BONE WAR by Steven Harper

The Books of Blood and Iron Book 3

ACE/ROC

August 2^nd, 2016

978-0-451-46848-2

Fantasy, Action-Adventure

Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Self-Purchase

4 Hearts

 

For the three fates, watching over the world in their sacred garden, they control all life and maintain balance in the world. But that balance is shattered when an evil Fae queen kidnaps one of the fates, placing every being in jeopardy. They ask Danr, the half human/half troll to help rescue their sister and defeat the fae queen before the tree tips fully and the world as they now it, even their lives are gone in a blink.

In order to rescue the missing fate, Danr must find the Bone Sword. But as he and Aisa travel to find the sword, their other companions are forced to stay behind and figure out who is making familiar unknown creatures. With their future on the line, Danr, Aisa and their friends are racing against the clock because if the tree tips, they and their world will cease to exist…forever.

BONE WAR is the final book in the Books of Blood and Iron series and is totally one I couldn’t put down. I am so glad I took a chance on this series and this new to me author. I fell in love with his world building and the characters were so unique and different. This author definitely turns on its head the usual suspects-fae, goblins, trolls, etc- and makes them fresh and unique. I loved how the author portrays Danr as just wanting to be normal yet his destiny isn’t going to be denied. The scenes between Danr, Aisa and their friends are at times light and playful and other times, serious and in depth. The author does an amazing job in capturing the characters vulnerabilities and hidden depths. He does an amazing job in creating characters that grow with each book, showing the reader more of their personality even as they face against adversity. You just can not help but fall in love with them. Add in a few familiar faces we met in the past two books that show up to move the story along well you get a sense that this time the journey is about to get rougher for this merry band of friends.

This is the final book in the trilogy and it definitely amps up the adventure these characters take. We met the fates in the past two books and there is a lot going on in BONE WAR that if you didn’t read book one, The Iron Axe, or book two, Blood Storm, you might be a tad confused over some mentions from the past adventures these characters took. I highly recommend reading the trilogy in order so you can get the full back story on all the characters and their adventures before this final book. I loved how the author takes something old and tired and makes it fresh and new for readers to enjoy. If you enjoy a new take on fae, trolls, goblins and other fantasy creatures, then you will enjoy this highly entertaining trilogy about a half troll/half human boy that finds that the simple life he wants isn’t what is in store for him or his friends. I look forward to seeing where this author goes next after this thrilling conclusion to the Books of Blood and Iron.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

BLOOD STORM by Steven Harper

The Books of Blood and Iron, Book 2

ROC

December 1^st, 2015

978-0-451-46847-5

Epic Fantasy, Action-Adventure, Mystery

Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Self-Purchase

4 Hearts

 

For Danr, the half-troll, he ended centuries of fighting; he is still not living a quiet life that he longs for. Now rumors are abound of people having the power of shape again and if Danr can learn to wield it, he could be human and spend his life with Aisa. But he is not the only one who wants that power. When two of their friends are held hostage, Danr, Aisa and Talfi must face the fates, Death and a giant wyrm to get that power because if he fails then the enemies that are closing in will destroy all they know and love in one fell swoop.

When I picked up the first book, Iron Axe, it was on a whim and I was looking for something different to read. What I encountered was a story so amazing, edgy and consuming with characters you fell in love with that I immediately grabbed book two after I finished Iron Axe. If you haven’t read book one then don’t worry. The author does a great job in catching up readers in the beginning of BLOOD STORM but I highly recommend reading the trilogy in order to get all the nuances and meet all the characters from the beginning.

 BLOOD STROM picks up months later after the end of Iron Axe and we find Aisa, Danr, Talfi, Kalessa & Ranadar in the port town of Balsia. Things are not easy for them. When they go out in the public, some townspeople want to hear the story of how Danr saved the world; the other half just see him as a half-breed and is evil. But when problems come up between Danr and Aisa, well, let’s just say the enemies of this group of friends decide to use it in ways that will make you scream in agony and wait on the edge of the seat for more.

BLOOD STORM is also about strength…strength of character, of convictions and in oneself and others. Here we see a female character strong not in wielding a weapon and wining battles, but in her convictions and simply being themselves. That goes for all of our four main characters. Strength to do the right thing, to see what others see in themselves and more play a major point in the story. What thrilled me the most was how the author does a great job in showing these characters as they continue to grow and learn about themselves and each other, as they find they are needed in ways they never anticipated or dreamed and that doing the right thing means something totally different to another person?

What I loved the most about this book, heck this series so far, was how the author makes the characters so wildly different yet so enjoyable as well, even the bad guys had a few turns where I sympathized with them even as I rooted for Danr and his friends to defeat them. This is a new to me author and I am finding I can not get enough of this series. I am eager to get back into the story as these characters go on their last leg of the journey and discover more secrets. If you enjoy epic fantasy stories filled with magic, mystery, characters that brim with life and steal your heart then I highly recommend the books of Blood and Iron to you and am eager to see where this author goes next in the final book, Bone War.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

 

GRAVE WITCH by Kalayna Price

 

An Alex Craft Novel, Book 1

Roc

October 2010

978-0-451-4638-7

Urban Fantasy

Mass Market Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)
Obtained by Self-Purchase

3.5 Hearts

 

Grave Witch Alex Craft, speaking to the dead is as normal as can be for her. She just doesn’t have to like what they say half the time. When a routine job goes south, Alex finds she is drawn into a murder investigation that reeks of dark magic. But as Alex races to find the answers, she has to work with hunky homicide detective Falin Andrews, who just has as many secrets as Alex and then when an attempt is made on her life, Death seems to save her life. Now the race is on because the danger is striking closer than Alex even imagines and she finds herself not in just a battle for her life but also for her soul.

GRAVE WITCH is one wild ride from start to finish. With a heroine who isn’t afraid to get down and dirty to two fascinating love interests, Falin Andrews and Death himself. This is a new author for me to read I found their first book in the Alex Craft series to be an entertaining ride from start to finish. The characters are multi-dimensional, intriguing and quite life-like. I enjoyed the different characters and they meshed well with one another. But the main character, Alex, is one bad ass grave witch and one I fell in love with. She has issues, who doesn’t, but she tries to do the best she can while trying to solve cases for her clients as the best of her ability. What I really enjoyed about Alex was how she just kept on chugging away, trying to get answers to the myriad of questions that always seemed to pop out of nowhere and try to stay one step ahead of the evil that was determined to make sure she never solved the case. The author does a great job in creating a world where you can’t help but think about visiting, filled w ith normal people and magical people alike. What really set this first book apart from other first books in series was there was a gradual procession of information around Alex being given. There was no massive information dump at one time. That right there cemented this series as a one to read for me. I like first books in series but if an author does a major information dump through the whole book, it turns me off in a flash. Ms. Price does it gradually and subtly, I found myself intrigued even more by the spare moments where we got to see who Alex was and why she was like this.

GRAVE WITCH is a fun, entertaining ride that will keep you spellbound from start to finish. With the right amount of mystery, sexual tension and more, the author delivers a slam dunk introduction into her Alex Craft series. If you enjoy kick-ass heroine who can wield grave magic, fight bad guys and it’s minions and figure out just what one love interest steals her heart, well then give GRAVE WITCH a try. I guarantee you won’t want to put it down.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

DRAGON FATE by E.E. Knight

Book Six of The Age of Fire

ROC

February 5^th, 2013

978-0-451-46356-2

Fantasy

Paperback

Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Obtained by Publisher

Three dragon siblings are the last of their kind and after harsh experiences; all three have struggled together and apart. Fighting has cost the dragon siblings much-kingdoms, friends and family, honor & glory as they finally remove themselves from the world in order to find peace. But peace is slow coming and the order that they established is falling fast without them there to enforce it. Dragons battle dragons as ancient magic awakens. Can these three siblings find a way to unite their lands and people to save themselves and all they love from destruction?

I have to admit DRAGON FATE is really, really hard to get into and I felt quite lost while reading it. I enjoy a good fantasy story. This series sounded like it had all the great aspects of a promising fantasy story. It had amazing world building, an intriguing premise and characters that showed promise but never delivered. The author does a really good job in creating a series where dragons rule and the world of humans are subjected to them. That being said, the issue I had was the plot mentioned things that happened in prior books many times and I was always scratching my head going “what?” This is clearly a series you can not read out of order and DRAGON FATE is one of those books that unless you read the first five books then you will be as confused as I was at times when I read this.

AuRon the Grey, intelligent yet wary; Wistala the Green, A lone female dragon warrior & RuGaard the Copper, ruthless, cunning and determined to be emperor. These three will find that their experiences apart as well as together will shape their futures in ways neither foresee. The one thing I saw while reading this was the author made mention of their flaws and strengths but never really got to the meat of the characters. The dragons alone were interesting to me but I felt I gained no knowledge of them except what was on the page. Why was Wistala a warrior? What happened to make AuRon so wary of others? The characteristics that intrigued me so are glossed over & left me confused even more.  I am not saying the characters are all one note characters, they were not. There were some great secondary characters that really interested me and wished the author spent a little more time on them. If these traits were covered in prior books a bit of backstory to introduce new readers would not have been amiss.

With DRAGON FATE, I felt a bit cheated I guess you can say by the lack of a strong story as well as the way this was written. I found some editing issues that should have been picked up before printing that took me out of the story as well as a few other issues that should have been taken care of before publication. I think I am going to try the first five books and see what the excitement was about the series and hope that this sixth book is just an anomaly in the series.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement

 

 

BRIDGE OF DREAMS by Anne Bishop

An Ephemera Series Novel
Publisher: Roc
Date published: March 6th, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-451-46381-4
Fantasy
Hardcover
Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)

Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Dreams-Ephemera-Anne-Bishop/dp/0451463811/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346028244&sr=1-1&keywords=Anne+Bishop

Obtained by Publisher

Glorianna Belladonna has been working to keep Elphemera balanced & when the bellicose wizards arrive, Glorianna finds herself under attack. But when her brother sacrifices himself to save her, all hell breaks loose when he is sent to an asylum in Vision, a place where darkness is spreading. It will be up to Lee to help figure out how to stop it even as he tries to stay alive and sane.

I never read an Anne Bishop book before and found that BRIDGE OF DREAMS was part of a series. Unfortunately that caused me to have a few lost moments while reading this one. It made it hard to follow a few things that were mentioned in this story. Anne Bishop is a fabulous storyteller though and I was soon caught up in the dynamics of Elphemera and the characters of siblings Lee and Glorianna Belladonna as well as their allies and friends. The author gives Lee a much expanded storyline and introduces some new characters as well. The writing flows nicely and the author’s amazing world building is evident in BRIDGE OF DREAMS. The characters are well written and I found myself rooting for Lee to find a way to end the darkness that is slowly overcoming their world.

The characters are very well written and are completely enjoyable, even the bad guys. The reader gets a feel of the main character, Lee, as he struggles to distance himself from his famous sister and he finds himself in a perilous place. Lee was quite entertaining. He was quite one of my favorite character in this book. The secondary characters also were well written and helps move the series along nicely.

BRIDGE OF DREAMS was my first introduction into this author’s work and I am eager to begin reading the first two books in the series to see how Glorianna got to where she is in this installment of the Ephemera series. BRIDGE OF DREAMS is an imaginative and highly entertaining story. If you are looking for an engaging fantasy story then please grab Anne Bishop’s BRIDGE OF DREAMS. I do highly recommend you read the first two books first to see how the series began and be introduced to the characters in full.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.