Book Review: A Wizard Alone

A Wizard Alone by Diane Duane

A Wizard Alone (Young Wizards, #6)
by Diane Duane (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

Kit and Nita are trying to find out why an initiate has been on Ordeal for over three months. They know something must be wrong, but they are having a hard time finding out what is going on. Darryl McAllister is not an ordinary wizard, and the fact that his Ordeal has continued for such a lengthy time shows that the Lone Power must be up to something.

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Book Review: Rook (Jackaby #5)

Rook by William  Ritter

Rook (Jackaby)
by  William Ritter (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

Miss Rook is used to being the assistant to private detective, Mr. Jackaby. But now that his ability to see supernatural auras has been passed on to her, she is having trouble taking charge during an investigation. She is completely overwhelmed and can’t seem to find her confidence again. Jackaby encourages her to take the reins and let him the assistant, but Miss Rook feels utterly incompetent to handle a supernatural crime investigation. However, when her nearest and dearest are accused of murder, Miss Rook is forced to follow the trail wherever it leads.

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Book Review: Tiger’s Dream

Tiger's Dream by Colleen Houck

Tiger’s Dream (The Tiger Saga, #5)
by Colleen Houck (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

After all their adventures, Kishan has been left behind in the past to be the tiger of the goddess Durga. Anamika has taken on the mantle of the goddess, and both Kishan and Anamika are empowered with magic that allows them to protect and heal the people who pray to the goddess. They are working together just fine, but keeping an emotional distance between them, when Phet the prophet appears and says that they must travel through time once more to save Ren and Kelsey. What follows is a wild adventure through time that will break Kishan’s heart and force Anamika to face her darkest fears.

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Book Review: Cursed

Cursed by Marissa Meyer

Cursed (Gilded, #2)
by Marissa Meyer (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

In this second book of the Gilded duology, Serilda and Gild are both trapped in the Erlking’s castle. Serilda is forced into a sham marriage with the Erlking, so that he can claim her child as his own. Gild knows that if he could just remember his true name and find his body, they would be able to free themselves of their curse, but none of their plans against the Erlking succeed. He is too wily and too powerful. Serilda tries everything she can think of to find a weakness in the Erlking, some way to trick him or defeat him. But at every turn, he laughs in their faces and continues to terrorize humans, ghosts, and every magical creature in the realm.

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Book Review: Kane Chronicles The Throne of Fire

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

The Throne of Fire (The Kane Chronicles, #2)
by Rick Riordan (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

Sadie and Carter Kane have started recruiting new magicians to their cause to restore the balance between the Egyptian gods. They have a whole school of kids and teens who want to learn Egyptian magic, but will it be enough to fight the coming battle against chaos? The school can only hold off the magicians from the House of Life while Sadie and Carter go on a dangerous quest to awaken the ancient sun god Ra. They get help from a dwarf god to find three magic scrolls that will awaken Ra. Sadie gets closer to one of the students her own age, and Carter is desperate to find Zia, who has been hidden away by a powerful enchantment.

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Book Review: Dragonology

Dragonology by Ernest Drake

Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons (Ologies, #1)
by Ernest Drake, Dugald A. Steer, Wayne Anderson (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator),\ Helen Ward (Illustrator), Douglas Carrel (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Researching dragons is a rewarding field of work. We learn about the different types of dragons, how they breathe fire, how baby dragons are hatched, and various magic spells to subdue dragons. There are even “samples” of the membrane of a dragon wing, their shed skin, and dragondust. We learn about ancient legends of dragons from all over the world, their habitats and what they eat. There are diagrams of the dragons skeletal and muscle structure, as well as the venom reservoir and spark pouch that allows them to create flames. Dragons have their own language and writing system. They love riddles, so there is a special section of the book about finding the answers to ancient riddles.

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Book Review: The Tail of Emily Windsnap

The Tail of Emily Windsnap by Liz Kessler

The Tail of Emily Windsnap (Emily Windsnap, #1)
by Liz Kessler, Sarah Gibb (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Emily has never been in the water. Her mother is afraid of the water, so she has kept Emily out of any swim classes or pool parties. But finally, Emily is allowed to go to a swim class at school! She is swimming well for the first few seconds, until her feet start to fuse together, cramping up. She gets out of the pool before anyone notices, but then decides to experiment on her own by going swimming in the ocean. She discovers that she can transform into a mermaid, and there is a whole community of mermaids living in secret far out to sea. But why is her mother so afraid of the water? And where is Emily’s father? He left them when Emily was a baby, but is there a deeper secret behind his leaving?

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Book Review: The Hunting of the Last Dragon

The Hunting of the Last Dragon by Sherryl Jordan

The Hunting of the Last Dragon
by Sherryl Jordan

4.5 out of 5 stars
Jude is the only survivor when a dragon attacks his village. Wandering and devastated, he gets a job with a travelling troupe who have a captive Chinese girl, Jing-wei. Jude is charged with her care, and the two strike up a friendship. But Jude is plagued with nightmares about the dragon, and he feels paralyzed with fear. Jing-wei encourages him to make a plan to hunt the dragon, but Jude is a coward… until he has no choice but to face the dragon.

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Book Review: The Ogress and the Orphans

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

The Ogress and the Orphans
by Kelly Barnhill (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

When an ogress moves in just outside of town, the townspeople begin to blame her for everything that has gone wrong for years, even before she arrived! Their bad luck had all started years before when the Library had burned down. Thank goodness for their wonderful Mayor who is working to restore the town and get rid of the Ogress. But there are a few children in the orphanage who begin to wonder if the Mayor is really so wonderful and if the Ogress is really so evil. Anthea is good at problem-solving. Bartleby is a philosopher who asks the hard questions, and his sister Cass is quiet but brave. These three children look at their crumbling town and decide to finally do something to help.

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Book Review: A Forthcoming Wizard

A Forthcoming Wizard by Jody Lynn Nye

A Forthcoming Wizard (Tildi Summerbee, #2)
by Jody Lynn Nye (Goodreads Author)

3.5 out of 5 stars

Tildi and her friends have almost completed their quest to find a dangerous magical book and lock it up where no one can use it for harm. But now Tildi has fallen into the clutches of a radical group called the Scholardom, who believe that only humans are pure. They want to magically change all centaurs, dwarves, werewolves, and other half-human creatures to be completely human. If they gain control of the magical book, it would be disastrous. Tildi is the only one who can touch the book, so she is at the center of all their plans.

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