Review: Blackcloak: A Man of his Sword (The Bloody Tapestry of Kaef’re Book 1) by W. James Chan ★★★★★
An Interview With SPR Grand Prize Winner Author Ashley R. Carlson
Ashley R Carlson is the winner of the SPR Awards 2015 Grand Prize and First Prize Fiction for her book “The Charismatics”.
For the uninitiated, what’s The Charismatics about?
“The Charismatics” is a fantasy novel geared toward young adults set in a unique, steampunk universe – one that is full of magic, supernatural influences, and terrible secrets. This world is presided over by Legalia, an all-encompassing government of wealthy, powerful individuals who rule over the poor, allowing them to live in squalor.
Duchess Ambrose Killaher is a member of Legalia, having been born into aristocracy and sent to a freezing, […]
Review: The Charismatics by Ashley R. Carlson ★★★★★
Duchess Ambrose Killaher was only seventeen when she was exiled to Shinery, a city of snow and darkness. Ambrose’s arranged marriage turns out to be a disaster and she soon learns her husband despises her. The only person she can trust is her invisible friend named Roan.
Shinery is holding its yearly celebration to celebrate Legalia’s rule, while the poor starve in the streets below. Ambrose can’t keep turning a blind eye to all around her and when she accidentally witnesses […]
Review: A Mathematical State of Grace by Cathy McGough ★★★★
A Mathematical State of Grace, a young adult dystopian novel by Cathy McGough, has a bit of everything going on in the story to keep the reader entertained.
Grace Greenway is a sixteen-year-old math whiz. Vincente Marino is a star high school athlete and the only time he gives Grace attention is when he needs to copy her math homework. Grace, on the other hand, hardly ever stops thinking about Vincente. Then a fateful moment brings the two of them together and they have to depend on each other to survive in a new world.
Grace is the perfect […]
Review: The Ocean Spinner by Samuel & Jared Perry ★★★★
Review: Kalëon by N. A. Sylla ★★★★★
In a dark time of the Fourth Age, in a strange land known as Earth, a child is born. Son of a king, and heir to a throne, he carries in him a darkness that threatens the world as he knows it. Born of betrayal, raised in conflict, he lives when by all means he should not, watched by mighty beings from beyond that seek – finally – to conquer the heavens and destroy their god, Orph, the ultimate entity. As the world threatens to end once more, myth turns to matter in the hands of the eponymous Kalëon, […]
Review: The Lord of Salamander by T.H. Alexander ★★★★
This coming of age story follows the adventures of Elijah Pendleton, a boy with a miserable home life, no backbone, and a host of unfulfilled hopes. He desperately needs to believe that more exists than the abuse of his distasteful aunts. When he first sees a strange cat in the backyard, he can scarcely imagine that its appearance will prove all his wishes to be true. Soon, Elijah is thrust into a new world of wiccans and […]
Review: The Flying Burgowski by Gretchen K. Wing ★★★★
Overall, the novel is much more character driven than fantasy, which is one of its issues. Wing is a great writer (not to mention having a great name for a book about flying), but she takes too long with the drama of the book at the expense of the fantasy. There are likely […]