adventure

Chronicles of Marsh by Jemima Pett

The Princelings of the East are now King Fred and Prince Engineer George. Gone are the years of innocence when they travelled for adventure and uncovered time tunnels and pirate plots.
Now Fred, assisted by his queen, Kira, has the responsibility for his people, his lands, and for persuading the lords and kings of the Realms to act together for the common good.
George just has to work on his inventions, always thinking of a final goal: to fulfil the promises made to Lord Mariusz so long ago.
Neither has an easy task.
Fred decides to write this history of his reign. He starts with the joy of his inheritance, but quickly shows us that developments in the Realms are not leading towards a settled and happy future.

Leopold (Saga of the Bold People #1) by M.D. Grimm

By Book Lovers Magazine

Leopold (Saga of the Bold People #1) by M.D. Grimm

How does a human survive in an alien dominated InterGalactic Community? By becoming an assassin, of course.

At least, that’s what Leopold thought when he became an assassin for the elite. Pretending to be an alien known as Voidstriker, Leopold feeds his appetite for vengeance, killing aliens as well as taking their money. It’s a win-win to his mind. That is, until a bounty is placed upon his head.

With his true identity now revealed to the IG Community, Leopold knows it’s only a matter of time before the powerful family members of his victims come for blood. Far worse is the fact that the one who put the bounty on his head, is the one he most fears.

A routine job three cycles ago brought him face-to-face with Mastrodai, a prince of the powerful Mrrog Nation. Not only did Leopold—accidentally—destroy part of Mastrodai’s moon, but one glimpse of the mighty alien had him feeling desire for the first time in his life. He ran, and like predator after prey, Mastrodai never stopped hunting him.

Leopold is convinced that Mastrodai wants bloody revenge. But when he finally confronts the mrrog, he is stunned to realize Mastrodai wants something very different. Something surprisingly intimate—the one thing that scares Leopold more than torture.

WARNING: 1) This is NOT a fluffy romance and 2) There is torture/rape OFF PAGE (NOT between the main couple, Mastrodai and Leopold–their sexy times are always consensual), and dealing with the aftermath of assault.

My Sister’s Detective by Thomas Jones

By Book Lovers Magazine

My Sister’s Detective by Thomas Jones

Point Road, home of the wealthy, and Angela Jeffries, the beautiful broken woman Eric Slater has always wanted. Slater returns home from the Navy to discover that his best friends suicide may have been murder, and Angela begs him to investigate. Maggie, the tag-along little sister he barely remembers has grown into a beautiful, strong woman, and she joins him as they follow a trail of murder, and human trafficking, a trail that will eventually turn back to their hometown. A wry, twisted tale of mystery and two people falling in love.

Never (Prequel to The Amber Isle) by Ashley Capes

By Book Lovers Magazine

Never (Prequel to The Amber Isle) by Ashley Capes

Adventure? Check. Magic? Check. Sarcasm? You bet. Join Never as he hunts for the truth about his true name in an epic fantasy quest full of action and mystery – starting with the daring theft of a treasure map!

Catastrophe ~ A Highland Murder Most Fowl by Lucinda Hare

By Book Lovers Magazine

Catastrophe ~ A Highland Murder Most Fowl by Lucinda Hare

Charming protagonists, reprehensible relatives, with an edge-of-your-seat conclusion, as seen through the eyes of the irrepressible feline hero! Looking forward to more adventures with Mary, George, and Catastrophe! Amazon.com *****review

An absolutely wonderful book for children and adults! Very well written, and the description of the Highlands where Catastrophe lives is enchanting. As is Catastrophe himself, and his exciting tale. This writer is the first since J K Rowling that can make me laugh and cry while reading her books. I could not put this book down! Highly recommended! Amazon.co.uk ***** review

A wildcat moves softly through his Highland world describing it through feline eyes in exquisite golden detail. Scent is a language of its own. His is an elemental world of rain and snow, of forest, moorland and mountain. A world of changing seasons and the endless dance of life and death; predator and prey. Although the wildcat’s home is a world of poetic beauty it is also one of sudden terrifying violence where the ultimate predator is mankind. Shot deliberately by a gamekeeper on a shooting estate the wildcat nearly dies before being rescued by a young couple. After a spell in the vets he convalesces in their Perthshire cottage where he learns to love their old bony cat, Haggis, and author Mary, The hunting moon is barely on the rise when bad news arrives from the solicitors. Mary’s beloved Aunt Edith suddenly dies and the couple head north into the Highlands with Catastrophe. Arriving at Driechandubh Castle, where Mary was raised by Aunt Edith, they barely escape with their lives as a large chunk of masonry ‘accidentally’ falls in a storm. Things don’t improve as they meet odious Aunt Maud, Edith’s envious sister who has ensconced herself in the castle like a cuckoo, under the pretext of nursing Edith. As an apex predator Catastrophe instinctively sees through Maud’s charade as the grieving sister: he can scent her underlying fear and hostility at her niece’s unexpected arrival, and hear the falsehood in her voice. Aunt Maud is hiding a terrible secret. Aunt Maud mistakenly sees Catastrophe merely as a fashion accessory. Divided by mutual loathing Catastrophe finds himself drawn into a web of intrigue, murder and adventure that will test our magnificent wildcat sleuth to his limits. Can Catastrophe unravel odious Aunt Maud’s dastardly plans before it’s too late?

The Dragon Whisperer by Lucinda Hare

By Book Lovers Magazine

The Dragon Whisperer by Lucinda Hare

Amanda Craig The Sunday Times ~ “One of the most captivating new books to be published for 8+ for some time . . . It made me laugh, cry and remember exactly what’s so special about the time when you or your child live in hope of finding a dragon of your own”

Shortlisted 2010 Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children’s Books

Silver Medal Winner 2013 ~ Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards

The Bookbag ~ I thought this was an absolutely gorgeous little book. It’s charming but exciting too, and while I think it will find its most loyal audience amongst tween girls there’s also plenty to appeal to boys and older teens.Thoroughly enjoyable and beautifully written dragon fantasy with a good conflict between disparate protagonists. Plenty of appeal for a wide range of readers.

Fantasy Book Review ~ A Battledragon of a Book ~ for all ages!~ Reading Lucinda Hare’s debut novel The Dragon Whisperer is like riding a dragon. You have to hold on tight during the twist and turns, take time to stop and enjoy the breathtaking view, prepare yourself for the sudden lows, enjoy the soaring heights and make sure you’re not on the wrong end of that fiery breath!

A tale hatched from Hare’s real-life experiences and devotion to all kinds of animals, The Dragon Whisperer follows Earl’s daughter (and dragon whisperer), eleven year old Quenelda. Her best friend is a battle-dragon with the comically cautionary name of Two Gulps and You’re Gone, who she can command through thought alone. Hare offers a headstrong heroine in Quenelda that chooses dragons over dresses, battles over boys and ultimately dreams of joining her father’s side as a warrior in the Stealth Dragon Services.

Don’t be fooled though… just because Hare has chosen a young girl as her protagonist doesn’t mean she has written a book solely for that gender. Yes, the tale flies in the face of books such as Harry Potter and Artimis Fowl that have strong male protagonists, but The Dragon Whisperer contains enough dark magic, fierce battle dragons, and slimy hobgoblins to appeal to young boys.

Regardless of gender, readers will root for the underdog (a young gnome named Root) and wish they had their very own dragon. On the surface, Hare describes the relationship been Quenelda and Two Gulps like that between horse and rider, but the dragons are given such a depth of history and behaviours, that after the book is shut, the reader half expects to see these beasts lurking in local paddocks.

The one letdown of Hare’s work, is that, in marketing it towards children, adults might see it as ‘just another children’s book’ and pass it over. The back cover boasts a ‘9+’ age rating and I urge anyone nine or over to snap this read up. Verdict? A battle-dragon of a book!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMNp_24MzJE&t=4s

My Pilgrimage to Nowhere by Garred Kluth

By Book Lovers Magazine

My Pilgrimage to Nowhere by Garred Kluth

Join me on my journey of 1,100 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. “We conversed about the many levels of the hike, from the physical to the mental to the emotional to the spiritual. Layer upon layer of trials and growth. We called ourselves pilgrims, but realized that there really was no destination, no holy monastery, no mecca, no temple at the end waiting for us. The journey itself was our destination and our sanctuary. This was our pilgrimage to nowhere.”

Jurassic Jail, The Time Wars Book 1 by William Alan Webb

By Book Lovers Magazine

Jurassic Jail, The Time Wars Book 1 by William Alan Webb

The Time Wars have begun!

Can you prosecute a 155 million year old murder if the victim is still alive? Peter Dance thinks he can, unless the killers get him first.

During a shady militia meeting in New Orleans, a famous scientist claims a bold discovery. The government mole in the group, known only as Gomorrah, knows he’s been tagged. He takes off with carloads of gunners on his tail.

Meanwhile, a partial skeleton turns up in a flooded Tennessee ditch, the bones brown and aged from long years buried. But something is very wrong with those bones. M.E. Sydney Hammick tries to interest D.A. Peter Dance in the mystery, but Dance now has a wife and kids and doesn’t want to play her games.

But someone nasty wants those bones, and he doesn’t care who he must kill to get them. When bullets fly, only Gomorrah can save Hammick and Dance — and the bones — from vanishing into the mists of time… or into the jaws of a long extinct killer.

Mad Max meets Bones and Jurassic Park in this explosive new time travel thriller by bestselling author William Alan Webb!

The Land without Color by Benjamin Ellefson

By Book Lovers Magazine

The Land without Color by Benjamin Ellefson

Floating into the air with an enormous gum bubble, Alvin lands in a strange world where everything is gray. The trees, the flowers, the dirt, the sky, the animals, and even the people are all missing their color.

Confronted with the mystery of the missing color, Alvin teams up with some unexpected friends to battle man-eating plants, outsmart the bumbling Crimson Guards, cross the Sugar Desert, overcome the two-headed dragon, and find the color-stealing goblins to restore color to the kingdom.

Kids and adults alike will love this whimsical tale in the tradition of The Phantom Tollbooth, The Wizard of Oz, and A Wrinkle In Time.

The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian by William L Stuart

By Book Lovers Magazine

The Gemstone Chronicles Book One: The Carnelian by William L Stuart

When Aidan and Maggie find a fairy cross while rock-hunting with their grandfather, it’s just an oddity. But when they discover an elf imprisoned in the stone and set him free, they and their grandparents, Nana and Beebop, are attacked by Dark Elves and forced to flee to the magical world of Celahir.

In Celahir, Findecano – the elf the children freed from the fairy cross – leads them on a quest to recover gemstones stolen from the Elven Bow by the Dark Elves. Without the restoration of the gemstones to the Elven Bow, the balance between good and evil in Celahir – and the human world – could tip toward evil.