fantasy

Book Review: The Perilous Gard

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The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope

The Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Marie Pope

5 out of 5 stars

Kate Sutton is banished from the Queen’s court and forced into house-arrest at a remote castle with Sir Geoffrey Heron as her guardian. There Kate hears wild rumors about fairy folk and dark magic in the forest and caves surrounding the castle. There is a holy well that seems to grant healing and good fortune to those who drop money into it, but a child was lost down the well and Sir Geoffrey and his brother Christopher warn Kate to stay away from the area. Despite their warnings, Kate begins to suspect that something evil is lurking about the castle and she starts to ask questions about the mysterious fairy folk. She learns of their terrible tradition to commit a human sacrifice in order to gather the power of a human life to sustain their spells.

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Book Review: Losing the Plot

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Losing the Plot by Annaleise Byrd

Losing the Plot (Losing the Plot #1)
by  Annaleise Byrd 

4 out of 5 stars

Bookish Basil has to help his sporty neighbor Terry with his reading skills, and the two sit down to read the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. When Basil starts fiddling with a special bookmark that matches the book cover, Gretel jumps out of the book pages! She begs them to return with her to the fairy tale world to rescue her brother Hansel, who has been kidnapped. If they can’t return Hansel to his story, the whole fairy tale world might collapse under the plot hole.

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Book Review: The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio

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The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander

The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio
by  Lloyd Alexander

3 out of 5 stars

Carlo finds an ancient map to a long-forgotten treasure and sets out on a journey into faraway lands to search for the fortune. Baksheesh offers to work as his servant and guide him from the coast into the inland city and beyond through the desert. They are also joined by Shira, a girl running away from slavers, trying to return to her home in the mountains. Their caravan is attacked by bandits, and they get lost in the desert. Carlo is mistaken for a foreign prince and held for ransom. Through all their adventures, Carlo wonders if the treasure is even real or worth all this trouble.

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Book Review: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow

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Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow
by Jessica Day George

4 out of 5 stars

When the woodcutter’s daughter is born into a large family, her mother is so disappointed at having yet another girl that she refuses to give the child a name. The girl is simply called “the pika” (which means “girl”) or referred to as “the lass”. When she is grown, a mysterious polar bear comes to their cottage and begs her to live in his ice palace for a year. Knowing that he must be under some kind of enchantment, the lass agrees to go with him. She is sure that she can break the curse he is under, and she investigates the mysteries of the ice palace. But every time she asks the servants questions, she is putting herself and them in danger.

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Book Review: Archenemies

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Archenemies by Marissa Meyer

Archenemies (Renegades, #2)
by Marissa Meyer 

3.5 out of 5 stars
Nova is a spy for the Anarchists. She has infiltrated the Renegade headquarters, pretending to be one of them so that she can plot against them. But Nova’s loyalties are divided as she finds herself more and more involved with Adrian, a young superhero whose two dads are the leaders of the Renegades. In this second book of the series, Nova is starting to really feel the pressure of her double life as the violence in the city escalates.

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Book Review: The Warrior Heir

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The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

The Warrior Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #1)
by Cinda Williams Chima

3 out of 5 stars

Jack discovers that he is the descendant of wizards, and has a special Warrior magic stone in his chest that sets him apart from other wizards. Two factions of wizards, the Red Rose and the White Rose, have been fighting for power for centuries. To minimize the bloodshed of the wars, they have a tradition of holding a tournament with two warrior champions who fight to the death. Now wizards of both the Red Rose and the White Rose are after Jack, either to capture him and use him in the game or kill him outright to stop the other side from using him. But Jack just wants a normal life in his sleepy hometown in Ohio. He just wants to play soccer in high school and pass his exams; maybe kiss a girl he likes. And now he has to train to fight and kill for a world of wizards that he knows nothing about.

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Book Review: Warrior Princess

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Warrior Princess by Allan Frewin Jones

Warrior Princess (Warrior Princess, #1)
by Allan Frewin Jones

2 out of 5 stars

Branwen is the daughter of a royal house on the edge of Saxon territory. When her brother is killed, she vows to get revenge on the evil Saxons who raided their lands. But her father sends her to the South to be married and strengthen their alliances with neighboring lords. On the way south, Branwen is delayed at the grand castle of a much richer prince, and his sophisticated wife and daughters think Branwen is wild and uncouth. She wanders the forest around the castle and meets a mysterious woman with magical powers who promises to make Branwen into a formidable warrior. Branwen also stumbles across a boy who might or might not be a Saxon spy.

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Book Review: The Dire King (Jackaby 4)

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The Dire King by William Ritter

The Dire King (Jackaby, #4)
by  William Ritter

4 out of 5 stars

Mr. Jackaby and Miss Rook are finally closing in on the evil Dire King. They enlist the help of some of the fae from beyond the Veil, but they are not sure who to trust. Their friends in town rally around them for the coming battle, but nothing can stop the Dire King’s plans once his evil machine is up and running. They know they will lose this fight, but they have to try anyway. It looks like they might have a slim chance of saving the world, until they are betrayed by one of their own.

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Book Review: Beastly Bones

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Beastly Bones by William Ritter

Beastly Bones (Jackaby, #2)
by  William Ritter (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Abigail Rook has a job as an assistant to free-lance detective Jackaby. Jackaby has a rare gift as a seer. He can see magical residue and detect magical creatures that are otherwise invisible. Jackaby and Miss Rook are called out to the country to investigate a murder at a dig site where some kind of prehistoric bones have been discovered. Miss Rook is eager to visit the country, since her friend Charlie has been stationed there as a policeman, but she wonders if she can balance her career and romance.

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Book Reviews: Princess Minna #1-2

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The Unicorn Mix-Up by Kirsty Applebaum

The Unicorn Mix-Up (Princess Minna, #1)
by  Kirsty Applebaum (Goodreads Author), Sahar Haghgoo (Illustrator)

Princess Minna barely sleeps at night, and she knows something must be wrong with the kingdom. Princess Minna has some very special skills; she is good at taming unicorns, and kissing frogs, and fighting dragons. She goes out into the kingdom and finds that there is a unicorn emergency! A wild unicorn is trampling through the town. Princess Minna is so tired from getting no sleep that she gets all mixed up, and tries to fight the unicorn instead of tame it! When she is called on to kiss a frog, she gets mixed up and tries to tame the frog instead. What will happen if she sees a ferocious dragon? Will she try to kiss the dragon instead of fight it?

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