T. Murphy's Legend of the Outsider Leads Us into Another World

A blocked off passage,

Sudden upheaval,

Then a strange new world...

This YA fantasy leads us off from our own world and into another.

Cover design by Christine Barber

The Castle of Change: Legend of the Outsider is a YA fantasy written by T. Murphy.

So what's it about?

Will has had an absolutely boring summer, and is dying to have some sort of adventure to break the monotony. When he heads off through the family's church with his friend Dougie, he sees a blocked off passage, and recognizes his chance to do something different. Dragging Dougie with him, the boys wander through this passage until a sudden earthquake shakes the area, trapping them inside. 

Working themselves free of the rubble, they finally manage to find a way back out... and into a whole new world. The boys are catapulted into a magical world with catlike inhabitants, and discover that as outsiders they hold the ability to shake the current structure of this strange new world.

I don't know about you, but I've always dreamed of finding a secret entrance into a fantastic new world.

And this one truly was unique.

Murphy created a world that felt very Wonderland-ish. A person could easily lose their way in a blink of an eye, because the entire environment changed at a rapid rate. Running down a busy street in the marketplace, somebody could suddenly find themselves in an area devoid of people entirely. Nothing in this world is as it seems.

The residents are ruled by a man that calls himself The Master. This man is loved by some, and hated by others, just as all rulers, but in his case, something is... off. Since he began his reign, the castle has been closed off to the public. Everything he does is shrouded in mystery.

And now he has his sights set on Will and Dougie.

All the boys want is to find their way home, but they're being hunted. You see, they are outsiders, and the population has been told that outsiders from another world will bring about change. Society, the very world, could collapse. Outsiders are not to be trusted under any circumstance. Rather, they should be gotten rid of.

Will wanted adventure, but not this kind of adventure.

As you can see, the storyline is very intriguing. The world details, mixed with the high stakes - get out before things get really ugly - make this something that produces high interest.

The theme, though, was what really caught my interest. It can be summed up quite simply: Live in the present, rather than dwelling on the future. Relax and really see what's happening around you. To do otherwise is to miss out on the great adventure called life.

We all know this.

The reality, though, is that while we understand it on an intellectual level, we tend to fall short on truly understanding what this means, and following through on it.

I speak from experience.

So the moral is quite important. It's something that we could all learn from. Indeed, many of the ways characters that interact with them use are methods you'd see in mindfulness training, or in meditation.

No, they don't have the boys take up the lotus position. Nothing like that. Rather, they constantly force them to see things as they are, rather than by judging or by viewing situations through their own past experiences.

That was pretty awesome.

Unfortunately, I had a few problems with this ebook that would keep me from giving it a stellar rating. The story was good, and the characters were enjoyable. However, grammar and style issues caused me to have to force my way through quite a bit of the story.

Spell Check was obviously used. There wasn't a single spelling error at any point. Unfortunately, it felt as though an organic readthrough never took place. I found issues with verb tense, proper forms of pronouns, and sentence structure.

I realize this makes me seem like a grammar fiend, but it made a huge difference. It increased the time it took me to read this wonderful story, many times having to reread a sentence in order to understand what was happening.

Paragraph length was another issue.

When paragraphs were properly broken up, I flew through the story, taking in every last word. But quite a few of those paragraphs were way too long. On a few occasions, paragraphs lasted a full page and a half on my ereader. While this may work out for an epic length adult novel - maybe - it doesn't work for a YA novel geared toward middle school readers.

I ended up skipping through a great deal whenever that occurred, which caused me to become frustrated with myself: What did I miss?

So while the story itself was absolutely well structured, and while I completely loved the world, I couldn't enjoy it nearly as much as I would have if an organic readthrough had been done.

But this author has talent. One round of proofreading would make this into something spectacular. It's currently free on both Nook and Smashwords, so I'd suggest downloading this work from one of them and waiting to see if the author updates it in the future.

Seriously.

The story structure is phenomenal. An organic readthrough would make this work amazing.

Castle of Change: Legend of the Outsider can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Suzanne Lilly's A Thousand Little Secrets Shows Nothing Can Remain Hidden

Just one wrong move,

And you're cursed

With knowing too much.

Imagine that. Claircognizance sounds fun, but is it, really?

Cover design by KJ Jacobs

A Thousand Little Secrets is a YA paranormal romance written by Suzanne Lilly.

So what's it about?

All Marin wants is a normal life. Being claircognizant, however, makes that pretty much impossible. See, any time she touches someone whose emotions are high, she has a chance of hearing everything they're thinking. To most people that would seem like a benefit. But what happens when you 'hear' about a crime being planned, and have no way of explaining how you know about it?

Brock is the new guy in town, and Marin is his school ambassador. Her job is to show him the ropes and make sure he can find all of his classes. Marin doesn't quite know what to think of him in the beginning. Slowly, though, she begins to realize that there's more to Brock than his shallow appearance would suggest. When Marin discovers a plot to swindle the people of Olympus, Brock ends up being the only person she trusts to help her save the town.

Imagine what it would be like to know people's secrets - the ones that they've told no one.

It sounds like fun. That is, it sounds fun until you realize that some things aren't said for a reason. We wouldn't just hear the cool stuff... we'd hear the sad, the angry, and the boring things, as well.

Not only that, but we'd feel responsible for fixing some of these situations we hear about. That is, unless we suffer from clinical narcissism, which I assume the majority of us don't. When we see people in trouble, we want to help. Basically, this knowledge would be draining.

In Marin's case, she learns that a shell company is threatening the livelihoods of several people in town. She has no proof, of course. She knows this simply because she heard somebody else thinking about it.

So much for telling the police, right?

Lilly takes us through this dilemma, showing us the uncertainty, confusion, and frustration that Marin feels as she tries to do something about a crime that hasn't yet been committed. Naturally, she runs into one barrier after another, and even ends up placing herself into uncomfortable situations that cause people to doubt her character.

And then there's Brock.

The new guy in town, Marin is forced to spend time with him, since her high school places her in charge of getting him accustomed to his new environment. In the beginning, she's unimpressed with him - he's just some annoying, shallow guy that's gotten the attention of the popular crowd.

But at least she only has to deal with him for a few days...

Soon, though, she realizes that he's not annoying. Or shallow. Indeed, she finds herself trusting him more than anyone else after only a short amount of time. So much, in fact, that she

Tells. Him. Her. Secret.

Yep, he learns about her claircognizance. While he's unsettled at first, soon he's helping her try to save the town that he's so new to.

This ebook flows beautifully, leading the reader through Marin's world. Lilly did a spectacular job with character development, making us understand the difficulties that Marin and Brock face. While there were times I wanted to strangle them for making really bad decisions, I can't complain about this - we all make decisions that make sense in a given moment, but in hindsight, were really, really stupid. This is normal. Frustrating, but normal.

And real.

I did, however, feel that there was one glaring loose end that went nowhere. One of the characters mentioned a Society (capital S), but I never really discovered what that Society was. This appeared important, but no explanations were given, turning an interesting mystery into a red herring.

If you're interested in dialogue, however, the conversations were highly readable. I smiled quite a bit over the humor within some of the conversations, and shook my head in frustration when people refused to believe things Marin told them. Dialogue was extremely well done.

If you're looking for a light paranormal romance with a bit of amateur detective work mixed into it, A Thousand Little Secrets would be a good choice.

A Thousand Little Secrets can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Darren Simon's Guardian's Nightmare Totally "Gets It."

Protecting two worlds

From total chaos and suffering

At the hands of a ruthless and powerful sorceress.

That's not too much to ask of a middle-schooler, right?

Cover Design by Kenneth Tupper

The YA urban fantasy Guardian's Nightmare is the first installment of the Last Princess of Latara series, written by Darren Simon.

So what's it about?

Charlee just moved to San Francisco. She's thirteen, the new kid at school, and feeling pretty miserable about it. In an effort to make her feel better, Charlee's father decides to give her a bike that he discovered at the college campus where he works. Unfortunately, it's an old, rusty thing... and she hates it. He may call it a "classic," but she sees it as yet another thing to set her apart from everyone at her new school. Even worse? No matter how hard she tries to get rid of the thing, it mysteriously returns to her. 

And now she's having nightmares. The everything-about-them-seems-real kind of nightmares. Can things possibly get any worse??? As a matter of fact, yes. They can... and they do.

I really liked this one. 

Charlee was, to put it in a rather egotistical manner, me at age thirteen. Charlee didn't even come close to being perfect:

She was never sure of the right thing to say or do, second-guessing herself. 

She felt as though life was going to swallow her whole. 

She didn't have the perfect body. 

She was constantly upset at her parents, even when she didn't need to be.

And she just couldn't seem to fit in.

In other words, she was a normal middle school girl.

Darren Simon totally got it. It felt as though he understood exactly what it was like to be a girl going through puberty. 

Middle school sucked. 

I'm not sure I've ever met a single girl that disagrees with that statement. Nobody walked with confidence, we all had pimples erupting like ant holes shooting out from the main colony, and we were all miserable a good portion of the time. If you don't remember feeling that way... you blocked it out.

Simon clearly didn't block it out. He brought it all out loud and clear, and held nothing back.

And then he added some extra stress into the equation.

Like Charlee's discovery that she has a pivotal role to play in the battle to bring down a powerful sorceress bent on destroying everything she loves dear. She's a guardian of the gateway between worlds... and she may be the last one. And the evil sorceress? It's her great-aunt.

And we think we have problems!

Charlee doesn't handle it all with pizazz. She gets herself and others into trouble. She constantly messes everything up. She has absolutely no clue what she's doing, and it's pretty obvious.

But she has guts.

Even though everything is way above her head, and even though she has absolutely no idea how to make things right, she tries. Charlee pushes through, intent on not giving up.

I really flipping like that girl.

It's not a perfect book, though, understand. While Simon truly creates a character that anyone can identify with, there is one thing about this story that really bugged me.

The dialogue felt wrong. 

While each statement made by a character made sense, and I have no desire to say otherwise, the dialogue felt forced, as though the author was trying to convey too much with each statement. I wouldn't have been able to read the discussions within this ebook out loud. They just wouldn't sound true.

I know. I tried it.

Keep in mind, though, that I'm a dialogue fiend. I mean, I minored in theatre in college, just so I could spend time with all of the glorious dialogue within each play. I love dialogue, and it makes me picky.

The narrative within Guardian's Nightmare, however, was spectacular. 

There was never a dull moment. Scenes were vivid, and even the grammar was spot on - not a single error. I never once doubted the use of any words within the narrative text. It was all right.

And as I mentioned, Charlee was easy to identify with. She was 100% real.

Guardian's Nightmare can be found on Kindle and Nook.

Susan Griner's The Cemetery Sleeper Reminds Us of the Power Grief Has Over Us

We've all heard superstitions about graveyards:

Hold your breath while passing by one so your life isn't cut short.

Don't sit on a tombstone.

Don't ever lay down on top of a grave.

Unfortunately, the characters within this next YA paranormal work didn't get the memo on that last one.

Cover art by Nicole Stremlow-Monahan

The Cemetery Sleeper is a paranormal YA novel written by Susan Griner. It's her first published piece of fiction, as well, and I'm sure it won't be her last.

So what's it about?

After the death of Freddy's mother, he is sent to the town of Mabry to live with his aunt Teri and cousin Emily until his father completes the process of packing and moving their possessions from their home. One day, he and Emily are listening to a local boy, Matt, as he tells a ghost story that warns of the dangers of laying down on top of a grave. Seeking to prove that Matt's ideas are ridiculous, and that nothing will come of such an action, Emily declares that she'll lay on one, thereby disproving Matt's claims... and she drags Freddy along to act as a witness.

Sure enough, nothing happens... to Emily. Freddy, on the other hand, stumbles into a headstone marked, quite simply, "Tump." All seems well until Freddy goes to sleep that evening. When he does, however, he dreams about Tump's life as viewed through Tump's own eyes. This wouldn't be a big deal, except that upon wakening he feels the same physical pain as Tump felt within the dream.

And things only get worse from there...

Throughout this ebook, we get to know Freddy, and we see the pain and grief he goes through after the death of his mother.

Indeed, we get to see the power grief has over us.

Griner takes us through the different stages of grief, showing us that they don't have to come in any particular order, and that each one is both necessary and profound, and we should take care not to stagnate within any one of them.

In this story, the paranormal - ghosts, in this case - have power over us when we believe in them.

Belief is a strong factor in The Cemetery Sleeper: Belief of superstition, Freddy's belief in himself, everyone's belief in Freddy. Indeed, there's a huge lack of belief within the pages.

I mean, who would really believe that some dead guy from the distant past has come back through someone we know?

Characters have to wrestle with their knowledge of fact and their knowledge of Freddy himself. And as a freshly grieving son, who can blame him for what seem like fantastic stories? He's just working through his pain.

Or not.

Griner's ability to not only show us what the stages of grief look like, but also to show us what the responses of others can do to us during this time is brilliant. I both understood and hated people's reactions. Just as in reality, nothing anyone did really felt right. Freddy acted in an unpredictable manner, and people around him reacted without really understanding what was happening to him.

Just as in reality.

I was impressed. Indeed, I was convinced that Griner had a background in psychology, though I've found nothing to show that. She did work within elementary schools, however, so perhaps her understanding came from a connection with the students she worked with.

This, of course, is all speculation. 

What I do know, though, is that Griner did a spectacular job of thinking like a young boy. Freddy felt real. Whether I agreed with his decisions or not, I understood them - I could even imagine myself doing many of the same things Freddy did, even though I knew the results wouldn't be particularly sterling. 

While it didn't quite tug on my heartstrings as much as I would have liked, The Cemetery Sleeper was a great work, and successfully dealt with grief in a manner that felt true, even going as far as to give the reader an idea of how necessary it is that we not stagnate in any one of the stages.

The Cemetery Sleeper can only be found on Kindle.

Shayla Morgansen's Chosen Makes Magic Real!

Magic isn't a myth.

It isn't something that defies logic.

It's actually rather scientific.

At least, that's the impression this latest ebook gave me. Magic was logical, followed specific rules, and even seemed to fit within the laws of science.

In a word, refreshing.

Chosen is the first installment of the Elm Stone Saga, an urban fantasy series written by Shayla Morgansen.

So what's it about?

The White Elm Council has governed over those with magical powers for centuries. Their rule has been a peaceful one, leading its people toward the light side of magic, forbidding the practice of the dark. Now, they're taking it a step further. They've decided to open an academy to train young sorcerers and sorceresses to fulfill their magical potential. Those with the right qualifications will have the possibility of apprenticing with one of the councilmembers, meaning that one day, those individuals may become part of the White Elm Council, as well.

It's a great opportunity, and when the Council Scrier, Qasim, offers Aristea the chance to become an academy student, she wholeheartedly accepts. She has always dreamed of becoming a scrier, even though she has never once been able to scry... well, anything. 

Things don't go quite as she expects them to once she begins her studies, though. One night, she breaks magical law (unintentionally, of course), and considers herself lucky that all she got was three weeks of detention with the headmaster, a man with a dark and mysterious past. There's something familiar about him, though she's never before seen him...

In Morgansen's world, magic exists alongside modern technology. Only those with magical talent, however, know about it. They use their power for Good, rather than Evil.

Or, at least, most of them do.

A former member of the White Elm Council, Lisandro, has gone rogue and manipulated two other councilmembers into following him. His plan? To create a new governing structure with himself at the helm. Cruel and driven, Lisandro will do anything to make this happen. Murder is an acceptable option.

Naturally, Aristea finds herself caught up in this power struggle.

And her personality?

She's complex and real. She wants to do something. Something big. Something important. Yet... she doesn't believe in herself. Overcoming self-doubt is a theme throughout this novel, and Aristea's struggle is one that we've all faced at some point in our lives.

Morgansen makes us believe in Aristea. We believe in her magical potential, her intellectual potential, and especially, we believe in her heart. We know she'll be great. We know that her heart is always in the right place...

But she doesn't.

And that makes her real.

And while we're on the subject of reality...

Morgansen does a spectacular job of making magic itself appear real. It seems quite clear that she has a tremendous amount of scientific knowledge that she draws from to make this happen. Whether she has a background in science, or not, that I don't know.

But she clearly understands scientific processes and theories.

We see this in the instructors of the White Elm Academy. The reader is privy to bits and pieces of lecture that feel very much like real classroom lectures... though more interesting because, well... magic!

Morgansen explains simple concepts, such as the idea that magic cannot be created or destroyed. Merely borrowed, modified. Sound familiar?

Yep. Energy.

Throughout the ebook, in fact, she draws on science in order to create magic, lending it credibility. It was something I found exciting, as well as engaging. She spends a lot of time on theory, rather than trying to impress the reader with awesome spells.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of those... but they wouldn't have been nearly as impressive without the theoretical lectures and explanations of the processes involved.

They are what made the magic so true.

Those theories and processes made it feel as though the reader could perform magic... if only we had that talent.

This ebook was wonderfully engaging, and I highly recommend it. Morgansen has a great ability to bring fiction to life.

Chosen can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords, as well as Scribd.

Cheryl S. Mackey's The Unknown Sun Shines with Promise

A broken girl.

A strange new world.

And a destiny.

It's time for another YA Fantasy review!

The Unknown Sun is the first installment of The Destiny Series, a YA fantasy romance written by Cheryl S. Mackey.

So what's it about?

Moira fears becoming too close to anyone. Every person she's ever loved has died, and she feels cursed. It's a lonely life, but the pain of losing anyone would be far worse, so she goes through each day of her life trying not to be noticed.

All of that changes one day, though, when she's assaulted by a young man that seems to have something against her, personally. "Why you?!" he yells as he attacks her. Just as she begins to black out, she hears the voices of two people coming to her defense. 

And she awakens in an entirely different world. A world where people have dense, powerful wings and speak of a prophecy - one that Moira is at the center of.

Intriguing, huh?

When the author contacted me about the possibility of a review, I took one look at the cover and fell in love. The artwork gives us a sense of both fragility and power, and the design whispers a promise of secrets and mystery.

Yep. I loved the cover.

Mackey gave herself a tough job: She created a girl that was horribly, severely, emotionally broken... then set about the task of healing those wounds. Not only that, but Moira had the future of an entire world on her shoulders. Not an easy task.

How does a person emotionally recover from not one, but two near death experiences that took away the people they love most? And how does a person learn to love again without fearing another heartbreak?

In Moira's case, it took traveling all the way to another world in order to make this happen. Her companionship with Skylanders Airi and Bel gave her the strength necessary to transform herself. This friendship was strong, and romance blossomed between Moira and Bel.

Mackey did have a tendency to use a bit too much of the passive voice, and quite a few adverbs were sprinkled throughout the story. This caused it to lose energy at some points. At around 60% through the ebook, however, Mackey picks up the pace with stronger word choices. The energy picks up and The Unknown Sun becomes truly engrossing.

I was particularly interested in Airi. 

She wasn't the standard female friend. She was strong, determined, and she kicked some serious butt! Airi had what I would call the leadership within this group of friends. I found her to be quite an admirable character. I'd like to see more of her in a future ebook.

I was also fascinated with Mackey's decision to meld the world of the story in with our own world. How does she do that?

Historic Architecture.

Ancient history, to be specific. Our two worlds were connected by portals that have been locked for thousands of years. The Parthenon? That was built when the first humans came to our world from theirs. The Pyramids? Same thing. That's right - Earth isn't our original home.

While I'd like to see a future update of this title with stronger verb usage in place, The Unknown Sun is well worth the read... even without taking that step. Mackey's paints a beautiful world, and weaves our own planet into it, making it personal.

The Unknown Sun can only be found on Kindle, or as a  Barnes and Noble paperback (Only paperback).

The Griffin's Boy by Julia Hughes Sets Your Imagination Soaring!

Have you ever dreamed of soaring the skies...

On a griffin?

Artwork is an image engraved by Gustave Dore via Ludovico Ariosto,
and adapted for the cover by LLPix Designs

If so, you'll definitely be interested in The Griffin's Boy, a YA fantasy written by Julia Hughes.

So what's it about?

As a commoner, Neb's future will be one of drudgery... that is, until he decides that Balkind, a young griffin, deserves a place as a mount within the ranks of the prestigious Griffin Riders. Though Balkind is chosen, his intelligent and troublemaking nature causes him to be left behind. 

Neb, who has cared for Balkind since the griffin was a baby, refuses to let Balkind's opportunity slip away. Leaping onto Balkind's back, the two of them ride off in pursuit of the Dragon Riders. Neb is determined that Balkind will get his chance at greatness.

On the way, though, Neb and Balkind discover a young child in danger, and a village in trouble. Once they become involved in the situation, the pair's lives change profoundly.

Hughes created a beautiful and rich world full of people who had real problems. 

The world was both vibrant and dark, dependent upon the given situation, and the environment felt true. Hughes didn't just create a world... she lived it.

But that's not all!

From minor characters that only spoke a few lines to those of prominence, every single person within this ebook was three dimensional. They had flaws and perfections, fears and dreams. Hughes didn't cut any corners. Even the griffins within the pages had individual personalities.

I was transfixed.

I started and finished The Griffin's Boy in a single day. Seriously. Not only did the world and everything in it feel real, but the action was high, and the story complex. 

Hughes wove plenty of plot twists and mysteries into this ebook. I've mentioned that I love to place myself into stories as I read them. It's not always possible, but in this case, every break I took was filled with ideas of how I could solve the problems the characters encountered, or where the characters would discover me (thereby including me in their adventure). 

Yep. I'm the bookish version of a camera ham. I admit it.

And Hughes gave me plenty of opportunities to bask in that glory!

This was almost a Treasured Tome. So what held me back from giving it that designation? Well, for whatever reason, though the characters were spectacular, the story engrossing, and the plot complex, it was missing something on an emotional level. 

My heart didn't beat hard enough to feel like it would burst through my chest, I didn't cry, I wasn't enraged, and I didn't feel a strong personal connection with anyone. The characters felt real, but they felt more like acquaintances than friends or enemies.

I'm not entirely sure why, and that may just be me. It's very possible that you'll feel differently and believe it should be a Treasured Tome. The writing is solid and the story is brilliant. So give it a read. 

You won't be disappointed.

The Griffin's Boy is available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

An Adventurous Journey With Ben the Dragonborn

After the nightmare inducing zombie story I reviewed last week I decided it was time for something a little more tame.

So I chose a book in which a hydrophobic boy is sent to a water world where the skies are filled with monstrous, man-eating bird creatures. What can I say? I give myself great advice...

I just don't follow it particularly well.

Cover Art by Laura Gordon

Ben the Dragonborn, A Six Worlds Story, is a YA fantasy written by Dianne Astle.

And yes, I'm exaggerating the intensity of the book. It really is a lot tamer than Anywhere But Here. It does have man-eating bird creatures and a boy that's scared of water to the point of having a phobia, however.

So what's it about?

Ben is enrolled in a school which places a high interest in physical activities. Unfortunately, one of those required activities is swimming - something that Ben dreads beyond all else. His nights are plagued with dreams of being dropped into the water where he sinks, unable to bring himself to the surface. After failing his swimming test in the most embarrassing manner, he's sent to the principal's office, where it will be determined whether or not he'll be able to stay in his school. 

Everything changes for him during that meeting, and he suddenly finds himself travelling to a different world... one that's almost entirely covered with water.

Pretty cool, huh?

The characters in Ben the Dragonborn were fully fleshed out and likeable.

While I'm most definitely not afraid of the water, having swam in pools, lakes, rivers, and two oceans, I completely understood Ben's terror. Rather than getting annoyed at his intense fear, however, I sympathized with him, and yearned that he would overcome it. I owned his fear, briefly claiming it as my own. Me!

That was awesome.

Not only did this story do a spectacular job of making the reader understand fears, but it also showed the dangers and heartbreak that can result if those fears aren't faced. It showed how easy it is for fear and ignorance to create hatred.

But it also showed that hatred brought about by ignorance can be overcome.

The world that Ben entered was populated by both humans and mer-people, and they were about to go to war with each other. Tensions were high, and each race of people saw the other as inferior and vile. This was largely due to the fact that there was little to no communication between the two groups.

Ben and his traveling companions were forced into a situation where people from both groups had to deal with those differences and learn to trust each other.

That is, unless they'd rather die horribly due to natural hazards and wildlife...

Not much of a choice there, right?

Well, I assume you can guess which choice was made. This is book one, after all! The characters all learned to think rather than make quick judgements. I enjoyed that immensely.

Ben the Dragonborn made me smile. It also made me frown as I worried about what would happen to the characters I became involved with. The story was strong, and though I felt it taught a great deal about acceptance of others for who they are, rather than who we think they are, it never once felt preachy. Rather, it felt like an obvious truth.

And there's no better way to get a message across.

This was definitely a book worth reading, and can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Firemancer is One Sizzling Hot Collection!

Hopefully, you aren't getting tired of the number of YA reviews I write...

Because I have another one for you!

This one is a box set. 3 different books within the Fated Saga.

The Firemancer collection is a YA fantasy written by Rachel Humphrey D'aigle.

So what's it about?

Thirteen year old Meghan and Colin Jacoby are twins raised by their Uncle Arnon, and the family has always travelled from one place to the next, never staying in one area for very long. This would have been a lonely life for most people, but the twins have a special talent that most people don't: the ability to communicate with each other with their thoughts. While this link often leads them to feel their own minds are crowded, with no real sense of privacy, it turns out to be a valuable asset when their lives are suddenly turned upside down after a magical attack on the current campground they're staying at. Propelled into a strange world in which magic is a basic fact of life, the twins find themselves unsure of who to trust, while at the same time struggling to understand magical abilities that have lain dormant within their own bodies throughout their lives.

Firemancer was a truly wonderful glimpse into the human mind.

This collection, written for a younger audience (I'd say ages 10-15), can easily be enjoyed by a wider age range. The basic feelings of love, loss, and self-discovery easily transcend age barriers.

At the same time, though, the manner in which the twins respond to problems is clearly appropriate for the age they've been given. I never doubted they were thirteen. The author never imposed a "more mature," adult problem-solving mentality on them, and I found this to be quite a relief. 

The result was two real characters with real problems.

D'aigle has a true understanding of human nature. Firemancer was rich with human complexity, and I felt for every single character, whether they were children or adults. Each one had a unique and appealing personality that she breathed a tremendous amount of life into.

Really, the only complaint I have about Firemancer had very little to do with the actual story: Something about the cover just wasn't right. I mean, the cover fit, but there was something "off" about it. I think that perhaps I felt that the cover didn't match the age group the Fated Saga was written for. 

Have I mentioned I'm overly picky?

Because this was truly an amazing piece of work. While researching the author, I discovered that there are more books within the Fated Saga that I look forward to reading.

And as much as I disagree with the cover choice for the age range, I have to admit to loving the art anyway. It truly is spectacular.

So give Firemancer a read. Since it's a YA collection written for a younger age range, it won't take very long at all, and when you finish you'll feel as though you've done something great for yourself.

Firemancer can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.

Fascinated with Fierce Winds and Fiery Dragons!

Holy everlasting buckets of gumdrops, Batman!

Ok... maybe Robin never actually said that. It was totally me... but it sure tells you just how overwhelmed I was with the sheer awesomeness of this most recent ebook, don't you think?

Have you ever protected a dragon from a bunch of fuzzy, beaked creatures looking for lunch?

I Have.

Have you ever transported into a strange new world when you should have been sleeping in bed?

I did.

How about rescuing a princess from a tower?

I did that, too.

And I did it all while reading Fierce Winds and Fiery Dragons, the first installment of the Dusky Hollows series, written by Nan Sweet.

I elected to read Fierce Winds and Fiery Dragons because I wanted an ebook that was reasonably short, but not too short. This was an obvious choice, since it was just over 40,000 words.

The author has billed it as a children's chapter book, ages 9-12, and that's a great fit for it, I think. In all honesty, however, I think this is enjoyable for anyone that enjoys a good, high-paced, urban fantasy (modern world, infused with magic).

Short and sweet. Just what I was looking for.

Oh, and... did I mention?

It achieved Treasured Tome Status!

Yep. It's that good. I couldn't put it down, read past my bedtime, and woke up late because of it.

So what's it about?

Ivy and Carrie love their fifth grade class, even if their teacher, Mrs. Huffity, does tend to say and do some pretty strange things. One day, Mrs. Huffity asks the class for volunteers to care for an egg. Taking care of the egg for one night means being able to ignore a single class assignment free of penalty, which is every student's fondest dream. Ivy, though, has had nightmares about this egg, and so she refuses to have anything to do with this easy way out of an assignment. At one point, though, Ivy takes the egg home with her, knowing that the egg will be in danger if she doesn't. After this choice is made, however, Ivy discovers that keeping the egg safe means placing herself - and Carrie - in danger.

Have I caught your interest, yet?

Then let me put it to you this way:

The last time I was this excited over an indie author's work, I ended up buying every last ebook that the author had on the market. I still follow her closely today, even though I'm paying much more for each new book that comes out now that she's made it to print. 

That author is Amanda Hocking. 

Nan Sweet's writing is very different, of course, and Fierce Winds and Fiery Dragons isn't quite as well polished. She should probably find a good proofreader to catch the accidental homophones that occasionally find their way into an otherwise exceptional work (hear instead of here, for example).

Strangely, those mistaken word entries didn't bother me as much as they normally would. Perhaps this is because her command of storytelling is so engrossing that I'm able to simply pass them off as "oopsies" that occurred because her brain was thinking so far ahead that her fingers couldn't catch up.

Regardless, that's the only flaw that I found in this ebook.

Fierce Winds and Fiery Dragons was so well written and so mesmerizing that I was upset when the author was cruel enough to let the book end. I wanted 

More, More, More!!!

Not only that, but I wanted to race to my neighbor's house, wake her up by banging on her door, and beg her to download this for her daughter... who will have the reading skill necessary to enjoy it sometime before this calendar year is over.

Thankfully, I was able to refrain... barely.

But I do plan on bringing it to the neighbor's attention later, because...

Wow.

Download it. Give it to a fantasy loving child. Read it yourself before you do. Then read the sample for the next one in the series, as well... and go ahead and buy that installment, too. I did.

Fierce Winds and Fiery Dragons can be found on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords.