Month: February 2023

Book Review: Heir of Ra

February 25, 2023

Title: Heir of Ra
Author: M. Sasinowski
Genre: YA Fantasy
Year Published: August 12, 2018

Date Started: February 7, 2023
Date finished: February 14, 2023

This is a story about a girl named Alyssa Morgan. Her father, Kade, becomes ill and she wants to find a cure for him. In doing so she meets up with some of her father’s co-workers and students where they head to Peru and a few other locations to locate an artifact that could lead to saving her father. There is also another group who are after the same artifact and will do anything to get their hands on it first. Eventually, they all end up in Egypt where the rest of the action takes place.

This is a pretty fast paced story. There are multiple characters jumping from one to another quite frequently. We never truly get invested in any one main character even though it’s mainly about Alyssa. However, I think this is the style of the writing. It feels a bit like a book I read from author, Lee Child some time ago. It’s got the same vague storyline and focuses more so on the setting rather than the characters. It’s a well written story though. I liked the action and the urgency.

Overall, this was a good story. If you’re into young adult that focuses less on romance and more on the action and working as a team to defeat the enemy, this would be a great read for you.

Who should read this book: Readers of young adult who also enjoy historical fantasy fiction.

Book Review: The Forgotten Kingdom

February 23, 2023

Title: The Forgotten Kingdom
Author: Signe Pike
Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Year Published: September 15, 2020

Date Started: January 19, 2023
Date finished: January 23, 2023

I think my expectations were too high after reading the first book, The Lost Queen, because this book was just okay. The story is told from three characters: Langoureth, Lailoken, and Angharad where Langoureth and Lailoken are in first pov and Angharad is in third. I found it quite confusing because without mentioning whose story we were in, in each opening chapters, I wouldn’t know which characters it was. The voices of each character sort of blended together as though it was one character. Even the third-person character felt like the two first-person characters. In the first book, we only got one pov and it was Langoureth’s which created a more focused story and was more interesting in that sense.

There was a lot happening in the story and nothing was very clear. It jumped from one character to another frequently so the full story sort of got lost. There was a war and there was tension. The story that stood out most was Angharad. I think for me it was because it was the most adventurous one. She was kidnapped and then eventually ended up being at the same place where her mother (Langoureth) was. Through it all, she became a stronger person.

Overall, I found this book okay. It wasn’t bad but it was a bit drawn out even though the chapters weren’t very long and the pacing was well done. The setting description/exposition was done well. The writing was just as beautiful as the first one. The action and war scenes were sort of muted. They didn’t seem strong enough or action packed enough.

Who should read this book: Read this book if you’re into historical fantasy fiction and if you have a liking for writing that makes you feel as though you can smell the fresh earth and feel the air of that time period.

Book Review: Atonement: A Magical Warrior’s Tale

February 7, 2023

Title: Atonement: A Magical Warrior’s Tale

Author: Fred. G. Baker

Genre: Fantasy

Year Published: January 12, 2023

Date Started: January 30, 2023

Date Finished: February 3, 2023

This story is about a man named Hunter. It begins with him in childhood and then ends when he’s in middle age. The story follows Hunter as he joins the military and begins to hear a cat speak to him. Shocked, he thinks something is wrong with him only to find out that he has a gift and that he comes from a long line of gifted family members. Hunter goes on living his life not thinking too much of how important his life is. He does stupid things and tries to avoid the voices only to continuously get closer to the voices. He never gives in and constantly remains speculative, but his fate was set to defeat creatures of the unknown.

I really enjoyed this story. At first, I thought it was simply a military story but as the story moved along the fantasy stuff set in and really hooked me. Don’t get me wrong, I love military stories. Just didn’t want to be fooled by the title which sounded very fantasy-like. As the story moved along and Hunter had to face the fact that he’s sort of the chosen one (without it being said) I was smiling because now I was invested in him. The story was action packed from Hunter’s days in the military to his life as a “simple” man. I also really enjoyed the dark humor and the mistakes he made in being careless, which is just to say, he was human. I really liked that aspect of him.

This is a great fantasy story with a main character that is relatable. I’m not a man but I can understand what he’s gone through from a human perspective. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to all fantasy readers. It’s excellently written and paced just perfectly to keep you excited.

Who should read this book: If you’re into military and fantasy with a realistic main character, this would be a good read. The story is a bit fast paced and goes through time pretty quickly so keep that in mind.