Tag Archives: fantasy

Book Review: Fantasy of Flight (The Tainted Accords Book 2) by Kelly St. Clare

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Fantasy of Flight (The Tainted Accords Book 2) by Kelly St. Clare

A Fantasy Novel published by Kelly St Clare (05/24/15)

 

Summary:

“The fight was exhilarating. It was a rush, a shock, an overload of my senses. It was survival. It was seeing your life as a tiny speck in the palm of a giant. All of that could make a woman tired.” (Page 22).

Olina the Tatuma has run away to the outer rings of Glacium. She wants to find Kedrick’s killer and the source of the special arrow. She wants to get away from king Jovan. She meant to stay away for several days and solve the mystery of the arrow and murder, but was attacked and her veil destroyed. The people of Glacium are not as nice as the people of Osolis, where she is from. There is hope, however, as she is rescued by Alzona and her fighting crew. The only way back to being Tatuma is to fight in the Outer Rings’ competitions. As days turn into weeks, Olina discovers a new home, and potentially a compromise to her sticky situation as a blue-eyed Tatuma, but will she stay in the Outer Rings with her newfound friends, fighting for her every meal?

 

Keywords:

Fighting, adventure, action, fantasy, sexual themes, heartbreak, spontaneity, friendship, cliff-hanger, fantasy, love, loyalty, brothers, fear, rulers, power, intimidation, training, female main character, kick butt female

 

My Review:

St. Clare introduces an entire new spectrum of characters in this book two of the Tainted Accords Series. Each one has his or her own personality, and they all have some influence on Olina’s new life as Frost, Alzon’s new prized fighter. There is Alzona herself, another strong woman who built up what she has from nothing. “By accepting help, she has created a stronger business. If anything, her willingness to put aside her pride and study the bigger picture makes her even scarier – if that were possible.” (Page 54). There is Alzona’s administrative aid Crystal, whose mystery is unveiled by Frost. The crew of Flurry, Blizzard, Avalanche, Shard, and Ice are, at first, wary of the small woman who claims to be a fighter, but when she kicks their butts she earns their respect. Each of these men has their own identifying personality traits.

The majority of this book takes place in Alzona’s training ground and in the fighting arena. Much of the plot and character development is between the winter-named crew and Frost, gradually developing relationships until the sudden fast-moving change as Olina moves on back to the plot started in book one. Most of the plots that were unresolved from book one remain unresolved and are hardly touched upon in Fantasy of Flight, except the relationship that was hinted at between the Tatuma and Jovan in book one is given much more time and space in book two. This book two almost felt like a standalone in the middle of a trilogy, where some of the back-story had been talked about in another book and it ended with the same kind of cliffhanger in the end, where nothing in the main plot is resolved.

This book was amazingly captivating. The dialogue was realistic and the fighting will bring you to the edge of your seat. Olina displays intelligence and loyalty that keeps you sympathizing with her side and wanting her to reach her goals, but she is also pouty and emotional and relatable. Many times you think she is untouchable and perfect, but then she will do something entirely childish or human and she is brought to life with her actions and thoughts. Sometimes her spontaneity is baffling, but she addresses it herself in the latter part of the book. Everyone has their flaws, Olina’s is to run away from emotionally charged personal problems.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this story in exchange for my honest review.

This novel was published by Kelly St Clare on May 24th, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.00

 

Links for more information:

Kelly St. Clare’s Website

Facebook

Goodreads

Book Review: Moon Shades: Crack the ice (The Greatest Sin Book 3) by Lee French & Erik Kort

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Moon Shades: Crack the ice (The Greatest Sin Book 3) by Lee French & Erik Kort

A Fantasy Novel published by Tangled Sky Press (05/16/15)

 

Summary:

 Chavali is back. The greater evil is still out there, but Moon Shades focusses on Chavali’s conflict with a fellow Fallen who is intent on learning her clan secrets. Chavali is so upset with him, Sean, that she starts a fight in the cafeteria. Within hours she is sent on a mission with him and Eliot so they can learn to get along. Nobody is happy with this arrangement, especially Eliot. The Courier Circuit is their mission, just making the rounds, but it is not surprising that what they find is a thickening plot surrounded in death and mystery that they must solve. The small village of Eagle Falls needs their help and it would be a routine investigation if not for the unwanted character that shows up, bringing the greater plot to their front doors yet again.

 

Keywords:

 Fantasy, Clan, Family, Loyalty, Prophesy, Seer, Close-Knit, Sacrifice, Strength, Evil, Friendship, Mystery, Thriller, werewolves, small town, hiding in plain sight, healing, leadership

 

My Review:

The opening scenes with the muffin is hilarious. Chavali is in no way a humorous character, but her situation is entirely laughable, even while you sympathize with what is going on. Who hasn’t been so angry that every little bad thing makes you fume even more, yet everybody she bumps into is willing to give her a hand (or a muffin). Despite being only close knit with her clan, Chavali has been accepted into the Fallen and their community and slowly has been accepting them back. She even wants to induct new members into her Blaukenev clan. This was surprising. I didn’t know Chavali would be willing to open up her clan to outsiders. I thought she meant for the clan to die with her and the three children she rescued in the previous books.

Chavali is shown, again and again, to be wondrously wise and extremely logical in the way she works through problems and solves mysteries. She has that Sherlock Holmes utterly unreal sense of logic and people-reading skills of using what’s in front of her from slight changes to human behavior (subtle posture shifts/facial tics) to figure out the truth.

Chavali’s take on life is fascinating. She’s logical and wise, but she still loves and grieves. She is a mystery to me and I want to figure her out. I want to understand her.

I liked how more was revealed about Eliot’s character. His story is becoming more and more complex, just like Chavali’s.

I’m a bit reticent to read books involving mages, magic, teleportation-like transportation, werewolves, etc., because I like books grounded in reality. However, Lee French’s fantasy elements are a part of her books and not the reason for them. I like this type of fantasy, where the book’s plot is not all about the fantastical elements, but more about the story and the characters.

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this story in exchange for my honest review.

This novel was published by Tangled Sky Press on May 16th, 20145 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Lee French on Facebook

Lee French on Twitter

Goodreads

Book Review: Sara Supernatural by Tiffany Belcher

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Sara Supernatural by Tiffany Belcher

A Middle Grade/YA Fantasy Novel published by Tate Pubishing (10/29/13)

 

Summary:

When Sara makes the wish for her freckles to disappear for the hundredth time, she doesn’t expect her wish to come true. She’s a redhead with freckles and everyone knows that boys don’t like girls with freckles except Sara meets Chris and he likes her freckles. Shoot! Now she needs them back. Sara and her two best friends Ashely and Jessica realize that Sara has the power to wish for whatever she wants, but with this power comes great repercussions. Sara makes a mess of things with her accidental wishes and they aren’t all as easy to fix as wishing for her freckles back.

 

Keywords:

Magic, wishing, powers, female main character, lessons learned, romance, fourteen-year olds, middle school, immaturity, selfishness, greed, fitting in, being the best, cheating

 

My Review:

Sara was a great main character. Though she was only fourteen and in middle school, she was mature and interesting even though she did fall into some typical teenage behavioral patterns. Sara wanted the perfect life and the perfect family, complete with perfect outfits and style. She didn’t try to match her wishes with her reality until she is granted the power to make her dreams come true without any effort. She has only to wish and voile, wish granted. Not every wish should be fulfilled, and Sara learns this the hard way. Sara has the ability to fix her mistakes the whole time, it is learning that she made a mistake and why there are consequences to certain wishes that makes the story.

I liked that the author gives us multiple characters with their own parts to play in the story. There’s Ashley, the picky one, who is not always confident in what she’s doing. There’s Jessica, who grew up spoiled and doesn’t always know how to put others first or to think of someone other than herself. There’s Chris, the boy who was raised to take care of himself.

Any time there’s magic involved, I appreciate a good answer for where and how the magic came to be. Belcher, about midway through the book, gives an explanation for the magic in two levels, where it originated from in the beginning and how Sara got her wishing abilities. The author also quantifies the extent the magic has on altering reality and how far Sara can go in its use, which I really appreciated. Defining the magic made it and the story more real.

The dialogue was a pleasure to read and the author really captured some more witty teenage moments full of snippy sarcastic teen talk without being overly dramatic or too grammatically poor like some teens everyone knows.

I enjoyed this book, though not as much as the intended audience I’m sure and was pleasantly surprised by the ending indication that there will be a sequel with older characters!

This novel was published by Tate Pubishing on October 29th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Tiffany Belcher’s Website

Goodreads

Book Review: Sticks and Stones (The Wish Makers Book 1) by Shawn McGuire

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Sticks and Stones (The Wish Makers Book 1) by Shawn McGuire

A YA Low Fantasy Novel published by Brown Bag Books (06/12/14)

 

Summary:

“Live a little, Mandy Rose. You never know when life will take a sudden change.” (Kindle Locations 1745-1746).

Amanda Rose has a pathological fear of upsetting people and a fear of screwing up. Ever since the incident with her sister Alexa, Mandy has made sure to be the Goody Goody and not mess up, but she’s sick and tired of trying to be perfect. “I get straight A’s. I’ve got this great cooking club going, Nourishing Nosh, and I’m planning to put up a cooking and nutrition website for kids, NourishingNosh.com. I’ve got a plan for my future as thoroughly mapped-out as the garden I’m going to plant.” (Kindle Locations 790-794). Inside, Mandy knows there is something missing in her life, that there is something hiding in the very depths of her soul. When she makes her birthday wish, she is surprised to find that it wants to come true, or at least take her down a path to figure out what secret she is hiding from herself. Her wish takes the form of her childhood imaginary friend Lexi, who is guided by the Wish Mistress Desiree.

 

Keywords:

 Wish Mistress, Fairy, Carpe Diem, Goody-Goody, Imaginary Friend, Live Life to the Fullest, Teen Romance

 

My Review:

Mandy was annoying, Desiree was annoying, switching POV made the book annoying, the shallow romance was annoying. The message in the book was shallow and pushed again and again. There was a wonderfully captivating fantasy story within Sticks and Stones, but it got buried beneath these annoyances.

I felt like many scenes, especially in the beginning, were dragged out with too much detail in the wrong places. McGuire was overly wordy where it wasn’t necessary. I could feel the story wanting to hit the initial conflict or triggering action, but was held back by too much exposition.

When the story hit, I was eager to read more, but then McGuire sideswipes the story entirely to nearly abandon the main character and focus on Desiree the Wish Mistress. I didn’t want to know more about Desiree. She was a part of Mandy’s story, but she wasn’t an important enough character to warrant her own chapters with a storyline apart from Mandy’s. The POV switch was the most aggravating choice the author made for the novel and I eneded up skimming and skipping almost all of Desiree’s short chapters. They were dull and meaningless in the scope of the overall story. Desiree is a messenger in Mandy’s story and didn’t warrant or deserve as much focus as she got.

The story was intriguing, regardless of the annoying points; however, I don’t feel that I would read anymore from this author because of the choices she made in Sticks and Stones.

This novel was published by Brown Bag Books June 12th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 3.25

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Shawn McGuire’s Website

Book Review: Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales) by Starla Huchton

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Shadows on Snow: A Flipped Fairy Tale (Flipped Fairy Tales) by Starla Huchton

A Fantasy/Fairy Tale Adaptation published through CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (11/03/14)

 

Summary:

“Strength comes in many forms. Beauty is but one.” (Page 28).

Raelynn is both beautiful and strong and when she overhears that the Queen is in trouble, she cannot but try to help. Rae has a magical gift that helps her remain unnoticed as she attempts to help the Queen. In the form of a lowly, simple stable boy she is still able to charm the young Prince Leopold, but when he is in danger himself, she must try to save him as well. Forever late, even in birth, can Rae protect the Prince from his evil stepfather?

 

Keywords:

 Fairy Tale Adaptation, Contemporary Fairy Tale, Magic, Wards, Glamour, Survival, Family, Love, Romance, True Love, Souls, Strong Female

 

My Review:

The messages in this fairy tale adaptation ring loud and true. Starla describes animals that have intelligence and feelings, life having souls, being strong even after victimization, standing up for beliefs, perseverance and hard work paying off, love being the highest form of magic. Each ‘moral’ is layered into the novel so that none come off as too obvious. There were so many wise words in this tale, so much one could learn, so many beautiful quotes. Starla is wise beyond measure and is able to communicate through her novels these lovely themes.

Starla’s characters are the noblest and the most evil. They became larger than life for me and I loved all of them, even the evil stepfather, because they were each and every one so well described, unique, and so real you could sink your teeth into them.

The main character, Raelynn was very well written and I fell instantly in love with her. She is stubborn but resilient. She is well meaning but can’t always talk about her feelings. She has a resounding character flaw that isn’t so much a ‘flaw’ but an event that is cataclysmic in her need to help others when she can and to do everything to shield herself for protection. She doesn’t hesitate when it comes to duty.

Prince Leo falls in instalove with Rae, but for good reason. She is wonderful, with passion and care for those around her and for what she believes in. She is beautiful and kind, but also timid at times and brave when she needs to be. She is the ultimate strong female character, even though she is constantly plagued and haunted by memories of a tragedy that happened in her past.

This book contains magic, but not in the over the top kind. The use of magic is not a crutch for the author but a wonderful new imaginative tool.

I loved the special bond between the seven sisters.

The author’s clever interweaving of subtle hints of common fairy tales like Cinderella and Snow White was awesome and so very, very clever.

The character’s never break character and fit so well into the world/environment that Starla has created for them in this book.

My only critique would be to get rid of the epilogue and do away with the introductory bit in the beginning.

This novel was published through CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform November 3rd, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Starla Huckton’s Website

Book Review: Unseen (The Unseen Trilogy Book 1) by Stephanie Erickson

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Unseen (The Unseen Trilogy Book 1) by Stephanie Erickson

A Young Adult Fantasy Novel published by Pickles Press (11/19/14)

 

Summary:

Mackenzie “Mac” Day must choose between a career in music therapy and finding out a secret about herself she’s wanted to know all her life. She discovered music when she was five and, ever since, it has helped her cope with the inundation of voices in her head. She doesn’t have Sensory Processing Disorder like she was diagnosed with at such a young age, but the power to read minds, or at least to be overwhelmed by everyone else’s thoughts. That is, until she meets members from the Unseen, a secret organization full of people just like her who can read minds. Will she choose to be a therapist, continuing her own dependence on coping mechanisms she learned as a child or break free from the curse she has known all her life if she chooses to join the Unseen?

“How can I choose between something I’ve been reaching for my whole life and something so unlikely I never even dared to hope for it?” (Page 69).

 

Keywords:

 Mind Readers, Secret Organization, Graduate School, Musical Therapy, iLS Device, Sensory Processing Disorder, Music, Young Adult Issues, Friends, Terrorists, Making Adult Decisions

 

My Review:

Mac was a main character I could get behind. She’s confident and somewhat confrontational and can stand up for herself. She’s logical and to the point, but is also creative and intelligent. I really liked her. Maddie was also a character I took an instant liking to. She was funny and quirky in her own way. The interactions between Mac and Maddie were super fun. Their banter was humorous and cleverly written, with a sense of reality that kept my attention throughout the dialogue.

I was a little disappointed at the predictability until the end when the author introduce one whammy right after the other. What a climax!

As this is a fantasy novel, of COURSE the main character was special, but I got bogged down in this predictability. She is special. She is more special than the other special people. However, even within this predictability I thought the context of mind reading was interesting and well written.

To note as well, the thoughts of the men in the beginning were exaggerated as if they were a female’s take on what a man would be thinking, but who knows, I’m not a guy, maybe a guy’s thoughts really are like she describes. I also noticed there were quite a number of characters that were blonde haired and blue eyed. Coincidence?

This novel was published by Pickles Press November 19th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TL;DR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Stephanie Erickson’s Website

Book Review: The Solitaire Prince by Tyan Wyss

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The Solitaire Prince by Tyan Wyss

A Fantasy Novel published by Tyan Wyss-Lockner (12/15/13)

Summary:

 King Henry cannot see further than the length of his own nose. “All his life he’d been the one in control, barking out flippant orders and fickle whims to his subordinates. It would be a nightmare indeed to lose his power and control to another man; to a mere woman, inconceivable and humiliating.” (Page 46).

What the king fails to realize is how clever his own daughter is because he never wanted a princess, he wanted a son. She must grow up in the shadow of his rules. No chess! She might beat him. No climbing trees! It’s not ladylike. Only solitaire is allowed, and with that game she might be able to bend the rules to get what she wants, but according to the king, one can’t cheat at solitaire.

Keywords:

Fantasy, Princesses, Solitaire, Finding a Groom

My Review:

 Tyan Wyss shows us that she is very skilled at her back story without being boring or overly descriptive. The back story is told in the perfect rhythm and with the perfect progression of time to arrive at the heart of the struggle.

Wyss gives us an entire world within King Henry’s castle and is able to place the reader into the Princesses’ predicaments (yes there is another Princess). I loved the specific food descriptions, they really put me into the world of King Henry and Princess Christine.

It is a special story indeed that can deliver a full and complete novel without a true evil villain or one that is able to redeem himself by the end. With so many villains, once evil always evil pervades, but Wyss is able to construct a character that is conflicted enough, through a story that is different enough, that the ‘villain’ is able to transform.

This story is a true young adult novel for all ages, as it’s written in a clever style. Wyss delivers a clever twist on the last line, summing up the slight bending of a Princess fairy tale in this delightful novel. “Their voices faded softly away as everyone tried their best to live happily ever after.” (Page 158). The voice of the writing style is more than just warm and intimate to the story, but is also a great translator of the truth of the characters’ struggles.

This novel was published by Tyan Wyss December 15th, 2013 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating:4.75

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Tyan Wyss’s Website

Book Review: The Genesis Code: Lambda by Robert E. Parkin

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The Genesis Code: Lambda by Robert E. Parkin

A Sci Fi/Fantasy Novel published by Robert E. Parkin (09/29/14)

 

Summary:

Lambda is the most sophisticated AI program, able to learn and grow, or is she? Zack was the one who found Lambda, the first to imprint on her, but is this more than just coincidence? Zack decides to stand by Lambda, for reasons he at first doesn’t disclose, which leads to his life and that of his pop star sister being in danger. As Zack falls for Lambda, he is more and more reminded of someone from three years ago, someone who changed his life, someone whose past is connected to Zack in more ways than anyone seems to realize.

In the fight for the Network’s continuation and the fight between those with access and those without, Zack and his family are caught in the middle of something greater than all of them, but they all seem to have a hand in it behind the others’ backs. And yet, it all goes back to a cruel abuse of power and the misuse of technology to hold back those who can’t keep up. A Great Divide.

 

Keywords:

Fantasy, Science Fiction, Love Story, AI, Economic Divide

 

My Review:

This novel has a long list of characters and introduces most of them from the beginning to slowly tie them together throughout continual action and excitement and reveal. The author excels at layering his plot and leaving breadcrumbs of backstory leading right up to the climax. It was difficult keeping up with the cast of characters until the latter half of the story. It was also difficult keeping track of allegiances and motivations and keeping them clear between the characters.

The action scenes (which comprise a large portion of the novel) are engaging and exciting and frequented by fantastically large weaponry. For a novel based on Earth, with humans and human-like characters, the weapons technology is a deviation from the norm and keeps the book fresh and different.

I started out liking the powerful AI Lambda, but when she was overcome little by little with human emotions and lost her power and her confidence I started to resent her. She devolved from a feared and beautiful AI to a distressed and distracted woman-like AI. However, Parkin does say that “she is a girl before she is a program.” (Location 5073). But I hoped she would remain like Zack’s initial perception, “A cyber maiden of death, clad in black. All he could think at that moment was just how alluring and terrifying she looked.” (Location 430-431).

Some final thoughts I had upon finishing the novel were as to what the world outside the Limit Zones looked like. What do people eat? How is their Network technology possible?

I was also a bit disappointed in the ending. It appears the novel ends in the middle of the climax and I prefer, even of the first book in a series, for it to be complete and with an end. Even with an overarching unresolved issue the smaller conflicts should be resolved.

On an end note I adore the cover in its vibrancy.

This novel was published by Robert E. Parkin September 29th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating:3.25

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Facebook

Robert E. Parkin’s Website

Book Review: Roll the Bones by Rob May

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Roll the Bones by Rob May

A Fantasy Novel published on amazon.com (01/01/2014)

 

Summary:

Roll the Bones, the second book in the Kal Moonheart series, begins right where Dragon Killer leaves off, with action and adventure and Kal dropping right into the fighter woman character that she is. The opening scene involves Kal caught up in the robbery of the local gambling house by the King of Thieves. In order to pin down the thief and find out his identity Kal gets caught up in further trouble, involving murder and an ancient ghost of ancestors past.

 

Keywords:

 Young heroine, adventure, dragons, Dragonites cult, gambling, fighting, strong females

 

My Review:

The Kal Moonheart series focuses much on the main character Kal Moonheart and her adventures in the fantasy world Amaranthium (and beyond). Rob May does the unpredictable and accomplishes a difficult feat in literature by not forcing the gender-neutrality, as if the world just naturally exists as it does without walls and glass ceilings and labeling people into corners. His main characters and, in fact, all females in his books overcome the fighting female trope.  Kal is the what-would-happen-if-a-girl-played-this-role character that one normally sees a guy play. She isn’t just a female in a male’s role. She IS the characteristics of a macho, strong, take none of your crap character that doesn’t flaunt gender stereotypes as the norm. Rob May creates a new norm in Kal that every reader, male and female, will enjoy reading. Kal is a role model for girls in that she doesn’t have to overcome the prejudices of being female or a woman, she just is herself. I love her for this and you will too (or you might not even notice and just enjoy her story and how she kicks butt).

She is more than just a role model for girls, she is a role model for any reader because she is confident and collected. She doesn’t get carried away by emotions or let herself get weakened by pain or failure. On the other hand, she isn’t too fictional because she doesn’t always win. She isn’t invincible, just impervious to pain. She can get hurt. She can get caught. It is the way she evades death and despair and the way she gets out of the more rough situations that makes her a true hero.

If Kal wasn’t enough woman for you, one of the more aggressive characters is also female, which is unusual for most novels. Those in power and those who are more war-oriented are generally male, but Rob May breaks these stereotypes by giving us General Cassava, another strong woman and character.

Roll the Bones continues the intermingling of one of Kal’s past adventures with her exciting present predicament so the reader once again gets two stories in one. Rob May also continues to interweave the characters from book one into book two, giving us more background information on Kal’s benefactor Ben.

 

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the adventures and strengthof Tarzan, the fun cockiness of Crocodile Dundee, or a novel with a young kick-butt female hero.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 01/01/2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Rob May’s Website

Book Review: Dragon Killer by Rob May

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Dragon Killer by Rob May

A Fantasy Novel published on amazon.com (05/01/2013)

 

Summary:

 Kalina Moonheart and a man in pursuit of knighthood find themselves on the same quest to rid a gold-mining island of a terrible beast. Two stories unfold, one of Kalina the Dragon Killer and the other of her present day predicament trying to solve the mystery of the island’s dragon and eventually just to stay alive. This is an adventure for those true of purpose and  who are ready to take on any enemy, no matter its form or shape.

 

Keywords:

 Young heroine, adventure, dragons, Dragonites cult, gambling, fighting, strong females

 

My Review:

It is easy to fall in love with Kalina Moonheart. Her name alone would make any reader a fan. She presents herself as erring on the arrogant side of confidence. Anybody looking for a super hero will adore Kalina. She is a young heroine of no doubt and no hesitation. She is strong, witty, and clever. She can use all the tricks up her sleeve to accomplish her goals. She remains emotionally above her past’s tragedies and stands tall in the face of her current enemies. She is the renegade Indiana Jones and for her to grow and develop as a character throughout the series, my guess is that she will learn humility. At times it was difficult to connect with her as a real person because she is superhuman. She gets injured but doesn’t tell us of any pain and is not slowed down by these injuries.

In Dragon Killer dragons are clever and to defeat one Kal must be cleverer still. Rob May has one more trick up his sleeve where dragons are concerned.

I wasn’t sure which I wanted to read more, the backstory of how Kalina got the name Dragon Killer or her present adventure in the heart of a mountain on the island of the present dragon, but I was glad May gave me both and integrated them smoothly throughout the book.

The author has a knack for throwing out intriguing cliff-hangers at the end of each chapter to keep you moving through the rather short chapters.

The only part that seemed out of character for the balanced novel was the romance between Rafe and Kal. It was as if Rob May was told his story needed romance, and he threw it in after he had written the entirety of the novel.

 

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the adventures and smart alecky-ness of Indiana Jones, the relentlessness of the Terminator, or a novel with a young kick-butt female hero.

This novel was published through Createspace Independent Publishing Platform 05/01/2013 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 4.25

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23021166-dragon-killer

Website: http://www.robertwilliammay.com/

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/list/120355025-rob-may-dragon-killer