BOOK REVIEW: The Medium by C.J. Archer

Seventeen year-old spirit medium Emily Chambers has a problem. Actually, she has several. As if seeing dead people isn't a big enough social disadvantage, she also has to contend with an escaped demon and a handsome ghost with a secret past. And then there's the question of her parentage. Being born an entire year after her father's death (yes, a year) and without the pale skin of other respectable English ladies, Emily is as much a mystery as the dead boy assigned to her.

Jacob Beaufort's spirit has been unable to crossover since his death. It might have something to do with the fact he was murdered. Or it might not. All he knows is, he has been assigned by the Otherworld's administrators to a girl named Emily. A girl who can see and touch him. A girl who released a shape-shifting demon into the mortal realm. Together they must send the demon back before it wreaks havoc on London. It should be a simple assignment, but they soon learn there's nothing simple when a live girl and a dead boy fall in love.

Set in not current day England (think like horse and buggy times) Emily is an honest to goodness Spirit Medium, unlike the hacks, fakes, and wannabes that are popping up on the scene as the idea of contacting spirits and holding seances are like parlor games for society ladies.  Emily and her sister Cecilia make a decent living on these parlor tricks.  Until they hold a seance here the ghost won't leave when he's supposed to.  And Celia accidentally lets a demon loose on London.  In swoops Jacob.  The rest is interesting, frustrating and a bit of a let down.

I liked that, for the most part the characters are thought out and developed.  The story didn't drag but it didn't go anywhere either.  Jacob is a pain and pouty but at times also pulls some hilarious antics and tricks as only a ghost can. His 'romance' if you can call it that with Emily is trite and overblown.  They are in love within just a few days, but he can't have her he's a ghost you know.  But heaven forbid someone else show interest in her and blam he's all moody jealous that she might actually have a normal healthy relationship with a living breathing human, you know as opposed to a ghost. Celia is a mix between wanting her sister to find a man and marry when she should be encouraging her to grow up.  Good gravy but Emily does not act her age, she acts like a petulant 12 year old child.  In a day and age when most girls grew up and married young Emily is very immature.  And there's this demon.  Which really takes a back seat to everything else most of the time.

The book had a very interesting cover story.  The synopsis was intriguing.  But it stopped there.  Most of the story that actually happened had very little to do with the demon and more to do with Emily and Jacob making gooey eyes at each other, when they weren't fighting and pouting.  Even the wrap up about the demon left me wanting more.  I really wanted to like this book.  I loved the idea of this book.  However the actual story left me waiting for something to be delivered by FedEx that never got updated with tracking and just disappeared off the radar.  

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About C.J. Archer

C.J. Archer has loved history and books for as long as she can remember and feels fortunate that she found a way to combine the two. She spent her early childhood in the dramatic beauty of outback Queensland, Australia, but now lives in suburban Melbourne with her husband, two children and a mischievous black & white cat named Coco.

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BOOK REVIEW: Secrets of Erhynvale: Children of the Eclipse by Amara Starling

 This book is no longer available. Please visit www.amarastarling.com or facebook.com/amarastarling for the most up to date information.

I have to preface this review with a couple of tidbits of information that I feel are important to share.  First, I know the author.  I consider her a friend.  I respect her as a person, as a parent, and as an author.  Second, as the background reveals, this book is a fantasy book.  I do not like fantasy books.  I've tried to like them.  I've tried to read the classics of this genre and just cannot do it.  There are a few authors out there that have written fantasy that I enjoy but those are few and far between.  Revealing these two tidbits also brings the conundrum I found myself in.  What if I hate the book due to it's genre?  How do you tell a friend you hate her book?  What if I love the book?  Who will take a good review seriously when they know the reviewer is a friend of the author?  I've had this book sitting on my Kindle shelf for several months due to all of the above fears.  But I did read it.  I did finish it.  And in the end, I loved the book and I'm going to write the review my way.  You can doubt my review as authentic if you want but it's my way, my review, just mine.

'Secrets of Erhynvale: Children of the Eclipse' is the debut novel by Amara Starling.  This book is set in a world that I think I would definitely add to my travel wish list (if that were possible).  It's well created and completely believable, even with dragons.  Covering several centuries 'Children of the Eclipse' tells the story of Symphony, in her own words. I have to add that while this book does cover such a time span it does so seamlessly, which I find many authors struggle with over a much shorter span. The synopsis reveals that is is a fantasy book, as well as action and romance.  Heck there are even love triangles!  But it is so much more than that.  There is also faith in humanity and an understanding of faith in oneself.  No matter how much a person has there are also moments of self-doubt.  I do have to say that I did figure out the 'twist' by the first few chapters.  That is not a bad thing, it's rare for a book to completely leave me guessing.  However, I kept waiting, and waiting for the twist to be revealed and dealt with.  It was 1 in the morning as I was reading thinking 'just tell it already!', true story. Should I have been reading at 1 am?  No.  But I had to.  I had to know how it was all going to play out.  I also appreciate that this book doesn't have the cliche happy ending.  Unless I'm reading a 'beach read' I do not appreciate a happy ending as I feel it's not true to life.  Even when things work out they are never wrapped up in a perfect box with a smart red bow. 

'Children of the Eclipse' is the first book in a series and while it was wrapped up well without leaving an open cliff hanger (which I also appreciate) it did leave itself open to more.  More fantasy.  More adventure.  More romance.  More drama.  Just more.  And the truth is, I want more.

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About Amara E. Starling

Full time author, mother, and seeker of knowledge, Amara E. Starling is a temporary resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, but permanently resides in the deepest recesses of the human imagination. There are few topics Amara won’t write about, and she often finds comfort in breaching the darker subjects that society tends to shy away from. Her writing style is often poetic and thought provoking, and embraces the theme of finding strength in the face of adversity. Fragments: Book One of the Symphony Ryelle Saga is her debut novel.

When she’s not writing, Amara can be found wandering through state parks, finding adventures with her children, donating to charities, and more often than not, drinking copious amounts of coffee while passionately researching into the night.

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BOOK REVIEW: Phantom's by Dean Koontz

They thought it was the work of a maniac or terrorists or toxic contamination -- but then they found the truth, which was worse than anything they had imagined...

'Phantoms' was one of the first of the first Dean Koontz novels I ever read and will forever be one of my favorites by him.  One of the things I enjoy about Koontz's writing is he takes the slightly improbable and shows how it could actually be probable.  It's the prefect blend of science fiction and horror.

A mountain town suddenly missing most of it's residents and those that aren't missing are dead.  However, there is no indication of what caused these deaths or disappearances.  The bodies left behind defy any known method of death. As the investigation gears up the questions become greater than the answers. 

I really enjoyed the storyline of 'Phantoms' and the idea of real historical, even recent history, events and an improbable explanation.  Mass disappearances such as the Roanoke Colony, Aztec cities, the Mary Celeste which I had heard of as well as a few incidents I was unfamiliar with.  The problem with improbable is that no one else has any better theory on what happened.  So is this explanation really as improbable as we try to tell ourselves?  Written in what I call the 'Koontz Style', giving just enough information in each chapter to keep you engaged while at the same time drawing bull's eye circles around the answer.  Hinting just enough to make you think you know what's going on while keeping you in the dark all the same.

The hard part of this novel is the sheer number of characters and the switching voice. Truth, I only have issues with all the characters because I am horrible with names.  I was forever flipping back through what I had read so I could remember who was who.  And then just as you got to know a character and decided if you liked them or not they were gone.  Just gone.  Dead, vanished, gone.  Tough I do appreciate that most of the characters, outside maybe the random fox, I got to know before they were gone.  It was hard to read about the loss of characters that were likeable and sympathetic.  And it was hard to read about the characters that were created to loathed.  I mean, were they really gone? 

There were parts that were not only improbable but also unbelievable.  And those unbelievable parts made the ending of the novel bring down my entire rating of the story.  I do like this book.  And I would recommend it to anyone that likes science-fiction meets horror meets good gravy what if that could be true!?!

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About Dean Koontz

Dean Ray Koontz is an American author. His novels are broadly described as suspense thrillers, but also frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire.

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BOOK REVIEW: Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind

 In Wizard's First Rule, Richard Cypher's world was turned upside down. Once a simple woods guide, Richard was forced to become the Seeker of Truth, to save the world from the vile dominance of Darken Rahl, the most viciously savage and powerful wizard the world had ever seen. He was joined on this epic quest by his beloved Kahlan, the only survivor among the Confessors, who brought a powerful but benevolent justice to the land before Rahl's evil scourge. Aided by Zedd, the last of the wizards who opposed Rahl, they were able to cast him into the underworld, saving the world from the living hell of life under Rahl.

But the veil to the underworld has been torn, and Rahl, from beyond the veil, begins to summon a sinister power more dreadful than any he has wielded before. Horrifying creatures escape through the torn veil, wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting world above.

If Rahl isn't stopped, he will free the Keeper itself, an evil entity whose power is so vast and foul that once freed, it can never again be contained.

Richard and Kahlan must face Rahl and the Keeper's terrible minions. But first, Richard must endure the ministrations of the Sisters of the Light, or die from the pain of magic that is his birthright and his curse. While Richard undertakes the arduous journey to the forbidden city of the Sisters, Kahlan must embark upon a long and dangerous mission to Aydindril, citadel of the old wizards, where she hopes to find Zedd and the help only he can lend to their desperate cause.

War, suffering, torture, and deceit lie in their paths, and nothing will save them from a destiny of violent death, unless their courage and faith are joined with luck and they find the elusive...Stone of Tears.

While I enjoyed 'Stone of Tears', I had a more difficult time reading it than I did 'Wizard's First Rule'. The story was engaging and the character's consistent to their nature as defined in the first book. I enjoyed the story thoroughly and already plan to read the next book in the series.

I, again, had issues with the pace of the story at times, wanting to skim through parts to get on with the story. I think the most difficult part of the novel, for me, though was that the chapters skipped between concurrent stories. As I was reading I would have difficultly keeping track of what was going on previously with each ongoing part. For example, Chase leaves the Palace with his new daughter. The next time you hear from them they are in this magical, wondrous, supremely comforting place that seems sublime. They are never mentioned again until near the end of the book. However, how they ended up there, in that situation, is never identified or explained. And even knowing at the end where they actually were, it doesn't fit with the story of why they able to get into that situation to begin with. Another instance was with the actual stone of tears (hence the title) and the 'pebble in the pond' that was mentioned frequently. The relevance of either one was never really explained and I still wonder why the stone of tears was so important that the book was named for it but it played such a small part of the whole story.
I guess my struggle with the Fantasy genre is in believability. So much is not congruent enough with reality and I have difficulty getting into that different mindset. I enjoy Goodkind's take on fantasy as it tends to be more rooted in a truth than others. There were parts, as in 'Wizard's First Rule', that the characters were difficult to believe in. They see danger at every turn but then will blindly trust in the good benevolence of others.

I know it seems like I have so many issues with the book. But with almost 1000 pages there's a lot of good to go with the difficult. I enjoy the storyline. I am vested in the characters, even in their unbelievable moments. I am invested enough that I plan to, and anticipate, reading the next installment in the series.

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About Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind is an American writer. He is known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines, which has ties to his fantasy series.

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BOOK REVIEW: Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of his father, a mysterious woman, Kahlan Amnell, appears in Richard Cypher's forest sanctuary seeking help ... and more. His world, his very beliefs, are shattered when ancient debts come due with thundering violence.

In their darkest hour, hunted relentlessly, tormented by treachery and loss, Kahlan calls upon Richard to reach beyond his sword-- to invoke within himself something more noble. Neither knows that the rules of battle have just changed ... or that their time has run out.

This is the beginning. One book. One Rule. Witness the birth of a legend.  

First and foremost I am typically not a fan of Fantasy, I just needed to say that. I read 'Wizard's First Rule" on the very high recommendation of a friend. It does not read as a typical fantasy book at all.

I found the book extremely well written and was engaging to read. At times I struggled with the believably in the characters in the ways they interacted with each other. There were some information that I felt was too drawn out in story line and could have been revealed with less preamble and would not have effected the story line negatively. There were a few parts that I really wanted to just skim through and get on with the rest of the story. However, despite this, I really enjoyed the book and would read it again. And most definitely plan to read the following installments of the series.

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About Terry Goodkind

Terry Goodkind is an American writer. He is known for the epic fantasy series The Sword of Truth as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines, which has ties to his fantasy series.

Website | Twitter | Vimeo | Goodreads