly marked and never confusing. Telling the story from multiple viewpoints kept the plot moving along at a great pace. In fact, I found it hard to put the book down. Each time I finished a section I couldn’t help but keep reading to see what one of the other characters were up to.

I love the authors’ sense of humor. At times it is witty, absurd, or even tinged with a bit of seriousness.

“I asked him to change back to talk to me, but he won’t,” Jane said. “It’s disrespectful to remain a horse in the bedchamber, I should think.”

Desperate to console her he almost considered shouting, “Quick, someone get her a book! Any book!”

Quotes like these kept me giggling as I read. It takes skill to maintain a consistent level of humor throughout a book, and the authors’ do this well. It never once felt forced or overdone. Even the periodic interjections from the narrators were well timed and spaced and always entertaining.

Despite this tale being very funny, the plot is compelling. I cared about Jane, G, and Edward and could see real character growth in all three of them. Jane and G were a great couple. To say their relationship got off to a rough start is an understatement, but this made watching them slowly shift from animosity to friendship, and finally love all the more satisfying.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the magic of the Eðians as this is a key element in the story. Eðians have the ability to turn into animals. Shape shifting appears to be an inherited trait, but what sort of animal a person becomes seems to be individual, meaning members of the same family wouldn’t necessarily all turn into the same animal. It was so much fun to see not only who turned out to be an Eðian, but also what animal they changed into. The final Eðian reveal is priceless!

My Lady Jane far exceeded my expectations! I highly recommend this delightful book to anyone looking for a lighthearted tale full of comedy, romance, and magic.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Incredible Aunty Awesomesauce by J.S. Frankel

September 10, 2018 By 2 Comments


The Incredible Aunty Awesomesauce by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Devine Destinies
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (294 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sam Aushumness, sixteen, orphan and high school outcast, meets his long-lost aunt at his parents’ funeral—or the woman he thinks is his aunt. It turns out that she isn’t his aunt, isn’t from around here, and isn’t even from this galaxy.

It seems the person masquerading as his aunt is a refugee from a faraway world, and she’s being pursued by a small band of mercenaries who have been hired to bring her back dead or alive—preferably dead.

Secrets have to be kept, and only Sam and his girlfriend, Kym Kim, know who Aunty Aushumness—nickname Aunty Awesomesauce—really is.
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However, the secret soon gets out, and soon the mercenaries, the police, and every branch of the government are on the hunt to find Aunty Awesomesauce, what she knows, and what secrets she carries.

Aunty A, though, isn’t one to back down from a fight, and when push comes to shove, the mercenaries find out how bad she can be.

Not every alien is a little green man.

The world building was fabulous. I especially appreciated how much time the narrator spent describing what Aunt Aushumness’ home planet was like. There were a lot of details about the various creatures that called that place home that made it easy to imagine how that world was both similar to and different from Earth. Having all of this information also meant that I couldn’t wait to see what would happen when humans and aliens began to interact with each other. There were so many opportunities to show what this sort of thing would be like, and Mr. Frankel took advantage of all of them in order to make the setting and characters come alive in my imagination.

There were some mild pacing issues. I noticed them about halfway through this tale, and they popped up here and there until the characters began moving towards the ending. While they weren’t serious, I would have liked to see the middle section move as quickly as the beginning and end did. I would have selected a much higher rating if this hadn’t occurred.

Sam was an interesting and well-developed character. He didn’t always know what would be the right thing to say or do in an unusual situation, and he dealt with a lot of unusual situations in this book. The fact that he occasionally struggled with this made him quite relatable to me. I liked the fact that he behaved so much like an ordinary person while being involved in such extraordinary events.

I’d recommend The Incredible Aunty Awesomesauce to anyone who is in the mood for an adventure.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Upon Broken Wings by E.L. Reedy & A.M. Wade

September 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Upon Broken Wings by E.L. Reedy & A.M. Wade
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (187 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Bound by a dark act of hate and despair, high school freshmen, Andrew and Kiernan, learn that their untimely deaths did not bring an end to their pain, but only began the suffering of those left behind. While his lost memories return, Andrew must master seemingly impossible feats, both spiritual and physical. As a dark spirit stalks Kiernan through the borderlands of life and death, he must also face the pain his actions have caused his loved ones. To save both their souls, Andrew must convince Kiernan to return to life and open his eyes to the love and beauty which had always been there.

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Anyone’s future can change in an instant. The beginning of this tale was so sad that I seriously wondered what could possibly go wrong in the characters’ lives next. As odd as it may sound, there was something beautiful about seeing them try to push past the truly terrible things that happened to them. I appreciate it when protagonists are forced to deal with realistic problems that can’t be easily solved. This plot development gave their conflicts a nice sense of urgency, and it made me want to stick around to see how or if anything would improve for them.

The first few scenes of this book were confusing to read because I wasn’t sure who the main characters were supposed to be. Several different people showed up at the same time with few hints about who was going to turn out to be the focus of the storyline. What made it even trickier is that not everyone was properly introduced to the audience or even given a name at first in a few cases. As interested as I was in the premise itself, not knowing simple stuff like this did make it harder for me to feel connected to any of the characters I met.

With that being said, I was intrigued by the friendship between Kieran and Andrew. These kids didn’t seem to have a great deal in common at first, but they kept being drawn to each other each time their paths crossed. I couldn’t help but to wonder why that was and if they’d ever figure out why they kept ending up in the same places at the same times.

I’d recommend Upon Broken Wings to anyone who is in the mood for something uplifting.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

A Flame in the Night by Holland C. Kirbo

August 30, 2018 By Leave a Comment


A Flame in the Night by Holland C. Kirbo
The Legends of Aewyr #1
Publisher: Illadian Publishing
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (383 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

She alone has the power to stop Maal, the dark god of Hael, from destroying her world. Can she trust her powers and guard her heart, or will she lose herself to the flames?

In the land of Aewyr, the immortals stand as mankind’s last hope against Maal and his supernatural army of darkness, but the immortals have their limits. The kingdom of Ceredwyn watches and waits, praying for a savior. When eighteen-year-old Lakyn Trahearne annihilates a zuhl by immolating him, she’s not the only one stunned. Such power has never been granted by the gods, even to immortals. She’s young, and by all accounts, she’s human, and her powers are beyond comprehension. Ceredwyn may have found its champion.

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Nothing and no one have stopped Maal’s steady advance. But Lakyn’s powers have awakened, and love and loss are potent fuels within her. When Maal’s forces threaten the Ceredwyn royal family, Lakyn and Reuel must set aside their friction to protect the ones they love . . . If Lakyn can control the untamed powers within her and stand against the darkness that threatens them all.

Lakyn’s nightmares are about to become very real.

Lakyn’s has a good life. Even though she’s been touched by sorrow, she finds security in her loving, close knit family. When her nephew is born, Lakyn and her family are thrilled. Unfortunately, the moment Lakyn touches him, she has a terrible vision, and the nightmares that have plagued her for as long as she can remember, become more intense. Are they simply nightmares, or warnings?

When Lakyn’s family is attacked, her former life is ripped to pieces. The stories her mother used to tell her about immortals turn out to be true. Unfortunately, Maal and his army are very real as well. Lakyn barely has time to recover from tragedy before she begins training to control the power building within her. There are times when Lakyn just wants to run away and hide yet she keeps going. I admire her strength and determination. I like that Lakyn isn’t magically great at everything when her power manifests. Her training is gritty and realistic. I am curious as to why Lakyn never showed any sign of being different before her family was attacked. Did it take tragedy to unlock her power or was it simply the right time?

Lakyn and Reuel are a strange pair. I must admit I’m still not entirely comfortable with their love/hate relationship. Lakyn definitely set the tone from the first moment they met. She was harsh when Reuel was just trying to help. I completely understand she has been through a lot and her emotions are all over the place. However, she frequently speaks before thinking and hurts those around her. Often, Lakyn immediately regrets her outbursts and apologizes. However, she doesn’t seem able to apologize to Reuel. At least not very often. Reuel also becomes agitated and abrasive the more time he spends with Lakyn. One moment they love each other and the next they can barely stand to be in the same room. I found this confusing. When Reuel reveals a bit about his past, I began to understand his volatile mood swings, but Lakyn and Reuel still have a lot to sort out.

I’m intrigued by the gods, immortals, and forces they battle. Ms. Kirbo provided some of their history, but there is so much more I’d like to learn. I’m especially curious about Reuel. There is clearly something strange going on with his family. I hope my questions will be answered in the sequel!

I’m glad I read A Flame in the Night. The world Ms. Kirbo has created and the characters that inhabit it are thought provoking. I relish the opportunity to return to Aewyr to learn more!

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

August 28, 2018 By 3 Comments


When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Full Length (378 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?
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Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

How bad can a first impression be?

Dimple and Rishi’s first meeting is nothing short of epic. I can’t say much without spoiling it, but the first words out of Rishi’s mouth provoke a very strong reaction in Dimple. Rishi has such high expectations and everything that could go wrong does. It is certainly an unusual way to start a relationship. I felt so sorry for Rishi and couldn’t help but cheer him on in his quest to make things right.

Rishi is probably one of the best heroes I’ve come across. He has an air of quiet confidence about him that’s very appealing. I think it took a lot of courage to face Dimple after their catastrophic encounter, and even more courage to convince her they just might make a good couple. Rishi’s efforts to win Dimple over are sweet, thoughtful, and sincere. He’s persistent, not pushy, and never makes empty grand gestures. He does things because he genuinely cares about Dimple and wants to see her happy.

Dimple is very intense and passionate, which is wonderful. She’s also very driven to succeed in her chosen career and won’t let anything stand in her way, even love. While Dimple is impressed by Rishi’s attempts to win her heart, she maintains a guard around her heart. Dimple seems to believe she has to choose between love and her career, and that having one means sacrificing the other. I found this incredibly sad, especially since Rishi never once asked her to chose between him and her passion.

Dimple and Rishi are so good for each other. Their personalities are very complementary, and they push each other to be the best they can be. Of course, the road to their happy ending isn’t easy. They are young and on the cusp of a new phase in their lives. The world is scary, exciting and full of promise. As the summer ends, Dimple and Rishi have a decision to make. Is their relationship a summer romance, or something more?

I thoroughly enjoyed reading When Dimple Met Rishi. Dimple and Rishi are wonderful characters and it was a pleasure watching them fall in love. I’ll be reading more of Ms. Menon’s work very soon.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Spell for Sophia by Ariella Moon

December 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment

SOPHIA
Spell for Sophia by Ariella Moon
Publisher: Astraea Press
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (228 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sophia Perez-Hidalgo’s survival depends upon her mastering magic and the supernatural before her lawless parents and their vengeful boss catch up to her. How far must she flee to escape them forever? Sophia runs until she’s out of stolen money, then… Fate delivers her into the arms of Louisiana teen Shiloh Breaux Martine, and his grand-mère, a reclusive voodoo priestess living deep in the bayou.

Breaux knows Sophia is trouble — but he’ll travel through time, battle zombies, and risk his bright future to protect her. While Ainslie, best friend extraordinaire, will jeopardize her sanity to find and aid Sophia. When friendship, magic, and love are not enough, Sophia will have to save herself. But first, she must believe she’s worth saving.

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It was interesting to see the narration jump back and forth between Ainslie and Sophia. This isn’t something that’s easy to do well, but it worked for this story. There was so much going on that certain scenes would have been much more difficult to describe from only one point of view. Writing it this way was a good choice.

There were a few too many characters running around. It was sometimes difficult to remember who was who because so many different people were introduced in a short period of time. Something as simple as a list of major characters and short descriptions of how they were all connected would have been really helpful.

With that being said, the plot itself was easy to jump into. I’m curious to one day see what happened in the earlier books in this series, but I understood what was going on in this one perfectly without any advanced knowledge of Sophia’s incredibly difficult childhood. The flashbacks gave me more than enough information to understand why she acts the way she does.

Sophia is described as someone who has had extensive training in spell casting, so it wasn’t easy for me to understand why she made so many mistakes when practicing magic. There was nothing in the rest of her character development that would explain why she had so much trouble learning new things though. As a reader, it was distracting to try to figure out why this might be the case while also paying attention to everything else that was going on.

The romance was well done. The characters involved in it had strong chemistry. More importantly, they genuinely seemed to like one another as friends first. This is something I consider to be vital in any romantic storyline because friendship is such a big part of what makes relationships last in the longterm. Luckily the characters involved in this one have a bond that runs much deeper than physical attraction.

Spell for Sophia is a good choice for anyone who likes contemporary fantasy.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Citadel of Fire by Matthew Wolf

December 11, 2014 By 2 Comments

MEDIA KIT CoverArt_Citadel_ebook2

Citadel of Fire by Matthew Wolf
Publisher: Self
Genre: Fantasy (YA)
Length: Full (562 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rated 4.5 stars
Review by Poppy

Seventeen-year old Gray is descended from a legendary hero known as a Ronin and haunted by his forgotten past. He returns home to a wizards’ keep, unaware he is now labeled a murderous traitor for killing his best friend.

Now he must cross a dangerous desert full of thieves, mythical beasts, and other magical unknowns, all to return to a home that may be his demise. At the same time, a poisonous evil seeks to convert the world to their dark mantra, “strength is life, weakness death.”

Gray may have hero’s blood in his veins, but how can one kill a belief?

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I didn’t know this was the second book in a series when I picked it up, and I admit to being confused for a bit because the action here starts right off the bat. We meet several groups of people in the first few chapters and learn about things that were clearly important to the story (like the “spark” and the ronin and more) that were a little too ambiguous for me to get immediately. However, I hung in there and got a big payoff.

The characters were so amazing and well drawn, the writing crisp and descriptive but never dull and the plot solid. The author skillfully wove in information tidbit by tidbit and kept me reading and longing for more. I didn’t realize, at first, that Gray is the lead here, because there are other characters given just as much space. I like Gray though, and he’s the reason I have every intention of going back and reading book one to catch up. He’s an interesting anomaly, as is the woman he meets near the beginning, Faye, who I really, really liked. I don’t think I was supposed to like her quite so much, but her self-confidence, smart mouth and swagger really spoke to me.

There’s a touch of LOTR here. At first, when he mentions the nine kings, I felt that was a deliberate nod to Tolkien and his nine kings (who ultimately became the ring wraiths). I wasn’t sure if I should be irritated or not, but honestly aside from their number, they are nothing like those LOTR kings.

It was interesting to watch the author merge all the various groups of people together and see how they were able to overcome much to work against defeating a common foe. The author truly created amazing characters who were real, flawed and unique, and although the plot was certainly gripping, it was those characters who kept me completely invested in the story and turning pages.

I have little negative to say here, other than the fact this didn’t stand alone as strongly as one might hope. But that doesn’t matter … book one is out there and just asking to be added to my library. Then I’ll be all caught up and waiting for the next in the series very eagerly.

I highly recommend this book (and the first) to any reader who loves epic fantasy. There is so much depth here and truly great writing. I’m never certain what to expect from self-published works but this one was clean, well written and worth every penny. It’s a book I’ll want to read more than once, as I’m certain I missed things here that will only add to the richness of the story.

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