The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2015 edited by Joe Hill is a fantastic anthology of short stories. For someone new to the genres it provides snippets and pieces of the different types of stories involved in both genres. The st...
3½ StarsThis exciting and mesmerizing fantasy epic introduces a beautifully rendered world that combines steampunk, incredible battles, skin-crawling threats, and imagination-stretching scenarios in one delightful Saturday matinee adventure of a re...
5 StarsThe August 5 had a lot going for it. It has some great topic starters about colonization and conquering. The only issue I had was that the book was fairly slow and that the female characters had more depth vs the male characters. The story...
3½ StarsThis mesmerizing variation of a popular fairy tale provides an exquisite combination of fantasy and mystery, and continues to explore two deeply scarred individuals who epitomize a struggle between positive and negative motivations. The art...
5 StarsAt first I didn't realize this was a re-telling of Orpheus and Eurydice. I ended up having to Google it. I honestly really didn't connect with the characters. Ella was a bit annoying in the beginning. The story felt very poetic and the some...
3½ StarsAgainst a Brightening Sky is a wonderful book and I couldn't put it down. I loved the historical background to the story and the descriptions were beautiful! I loved her characters and Delia has become such a strong woman. I did not feel li...
4 StarsI liked the story concept in To Stand Beside Her. I loved Nalik. He is kind, patient and not what you would expect. He has accepted his fate and the way he opened his heart to Anatolio, Phillip, Ruth and Tim was amazing. His love for Leila...
3½ StarsKathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear have come out with another stellar book in their North America's Forgotten Past series. As with the other books that I have read by the authors, People of the Black Sun pulled me in right off the bat...
4½ StarsThe Nebula Awards Showcase 2014 provided an interesting overview - albeit not an entirely complete one - of the authors featured in the anthology. The stories are mainly science fiction, rather than fantasy, with the addition of essays by N...
4 StarsA Riddle in Ruby is the first in the Riddle in Ruby series. This book is a magical middle grade fantasy title and I enjoyed it! I fell in love with the world the author created. The action is nonstop and the mystery and suspense made it eve...
5 StarsThis delightful fantasy series has many wonderful elements familiar to those of us who have been longtime fans, and this story showcases several of them, including the stalwart and impressive Companions who continue to provide transportatio...
4 StarsA chilling blend of Lovecraftian horror and Gothic terror. Priest turns the real life presumed historical villain Lizzie Borden into a fictional hero who wields her ax to save the world from darkness and ancient evil. Chapelwood resumes app...
5 StarsI was entirely surprised by my reading of this story simply for the bold fact that nothing about the actual novel was what I was expecting. I would consider this reasoning to be both a positive and a negative considering by what I discovere...
4 StarsI was so excited to read this book! The cover was just amazing! I dived in and it turns out that although this book had a great and interesting concept, the execution of that concept kind of fell flat for me. This book turned out to be a ta...
3 StarsThis book freaked me out and I slept with the little light on for almost a week! No JOKE! A lot of books have nightmarish plots but this one was so good! And it’s all in the way that it was written. The author did a wonderful job! The story...
4 StarsDo you have kids that love Minecraft but hate reading? Well, give them this book and it will get them to read! I love Minecraft and so many books out there are just about how to do things on the game - or about mods and seeds. But, this boo...
5 StarsI would not normally read stories like this one but I fell in love with cover. It's gorgeous! The setting and descriptions were wonderful (How can you not fall in love with Wales!!). As for the characters, I really did not like Laura. I jus...
2½ StarsThis book is a piece of work. And not in a good way! Not because the main character is rich, gets A's, has all the freedom she wants, etc. She still seemed like a pretty good leading lady. The issues I had with this was the story itself. Th...
2½ StarsThere are so many fantasy quests out there that are centered around one object, such as a ring or a wand. In When the Heavens Fall, the first in a new series by debut novelist Marc Turner, that object is a book. Specifically, the Book of Lo...
4½ StarsGet ready for adventure. This is an awesome story that will have children wanting to read on. The main characters are children who discover a whole new world. Emma and Herbie go from their boring, normal lives to ones with pirates, secrets...
5 StarsWhen I opened the book and it began with Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel, who, I now know, really did exist, I was super interested. Through this book they have really become rich vivid personalities instead of two dimensional. There is such a...
3 StarsWhat a unique story idea. To have the power to create a being and not just any being but a beloved and powerful man that everyone knows or has met. He has been influential throughout time and has been integral to many of the famously creati...
3½ StarsAnother stellar and completely riveting conclusion from Amanda Hocking! Like any fan, I waited patiently since January for this book and like them, I LOVED IT. It should be no surprise because Amanda's books are beyond awesome. Words hardly...
5 StarsIt’s time to jump into the second book in the Noctis Magicae series. Sophie and Gray are at the College. Don't worry if it’s been a while since you read book one. You will catch up in no time at all. I know I did. I was debating wither or n...
4 StarsARBI and the Fire Breathing Dragon is a very cool children’s' book that merges story with augmented reality. Basically with the use of your phone you can make the pages viewable as 3D images. This book / app combo explores a new horizon for...
4 StarsStories about extra-large elephants are not anything new. Lots of people know about large elephants such as Jumbo and, most recently, mega-size elephants who once roamed in Kenya. Elephants are already huge creatures but it’s the really gig...
5 StarsWhy do all the good series have to end? This sequel to the best book ever - Dissonance was epic! This one picks up shortly after book one ends. I think it would have been a little better if it had been like a year or something. Since, of co...
5 StarsThis was an awesome sequel! I really loved book one and was ecstatic to read book two, and Jubilee Manor did not disappoint! In this sequel there are some great mysteries to be figured out. I will say that I figured out who the killer was....
4½ StarsDragon’s Future by Kandi J Wyatt, young adult e-book, published by Booktrope Publishing, due for release 10th August 2015. During their tenth winter, twins Ruskya and Duskya are chosen to become dragon riders. They leave their home to live...
4 StarsThe overall plot/storyline for The Fire Children was okay. All of the before the dark times came was awesome. We learn a lot about the world these people live in as well as about the fire children themselves. Things started to fall apart af...
3 StarsMelinda Michaels’ Golden brings together the world of fairy tales and reality. This YA novel takes an interesting twist on the original fairy tales with a more modern view. The plot moves at a decent pace and I kept waiting for more of the...
3½ StarsThis complex fantasy novel continues a saga about a wonderfully fascinating group of beings, each with their inculcated paradigms which are often diametrically opposed. Communication, or rather, the lack thereof, plays a key role in this st...
4 StarsWhat a crazy and interesting book. The ending was just WOW, but it also made me want to punch Malkor. Kayla is a fighter through and through and when she’s given the chance to protect her younger brother, her il’haar, she jumps at the chanc...
4½ StarsAs the blurb showcases, real heroes never die…come middle age they do get a bit crabby. With that bit you know this book is going to be filled with some humor. In Witches Be Crazy we have a long lost shapely imposter daughter. King Ik is de...
4 StarsThe Gospel of Loki is the first book I have read by Joanne Harris but it won’t be the last. I could hear Loki’s voice in my head as read, charming and entertaining but not to be trusted. I must confess though that this Loki sounded a lot li...
4 StarsArchie Greene is an average boy who is being raised by his grandmother. Upon his twelth birthday a book arrives and his adventure begins. His grandmother tells him that he is part of a magical family and she sends him to a bookstore in Oxfo...
4 StarsThe Masks of Aygrima, by E.C. Blake, is a world unto its own. I read the second book in this series and couldn't wait to get the third. Mara has such special gifts and they are all amazing. She seemed much like a child in book 2, because sh...
4 StarsSo with the issues I had with book one I wasn't going to ever finish this series. But I kept seeing it EVERYWHERE and the only real issue I had with it was that the first 190 pages felt all teen then boom you get all this sex. So after deal...
4 StarsInteresting characters, magic, and some really good world building are the things that made me love this book. You do not want to read The Cursed Kingdoms series out of order. So if you haven't read book one and two do that first before doi...
4½ StarsThis was the first companion novella I have read in any series. I really enjoyed the journal aspect to this one and it had some great background into the Seven Wonders. Will have to pick up the other novellas in this series to add to my col...
3½ StarsThe Silver Witch is an incredible story that quickly drew me into its magic filled plot. The characters were exciting and I was eager to discover what the author had in store for them. It took me just two days to read this novel because I c...
4 StarsI absolutely loved this book. It didn't leave the reader hanging and wondering where the book would leave off, and the story was absolutely phenomenal! I was especially pleased that this didn't fall flat like so many other books in other se...
4 StarsWhat a great start to a new fantasy series! This story is full of action, mystery, fascinating characters and a multilayered conflict that extends beyond one young man’s almost quixotic attempt to bring down a drug trade on his own. There a...
4¼ StarsThis story is the second book in The Luck Uglies fantasy series. In this episode Rye O'Chanter is forced by a new constable to flee her town and go to the remote Isle of Pest while her father and the other Luck Uglies' battle their rivals,...
4 StarsBlackbird Fly is a powerful story that I liked very much. The main character Apple is sure to be a character that many pre-teen girls will relate to. This story made me feel many different things while I was reading Apple's story. The plot...
4 StarsThrough Fire and Sea is the start of a series by Nicole Luiken. Intriguing and quick-paced, this first novel jumps between the perspectives the two main characters, Leah and her mirror-self Holly. The plot of this story is engaging, and kep...
3½ StarsThis book was amazing. I loved how the cover just makes you want to read this. The story teaches you about family, destiny, courage, and how to stand up for yourself and for those you love. This one really reminded me of Harry Potter where...
4½ StarsI have to say that I didn't enjoy the org series that this is a spin off of. But book two of the Kanin Chronicles has blown me away again. I loved it. In this second installment we have lies, traitors, deception, and more all tied up with r...
4 StarsSome people say a good romance is hard to find. Well, I say that they are wrong. Having just finished Sorrowlands by author Iris Woodbury, let me assure you that this is a first rate romance with lots of drama, plenty of action, and more Gr...
4½ StarsWell covers. I’m not a fan of the new ones. I miss the old covers. :( :) OK. Moving on. The Door in the Moon was beyond the most suspenseful of the three Chronoptika books. I stayed up until like 2am reading this thing, LOL, because who nee...
5 Stars
