 Captivating and engaging from start to finish.
Blurb: “The year is 1304 A.D. in the Yorkshire area of England. King Dunstan reigns in Europe over the Kingdom of Misty Hill. The King’s castle stands large, beautiful and strong surrounded by large fences and all of his knights and their squires. Not far off from the castle lives the townspeople enclosed by the safety of the Northern Woods and the mystery of the Dark Woods to the South of the Castle. The story showcases a young squire named Jai and his best friend, the beautiful princess Amelie. As the story unfolds we follow both of them on their adventures from their secret meetings in the Northern Woods to their forbidden steps through the Dark Woods. Most especially, though, we follow Jai who quickly develops an unforeseen talent for seeing visions. As Jai and Amelie journey along their days, another kingdom from across the land arrives for The Medieval Games. As The Medieval Games begin, Jai uncovers secrets about the other kingdom to imply that they are more than what they seem - secrets that only he and Princess Amelie are privy to. What will they do with those secrets? What is the other kingdom really there for, if not for The Medieval Games? If he keeps secrets from the King will he risk his chance at knighthood?” This is a sweet and captivating story. The beautiful picturesque writing style is the key element to the plot. The events take place in the year was 1304 A.D. in the Yorkshire area of England. The main characters are squire Jai, a tall young man, and Lady Amelie, his best friend, and the beautiful Princess of the land, both about 18-years-old. As they are friends for many years, despite their difference in their noble status, the reader can easily predict and except them to be together in the future. But the story takes us in witnessing something even more special. “There was a strange yellow door that only Jai could see. A ray of light shot down through the treetops far above them and highlighted the door, standing in the dirt in the middle of the woods.” The visions bothered him because he knew he was the only one seeing them, he knew they were not real, yet he did not understand why he was seeing them. Jai’s vision isn’t something explainable at first but it will save the Kingdom. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep reader’s interest. The ending leaves you with answers and also questions that will make you eagerly expect the next book in the series. I warmly recommend. My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon
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 A great read, with fantastic and tensed fight scenes.
Blurb: “The most dangerous women in the world dare the most dangerous place in the world. The Shingora, a place known and dreaded by all, the name driving those who hear it to mutter prayers and make signs for protection. None who have gone to that island ever came back… until now. The trade guilds sent an expedition there, hoping to find a wellspring of natural resources. Only one man returned, his experience having reduced him to gibbering madness. Now the guilds are sending a new expedition, three hundred strong and armed for war, to learn the fate of the previous one and rescue the survivors… if there are any. Joining them are the Chosen sisters: Aleena Kurrin, the Battle Queen, gifted by the gods in war, and Baezha Ambrose, the Witch Queen, gifted by the gods in magic. Sworn to recover any survivors, they are joined by a host of new friends and brave an island teeming with bizarre creatures. And on the Shingora, everything kills. Yet an even darker discovery awaits them in the Shingora’s depths, an unnatural horror far worse than anything the island’s sinister reputation ever hinted at. And while immersed in all the island’s perils, a traitor threatens the company from within. With treacherous enemies at their backs and engulfed by a horde of abominations, the sisters will be tested as they’ve never been tested before… and even those Chosen by the gods have their breaking point.” Though listed as book 3 of the series Sisters of the Storm, this is a stand-alone novel. Packed with a great adventure, an almost impossible goal to achieve, a team of warriors, sorcerers, physicists, and a great dose of magic, this book is a ‘hell’ of a ride. The best people were carefully selected for a mission to the island Shingora, named also 'The eight hell' as no one ever returned alive from there. The offered payment was impressive as the job seemed a tough one. Will they succeed? Will they return to be actually paid or they will have the same destiny as anyone else that set foot on Shingora? The characters, the scenes, and all the descriptions are wonderfully done. There are two main characters: Baezha Ambrose, a gifted sorceress, and Aleena Kurrin, her adoptive sister, a gifted warrior. Beautiful, talented, gifted, intelligent, super-powerful and yet sensitive. The success of the missions depended a lot on them. They were soon the target of gossip and constant verbal and physical attack. Graff was the main reason behind. He was a guild member but paid by someone else to prevent the success of the mission as there were certain people that wanted things to stay unchanged on the island. In fantasy or real world, humans have the same characteristics and most of the time the good ones win. Despite the fact that a big part of the story is filled with action, magic, and alchemy I was pleasantly surprised seeing that the author tackled a bit of humor and lots of emotions too. I don’t want to reveal more as not to spoil the fun of reading. I do want to congratulate the author on his writing skills and abundant imagination. Quotes from this book: “Suggestion spells only work on minds susceptible to them,” Baezha said. “Any other mind would realize it when someone tried to use one on them. If you’re worried about me using one on you and Reegan, it’s obvious I haven’t.” “How?” Reegan demanded. “Because I would’ve suggested you and Graff make love before the main mast at mid-day, yowling like cats.” A few chuckles bubbled through the crowd.” “But I warn you now,” she said, her voice hardening, “do not mistake my patience for weakness. When my patience is spent, it is utterly spent. There will be no room for compromise or negotiation, I will accept no excuses or justifications from you, and whatever I do I will do with a clear conscience, because gods know I gave you plenty of opportunities to drop this and leave me in peace.” My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  Wonderfully written fantasy novel.
Blurb: “A human spirit banished to the body of a cat. Merliss has seen centuries of change, centuries of trouble. Something nasty has come through one of the ley gates. It walks upright. It talks. And it looks like an oversized cat, but as Merliss can attest, it doesn't smell like a cat. It's a cat sidhe on the hunt for slaves, anyone with opposable thumbs. Merliss travels to unknown territories to rescue a friend and encounters more trouble making her way home. The situation on the moors is far more dire than Merliss and her friends could have imagined.” Where can we find human spirits? In this fantasy paranormal adventure, they are in the bodies of animals and birds. The main protagonist is Merliss, a human spirit banished to the body of a cat. She, the cat, is supposed to be centuries old that she alone can’t remember anymore. Already from the beginning, we meet Saerwynn, Farland’s apprentice that she is yet to discover her gifts. The main problem is their encounter with a bad creature, a cat sidhe, a witch that shifted too many times into the shape of a cat. Not at all a regular cat. A mean, killer oversized cat. Merliss decides to go after the sidhe and save Saerwynn but she falls into several traps on the way, bordering with great dangers and we are yet to find if she survived. As the story unfolds we meet other characters too, animals or humans. The story is dark at moments. The descriptions of the places and the characters are wonderfully written. I may not be a big fan of fantasy but the author deserves my respect for his imagination and writing skills. Type of reader: Fans of fantasy adventures searching for something new. Quotes from this book: “Tell me. What do you profit from our bargain?” “Why, a friend,” said the pooka without a moment’s hesitation. “The value of a true friend exceeds their weight in gold or some such wisdom.” “I’ll owe you a favor,” said Saerwynn. “There will be no debts among friends. If you must think of my kindness as a transaction, consider it a favor to Merliss, first among felines of the moor.” “I believe your gifts will bring wisdom to your work. Time will answer. Patience before uncertainty is a hard lesson to learn. Let your gifts guide you in their own time.” “There are many kinds of fear. Sometimes it drives you to feats you didn’t think possible. Sometimes you cower behind it. Fear is natural. You cannot suppress it, but you must be the master of your fear. If it does not work for you, it will kill you.” My rating: 4/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  For the wine lovers.
Blurb: “Biodynamic. Naked. Organic. Laura McLove goes back to school. Spiritual school. She lures Leon - a hot, young, French natural wine expert - with the law of attraction and together they go on the road - Leon in pursuit of wine, Laura in pursuit of him. A "Natural Wine" noir, for lovers of the movie 'Sideways', and writers Bukowski And Fante.” In this book, we are witnessing to an important period in Laura’s life. Searching for a meaning, a spiritual awakening type, and probably a man that will stay, Laura, a 46 year red-haired good looking woman, left London after the death of her mother and moved to the countryside to study agriculture. She didn’t necessarily want to be a farmer but she saw this as an escape from London’s life. She thought and felt that she could be a writer but somehow the time was never right. There she met Leo, a French good looking guy, 17 years younger. The odds of him being interested in her seemed small. But apparently, with the help of the law of attraction, she got the chance to spend a night with him before the school ended. A few days later he invited her to join him on his trip to North America. He wanted to be a bio-dynamic wine producer on his parent’s farm so he was planning to visit vineyards worldwide in order for him to be prepared for his big dream. No, unfortunately, this is not a romance novel, but it does have a happy ending for Laura, despite her suffering a lot on this trip, that could have turned differently. At first, Leo seemed to have lots of positive characteristics, but he turned out completely different. Still, this journey was something that Laura needed. On top of that, she was finally going to write her book, something that she was trying to for a longer time now. With an interesting writing style, with humor and sarcasm at times, full of info for the wine lovers, this book made me enjoy not only MC's thoughts but also the description of all the places mentioned in the book. Type of reader: Fans of bibliographical kind of stories, though this is a work of fiction, with a lot of insight into bio-dynamic wine producing and info about many places in Europe and North America. I found this being an intriguing story, definitely, a must read. Quotes from this book: “The days continued. The sun shone, the rain fell, the water feature trickled its soothing sound in the background, Lilly went out to wander and Lilly came back again. I went to classes. I tried to write, I thought about Leo, I took long walks. I wrote out my gratitude journal. I didn’t go out of my way to try to find him because The Universe would drop him in my lap again, I felt sure.” “I don’t think he was by nature unpleasant. He was popular at college, others would call him ‘such a nice person.’ He had become hard with me. I was dealing with a hard wall, a person who was giving nothing. No kindness. Not normal. I wondered at my ability to attract such an experience. These were my thoughts as I tucked into basmati rice à la Leo. And still I stayed.” “The Universe wasn’t out there, responding to requests. It was in me. It was me. I was in it. A part of my consciousness and the energy that creates worlds was entangled in a quantum mystery. If I had a thought or a wish, it was happening in that quantum field too. If I fully believed in it, what I wanted might come quicker.” My rating: 4/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  We hear on the news, in documentaries about life on Mars or on the Moon. It may be more known in a closer or further future but until then we get to have books that let us fantasize. In this novel with a really beautiful name, we get to see humankind present throughout the whole Solar System. We read about a really fast way of transportation in space which makes many grin and say “if only that would be possible asap”. What makes this book special is that it deals with complex human relationships and it does not bother us with aliens or that sort of things that you are used in science fiction books. The main four characters are young people but my favorite character is the Governor of the Moon, Peter Drake because of his actions and words. He pleads for always doing the right thing, for helping others, fighting for peace and overall harmony and prosperity. He has done so his entire life and made sure that the newly appointed leaders will continue doing so after his departure. This was possible only when Dixon, the President of the Earth was finally removed from the picture. Dixon is definitely a character that the reader will despise, by only reading this sentence “I'm above the law and I myself represent the supreme, the ultimate power over the whole Solar System”. In addition to everything, I loved the most all the positive messages that were present through the whole book.
Type of reader: Lovers of fiction with a touch of science fiction, fantasy, adventure. My favorite quotes from this book: “Life's a precious gift we all need to cherish at any given time and age. Think carefully, coz you won't have much time left on your hands afterwards”. “Suddenly, the tiny little place called the Moon seemed so awe-inspiring and delightful to Brian. He felt young and strong again, uplifted and optimistic, brimming with hope, full of dreams and reveries.” “They finally understood a simple fact: that when people help humankind move forward for the sake of future generations, their reward is a sense of well being and spiritual enlightenment.” My rating: 5/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon  Big Jim (James Peck), the main character after whom this gripping novel was named, is a professional big game hunter who leads organized safaris in the jungles of Africa together with his partner Caesar Wilde. The action takes place in 1950s and I had to keep this in mind as it was a very common practice at the time, together with Hollywood promoting the life in the safari through many movies. “Not to mention that the kills we make feed villagers in need of meat.” With this line in mind, I managed to get over the thought of being bothered by the hunting that it is a big part of the plot. I just let myself enjoy the trip in the safari, got to know many things about the nature, wild animals, bit of Swahili words and the most important about all the danger while sitting comfortably on my sofa. The more I turned the pages, the more the pictures were displayed in front of me. While there may be a bit of romance between Big Jim and Mary, a journalist going on a shooting safari and asking a lot of questions for her piece in the magazine, the main happening was something else. Maybe not fully understandable for a westerner, but totally believable for the locals, we are presented with a Jabilo (medicine man) that wants to regain power by mystically controlling an amazingly big Cape Buffalo to help him achieve his goal. The Mnyama (beast) seems unbeatable, killing a lot of locals, destroying villages and fighting the white hunters. Someone had to stop the buffalo and not having much of a choice, Big Jim takes the deal. What happens next I will let you discover on your own, not to spoil the suspense.
Type of reader: f you are looking for a read of action, a non-stop adventure into the heart of Africa in the 1950s, just grab the book and join Big Jim on his greatest adventure! My favorite quotes from this book: “There was something about the Dark Continent which drew people from all corners of the earth. It had romance. There was danger and adventure beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Hollywood provided people a taste of this in the cinema, but there was nothing close to the real thing as an African safari.” “How next should I strike? This was the question plaguing him. The tribes were falling in line with fear. They scurried for help from the government against the beast wreaking havoc against them. It would only be a matter of days before chiefs sought his magic to rid the territory of the curse. But he needed something more to solidify his power as jabilo. I need a victory against the white hunters……..I need one of them to die! Only then will my power be unquestioned. Mokonzi only needed to choose his next victim. The Mnyama would take care of the rest. But which hunter?” My rating: 4/5. Find it on Goodreads Follow the author on Amazon |
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Message to you:In order to be a good writer, one has to read a lot. And I do and I love it....and I chose to share my readings with you. Feel free to share with me any of the books you have read or wrote, if I find them interesting I will add them to my list. I'll post my reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and all my social accounts. |
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