Through the eyes of Goliyath's shield bearer, himself a disenfranchised, cynical Israelite working for the other side, the reader is taken on an odyssey that spans nearly a hundred years and the cultural divide of the Biblical and pagan worlds. Foundation Stone, the first book in the Shepherd King series, begins from the seemingly small divergent steps of two twin sisters, Ruth and Orpah, both recently widowed to brothers the ...
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5 of 5 stars
The spirit thief by Rachel Aaron, provided to me by ijustfinished for the purpose of review, has given me yet another series I must follow. It's just that good.
We're introduced to a different kind of fantasy setting. One where magic is really the control or, better, the cooperation of spirits that inhabit everything - from doors, to grains of sand, fire, water, birds, rats, etc. A good wizard convinces these spirits to work for him or her and in return the spirits get energy from the wizard's soul. A corrupt wizard enslaves spirits to do his bidding, usually resulting in the death of the spirit.
The Spirit Thief, Eli Monpress, he just asks nicely and the spirits usually agree to help him out. Sometimes he has to resort to flirting with the spirits, or gossiping with them. Eli is the best thief, and his goal is to see his own bounty reach a million gold. one way to get started towards the goal? Steal a king.
Unfortunately, eli's plan has unforeseen consequences. a wizard sent to bring him to justice, Miranda Lyonette, eventually has to help him make right those consequences, while Eli still makes off with the gold.
This book has it all: humor, action, a great story, an interesting setting, and some great hints at things that are or might be happening just off-screen within the larger world.
Two more books are forthcoming in the series and i must have them. for now, i think this might tie with my current favorite fantasy series: the princess series by Jim C. Hines.
The spirit thief comes out september 28.
5 of 5 stars
Dark Secrets of the Old Oak Tree
Newly divorced, Evie Carson has followed her dreams back to her small hometown in Georgia to open a fashion boutique. Everything seems to be on track until one evening she climbs to the remains of her childhood tree house to enjoy some quiet after work.
Suddenly a man appears under her tree, bearing the nude body of her childhood friend. She watches, terrified as Jake buries Denise's body, vowing to find her friend's murderer. She firmly believes Jake didn't do it.
I was certain I'd discovered the identity of the murderer early in the book, but like Evie, I learned things aren't as simple as they first seem. Repeatedly. The author had a few tricks up her sleeve, and I fell for them, along with Evie.
Evie can't be persuaded to leave the investigation to the appropriate agencies, so she puts herself in danger repeatedly. Local law enforcement want's to protect her,once they cleared her of the murder, but she doesn't want to be protected. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation thinks she's murdered someone else close to her.Sheriff Douglas is falling in love with her, and she's confused between her feelings of obligation to Denise, and her feelings for Douglas, as he tries to help and protect her. Evie just goes full steam ahead in her investigation despite all of them.
Small town secrets come to the surface, and Evie is in for some serious shocks. One of them may deny Evie the chance at true love if she can't get things sorted out.
We're given entry into the murderers thoughts which add greatly to the tension and suspense of the novel. Evie doewsn't realize how close the murderer really is to her.
Ther were times I wanted to shout at Evie when she followed her thoughts in her investigation; "You aren't really going to go back to your house, are you? Why won't you take someone with you? People around you are getting hurt! Listen to Douglas' advice!" Evie doesn't listen to anyone.
The novel contained one of the most intertesting street names-- Burnt Magnolia Street. Probably harkens back to Reconstruction after the Civil War.
A fascinating read. I loved how the relationships between the characters developed and in some cases broke down, and the portrayal of the angst of small town folks was as true as it could get.
Find out if Evie solves the mystery, or if law officials beat her to the solution. I'll tell you this-- "It ain't easy bein' Evie"!
2 of 5 stars
At first glance, you get a cool cover with a guy and girl and they're inked. I like those types of covers, so I was pulled into reading the description. Based on the synopsis, I was so keen to read the book. Vampires and Werewolves mixed and being a breed of their own, that sounded so cool to me. Then I read the book.
I'm left a little disappointed.
The story itself was well-written in words. The problem for me was all the technical aspects of the story, which seemed to take away from the characters. When I say technical, I mean the medical situations regarding the breed. That part was mildly confusing and really unnecessary for me to enjoy the book. It didn't give me a better understanding of the characters, all it did was distract me.
The characters I really liked though. The author sculpted them in the same fashion as the virus information, but I was still able to enjoy who these people were and what they did.
Okay, so maybe this wasn't my favorite paranormal book, but I know a few junkies out there that would love it. So don't let my review hold you back if it piques your curiosity. You may enjoy it!
