ya fantasy
Review of ‘Be Careful What You Joust For’
House Hornbolt, a prominent family of Pentavia, is hosting the annual jousting tournament, where the most capable knights in the realm come to compete for the coveted Arwin’s Lance. The eldest Hornbolt son is favored to win, but his younger brother and sisters are not happy with what fate has in store for them. His mother, Lady Isolda, worries about all of her children, but, just days before the tournament starts, she uncovers a secret that threatens not only the peace of the kingdom, but her relationship with her husband, Garrion.
Be Careful What You Joust For by Ryan Hauge and Ivy Smoak is a riveting tale of chivalry and chicanery, with an eclectic cast of characters, each given his or her own chapter, where their lives and dreams are well told. An excellent job of world-building with interpersonal (and inner) conflicts woven in with spine-tingling action that will keep you reading until the semi-cliffhanger ending. I won’t spoil the story by revealing that ending, let’s just say, it both disappoints and entices. Disappointing because it kind of leaves you hanging, but enticing, because you’ll really want to know what happens next.
I received a free copy of this book. A very good story. I give it four stars.
Review of ‘The Remarkables’
Teenager Owen Johnson has a secret – one that at first even he doesn’t understand. He has the amazing ability to do things that should be physically impossible. And, there’s that blue glow that appears when he does them. For a young man about to finish school it’s truly a perplexing situation. Only the old lady, Mrs. Argyle, seems to understand, until Owen meets Ken. It seems that the three of them all have these remarkable abilities.
A.D. Elliott’s The Remarkables, which I received a free review copy of, is the tale of how Owen learns to live with his powers. A well-told tale that is part fantasy, part science fiction, and totally entertaining – despite a few grammatical glitches in the opening chapters. You’ll be swept along in suspense as Owen and his friends contend with the mysterious Trilby.
Elliott does a good job of creating a situation which makes it easy to suspend disbelief. A fantastic – no, remarkable – tale that will entertain readers of all ages. A solid three stars.
Review of ‘Wings Over Tremeirchson’
I received three free review copies of Linda Ulleseit’s YA fantasy novels some time ago, and while I review and thoroughly enjoyed In the Winds of Danger, I’d placed the others in the queue for reading and reviewing at a later time. As kids get ready to get back to ‘school and books, and teachers’ dirty looks’ it’s, I believe, an appropriate time to dive back into Ulleseit’s well-crafted fantasy world.
Wings Over Tremeirchson is an excellent book for readers of any age. The story of Neste, a rider with one of the competing barns of Tremeirchson, is a compelling tale of a young girl’s efforts to find her way in a world filled with strife. Ulleseit knows how to grab and hold a reader’s interest from the opening sentence, and keeps you flipping pages until the end. I particularly like the way she weaves Welsh language and culture into her fantasy world, making it real. You can see, hear, and feel what the characters are experiencing, and what characters they are.
I’m not only looking forward to the third book, but all that follow. Ulleseit is a writer who really knows how to get your attention. This is a short novella which introduces the world readers loved in In the Winds of Danger and its sequels. Five stars for a great book!
Charles Ray's Ramblings 