St Viper's School for Super Villains - Kim Donovan

St Viper's School fo Super Villains - Kim Donovan

This children’s book will be an exciting adventure for any elementary – junior high child. I feel Kim made an excellent merger of the X-Men and an evil version of Sky High. This is the first book of Demon’s adventures at St Vipers and even as an adult I would like to see how his Super Villain life turns out.

Demon Boy is the son of famed villain Demon King and finds he has a lot to live up to when he starts as a first year at St Viper’s. He soon learns that Super Villains enemies are not only Super Heroes, but also older Super Villain students. Chill, a senior at St Viper’s, takes an interest in making Demon and his friends his slaves so of course Demon has to get revenge.

When Chill and his cronies steal a rocket ship from the International Space Centre, Demon decides it would only be fair if they stole if from Chill. This brings on a wild space adventure for Demon and his friends that will be joy for any child to read, or to listen to as a bed time story.

I, for one, can’t wait to find out just how Demon manages his second year at St Viper’s and if he can top the amazing journey he went on this year. This is definitely the sort of book that brings out this readers inner child and I think that anyone else that reads this will come to the same conclusion.

Good writing Kim, keep it up and please hurry with Demon’s next adventure. I shall follow his career with interest.

2:32 am - Emily Ford

2:32 am - Emily Ford

I found the first book of the Djinn Masters Legacy series to be very riveting and I would throw it into the Fantasy Romance category. This is a YA book about a 17 year-old girl who gets her world turned upside down when she finds out that genies are real.

Cat has moved with her family across the United States following her father’s work, although no one exactly knows what he job really is. Cat has been having realistic dreams for as long as she can remember and seeing a dark man sitting on her bed when she wakes in the middle of the night… at 2:32 am…every night.

Cat starts out as a normal teenage girl hanging out with her friends, reconnecting with and dating the high school quarterback and her 3 brothers who play football and 1 is a budding rock star. This all changes when she is informed she has the chance to become a real life genie, with all of the magical powers it entails. However she also gets all of the problems that would accompany an all-powerful genie.

The plot starts out very mysteriously as we don’t know who the black man is, or the handsome blonde man, or the woman who looks like Cleopatra and causes Cat some pretty extreme nightmares. As the plot unfolds we slowly learn of these people and what roles they will play in Cat’s final decision of wither or not to accept Finnegan’s (black man) powers. At this point Cat’s life takes a turn for the worse as her nightmares increase as well as the disruption it’s causing with her home, school and social life.

Cat and all of her supporting characters fill the plot in nicely and Emily wrote each one of them incredibly realistically. Each has many noticeable traits and mannerisms that could apply to almost any person in real life. I found it very fun to read as Cat went through each situation and not only gained insight into the magical world, but also insight into who she is and what she wants to do with her life.

As a romance you expect the drama, and you get it, but it’s not so much that it pulls from the Fantasy portion of the storyline. It has the regular teenage angst of a YA novel intricately woven with the adult feelings of loss and regret. I wouldn’t call it a sappy romance novel, but more of a light hearted coming of age type of romance where Cat learns there is way more to life then high school and summer camp.

The ending was left open and I am waiting to see just what happens in the second book of the series. The major plot lines were all tied up, but as in real life, the romantic aspect seems to be a constantly changing aspect of Cat’s life. Will the next book hold the answers to the questions Cat still has? I can’t wait to find out!

The Lost Prince - Julie Kagawa

The Lost Prince - Julie Kagawa

This is the first book of “The Iron Fey – Call of the Forgotten” and even though I haven’t read the rest of ‘The Iron Fey’ series, it was very easy to follow. I think, however, that I will add Julie’s Iron Fey series to my ‘Must Read’ list.

This book is the story of Ethan Chase, half-brother of the fey Iron Queen Megan. Ethan has a gift; the gift of sight. He is able to see the Fey in their true forms while they are in the Earth Realm. He has been able to see them since he was 4 years old. Of course this has gotten him in to quite a few problems forcing him to keep relocating schools. Ethan has done all he can to protect himself and his family from the Fey but gets dragged into another twisted plot in Faery land.

Ethan is an excellently written character and I feel that Mackenzie is a perfect character to offset him. Ethan tries to be the type of student that kids usually want to avoid. He puts up a front as a street punk, clothes inside out, hair unkempt and a surely attitude. Mackenzie is one of the most popular girls at school and makes it her mission to get an article on this mysterious new kid that has a past filled with criminal and violent acts. These two are definitely polar opposites on the outside, but turns out that she is just what he needs to turn his life around.

The plot is a simple one; a friend has been kidnapped by the Fey and now that the Fey are aware Ethan knows, he is a target. Ethan has to try to survive the Fey attacks long enough to find his half-breed Fey friend. With is being a simple plot it is expertly written with some unforeseen twists, however there are few that are expected.

After the first few chapters the action picks up and flows pretty steady from there. With a fantasy novel such as this one would expect lots of magical battles, but that doesn’t happen. It’s mostly confined to close quarters, hand to hand combat. With that being said, the lack of magical wars don’t detract from the storyline at all, as Ethan and Kenzie are human and therefore have no magical way to battle.

The scenes are wonderfully written to where I could immerse myself in the story as if I were really there. There are no bad sections that ‘kick’ me out of the story. The author truly did her research on the geographic areas of her book and I could see myself standing in the middle of central park, even though I have never been there.

I find some books very hard to start, but it was not the case with this one. The ending was tied up neatly, with all minor and most major plot lines closed, but it still leads enough to the second book without being a cliff hanger. I eagerly await the next book ‘The Traitor Son’ to see what life brings for Ethan and Mackenzie.

Crewel - Gennifer Albin

Crewel – Gennifer Albin

This is a debut book from Gennifer and I must say it’s a fresh perspective in Fantasy Fiction.

The story line about a world that is woven like a tapestry and all of the elements of the world are the strings… highly original. Just imagine the person who controls the weaving, controls the world.

The character development in the book is excellent. I grow with Adelice as she lives the experiences that take her from an innocent sixteen year old girl and transform her into a Spinster that controls the destiny of the entire world they live in.

The plot flows perfectly from one twist to the next. Up until the end of the book I thought I had a pretty good take on who was on whose sides…. Boy was I surprised. The pace flowed fairly fast and was easy enough to follow. The action started somewhere around chapter 2 and stayed fresh the rest of the way through. Generally when I think of Fantasy novels I think of sword fights, laser fights, Magik, that sort of action, but this book was exciting and different. There was no need for violence when someone could simply remove your thread from the weave and poof….. gone. With that being said, this was more a mentally exciting book that keep you thinking and trying to figure out the ending.

The world Gennifer built was realistic enough, but the thing I liked about her storyline was that if something was missing or wasn’t quite right, it could be easily manipulated by just moving a few threads from one place to another and you had what you needed within seconds.

I have to say there is quite a bit of a cliff hanger at the end of the book…. I think I have figured out what is going to happen in the next book, but every time I have thought that so far I have been generally wrong. I guess I will just have to wait until the next book from the Crewel World series to see how good of a guesser I am.

Hounded - Kevin Hearne

Hounded - Volume 1 'The Iron Druid Chronicles' - Kevin Hearne

This is the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles and I would say its shaping up to be a wonderful Fantasy Fiction series. I would say there is not a lot of character development, but the action and the twists and turns in the plot more than make up for it in this readers opinion.

Atticus O’Sullivan, a seemingly college-aged man running an occult book store, is really a 2100 year old druid; the last druid to be exact. Atticus, being a druid and deriving his powers from the tattoos on his body connecting him to the earth, hasn’t had an affinity for witches since his friend was killed by one early in his life.

Atticus he has been chased by the god of love – Aenghus Óg. Aenghus wants a sword that he claims Atticus stole sometime around 150 A.D. Since this time Atticus has been chased by different creatures ranging from Faeries to Demons, each unsuccessful in their attempts to kill him and retrieve the fabled sword Fragarach, ‘the Answerer’. The latest attempt by 5 Fae happened outside his shop.

After learning from the Gods (yes they are real…. ALL of them) that he has once again been found and Aenghus is on his way, Atticus decides 2000 years of running has been enough. Enlisting the help of his Lawyers, the werewolf and the vampire, Atticus makes a plan to finally rid himself of the god of love; however in doing so he also unwittingly enters into a pact with the local witch coven.

Nothing goes to plan, as usual, and his wolf lawyer and his faithful Wolfhound Oberon are kidnapped by the head witch and held for ransom, only to be exchanged for the sword. The queen of the Druidic gods and the queen of the hunt each visit Atticus in turn promising him assistance and gifts to defeat Aenghus. In his travels around town setting things in motion, he gets an offer from a witch with split personalities, one a long dead Indian witch, the other a young girl anxious to become an apprentice Druid.

The book is full of action, cover to cover and twists and turns in the plot keeps the story extremely interesting. You will have to read to find out if Atticus’ plans work or if the god of love will finally get his revenge. However the best laid plans of Druids never take into account the deceit cloaked in the honeyed words of beautiful goddesses.

My biggest question at the end of this magical tale still remains unanswered. How soon can I make it to the store to purchase Hexed, the second volume in the Iron Druid Chronicles?

Colonization - Aubrie Dionne

Colonization - Volume 1 Paradise Reclaimed – Aubrie Dionne

In this Sci-fi novel, the romance portion sneaks up on you before you have the chance to realize it’s a romance novel. This is Volume 1 of the Paradise Reclaimed series and I feel it’s an excellent way to start the series.

Andromeda, “Annie”, is a member of the 8th generation on the colony ship New Dawn. Earth’s sun was failing and the residents constructed 21 of these ships to continue the human race. Each ship headed to a different world with the hopes that one would survive and thrive into a new civilization.

Annie lives life hoping that things will continue on as they have. She prays they never reach Paradise 21. She enjoys the life she has lived with her best friend, Sirius. Annie dreads the finality of Paradise 21. Each generation has lived by ‘The Guide’, a computer program that assigns everyone what they need to continue surviving. When they arrive at Paradise 21, the Guide will assign Annie a job and a life mate. She fears she will fail her school tests and get a low level job, and she dreams that she gets Sirius as a mate. She decides her job as a Species Integration Specialist isn’t so bad, but her mate is Corvus, someone she has always referred to as ‘the oaf’.

She begs her grandfather to change her mate but he refuses. While trying to do her best to cope with the situation she has been forced into she starts to see alien life forms, but the catch is she’s the only one that can see them and no one else believes her. After being frightened out of her mind several times by the encounters she realizes they are trying to tell her something.

Soon the head of security is found in a coma and all Annie’s focus is bent on trying to find the cause of his coma. She wants to prove to everyone she can do her job as she tries to make up for what she considers recent failures. After the head of security dies from an alien virus Annie finally discovers her true gift.

The character development in this book is true to life as the plot twists and turns in the final chapters. During her experiences on Paradise 21 and living the role she has been forced into Annie finally realizes where she belongs. But is it too late? Will Annie be able to do what her grandmother told her she was destined for? Has her determination and resolve grown enough for her to save the colony? What will happen to her if all of her new dreams come true? What if they don’t?

The story is an action packed plot with enough twists and turns to keep you turning the pages. As all of the plot lines are finished with the ending of the book I am not quite sure where the next volume will go, but I do know I can’t wait for it to come out and find out how Paradise 21 is treating Annie. Or should I say how Annie is treating Paradise 21?

Rise of Hope - Kaily Hart

Rise of Hope - Kaily Hart

I am not usually into romance novels, but the way Kaily combined the Fantasy Fiction with Romance peaked my interest. Rise of Hope is the first book in the Fabric of Fate series that shows great promise.

The series stars a young girl, Devon, who has been kept prisoner and allowed no physical contact. She was alone and utterly confused about who and what she was. While growing up tattoos started appearing on her body for no apparent reason. She plans her escape and is surprised to be assisted by others tattooed like her. She finds some answers she has needed her entire life, and meets someone she’d never dreamed of.

Devon and her friend Seth go through some serious soul searching and experience tremendous personal growth throughout the story. These main characters and their supporting friends are written superbly with traits that are easily identified and associated with.

I was quickly drawn in from the beginning and captivated for the entire read. I was drawn in by the Fantasy side of the story, an old endangered species of human, supernatural abilities and the like, and when the Romance portion entered the plot it flowed perfectly. The sexual content does get a little explicit but not as to detract from the storyline.

This is the first book of Kaily’s that I have read, but if the rest of them are anything like this I may have to check them out as well. Even if I’m not as interested in her other books as I was in this one, I will definitely be keeping an eye on the release dates for this series so I can continue the trek of these supernaturals to find their fellow beings.

Pale - Chris Wooding

Pale is a nicely written short story by Chris Wooding that I would classify as a Sci-Fi book. I would say the book could be read by anyone 4th grade or higher, although I believe it’s intended for high school students.

Pale is a book about a society that has developed technology that can bring people of a certain blood type back from death. Not a catastrophic, dismembering death, but a routine, run-of-the-mill, everyday death resulting from basically anything but dismemberment.

The plot serves as a moral story as it includes prejudice, karma and character realization and growth. Jed, the average “I’m better then you are because you are dead” kid gets placed into the ‘dead’ situation. Life, of lack thereof, quickly changes his outlook on the “Pale” classification of the dead people.

Pales are noticeably different with pale skin, white hair and blue eyes hence the name Pale. They are looked at as a lower class of people and treated as such. The prejudice comes in as they are abused physically, verbally and emotionally because they are different.

Jed, the good boy, becomes a Pale after a fatal accident. He now feels the abuse he used to inflict on others proving that what goes around comes around.

He has several experiences that change his view as he learns the moral of the story (so to speak). This is a good all-around book for younger kids to learn the importance of the fight against prejudice.

This is a quick book that can be read in one short sitting, it may make someone an interesting bedtime story someday.

Bowl of Heaven - Gregory Benford

Bowl of Heaven by Gregory Benford is a Sci-Fi book that puts a twist on the Dyson Sphere theory. The twist being that instead of a sphere surrounding a star, there is a half-sphere shaped as a bowl. The interesting part of this bowl is that instead of being a permanent structure around a star, the star was modified into a form of propulsion.

This book is the first in a series by Gregory and I think it’s a well thought out plot, if a bit lengthy of a book. There is a lot of detail provided but I don’t feel it hinders the read at all. This is more of a slow story with action packed sequences scattered throughout the pages. There is a bit of mystery in the plot as the team is trapped on an alien world with little contact to the outside, forcing them to fall back on their training to survive.

The character development is not as great as some books I have read, but their quirks and traits are slowly revealed over the course of the 515 page novel. The characters are set into a cryostasis for a few century journey to a distant star hoping to colonize and form a new Earth. During the trip they encounter this strange bowl, and due to circumstances beyond their control, their best option is to land and seek resources.

The timeline is easy enough to follow, no gaps in the sequences or scenes that would confuse the reader. There are a few unanswered plot lines at the end of the first book, but not in the sense of a cliffhanger ending.

The writing has an intellectual feel to it, basically due to the details given on the alien world, inhabitants and local geology. I would say it is one of the more traditional science fiction book styles using an original concept based on an old theory.

With that all being said, I did enjoy the book and look forward to the release of Shipstar, the next volume of the series.

Taking a sabbatical for a few weeks from my reviews…

Will be back around the first week of December…

Happy Reading All…

Twixt Heaven and Hell - Tristan Gregory

I need to start out by saying this review is different from my other reviews. I have decided to critique the book instead of trying to give you a summary. If this is what you would rather see, let me know. Otherwise I will stick to this format.

I would call this novel a stand-alone epic. Most people consider series such as Wheel of Time and Ice and Fire as Epics, but I chose to use the word Epic in a different way. Some of you may agree, some of you may not. Oh Well. Epic to me is something that will stand the test of time. I know I will always remember\reread the books by Jordan and Martin and I will enjoy every time as if it were my first. The same falls true with Twixt Heaven and Hell. Tristan, unfortunately considers it a “one and done” novel. Personally I would love for him to expand this world (as he may have done in The Wandering Tale, but I have yet to read that) and extend this into a series of “one and done” within the same world with the same characters. Sorry, had to be said…. Here’s the review….

Tristan did an amazing job creating the world in the novel. The magic used by humans is the standard wizard\sorcerer wave of the hand magic, nothing special there, however the magic used with the symbols is ingenious. Excellent idea of engraving the Angelic symbols on to different mediums.

I feel he also did an excellent job with character growth. When we first meet Darius he is a battle hardened wizard; he goes out with his regiment, the Gryphons , and makes amazing advancements for his side in the perpetual war between Heaven and Hell. During the novel Darius starts to see the follies of their ways leading to his ultimate decision near the end of the book. Tristan also portrayed the feelings of pain and loss perfectly. I almost wept with Darius over the loss of a close friend.

The supporting characters are yet another reason I would like to have more from this world. Balkan, Arric and Robert are, I feel, the three biggest supporting characters in the book. Balkan represents the family that Darius could have had, as well as the lab based research that offsets Darius’ more practical field tests. Arric is the essential barrier to Darius’ wishes for autonomy concerning decisions affecting the war. Robert is Darius’ grounding rod on the battle field, 2nd in command and best friend.

The plot is a twist on the ageless battle between good and evil, with Angles and Demons fighting openly and visually in the realm of men. Humans have been recruited by both sides in the holy war and kill each other with the magic granted them by their overseers. Darius is the one who eventually tires of the war’s losses and finds a way to change it forever.

Excellent read\reread\reread… I stick to the term Epic to describe this style of book, type of writing and the feeling it inspires in its readers, not the ‘politically correct’ term for series containing multiple novels. Great job Tristan, keep it up and give us more.

The Godling Chronicles - of Gods and Elves (Volume 2)

The Godling Chronicles - Of Gods and Elves (Volume 2) - Brian D. Anderson

If you haven’t read Volume 1, the Sword of Truth, then you may want to read that before you read this review…. Spoilers of Sword of Truth follow….

Yet another 5 star book from an amazing author in what I am sure will soon be a #1 bestselling series.

We join Gewey after his fight with the Half-man Harlondo, and he is in the Spirit world with a man claiming to be his father. In the real world, Geweys body is unconscious and severely injured. Kaylia joins Gewey through the soul bond and together they work to get Gewey’s mind back to his body.

Lord Nal’Thain sends a rescue crew to his homeland of Hazrah to remove his wife and son from danger, but as the crew soon discovers, its too late. Lee’s wife has already been taken to Angrääl by the Dark Knight’s now mobile army, and his son Jacob was imprisoned.

Doing what they can to save Jacob, they find themselves in a web of deceit and lies and Lee is forced to make a fateful decision. Maybell and Malstisos meet up with a band of humans traveling with two elves from the Steppes, but again all is not as it appears and the threat of death soon approaches.

After Gewey and Kaylia’s minds return from the spirit world, they encounter a meeting with the High Lady of Valshara, and Theopolou, and Elven Elder. It is decided that Gewey and Kaylia will accompany Theopolou and his elves back to the Chamber of the Maker with the Book of Souls.

Gewey and Kaylia decide to complete their bonding ritual in front of the Elven Elders in the Chamber of the Maker, but when he is challenged and wins, the real danger sets in as a civil battle erupts between the Elves and the Chamber is attacked; Kaylia is kidnapped by agents of the Dark Knight.

This volume of The Godling Chronicles is packed full of twists and turns. Lord Nal’Thain is confronted with his son’s deceit; halfway across the countryside Malstisos is challenged to a fight to the death by a seeker from the Steppes; Gewey tries to win the Elves to his side of the coming war; the Temple of Valshara is attacked by the Dark Knights agents; Kaylia is being taken to the Dark Knight’s kingdom of Angrääl.

I pray to the Creator that Brian D. Anderson and his son quickly turn out Volume 3 of the Godling Chronicles as I foresee this series becoming an epic tale to rival those of Jordan and Tolkien. The story is an action packed thriller and we haven’t even gotten to the true battles yet, just the side line skirmishes.

The Godling Chronicles - The Sword of Truth

The Godling Chronicles (Book 1) - Brian D. Anderson

The Sword of Truth is the first book of The Godling Chronicles by Brian Anderson. This book has a riveting plot, great character development and beautifully written Fantasy characters.

The story starts out with Gewey Stedding, a boy who was orphaned at the age of 15 when his father passed. Gewey took over the family farm and after some resistance from the community, proved he was man enough to take care of the land. Harvests were impeded by the encroaching darkness that was befalling the land, but Gewey was able to hold his own.

While making the usual delivery into town, Gewey was confronted with a resident claiming to see his dead wife up and walking through the square. After putting the issue to rest as unfounded, the local lord Starfinder presented Gewey with a letter written years ago by his father. After reading it he had a nightmare with two voices trying to convince him what to do next.

Lord Starfinder informed Gewey he was one of the voices, and the other belonged to the Dark Knight, an evil man from a thousand years ago bent on taking over the world with the power from the Sword of Truth. Starfinder convinces Gewey to leave the village and join him on a quest.

During the quest Gewey is hindered with agents of the Dark Knight trying to kidnap him to take him to the Dark Knights land Angrääl, or just to kill him outright. To aid Gewey in staying alive long enough to fulfill the prophesies Lord Starfinder finally convinces Gewey that he is in fact a Godling, the child of two Gods, one being the God of Earth. Gewey starts learning how to access his powers to be able to defend himself.

Gewey is also found by the Order of Amon Dähl, an ancient order sworn to protect the Sword of Truth. Dina, a novice in the Order, helps Gewey escape a kidnap attempt and soon joins the merry band of travelers, convincing them Gewey needs to go to the Temple Valshara, the headquarters of the Order.

This is but a taste of the tale of the Godling. Exciting adventures lie within the pages of this book and promises to enchant the reader with narrowing brushes with death, embarrassing moments of teenage love and thrilling battles between the residents of Earth.

Currently reading Dark Soul, the Complete Collection - Aleksandr Voinov

Check back soon for my review of this series...I have had to take a break from this book, but I promise I will make my way back to it soon.....

Midnight City - J. Barton Mitchell

Midnight City - J. Barton Mitchell

This is the first book in his Conquered Earth series, and I have to say I can’t wait for the next book. The way the author combined so many different fantasy and science fiction attributes was amazing. I would have to say this is an excellent combination of War of the Worlds meets Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Holt Hawkins is a bounty hunter, a lone and a rare human on a future Earth that has been taken over by an alien invasion. 10 years ago, the Assembly invaded earth. Their ships drove into the earth like giant spikes. After a short series of battles, Earth’s defenses were quickly conquered. Most of the adults of the world were subject to the Tone, a signal broadcast to the matured minds of the world that slowly caused their eyes to turn solid black and drove the infected to immediately drop whatever they were in the middle of, abandon their lives and walk to the closest Assembly ship never to be seen from again.

Holt is a Heedless; a human that is for some unknown reason, immune to the Tone. This also means he was forced to watch everyone he ever cared about abandon him and walk into the horizon. Since losing his sister, Holts only friend has been his constant companion, Max the dog. Holt is sent out to capture Mira Toombs, a Freebooter from Midnight City. After catching up to Mira, they are caught in the middle of an Assembly civil battle between the common variety of Assembly and a new faction, never seen before.

During this battle, a new type of ship appears and is quickly destroyed. It crashes into Holt and Mira’s campsite and after a quick investigation Holt finds Zoey, a young girl, not more than eight or nine years old, inside the destroyed craft. Zoey seems to have a sixth sense and can tell where the Assembly units are and also what Mira and Holt are thinking, but she remembers nothing of who she is or where she came from.

After a long, grueling chase the three make their way back to Midnight City, each with a different reason for being there. Mira goes willingly to save an old friend. Holt goes to turn in Mira and claim his bounty to buy his own freedom. Zoey is drawn there but doesn’t know exactly why. Upon arrival at Midnight City nothing turns out as expected.

Within the city walls our three travelers find deceit, truths, lies and love. Will Mira save Ben, the man she has risked her life for? Will Holt get his reward and gain his freedom to live his life out in peace? What of Zoey; who is she; where did she come from; what is in her future?

This action packed book tells the tales of the beginning and if the author can keep the rest of the series as engrossing and nail biting as this first book is, then it will surely make literary history.

Mark of the Witch - Maggie Shayne

Mark of the Witch - Maggie Shayne

This is book #1 in The Portal Series. There is a prequel for those interested, but I haven’t read it yet. This is going to be another on my list of ‘Must Read’ series’. From what I can tell this series will not be one where the main characters go from book to book. The series will be based on The Portal (hence the name of the series) appearing in each book.

The characters in the book are so life like it’s unreal. They grow and change as the plot forces them to face things in their lives they would rather not have. The trials that they go through are relative to the occurrences in the fantasy world, but are also mirrors of trials we go through in real life. Maggie definitely knows how to wield an awesome pen.

In this first book, Indira is a former Wiccan whose reason for the ‘former’ is that she has lost faith in the religion. She kept performing spells to provide her with her soul mate but never found him. When she was practicing she was a Solitary Witch, a witch who never formally joined a coven.

Indira has been having a recurring dream, but this morning when she wakes, the scars from the dream are real in the waking world. She seeks out her best friend, Rayne, who is a High Priestess for the local Wiccan coven. Rayne, fearing for her friend, contacts the one person she knows she can trust, her brother the Priest.

Tomas has been charged by God, and his mentor Dom, to prevent a demon from entering the world through a portal that opens once every 3500 years. It will happen this year. It will start with a witch, a marked witch, that will bring about the apocalypse and Tomas must stop her, must stop Indira.

Tomas tries to convince Indira that she is part of this calling, that she is the witch with the power to destroy the demon and seal him in the underworld forever. Not all goes as planned.

During their adventure Tomas and Indira discover they are reincarnations of the original witch and priest involved in the events leading to the portal creation 3500 years ago.

While I was reading the book, I kept thinking “I know what is going to happen next,” but this book is full of so many twists and turns that I was pleasantly surprised with every flip of the page. Everything was neatly tied up at the end of the book so I can’t wait until next month when Daughter of the Spellcaster is released.

The Guest – Karen Dales

This is a short story that involves life, death and reincarnation. It can be read alone or as part of the Chosen Chronicles.

The Guest lives at a Buddhist monastery and performs missions for the monks. As a monk approaches old age, the Guest helps to ease their transition from this life to the next. Although the Guest performs his actions flawlessly, he is tormented by the actions he knows he must take. The shortness of the story lead me to think that I would be left with open endings, but they were neatly tied up and although it is not a cliff hanger, I am really wanting to read more. A perfect appetizer to Dales' writings.

This is the first of Karen Dales writing that I have read and I thoroughly enjoyed her style and characters. Although it was only 9 pages in my Nook format she grabbed my interest within the first few chapters and provided me with a scene that contained the basics of life on earth. I am very impressed with her writing and can’t wait to read more of her work.

Incursion – Aleksandr Voinov

Incursion is a Sci-Fi novella with an unusual twist. The main hero of the story is disabled. Don’t see this much in main-stream fiction but I think Aleksandr did a wonderful job of it. All in all this book has a lot of great action sequences and has an excellent storyline for only being 70-some pages long.

The protagonist, Kyle Juenger, suffered from a debilitating attack during a battle with the Glyrinny. He lost his legs and was basically numb and useless from his bellybutton down. He was fitted with a metal bridge module that lets him connect prosthetic legs.

Kyle is now retired from the military, living on his own collecting social security. He has no steady home and was now completely out of credits. He had survived the suicidal stages of his wound and has been summoned to the Sector Commissars office. She offers him a job that will provide him with enough credits to replace his clumsy prosthetic legs with cybernetic replacements.

All he has to do now is hunt down Kshar, a Glyrinny double-agent. A shape-shifting, brain-eating morph.

He boards the Scorpion, a mercenary ship that Kshar is supposed to be taking back to Glyrinny space. Once on board he runs into an old friend, Grimm, who is also from his home world.

Unable to catch Kshar on the ground, he bides his time onboard the Scorpion until they reach their destination, Ganesh, just outside Glyrinny space. They land and Kyle and Grimm get a hotel room to clean up after their trip and Kyle gets a surprise during their male-on-male lovemaking session.

After their session Kyle wakes to a surprise. He is arrested and hauled off to jail as a Glyrinny subversive.

Will Kyle ever catch the double-agent he is looking for? Will it get him his cybernetic legs if he does? How will he make it out of jail to finish his mission when his DNA shows he is actually not Glyrinny OR Human…

A surprise ending that makes this reader wish the story didn’t end there.

NEW UPDATES TO PAST POSTS! Look for my reviews of ‘Mystic City’ by Theo Lawrence and Dark Lord “The Early Years”- Jamie Thomson.

I have also added a star rating to each of the books I have read. Look back through to see if my rating is the same as yours :)

King's Champion - Cas Peace

This is the second book in the Artesans of Albia trilogy and I must say is by no means lacking for action. The book starts off with a horse chase through the darkened woods in a brave attempt at a rescue.

I admit, I have yet to read book one in this trilogy, but it did not hinder my experience reading book two. I was drawn in immediately and connected with the characters with ease. The authors prose perfectly describes the scenes with such exquisite detail that you can see it as though you’re actually there. I feel as though I have visited the country side of the Andaryan realm.

Cas’ perfectly portrays the characters as they struggle through the challenges they are faced with. With Bull, Cal, Rienne and Taran ordered to return to Albia they experience a wide range of emotions and I must admit that they were so succinctly written that I shared some of their heartache and fear with them.

Sullyan, as the protagonist of the series, was easy to connect with as well. I felt myself siding with her more and more as her trials were revealed throughout the book. I connected with her and Robin as they dealt with the issues of Marik’s supposed betrayal and valor; as they sealed their love for each other with the bonds of rings; as they feared the end of their relationship due to the poison flowing through Sullyan’s soul.

Rykan’s challenge to the Andaryan King provided Cas with the opportunity to show her skill not only with large scale battle scenes, but also with single man-to-man combat. I sat idly by, forced to watch the scenes unfold in front of my very eyes and not be able to lend assistance where I felt I could reach out and touch the blood-covered ground and smell the scents of death in the air.

I really don’t need to read the first book, King’s Envoy, to connect with the characters from the series. However, with that being said, I think I will anyways, not just to learn more of our friends, but to enjoy seeing Cas’ skill in weaving these fantasy tales.

Farewell to the Albians for now, but only until book three, King’s Artesan, is released in August of 2013.

Accepting Submissions Now

GMTA is currently accepting submissions for Fantasy, Science Fiction, Womens Literature, Romance, Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thrillers, Mysteries, and Paranormal/Supernatural. If interested please see our site: www.greatmindsindependentpublishing.com/

Please be aware that our site is in the process of changing and we will have a new site in early October. :) If you have any questions you can contact Kitty Bullard - greatmindsthinkaloud@gmail.com

Perfection Unleashed

Perfection Unleashed: A Double Helix Novel (Volume 1) - Jade Kerrion

This is the first volume in what, I believe, will prove to be a very exciting series. The action starts right at the first sentence and rolls through all 20 chapters. I couldn’t pick out one main character, but I don’t think that affected the quality of the storyline one bit.

This series is a mix of Humans, Mutants, In-Vitro beings and Clones. A group of mercenaries set out on a mission to get a tissue sample from Galahad, a being made from hand by scientists at Pioneer Labs. Galahad is rumored to be the ‘perfect’ being, a being with the ‘perfect’ genetic code, and Zara is the human operative sent in to collect the sample. When she gets to lab she is stunned to see Galahad’s living conditions are less than perfect. He is poked and prodded and then left in solitude. Of course during the mission things take a turn for the worse and Zara is forced to take all of Galahad with her, not just a small sample. Unfortunately Galahad and Zara were both injured in the escape.

What follows is a rush of intrigue, deception and blood baths. Zara’s friend Lucien is the money behind the scenes and treats Zara like a little sister. She takes Galahad to Lucien’s home and meets up with Xin, her computer expert. Xin is a clone of Fu Hao, an ancient Chinese military general, queen and high priestess. Lucien calls his mutant friend Danyael from New York to come assist them at his home outside Washington D.C.

Danyael is a mutant, but not just any mutant. He is an Alpha level Empath, with healing capabilities. He is quite possibly the strongest mutant on the planet. He is also a twin to Galahad. This throws another twist into the mix as now this small band of friends not only has to find a way to save Galahad from his would-be captors, but to find out how their friend Danyael is involved and how his genetic code was obtained to be used in Galahad.

Our small group soon finds out that prior to Galahads creation, there were several unsuccessful attempts, resulting in five sub-human abominations. These abominations gain their freedom the same time as Galahad and start a reign of terror in downtown Washington D.C. killing everything and everyone in sight bent on finding their lost brother.

In addition to trying to save the perfect being, figure out Danyael’s connection to him, save the city from the abomination killing spree, the friends soon get a visit from Miyira, a telepathic clone from the Mutant Advisory Council sent to capture or kill Danyael. After an attack at Lucien’s home by the abominations, Miyira quickly convinces the M.A.C. that it’s in their best interest to side with this group of mercenaries.

During a mission to prevent another attack, Xin is captured by an extremist group lead by Jason, the son of Galahad’s creator. During the rescue mission to save Xin, Danyael is captured by Roland, Galahad’s creator, and taken back to Pioneer labs. When Galahad returns to Pioneer Labs to rescue Danyael, all of the plot components fall into place and everyone finds out that Galahad is a military project funded by DARPA. Now begins the flight for their lives.

I am leaving this one as a RAFO (read and find out). What is Roland’s 25 year old secret? Will they be able to get Galahad out of the country safely? What will become of the Abominations that Galahad has formed a brotherly bond with?

Those are the questions to be answered in this book: Perfection Unleashed: A Double Helix Novel.

I can hardly wait for December 2012 for the release of the sequel Perfect Betrayal to find out:

Parasouls – Divine Intervention – Michele Richard

This book didn’t necessarily capture me in the beginning. I felt there could have been more strife in the relationship between Shane and our Heroine Angelique. Now with that being said, I loved this book!

Angelique is a human, but not quite a human. She is a member of an advanced species of human with various ‘talents’. Her talent is one of cold fire\electricity. She leads a team of freedom fighters who go out into the world and ‘recruit’ other Parasouls. Once they were called witches and warlocks and persecuted as such. Now they are secured and controlled by the government, used for study and research.

Shane is Angelique opposite in every way. Shane is a Parasoul who works with the government. He leads a team of government hunters that go out in to the world and capture other Parasouls. Shane’s talent is regular fire.

Angelique’s and Shane’s teams are sent after the same Parasoul and their worlds quickly combine in a strange and unexpected way. With Parasoul’s, everyone has a ‘polar opposite’; someone that they are destined to be with, that can share or negate their talents. There have been very few polar pairs in recorded history. These two soon learn that they are a destined pair.

Angelique is captured by Shane’s team and taken back to their government facility where she soon discovers the true meaning of pairs. Shane is drawn to Angel; heart, body and soul. He would give his own life to save her, and kill anyone who threatens his relationship with her. Angel feels the exact same things, but she refuses to admit she is in love with the enemy.

After some tense situations at the government facility Angel soon realizes she doesn’t want to fight her feelings and gives into Shane and becomes his wife. They run their first mission together, and make their escape from government control. With the help of friends, they escape to Angel’s home compound of freedom fighters.

That is where this book leaves off… Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a cliff hanger but it’s left just enough unsaid to leave this reader wanting more chomping for the next book in the Parasouls series.

What lies in store for Shane and Angel? Who is the leader that will save them from prosecution?

The action is just beginning; the first battle has been waged; how will the friends fair with an all-out war? Are their more traitors in their midst? I, for one, can’t wait to find out.

Dark Lord: The Early Years Jamie Thomson[Hardcover]

Dark Lord was, I believe, written for children between the ages of 8 and 12. However I decided to read it anyways and I am glad I did. I found this book compelling as I was thrown into a Dark Lord’s worst nightmare. The author’s writing drew me in and I loved feeling like I was part of the action.

The Dark Lord was thrown from his plane of existence by the White Wizard and deposited on Earth, either by accident or as a punishment. On Earth his soul was incarnated in the form of a young boy and deposited in a parking lot. When found by Law Enforcement he was assumed to be an orphan with a severe mental defect and deposited at a foster home.

The Dark Lord, referred to on Earth as Dirk Lloyd, was placed with Chris and his family and sent to school to live the life of a normal child. Dirk, however, was far from a normal child. He quickly befriends Sooz, a Gothic girl who likes Dirk just because he is a little strange, sort of like her.

For months Dirk tries to convince the boys and girls his age he really is a Dark Lord from another plane. No one believes him, however his millennia of experience with strategy and battle techniques quickly earns the friendship of Sal, the school sports hero. With these three, he has his inner circle of minions complete.

Dirk spends his time trying to find a way back to his plane, but he is plagued by nightmares of a hideous monster chasing him down. After a failed attempt to create a doorway, he burns his cloak in anger and opens a window home. From the window pops the King of the Goblins and after a conversation and a bargain, Dirk finds out that the monster from his dreams is real and hunting him down.

Is Dirk really a Dark Lord of Evil from another plane? Will he have enough time to convince his friends… sorry, minions… that he really is a Dark Lord before this hideous monster finds him and finishes him off? Will he be able to create a portal home in this world without the magic he is accustomed to using? I couldn’t put the book down until I found the answers to these questions, and I am glad I didn’t. The ending was completely unexpected and left this reader wanting more. So, Dirk Lloyd, I hope your Nightgaunt did not indeed kill off your slave editor and that your minions quickly produce your next book.

The Sword in the Stars

The Sword in the Stars(Book1) in The Dark Sea Annals Series by Wayne Thomas Baston

This is the first book in The Dark Sea Annals series. The story starts off with Alastair Coldhollow seeing the blood moon in the night sky and the sword in the sky pointing to the village where the Halfainin would be found. The Halfainin was foretold to come into world as a reincarnation of the First One, a great and powerful leader that forged the kingdoms that made up Myriad. Alastair, also known as the Iceman, was told he would be the Caller, the one to announce to the world the name of the true Halfainin.

Alastair was once a cold-blooded assassin in the employ of King Morlan. Morlan has a dislike for anything relating to the theories of the First One, and, in the past, ordered Alastair and his Wolfguard to kill any and every person in villages following the religion. Morlan is King of Vulmarrow. King Morlan is twin brother to King Aravel the High King Overlord of all. Morlan would have been High King had he been born half a min earlier, but Aravel was given the title by birth, something that has always fueled Morlan’s animosity towards Aravel.

These murders weighed heavily on Alastair and caused him to turn to Witchdrale, a vile alcoholic concoction that lays waste to one’s mind. After seeing the signs that told of the Halfainin’s coming, Alastair spend days testing boys and girls from the village of Thel-Mizaret only to come up empty handed. Now doubting he is the true caller, he spends a drunken night on Witchdrale and ends up outside the roadway protecting a young female and her infant from Gorracks. The woman hands the infant to Alastair and runs off into the forest where she is killed by the attackers. After defeating the attackers, Alastair tracks down Abbagael, a young maiden that used to admire him from a far. He figures he can leave the child with her and then retire somewhere far away with a cash of his favored drink.

Circumstances change, as they are apt to do, and Alastair finds himself the hero of an attack in a nearby market town, King Aravel appoints him as a general in the kingdom’s army and he heads off to war in the Gorrack’s territory. While he is at war, Abbagael and Telwyn stay at Anglinore and become fast friends with Queen Maren.

Morlan finds the lair of the Shadow and becomes allied with Sabryne, the Finger of Shadow. Using his link with Sabryne’s mind, Morlan learns the secret of the Shepherds, that if you kill a Shepard, you gain their power. With this information Morlan plans his invasion of Anglinore and revenge against High King Aravel for his time of birth.

Queen Maren is told of Morlan’s deception and is flown to see Morlan, but upon her arrival she discovers Morlan is already on his way to overthrow her husband. Morlan’s servant throws Maren in a cell and it is here that she must have her child in dingy, dark conditions.

During the battle, Morlan is captured and his Wolfguard is defeated by the combined forces of the inhabitants of Myriad – the Humans, the Wayfolk, the Windborne, the Stonehands, the Marinaen, the Elladorians and the Shepherds. After Morlan is sentenced to his one-way journey across the Dark Sea, High King Aravel repeals the charges against Alastair for his murders and crimes years past.

This was an excellent tale, one that I feel is sure to become a famous epic series and renown with authors such as Tolkien, Martin, Rowling and Jordan. The storyline flows perfectly from one scene to the next and the character development is quite realistic. My favorite chapter in the book had to be the chapter of letters exchanged by Alastair and Abbagael. It drew me in (more then I already was) and I felt as though I was actually in the war, receiving a letter from home. This chapter definitely prompted the empathy I’m sure it was meant to convey.

The ending was quite a cliff hanger and I can’t wait to purchase book 2 of the series – The Errant King. This book left quite a few unanswered questions in my mind.

Is Telwyn the Halfainin? If not, who is? Is Alastair the Caller? What happens now with the High King Overlord’s brother sentenced to an un-death? What does life hold for this world now torn apart and ravaged by war? Do the inhabitants of Myriad live happily ever after? I really doubt that could happen after they discover the identity of the skeleton pulled from the well in the last few chapters of book 1 – Sword in the Stars.

‘Mystic City’ by Theo Lawrence

A thrilling tale of a Romeo\Juliet romance enhanced by adding a magical element in modern times.

Socialite Aria Rose wakes and find she has no memory of the past few months. Aria’s parents are one of two families that control the now deteriorating island of Manhattan, NY. When she wakes, her family convinces her that the memory loss she is experiencing is due to an overdose of ‘Stic’, a new drug made of mystical energy. As her parents fill in the gaps in her memory she is told that she is engaged to Thomas Foster, son of the other family that controls Manhattan.

The Roses in the West, the Fosters in the East…. Below them, forced to live in the Depths in poverty and drained of their powers twice a year, are the Mystics. The island of Manhattan has been slowly sinking since global warming so the elite classes of citizens, non-mystic, live in skyscrapers in a bridged community called the Aeries. The Mystics were forced below after the Conflagration, a mystical bomb that killed thousands. Aerien’s, fearing for their lives and values, forced Mystics to register and have their powers drained twice a year keeping them sickly and placid. Those who do not register and refuse to be drained are considered Rebels and hunted by the Aerien government.

After years of being separate a Mystic, Violet Brooks, is running for Mayor of Manhattan. With Aria engaged to marry Thomas, the Roses and Fosters form a union to keep the Mystics oppressed and vow to have Thomas’ brother Garland Foster elected as Mayor.

As Aria tries to live her life, using the stories from her family about her relationship with Thomas, questions start to form in her mind. She takes a trip to the Depths with the intention of crossing to the West side to seek answers from Thomas. After arriving in the Depths to make the crossing, she is attacked and then saved by a handsome blonde, Hunter Brooks. She soon discovers she has feelings for Hunter that far exceed the feelings she doesn’t have for Thomas.

Aria and Hunter quickly develop a relationship that they must keep hidden from her family as well as the public. Unfortunately she is soon found out by her father when she starts asking too many questions about what happens to the mystical energy that is drained from Mystics.

During this rollercoaster of a story Aria makes new friends out of old friends, reignites a lost relationship, tries to correct the holes in her memory and helps to ignite a war between her family and the Mystics. What side will Aria join when it comes down to it? You won’t know who to trust until the final battle when you are dealing with double\triple agents and families with ulterior motives. Is love strong enough to win out in the end? Will Romeo and Juliet meet the same fate as their namesakes?

I hope Theo writes at least a second book to this, as I am now totally enthralled with what the future holds for our Mystics whom have been oppressed for far to long.

Campaign of the Gods

Campaign of the Gods – Mike Evers

This riveting tale is about a British constable, his pregnant wife Anna and his partner Mark and their strange run-in with Norse Vikings.

This takes place in modern day England with Constable Stuart and his wife fretting over the imminent birth of their son. While out on a routine patrol, Stuart encounters a group of Vikings that he assumes to be a part of Mark’s reenactment group. Little does he know that thanks to Loki, the God of Mischief, a board game between Thor and Tyr is being played out in their small town of Hopfield.

This short story is packed with action from beginning lines through to the end of the book. The small town is plagued with time-transported Vikings; lead by their hero Ivar the Boneless, in a pitched battle with a pack of wolves lead by Fenrir, the wolf god son of Loki.

As Stuart becomes folded into the game\war he receives a phone call from his wife – the baby is on its way. As he and Mark rush home to deliver her to the hospital the encounter rogue groups of blood thirsty wolves and battle hardened Vikings. All the while their small, puny lives are being put at risk, Thor and Tyr are trying to find a way to end this deadly game they are now being forced to play.

Will the Gods be able to end this bloodshed on the planet they are sworn to protect? What of Stuart and Anna – will they make be able to make it to the hospital alive? If so, will it be in time to have a healthy baby? What will become of the Vikings and wolves – who will win this horrible battle and what will happen afterwards?

Waiting for the answers to these questions and more will keep you from putting this book down until you reach the stunning conclusion.