Soooo.... Merlin was not nearly as good as Taliesin. I gave Taliesin4 stars; I think Merlin will only get 3. It's far from being a bad book, but I may not be the right audience. Like Taliesin, it's epic fantasy and I am just not the biggest epic fantasy fan. But WOW-the writing! Lawhead is definitely a talented writer, and I can see why the hubby reads all his books.

Merlin is the second book in the Pendragon books by Stephen Lawhead, so there may be spoilers for Taliesin below.

This is the Goodreads blurb: It is Roman Britain. Atlantis has been lost forever, and the reign of Arthur must be dreamed and fought into being. (Well, that's descriptive of a 400+ page novel, eh? lol)

So, predictably, Merlin tells the tale of Merlin, Taliesin and Charis' son. The book covers about 3 generations of normal people time, but Merlin doesn't age like normal people, and the book only covers his young and middle adulthood. Merlin really comes into his own over the course of this book. At the beginning we see him as a sometimes emotional, sometime impetuous young king. Then he has a fugue. Then he's a kingmaker (politician). Then he's the "creator" of Arthur.

I really enjoyed and got into the first part of the book and the last part of the book, the parts where he himself is a king and then when he's the kingmaker. But the middle part.... I was totally, utterly lost. I wasn't expecting it. I won't give any spoilers, but events lead to Merlin being alone on a mountaintop living in a cave with a wolf for an unspecified amount of time. And he's lost it. He's nuts and he's filthy and Pelleas has to come find him and drag him home. I think I could have skipped straight from the end of part 1 to the beginning of part 3 and been less lost than I was trying to figure out what the crap was going on in part 2.

However, know that parts 1 & 3 are SO good as to cancel out the confusion of part 2. I do miss Charis. In Merlin we only get Merlin's p.o.v. I'm not a guy, so maybe my sadness at the loss of Charis' p.o.v. influenced my opinion of the whole book. Don't worry; Charis is still around, but we only see her through Merlin's eyes.

So ever since Merlin disappeared to go be a hermit up the mountain, Briton has had a bad High King, Vortigern. When Vortigern is finally killed, two brothers work together to rule Briton. One takes cares of politics and one takes care of the army. It totally works. Until, you know, everything falls apart. This is when Merlin really steps it up. He steps in and helps Briton come together and unite against the Scots and for the new High King. (No spoilers; you'll have to read the book to find out who it is.) He also orchestrates the naming of a babe, Arthur, and the childrearing and training that he will receive. This makes me super excited for Arthur, the next book in the series. I hope it starts right where Merlin leaves off, so that I can see some of Arthur's childhood! I hope he's spunky.

Overall, I give this book 3 stars. I do not begrudge it of the time I spent reading it, and I totally plan to read Arthur. I was confused in the middle, but that might have been reader error, and I missed Charis' p.o.v., but Merlin did amazing things, and Lawhead is a talented enough author to carry the entire epic on one character's shoulders.

Taliesin was first published in 1988... when I was 3 yrs old. But it is a fantasy novel based on the legend of King Arthur, so it didn't feel dated at all while I was reading it. Anyhow... there may be some minor spoilers in this review. The book's been out forever, folks.

Taliesin was a hubby pick. He first read the Pendragon Cycle books as a teen and he LOVES them. He read them as a teen, and then again as a young adult. He might have even read them twice as a teen. So we own them and the copy I read was that soft feel that books get when they've been handled a lot. I love that feeling.

Taliesin is the first of the Pendragon Cycle books, and it is the tale of Merlin's parents, Charis and Taliesin. Charis is a royal princess in Atlantis and Taliesin is a foundling in Briton. Taliesin's adopted father had the worst luck in everything in life until he found the infant Taliesin in a bag in a stream. Suddenly he has all the best luck. He ends up king even though he's not his father's oldest son and he scores a hot wife and he builds up a great warband of soldiers to protect his homeland. Taliesin is schooled by the village druid to be a druid himself, and a talented bard.

Charis grows up in the royal household in Atlantis. She's buddies with the royal seer and he gives her private lessons in using the seeing stone to foretell events. She grows up to be a bull dancer. It's kind of like bull fighting, but she dances to elude the bull instead of stabbing it.

Disaster strikes Atlantis, and Charis and her family barely escape with their lives. War strikes Briton, and Taliesin and his family barely escape with their lives.

Taliesin is an epic fantasy novel. It's lengthy and deep, but it never gets mired down in the mud. I feel like I fairly flew through it for how long it is. (Just over 500 pages in my edition.) So even though it might feel like I told you a lot of the plot just now, I really barely skimmed it. There's so much more rich detail in the book itself, and I definitely would encourage others to read it.

I loved the plot and the story and the characters, but I didn't particularly care for the ending. It just seemed to come a little too quickly compared to the other events in the book, and I was left with a number of questions. I suppose (hope) they may be answered in the next book, Merlin. So see: there's a good endorsement: I plan to read the other two books in the series!

I downloaded this little gem from Edelweiss forever ago, but I never heard any chatter about it, and kind of forgot, then picked up last weekend.  WOW!  So good!  My library doesn't own a copy, but I plan to suggest it.

Fire in the Sea jumps right into the action.  I read this on my Kindle, I believe I was at 2% when the first mysterious creature from the sea makes an appearance.  From that moment on, stranger and stranger things keep happening to Sadie.  I admired how the author allowed Sadie to recognize that all of the events occurring in Perth are absolutely ridiculous and hard to believe, while still having Sadie roll with the punches, so to say, and take an active part in deciding her fate.  For example, the synopsis mentions that there's a horned beast running rampant in Perth:  unbelievable, right?  Just an escaped bull or something, right?  NOPE.  Not only does Sadie quickly come to terms with the fact there's a beast on the loose, she quickly makes decisions to fight to protect her friends and family.  She's never afraid to stand up for herself and her family.  Even though Jake is really cute and she's feeling him, she doesn't hesitate to tell him off when she perceives that he's committed a wrong.  As the action builds and builds toward an epic finale, Sadie continues to be true to herself, her values, and her family.

I'm sitting here in America reading and reviewing this book, so the Australian author and setting were also bonuses for me.  When you read books by international authors, do you hear that country's accent in your head as you read?  I do, and I really enjoyed listening to the Australian teens!  There were, of course, just a few slang terms that I wasn't familiar with, but nothing that context clues didn't help me decipher.

While Sadie was an incredibly dynamic character, and the plot was super exciting, I had a bit of trouble connecting to the secondary characters.  Sadie's cousins are just barely better than stereotypes, and her grandparents are walking talking cut-outs.  (Her grandfather's a conspiracy theory war vet and grandma is constantly cheerfully offering everyone tea after coming in from the garden.)  At the end of the book a few final pieces fall into place and a few people gain a little more dimensionality, but not enough to be truly thoroughly 3D.

I suppose that's ok, because the reader is really consumed with all the action packed into this book!  I don't think I went more than 3 pages ever without some big fight happening or decision being made.  The mystery of the creatures from the sea, the horned beast, and Jake all unfold at a good pace:  it's never too slow/bogged down, or too fast to keep up with, and it's spread evenly through the book.  The finale really fits in nicely; there was a good build-up to it, so it didn't happen out of thin air, and the ending wasn't obvious, so it was definitely a page-turner!

Overall, I'd give Fire in the Sea 3.5-4 stars.  Can't quite make up my mind.  Loved the action and the main character; struggled with the secondary characters.  Maybe there'll be a sequel someday that fleshes them out more!

DOROTHY MUST DIE. Obviously a very catchy title for a Wizard of Oz retelling/sequel and it’s the main reason I purchased this book when it came out a few months back. To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of the famous movie and I've never even read the books. But knowing the general story line, I can honestly say, DOROTHY MUST DIE is definitely not like the classic and we’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.

I was pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed this book. Full of gore, angst, sarcasm, and dramatic scenes, it’s a bold undertaking to continue a story so many people know. This author’s debut is courageous because there’s always the risk of insulting the true fans of the classic story. Personally, I think the continuation of The Wizard of Oz couldn't have come at a better moment because one, retellings seem to be a fad at the moment, and two, the 75^th anniversary of the movie definitely encourages readers to pick up this book about the newly imagined world of Oz.

The world of Oz is completely different now that Dorothy is one of its princesses. Actually nothing is going right for its citizens because while Dorothy believes what’s she’s doing is spreading happiness across Oz, she is in fact literally sucking the magic out of the ground and being cruel to everyone that’s not on her side. Killing and unfair punishment seems to be the norm of her rule and every citizen is trying to avoid the wrath of Dorothy in fear of being found guilty of very stupid crimes like sass or fictitious treason. Amy Gumm is Dorothy’s latest target because, like Dorothy, Amy was swept into Oz from Kansas via a tornado. The only major difference is, instead of a farmhouse, Amy arrived in a trailer, as in a motorized home on blocks. Dorothy, wanting to be the only one that’s “special,” is jealous of Amy and will stop at nothing to see Amy gone. The battle between the two Kansas girls is riveting and I love how the protagonist of the classic becomes the antagonist of this newly imagined story. Dorothy, power hungry and obviously a little mad with magic, must die in order to return Oz to its original glory, and Amy is believed to be the only one that can kill her. Trained by The Revolutionary Order of the Wicked and entrusted with this task, Amy isn't really sure she can actually kill someone...

In a world where Good doesn't really mean doing the right thing and where the Wicked might just mean fighting for the right reasons, everything is turned upside down. Personally I’m really glad so many of the original characters made an appearance but I’m even more ecstatic about the huge amount of new characters. I haven’t read the prequel NO PLACE LIKE OZ yet, and even if I really believe it’s not necessary to do so in order to understand this first full-length novel of the series, it might just explain why Dorothy is the way she is. Jon was a little bit disappointed with the prequel novella and called it "overly ambitious."

I can honestly say I loved DOROTHY MUST DIE. The humour in the book is so similar to mine, the writing is easy to follow and the story itself truly engaging. However I’m a little bit disappointed that I purchased this book on a whim because of this. It’s the only reason I hesitate to recommend the book. Individual boycotting doesn't usually make a huge difference, but if everyone does it, then it can have a huge impact. It’s sad that such a great, new and upcoming author is associated with such a bad name.

Andi has always been invisible in court and it was perfectly fine that way. Everything changed though after she met a strange man in the Wilds. Her father accuses her of treason and shows a side of him she had never seen before. Her invisibility is now a thing of the past because Rayfe (the strange man) will stop at nothing, not even war, to have her, and bring her back to be Queen of his magical land.

The Mark of the Tala was the first book I read by Jeffe Kennedy and I really liked it. The fantasy fan that I am was pleased with the set up, the story, the magic and the original lore! I liked that Kennedy introduced the Princesses but jumped right onto the action with a violent encounter between Andi and Rayfe. It really set the tone for the rest of the book and showed Andi's strong personality. The author managed to keep me riveted the the page despite the long distance rides and siege, which isn't easy. The tension got my blood running despite the fact that there wasn't that much action.

I really liked the characters and how different the sisters were, but I have to confess I wished Andi  didn't compare herself to her sisters so much. It was a bit redundant at times, but on the other hand, it showed how self-conscious and vulnerable Andi feels, so I understand why Kennedy did it. Andi is determined to do the right thing, and so much changes are going on within herself that she questions her sanity and I think the author portrayed it well. I have to say I fell in love with Rayfe right away and I have to command his courage and determination, even if his methods are sometimes questionable.

Rayfe's people were a very original type of shape-shifter and their land is simply amazing. I really love the world Jeffe created and I truly hope we see more from it in the following novels, it felt so rich and magical!

I loved every page and the conclusion simply left me stunned. I'm really anxious for the next novel, but I have to say I wished it still featured Andi. I feel like there is much more to learn about her - and her mother - and I hope that the next book will accomplish that even if Amelia (the youngest princess) is the main character. I would definitely recommend this series, and I am glad that The Tears of the Rose releases in November! I won't have to wait long.