Tag: fantasy

Friday YA: Ruthless Magic (Conspiracy of Magic #1) by Megan Crewe

At sixteen when your magic is evaluated you are either given an invitation into an elite school for training or scheduled for a procedure that will take away your magic. One other option is for you to declare yourself for the Exam a mysterious last chance to be declared Champion winning yourself eligibility into that elite school. Finn comes from a high ranking magical family and is a shoe-in to the Academy, yet he lacks the magical talent to win entrance on his own. Rocio comes from a lower class family whose parents  had their magic nulled. Her magical gifts are extraordinary yet she is denied entrance into the Academy when a spot should have been hers. When they each declare for the Exam they meet for the first time finding a friendship that will surpass all class levels.

Ruthless Magic is part Lord of the Flies or Hunger Games with magical realism elements a la Harry Potter. When these teens show up at the Exam they realize that it’s more survival of the fittest that tests their talents. Finn who declared for the exam to give the finger to the Confederation of Mages for being biased against lower level families, pretty quickly  realizes that he may have made a big mistake. His talent lies in evaluating circumstances, sweet talking, and charm more than actual magical skill. His character is so easy to like, always finding humor in a difficult situation. He is put into the same group as Rocio and is immediately taken with her talent and personality right from the start. Rocio is a little less willing to trust but Finn is the person she starts to lean on as their situation becomes more dire.

There are very few rules in these exams and some of the kids are more willing to eliminate each other than trust their magic will win them a place in the school at the end of the four days. Ruthless Magic’s theme about bigotry and social classes is told very effectively even though they are classed by their level of magic ability. Even though set in the human world, mages came out to the Nulls or humans (think muggles from HP) in order to help them through extreme times of terrorism or war. The novel has a great message about the balance of good vs evil and tells it in a magical way that was original and interesting.

The cliques in this group of “contestants” for lack of a better word were pretty typical of a high school age group.  You have the athletic bully, the pretty boy charmer, the quiet shy girl, and the do-gooder, but the way in which Megan Crewe uses these stereotypes to shine a light on difficult subjects was poignant and engaging.  I really liked this book, the characters, and it’s message! It was my first novel by Megan Crewe but it won’t be my last! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Ruthless Magic

I was given a copy of this novel through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase! Ruthless Magic (Conspiracy of Magic)

Copyright Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend if you purchase a book through the above link.

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This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My new book cover! #MidnightMetamorphosis

A month ago I self published my YA Fantasy novel Midnight Metamorphosis. A week later a publisher friend offered to create a new cover and format the book for paperback. Doesn’t it look great?! I’m really excited about how it looks.

MM-Cover-Final

I had pulled it from all booksellers until we had this final format completed and I’m happy to say it is now up again for sale! You can find it exclusively in ebook format on Amazon.com. It will be available in print at all booksellers hopefully by next weekend.

This has been such an amazing journey. It feels so good to finish this novel, the first of many, I hope!

I started this blog to jump start my creative drive and it certainly worked. I am really enjoying reading, reviewing and connecting with other bloggers. I’m also enjoying writing again. Something I had given up for almost 20 years. I’m now thinking about taking a few writing courses to fine tune my skills. It’s funny, but you really discover the things you are good at and the things you really need to work hard to be even decent at. Writing my blog has honed my skills of observation, commentary, and sassy humor (well, at least I think I’m pretty funny!). Those all translated into my novel, but I discovered that I struggled with emotions. You know, reviewing books doesn’t really take you on an emotional journey, the reading of those books sure, but the reviewing is pretty straightforward.

So, I’m going to start honing this new craft of mine. Midnight Metamorphosis was an idea I had that took root and grew, but I want to keep learning and growing. Isn’t that what life is all about? My journey is definitely not ending. It’s only beginning!

If you would like to read Midnight Metamorphosis, please check it out on Amazon on the link below.  If you do read it, please leave a review!

Midnight Metamorphosis: Click HERE for Amazon.

Synopsis:

When her mother died, Avery Anderson finally had a chance to leave a runaway life behind to try to have a normal life. After she moves in with her aunt Brenna and starts her new high school in Dover, California, Avery discovers that she isn’t an average teenage girl. On her sixteenth birthday she’ll inherit a mixture of Elemental and Seer powers. There’s only one problem: at fifteen, she’s already pretty powerful.

Cole Sullivan was transplanted to Dover for a mission-and that mission is Avery. Cole is an Elemental who has trained to be a Guardian, having gained powers over three elements when he was twelve years of age. When Cole befriends Avery, he realizes that guarding her is going to be more difficult than he imagined. With her growing powers, she may be the daughter prophesied to bring about the end of his kind.

When twins Devon and Dani Finn are suddenly enrolled by their father in the same school as Avery with an order to contain her if she’s dangerous, Devon gets suspicious though his sister supports their dad. Devon realizes that he and Avery may have a lot in common through shared talismans that align their powers, and they build a friendship.

Until next Sunday!

Deb

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This Chick Read: Legendary (Caraval #2) by Stephanie Garber

Caraval is a magical game led by the ringmaster magician Legend where contestants are invited to compete for a grand prize. Legendary starts where Donatella and Scarlett and the “players” have moved on to the next Caraval. Instead of being the end result of the game Donatella is a participant. Like her sister Scarlett, Tella had been writing to Legend over the years hoping to become a participant of the game, but not for the same reasons as her sister. Tella has been haunted by a deck of cards she had seen in her mothers room as a child. A deck similar to a Tarot card but the fortunes that are told are cast by the Fates and destined to come true unless you can change your future. Tella holds one card from this deck which has shown her different futures, one of which is that her mother is still alive. Tella, with Legends help, is playing the game to set her mother free, but the other players have their own reasons for playing the game and those reasons are in direct opposition to Tella’s.

In Caraval the book, we followed Scarlett as she searched for her missing sister. If she found her she would win the game. Tella was a secondary character in Caraval, missing in action until the conclusion of the book. Legendary is centered around Tella’s journey to win the game. Stephanie Garber’s descriptive prose and colorful adjectives enhanced the magical elements of Tella’s game playing. The characters she interacted with were either cruel and evil or seductive and mysterious- no one was the girl or boy next door. Emotions were always at an extreme level creating a tension for the reader that made you eagerly turn each page. I loved this book because it was so easy to get lost in the story, the characters, and the magic.

Tella started off this novel as a young, self centered beauty used to getting her way. What started off as a game became very real very quick. When Jacks is introduced into the story he is the perfect evil counterpart to Dante’s good looking goodness and as I turned the pages the line between good and evil became smudged.

Do we find out who is the real Legend? I think so? Yes. Well, I believe I did? Hmmm. Yes. Stephanie Garber just announced that there will be a third novel. Thank goodness! I can breathe in relief that I will live in this magical world one more time and also finally get a danged conclusion! Reading Legendary is like getting a golden ticket to another world minus the chocolate river and oompa loompa’s. Legendary is a totally enjoyable escape from reality that I would highly recommend to anyone who likes magical fantasy. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Legendary

Click this link to purchase! Legendary: A Caraval Novel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend for any purchases made through the above link.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne

When her village, and the soldiers in it, are sickened by fever only a few survive. If you are a survivor and have umber marks you can live freely among society. However, if you live and are rosemarked, this means that you can still spread the disease and at some point in the future you will catch fever again and die from it. Zivah is a healer in her village when the fever spreads and while helping the sick she catches it, survives and is rosemarked destined to live alone, an outcast among her own. Dineas is a prisoner of the Amparan army when he is sickened. He does survive, but is thought dead and thrown in among the corpses. When he survives, he is umber marked. His tribe, at war with the Amparan’s hatches a plan with Zivah’s village that will send them both undercover as spies. Zivah’s knowledge with herbs and potions are used to help Dineas forget all of the torture he had received from his captors so he can live among them and report on their actions.

Rosemarked excelled at building a world that was easy to understand and a story that although political was brimming with emotions and drama. Zivah as a healer took her “do no harm” vows very seriously and she walked a fine line when giving Dineas potions that would make him forget his past life and allow him to live among the Amparan’s and even move up in their soldiers ranks. I found that when Dineas “remembered” who he was and thought of his actions within the Amparan army the plot was more interesting. Except for the fact that Zivah came up with the potions, I found she was kind of irrelevant. The conflict throughout the book was built around Dineas character and I was more drawn to his story.

The relationship between them grew from uneasy alliance to friendship and then more. But there was always an uneasiness in Zivah because what Dineas felt, although not false, was certainly not based upon true reality. It was based upon the life he was living in that moment. That was an interesting plot, although I felt the reader’s feelings were left in a to be continued ending that was frustrating and I wasn’t satisfied with the conclusion. Will I care enough to continue with the second novel when it comes out? I’m still mulling it over. To be continued. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

Rosemarked

Click this link to purchase! Rosemarked

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Caraval by Stephanie Garber

Ever since she was little Scarlett has had a dream of she and her sister Tella escaping their reality to go to Caraval, a magical performance that takes place in different locations annually. One day she receives a return letter from the master of Caraval, Legend, with an invitation to join the performance this year. Now that the invitation has arrived Scarlett panic’s at braving their fathers wrath until Tella takes that decision away from her, spiriting them to Caraval, Scarlett an unconscious accomplice. When Scarlett awakes, she finds that Tella has become the mystery she has to solve in order to gain the prize, one wish.

Even though I had read a lot of reviews about Caraval, I still didn’t know what to expect from the actual story. I knew the synopsis, but what I didn’t get from the glowing reviews was how the characters and story were so colorfully written. Scarlett has the ability to see emotions in color and Stephanie Garber embued the body of the story with the richness of those colors. As Scarlett unravels the clues to the mystery of where Tella had been hidden she goes on a journey of self discovery. Having lived under her fathers rule, his actions determining her own, this was the first time she was able to choose the path she’d take. As the story progressed, I loved seeing her self confidence bloom!

Caravel was one of those stories you want to relish, yet are also eager to see what the next chapter brings. I found myself speeding up and slowing down, changing the pace of my reading to fit the sequence of events I was reading about. This novel could’ve been a stand alone and I would’ve been happy with the completeness of the ending, but Legendary, the second novel, will be out May29th and we’ll get to read about Tella and find out what makes her tick. I hope to see behind the curtain of Caraval even more with her story and dare I hope a glimpse at Legend himself? ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Caraval

Click the link to purchase! Caraval

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chicks Sunday Commentary: The Thing About Fantasy Novels…

If you are a follower of my blog you know that I have a love for Fantasy novels. Especially if they have a hint of romance, but definitely if the book has some great world building that I can escape away from the realities of my regular world. Hmmm, interesting statement, right? Fantasy novels actually do a great job speaking to hot topics, but when it’s set in a new land, or deals with a magical race does that make it easier to accept the real message? I want to delve into a few examples of how Fantasy authors use their genre to voice an opinion and maybe in small part use their genre to shield them from criticism for tackling difficult topics.

  1.  Love: Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters novels do a great job introducing the subject of all types of romances. The most famous of which is the taboo of love between a brother and sister. Aren’t we glad that turned out ok? Let’s think about how we all reacted to that news. I was seriously distressed, kind of grossed out, and very uncomfortable, as I’m sure most of her readers were. When I look back on the sequence of events in City of Ashes, I realize that not only was that plot point a red herring moment but it happened as Alec was fighting his jealousy and romantic feelings for Jace. It introduced the subject of two men having romantic feelings for each other as safe, rather like Vanilla as a flavor of ice cream. Although to most of us a homosexual romance is quite normal, I’m sure there were some YA readers that may have needed that comparison. I LOVE her Dark Artifices novels the best. The emotional drama between men/men, women/men, trans/men and women/women (did I forget any?) kept my mind occupied and my heart racing. Great books!
  2. Bigotry: Fantasy novels often have multi race universes, however those races aren’t always differentiated by color. They may be humanoid, magical, beast-like, etc. Their relationships within their world are remarkably like ours. Cultures go to war with each other, they look down on each other and they denigrate each other. Our hero or heroine is usually fighting for equality, overcoming a dictator type king, or dealing with the bigotry of a multi-race romance. One of my favorite romantic fantasy novels is by Grace Draven. Radiance is about two species who inhabit the same world and are in neighboring kingdoms. One race, the Gaur is humanoid, awake during the day and sleeps at night, fair skin, etc. The other race, the Kai, is dark, has long pointy teeth, is awake at night and sleeps during the day. Our princess and prince of these two kingdoms must intermarry in order to retain peace between their countries. Brishen, our Kai prince finds Idilko, our Gaur princess, truly ugly, even though in her land she is gorgeous and refined. Idilko also find’s Brishen horrifyingly ugly, and those teeth oh so scary. When they marry Idilko has to move to Kai where she will be the only humanoid person among the Kai race. Of course, eventually they realize that they are both beautiful on the inside and actually find love for each other, but they have to deal with their blooming feelings for each other while also hearing others speak horribly about the person they are falling in love with. It is a really well told bi-racial love story, yet they are in essence two alien races. Brilliant. Small sidenote- I was disappointed that he didn’t have the big teeth in the cover though…Radiance
  3. Gender Equality: In Young Adult Fantasy novels there is a huge empowerment movement. Teenage girls have the power to save their world. I think having these role models for young girls and women are a wonderful thing. It is also wonderful that authors are introducing young people (and adults) to gender neutral characters. I read one novel last year that stood out for me because it was the first in this genre that I could recall reading that had a gender neutral main character. The book was Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller. Sal was a thief who wanted to leave that life behind to become a member of the Left Hand. The assasin team of the queen. Sal entered a contest to gain that spot with other characters and they’d all try to kill each other. The last one standing would become a member of the Left Hand. This novel had it all, exciting action, a love story and betrayal – and our hero was gender neutral. Each candidate had a number so Sal was addressed by number which made things easier, but the other characters were curious. Was Sal a boy or girl? How would they like to be addressed? All of these questions were the same that I as a reader was asking. What mattered was that Sal had honor even though they were a thief, developed all types of relationships regardless of Sal’s gender identity and that the story held up. This was one of my top 10 picks for 2017 and if you haven’t read it? You should.Mask of Shadows

These are only a few of the subjects that Fantasy authors have voiced their opinions or come up with their own solution. It is not always done in the correct manner or in ways that are acceptable to the average reader. Most notably Veronica Roth’s Carve the Mark took a lot of criticism for portraying racism. Her world was a little too close to ours for some people and their lighter skin, darker skin comparisons may be too obvious. I did read this novel without reading any reviews and was pretty obliviousto those nuances, taking things at face value. Looking back, I can see it. I haven’t read the second novel but I’m going to take a guess that she takes care of some of these criticisms in the plot. I hope so anyway. I also hope it’s a better book. I didn’t love it.

If you are a fan of Fantasy, can you think of another novel you’ve read where a difficult real world topic is handled in a graceful way? Or another book where the topic may have been mishandled?

Have you read one of the above books? What did you think?

Until next Sunday!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands #2) by Alwyn Hamilton

Very slight spoilers ahead….

Why did I wait so long to read Traitor to the Throne????  I LOVED Rebel of the Sands, the first edition in this series. I think sometimes when you read a book that good you are scared that the second book can’t possibly live up to your expections. I am happy to say that I loved Traitor to the Throne just as much. Whew!

Amani, our Blue-Eyed Bandit, is back with the Rebel Prince, Ahmed and his crew. Except her guy, Jin, has run off. He was scared that she was going to die after being shot coming to his defense. When Traitor opens, she is trying to rescue some of her compatriots that have been captured. During their mad escape with other Demdji who were in jail with her friends we discover that the Sultan is collecting Demdji. We don’t realize why until Amani does actually get captured and the Sultan reveals his plans. As she gets to know him she starts to doubt her cause.

There is something about the bad guy, isn’t there? When we get introduced to the Sultan, horrible things have been done to Amani and immediately I dislike him. However, he treats Amani kind of like a surrogate daughter which confuses her. Is he really that bad a guy?  Ummm, Yes! He is one dastardly dude! However he was written with a subtlety that even when we know how bad he is, he still left me with that question in my gut, a hint of hope before that hope was dashed yet again. See what I mean? Subtle evil! Interesting!

For those of you who love Jin and Amani’s love story, it comes to the forefront of this story and may change how you feel about him and them as a couple moving forward. There is a lot of love, but for me, she is just such a strong character and her personality dwarfs his. I’m looking forward to seeing how they move forward in the next novel, which has actually already been released. Will I wait as long to read the next one? Nope, not after two solid books. I have faith that Alwyn Hamilton is going to give me a third strong story and a conclusion that I will also love. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Traitor to the Throne

Click this link to purchase! Traitor to the Throne (Rebel of the Sands)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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I am published- Book Bloggers and Reviewers Wanted!

I started this blog for a couple of reasons. The first was because I like to talk about the books I am reading and none of my friends or family were interested. The second reason is because I wanted to jump start my creative writing. I figured if I were blogging regularly I would get used to making the effort to write and would actually start that novel that I had been kicking around in my head. I gave you all a taste of my novel as I was going through edits and got some nice feedback from several of you. Well, I have GREAT news! Yes, I finished the book, but not only that, I have self published the book on Amazon and Smashwords.

Now that I am published (boy is it weird to say those words!) I need some help getting the word out. I get it. We are all super busy, and a lot of us, myself included have our calendars full. I was wondering if there were any of you who would be willing to read my novel and review it, and of course, post those reviews on your blog and on Amazon or Smashwords? As with any review I do for other authors, I only want honest reviews. If you don’t like the book, that’s ok. If you love it, great! Please take a look at the cover and read the synopsis below and let me know if you are interested and I’ll send you an e-copy. The book is relatively short at just over 210 pages and around 67k words.

Midnight Metamorphosis Cover -3

Here’s the synopsis for my YA Paranormal novel Midnight Metamorphosis:

A prophecy that a child of both Elemental and Seer races would be born as savior or destroyer of their kind prompts the existence of two factions. One faction wants to kill the child before her sixteenth birthday when she’s due to transition into her full powers. The other wants to steal her powers and with those powers help Avadar, a Grand Duke of Hell, rule the Earth.
Avery Anderson, at fifteen, lives with her aunt in southern California following her mother’s death. She wants a normal life going to high school and making friends, everything she hasn’t done living on the run with her mother for years.
On her first day of school her Elemental powers start to manifest and Avery finds out that her life will be anything but ordinary- this school is filled with Other kids, one of whom is assigned her Guardian, Cole.

Devon, part Mesmer and Elemental and his twin sister Dani have been enrolled at Avery’s school by the other faction to become close with Avery. Devon uses his Mesmer talent to become paired with Avery on an assignment. When they realize they can share their powers during a fight against Demonids, the Sentinel of the Elementals, who is also Avery’s father, realizes she is a threat to all Elementals and orders Cole to kill Avery before she goes through her transition on her sixteenth birthday. 
As her birthday approaches the attacks on Avery intensify and it is only with the help of her friends that she is able beat back evil, but as with any battle there is tragedy.

Of course, if you are interested in taking a look at the Amazon  and Smashwords pages here are the links:

Amazon – Midnight Metamorphosis

Smashwords- Midnight Metamorphosis

Thanks so much for your consideration,

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads17 Comments

This Chick Read: The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

The Queen’s Rising is a fantasy novel that has an old world European feel. Brienne has been at the Marigald estate since she was ten studying for her passion, an affinity for Art, Music, Knowledge, Wit and Dramatics. The trouble is, Brienne didn’t go into this school with an affinity for any of these, she dabbled a bit with each before settling on knowledge with only three years left to study. The opening to this novel felt a little bit like Kiera Cass’s Selection series, however at the end of their schooling, instead of getting picked to marry a prince, they find a patron. A job interview of sorts, where they sign a contract and move on with their life. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen.

Although this novel starts with a bunch of girls at school, it’s actually very political. Brienne may have trouble figuring out her passion, but when memories surface of a past relative that may have implications that could change a monarchy, she doesn’t hesitate to get involved. Brienne learns that her heritage may be the key to making change to a monarchy.

There was quite a lot to love in this novel. I loved the world building. It was easy to enmesh myself as a reader because it was not that dissimilar to our world politically. It was a fantasy novel, so no planes, trains and automobiles, instead there were carriages, castles and candles. I felt like I was reading a historical novel, but more in the vein of King Arthur’s realm. It was easy to like Brienne. She seemed very young and insecure in the beginning but as the story went on she overcame those insecurities and found an inner strength. I liked her Master (teacher) Cartier. They had a forbidden attraction that added some tension to help move the plot forward and added emotion to the story.

This was Rebecca Ross’s debut novel and boy did she deliver! Put The Queen’s Rising on your TBR folks, this one is a winner! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase! Queen’s Rising

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Mist’s Edge (The Broken Lands #2) by T. A. White

Mist’s Edge continues the story of Shea, a Pathfinder, who falls in love with a Trateri Warlord and has to reinvent herself. Her identity has always been tied to what she could do as a Pathfinder, but now as Telroi, she struggles with what that that title makes her instead of what she can accomplish. I first read and reviewed Pathfinder back in 2016 and loved how this woman was kick ass, not for some special super power, but because she was gifted at what she’d learned how to do. In Mist’s Edge, I am still enamored with the Shea who was accomplished, but now I have fallen in love with the Shea who is going through self discovery, trying to find her place among the Trateri and in her relationship with Fallon, her Warlord.

The relationship between Fallon and Shea is heated and passionate. They feel so much for each other, but Shea is still dissatisfied with her new place as Telroi. The beginning of this novel has Shea doing a lot of soul searching, so it starts off kind of slow, however, when a fellow Pathfinder finds their way into camp, the threat of Shea leaving makes the plot really move. Fallon feels threatened  because he knows she hasn’t yet settled into her role. A role which is kind of confusing, not just to Shea but also the reader. Telroi seems to be somewhere between a wife and a mistress, but women don’t seem to have leadership roles within Trateri society, so other than being attached to the Warlord, she doesn’t have much to do. It would be hard to go from a leadership role to the plus one, even if you are with the man you love.

After Reece, the other Pathfinder, shows up the plot moves along, the conflict heating up and giving both Shea and Fallon purpose together. I like it best when they are working together towards a resolution, so the second half of the book was great and the conclusion was very satisfying. Book three will hopefully not be two years out because I’m looking forward to seeing them face their final task together, each of them getting what they need. Fallon, world domination (seriously, he’s a conqueror) and Shea a place in his world that satisfies her need for respect and love. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

To read my review of Pathfinder click HERE. MIst's Edge Click this link to purchase! Mist’s Edge (The Broken Lands Book 2) Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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