Thinblade (Sovereign of the Seven Isles #1)

Title: Thinblade
Author: David Wells
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Kindle eBook
Rating: hmm 3.5 out of 5 paws


While out hunting Darius is shot and kill with a poison arrow.  While Alexander and his family mourn the lose of the heir they discover an ancient evil has came back into the world.  Alexander is now marked as the protector of the realm, and the one who could defeat this evil.  He travels to the mountain city of Glen Morillian and discovers before he can claim his throne he must find the Thinblade. Seven were forged to help protect royal bloodlines from evil forces. But the Thinblade was lost to years ago and no one knows where it is hidden.  Alexander begins his quest looking for the Thinblade and gaining alliances all the while fighting against the powers of a necromancer. 

I had this book on my kindle for quite a while from bookbub and it took me some time before I picked it out of the hundreds of books on there.  I almost forgot about it!  I like the idea of this novel: ancient evil has come back and young princling must learn to wield a special sword to defeat him among other things.  There is a lot that happens in this book from various battles to Alexander learning so much about himself.  It is a great beginning to a series.  I am looking forward to getting the other books and finding out what happens next. Lets start by talking about the cover.  Just look at it house gorgeous is it?  No wonder it caught my eye, I want to go there!!


Okay now to the story, it was evenly paced, some parts were slower than others but it seemed to keep an consistent pace throughout the novel.  There was a lot of telling rather than showing, but for me it seemed to work.  Everything was described in great detail, down to the food.  While this may become a little burdensome, it really drew me into the story.  It made me feel like I was there and could almost smell the feast that was happening.  There is some depth to the world that we don't get to see yet, but I am sure we will see in upcoming novels.  Some things we learn as characters learn them and I absolutely love it.  It makes feel like I am sitting beside Alexander listening to stories being told.  It is definitely a TELLING story, and I wonder if that will change once we have all the information we need and get into the heart of the epic tale.


The magic is a bit interesting in this in that mages aren't born with this innate talent (well some are) but develop it through trial and fasting.  The more talented you are the more specialized your magic is which is rather interesting.  I would have liked to have seen more of this throughout the story.  I also like the alchemy aspect of this with the potions and herb usage.  I like that Alexander appears to be rather powerful, but at this point he is too powerful for one who hasn't trained in his magic.


I would recommend it for those who like novels along the lines of Dragonlance.

The Glass Magician by Charlie Holmberg Book Review

Title: The Glass Magician
Author: Charlie N. Holmberg
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Library paperback
Rating: 2 out of 5 paws


Ceony has just turned 20, and it has been a few weeks or months since she saved Mg Thane from the blood magician who stole his heart, literally.  She had hoped things would go back to normal.  But then an explosion at a paper mill sparks a series of events that place Ceony in the center.  Other blood mages are looking for her to find answers to the power she holds.  A power she doesn't fully understand herself.  A particularly evil magician believes Ceony holds secrets about bonding to different elements and vows to extract that information no matter the costs.  Ceony has to test her limits in order to save herself and those she loves while keeping her secrets from falling into the wrong hands.

For those of you who have read my review of The Paper Magician know that I did not particularly care for the book, but found the concept interesting.  Despite not enjoying the first book as much as I had hoped I would, I decided to give the second book a try and see if I would like it any better.  But I am sad to say that while I enjoyed it slightly more, I still felt disappointed and let down with this novel.  This is an idea, a concept that has much potential and promise, but it was not executed in the way it should have.  There are different directions I had hoped this story would go, while it went one way I was surprised with and enjoyed, it still felt predictable.  There are so many things that did not sit well with me while reading that I do not know where to start. The sentences are simplistic and many are repeated throughout the novel.  Sometimes the same thing is repeated but with different wording.  There were a few times I thought to myself "but you already stated this."


Lets begin with the antagonists.  There was no depth to them, we don't get the feel of urgency with them.  It was interesting enough the Grath wanted to unbind from glass then bind to blood, there not motivation or explanation as to why.  The story makes it seem like the only element powerful enough to be consider deadly is blood, but as we see later in the novel some of the other elements are just as powerful.  I wish Holmberg showed more of how powerful paper can be, to show that people are wrong for thinking it is a lesser element.  I felt no reason to fear him as you should a villain.  Saraj felt like he didn't need to be in the story at all his part was so anti-climactic that it could have been another character to have done the things he did.


The romance aspect was something else I had issue with.  This story could have done without the romance; maybe show an unrequited interest as Ceony is still young, a crush not full on falling in love wishing he would kiss her or touch her shoulder.  We already know Mg Thane is at least 10 years her senior and her teacher which makes his interest in her even more inappropriate (not that he's older but that he's her teacher).  But despite the student teacher aspect there is no depth to the supposed romance, nothing that indicates these two are kindred spirits beyond Ceony consistently reflecting on a fortune she seen towards the end of the last book.  Why should readers care whether or not these two end up together?  Why shouldn't Ceony be transferred to another magician?  These are things readers need to feel, answer, but the book does not do that.


One thing that didn't fit with the rest of the story was Ceony having a gun.  When I read that I wondered "where the hell did that come from?"  It doesn't fit with the world Holmberg is attempting to create.  And the ending GAH it felt so elementary that it didn't make sense that these experienced magicians never thought to try it before.  It throws everything we have learned about this world out the window, nothing matters anymore.  Everything we learned about bonding to magic doesn't matter anymore because to reverse it is completely easy. 


There are things I enjoyed such as the different magic and I would love to have seen more.  I would have loved to have seen Ceony use more paper folding beyond what we already seen her use in the first book aside from the paper doll which I think could have been used in a bigger way.  But the good does not outweigh the bad.  If you like young adult that is very simplistic and your fantasy filled with romance attempt this series.  I don't think I will continue with it.


For some other reviews, check out these blogs:


Kaona's Corner
The Fictional Reader

The Magicians Land

Title: The Magician's Land
Author: Lev Grossman
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Ebook
Rating: 3 out of 5 paws


This is the third book in the Magician's trilogy.  Quentin is cast out of Fillory and working as a teacher at Brakebills, until he gets cast out of there as well.  After being cast out of Brakebills he joins a quest to steal back a chest with some things in it, what the things are he doesn't know.  While on the quest he meets Plum who was a wonderful student at Brakebills but was also cast out.  Their quest takes them back to Brakebills South, but what they discover about the box changes things.  Quentin tries even more to bring Alice back from being a niffin, but in the process he discovers how to create a magical utopia.  Meanwhile, Fillory is dying.  Eliot and Janet are trying to find a way to save Fillory from dying and Quentin just might be their answer.

I must preface this by saying I accidently borrowed the wrong book.  I meant to borrow book 2 "The Magician's King" but the library system had the book labeled wrong and I read out of order so for a while I was VERY lost in what was happening or what had happened.  Despite not reading the second book, this one felt....bland and unpleasant.  I kept saying I wanted to quit reading but my friend insisted that I finish reading it.  There were parts of the story that felt like it could have been way more exciting than it was such as the suitcase quest, it could have been way better, but it fell short of expectations. 


The only parts I did enjoy involved Fillory, Eliot and Janet, granted they are my favorite things about the series as a whole (including the television show).  Janet really stepped up in her bad-assness with her kick ass weapons and really taking on the role of High Queen of Fillory.  Eliot I felt fell a little flat In his awesomeness, maybe I am too used to the actor who plays him.  That is part of the downfall of reading a series after beginning to watch a movie or tv show based on the series.  You already gain an image in your head of that character and for this series they don't add up.  I prefer the TV show actors to the characters described in the book.   


The ending is almost predictable in what would happen.  While the story itself built up to the end, it was predictable from the beginning and left me feeling unsatisfied.  I wanted something more from the end, something grander.  What I think I should do is read the series when I am NOT watching the tv show so I am not as bias.   Overall I would recommend it.  Grossman is a great storyteller and has created an interesting world that I wish I could escape to sometimes.  If you enjoy fantasy definitely pick this series up but if you enjoy the show, maybe wait til later to read it.