Monday, February 25, 2008

Song Of The Lioness ~ Tamora Pierce

Alana ~ Tamora Pierce
Back Cover Synopsis: Though a girl, has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places. Alana, pretending to be a boy, is on her way to the castle of King Roald to begin her training as a page. Filled with swords ans sorcery, adventure and intrigue, good and evil, Alanna's first adventure begins.

In The Hand Of The Goddess ~ Tamora Pierce
Back Cover Synopsis: Still disguised as a boy, Alana becomes a squire to none other than the prince of the realm. Prince Jonathan id not only her Liege lord, he is also her best friend-and one of few who knows the secrete of her true identity. But when a mysterious sorcerer threatens the princes life, it will take all of Alana's skill, strength, and magical power to protect him-even at the risk of revealing who she really is.

The Women Who Rides Like A Man ~ Tamora Pierce
Back Cover Synopsis: Newly knighted, Alanna seeks adventure in the vast desert of Tortall. Captured by fierce desert dwellers - either she will be killed or inducted into the tribe. Although she triumphs, dire challenges lie ahead. As her mythic fate would have it, Alanna soon becomes the tribe's 1st female shaman. Alanna must fight to change the ancient tribal customs of the desert tribes - for their sake and the sake of all Tortall.

Lioness Rampant ~ Tamora Pierce
Back Cover Synopsis: Having achieved her dream of becoming the first female knight errant, Alanna in not sure what to do next. Perhaps being a knight errant is not all that she needs. But Alanna must push her uncertainty aside when a new challenge arises. She must recover the Dominion Jewel, a legendary gem with enormous power for good - but only in the right hands. Alanna must work quickly, Tortall is in great danger when Alanna's archenemy, Duke Roger, is back-and more powerful than ever. In this final book Alanna discovers that she indeed has a future worthy of her mythic past, both as a warrior and a woman.


The Song of the Lioness series of books lost 1 green fairy for one reason only...the books were TOO SHORT! Of course later I discovered that this was a young adult series! Oh well, I still thoroughly enjoyed reading about Alanna's adventures, friends and family. Alanna proved to the men again and again that "anything you can do I can do better". A great message to put out there for young girls. And even though it took me 1 day to read each book I just couldn't stop until I was done! And in my opinion, if you can't put it down, it's defiantly worth buying.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Elizabeth Kerner - Kindred Trilogy

Song In The Silence ~ Elizabeth Kerner
Back Cover Synopsis: Lanen Kaeler has spent her whole life being told just how wrongheaded and foolish she is by her entire family. When Lanen's father dies, she chooses to leave her abusive relatives and search out the dragons she has always dreamed of, though she knows what she seeks may not be real. But those who hold the true power know that prophecies have been told of Lanen Kaelar since before her birth. The fear the destiny she may fulfill, the mysteries she may unravel - and the strange and terrifying love she may find on the legendary Dragon Isle.


The Lesser Kindred ~ Elizabeth Kerner
Back Cover Synopsis: Shortly after returning home with a husband who is more than he seems, Lanen's chance at happiness is threatened by the demon-master Berys, who is determined to capture Lanen, believing she is the key to his once and future domination of all her homeland. Young lovers are supposed to have happy endings - but those tales are no match for a mage's wiles and so Lanen and her man must flee. On their journey they will discover new friends and old enemies, make some startling discoveries...and stumble upon a truth that will change the world.


Redeeming The Lost ~ Elizabeth Kerner
Back Cover Synopsis: The time of prophecies is at hand and the Kantri (dragons) have chosen to return to the land of man after an eon of self-imposed exile. Much of what they find distresses them-the humans have squandered much of their heritage, and those who do remember the ancient ways have allied themselves with the race of demons who long to destroy the entire world. The Kanri look to Varien and Lanen to help them redeem what has been lost so long ago and to make the world right again. But Lanen is captured by the human demon-master Berys and it is up to Varien to form one of the most unlikely alliances and rescue her. The stage is set for a confrontation between the forces of light and darkness...and if Varien fails, Kantri and human alike will fall to ruin and the demon forces will rule forever...






I could NOT sleep until I finished this trilogy! This series of science fiction/ fantasy books by Elizabeth Kerner received 5 green faeries because I absolutely LOVED it! The human characters were well written and exciting to read about. I didn't think I would enjoy reading a book that jumps from person to person, but I did! It made the love and friendship each person felt for each other more believable. The Dragon lore that is told in this trilogy is one I have never read before. The beauty and complexity of the Kantri is beautiful. The story of father daughter is excitingly evil, the story between the Kantri King and his people is epic, the story between friends despite their race is pure and the story between Lanen and her husband is what all women are looking for...true love.
I would love to read more novels about the adventures of Lanen and her friends and family!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Wizard of the Grove

Tanya Huff begins Wizard of the Grove by telling us of the Mother who created the earth and everything in it. The Mother wanted some company so took a tree and gave it the form of a woman, called a hamadryad, then she gave her new friend some hamadryads of her own out of a few of the other trees. The Mother then went off to create 5 more races, 4 of which became the rarely seen Elder races and 1 who were the humans. Humans soon created their own gods in order to ward off Death, the Mother's son, but ultimately renounced them and learned to embraced Death. The discarded Gods eventually had children who were born from the union of Gods and humans, these children were know as Wizards. The wizards were evil, using their God like powers to corrupt (eww, I'm starting to sound like the back of a book!). Anyway, the wizards did all kinds of bad stuff like create half human half animal Dr. Moreau kind of things, made castles of human remains and created Dragons! Their dragon pets subsequently turned on their masters and killed them all, or so they thought... This is where the bad guy enters the story. Now for the good guy...Half hamadryad half human, Crystal is born and sent away to train to use her powers to defeat the remaining evil wizard. Crystal, being a wizard herself, puts up a great fight and eventually wins. The rest of the book deals with her adventures. In the end... well, I guess I shouldn't give it away.


Tanya Huff did an amazing job of drawing you into the book right off the bat by telling the history of how life was created without boring you to death. I really enjoyed the creativity of the origin of this world. I Also loved her take on Death as a "person". He wasn't really evil as many stories build him to be. And the twist Tanya puts in where he falls in love with Crystal was great. However, I gave this story 3 out of 5 green faeries because I felt that the training that Crystal received from the Elder races would have been interesting to read, maybe even one whole book up to the end of her training. Then writing another book on her journey of finding her mother and defeating the wizard, then another book on her following adventures. I was also disappointed with Crystal herself, I felt that I didn't really get a chance to know her. The last downfall of this book was the ending, I just felt like it left me feeling unfinished and eager for more, maybe because I wish it had been a trilogy.