Mary Deal is one of my favourite authors. Her books always keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat.
River Bones is no exception.
Story.
Sara Mason has returned to the town where she grew up as a poor girl in a dysfunctional family. Now, though, she is a successful computer game designer and has enough money to buy a large house in need of modernisation.
Not everything is as it seems, though. A serial killer is on the loose, and things begin to get dangerous when the killer turns their sights on Sara.
I am saying no more so as not to give anything away.
Blurb.
A serial killer is on the loose in Sacramento River Delta.
When Sara Mason returns to her hometown to start a new life, she learns that a murderer is terrorizing its residents. Despite battling difficult childhood memories, Sara is determined to make peace with her past.
But she soon learns that the elusive psychopath is now stalking her. Sara’s attempt to rebuild her life is hindered even more by the discovery of skeletal remains on her property. As the investigation focuses on several suspects, Sara discovers critical clues and bravely volunteers to be a decoy for the sheriff’s department.
Sara’s destiny has brought her back home, but will her decision lead her down a path lined with danger… and straight into the arms of a madman?
Characters.
The main character, Sara, is a young woman who has issues left over from her childhood. She tries to overcome them while fighting her fear of living alone.
We can empathise with her as she is well drawn and has depth.
Her best friend, Daphine, is a likeable, but sensible woman who gives Sara good advice (not always taken!)
Esmeralda is the former owner of the house Sara has bought. She now runs a care home for the elderly, even though she is elderly herself. Her husband disappeared on a gold hunting trip and his body has never been found. However, she is nothing if not resilient and proves a great ally to Sara.
The town has its quota of strange characters. Crazy Ike, Frederick, who works at the care home and is strangely fascinated by death and dying, and Tripp, who is the gardener at the care home, creating beautiful gardens. Sara finds him as creepy as the other two.
Wonderful characters who remain with me well after finishing the book.
Writing.
Mary Deal sets the scene of her book right at the beginning. Before I had read many pages, I was feeling on edge. She brings the people and area of The Delta to life, and I feel she has taken me there.
Typos are non-existent. Grammar is almost flawless, except for a confusion of ‘to lie’ and ‘to lay’, which, I find, a lot of people have trouble with.
Have you read River Bones, or any other of Mary Deal’s books? Did you enjoy them? Let us know in the comments section.
Danny is a dog who lives with his human, Andrew, on a boat in Florida. He wrote a series of blog posts, and many of the adventures in the book appeared on his blog. This book is a compilation of Danny’s adventures, and how he trained Andrew.
Blurb
Danny the Dog is a prolific writer. He’s written articles for bloggers around the world and has his own very popular blog where he dispenses his wisdom on a monthly basis. He’s humorous, clever, charming, delightful, and sometimes irascible. Or, as he would phrase it, “I’m a purveyor of wit, wisdom, and words.”
In My Name Is Danny, Danny writes about his real-life adventures living on a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his human, Andrew. He tells of their trials and tribulations … and the love they have for one another.
Fans of The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and A Big Little Life by Dean Koontz will enjoy this book.
Characters.
The main character is, of course, Danny.
Danny tells his tales in an amusing way, usually at Andrew’s expense.
One cannot help but like this little dog, with his many ‘brave’ exploits.
Writing.
The writing is good. We get a clear picture of Danny’s character from the tales, and laughs from the many humorous adventures he relates.
Have you read this book? Do you know Danny from his blog?
I would be delighted to hear your thoughts in the comments.
I would also appreciate any reviews of my books, too. Reviews are important to authors as they help let the readers know about them. Millions of books are published each year and getting people to know they even exist is difficult.
If you wish to purchase any of the books, simply click on the cover in the sidebar and you will be taken to a page where you can buy from your favourite store. (The ebook versions of the first in each series is FREE.)
This book is the second in the Dragon Train series. It begins two years after the events of Dragon Train.
It is an original take on dragons. There was, many years before, a war between dragons and humans. The humans won and enslaved the dragons, treating them badly and making them pull their trains.
The humans–most of them–are unaware that dragons are intelligent and can speak to each other through telepathy.
Story.
Jaidon is visited by the Dragon, Skye, whom he rescued from the dragon train along with her mate and three youngsters. She wants his help in freeing the dragons from slavery.
Jaidon goes with her to where the free dragons live–a less than hospitable place, where he is enlisted to help.
I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll leave it there.
Characters.
Jaidon is a believable character. He has problems with his father, as many teenagers do, but he is loyal in his determination that the dragons should not be enslaved. He is likeable and brave, too.
The dragons all have different personalities. Skye seems to look on Jaidon as one of her own children and there are occasions when he thinks she is behaving like a mother. Her mate is not quite as certain of Jaidon as Skye, but is willing to trust him, in order to gain dragonkind’s freedom.
And there is one very scary dragon who has never been enslaved. He is a huge blue called Helmut. He has his doubts about Jaidon, but decides that he has to trust him, but only up to a point.
Writing.
RJ draws a clear picture of the dragons and their situation. He makes us feel sympathy for them. I think there is just enough description of the surroundings for us to be able to envisage it.
He certainly makes Helmut scary!
There were not many typos, although I did notice a few, but the grammar and punctuation were flawless.
Do you enjoy teen stories?I know quite a lot of adults do!Let us know in the comments.
I really love dragons, and have them in most of my fantasy books to date. If you would like to read about my dragons, click on the covers in the sidebar. They are available in all formats and from many platforms.
You can also buy merchandise related to the books by visiting
As you will have noticed, I took the festive season off. Now I’m back!
Happy New Year to you all.
Today I’m posting a book review. I finished reading this book a while ago, but have only just got around to reviewing it.
Overview.
This book is the second part of the Kane Saga. It continues where the first book left off.
Story
Elijah, the prince who was believed to be dead, has returned and is now betrothed to Princess Sienna.
The dragons, hidden in human form, are making themselves known.
But Elijah has to go on a quest and leave his beloved behind. The dragons tell him that two things are needed to defeat the Master. One is a staff and the other a time.
He sets off with his trusty friend, Salah, a grumpy dragon called Maelor and a feisty elf.
Needless to say, all does not go according to plan.
The plot is interesting and gripping. But sadly, it does not resolve the problems but leaves you hanging in the air, waiting for the next book. I don’t like series that do this. It’s a serial, not a series. Although in all fairness, Ms Williams calls it a Saga, not a series.
Blurb
Having grown up in Rheanydd, all Elijah wanted to focus on was entering the annual Hollom horse race. A year later, he’s one of Princess Sienna’s Elite bodyguards in Adelith, where he learns more about his hazy past every day.
King Roderick’s solution to Eli being revealed as the missing crown heir is to marry Eli to Princess Sienna and combine their two bloodlines. But when a body is found with a blood-splattered message and the queen reveals a secret about Eli’s magic, a wedding is the last thing on everyone’s mind.
Eli starts to doubt the Dragon Elders’ motives when their answers only come in the form of cryptic messages. Yet he can’t help but feel a connection between the dragons and himself. So, he agrees to fulfil their task to get the relics before The Master’s Agents of Cyran.
But the agreement between the dragons and his father is due to end soon, setting the dragons free from their human forms and able to rebuild their race. Unless The Master gains control of them.
Can Eli and the dragons work together to stop The Master from getting the relics, or will he gain control over the dragons to rebuild the world and become a god?
Characters.
I enjoyed the characters in this book. They are all different, with their own characteristics. Maelor is always grumpy. Salah is always loyal.
They are all well-drawn.
Writing.
Sadly, like the first book, this is riddled with errors. I found a number on every page. Grammar, wrongly used words, typos, syntax. Also, I understand that the author is from Somerset, England, yet at least once she uses the American, ‘gotten’. While not wrong in an American book, it struck a harsh chord here.
There were other things not strictly wrong, but that gave me a strange picture. Like ‘Eli dropped his eyes to the ground.’ Too many superfluous words, mainly prepositions, too.
Punctuation also left a lot to be desired, too. Often there were commas where there should have been a full stop, and missing commas when someone was named. And there were a few places where I had to go back and read a sentence or paragraph more than once to make sense of it
This is such a pity, because the story is good, but because of my experience with the writing in the first two books, I am wondering if I can manage to read the next one.
I hadn’t read any of the Windrush books, but I will certainly be reading more. Mr Archibald has created a character that one wants to know more about.
The book is full of excitement and action, and the story holds the reader, wanting to know what happens next and how Jack can escape from the predicaments he finds himself in.
I read it in 3 sittings and found it hard to put down when I needed to do something.
BLURB
Burmese War, 1852. Unable to join the famous Royal Malverns, Jack Windrush is commissioned into the despised 113th Foot.
Determined to rise in the ranks and make a name for himself, he is sent with the 113th to join the British expedition. But when they get involved in the attack of Rangoon, Jack realizes that war on the fringes of the Empire is not as honourable and glorious as he expected.
After a chance meeting with a renegade British soldier, Jack witnesses the true terrors of war, and begins to question the whole framework in which he has grown up.
CHARACTERS
The main character, Jack Windrush, is going to join the Royal Malverns like his father and grandfather before him. He has dreams of glorious warfare and winning honour. But things go against his dream and he finds himself in Burma with the despised 113th foot and discovers that war is dirty and frightening.
Through the book, Jack has doubts and fears but he grows and becomes a true leader.
Wells is a sergeant in the 113th. He is well-drawn by Mr Archibald. We can truly believe he is what he is portrayed to be, a hard-bitten career soldier. But why did he decide to stay in Burma and not return to England with his regiment? And why has he volunteered to join the 113th?
There is sensitive writing of the only female character in the Burma part of the story. Her name is Myat and she is something of a mysterious character, but she has an important role in Jack’s development.
The other characters are mainly officers who are hidebound and unbending. I suspect a lot of Victorian officers were like this.
Even the despised soldiers of the 113th have their own growth arcs.
WRITING
The writing gripped me. I could feel the heat and humidity and the biting insects in the forest, and hear the drums of the natives.
I felt Jack’s suppressed fear, as he went into battle for the first time, and his determination not to show it. It would not be gentleman-like, nor officer-like.
There were one or two typos that had got through, but not enough to spoil my enjoyment of the story.
I give it 5*
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.
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.
Would you like an exclusive story by me? Of course you would.
It’s called The Haunted Table. To get your copy, simply click the link. This will take you to the page where you can download it.
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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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.
Today, I am honoured to be a part of Diana Wallace Peach’s blog tour. She is stopping by to tell us about the book she has recently released. It’s called The Necromancer’s Daughter, but I’ll let Diana tell you about it.
Take a seat and help yourself to a biscuit while I pour you some coffee.
Isn’t this a beautiful cover?
Now you’re comfortable, I’ll hand you over to Diana.
Thanks for having me over to your blog, Viv. I’m delighted to share a thought or two about The Necromancer’s Daughter, and in this case, the challenges of crafting “good” characters.
My latest book has a couple of virtuous characters, different from my usual mixed bag of flawed souls. I think characters with flaws, inner conflicts, and ambivalence are easier to write because they’re inherently more interesting and often more active as they go around messing things up.
So, what did I do for my characters who aren’t emotionally compromised or moral wrecks?
Barus, my necromancer who starts off the book, is one of the sweetest people around. He’s led by his heart, and though that gets him into some dicey situations, his main challenge is simply to stay alive.
Fortunately for this writer, he fades into the background early on when Aster, the necromancer’s daughter, takes the forefront. She’s more of a challenge since she has to carry the story to the end.
She’s also “good,” and in her case, it’s that quality that creates danger for her and ambivalence for other characters. Her sweet nature gets her into trouble more than it saves her.
One way to make life miserable for our nice characters like Aster is to give them lose-lose choices. (Writers are ruthless, aren’t we?) And that’s exactly what I do to my poor heroine. She is constantly having to choose between two bad options, and that creates a lot of inner turmoil while also testing her convictions. By the end, she just might discover that there are worse choices than death.
Something about the story
A healer and dabbler in the dark arts of life and death, Barus is as gnarled as an ancient tree. Forgotten in the chaos of the dying queen’s chamber, he spirits away her stillborn infant, and in a hovel at the meadow’s edge, he breathes life into the wisp of a child. He names her Aster for the lea’s white flowers. Raised as his daughter, she learns to heal death.
Then the day arrives when the widowed king, his own life nearing its end, defies the Red Order’s warning. He summons the necromancer’s daughter, his only heir, and for his boldness, he falls to an assassin’s blade.
While Barus hides from the Order’s soldiers, Aster leads their masters beyond the wall into the Forest of Silvern Cats, a land of dragons and barbarian tribes. She seeks her mother’s people, the powerful rulers of Blackrock, uncertain whether she will find sanctuary or face a gallows’ noose.
Unprepared for a world rife with danger, a world divided by those who practice magic and those who hunt them, she must choose whether to trust the one man offering her aid, the one man most likely to betray her—her enemy’s son.
A healer with the talent to unravel death, a child reborn, a father lusting for vengeance, and a son torn between justice, faith, and love. Caught in a chase spanning kingdoms, each must decide the nature of good and evil, the lengths they will go to survive, and what they are willing to lose.
My Review of The Necromancer’s Daughter.
OVERVIEW:
This book is a definite page turner. I loved it all the way through and although I couldn’t put it down, I definitely didn’t want to get to the end.
The cover is beautiful.
CHARACTERS
Fantastic characters. D. Wallace Peach has brought us amazing people. They seem real as they have failings as well as good points. They struggle with knowing what is right and wrong amid conflicting views.
Aster has the ability to resurrect the dead. Is it evil to do so? She does not think so. Some think the Blessed One alone should have this right of who lives and who dies, and to go against her wishes is evil. But can Aster stand by and allow a death she could prevent? If the Blessed One did not want the dead person to be revived, surely she would not allow it?
Facing danger in the Forest of Silver Cats, Jorah questions his whole life. He has promised to help Aster get to Blackrock, against everything he has been taught to believe—that necromancy is evil and necromancers should be put to death. He is conflicted as to why he agreed to do so. His concerns trouble him throughout the book.
<p>Teko is a simple man. One whom the ‘civilised’ people consider to be a barbarian, but he is a loyal protector of Aster.
Finally, there is Barus. He is a man with a crooked spine. A truly good person. He resurrected Aster after she was stillborn and brought her up as his own daughter. He is a wonderful man whom I find difficult to forget. </p>
WRITING
The writing is amazing. This is one of the few books I’ve read recently that I have not had to get my metaphorical red pen out to correct errors.
D. Wallace Peach has a wonderful way with words. Her descriptions are beautiful, and I love her metaphores and similes. She takes you into the world of magic, dragons and kingdoms at odds with each other and makes you believe in it.
If you are a fantasy fan, I would recommend you go and buy it now.
Here’s a bit about Diana.
A long-time reader, best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life when years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books. She was instantly hooked.
In addition to fantasy books, Peach’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of the arts in her local community, organizing and publishing annual anthologies of Oregon prose, poetry, and photography.
Peach lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.
You can buy The Necromancer’s Daughter by clicking here or on the cover of the book.
I would like to thank R S Williams for letting me have a free copy for an honest review.
OVERVIEW
A good story, even if it is a fantasy trope. A prince, hidden to save his life from an unknown enemy who has killed the rest of his family. A birthmark that proves he is the missing prince. He has no idea of his true identity.
Having said that, the fact that this idea is not an uncommon one does not mean it cannot be dealt with in a different way, and be an entirely different story which Kingdom of Lies does.
I love the cover. It’s magnificent.
BLURB
Magic is back in Adelith, and with it the return of Cyran.
Elijah spends his days preparing for the annual Hollom horse race and working at his guardian Merrick’s forge. That is, until Merrick is summoned back to Castle Aebarrow in Adelith by the king.
Unable to stay in Rheanydd without a legal guardian, Eli is forced to go with Merrick who takes up the position of captain and trains the new guards. But the more time Eli spends in Adelith, the more his lost memories resurface-and they throw up worrying questions about his past.
As a member of Princess Sienna’s Elite Guard, Eli saves her life when it’s threatened by the presence of a mysterious Missing Prince. Eli’s heroics incur the wrath of a mad sorcerer known only as The Master, hell-bent on ending the courting prince’s life.
Elijah enters a dangerous path of self-discovery where magic and secrets intertwine. The truth about his past is within reach, but can he unlock his memories and solve the riddles in time to save the true heir to the throne? Or will the castle be brought crumbling down once more?
CHARACTERS
Elijah, the prince, is a likeable character, although he does not have much depth.
There was little to distinguish most of the characters from each other, except for Leon.
When we first meet him, he is antagonistic to Elijah. He is mouthy to his superiors, but never gets punished for it. Then, suddenly, at the end, he’s suddenly friendly and joking, and talking as if he’d been best friends with Elijah all along. But Leon is a minor character.
There was little change in most of the other characters throughout the book.
WRITING
The writing was poor. As I read, I thought it was the first book by a novice writer who had got to the end and pressed ‘publish’. There are many mistakes, both typos and grammatical errors. Sometimes this caused confusion.
The author confused me at times by using a pronoun that did not refer to the last person mentioned.
There were several places where the syntax was confusing, and she also had disembodied eyes floating around on more than one occasion. (Elijah’s eyes fell to the floor.)
There were other places where I was confused, and could not understand what was going on, and a few places where she contradicted something she had said previously.
I was surprised to read in her acknowledgements that she thanked her critique partners and her beta readers, as I saw nothing to indicate any input from them.
If I hadn’t promised a review, I don’t think I could have finished this book in spite of the good story, as I kept being annoyed by the poor writing.
I give the book **
Do you think the writing is important if the story is good?
Please tell us in the comments box?
If you would like to receive an exclusive, free short story by me, called The Haunted Table, simply click the link. This will take you to the page where you can download it.
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 Prodigy of Rainbow Tower by Charles Yallowitz
OVERVIEW:
This is a continuation of the story told in The Beginning of a Hero. In this book, Luke and his companions, Fritz, the gnome, Nimby, the halfling, Aeden, the priest,and Fizzle, the little dragon-like creature known as a drite, set off to escort the heir to Duke Solomon home to Gods’ Voice.
First, though, they need to collect a caster apprentice from Rainbow Tower. She is a very prickly individual. Her first meeting with Luke does not go well.
The book is full of action. On the journey along the L’landrin River, they meet with traps and agents of the litch from book 1 that are trying to kill them.
We also learn that the litch is serving a much more powerful master that even the gods themselves fear.
This book has some shocking twists, but \I won’t spoil it by letting the cat out of the bag.
You will laugh and cry reading this book.
BLURB
Luke Callindor and his friends are about to learn that the life of an adventurer can be brutally unforgiving.
Hungering for another adventure, Luke agrees to escort the heir of Serab along the L’dandrin River and into the safety of Gods’ Voice. A deadly gauntlet of cunning traps and savage creatures lay before the young warrior and his companions. Lacking the powerful magic needed to combat his enemies, Luke’s survival and victory may be in the hands of his newest ally. That’s if the temperamental Nyx doesn’t set him on fire first.
Luke will bravely face everything that is thrown at him, but how can he defend himself when he’s ignorant of the truth behind his mission?
CHARACTERS
Mr Yallowitz has continued to enthral his readers with his story. We meet a new character in this book. She is the Prodigy of the title. Her name is Nyx and she is an extremely powerful caster. Sadly, she has a character flaw. She loses her temper extremely quickly, and with her being such a powerful caster, with a tendency to use fire magic, she is a dangerous individual.
Mr Yallowitz writes strong women. I love them.
We meet a new enemy, Trinity, the Queen of the Chaos Elves, who wishes to exact revenge on Nyx after they fight over the rooftops. Of course there is the Hellfire Elf who seems almost human in his desire to get his revenge on Luke.
There is the usual squabbling between friends, but nothing serious. This is how friends behave in real life. And we see lasting friendships beginning to form.
Nyx’s growing friendship with Luke makes her become less prickly.
As before, Luke and his friends are well-drawn. I fell in love with them all, but especially Fizzle.
WRITING
The world is believable, and fully realised and described.
We are introduced to a number of fight scenes that Mr Yallowitz describes excellently. As I have already said, the characters are well drawn and believable, and change as we progress through the book.
Sadly, though, this book has many typos, as well as grammatical errors and the wrong word used in some cases. (as Nyx’s weapon, a morning star, which Mr Yallowitz calls a mourning star all through the book.)
This gave me a problem as to how to rate it. The story deserves 5*, but the typos and grammar should have put it at 3*. I compromised by going with the average.
I gave the 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.
Book review, review of Legends of Windemere, Charles Yallowitz, The Prodigy of Rainbow Tower, fantasy, fantasy review,
Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 