Book Reviews (XXIV)

Spirit Summoner (The Chosen of the Light, #1)

by Matt Campbell

Book Description

Publication Date: December 3, 2013

Darr has the ability to hear the disembodied voices of the spirits. Unfortunately, the spirits have nothing useful to say. A young, inexperienced Spirit Summoner, Darr often wonders at the purpose of such a useless ability. When an unnatural fire sweeps through his village, Darr sets out on a mission of self-discovery and curiosity.

As a Spirit Summoner, Darr learns he can enter the spirit realm. There he has access to the elemental magic contained within the Sephirs, legendary artifacts that once promised balance for a world turning towards chaos. Now, the Sephirs' powers are dwindling since their untimely disappearance, and Darr is at the center of the quest to find and recover them. Suddenly, Darr's curiosity is a whirlpool threatening to drown him, but his compulsion to see things through locks him into a journey attracted to disaster.

For the Sephirs do more than restrain the primal forces of magic. The Devoid, an evil long caged and hungry, has begun to loosen the bars of its prison. If the Sephirs fail, the Devoid will escape and feed on the Light of the living until nothing remains.

And the Devoid knows Darr's lack of confidence is the key needed to free itself completely.

My Review

I love a good high fantasy with intricate world building, but the world in Spirit Summoner is beautiful in its simplicity. It’s very well fleshed out but not overly detailed.

The characters have depth and raw emotions that you could feel coming off the page. The plot seems to pass fast with one thing and another without giving the readers time to think and process. There was no Big WOW factor but the plot line is interesting and captured my attention.

         Darr Reintol is an intriguing  character. As a Spirit Summoner, Darr had been born with an invisible connection to the Currents, allowing him to hear the voices of the spirits, and in turn, communicate with them.

                No one knew who  the Soul Keepers were, but everyone agreed they used magic lost since the Aeon Wars, and they ripped the souls from the bodies of those they killed.

Darr embarks on a journey, where he and his companions are forced to fight in the Currents and learn to listen to the voices there.

Matt Campbell's novel is a wonderful fantasy epic.

         I look forward to learning more about it but I was very pleased with my first look.  The characterization was outstanding and the story pulled me in right away. So, what more is there to say? I can hardly wait for the next book!

         I was offered a copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

               

                                I rate it Five Stars.  

                                 
                                

Book Reviews (XXIII)

Mindbender
           by Lillian Summers

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 2014

They call him MB1. The mindbender. Jason Asbury has the ability to turn people into his puppets with the power of his mind. He is NSA’s most treasured asset, until he escapes a top secret facility at age fourteen. Twelve years later, he has achieved everything a man could want, except for lasting love. But Jason’s past comes to haunt him, as a mystery man employs serial burglar Ally Brown to steal his personal diaries. The theft was an easy job for Ally, or it should have been. She now finds herself caught between the man she stole from and the one who hired her. But which one turns out to be the most dangerous to her?

My Review

            The prologue in Mindbender sucks you inside a fast paced and thought provoking romance thriller. I loved the way Lillian Summers grounded me in the setting very firmly. The place is a top secret NSA facility, nestled right in the middle of an unbreakable stronghold. Unreachable. Yet, a fourteen year old boy, the mindbender, breaks out of this high security facility in less than two minutes.

            The author takes us then to Miami Florida 2012.We meet Jason Asbury, age 26, multi-millionaire, living in Bay Point Estates. Or should I call him MB1? A heart-stealer, an enigma for all the people who meet him. In the past three years, more than half the socialites, either married or unattached, had happily shared his bed, and he was still unashamedly counting. But what he was doing in his home life was everyone’s wild guess. A mysterious, seductive man of devastating handsomeness and sexual allure whose charms captured the women in bonds of irresistible desires. Asbury has no friends, no confidants, not even relatives. Only one-night-stands.

            Will Ally Brown age 24, unemployed, with her aristocratic, high cheekbones and elegantly drawn eyebrows, a mouth with finely curved lips and jade green eyes prove a match for the devious Jason or will she prove more cunning and dangerous than him?

            Have I aroused your curiosity? Well, then you must know that people who enjoyed watching Dark Angel, X-Files or Dead Zone will find  Lillian Summer's novel extremely  captivating. The plot and characters are awesome. The characters are all as perfectly flawed and human as can be; complex and carefully created. It is a story that will make you feel good and smile and also think and question.

            There are twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and characters that will capture your attention from the moment you meet them. Up until the very last page. There is a lot of character development and chemistry between characters. I can hardly wait for the next parts.

            If you want a real, intelligent, romance novel, enhanced by thrilling scenes, Lillian Summer's Mindbender is the perfect choice. This is a very different romance.

 I was  given a copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

                                                  I rate it Five Stars