Monday, September 24, 2018

Monday Review by the Book Dragon: Beautiful fantasy with stellar characters and worldbuilding

The Book Dragon has finished Spice Bringer by H. L. Burke and gives it a resounding five claws!
My 5 star review: "Once in a blue moon you read a book that affects you so profoundly it's difficult to tell whether the book is just that good or you read it at just the right time. In this case, I think it's both. I've read most of Burke's writings, and she's a fantastic storyteller, but Spice Bringer is more than a great story. It's profound on many levels, has stellar characters, superb world-building, and a twisty plot full of so many unexpected things, I was left in a puddle of emotions. I just finally read The Fault in Our Stars but this book is a thousand times better showing the reality of a young girl living with a terminal disease because it's full of love and hope. Niya is an inspiration; such a strong character! Jayesh is so vibrantly real, and Alk the fire salamander is one of the most memorable characters ever! I know I'm gushing, and I don't care. This is the best book I've read in a long, long time (even better than The Curse of Chalion, and I didn't think a fantasy could be better than that one), and it deserves to be made into a movie. Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy with more than a dash of romance...." NOTE: Be sure to have tissue handy while reading this book!!!!

My favorite quote: "Life, precious life, always bound to her by a spider's thread when everyone else had an iron chain."

Monday, September 10, 2018

Monday Review by the Book Dragon: A fun collection of original fairy tales!

The Book Dragon has read Tales of Ever After, a Fellowship of Fantasy anthology, and gives it five happy claws!
My 5 star review: "This is a fun and thoughtful collection of fairy tales, but nothing like Disney even though they're all clean. Many original, clever stories are found within these pages, and every one of them has something special to recommend! Usually when I read an anthology, one or two become special favorites, but I can't say that about this one; I liked all of them!"
This anthology is the fourth published by the Fellowship of Fantasy, a group of authors who write clean indie fantasy. All of them are FREE to download and well worth reading. The Book Dragon is confident you will find a new favorite author or two.