High Fantasy

book Review

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“If only there were a way to hold a moment in your hands and keep it alive forever.”

Under the moon throne, there have been centuries of suffering at the hands of despotic emperor, and his sons, the three terrors, as they hold the countryside in their hands. They bleed the land and leave the citizens living in fear of their dark powers they inherited from the god god locked under the palace. But, the god cannot be contained forever and with the aid of Jun, a broken guard who is still trying to deal with his grief-stricken past and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god is freed from her prison and flees from her own children, the three terrors who would drag her back down to her prison where she belongs. Now, the three must find a new home for the god and keep her away from harms way and find a way to end the moon throne but the road to freedom is paved with danger wherever they go.

What a thrilling and exciting read! I’m not usually a fan of long books but this one was well worth it and while the plot was very straightforward and something that you see a lot of in fantasy books, the author does a fantastic job with the writing to make it seem like something completely new and unique. Not only do you get a compelling love story but you also get a story that shows how love drives motivations, actions, and serves as a ray of hope. All of the characters were motivated by their scorn or want for love and how the author portrayed that throughout the book was brilliantly done. It was a truly a fantastic and thrilling read and I loved the dynamics between Keema and Jun, it felt very open and real and the two of them do a lot of growing throughout the novel. Highly recommend this one!!

Book Review

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“The twin gods, Necessity and Chance, walked among the stars. What needed to be, was; what might be, sometimes was.”

The kingdom of Goredd is a world not like any other as humans and dragons live as one but it is not a life of bliss for either races. For the ones who are human and dragon, they walk an uneasy path as any moment as their true identity could be discovered so they must hide their truth and cultivate a life that will keep them safe. One of those is a young woman by the name of Seraphine who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world and when tensions finally hit, she must travel to find those like herself for she has a connection to all of them. But, she must be careful on her quest as there are humans who want to harm her and if she’s not too careful, she might not make it to ensure those like her are able to defeat the evil.

While I did like this book, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first one but it was still a good book nonetheless. One of the things I do wish is that it would’ve been a bit shorter because I did feel like things were dragged out a bit much and it could’ve ended a few chapters earlier. But, it was still delightful to see Seraphina and her friends as they try to fight for what is good and end the war between humans and dragons. I was hooked from the beginning just like the first book but some of the things she did seemed a bit out of character and not the Seraphina I read about in the first book who was so brave, loyal, and would do anything for her loved ones. She seemed to find herself in one lie after another and seemed very unbothered by it and the fact that her friends and loved ones were being hurt, that’s not the Seraphina I remember from book one.

While Shadow Scale is beautifully written and Hartman does a very good job with keeping up the suspense and having readers hooked from the first page, I still feel a bit let down but I guess that happens sometimes even though it stinks.



Book Review: Shorefall

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“Remember the plan,” said Sancia. “I just also remember there’s a lot of spots in the plan that say, ‘Sancia improvises a bunch of shit.’ Which is not, you know, comforting.”

Having narrowly saved the metropolis of Tevanna from destruction, Sancia Grado and her allies have turned their next task: sowing the seeds of a full on magical industrial revolution and if they succeed, the secrets behind scriving, the art of imbuing every day objects with sentience will be accessible to all the citizens of Tevanna, much to the displeasure of robber-barrons who were keeping this knowledge all to themselves. They must act quickly as an enemy of Sancia’s is pursuing a desperate gambit to awaken an immortal figure straight out of legend known as the heriophant and if awakened, he’ll stop at nothing to rebuild the world in his horrifying image.

The more and more I read of this trilogy, the more I love it. This one was just as exciting and fun as the first book but with more action and heartwarming moments. Sancia and her allies are so kind hearted with wanting to give back to the people of Tevanna who have lived in under fear and terror with it’s current regime. The author does a really good job with the parallels between this world and real life and I think that’s what makes this trilogy so good. I’m on the last book now and I’m taking my time with it because I don’t want it to end but I will checking out more of the author’s books because their writing is so good. The magic system is so interesting, so much of it is rooted in science that I felt confused and would’ve liked to be more alive but along with the world-building it’s hard to put this series down. A really fantastic and wild ride from beginning to end!