“Prey” has flavors of a cop-procedural, apocalyptic level stakes, paranormal monsters, and good old fashion horror. There’s a lot going on in Majka’s first book in the “Blood of the Ancients” series, and this first installment does a great job laying the groundwork for the series! “Prey” follows Eric Archer as he discovers the truth behind his parent’s gruesome murders, and uncovers long buried family secrets that may stretch back several generations. As Eric and those he works with uncover that their foe is an evil godlike entity, they have a limited amount of time to come to terms with their whole reality being upended, and put the beast back where it belongs. Only the fate of the world hangs in the balance, so, no pressure?
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“Life and Other Near-Death Experiences” is the rather humorous journey one woman takes, both literally and figuratively, when she discovers she has cancer. I know it sounds weird, a book that’s meant to be a funny account of a woman diagnosed with a rare cancer while her marriage dissolves around her? But it’s true! Often these kinds of books (that a lot of people call chik-lit or women’s fiction, but I don’t like those “titles”) follow a similar format that is very Lifetime Movie: something truly awful happens, and then someone makes it worse, and then the main character goes on a path of panic fueled self-discovery. Which is what the main character, Libby does. But Pagan writes it in a way that has a unique brand of humor that won’t leave you emotionally drained and devastated at the end of every chapter. “Foundations of Faith” is the first in the “Brother Thomas and the Guardians of Zion” series, and is my first Catholic based fantasy read. I went to a Catholic High School but am not personally Catholic myself, so reading Chrobak’s story was both educational, and a nice trip down memory lane to my religious retreat with my school. The book starts with Thomas on retreat, where he is hounded by dark forces, forcing him to question his faith. After an illuminating discussion with Father Dominic, Thomas returns home deciding that he wants to become a priest. He’s so excited to go home and share the news with his family, and then his life gets turned on its head, and the newly awakened faith in God he’s found, gets tested, and tested, again and again. ****I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review**** “Draguntome: Heir of the Forsaken” is the start of what I feel will be a very long fantasy series. Plum sets up a lot of tantalizing tidbits about this new world: an evil king, long forgotten dragon knights (and yes, dragons), mystical artifacts, pirates, and other creatures of legend. We get these hints through Kalos, a young boy on the cusp of becoming a man, as he follows his father on a mysterious quest, gathering items for … something. Kalos never learns the true extent of his father’s dealings as danger suddenly finds them, keeping Kalos always one step behind from ever being told the truth about what’s going on, and his sudden role in it. Unfortunately, as is the case sometimes with the first book in a long series, this book teases a lot, and sets up a lot of promises, but does not answer any questions. ****I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review**** “Spellcaster” is really two stories crammed into one book. The blurb has you believe the main character, Christine, is a young woman assaulted by evil spirits from the beyond so dramatically, that it may actually kill her. The only option she has, is to dive deep into London’s underground occult and seek help from a powerful witch. The witch will demand Christine sacrifice her best friend’s happiness in order to free herself from these evil forces. Now that is a book I want to read! But that wasn’t the story I got with “Spellcaster”. Instead I got a want-to-be Jane Austen book with its writing style and language (that doesn’t always work), mixed in with a kind of steampunk setting, and then another tale where it’s not really spirits plaguing Christine, but a past life who is being attacked by a being called the “Spellcaster”, and that past life must stop the fiend in their own time? It’s a confusing, and I’ll try to explain, but I don’t know if it’ll do much good… |
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