Review of The Allure of the Gypsies by Charles Yallowitz.

Overview.

An excellent continuation of the story begun in The Beginning of a Hero and The Prodigy of Rainbow Tower. It held my interest throughout. In this book, we learn the reason for Luke’s reluctance to return to his home town of Haven.

Characters.

We meet a new character in this book–a gypsy girl called Sari. She is very much a free spirit, and brings a new dimension to the characters we are already familiar with.

Luke continues to evolve. He gains new powers, but only after a difficult training. He learns much in this book, as does Nyx, his friend, and a powerful caster of magic.

I love Mr Yallowitz’s strong female characters. None of them are weak, simpering girls expecting the men to look after them. They are both physically and mentally strong.

The antagonists are equally complex. For example, Trinity, the Chaos Elf queen, has an ambiguous relationship with both Nyx and Sari. I look forward to learning more about her in the later books.

Writing.

Sadly, as with the previous two books, there are a lot of typos, incorrect grammar and a couple of wrongly used words. Or rather, the wrong word used. This, fortunately, is offset by a strong plot and interesting characters. This means that I can only give an otherwise excellent book 4*.

My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable. Not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

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Maria and Tom have bought an antique table for the old cottage they have bought. When they hear strange noises in the night that sound like crying, they worry their house is haunted, but the sounds seem to come from the table.

They set about trying to find what is causing the disturbances. The answer is stranger than either of them had thought.

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Review of Darkwitch by Kat Kenney

OVERVIEW

This is the sequel to Dyrwolf that I reviewed previously. It is a good story, and I enjoyed it. It took me a little while longer to get into the story than the previous book, though. I’m not quite sure why this was.

STORY

This continues the story from Dyrwolf. The dyrwolves, a kind of werewolf, and the humans have learned to live together after the events in Book 1, although it is an uneasy truce, neither fully trusting the other. As well as that, some humans, and some Wolves have left the colony to form groups in opposition to the treaty, and each other.

It is in this scenario that Lea Wylder, a half wolf girl, and Henrick, a wolf shifter, find themselves. Lea is having visions of a mysterious man firing an arrow that kills Henrick. How true are her visions, and can she prevent them from happening?

There is a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.

BLURB

After twenty years of oppression, Lea Wylder has freed the Colony, one of the last human cities in the Nordvend, from the wolves. But freedom has come at a terrible cost. Radical forces threaten unrest. Wolf shifters and humans are more divided than ever. Lea’s nightmares have returned, except this time it isn’t her own death she sees—it’s Henrik’s, the wolf shifter she saved the previous fall, who possesses a terrible magic that has marked him as a target among humans and shifters alike.

Attacks on the Colony increase by the day. Something lurks out in the dark, frozen woods, just beyond what Lea can see in her visions, and she must discover who is hunting Henrik before it’s too late.

CHARACTERS

I found I liked the characters in the story. Lea is battling with her heritage of being half wolf-shifter after she discovers this in Book 1. Her mother had been raped by a wolf-shifter, and given birth to twins. Lea and boy, Gunnar. Gunnar had been brought up with the shifters, and Lea with her mother and her husband whom she believed to be her father. When her mother left to find Gunnar, Lea believed she had been abandoned, and she has to battle this and the conflict when she finds her mother again.

All this and the growing romance between her and Henrick, the Darkwitch of the title, makes her a compelling character.

Henrick, too, has his demons. He has inherited great powers. Greater than all the other shifters. His mother had these gifts and misused them to hold power over the shifters in a cruel way. He is terrified he will becone like her.

The other characters are equally well-drawn and have their own problems to deal with.

WRITING

The writing is on the whole, good. Ms Kinney sets the scene well and draws the reader into the story and the characters. If I have one complaint it would be about the number of superfluous words used. An example is ‘Moonlight spills in through the yellow-paned window glass over my pillow.’

The words ‘in’ and glasse are not necessary, and it would read better, in my opinion, without it.

‘Moonlight spills through the yellow-paned window over my pillow.’

There are many instances such as this, and overuse of the word ‘just’, which most times can be left out to strengthen the writing.

Ms Kinney has built a wonderful world, full of vivid scenes. I can really picture where the characters are and the surroundings.

I give it 4*

My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable. Not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

Review of Kor’Thank, Barbarian Girl by Kent Wayne

OVERVIEW:

I enjoyed this ridiculous concept of a story. It was a fun romp through a mixture of scifi and fantasy.

BLURB

On a parallel Earth similar to ours, a barbarian king and an evil cheerleader switch bodies, threatening to destabilize the entire multiverse. That’s just the tip of the adolescent iceberg—in the race against time to set things right, teen genius Peter and master strategist Eun face off against a world-devouring monster.

Tons of profanity. Idiot demon-jocks. Copious psychedelics. An airborne kiss at three hundred miles per hour, dangling from the back of a mushroom-shaped mecha.

This is the high school experience you’ve always wanted. But more importantly, it’s the high school experience you so richly deserve.

STORY

Bodies switched between a barbarian leader on a parallel world and a cheerleader on Earth. Two teens who have the knowledge to switch them back. And a demi-god who appears as various things from a dog to a bicycle to a supercar to a…
The stability of the universe is at stake, and unless Peter and Eun can defeat an evil demi-god and an equally evil company, that’s the end of everything.
I don’t want to say more, except that I loved the velociraptor steeds of the barbarians. (except for a couple of occasions when Mr Wayne mentions them rearing. Since velociraptors are two-legged creatures, I found that I could not conceive of this idea,)

CHARACTERS

The characters are fun and varied. Eun is the strategist behind the operation, and Peter the scientist. I loved Kor’Thank, the barbarian leader, who found himself in the body of a teenage girl. His reaction to this was interesting. As was the reaction of Holly, the girl cheerleader who ended up in Kor’Thank’s body. But she became more nasty and evil.
The characters did change throughout the story, adapting to their circumstances—Kor’Thank for the better, and Holly for the worse. I don’t want to say more.

WRITING

The writing was good. Very few things that irritated me.

SUMMARY

I give the book 4*.
If you’ve read anything else by Mr Wayne, you will find this very different.
Although it is about teenagers, I would not recommend it for teens to read. There is much swearing and some sex.
It is a fun read.

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Send me my free story

Maria and Tom have bought an antique table for the old cottage they have bought. When they hear strange noises in the night that sound like crying, they worry their house is haunted, but the sounds seem to come from the table.

They set about trying to find what is causing the disturbances. The answer is stranger than either of them had thought.

(Clicking the link will add your email address to my email list, but don’t worry, you can unsubscribe immediately if you wish. Nor will you get any spam. I only send out an email each quarter, or if I have any exciting news–like a new release.)

A 4*review for Vengeance of a Slave

I recently discovered this review on Goodreads.

Barbara Ann Author

June 6, 2020

Adelbehrd and his family live in the Roman provinces. Their simple life is suddenly turned upside down when Roman soldiers come to exact revenge for a rebellion in which they played no part.

They randomly choose men to be examples. Adelbehrd’s father is crucified. He and his sister are singled out to be sold as slaves because of their blond hair. Torn from their grieving mother, the two terrified children are carted off to a far-off villa to be enslaved.

For many years, their monotonous life continues. One day, Adelbehrd discovers that his sister is about to be sold. A friend tells him about a group of Britons who rescue slaves. Adelbehrd is determined to protect his sister and hatches a plan to escape.
Will they be successful, or will they suffer the dire consequences?

The book appears to be well researched. The plot moves along and keeps the reader’s interest. I would recommend it to those who enjoy history and intriguing characters.

Thank you Barbara Ann for this kind review.

Please leave your comments in the comments box.

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Maria and her husband, Jack, have moved into an old cottage. They want to furnish it with period furniture and buy a medieval table.

That’s when the mystery begins. Strange sounds in the night. Have they bought a haunted house? But a medium tells them it is not a ‘lost spirit’, but something else she does not recognise.

What is it that is causing them to lose sleep? The answer is more unexpected than anyone thought.

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