White Christmas (A Christmas Fantasy Nov...



Amelia gets hit by a car and winds up somewhere a little more..how shall we say...NORTHERNLY. Where she meets David, Nick, his wife, and a whole lot of little helpers.

Someone has been sabotaging Nick's workshop, and David has been brought in to catch the culprit. Together he and Amelia try to figure out who is causing the trouble.



So I REALLY wanted to love this one. Alas, it was just really BAD. It was like one of those cheesy Holiday movies that I'd probably love watching, but reading about it was torture. The writing just wasn't good. When I say this was CHEESY, I mean seven-layers of cheese cheesy.

The romance (if you want to call it that), was MEH at best. There is NO steam in this one and ZERO sexual chemistry between David and Amelia. The premise at first was cute, but slowly got more and more ridiculous as it went on. And the ending (if you want to call it an ending) was a frustrating letdown.

So ya didn't like this one.

A short fantasy novel, this deals with Never, a thief/adventurer with cursed blood, trying to find the reason for his curse.. This takes him to the Amber Isle where adventure and near-death experiences abound.

Nothing special here - the beginning of a series. An interesting character is introduced in the first third and then never re-appears. There's better than this to be found.

Rend the Dark is the type of genre blender stories which I adore. Specifically this novella takes horror and fantasy themes, mixes them all together and concocts a powerful brew which is insightful, suspenseful, and meaningful. All the while, Mr. Gelineau and Mr. King also find time to give enough nods to world building and characterization to make this far from a one-and-done story, but rather serve as a true launching pad for a brand new series, one which demands to be followed to the end.

In the short prologue, Ferran, an acolyte of the Order of Talan (or “witch hunters” as most call them) is introduced; his life long ability to see the hidden demons who haunt the world bringing both sorrow and determination to his life from a young age. But while Ferran recalls his past, his eyes look to the future, and as he eventually hefts his short spear in one hand and wraps a long silver battle chain around his other, a reader’s pulse begins to pound, as this would be hero sets off to help rid the world of its hidden tormentors.

Once the main story begins, however, a new point of view character is quickly introduces: Hileon the magister. This ordinary government agent is anxiously waiting the arrival of strangers to his territory. His mind is a whirl, his fears are great; even the presence of his friend and fellow magister Riffolk as well as the formidable warder Aker is not sufficing to set his mind at ease. The reason is fairly simple: strange occurrences and disappearances are happening.

Naturally, on cue, two strangers appear. One is Ferran; the other is his fellow witch hunter Mireia. The two having been summoned by Warder Aker, who fears that worse than bandits are loose in the march. And when demons are mentioned as the possible culprits, poor Hileon’s legs grow weak from even contemplating something so awful, and he and Riffolk attempt to shout down even the remote possibility of such beings even existing. But soon circumstances bring the matter into focus, taking Hileon, Ferran and all the rest down into the depths of darkness and despair, as the true nightmares of the world arise around them!

To my eyes, the beauty of Rend is two fold: it is short in length but filled with depth. Or, in other words, Mr. Gelineau and Mr. King gift readers with a quick, horror-infused adventure story in a fantasy world, which is amazingly well developed. How they accomplish this is truly mesmerizing. A statement here, a flashback there, a short comment, and this fantasy world and its denizens quickly begin to materialize before your eyes. All the while, you hardly notice it occurring because you are so focused on the terrifying situations which our main characters are attempting to navigate their way through. And while I could complain about the story not being long enough, I won’t, because I’m completely sold on the authors’ vision and fully intend to ride this amazing novella series until it ends!

I received this book from the authors and Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank both of them for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.

A Reaper of Stone is a special novella. A story which has enough going for it in every area (characters, world building, and story) to make it one of the best short works of fantasy fiction which I have read in a while. Full of colorful drama, thoughtful introspection, and selective action, Mr. Gelineau and Mr. King have crafted a tale which left me wanting more of everything!

The tale begins with a short prologue introducing our main character, Elinor, as seen through the eyes of her friend Conbert. The two meeting one another in the most spectacular of ways.

From here, the story flashes forward several years. Conbert and Elinor now mature individuals cast back together by the “reaping.” This ancient customs sees the King’s Reaper (Elinor) and Royal Engineer (Conbert) on a royal mission to dismantle the ancient, powerful keep of Last Dawn when the royal bloodline comes to an end there. And while these old friends are honorable adherents to their chosen professions, they both feel particularly loath to take down this bastion of law and order in the wilds.

Our protagonists’ angst comes less from any love of Last Dawn and more from their dislike of the soon-to-be lord of this land a fellow by the name of Lord Piersym and his “Razor” Ephed. Both of these individuals represent all that our friends find disgusting and worthy of hate about the kingdom’s arrogant nobility and their “First Blades.”

This hesitance soon grows as Elinor befriends the remaining followers of the deceased Lady of Last Dawn and uncovering a secret which forces her to make a fateful decision!

All in all, A Reaper of Stone was more than I expected. Not only did the authors tell a short, engrossing story, they also endowed it with enough depth and weight of history to turn this land and its people into a living breathing fantasy world. Something which I really wasn’t expecting from such a quick read. The only criticism I can level at it is that the fun was over much too quickly.

I received this novella for free from the authors and Netgalley in return for a honest and unbiased review. The opinion you have read is mine alone and was not influenced by anyone else.

Who knew a key and a mirror could start so much trouble?! Rowena is in possession of an armoire that contains a key. She has no idea that the armoire contains a magical mirror and the key is important. Caedmon is in possession of a magical mirror as well, but what he really needs is the key that Rowena has... he just has one small problem... he's from an ancient time and Rowena is in present day.

Rowena is witty, sarcastic and I love her. Caedmon is sensitive, sweet and overall, just the epitome of goodness. This book is so great that I can't believe I'm just now reading it!!!! I wish I could give more than 5 stars because it deserves 6 or 7!!!!