LARP: The Battle for Verona by Justin Calderone

Larp: The Battle for Verona was a really interesting read for me. It might be because I am a nerd and I used to LARP (live action role play for those who don't know) in the World of Darkness and I'm an avid fan and player of Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and pretty much any other system that I can play in. So to me nothing could be better then donning armor and going to save the world! Okay in this case it's an island but your home is always your world, at least in my world it is so there.

The story begins with Dennis reminiscing about his character Sir Dengar as he struggles to think about how his life would have been different had he not started to play LARP. His brother was a popular football player and Dennis was following in his footsteps until during a gym class he befriended Mark and Freddy, the resident nerds. They introduced him to LARP and ten years later he was still playing. Dennis feels that he should be more grown up now and focus on his job at the bank and he wonders if he missed out on the chance for love because of his affection for the game. He is also troubled by his friend Mark's personality when he plays because of his controlling and egocentric personality.

The boys head off to their yearly convention on the Washington main land away from their beloved island of Verona. Meeting up with the friend Jenn who works at the museum in near by Seattle. Unfortunately the weekend quickly goes bad for Dennis when Mark puts himself in a bad situation and Dennis ends up "dying" because of Mark's foolhardiness. Dennis leaves the convention in a huff and head back home until he is stopped at the bridge to Verona. Turned away by the military he becomes intrigued and pulling around to the back of a local store Dennis uses binoculars to spy across the water. He is disturbed to see flames and smoke and blackness as all the electricity has been turned off.

Dennis returns to the convention and gathers his friends together to discuss what he has seen. Jen gets a hold of her father who happens to be a general in the US Army. A plan is soon formulated that involves both the military and all of the larpers as it seems like the people who have attacked the island are Mongolian's who have forsaken the modern world.

I really liked reading this book. The characters are well rounded and have great depth. It's well written with great humour and the action seems to move along at a good pace. The main bad guy could have been a little more thought out and have more background but otherwise really good. The Mongolians were great sympathetic bad guys. I loved the conflict with Dennis and his friends as they try and re counsel what they feel are teenage hobbies with their adult responsibilities.

You can find this great book at Amazon both .com and .ca, it's a steal for under 4 bucks if you buy the e version. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!!

Tides of Avarice and Sagaria by John Dahlgren

John Dalgren is about to release his second young adult novel and begin his first journey to the US on his new book tour. As a psychologist he brings to the table this great ability to really give life to his characters as they deal with not only the major events but just life in general that everyone has to deal with. His language is vibrant and detailed which really helps to engross the reader into the story. 

Tides of Avarice is classified as a young adult novel but the humour and detail definitely make it accessible for older kids (adults like me) as well. As all good pirate stories start with there is a rumour of a treasure map and a vile villain willing to do anything to get all the pieces and obtain the treasure. This trail leads us across the great wet to the land of the lemmings. Sebastian, the librarian lemming, is trying to figure out how to win the woman he loves, keep his mother out of the mayor's clutches and deal with the fact that his father was sent out on the last exodus over the cliff and across the great wet. (That's right once a generation some of the lemmings go over the cliff lolz) Suddenly Sebastian is plunged into an adventure that he had only dreamed of. With a piece of treasure map in his pocket, dodging the pirate Rustbane and trying to save the love of his life, Sebastian has stepped out of his lemming life and into one of the novels that he so loves. This book was released to rave reviews several years ago and I am still giving it rave reviews today! This is a great book to get children interested in reading as well as keeping adults entertained!! Fabulous read!

Sagaria also has that great sense of humour though John Dalgren did a great job of adding in some deeper emotional stories in this tale. Sagandran is just a normal young boy who is bulled and tormented by other boys bigger then him. His life changes unexpectedly with the disappearance of his beloved grandfather. Soon he is transported to a world beyond his dreams where everything seems to have come from a fantasy novel. There he meets Flip. Flip the rat is in love even though that girl doesn't seem to notice him and instead cares for Flip's nemesis, Tod. Sagandran soon learns of an evil wizards plans to unite and dominate the three parallel worlds and a motley group is formed to stop him. The party formed up of Sagandran, Flip, the Toad Knight, an old wizard, and a princess journey over the hills to face the evil sorcerer. It was great to watch the characters of Sagandran and Flip build their self esteem and learn to defend themselves against the world. All in all definitely a great second book and I recommend it to both teens and adults!!

Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman

I was lucky enough to read Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman just before it was released to the general public. This is Jenny Milchman's first novel though she has had two short stories published. She is a dynamic writer, easily balancing heart ache with fast paced action to keep the reader entertained and eager for more. Once I downloaded this book to my kindle I was hooked and finished it within the day it was so good!

The story starts with the female protagonist, Nora Hamilton, waking up late in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. She is surprised when she realizes what time it is and that her husband hasn't woken her up yet. She pads downstairs to find the coffee pot still cold and begins to feel that something is wrong. As she searches for her husband the feeling grows. Entering the attic that they had just begun to renovate together she finds him, swinging from a rope. With a creak and a snap the body tumbles down and into her knocking her down, a physical manifestation of what has just happened to Nora's life.

Nora spends the next few hours in a blissful numb state but soon enough awareness comes back and with it comes the questions that will begin to haunt her. The Why of it all begins to torment her especially as the people around her either ignore it or tell her to move on from it. Everyone except her unconventional sister who challenges her to open her eyes and ask the difficult questions in an effort to heal. Those questions lead to an even bigger mystery as Nora strives to understand why her loving husband suddenly decided to take his own life.

Trapped in a small town in northern New York where no one seems to want her there let alone have her asking questions about Brendan's last days Nora becomes increasingly nervous about her own safety as her search takes a dangerous turn. Nora doesn't know who to trust when even the police seem involved and the few people who will speak with her either die or have mysterious fires begin soon after talking to her.

Jenny Milchman was able to balance the heartache and confusion that would come with losing someone to suicide with a murder mystery. It's tastefully done and so interesting! I was left guessing until the end as to who was really behind it all. And it actually leaves you wondering if you ever really know the people around us, even those we claim to love the most! The release date was January 13th, so look for it at your local bookstore!!! It is definitely worth it! Excellent read!

Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne

I first heard about this book through a friend of mine. He isn't a huge reader so for a book to really pique his interest I knew it had to be something different. He got me the first three for my reader and told me that I had to read them, especially since now they were gift. With a laugh I opened the book and that was it, I was just as hooked. 

The story begins with Atticus, the 2100 year old druid, who is hiding out in Arizona so the Fey can't find him and either harass him or attempt to kill him. I guess in that amount of time you are definitely going to make a few enemies. His ever constant companion is his dog Oberon. Atticus has awakened Oberon's mind so that he understands English and they can communicate mind to mind. ( Even if you don't normally like urban fantasy settings you should pick up this novel just for Oberon!) Atticus is just trying to live his life and enjoy the small things, like working with the happiest goth kid ever. Atticus' life is interrupted when the fey finally figure out where he is hiding and remember that he has something that they want. 

The rest of the book is filled with action, smexy gods and goddess', hindu witches, werewolf lawyers, and the random vampire, almost normal barmaids and of course delicious fish and chips! The action flows smoothly and is well described without taking over the whole book. The dialogue is witty and interesting to read. There are several side characters that are super interesting and you can't wait to find out more about them in later books. For Kevin Hearne's first novel this is well written and entertaining from beginning to end. 

The Pygmalion Complex by Elaine Gordon

The Pygmalion Complex is Elaine Gordon's newest novel. When most people hear Pygmalion they think of My Fair Lady but this novel is much more modern and steamy then that classic could hope to be, hopefully soon this edition will be the new classic.

Romana Randall starts off as a naive married woman brought up in the lap of luxury and soon realizes that the life that she idolizes isn't the life she is really living. Forced to make hard decisions for her and her two children she tries to reassemble her life after divorce. Moving far from everything she has known in the attempt to make a new life she meets the dynamic Kent Cunningham who quickly shows her everything that she has been missing out on. Quickly torn between family expectations and the woman of passion that Kent is showing her that she can be Romana most choose who she is going to try and make happy, her family, Kent or most importantly herself.

I found this novel a really interesting idea. The characters each have their own paths to walk and some really hard decisions to face. Each of the obstacles comes from a different view point and I think it could appeal to so many people from different walks of life. I think it really does show that at the end of the day you need to make yourself happy and strive to achieve something for yourself rather then worry about what other people may think.

Elaine Gordon is great at evoking moods and places with her words which I found great. I loved the way she described both New York on a Sunday in the Park as well as the glittering lights of Paris. Mrs. Gordon's characters are believable and entertaining to read about.

The book was a good quick read, when I was done I was a little disappointed that it was finished so quickly actually. So if you are looking for something a little different but something that has a hint of steamy innocence to it then this would definitely be something that you should pick up!

Absence!

Hello to all my readers,

       Yes I know there aren't many of you yet but for you loyal readers I am so sorry for my absence over the past few months. With helping to manage a hotel out in the boonies to moving once again (yes again! I swear if I never move again it will be too soon!) and moving back home to Toronto on top of everything else. But I am back and I have read some great books over the past few months and I can't wait to share them with everyone! 

     Remember if you have any suggestions I would love to hear them and check out any books that you guys recommend as well!

Always, 

     Me!

Look for reviews for these titles coming soon!

Iron Druid series 1-4
Secret Shapeshifter
Poison Princess
Discovery of Witches

And Pygmalion Complex as a blog stop tour for this wonderful new book!

Eyes of Fire by Heather Graham

Eyes of Fire by Heather Graham is a suspenseful romance. The action moves quickly and has some twists thrown in which is always nice though it was fairly predictable. Heather Graham has a great writing style though with believable characters and a good story line.

The female protagonist is Samantha Carlyle who is beautiful and spunky. She lives on a secluded island renowned for it's diving and the intrigue of being inside the Devil's Triangle (The Bermuda Triangle). She is surprised when a man from her past Adam O'Conner shows up on the island. The antagonism between the two isn't fully explained at first which is a little frustrating but eventually the author explains what happened between these two in the past. Over the course of a week you see the sparks begin to flare again if they could only get past all their anger.

Mean while there is the intrigue about a ship wreck that lies close to the island possibly. Samantha has already lost two important men in her life to this ship wreck and she wants nothing more to do with it though someone else has a different idea entirely. Several people on the island have been lying about who they are and what they really want from Samantha besides diving lessons.

It's a great light read if you aren't really wanting to think too much! Great light reading and intriguing if you like ship wrecks and some of the history of the ship wrecks through out the Bermuda Triangle.