fantasy books

Book Review: The Last Mapmaker

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The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

The Last Mapmaker
by Christina Soontornvat (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

Sai pretends to be from a wealthy family in order to get an apprenticeship with a mapmaker. She hides that her father is a criminal, and uses her skills as a forger to help the mapmaker copy maps and documents. When the mapmaker goes on a sea voyage to explore new regions of the world, Sai is eager to leave her past behind and start a new life. There are tales of dragons and dangerous seas in the South, but the riches and rewards could be immense.

I loved this story! It’s so exciting as they travel further and further from Sai’s home, and the people on board the ship begin to divide into groups with very different goals. Both the adventure and the emotional journey have a lot of tension and suspense. There are so many great twists in the plot!

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Book Review: The Monster in the Lake

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The Monster in the Lake by Louie Stowell

The Monster in the Lake (The Dragon in the Library, #2)
by Louie Stowell, Davide Ortu (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Kit and her friends are flabbergasted by a recent surge of wild magic that is making random things happen. Kit’s magic spells are going haywire. Animals in the park are talking to humans, and something magical is bubbling up from the depths of the lake. This new adventure will take Kit all the way to Scotland to solve the mystery of the unpredictable wild magic.

I loved this book from start to finish! The characters, the plot, the world-building, the magic; everything is wonderful! The writing style is absolutely hilarious! There are so many cute bits of dialogue and funny scenes that had me laughing.

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Book Review: Shadow of the Spider

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Shadow of the Spider by Marianne E. Burgess

Shadow of the Spider: A Quest to Save A Queen
by Marianne E. Burgess (Goodreads Author)

A set of triplets are separated as babies to protect them from a danger that lurks around their family. Two of them are sent to the modern world and they grow up leading normal lives. As teenagers, they are magically transported back to the land of their birth- a fantasy world where people have magical abilities, and satyrs, elves, and dwarves populate the land. A mysterious wizard launches them on a quest to save their mother.

The main plot of this book looks like it’s pretty good, but the writing got on my nerves so badly that I DNF’d the book at page 76. Multiple POVs is already one of my pet peeves, but this book took head-hopping to a whole different level of annoyance. Sometimes there are multiple POVs in the same paragraph!

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Book Review: Dragon Rain

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Dragon Rain by Vonnie Winslow Crist

Dragon Rain
by Vonnie Winslow Crist (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Each short story in this collection features dragons; some benevolent, some dangerous, and all of them mysterious and magical. There are dragons with mystical powers. Some dragons will bargain with humans, exchanging magic for goods. Baby dragons just out of the egg need protection. Dragons in captivity will exact their revenge. And there are some dragons who are looking for their soulmate.

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Book Review: Be the Dragon

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Be the Dragon by Catherine J. Manning

Be the Dragon: 9 Keys to Unlocking Your Inner Magic: Roar with Confidence and Slay Your Fears with Quizzes, Quests, and More!
by Catherine J. Manning
5 out of 5 stars

Go on a journey of discovery to find out what kind of dragon you are! This book has short stories about dragons who demonstrate some character trait of bravery, kindness, patience, or friendship to teach the reader how to be a real dragon in your own life.

There are several quizzes throughout the book so that you can find out what type of dragon you are, what type of roar you have, what dragon power is your biggest strength, and what problem-solving style you use best. You can do activities and crafts to complete a quest and build your creativity.

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Book Review: Secrets of the Last Merfolk

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Secrets of the Last Merfolk by Lindsay Littleson

Secrets of the Last Merfolk
by Lindsay Littleson (Goodreads Author)
2 out of 5 stars

Finn and Sage begin to wonder if there might be merfolk living in the ocean off the Scottish coast. They have been seeing strange sights in the water, and hearing a weird song that echoes off the cliffs. Sage begins to investigate in her kayak, but when Finn does a dangerous solo swim in the freezing waves, the two discover that the merfolk are more mysterious and strange than any legend they have ever heard. The merfolk are in danger from an old enemy, and they need help from the human children to save their little underwater colony.

The plot is incredibly slow. This could have been a short story, but it drags on and on. Once something finally does happen, it’s not that amazing. Finn and Sage are completely obsolete to the plans of the merfolk. They make a big deal about “helping”, but they never do anything that the merfolk couldn’t have just done themselves with less effort. A lot of fuss over nothing.

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Book Review: Winterset Hollow

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Winterset Hollow by Jonathan Edward Durham

Winterset Hollow
by Jonathan Edward Durham

2.5 stars
Eamon and his friends visit the abandoned home of their favorite author, Addington, who wrote stories about animals who celebrate Barley Day with a massive feast. Those stories inspired and comforted Eamon for years after he was abandoned by his father. But now, when Eamon and other fans of the author visit the setting for those stories, they find that the truth behind the book is stranger and far more frightening than they could ever imagine. Because there is another Barley Day tradition besides just the feast… the Barley Day hunt.

I really liked Eamon’s character. He is a broken person, an orphan who finds it hard to connect with others. But he is trying to be emotionally healthy and have a good life. I was inspired by his growth and how he recognized his personal problems and tried to overcome them. I loved his jovial and teasing dynamic with his friends.

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Book Review: Shadows

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Shadows by Robin McKinley

Shadows
by Robin McKinley
Kailey (Luminous Libro)‘s reviewOct 28, 2021  ·  edit
really liked itbookshelves: owned-books, books-read-in-2021

Maggie lives in an urban society that has outlawed the use of magic. When the fabric of the dimensions begins to collapse, and holes in reality start to appear, the government tries to use science to deal with the problem.
When Maggie meets her new stepfather for the first time, she knows he is involved in some kind of powerful magic, because he is surrounded by wisps of shadow that loom in the darkness. The shadows seem to move about on their own, wiggling and changing with every mood.

I loved the magical urban setting in this book! It’s very modern, with cars and cellphones, but the history of the world includes magic, passed down by genetics through certain families. The world-building has such great depth, and it was so interesting learning all about the magic system.

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Book Review: Mermaids Rock The Coral Kingdom

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The Coral Kingdom by Linda Chapman

The Coral Kingdom
by Linda Chapman, Mirelle Ortega (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars

Marina and her father have just moved to a new underwater neighborhood, and Marina makes some new friends at school while her father researches rare fish in the area. Marina has to put up with a snobby girl at school, but she happily joins the Save the Sea Creatures club with her friends. However, Marina and her friends are frightened by a strange creature that is evidently destroying the local coral reef caves. They find some weird clues, but no one has sighted the creature. Can they solve the mystery before the damage gets worse?

I loved this cute book! The mermaid culture is wonderfully imaginative, and I thought it was so fun to learn about Marina and her friends. We also get some real life facts about interesting fish and conservation in the ocean. The mystery had me in complete suspense! I was puzzling and wondering, What is this big sea monster creature that is destroying the coral?

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