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Recommend this book:
Water Viper
A Jesse Alexander Novel
RJ Blain
2017 Bronze Medal
478 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Caitlin Lyle Farley for Readers' Favorite
Starfall changed everything, leaving some cities in ruins while survivors in others developed magical abilities. Jesse Alexander, once the pride of her clan, ran away after accidentally choosing to become a woman and is now a respected bodyguard who moonlights as the infamous assassin, Water Viper. A fateful encounter in a sinking Miami leaves her with a pulsing Starfall stone that could burst at any moment and a high bounty on her head. With herself, her secrets, and her friends in danger, Jesse skips town and disappears, retiring to raise horses and work as a courier. A promise forces her to return to her erstwhile home in Charlotte and Jesse finds herself at the centre of a dangerous situation. This could be her chance to right all the wrongs of her past, if she survives.
The post-Starfall world RJ Blain has created is realistic, exciting, and populated with memorable characters. It’s always refreshing to encounter a post-apocalyptic style setting where the government hasn’t fallen apart. The prose is direct and evokes vivid descriptions with a minimum of exposition. In general, I avoid books involving shifters, but Water Viper is one of the few that incorporates them while maintaining a balanced plot and allowing the characters to retain their higher thinking processes. There’s a trick to creating strong female characters and Blain has mastered it. Jesse strikes the perfect balance between physical strength, skill, and vulnerability. Water Viper is the most enjoyable book I’ve read this year, and the latest addition to my list of favourites.
Starfall changed everything, leaving some cities in ruins while survivors in others developed magical abilities. Jesse Alexander, once the pride of her clan, ran away after accidentally choosing to become a woman and is now a respected bodyguard who moonlights as the infamous assassin, Water Viper. A fateful encounter in a sinking Miami leaves her with a pulsing Starfall stone that could burst at any moment and a high bounty on her head. With herself, her secrets, and her friends in danger, Jesse skips town and disappears, retiring to raise horses and work as a courier. A promise forces her to return to her erstwhile home in Charlotte and Jesse finds herself at the centre of a dangerous situation. This could be her chance to right all the wrongs of her past, if she survives.
The post-Starfall world RJ Blain has created is realistic, exciting, and populated with memorable characters. It’s always refreshing to encounter a post-apocalyptic style setting where the government hasn’t fallen apart. The prose is direct and evokes vivid descriptions with a minimum of exposition. In general, I avoid books involving shifters, but Water Viper is one of the few that incorporates them while maintaining a balanced plot and allowing the characters to retain their higher thinking processes. There’s a trick to creating strong female characters and Blain has mastered it. Jesse strikes the perfect balance between physical strength, skill, and vulnerability. Water Viper is the most enjoyable book I’ve read this year, and the latest addition to my list of favourites.
Recommend this book:
 that brings surprises, laughs, romance, and genuine eccentricity. Bailey is known for three things: being able to find anything, being immune to all the nasty substances like gorgon dust, and her barista skills with pixie dust induced coffee. She gave up finding people to be a f...){kind=link}
Playing with Fire
A Magical Romantic Comedy (with a body count)
RJ Blain
2017 Bronze Medal
294 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite
Playing with Fire by RJ Blain is a romantic comedy (with a body count) that brings surprises, laughs, romance, and genuine eccentricity. Bailey is known for three things: being able to find anything, being immune to all the nasty substances like gorgon dust, and her barista skills with pixie dust induced coffee. She gave up finding people to be a full time barista years ago when Police Chief Samuel Quinn came into the shop, asking her to find his cheating wife. He's hated her ever since. When his brother-in-law comes in asking her to find someone, and offers a significant amount of money to do so, she's skeptical yet intrigued enough to find out why. A gorgon dust phone bomb later, she realizes she's in the middle of something much more complicated than her attraction to Chief Quinn.
Playing with Fire is an eccentric, charming, and humorous oddity, a rare gem, and definitely unique. RJ Blain brings a refreshing whimsy to well-known mythology. A nervous and anxiety ridden moment becomes humorous when the Incubus that has helped kidnap her suggests playing poker. Blain has a talent for flipping serious moments and turning them into comedy, but then just as easily turning it back into something serious. Each comedic moment flows into a serious one with ease. A lot of that has to do with Bailey's narration. Bailey is headstrong, has no filter, but she's also quirky and charming.
The characters are larger than life and eccentric, but the craziness of the story fits those personalities perfectly. It's the fun kind of chaos. I couldn't help getting hooked. When Quinn has his family gathered together and they just keep growing, with a centaur and an angel and so on, it's one moment that's completely ridiculous and that's the charm. Bailey spends a good chunk as a unicorn. Each bizarre moment just shows how witty this story is. A must-read for anyone eccentric and craving a good romantic comedy!
Playing with Fire by RJ Blain is a romantic comedy (with a body count) that brings surprises, laughs, romance, and genuine eccentricity. Bailey is known for three things: being able to find anything, being immune to all the nasty substances like gorgon dust, and her barista skills with pixie dust induced coffee. She gave up finding people to be a full time barista years ago when Police Chief Samuel Quinn came into the shop, asking her to find his cheating wife. He's hated her ever since. When his brother-in-law comes in asking her to find someone, and offers a significant amount of money to do so, she's skeptical yet intrigued enough to find out why. A gorgon dust phone bomb later, she realizes she's in the middle of something much more complicated than her attraction to Chief Quinn.
Playing with Fire is an eccentric, charming, and humorous oddity, a rare gem, and definitely unique. RJ Blain brings a refreshing whimsy to well-known mythology. A nervous and anxiety ridden moment becomes humorous when the Incubus that has helped kidnap her suggests playing poker. Blain has a talent for flipping serious moments and turning them into comedy, but then just as easily turning it back into something serious. Each comedic moment flows into a serious one with ease. A lot of that has to do with Bailey's narration. Bailey is headstrong, has no filter, but she's also quirky and charming.
The characters are larger than life and eccentric, but the craziness of the story fits those personalities perfectly. It's the fun kind of chaos. I couldn't help getting hooked. When Quinn has his family gathered together and they just keep growing, with a centaur and an angel and so on, it's one moment that's completely ridiculous and that's the charm. Bailey spends a good chunk as a unicorn. Each bizarre moment just shows how witty this story is. A must-read for anyone eccentric and craving a good romantic comedy!
Recommend this book:
Epiphany - THE GOLDING
A mystical forest - A forgotten history - A love that spans lifetimes
Sonya Deanna Terry
2017 Silver Medal
416 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Melinda Hills for Readers' Favorite
Life is tough for Rosetta Melki as she does the best she can to raise her 15-year-old daughter, Izzie, in Epiphany: The Golding by new author Sonya Deanna Terry. As a free spirit trying to make ends meet in a tough world, Rosetta faces challenges like the rest of us, but with a positive attitude and the help of her friends. The ‘Friday Fortnight’ book club is reviewing an old text written by a reverend in 1770 and comes to suspect that there’s more to it than fantasy. Odd things begin to take place, seemingly combining elements of the story with everyday life so that Rosetta and a few of her closest friends feel as though the old text is coming alive through them. While the sprites are facing their own struggles in an ancient time and place, hope shines through in a complicated relationship between Pieter, a sprite, and Eidred, a princess of the greed-driven Grudellan royal family. Just as Pieter and Eidred create a bond, Izzie develops a friendship with an enigmatic Dutch boy with surprising abilities, and Rosetta thinks more and more about a man she recently met. How will the future play out as the story that reflects ancient times comes to life in the modern world?
Epiphany: The Golding is a story within a story about a mystical forest, an ancient prophecy, and a love that spans lifetimes. Sonya Deanna Terry has deftly and creatively combined two story lines, bringing them closer together as the book progresses until they actually overlap. While both are fiction, the two plots are taken from real life – greed, oppression, a struggle to survive and, as a balance, hope, love, faith and friendship. Epiphany has everything you want in a fantasy story – great characters, vivid descriptions of another place and time, believable present day action, and clear cut villains and heroes with a few surprises. Well worth reading for fun and for a subtle yet critical look at the future of the real world.
Life is tough for Rosetta Melki as she does the best she can to raise her 15-year-old daughter, Izzie, in Epiphany: The Golding by new author Sonya Deanna Terry. As a free spirit trying to make ends meet in a tough world, Rosetta faces challenges like the rest of us, but with a positive attitude and the help of her friends. The ‘Friday Fortnight’ book club is reviewing an old text written by a reverend in 1770 and comes to suspect that there’s more to it than fantasy. Odd things begin to take place, seemingly combining elements of the story with everyday life so that Rosetta and a few of her closest friends feel as though the old text is coming alive through them. While the sprites are facing their own struggles in an ancient time and place, hope shines through in a complicated relationship between Pieter, a sprite, and Eidred, a princess of the greed-driven Grudellan royal family. Just as Pieter and Eidred create a bond, Izzie develops a friendship with an enigmatic Dutch boy with surprising abilities, and Rosetta thinks more and more about a man she recently met. How will the future play out as the story that reflects ancient times comes to life in the modern world?
Epiphany: The Golding is a story within a story about a mystical forest, an ancient prophecy, and a love that spans lifetimes. Sonya Deanna Terry has deftly and creatively combined two story lines, bringing them closer together as the book progresses until they actually overlap. While both are fiction, the two plots are taken from real life – greed, oppression, a struggle to survive and, as a balance, hope, love, faith and friendship. Epiphany has everything you want in a fantasy story – great characters, vivid descriptions of another place and time, believable present day action, and clear cut villains and heroes with a few surprises. Well worth reading for fun and for a subtle yet critical look at the future of the real world.
Recommend this book:
Nite Fire
Flash Point
C. L. Schneider
2017 Silver Medal
402 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Jessica Jesinghaus for Readers' Favorite
Prepare to be sucked in by this gritty, dark, urban fantasy. Filled with mystery, danger, dragons, shifters and all manner of intriguing fantasy creatures, Nite Fire: Flash Point by C.L. Schneider is one helluva ride! Dahlia Nite has secrets, but her deceptions are necessary. After fleeing her home in disgrace, Dahlia lives in the human world in her human form, taking contract jobs and protecting humanity from the magic all around. With a death sentence hanging over her head, the human realm is a safe haven from her fellow lyrriken shifters. Homesick for Drimera, she knows she can never return. But when her one remaining Drimeran contact, Oren, puts her onto a case with obvious lyrriken involvement, the past she has spent nearly a century outrunning looks to be catching up with a vengeance.
Nite Fire: Flash Point has everything an urban fantasy should: action, danger, a well formed mythos, interesting creatures with diverse powers, and a hero you can get behind. In Dahlia Nite, C.L. Schneider has created someone special. She's tough, conflicted and smart, with a dark past casting shadows on her every action. Pulled deeper and deeper into her investigation, readers get to witness the aloof shifter draw close to the humans around her, possibly developing the first real friendships in her long existence. But what price will she pay for these connections? And can her new friends accept the truths hidden in plain sight? Nite Fire: Flash Point by C.L. Schneider is full of action and intrigue, a must-read for lovers of urban fantasy, and an addictive start to a series.
Prepare to be sucked in by this gritty, dark, urban fantasy. Filled with mystery, danger, dragons, shifters and all manner of intriguing fantasy creatures, Nite Fire: Flash Point by C.L. Schneider is one helluva ride! Dahlia Nite has secrets, but her deceptions are necessary. After fleeing her home in disgrace, Dahlia lives in the human world in her human form, taking contract jobs and protecting humanity from the magic all around. With a death sentence hanging over her head, the human realm is a safe haven from her fellow lyrriken shifters. Homesick for Drimera, she knows she can never return. But when her one remaining Drimeran contact, Oren, puts her onto a case with obvious lyrriken involvement, the past she has spent nearly a century outrunning looks to be catching up with a vengeance.
Nite Fire: Flash Point has everything an urban fantasy should: action, danger, a well formed mythos, interesting creatures with diverse powers, and a hero you can get behind. In Dahlia Nite, C.L. Schneider has created someone special. She's tough, conflicted and smart, with a dark past casting shadows on her every action. Pulled deeper and deeper into her investigation, readers get to witness the aloof shifter draw close to the humans around her, possibly developing the first real friendships in her long existence. But what price will she pay for these connections? And can her new friends accept the truths hidden in plain sight? Nite Fire: Flash Point by C.L. Schneider is full of action and intrigue, a must-read for lovers of urban fantasy, and an addictive start to a series.
Recommend this book:
The Soul Mender
The Soul Mender Trilogy Volume 1
R.S. Dabney
2017 Gold Medal
Kindle Edition
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Arya Fomonyuy for Readers' Favorite
The Soul Mender by R.S. Dabney is the first part in The Soul Mender Trilogy, a gorgeous read for fans of the paranormal genre. Meet Riley Dale, a woman who has had a troubled childhood characterized by nightmares. Now, she is targeted by a mysterious Rocky Mountain killer and she could be his next victim, running for her life. But she is suddenly plunged into a parallel universe, with Las Vegas becoming a place with a cornucopia of churches and terrorist activities. As she plunges into a world where nothing seems like what it is, she gains a deeper understanding of good and evil, and makes the shocking discovery of her ancestry. She is a descendant of a race with unique and powerful skills, who lost their skills through a stupid mistake. She could be the ransom for an error not of her making. Read on to discover how she survives, pursued by a dangerous sect and by shady government agents. What really is her destiny?
First off, I found the prose irresistible, the kind of seductive language that inundates the reader’s imagination with vivid images. R.S. Dabney had me hooked from the very beginning of the story with the stunning image and the intriguing dialogue: “Dark hair swirled around the faces of two figures looking down on the lights of a city far below. They stood motionless on a precipice, unmoved by the wind and pelting rain. Sharp daggers, gilded and set with precious stones, hung from scabbards hidden beneath long coats that billowed with each gust.” I couldn’t stop reading because the pace moves faster than in most books of this kind and the reader is suddenly swept off their feet into a whirlwind of action, punctuated by dramatic conflict. The Soul Mender features compelling characters, a gritty plot, and a world that will absorb the reader into itself until the very last page.
The Soul Mender by R.S. Dabney is the first part in The Soul Mender Trilogy, a gorgeous read for fans of the paranormal genre. Meet Riley Dale, a woman who has had a troubled childhood characterized by nightmares. Now, she is targeted by a mysterious Rocky Mountain killer and she could be his next victim, running for her life. But she is suddenly plunged into a parallel universe, with Las Vegas becoming a place with a cornucopia of churches and terrorist activities. As she plunges into a world where nothing seems like what it is, she gains a deeper understanding of good and evil, and makes the shocking discovery of her ancestry. She is a descendant of a race with unique and powerful skills, who lost their skills through a stupid mistake. She could be the ransom for an error not of her making. Read on to discover how she survives, pursued by a dangerous sect and by shady government agents. What really is her destiny?
First off, I found the prose irresistible, the kind of seductive language that inundates the reader’s imagination with vivid images. R.S. Dabney had me hooked from the very beginning of the story with the stunning image and the intriguing dialogue: “Dark hair swirled around the faces of two figures looking down on the lights of a city far below. They stood motionless on a precipice, unmoved by the wind and pelting rain. Sharp daggers, gilded and set with precious stones, hung from scabbards hidden beneath long coats that billowed with each gust.” I couldn’t stop reading because the pace moves faster than in most books of this kind and the reader is suddenly swept off their feet into a whirlwind of action, punctuated by dramatic conflict. The Soul Mender features compelling characters, a gritty plot, and a world that will absorb the reader into itself until the very last page.
Recommend this book:
It Lives in the Basement
Sahara Foley
2016 Finalist
137 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
It Lives in the Basement is a collection of interconnected dark horror stories written by Sahara Foley. Lieutenant Mike Flynn is investigating the mysterious disappearance of a couple that seems to have vanished into thin air. Pat Forbes hasn't been to her office for several days, and John Sempak, a writer, hasn't been seen in any of the bars he always frequents. Their landlord wonders if perhaps they quarreled and John murdered Pat. His wife finally had him call the police and report the situation. The couple's three cats have also gone missing, making the situation seem even stranger, especially when the police discover Pat's wallet, clothes, books and car still at the premises. After Mike dismisses the police officers investigating the scene, he decides to take a look at the spiral-bound notebook one of the officers had found. In it was a story that began in a most ominous fashion.
Sahara Foley's horror collection, It Lives in the Basement, is guaranteed to bring a smile of delight to the face of any horror fan lucky enough to pick this book up and read it. I love horror, but having grown up enjoying the works of Poe, Lovecraft and Derleth, rarely come across horror tales that reach the sublimely scary heights those classic authors mastered. This series of interconnected tales does just that. Foley's work is also an inspired police procedural at the same time, as the Omaha police follow a most unusual suspect in a series of disappearances and a particularly brutal murder. Foley's story is marvelous! The plot sizzles with tension, and the characters are compelling and real people you quickly come to care about. It Lives in the Basement is as good -- and as terrifying -- as it gets, and it's most highly recommended.
It Lives in the Basement is a collection of interconnected dark horror stories written by Sahara Foley. Lieutenant Mike Flynn is investigating the mysterious disappearance of a couple that seems to have vanished into thin air. Pat Forbes hasn't been to her office for several days, and John Sempak, a writer, hasn't been seen in any of the bars he always frequents. Their landlord wonders if perhaps they quarreled and John murdered Pat. His wife finally had him call the police and report the situation. The couple's three cats have also gone missing, making the situation seem even stranger, especially when the police discover Pat's wallet, clothes, books and car still at the premises. After Mike dismisses the police officers investigating the scene, he decides to take a look at the spiral-bound notebook one of the officers had found. In it was a story that began in a most ominous fashion.
Sahara Foley's horror collection, It Lives in the Basement, is guaranteed to bring a smile of delight to the face of any horror fan lucky enough to pick this book up and read it. I love horror, but having grown up enjoying the works of Poe, Lovecraft and Derleth, rarely come across horror tales that reach the sublimely scary heights those classic authors mastered. This series of interconnected tales does just that. Foley's work is also an inspired police procedural at the same time, as the Omaha police follow a most unusual suspect in a series of disappearances and a particularly brutal murder. Foley's story is marvelous! The plot sizzles with tension, and the characters are compelling and real people you quickly come to care about. It Lives in the Basement is as good -- and as terrifying -- as it gets, and it's most highly recommended.
Recommend this book:
 by S.K. Anthony is about a group of people who are genetically altered, known as Luminaries. Kinetic is told from Annie's perspective; we see how Annie works with her co-workers while getting over the heartbreak of her divorce from the dangerous Nick Logan.
In Kinetic (The Luminaries Book 1), Luminaries are selec...){kind=link}
Kinetic
The Luminaries Book 1
S.K. Anthony
2016 Finalist
337 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Siobhan Quinlan for Readers' Favorite
Kinetic (The Luminaries Book 1) by S.K. Anthony is about a group of people who are genetically altered, known as Luminaries. Kinetic is told from Annie's perspective; we see how Annie works with her co-workers while getting over the heartbreak of her divorce from the dangerous Nick Logan.
In Kinetic (The Luminaries Book 1), Luminaries are selected as teenagers, but not everyone can become a Luminary. Luminaries have different powers, for example, Annie is super strong, Jenny can heal, and Beth is super fast. When we meet Annie, it becomes clear that we are going to be reading about a strong female lead, which is a nice change from most books. Early on we are introduced to Annie's ex-husband, Nick, an evil murderer who is trying to destroy the Luminaries. We meet Nick when he breaks into the Worldsafe. Annie's orders are to kill Nick on sight, but she hesitates and this could cost her everything. It is clear that Annie still loves Nick, even though he left her three years before.
I really enjoyed all the characters, but I ended up hating how forward, pushy and obsessed Derek was with Annie. I found the story very interesting and I have not read a book like this one before. The author did a great job of explaining everything without needing to dump information on the reader, while still making sure the reader would know what was happening. The ending took me by surprise and I had not expected it. I am looking forward to seeing what this series has in store for me.
Kinetic (The Luminaries Book 1) by S.K. Anthony is about a group of people who are genetically altered, known as Luminaries. Kinetic is told from Annie's perspective; we see how Annie works with her co-workers while getting over the heartbreak of her divorce from the dangerous Nick Logan.
In Kinetic (The Luminaries Book 1), Luminaries are selected as teenagers, but not everyone can become a Luminary. Luminaries have different powers, for example, Annie is super strong, Jenny can heal, and Beth is super fast. When we meet Annie, it becomes clear that we are going to be reading about a strong female lead, which is a nice change from most books. Early on we are introduced to Annie's ex-husband, Nick, an evil murderer who is trying to destroy the Luminaries. We meet Nick when he breaks into the Worldsafe. Annie's orders are to kill Nick on sight, but she hesitates and this could cost her everything. It is clear that Annie still loves Nick, even though he left her three years before.
I really enjoyed all the characters, but I ended up hating how forward, pushy and obsessed Derek was with Annie. I found the story very interesting and I have not read a book like this one before. The author did a great job of explaining everything without needing to dump information on the reader, while still making sure the reader would know what was happening. The ending took me by surprise and I had not expected it. I am looking forward to seeing what this series has in store for me.
Recommend this book:
. I'm beginning to have the same disenchantment with books using fae, though there's still so much leeway with the fae yet. ...){kind=link}
The Light Who Binds
Bluebell Kildare Series Book 2
Lilo Abernathy
2016 Honorable Mention
404 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by J. Aislynn d'Merricksson for Readers' Favorite
The Light who Binds by Lilo Abernathy is the second in a series. The writing style drew me in right away, and I found myself enjoying the story despite a growing disenchantment with books that involve vampires (and werewolves). I'm beginning to have the same disenchantment with books using fae, though there's still so much leeway with the fae yet. It's just that there are depths to mythology and cryptozoology that have yet to be plumbed in the sci-fi/fantasy world! I read this one first, and Abernathy adds a bit of recap for necessary details. I was rather charmed by the world, and plan to snag the first book and give it a read.
Bluebell is a psychic investigator, and this book involves a search for a serial magickal arsonist (as if mundane arsonists weren't terrifying enough...), as well as Blue dealing with a prophecy involving her. I enjoyed the switching between viewpoints, and the character development was great. Looking forward to seeing where each go from here. Description is what really pulled me in. I love when the author paints pictures easy to envision in the mind's eye. That's magick all its own, it is. If you enjoy Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake and Merry Gentry books, but would prefer a lack of gratuitous sex to the stories, be sure to check out Lilo Abernathy's Bluebell Kincaid series. It's sure to please.
The Light who Binds by Lilo Abernathy is the second in a series. The writing style drew me in right away, and I found myself enjoying the story despite a growing disenchantment with books that involve vampires (and werewolves). I'm beginning to have the same disenchantment with books using fae, though there's still so much leeway with the fae yet. It's just that there are depths to mythology and cryptozoology that have yet to be plumbed in the sci-fi/fantasy world! I read this one first, and Abernathy adds a bit of recap for necessary details. I was rather charmed by the world, and plan to snag the first book and give it a read.
Bluebell is a psychic investigator, and this book involves a search for a serial magickal arsonist (as if mundane arsonists weren't terrifying enough...), as well as Blue dealing with a prophecy involving her. I enjoyed the switching between viewpoints, and the character development was great. Looking forward to seeing where each go from here. Description is what really pulled me in. I love when the author paints pictures easy to envision in the mind's eye. That's magick all its own, it is. If you enjoy Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake and Merry Gentry books, but would prefer a lack of gratuitous sex to the stories, be sure to check out Lilo Abernathy's Bluebell Kincaid series. It's sure to please.
Recommend this book:
The Secret of Excalibur
Sahara Foley
2016 Honorable Mention
313 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Maria Beltran for Readers' Favorite
The Secret of Excalibur is a fantasy novel by Sahara Foley. Arthur Merlin is a typical, normal human being. But after a freak accident happens to him, things change quite abnormally. He develops certain abilities: telekinesis, telepathy, pyrokinesis and even teleportation; and that’s not even all that he can do. It’s not often that one develops multiple abilities – most of the time, only one manifests. The US government wants him for their own gains, but with teleportation he is hard to keep under control. So he teleports to an institution he thinks he can work with better - to the Institute of Psychic Research in London. He shows his abilities to doctors at the Institute and they are stunned, eager to include him in their research. Eventually a kind of force from Lake George calls out to him. With Dr. Burns and Commander Dobie from the Institute, he learns some disturbing truths about the lake, and it may be up to him to save the world from it.
If you come to think of it, Sahara Foley, author of The Secret of Excalibur, is a literary magician. It’s a wonderful page turner right from the beginning: when a cocky yet endearing Arthur Merlin exhibits his superpowers, it makes us want to read more. She writes a very compelling narrative, tickling the fancy of adult readers – it almost feels like she brings back the magical air of childhood stories in The Secret of Excalibur. It’s an adventure readers will not want to miss out on. The characters in this book are well defined and the main protagonist is easy to empathize with, that is, many of us would like to be transformed from an average human being into one with special abilities who can save the world. Extremely consistent with a clear theme, this book is certainly an enjoyable read!
The Secret of Excalibur is a fantasy novel by Sahara Foley. Arthur Merlin is a typical, normal human being. But after a freak accident happens to him, things change quite abnormally. He develops certain abilities: telekinesis, telepathy, pyrokinesis and even teleportation; and that’s not even all that he can do. It’s not often that one develops multiple abilities – most of the time, only one manifests. The US government wants him for their own gains, but with teleportation he is hard to keep under control. So he teleports to an institution he thinks he can work with better - to the Institute of Psychic Research in London. He shows his abilities to doctors at the Institute and they are stunned, eager to include him in their research. Eventually a kind of force from Lake George calls out to him. With Dr. Burns and Commander Dobie from the Institute, he learns some disturbing truths about the lake, and it may be up to him to save the world from it.
If you come to think of it, Sahara Foley, author of The Secret of Excalibur, is a literary magician. It’s a wonderful page turner right from the beginning: when a cocky yet endearing Arthur Merlin exhibits his superpowers, it makes us want to read more. She writes a very compelling narrative, tickling the fancy of adult readers – it almost feels like she brings back the magical air of childhood stories in The Secret of Excalibur. It’s an adventure readers will not want to miss out on. The characters in this book are well defined and the main protagonist is easy to empathize with, that is, many of us would like to be transformed from an average human being into one with special abilities who can save the world. Extremely consistent with a clear theme, this book is certainly an enjoyable read!
Recommend this book:
City in Embers
Collector Series Book 1
Stacey Marie Brown
2016 Bronze Medal
408 Pages
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Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
Reviewed by Tracy Slowiak for Readers' Favorite
Fun. Exciting. Hard to put down. Those are the words I would use to describe the first book in the Collector series, City in Embers by author Stacey Marie Brown. Follow the story of Zoey Daniels, a young woman who hasn't exactly had the easiest of beginnings. Switched from foster home to foster home from the time she was very young, she had to grow up quickly and develop a hard exterior in order to survive. At her last placement, one billed 'a last chance,' she finally let her guard down and built a true relationship with her foster sister, Lexi, a girl who is paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. The only other person in her life that has a true relationship with her is Daniel, the man she met after she joined a special government agency after high school, the Department of Molecular Genetics (DMG), and has fallen in love with. Lexi has a special gift, the ability to see fae. It's that gift that has led her to the DMG and her job as a Collector, a person who is charged with catching and using fae to protect human lives. But when she's connected to a fae Wanderer named Ryker, everything in her world changes and in order to protect herself, those she loves, and humankind in general, she may need to rethink what she's always accepted as true.
Author Stacey Marie Brown has done a wonderful job of creating a fantastic book that you absolutely will not want to put down once you start reading it. The characters she has developed are so realistic that you will feel as if you know them personally. She's a master at world creation and at moving the storyline forward in a thrilling and suspenseful manner. City in Embers is a book that will be enjoyed by any reader who loves an excellent book in the fantasy genre. I highly recommend this book, and I am very much looking forward to reading the next installment in the Collector series as soon as I can.
Fun. Exciting. Hard to put down. Those are the words I would use to describe the first book in the Collector series, City in Embers by author Stacey Marie Brown. Follow the story of Zoey Daniels, a young woman who hasn't exactly had the easiest of beginnings. Switched from foster home to foster home from the time she was very young, she had to grow up quickly and develop a hard exterior in order to survive. At her last placement, one billed 'a last chance,' she finally let her guard down and built a true relationship with her foster sister, Lexi, a girl who is paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. The only other person in her life that has a true relationship with her is Daniel, the man she met after she joined a special government agency after high school, the Department of Molecular Genetics (DMG), and has fallen in love with. Lexi has a special gift, the ability to see fae. It's that gift that has led her to the DMG and her job as a Collector, a person who is charged with catching and using fae to protect human lives. But when she's connected to a fae Wanderer named Ryker, everything in her world changes and in order to protect herself, those she loves, and humankind in general, she may need to rethink what she's always accepted as true.
Author Stacey Marie Brown has done a wonderful job of creating a fantastic book that you absolutely will not want to put down once you start reading it. The characters she has developed are so realistic that you will feel as if you know them personally. She's a master at world creation and at moving the storyline forward in a thrilling and suspenseful manner. City in Embers is a book that will be enjoyed by any reader who loves an excellent book in the fantasy genre. I highly recommend this book, and I am very much looking forward to reading the next installment in the Collector series as soon as I can.
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