Archives for July 2013

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

July 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

FIFTH
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Publisher:G. P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Action/Adventure, Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, YA
Length: Full Length (457 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: Best Book
Reviewed by Thistledown

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

What would happen if aliens did come to earth?

Some books stick with you and keep you up nights. The 5th Wave did both. In this multi-POV teen novel you experience what it is like when Cassie, the main character suffers as aliens make their presence known on earth. Other characters pop in as the black chapter breaks appear. There are several waves of disasters that plague mankind, designed to wipe us off the face of the earth.  It was relentless and in The 5th Wave, it sure doesn’t go well for the human race.

When the book begins, we meet Cassie, a teenager, who is on her own in a post-apocalyptic world. Almost everyone has been killed in the first four waves (silence, disease, flooding and more) and Cassie begins to wonder if she is the last human being left on earth. She wanders, learns how to survive and becomes a force to be reckoned with. It would be just too easy if that was all to the story. We journey with her as she retells the beginning of the end in flashbacks. What happened when the lights went out, what happened to her family as an Ebola type virus swept through the population, the military gathering of children and the murder of her father. It is a visceral journey told as only Rick Yancy can. Beautiful. Tragic. Poignant. In the present someone is hunting Cassie. It is one of the aliens that she calls a silencer. After he corners her and shoots her in the leg, she has to decide if she is going to live or die. One choice and it would all be over. She promised her brother she would come for him and one wrong move could very well end everything.
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As the book develops, you also meet Ben. He is a young man that went to Cassie’s school but has now been captured with the other kids and brought to a military base for what they believe is training against the alien forces that have infiltrated humanity. That is the catch. They look just like we do and have been here forever. Sneaking inside of our mothers as they slept, implanting themselves in the growing babies held within, their consciousness awakened as the invasion hit. Well, most of them. For some, they have been plotting against humanity from the start, waiting for the time to strike. At the compound, Ben has to decide to give in to his despair and become a force to end the suffering of humanity or succumb to his own inner demons. Who is real? Who is not? Military regiment becomes the new religion and survival is for the fittest. The fact that they are children hardly matters at all. There are some interesting questions posed by this part of the book. Who are these people in charge of the base? How did they get power back up when everything else is gone? What are the chips they are inserting into each child and what is this Wonderland mind mapping system? Red or green, who is alien and who is human? It is a question that kept me turning the pages.

Cassie’s brother Sam is also a character that appears once or twice in narratives. Renamed Nugget after being brought to the military camp where Ben is stationed, he learns quickly what his new reality has become and it is terrifying. He begins to grow up. These journeys come together as Cassie is rescued by Evan, begins to fall for him and continues her search for her brother. Ben, now renamed Zombie, grows in his strength as he helps himself and others and Nugget tries to keep up with it all.

Having a book with multiple POV’s makes the story more inclusive. In this case, you get multiple sides of the alien invasion, all of which are riveting. The descriptive elements of the book are so there I literally felt like I was falling into the story. The gut clenching moments when you try to figure you who is friend or foe, the fluttering sweetness of first love, the bitterness of betrayal and the sheer determination of the human race against insurmountable odds are all themes here. I have read the first book in Yancey’s Monstrumologist series and knew firsthand the level of writing this author has to offer and even still, this book blew me away. It is gripping, suspenseful, heart wrenching and beautiful all at the same time and I fell in love on the first page.

The next time I am looking for an alien novel, this will be the one I pick up again. To be honest, l didn’t read it at first because it was about aliens, but noticing it was Rick Yancey’s work made me rethink my decision. This is not a hokey body snatcher novel. Yes, it has some elements of that, but the way it is handled, to me, was much better than any other alien invasion scenario I have ever read. That is the scary part. He makes it seem so real. Every layer, every character quirk that makes the person pop off the page, every plot twist all points to a story that had me creeping off into corners at every opportunity to read this remarkable book. I just hope there is going to be another one.

One other thing that struck me about this book was the end note by Yancey. While he was writing the book, he lost his writing dog and companion Casey. As a reader, that struck me, because all the through the book there is loss after loss and the grim reality of what life has become in the after. Yancey was going through it himself as he was writing and that got to me.

The 5th Wave was unforgettable. It is a journey. It is the unrelenting force of love and the unstoppable essence of humanity.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The Devil and Miss Webster by Julia Parks

July 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

DEVIL
The Devil and Miss Webster by Julia Parks
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Genre: Historical
Length: Full Length (176 pgs)
Heat: Sweet
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snapdragon

Will the devilish Captain Stephen Ransom ruin Christmas, or will he prove to be Miss Webster’s most cherished gift?

The Devil and Miss Webster

Eleanor Webster is never afraid. Not until the Devil invades her home and threatens to turn her world upside down. But what scares her the most? Losing her carefully guarded position and family? Or her heart?

As a captain, Stephen Ransom has always done his duty to the best of his ability, serving king and country. But what is he supposed to do with this harridan who wields such power in his late brother’s household? Terminating her position would be the wise thing to do. Wisdom, however, can be highly over-rated.

It opens with a shared – and shocking – secret. The plot promised to be interesting right from the start. Then, in very short order, we start to get a grasp of exactly the kind of person our heroine, Eleanor, is. She is magnificent and atypical for the times: making her own choices, selecting her own role, that kind of thing. She also won’t be bullied and is one to seize the bull by the horns.  I liked her more and more as I read, and the plot was thankfully equal to this excellent character.
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Eleanor is best friend to the Viscountess Ransom (Laura) who, one might kindly say, has made a mistake. Eleanor is not going to let her pay forever for that mistake – but, there are indeed some other, very motivated characters in this tale. If you begin reading this, you will not stop until you finish.

Captain Ransom, Laura’s brother-in-law, is set at odds with Laura’s (and so also Eleanor’s) decision almost immediately. It only takes the Captain’s mere appearance for reader expectations to begin to ratchet up. There is a romance coming – but where, and who, are the vital questions. And even before any possibility of romance, we wonder at what will happen when this Captain Stephen actually arrives.

Both in terms of the problem, as well as the romance, ‘the Devil and Miss Webster’ remains continually intriguing. The setting is also delightful – the English country house, and much of it during Christmas. The atmosphere, children’s excitement , attitudes and related conversations, all are very perfect.

My one complaint is that some physical descriptions are artlessly dropped in. This does create moments that feel heavily contrived–people more so than locations.

Fans of the regency will certainly enjoy The Devil and Miss Webster.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , ,

Forever Immortal by J.K. Coi

July 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment

FOREVER
Forever Immortal by J.K. Coi
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave Twilight
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (170 pgs)
Other: M/F
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Verbena

Eight years ago, science and reason ruled Gideon Bennett’s life. Until the death of an Immortal triggered a physical transformation, forcing him out of the laboratory and into a world of violence for which he was ill-prepared. Now a seasoned warrior, he is still haunted by his one massive failure—and the face and body of the woman he couldn’t save.

Lyssa James wasn’t looking for trouble when she set out to enjoy a night on the town. Instead she got a first-class ticket to a demon Hell dimension where she was trapped for eight long years. Now she’s finally escaped…only to run into the man who failed her. The passion between them is instant and irresistible, but neither of them is the same person they were eight years ago. And even as they battle with their desire, one of the nastiest demons from the Abyss is on the loose, threatening not only their lives but the future of humanity.

Lyssa is a typical woman looking for a decent guy to go out with. Her boyfriend—if that’s what you want to call him—has stood her up again. Thinking the night is a total flop, she’s ready to leave the noise and crowd of the bar and head home. Then she spots him. Across the room, looking as out-of-place as her is the most gorgeous specimen of raw power and muscle she’s ever seen. Suddenly, the night doesn’t seem such a waste after all. And if she’s reading the silent message in his eyes correctly as their gazes meet across the dance floor, he’s feeling the same undeniable attraction. This is definitely going to be a night to remember, just not in the manner she hopes.

Gideon was forced into a role he didn’t want, but when one mistake sends an innocent woman to Hell, it’s almost more than he can bear. Guilt has eaten at him for almost eight years. He distances himself from his immortal family and friends in what seems like a self-punishment for his mistake. No matter how far he runs though, the terror in Lyssa’s eyes as she was pulled into the Abyss by a Scelero demon named Damien haunts him relentlessly. Unable to enjoy the things he once loved, Gideon does the only thing he can—hunts and kills anything that crawls out of Hell.

These buy discount viagra medical options are extremely helpful to offer quick and long lasting relief. In today’s time, however it’s the role and responsibility of a teacher to spread the virtues of knowledge among people and trusted for solving the problem of male generic levitra 5mg dysfunction. The easy-does-it set-up is a welcome improvement over the viagra super original ClamCase device. They even have different ideas as to how it should viagra from uk be eaten. Eight years later—and with the help of an unlikely friend—Lyssa escapes the abyss. No longer the weakling she used to be, she now goes by Nyx. A hardened shell of the woman she was, Nyx begins a journey of rediscovery. And believe me, is a very tough road. Gideon is determined to convince her that she’s not the monster she thinks she is, even when there are changes about her that heighten his guilt, stoke his desire, and shake him to his very core. A true immortal bound by honor to destroy all evil, he not only has to fight to help Nyx discover the woman he believes is still buried deep inside her, he’ll also make decisions that go against his hunter instincts that demand he kill her.

This was book four in Ms. Coi’s Immortal series and was, hands down, my favorite. I’ve loved all of them, each seemingly more than the one before. This one, however, really took hold right from the start. Ms. Coi always does a wonderful job with character development, but she really outdid herself this time with Lyssa/Nyx. The internal struggles of this woman were really palpable. I felt the emotional turmoil and struggles that she felt. I understood her fears, her self-doubt, and even her self-loathing. This wasn’t one of those women who bellyache and whine about themselves to the point that you want to puke. No, I fully got her internal struggles. It made sense and was completely believable. Besides her physical strength—thanks to a friend she met in the Abyss—Lyssa is one of the strongest, most moving characters I’ve read about in a long while.

Gideon’s growth and depth were no less intense. Aside from his good looks and toe-numbing charm, his heart and determination to save Lyssa really struck me hard. I can’t help but sit here thinking, “I want one of those!” Oh, if only guys like Gideon were so easy to find.  A true hero and warrior, he will likely stay in my heart for a long while to come.

A writer myself, I tend to notice editing errors and point-of-view violations—not that I don’t make them myself, I most certainly do—but if there were any, I was so engrossed in this story that I missed them. Nope, no complaints on this end. I would like, however, to take a moment to inform the author that there’s at least one more Immortal who could use a good story, if she hasn’t cooked one up already. After what he’s gone through thus far, I believe Kane needs, no deserves, a tale of his own. No pressure. Really. *grin*

What can I say to accurately summarize my thoughts on this story? It was awesome, plain and simple. I loved it from start to finish. Ms. Coi pens deeply moving characters that stole their way into my soul. The action is heart-pounding, the sex scenes are smoking hot, and her Immortals are true warriors that won my trust, my respect, and my love.

Filed Under: Erotic Romance, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Thorn in the Flesh by Anne Brooke

July 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

THORN
Thorn in the Flesh by Anne Brooke
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (149 pages)
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Kate Harris, a lecturer in her late thirties, is attacked in her home and left for dead. This terrible assault and the anonymous hate letters she starts to receive bring to light the past she’d prefer to leave behind, a past which includes the son she bore in her teenage years and whom she chose to give away.

What happens to Kate also affects the people she counts as friends and colleagues now. She has been in love with her best friend, Nicky, for a long time but Nicky is happily married with two young children and Kate is determined never to upset the lives of those she cares for.

However, when she makes the momentous decision to contact the father of her long-forgotten son, and then to trace her son as well, Kate inadvertently sets in motion a series of frightening events she seems to have no control over. Can she protect herself and those she loves from the menacing enemy who stalks them all?

How do you outsmart a villain who knows all of your deepest, darkest secrets?

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After the terror of the first scene the plot slows down for several chapters. I enjoyed the chance to learn more about the longstanding friendship between Kate and Nicky, her best friend. They clearly have known one another a long time, and their bond is so strong that even when they’re grouchy I felt the love and concern behind their complaints.

What I didn’t understand about this novel was why Kate refuses to tell the police about the anonymous threats she receives after she’s discharged from the hospital. At the very least they could have documented what was happening in case her tormentor decides to escalate the situation. Yes, sometimes the police don’t respond to these things appropriately, but I didn’t understand why a woman who had positive interactions with them in the past wouldn’t try a little harder to keep the authorities up-to-date.

With that being said, Kate Harris is a wonderfully nuanced protagonist. As I read this book, I felt like I was catching up with an old, dear friend whose choices occasionally frustrate me. At times I wished Kate was a real person so I could gently scold her for making such poor decisions in the past. A woman as intelligent and socially aware as her really ought to know better, but the strong character development and attention to detail made this book impossible to put down.

Thorn in the Flesh is a slow burning mystery woven into the ordinary lives of a close-knit group of friends. This is a great choice for readers who prefer to get to know characters well before the plot heats up. The payoff at the end is well worth the initial emotional investment!

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Secret Society of Sugar and Spice by Carol J. Larson

July 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

SUGAR
The Secret Society of Sugar and Spice by Carol J. Larson
 Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
Genre: Historical, YA
Length: Full Length (191 Pages)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

Her name is Mace. Like the spice. And the weapon. At sixteen, she is the leader of the Secret Society of Sugar and Spice, a group of girls who are inmates of the Home for Abandoned and Orphaned Children and whose lives are only made bearable by their mission to rescue runaways from the streets of St. Paul, Minnesota. But now, in 1883, when the Secret Society is called upon to rescue Claire Sargent, a rich privileged girl who is being abused by her stepfather, their world is turned upside down and nothing is what it seems. When Mace’s father reappears at the Home and a gang of thugs searches for Claire, Mace, too, becomes a runaway and flees into a world where she must learn that enemies can become friends and hatred can turn into forgiveness.

It is never easy to be abandoned, but being abandoned as a child is incredibly painful. Carol Larson has written an excellent historical novel which revolves around abandoned and orphaned children in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1883. The story centers on the Home for Abandoned and Orphaned Children where several of the girls have set up the Secret Society of Sugar and Spice in order to rescue runaways and provide them with a safe haven. Naturally, since these girls are all living in poverty, they seek to help those in their same position. Mace, the leader of the group, is then severely tested when Claire, a rich girl, runs away, seeking asylum from her abusive step-father.

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Mace hasn’t had any chance for a lot of learning, but she is definitely “street smart” and very savvy. She is a natural leader but has a hard time when others disagree with her. She definitely has a chip on her shoulder at the beginning. Claire, on the other hand, is terrified and it doesn’t help that she has an injured shoulder after her step-father’s last abuse. Nevertheless, her father, before he died, had been a doctor and she helped him in his rounds. She too is a leader, and the girls only survive through some pretty harrowing adventures because of the skills she learned from her father. Larson shows a lot of sympathy for both of these girls, and she makes them very believable. I was definitely caught up in their story, pulling for them through each adventure.

These two characters play off each other well, and Larson has developed a solid plot with some nice twists and turns. The historical details are well-researched, and readers unfamiliar with this time period will not only enjoy a good story, but learn a lot about the time period. The ending has everything tied up neatly and satisfactorily. Mace and Claire both succeed in what they wanted to do and all ends happily. I had my questions in places, such as how the blacksmith managed to have so much money and how Claire’s shoulder managed to heal so quickly, but overall, this is an excellent historical novel which I can certainly recommend to lovers of that genre.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Scarred by Kendal Corbitt

July 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Face Of Desire
Scarred by Kendal Corbitt
Publisher: Red Rose Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense
Length: Full Length (157 pgs)
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Everyone says Nicole is a survivor, but she doesn’t feel like one. The jagged scar across her chest is a bitter reminder of the disease she overcame, and the life she lost because of it. Now, on six months into remission, she’s spending a week at a secluded resort for a family wedding. Nicole has to put her anger aside and fool her family into thinking everything is fine.

Jake has his own scars. After he is left marred by a deadly fire that killed his fiancé, he now lives a recluse life as the handyman at Eden’s Escape. Jake only wants to keep being invisible but from the minute Nicole gets to the resort, he has to save the reckless woman from herself and the risk that she carelessly seeks out.

Nicole wants to spend the week living without regrets and is determined to feel something besides the anger that has consumed her through a brutal battle she never wanted to survive. She can’t deny the attraction to the man with a dark past. Together, Jake and Nicole discover that hiding scars is easier than healing them.

Heading to an island retreat for a family member’s wedding, Nicole Seville’s phone runs out of battery at possibly the worst time ever. Stuck in a bus shelter, in the rain, in the middle of nowhere wasn’t her choice of ways to celebrate her six month anniversary for being in remission from cancer. When her lift finally arrives Nicole isn’t thrilled when Jake’s mere presence at the small Crab Bar almost starts a fight. That, coupled with his forbidding attitude and scarred face, has her wondering what the heck she’s let herself in for.
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I was greatly intrigued by the set-up of this story. While Jake is the one externally scarred, Nicole also has plenty of emotional and inner scars herself. Having survived cancer (or being in remission, she admits one never “survives” cancer) and trying her best to convince everyone around her – her family in particular – that everything is fine and dandy, she’s a complex woman with a number of problems on her plate. I also found myself drawn into Jake’s dark, broody nature. While from the outset it’s clear he’s survived a nasty fire that killed a woman special to him, it’s also just as crystal clear there’s far more to that story than the mere “coward” tag the rest of the town seems to have branded him with.

Almost immediately I wanted to dig deeper into the mystery and find out what was beneath both their surfaces. Initially I was frustrated because Nicole was so submerged in her own issues it didn’t even cross her mind to open her eyes and discover the story behind Jake. One can’t blame her, with family to placate and a wedding to attend, as well as being set up with various cousins of cousins, Nicole does have a lot going on. I found Jake far and away the most interesting character – aside from Nicole herself – and I was glad when they started spending time together. As Nicole and Jake got to know each other better both of their complex personalities shine and their compatibility becomes both more understandable and clear.

This wasn’t an average romance story. The opening few chapters were filled with tension and had a multi-layered mystery feel of “it was a dark and stormy night”. Both Jake and Nicole – initially at least – are abrasive, intriguing characters. Neither are from the classic, “traditional” hero or heroine mold. While the strength (and sometimes rough temperament) of these two won’t suit everyone, I really enjoyed how the author presented both Nicole and Jake and made me want to know more about them. The clever writing and subtle clues led me to believe there was so much more happening than a first glance would show kept me turning the pages.

Much of the mystery initially presented became background noise as Nicole and Jake got to know each other in the middle of the book, but the author does subtly drop hints and teases of why Jake’s hung around, what really happened the night he got his scars and how Jake and Nicole could well be the perfect tonic for each other. I found this to be a complex and intriguing romantic mystery novel. The characters are well drawn and while the mystery lags a little in the middle, I found overall the pace moved swiftly and kept me interested. Recommended.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Speed of Dreams by Anna L. Walls

July 3, 2013 By 1 Comment

SPEED
The Speed of Dreams by Anna L. Walls
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Full Length (270 Pages)
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

When all hopes of peace were shattered, Pilot Aaitt’Kaz was assigned to a new style of ship. It was built for speed and maneuverability, but Kaz had no time for admirations. Everyone was scattering, scrambling to get back to their command before being shot out of the sky. The ship had coordinates for him—and then she had sleep for him—a very very long sleep.

A hundred thousand years later, after leaving his refugees to their best devices on a green and blue miracle of a world, Kaz woke again. The last thing he expected to do was fight to protect the descendants of his refugees from the carefully-cultivated warlike nature that had led to the destruction of his home world. The only way he could protect them was to prevent the military scientists from learning the secrets of his DNA.

What if humans hadn’t developed evolved from other life forms, but instead they had arrived on Earth after a space journey of five hundred years, traveling in stasis from a planet that had destroyed itself in continual warfare? Anna Walls proposes this in her spellbinding novel The Speed of Dreams. After off-loading their passengers, the ships then were parked on the dark side of the moon for another one hundred thousand years, until humankind had developed to the point where they could make use of the alien technology.
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This story is absolutely fascinating. The plot is well conceived and developed. The pace is fast and exciting, with only a few spots where I thought it was a bit sluggish. I really liked watching the characters in this novel develop as the two cultures met. Kaz and the others from the distant planet are incredibly strong and come from a world with a caste system and a strict hierarchy. Watching them not only adapt, but also teach humans about what is really important was powerful.

Walls is able to portray the interaction of two very different cultures in a totally believable way. The fact that they are both human, or at least both started out from the same genetic pool, gives them a lot of similarities. Even so, the cultural differences are significant and Walls handles those differences with grace and tact. There is no stereotyping and the villains are not flat, but fully fleshed out characters as well. Each culture is shown to have both strengths and weaknesses, as it true for all societies.

I couldn’t put this novel down and in fact, I read it in one sitting. If you like science fiction and are interested in social dynamics and the achievement of peace, I highly recommend The Speed of Dreams.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy Tagged With: , , ,

Kara by Scott J. Kramer

July 3, 2013 By 1 Comment

KARA
Kara by Scott J. Kramer
A Territories Novel
Publisher: Turquoise Morning Press
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, YA
Length: Full Length (195 pages)
Age Recommendation: 10+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Cyclamen

It seems everyone is chasing twelve-year-old Kara. She is running not only from her powerful king and an assassin elf, but also from something horribly evil. She doesn’t know why they all want her or even if they want her for the same reason. She only knows she needs to hide somewhere safe.

When King La’ard attacks her home and captures her father, Kara escapes to the Territories where humans are unknown and elves, orcs and dwarves roam the land. She finds comfort and safety with a dwarc named Hambone, Dante a werefox, and Grace the sprite. To get back to the human land of Faldoa and rescue her father, she enlists the help of her new friends and a reluctant wizard. But can she figure out the secret that will save her and those she loves before her enemies catch her?

Imagine a world that is split so that humans live in part of the land and non-humans in the other, with a fast-flowing river and a wall between them. Kara, a twelve-year-old girl, finds herself on the Territories’ side of the river after running from the soldiers who had captured her father. Suddenly her world has been turned upside down and she has to fend for herself.
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Scott Kramer has written an exciting, fast-paced novel about a very interesting world filled with both good and terrible evil. I love his characters, and I especially like how various non-humans and humans work to protect and help Kara. There are a variety of non-human characters, each unique and special. Dante is a were-fox, and his sister Snow, a were-rabbit. Dante is vain and easily lost and distracted but Snow is smart and clever. Hambone is a dwarc, half dwarf and half orc. He is gentle and kind, and he becomes Kara’s first friend in the Territories. Kara’s last non-human friend is a sprite named Grace. These friends work together to try to help Kara, and they even manage to convince the Wizard to help as well.

Kramer’s world is complete and magical. There are humans who can speak telepathically with animals. There are rats who fight the Witch Guard. And of course, there are some really nasty villains. The characters are well-defined and either very likeable or greatly to be feared, depending on whether they are good or evil.

There were some minor editing goofs sprinkled here and there, but not enough to slow down the reader. I found the plot to be both engaging and believable, and the ending was very satisfying, concluding this story properly, but providing a hint of what may lie ahead if Kramer writes another Territories novel.

Kara is an excellent read for fantasy lovers of all ages. I really enjoyed getting to know Kara and I hope that she has many more adventures. I would love to follow her and her friends as they work together to save their world.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,
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