Shadewright by Dean McMillin

Link to Shadewright on Amazon

The strongest thing this book has going for it is the concept, which I liked. The main character Phantist is a Shadewright, which means he can touch shadows and animate them into shapes and stories. His goal is to be a master artist like his idol, Lasander. There aren’t very many fantasy books where the main character just wants to be an artist.

My main problem with this book is that it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. It sets up the scene and the characters and describes Phantist’s childhood. There is a villain, whom he has several encounters with, but nothing is resolved in the end. I know that the author is setting up for a series, but there wasn’t enough hook to keep me reading.

My other problem with this book was a scene in which the villain skins a cat and hangs a little girl. Being both fond of cats and little girls, it really bothered me and I almost stopped reading. So sections of the book were not enjoyable to read.

This eBook is currently 99 cents.

Haven by A.R. Ivanovich

Link to Haven on Amazon

Wow. So I’ve been reading countless eBook samples, trying to find a book that had that certain spark, and I finally found it. The first thing that caught my interest was the beautiful cover, but there is a great story behind it as well.

Katelyn Kestrel can find anything. All she has to do is want it, and she walks straight to it. She lives in isolated Haven Valley, where everybody has silvery eyes and first and last names that start with the same letter. The people of Haven have hidden from the outside world, but why? What is out there? Nobody will answer her question, so she sets out to find the forbidden path that will lead her out. Not even threats that looking for it will get her arrested can change her mind.  On the other side she finds a young man, Rune, who is dying alone from his wounds. Rune is a Dragoon, a person with magical Ability who was drafted into the War of the Princes. Katelyn can save him, but does she dare bring him into Haven? Or should she venture into the outside world for help?

This book reminds me of several best-sellers, for instance Graceling, by Kristin Cashore (which I absolutely love), and even The Hunger Games. My only complaint is that we don’t get to see more of the world than we do, but I love the ending.

This eBook is currently only 99 cents.

Under the Stairs by John G. Stockmyer

Link to Under the Stairs on Amazon

John (the main character’s name, as well as the author’s) is an English professor with no family and few friends. He buys a run down house and restores it, only to find out that his house is considered haunted, and that cats have a habit of disappearing if they get inside. When his cat, Cream, disappears into the storage area under the stairs, he comes to the  conclusion that she has crossed into another dimension. So what does he do? He decides to rescue her, of course. (Have you ever heard of better character motivation? I would follow my cats to another dimension to rescue them, too.) So John ends up in Stil-de-grain, a country of magic where he is mistaken as a powerful mage.

I could tell immediately from the first page that Stockmyer was a good writer, but I was in suspense to see if the story would be good too. The one thing that I did notice was that he really likes exclamation points! For instance, he will write a whole paragraph where every sentence ends in an exclamation point!

So my conclusion? This is a pretty good book, though not the most original. The story of a regular person stumbling into another world or dimension where they become somehow powerful is not a new one. I was reminded strongly of L.E. Modesitt’s Spellsong Cycle, which is a great series, though there are countless other examples. What I did like about this book was the sci-fi aspects of it. The magic comes from light and static electricity, and the world is build out of “bands’ of color. I won’t be reading the next book in the series, mainly because while John himself is a likable character, there just weren’t any characters in Stil-de-grain that he had any kind of connection with. Even John himself doesn’t really care which world he’s in.

This eBook is currently free to download. At the end of this book the author offers the second book for free as well.

Hmm. Two and a half cupcakes? No, I’ll round up to three.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

Link to Incarnate on Amazon

I finished Incarnate today. I found it last night on the Amazon “100 Books for 3.99 or Less” list for $2.99, but the price will change after February 28th, 2012, and I don’t know how much it will cost then.

In the city of Heart, everybody reincarnates each life with the memories of all their previous lives intact. They have been reincarnating for 5000 years, until one night their temple goes dark and a woman called Ciana dies. When a child is born, they expect it to be Ciana reincarnated, but instead it is somebody else, a Newsoul, who is living for the first time. Her name is Ana, and since everybody in Heart fears that they will be the next one replaced with a Newsoul, they have a hard time accepting her. One person who does accept her is Sam, who saves her life when her own mother betrays her trust.

The best thing about this book is the interactions between the people who have been reincarnating together for so many lives. Some of them have love that lasts from life to life, no matter what gender they are born into. Ana is ostracized because she hasn’t been part of this 5000 year history that they share.

There is a sequel, Asunder, and more to come. I liked Incarnate, but I don’t really feel the need to read the sequel (especially since it’s full price). It was f un read, though!