Tag: series

Book Review – Year of the Chameleon 3 by Shannon Mayer

This was my first book series by Shannon Meyer as a sole author, even though she started the series with another author. This series has been on my TBR for a while, and I was grateful to finally finish this off. In this series ending conclusion, we get to see all the preceding drama come to head. Wild is compelled to hunt down a series of magical keys that are rumored to bring down their powerful enemy, Frost. With the fate of the magical world in the balance, Wild and her circle must do whatever it takes to save everyone. This novel was everything I expected a series conclusion to be, fast paced and action packed. I had to stay up rather late to finish this book, but it was so worth it. I really enjoyed Wild and her character as a totally untrained but kick a&& heroine. (5/5 rating)

Book Review – The Culling Trials – Shadowspell Academy 1 by K.F. Breene & Shannon Mayer

This is a new magical series by Breene and Mayer. This story takes shape around a magical academy that forces children into attendance. When the summons arrives for her younger brother, again, his sister Wild takes his place, pretending to be a boy. The beginning of this series allows Wild to see the world as it really is, and it’s nothing like her rural upbringing. I loved Wild’s sheer strength and stubbornness along this wild ride (pun intended). I’m glad I waited the song to begin this series, as I plan to devour the remaining 5 in short order. I am embarrassed to admit that this has been on my TBR since 2019. If you haven’t picked this up, do it now. (5/5 rating)

Book Review – Taken (The Harvest Series 1) – M.A. Church

This was my first M.A. Church book. This is the first of the series set in a Sci Fi world and Earth. I did have issues with the plot and main character for this book, which I will explain below. I had to give this a 2/5 for those reasons even though it did appear they put effort into the more technical sides of space and planets. I just can’t recommend this one to anyone.

**Spoiler Alert**

We meet our main character, Dale, in the beginning as he is being abducted from his home for a program called: The Harvest. It is a bond between the Alien race’s people and Earth’s governments, to collect mates from the population. It’s meant to help the alien’s dying race become viable again. Dale becomes the “chosen mate” of Captain Keyno Landium Shou of a Tah’Narian starship. Human’s are implanted with the Alien’s DNA, allowing them to bear their children.

After this, it’s expected that Dale will simply be OK with this, after being kidnapped from everything he loves on Earth. He won’t be allowed to return. To Dale’s credit, he does put up a ‘bit’ of a fight, as would be expected in this situation. I think I would find it impossible to feel anything but hate for the thing that did that to me, but Dale ad Kenyo end up in a relationship way too quickly, or at all. I just didn’t like this aspect of the plot. Kidnappees expected to be mates of their kidnappers. Too stockholmy for me.

If you can get past the plot points of the kidnap situation, you may enjoy this. Good luck.

Book Review – Rhapsodic (The Bargainer Book 1) – by Laura Thalassa

This was my first Laura Thalassa and I am so glad I tried it. It has been sitting on my TBR for the last six months, collecting dust. This was a fanciful read with great characters and a beautifully woven plot. It is split eight years apart so we watch Callie goes through school, in her teen years, and her now adult life as a PI. I gave this book a 4/5 and if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it. I will be finishing this series as well as working through her other work.

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**Spoiler Alert Below**

We begin our intrigue after our heroine and Siren, Callypso Lillis, kills her stepfather after several years of rape. She calls upon The Bargainer to help her clean up the murder and keep her out of jail. He is not meant to deal with minors, since she is two weeks from being considered an adult, but he makes an exception for her. As she grows into herself, her and the Bargainer becomes friends. Eventually, Callie falls in love with him. During this time she racks up more than 300 beads of debt that form a bracelet along her arm. Then he mysteriously disappears from her life for 8 years. She tries to move on, falling into half relationships with many men, but cant seem to love any of them the same way Deep down she knows he will come back eventually to collect his debt.

When he finally reappears, she is working as a PI for her own firm in California. She is forced to become involved in a disturbance of his kingdoms. The Lord of Night or the Night King, Desmond, has disappearances occurring among his people. As she works to pay off her debt, they discover a disturbing plot and urges for each other. Someone is kidnaping Fae warriors and returning them under a deep sleep. They are neither alive nor dead but in an endless sleep. I won’t ruin the plot for you but it is worth seeking. 🙂

Book Review – The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld 1) – by Gena Showalter

This was my first Gena Showalter book. I know I am in the minority of this opinion, but I couldn’t handle this book. Her characters were alight with the exception of Ashlyn, who was one of the most irritating female characters for me. The plot without the interference of the romance, was actually interesting and the only reason I actually made it the end. The plot with the romance was several romance tropes in one book, that really drug this down. I gave this book a 1/5.

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**Spoilers Below**

I struggled to finish it, but since I paid for it, I felt required to just to see if magic happened, but alas, no magic! I really wanted to love the book, given the premise it is based on and the Pandora’s box aspect. The plot and characters made that impossible. Our hero, Maddox, was part of a regime of ancient god warriors that were jealous that Pandora was selected to guard a special box. This box held some of the worst monsters to walk the earth, and could not be kept, even in Hell. To punish them for not choosing them, they deceived Pandora and opened the box, freeing a wash of destruction on the earth. As punishment for their sins, they were forced to each house a demon from the box they opened in spurned pride. Then we meet Ashlyn, who (unbeknownst to her) works for a Hunter’s company and finds their fortress tucked into the hills. She plans to ask for help them for help with her ability to hear voices, and conversations from all points in time.

I struggled with both Maddox and Ashlyn instant need to bone as well as their declaration of ‘love’ after a few days of knowing each other. It seemed way to fast, even for the romance genre. With Ashlyn being a virgin as well, how would she even know what love is? Ashlynn made this very difficult to enjoy with her inability to be anything but a damsel in distress. I also had issues with the fact that Maddox fed Ashlynn Immortals version of alcohol, which obviously made her sick, and managed to fix it by giving her Tylenol? There were some other plot holes along this vein throughout.

I’m sorry I just couldn’t get into this and will not be continuing the series.

Book Review – David Estes – Fatemarked

David Estes’s – Fatemarked (book 1 of the series) was an amazing read. A high fantasy based series, with brilliant characters and wonderful plot lines, several layers thick. The plots covered a swath of main characters, that I enjoyed immensely. My personal favorites were Gwen and Roan. I give the first book a 4/5.

With a name like Fatemarked, it expectantly, brings the reader through our own fate. Are we the maters of our compass? Or, does some bigger picture out of our view, bring us to precise points in time for a higher purpose? A question that’s been chewed over for centuries already and will continue well after we pass on from this place.

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*Alert* Spoilers past this point. *

In book 1, Fatemarked, we are introduced to a new world comprised of various countries in endless years of war. ‘Fatemaked’ humans are created, with peculiar markings on their skin, bestowing them with unique abilities. Some can control fire, while some are made of stone and difficult to kill, while others, (The Peacekeeper) can heal. I enjoyed the variations in geography and climates, particularly the Iron Forest, the northern frozen tundra to the southern deserts of the of Phanes.

The land is overrun by a Hundred Years War e every region of the four kingdoms is at war with some other region, just because that’show it’s been so long. No one remembers what peace felt like and generation after generation continues the viscous circle of killing each other.

Roan Loren is our main character for this book and we discover that, fatemarked, he can heal himself from any grievous wounds. He can also use it to heal other people. We also meet Bane, fatemmarked with death and a deadly ability to kill without mercy. A long forgotten prophesy by the Oracle, declares that peace will return to the four kingdoms with Bane and Roan working together towards this goal. As opposing sides of the human spectrum, life and death, they have no choice but to find a way to work together. Bane must kill 8 war mongering rulers, 2 from each kingdom, according to the prophesy.

Bane and Roan become difficult for each other as Bane attempts to kill one of Roan’s friends, the prince of the King of the East. Roan refuses to let him die and injects enough life back into him that he eventually recovers. The duo spend much of the book at odds with each other over what is right and wrong.

This book is filled with a great sense of humor and I enjoyed the comebacks between characters. I can’t wait to finish the rest of the series.

Book Review – The Witcher, The Last Wish

Despite that I am an avid video game player, I have not stepped into the Witcher Universe before last week. The coronavirus in full swing, I have been adding to my reading list and making progress through many on my list, and this was one of those. Overall, I gave this book a 4/5, and plan to finish the series in short order.

The Last Wish is 281 pages long, and that includes pages dedicated to the next book in the series, but they were so worth it. I have seen my fair share of negative reviews on this series but I do not understand them. The world Andre Sapkowski introduces immediately had me fixed and I finished the first book, well into the evening.

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*Alert* Spoilers Below*

Geralt, our main character, is a ‘mutant’ of their world, designed to battle monsters of the realm.. This world includes everything from spriggas, to vampires, to bulbous oozes, which choose to inherit the dirtiest locations of town. Being a non-human, he is gifted with additional speed and strength over ordinary men but he consumes elixirs to heighten his hearing and reflexes even further, prior to battles or skirmishes. Close behind Geralt were Dandelion, a famous singing bard that, told many tales of Geralt and his many exploits over the years.

Early in this book, we discover that Geralt is somehow wounded, and slowly decaying according to his temple, healing friends, but there are many swaps backward and forward in time, telling his story until he meets his soul mate, Yennifer.

Yennefer and Geralt happen into each other after Dandelion and Geralt attempt to fish for their dinner. Accidentally, they fished up a type of Genie in a bottle that tried to kill Dandelion before he could make his wishes. On the edge of death, Dandelion is transported precariously to the next town, Rinde. Security at the entrance gates, tries to stop their passage until morning but seeing Dandelion’s condition, allow Geralt to leave him with them while he enters down and requests help from their local sorceress, Yennefer.

Yennefer, is a powerful sorceress, capable of lightning, and thunder and burning you to a clean crisp.She is not particularly, trustworthy, and seems more inclined to manipulate men to do her bidding, as opposed to actually loving caring for some one else, but she finally agrees to see to Dandelion’s condition.

She betrays Geralt, and he wakes up in a communal jail cell beneath the city. He is summoned before the local mayor about the same time Yennefer attempts to chain the genie to her will. Havoc ensues throughout the town as buildings are destroyed. Her magical spell bindings are not strong enough to truly bind him.After much toil between Yennefer and Geralt, he finally convinces her to abandon the binding and release the genie. A destroyed town blooms into their love for each other.

We do not find out why he is dying, but I hope it’s soon resolved next, in book 2. I look forward to the next 5-6 books in this world.