magic

Review of Fallen by Ann Hunter

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Crowns of Twelve Book 3
By Ann Hunter

Star Rating: 

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 253

Date Started: November 19th 2015
Date Finished: December 3, 2015

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
One prince. One mistake. One… chicken?
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A twisted retelling of the fairy tale, The Frog Prince, featuring your favorite villain from The Subtle Beauty & Moonlight, Sylas Mortas.

What would YOU do for love?

17-year-old Prince Sylas of Killeagh wants what every one else wants: control over his own life. When he tries to run away from home and escape an arranged marriage, the last thing he expects is to fall in love with a robber in the woods. Hiding behind a mask, the robber girl seems to lead a life of freedom Sylas has only dreamed of. Their adventure comes to an end when the Castle Killeagh guards hunt Sylas down and he’s forced to return home. He convinces his parents to allow him to find the girl again and consider her as a candidate for marriage, but he only has until the next full moon to find her, or all bets are off.

Death has a name, and it is Crwys. As a ban sidhe, her job is to visit the great houses of The Summer Isle and keen out the living to prepare them for death. King Sionnach has far outlived his days and it is time he cross to the Unliving World. When she arrives, a young prince named Sylas intervenes and offers to go in his grandfather’s stead. This break with tradition, and selfless sacrifice, move Crwys into loving Sylas, who looks so much like a shadow from her past. But when he crosses her to be with his true love, he invokes the wrath of a woman scorned.

Rós is just a little, aura-seeing, red hen whose master believes she is chosen by the gods. Her arrival at King Sionnach’s court is insignificant to Sylas at the time, but their destinies are interwoven. Can she help Sylas save himself from the curse Crwys has planned for him? Or will he become a fallen frog prince?

In this unexpected love story, Happily Ever After may not always begin with Once Upon a Time.

**THIS BOOK CONTAINS SOME MATURE SCENES NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL READERS.**

 
Review:
I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing an honest review.  In receiving the book as such, I had not actually seen the official cover of this book until I went to grab it for today and I must say I was quite surprised!

The characterization throughout this book is straight on, with an excellent coming of age experience for Sylas, who has to learn his responsibilities as the crown prince, and not just as someone who can do whatever they want.  When Sylas finally does take up responsibilities (ones that perhaps he shouldn’t have) he finds himself locked into a complicated battle with Crwys, who is locked herself in her past and refusing to move on.  While Sylas tries to do what he thinks is just to save his kingdom from heartache and despair, he realizes that everything comes with a price.

Through about 60% of the book there is no mention of anything relating to frogs.  The story has so aptly ensnared that by the time the mention of the twisted fairy tale comes into play, there are already solid feelings in place about all of the characters thus far.  The greenness adds another dimension to the story, and the way in which it is accomplished adds depth to the addled state of mind of an aged crone.  Crwys was by far my least favourite character, and I felt no remorse in what ultimately happened to her.

There was only one particular place that I found myself not fully reading and skipping ahead, and that was one area with repetition of the same saying again and again.  While I understand why it was done, I was quite happy when it ended.

The names were somewhat of a deterrent to my overall enjoyment of the book, not because they weren’t lovely, but because with some of them I spent more time trying to figure out how to say them than truly identifying the name with the person.  Though it was a bit annoying, the names were quite pretty, and completely appropriate given the Celtic mythology seamlessly entwined with both the original story Hunter presented as well as the take on a fairy tale.

While the stories in this series are fairy tale inspired, they are also completely unique in a way that I have never really seen before and could stand on their own without any mention of fairy tales at all.

Author Bio: (from Amazon)
Multi-award winning author, Ann Hunter, is the creator of the young adult fantasy series Crowns of the Twelve (including the novels The Subtle Beauty, Moonlight, Fallen, with A Piece of Sky, Ashes, and The Rose In The Briar to follow). She likes cherry so
da with chocolate ice cream, is a mom first and a writer second, has a secret identity, and thinks the Twilight movies are cheesier than cheez whiz (which is why they are her guilty pleasure!)

She lives in a cozy Utah home with her two awesome kids and epic husband.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT HER HOMEPAGE:
https://www.facebook.com/authorannhunter

AND MAILING LIST:
http://eepurl.com/VZsFn

 

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Review of Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

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Furies of Calderon
Codex Alera Book 1
By Jim Butcher

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy
Number of Pages: 688 (paperback)

Date Started: November 15, 2015
Date Finished: November 19, 2015 (around 2am)

Synopsis:(From Amazon)29396
For a thousand years, the people of Alera have united against the aggressive and threatening races that inhabit the world, using their unique bond with the furies – elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal. But now, Gaius Sextus, First Lord of Alera, grows old and lacks an heir. Ambitious High Lords plot and maneuver to place their Houses in positions of power, and a war of succession looms on the horizon.” “Far from city politics in the Calderon Valley, the boy Tavi struggles with his lack of furycrafting. At fifteen, he has no wind fury to help him fly, no fire fury to light his lamps. Yet as the Alerans’ most savage enemy – the Marat – return to the Valley, he will discover that his destiny is much greater than he could ever imagine.” Caught in a storm of deadly wind furies, Tavi saves the life of a runaway slave named Amara. But she is actually a spy for Gaius Sextus, sent to the Valley to gather intelligence on traitors to the Crown, who may be in league with the barbaric Marat horde. And when the Valley erupts in chaos – when rebels war with loyalists and furies clash with furies – Amara will find Tavi’s courage and resourcefulness to be a power greater than any fury – one that could turn the tides of war.

Review:
This book was recommended to me by a great friend, Maria Picone of Sky Tango Freelance, who knew that I had read The Dresden Files and felt that I was missing out.  Cheers, Maria– you were totally correct.  This book is AMAZING.  I don’t want to be disloyal to my love of The Dresden Files, and my love for The Dresden Files hasn’t changed, but this book is on a completely different level and comparing the two would be like comparing apples to oranges.

There is not a single character that does not have a purpose, who has no definition, or redeeming qualities.  I cared just as much about seeing what happened to the antagonistic characters as I did the protagonists.  Everything is explained incredibly well, in ways that made sense and helped draw a reader further into the book.  The furies originally made me think a bit of the daemons in Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass, but furies are unique individuals, and though they are connected to the characters they are not part of a whole.  Although the novel appeared from multiple standpoints this didn’t cause any sort of disconnect from chapter to chapter.  There were times when I desperately wanted to be following one part of the story, but was just as easily drawn into the happenings of another character.

While this book is quite lengthy, I found it to be hard to set down, and perfect.  While this adventure appears to be concluded, with all of the loose ends tied up, there are many ways that the series could continue after this particular title.  I have some speculations in regards to how some of these characters may be connected and I intend to keep note of them, though I believe whether or not my conjectures are correct will be shown, in time.

I cannot say enough about this book, and I cannot wait to read more!  Way to go, Jim Butcher.  Way to go!

Author Information:
The Dresden Files are the first books that Jim Butcher managed to get published.  He is also the author of the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, Cinder spires.  He is a gamer, including tabletop, video games, as well as LARP.  He still lives in his hometown, Independence, Missouri.

For a detailed biography of Jim Butcher, and a way to purchase his books, see his Amazon page.

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Review of A Little Princess; being the whole story of Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett

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Star Rating: 
Genre: Young People, Young Adult
Number of Pages: 2649781435142091_p0_v4_s260x420

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
At Miss Minchin’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies, young Sara Crewe enjoys the friendship of her classmates and the staff–much to stern Miss Minchin’s disdain. When Sara is unexpectedly impoverished, she is forced to become a servant under Miss Minchin’s control. To escape her dreary life, Sara imagines herself a princess, and her experiences soon teach her that being a princess on the inside counts more than any outward expression of royalty.

Review:
I love this novel so much.  What’s wrong with being a princess?  Being a princess is hard work.  You have to remain poise and collected no matter what adversity strikes you.  You have to do what is good for all above what is good for yourself.  You must also be kind.  Are those not the attributes many like to see in not just women, but all people in society?  There is a great deal of difference between “princess” and “damsel in distress.”  Sara is an amazing character who, despite everything horrible going on around her, tries to remain strong and trustworthy for those who rely on her.And I still love the 1997 movie just as much, although there are some significant changes to what happens.  Most of the changes between the book and movie adaptation could have been done to make it easier to understand the complete story for a new generation, and to tell the story without having a three hour movie.

500px-Frances_BurnettAuthor Bio: (From Wikipedia)
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was an American-English writer of plays and prose fiction. She is best known for the three children’s novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885–1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).

For more information, check out Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Wikipedia page.

 





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Review of Bewitching by Jill Barnett

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Bewitching
By Jill Barnett

Star Rating: 
Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Number of Pages: 464

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)bewitching200
What’s a duke to do when a carefully selected bride rejects him rather than marry without love? He salvages his pride by marrying the next woman who falls into his arms. Joyous Fiona MacQuarrie bewitched the Duke of Belmore the moment she appeared from nowhere and knocked him over…literally. Joyous MacQuarrie is a Scottish witch whose powers of white magic are not always easy for her to control. When Alec’s pride makes him choose to marry her, Joy turns the life of the most serious and snobbish duke in England upside down. Too soon Alec finds his well ordered and controlled life a mess, because he married a witch–one who turns him to fire when he kisses her, who charms everyone around her, and threatens to destroy both their lives as scandal looms over her. Too late, Joy discovers she’s desperately in love and not even the strongest magic can seem to turn her into a proper duchess, or make her husband love her. Passion holds them spellbound in an irresistibly funny and tender tale of two opposite but lonely hearts.

Review:
Joyous was quite easy to relate to, as many of us have had things we have wanted to badly to be good at and yet fail, despite our best attempts.  Schooling is quite reflective of Joy’s trials, since many have a subject they simply cannot master, even if they are interested in it.  While necessary, I found the opening chapter of the novel tedious and a bit boring, though that could be seen as how life seemed for Joy as she tried to master her magic.  Once past the beginning I couldn’t help but become enthralled within the story, but I had to push myself over that hump to get into the meat of the tale.  Nothing is as it seems within the depths of Bewitching, and with great use of foreshadowing and hidden agendas, it is impossible not to fall bewitched yourself.

41xswK+IwUL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)


Check out Jill Barnett’s Amazon page.







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Review of A Witch’s Concern by N. E. Conneely

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A Witch’s Concern
Book 4 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 237

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)25010389
Michelle has been figuring out what her life is like now that the demon has been killed, and Sylvia and Varro are dead. Even the clans of witches trying to attract her to their way of life have backed off and given her a chance to grieve. Her relationship with Elron is stronger than ever, but there are things left unsaid.

On the way to her parents’ wedding, the delicate calm she’d been living in is broken. Witches are out for her blood, her family is caught in the crossfire, and friendships are threatened. Work doesn’t let up either, and she partners up with Elron to deal with magic gone wild. Michelle finds that her problems are larger than one clan of witches, and is forced to choose between the people she holds dear and the way of life she loves.

This is the fourth book in a series, following A Witch’s Trial. It is a standalone novel, however, your reading experience will be greatly enhanced if you’ve read the previous books.

Review:
After such an odd and life changing ending as seen in A Witch’s Trial which I reviewed I absolutely had to know what came next for Elron and Michelle.  The progress they have made from disliking each other is astounding, and I was quite glad, because it was something I had wanted to see from the first book in the series.  This book held a lot of questions for me, namely about why Elron and Michelle are choosing to stay so distanced.  I am hoping that this question will be answered in the future, so I will not get into detail about what, in particular, I kept expecting to see.  While this novel had the same issues as the previous ones, this time part of the descriptions actually mattered, which made me quite pleased.  Certain locations that are frequently referenced also had major impacts on the story, with important plot points happening there.

Unfortunately, while there was a lot about this novel that is different from previous ones, the plot itself seemed more of a run off from the end of the previous book, and not powerful enough or gripping enough to have been made into a whole novel on its own.  While the page count was around the same as the last couple of books, I felt as if the story as a whole was more of a novella than a novel.  I loved the ending, and look forward to reading more in the future, but I wish that some of the happenings that seemed like side events were more important in this novel (though it is evident they will be important plot points in books to come).

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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Review of A Witch’s Trial by N. E. Conneely

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A Witch’s Trial
Book 3 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 236

Season Read: Fall

 81z+OWT3CLL
Synopsis:(From Amazon)
When Michelle pulls an old book out of a fire, she finds answers and heartbreak. The book confirms that a demon walks the land, though according to legend they were all dead. Now, she needs to rediscover the secrets to killing demons before her loved ones fall victim.
Elron’s budding relationship with Michelle suffers a blow when his mate returns. While he struggles with love and guilt, it becomes clear that not everyone gets their happily-ever-after.

This is the third book in a series, following Witch for Hire and A Witch’s Path. Your reading experience will be greatly enhanced if you’ve read the previous books.

Review:
Once I read the 2nd book in A Witch’s Path series, titled, A Witch’s Path which I reviewed I wanted more, immediately.  So I went forth and purchased this third book and began to read.  While not everyone gets their happily ever after, how they have to go about preserving the future is likely not something anyone but Conneely could have dreamt up.  Though A Witch’s Trial suffers from some of the same issues as the previous novel (too much detail/description of unimportant things), the story itself is gripping, and has some great foreshadowing throughout.  The further we continue into Michelle’s world, the more we get to understand her relationships, which makes her even more human.  A Witch’s Trial is a great read, which will have you quickly buying book four to continue the adventure.

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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Review of A Witch’s Path by N. E. Conneely

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A Witch’s Path
Book 2 in A Witch’s Path series
By N. E. Conneely

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 240

Season Read: Fall

Synopsis:(From Amazon)21570552
After a near death experience, Michelle has vowed to do her job, magical assistance for the police, and leave the heroics to someone else. Besides, life should be settling down for her since the trolls have been captured and the sorceress was neutralized. Unfortunately, the power behind the sorceress wants her dead, Elron starts acting funny, a magical creature wreaks havoc on a town, and there’s trouble with the werewolves. As if that wasn’t enough, the clans have started to notice her power and she has more reasons than ever to fear the clans.

Things go from bad to worse when Michelle’s best friend is abducted, and she must decide between her friend and her vow to stay out of dangerous situations.

A Witch’s Path is the sequel to Witch for Hire and continues the story of Michelle and Elron.

Review:
Wasn’t really sure what I felt like reading, but I suddenly remembered that Witch for Hire had a sequel/was the beginning of a series, so I bought A Witch’s Path and decided to read on.  Oh my goodness!  While there are some lulls in the novel, predominantly over description that is simply unnecessary, and some grammatical/editing errors, this series is a gem!  I absolutely adore the characters and find them easy to relate to (though I forget what colour Michelle’s hair is, perhaps because her friend Amber’s hair is always described in such detail).  Although I had a slight hunch over one of the big bad evils to emerge, it floored me when I found out exactly who it was.  Definitely not a novel to be missed!

61P034pMUPL._UX250_Author Bio: (From Amazon)
I live in North Georgia with my dog and a mountain of books. We sweat through the summer and freeze through the winter. Life as we know it comes to an end when so much as a single snowflake falls out of the sky.

For fun, I play with my dog, read, knit, crochet, paint, tie-dye, and do origami. I make a great pizza. I’m negotiating with my roommate over sea monkeys and working on a vegetable garden.

Black tea and water are my favorite beverages. I’m a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Arrow.  A few of my favorite authors are Ann Bishop, Mercedes Lackey, Patricia Briggs, Tamora Pierce, Raymond E. Feist, and Christine Feehan.

Also check out N. E. Conneely’s Amazon page.

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Review of Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

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Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files
Short stories from The Dresden Files
By Jim Butcher

 

Star Rating: 
Genre: Fantasy
Number of Pages: 432Side-jobs-by-jim-butcher

Season Read: Summer

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
Here, together for the first time, are the shorter works of #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher-a compendium of cases that Harry and his cadre of allies managed to close in record time. The tales range from the deadly serious to the absurdly hilarious. Also included is a novella exclusive to this collection that takes place after the cliff-hanger ending of the April 2010 hardcover, Changes. This is a must-have collection for every devoted Harry Dresden fan as well as a perfect introduction for readers ready to meet Chicago’s only professional wizard.

Review:
I highly disagree with the synopsis.  Go read the first book first.  It’s awesome.  The whole series is awesome.

As for the reviews: what can I say without giving away important plot points?  Some of the short stories I liked more than others, but they were all good.  I liked getting to see more into Harry’s relationships with both his brother and with Billy and Georgia.  Harry is so REAL, that it’s no wonder Chicago would go crazy without him.

Author Bio:
The Dresden Files are the first books that Jim Butcher managed to get published.  He is also the author of the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, Cinder spires.  He is a gamer, including tabletop, video games, as well as LARP.  He still lives in his hometown, Independence, Missouri.

For a more detailed biography of Jim Butcher, as well as a way to purchase his books, see his Amazon page.

 

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Review of Schooled in Magic by Christopher Nuttall

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By Christopher Nuttall
Star Rating: 

Genre: Young Adult
Number of Pages: 310

schooledinmagic

Synopsis:(From Amazon)
Emily is a teenage girl pulled from our world into a world of magic and mystery by a necromancer who intends to sacrifice her to the dark gods. Rescued in the nick of time by an enigmatic sorcerer, she discovers that she possesses magical powers and must go to Whitehall School to learn how to master them. There, she learns the locals believe that she is a “Child of Destiny,” someone whose choices might save or damn their world … a title that earns her both friends and enemies. A stranger in a very strange land, she may never fit into her new world …

…and the necromancer is still hunting her. If Emily can’t stop him, he might bring about the end of days.

 

Review:
I will rarely ever say this about a book, but I finished this book only so that I could write an honest review of it.  This novel is completely horrid; it is unoriginal, redundant, and unpleasant to read.  Emily, the protagonist, seems to hate life and has no reason for living, which makes it pretty hard to like her or empathize with her in any way.  Even when something crazy starts happening to Emily, she merely thinks that she didn’t have much of a future anyway.

Constantly the new world Emily is drawn into is likened to computer and computer programming (binary).  In order to explain all of the random bits that Emily seems to know, and to connect her and the computer analogies, we are told, not shown, that Emily is a “nerd” and that she sometimes plays Dungeons and Dragons, a cliche.  The entire novel seems to have been written as a way for the author to complain about everything he dislikes, stating more than once how stupid cheerleaders are, and how there are bullies everywhere.

Emily, when brought to a new world, both wants to copyright her “inventions” but also intends to introduce things as if they were created by her, such as bras and typewriters.  The school Nuttall “invented” is very similar to Hogwarts, having moving staircases and classrooms, the same general classes, and a headmaster who lets Emily (think Emily= female Harry Potter for this novel) get away with nearly killing a princess.  The book had some original notions, such as the school being set on top of a ley line, but overall there was too much borrowed from other stories to make this one stand alone.

If you want to read a book about going to a magical school, I highly recommend you can this and go find a copy of Harry Potter.

 

Christopher NuttallAuthor Bio:
Christopher Nuttall has been planning sci-fi books since he learned to read. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Chris created an alternate history website and eventually graduated to writing full-sized novels. Studying history independently allowed him to develop worlds that hung together and provided a base for storytelling. After graduating from university, Chris started writing full-time. As an indie author, he has published eighteen novels and one novella (so far) through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.

Professionally, he has published The Royal Sorceress, Bookworm, A Life Less Ordinary, Sufficiently Advanced Technology, The Royal Sorceress II: The Great Game and Bookworm II: The Very Ugly Duckling with Elsewhen Press, and Schooled in Magic through Twilight Times Books.

As a matter of principle, all of Chris’s self-published Kindle books are DRM-free.

Chris has a blog where he published updates, snippets and world-building notes at http://chrishanger.wordpress.com/ and a website at http://www.chrishanger.net.

Chris is currently living in Malaysia with his partner, muse, and critic Aisha.





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