by Jasmyn | May 16, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Elissa of Tyr is the first heart-bearer to have her own book, and I really really liked being able to just follow one of them for a little bit and see the adventure through their eyes.
Traveling with her dragon and her djinn – the conversations between these three were so great – they infiltrate the Emperor’s magical shields on the land. This was a very quick read, but it still had a good dose of adventure, and I was able to meet some characters that I’m pretty sure will have some major actions to play in series as we move forward.
The magic of the land and the emperor’s control over it were also detailed a little more, and his plans and schemes are starting to be revealed to the reader. There are some very interesting ideas here, but I can’t say much more without giving some big things away.
This is definitely a series of books that need to be read in order! I hope it continues to show as the adventures of each heart-bearer as they make their way back into the world to fight the emperor and his evil plan. I am thoroughly enjoying this unique land and the creatures within it.
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Title: Heart of Tyr (The Heart of the Citadel #2)
Author: Susan Faw
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
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In a world where magic is forbidden, twenty children are given twin crystal heart pendants. Heirs of magic, the necklaces are not just a pretty baubles but indicative of forbidden magical blood. Heart bearer Elissa scoffed at her brother’s belief in dragons. That is until one abducted her on her eleventh birthday. Flown to the isle of Jintessa in its claws, Elissa discovers that not only are dragons real, but also the shapeshifters of legend.
Bonded telepathically to a Djinn Dragonmerger named Druzy and his dragon Mysty, Elissa is given a mission to return to Tyr and free her home from the tyranny of an emperor determined to control all magic. Hunted by her magically enslaved brother, can Elissa free her people and bring down the barrier, without destroying Ellas, in the process?
The battle for ultimate control of magic, has begun.
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by Jasmyn | May 8, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy
Let’s go back to Regency (I think, I’m not the best at the English eras) England only pretend that magic is real and an organized part of society. This is my dream book description. I love the English historicals, and I think they only thing they’re missing is a good dose of supernatural mischief.
Zen Cho really brings the supernatural mischief, and I loved it so much. We have witches, sorcerers, Faery creatures, familiars, and a whole host of other potentially magical beings just thrown about in everyday life. (Can someone please build a machine to take me there.) Downfall, they don’t really like when women work magic. And so our story begins!
Enter Zacharias, the Sorcerer Royal, and his new protege Prunella, an incredibly magical woman that Zacharias plans to reform the rules of society for so they will accept her as a member and not banish her (or worse) for being a sorceress. I adored Zacharias. He was smart, dedicated to his craft, and always the gentleman. Even as his opponents throw magical hexes and assassination attempts his way time and time again, he takes it all in a stride.
Prunella, on the other hand, I had mixed feelings about. At first, I loved her spunk and get-it-done attitude. Risking it all to follow her dreams and unlock the secrets in the relics her family left her. But as the story went on, I found her to be a bit grating. She rarely listened to the advice of anyone, and it often caused some major problems and ordeals. And in the end, she does something (that I dare not say or I will spoil so much) that made me positively dislike her. I know she did it for all the right reasons, but she was too cold about it. She needed to have an emotional reaction after the fact, and I didn’t see it.
I have the paperback for book two on pre-order though. The entire English world built here has completely captivated me, and I wonder how it all plays out.
**I voluntarily read a complimentary copy of this book**
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Title: Sorcerer to the Crown (A Sorcerer to the Crown #1)
Author: Zen Cho
Genre: Historical Fantasy
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Magic and mayhem collide with the British elite in this whimsical and sparkling debut.
At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.
But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…
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by Jasmyn | Mar 27, 2019 | Book Reviews, Readers, Science Fiction, Fantasy
I really really wanted to enjoy this book. The concept of the land and magic is fascinating, and I loved it. An apprentice that has a hidden past, a chip on her shoulder, and more power than she knows what to do with right now – alright, let me have it. I want more.
But then I met Kayden. Who is a character that I DID NOT LIKE even after getting part of her backstory and learning a bit about why she was so cruel (yes cruel, not mean, but cruel) to everyone (yes everyone) around her. I didn’t want to see her succeed. I wanted to see her get put in her place and in many respects she became the bad guy. Although at 50% through when I gave up, we hadn’t met anyone else to fill the bad guy role, so maybe she will be.
Also, everything was about sex somehow. Kayden blackmails two instructors, gets accused of being the lover for another, assumes one is trying to get in bed with her just because he knocks on the door, and everyone is either flirting with her or jealous of her unusual beauty. Knock it off already! I get it – she’s exotic and really pretty, but there can be other conflict that doesn’t revolve around sex. That was what ultimately made me put the book down. I just couldn’t anymore.
There were a lot of great things about this novel, but there were a lot of not very good things as well. I’d love to see a version with a more sympathetic Kayden. Still a brat with a chip on her shoulder, but some redeeming quality that lets me like her from the beginning. And find a way for her to blackmail, get her way, have conflict without it being about sex all the time.
**I voluntarily read a complimentary copy of this book**
Title: The Exercise of Vital Powers (Legends of the Order #1)
Author: Ian Gregoire
Genre: Fantasy
Some Lessons Must Be Learned The Hard Way.
Since its inception, The Order has been dedicated to the prevention of the misuse and abuse of magic. For seven decades this mandate has guaranteed peace and stability throughout The Nine Kingdoms. But a potential threat to the peace has emerged, and its source is much closer to home than the leadership of The Order may realise.
Arrogant, manipulative, confrontational and angry. Undesirable qualities in a person at the best of times, but more so in a young woman born with the power to bring kingdoms to their knees. Kayden Jayta, precocious apprentice of The Order, is all these things and more, yet wholly unwilling to acknowledge and rectify her many troubling traits.
Unbeknown to anyone, Kayden’s resolute determination to join the ranks of The Order is born of a secret that puts her priorities at odds with the precepts of the organisation, setting her inexorably on a collision course with the most powerful institution in The Nine Kingdoms.
If Kayden is to be dissuaded from walking the path she has chosen, averting tragic consequences in the process, two unanswered questions must be answered: What is the dark secret guiding Kayden’s actions? And, why has a legendary figure within The Order, with a secret of her own, taken undue interest in Kayden’s future?
