Fantasy · Uncategorized · Young Adult

Book Review: Reflection: Harbinger of the Phoenix

The masquerade is over and the masks have been removed. But not everyone’s true face has been revealed… King Casimer of Marise has assassinated the Royal Family of Chiyo and usurped the throne. He doesn’t know that the Heiress of Chiyo, Nerissa, is still alive and has joined the Ohanzee, a group of guardians who have secretly protected the country for generations. Disguising herself as a young man, Nerissa seeks a way to depose Casimer and restore her country’s independence. An uncanny stroke of luck leads her to the mysterious seer Shae, who has discovered a fragment of an ancient prophecy warning of events that will bring about the end of civilization. And Casimer has already set some of those events into motion. With the future of not only Chiyo, but all of Renatus at stake, Nerissa and her six Ohanzee companions set out on a journey in search of the remaining fragments, where they will find unlikely allies and uncover new enemies.

Fantasy · Mythology · Uncategorized · Young Adult

Book Review: The Moonstone

Fear, love… and betrayal; that’s what I feel about my new life. 
It’s a life I never asked for, at least not like that. 
I certainly dreamed of adventure, of escaping from my ordinary life, but nothing prepared me for what would happen when my normal life flipped upside down. 
On that fateful day, a witch, a real one, revealed to me that I’m not human! That’s right, I, Lou Mills, am an enchanter like her! It seems that I’m the key to an ancient prophecy and that I must save the world from the imminent war between humans and enchanters. What waits makes no sense; in fact, nothing seems to make sense to me since meeting her. 
And then there’s this man…dark and mysterious…but so attractive. If only I could forget him. Duality is the way the Earth remains in balance, black and white, right and wrong, love and hate. What side should I fight for when the war finally breaks out? How to choose between my family…and the people who I belong to?

Fantasy · Middle Grade

Book Review: The Crowns of Croswald

In Croswald, the only thing more powerful than dark magic is one secret…

For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden behind an enchanted boundary that separates the mundane from the magical. When Ivy crosses the border, her powers awaken. Curiosity leads her crashing through a series of adventures at the Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and the power of Croswald’s mysterious gems. When Ivy’s magic––and her life––is threatened by the Dark Queen, she scrambles to unearth her history and save Croswald before the truth is swept away forever.

Fantasy · Middle Grade · Mythology

Book Review: The Raven God

After defeating the Volgrim witches, life in Orkney is quiet. Too quiet. Before Sam Baron can catch his breath, an army of fire giants led by Surt gather in the Eighth Realm of Musspell, determined to destroy Orkney–and it’s all Sam’s fault. After all, he took Odin’s life with an ancient cursed dagger, and now, mankind has lost its protector. To make matters worse, the God of Mischief, Loki, is on the loose and determined to reunite with his evil wife, Angerboda, and their three children: Fenrir the wolf, Jormungand the sea serpent, and Helva, Goddess of Death. Orkney’s only hope lies with Sam and his stalwart friends. As Surt prepares to launch his forces against Orkney, Sam and two of his fellow witches, Perrin and Mavery, set out on a journey to rescue Odin, aided by Skidbladnir, a magical ship of the gods that can fly over land and sea, and Geela, a Valkyrie who can transform into a battle-ready goose. Meanwhile, Leo and Keely travel north to stop Loki from starting a war between the Eifalians and the Vanir, while Howie is left to watch over Skara Brae. With time running out, our heroes try frantically to prove once again that they can find the courage to do what’s needed when the odds are stacked against them–even when the sacrifice asked is greater than any of them could imagine.

Fantasy · Middle Grade · Mythology

Book Review: Kalifus Rising

Sam Baron just freed Orkney from the ravages of the Red Sun–but now, imprisoned by Catriona, leader of the Volgrim Witches, Sam finds the darker side of his half-god, half-witch heritage released, and he fears he might destroy what he saved. Unable to resist the witches’ enchantments, Sam has become their most potent weapon, and is leading an army of monstrous men against Skara Brae. Sam’s only hope for salvation lies with his three best friends and a mystical artifact known as the Moon Pearl. Keely travels north in search of the pearl, while Howie prepares for the gathering onslaught. Leo seeks a powerful artifact in the underworld, and faces an ancient evil that could be an even greater threat than Catriona and her cronies. As Sam’s friends rush to save him, other forces are at work in Orkney’s shadows–forces that could help free Sam, or condemn him to the darkness forever.

Fantasy · New Adult · Romance · Young Adult

Book Review: Reflection: The Stranger in the Mirror

An Heiress, an ancient prophecy, and a masquerade…
Nerissa, the Heiress of Chiyo, prepares for the masquerade celebrating the twentieth anniversary of a thwarted assassination attempt on her family. Longing to be admired for herself and not her title, she arranges to switch costumes and enjoy the ball in blissful anonymity. But, when the fateful night finally comes, a prophetic warning of a second attack arrives too late, and the evening turns from revelry and romance to violence. After being pulled from the chaos by an enigmatic guardian, Nerissa learns that the Royal Family has been concealing a formidable secret for generations–and it is only one of many that are about to be revealed. 

Dystopia · Fantasy · Young Adult

Book Review: Glass Sword

If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different.

Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat.

Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

The electrifying next installment in the Red Queen series escalates the struggle between the growing rebel army and the blood-segregated world they’ve always known—and pits Mare against the darkness that has grown in her soul.

Fantasy · Retelling · Romance · Young Adult

Book Review: Heartless

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.

At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.

Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

Fantasy · New Adult · Retelling · Romance

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.