Novel: Beyond the Forest

Author: Kay L. Ling

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Epic Fantasy

How I found this book: Beyond the Forest was up for nominations in the Kindle Scout program at the same time that I had my first novel (Love, Lies & Clones) in the program. Seeing the story so much, I just had to read it!

Amazon book description:

Lana can draw arcane powers from gemstones, but she’s no match for a gem master like Sheamathan, brutal ruler of the gnome world. The oppressed gnomes of Shadow long for a better life, and Lana agrees to study their native gems to find a solution. But when she goes through the portal, she discovers her gnome guide has a different agenda. He takes her straight to Sheamathan’s castle through a land full of mutant insects, intelligent flying serpents, and other horrors. There, he forces Lana to make a choice–turn her back on the gnomes and go home, or brave Sheamathan’s goblin-like servants to find the throne room and deliver a warning. Only someone very brave or very foolish would risk enchantment, the dungeon, or death, but the gnomes’ conflict may spill over into her world if Lana refuses to go.

What’s not in the blurb: I’m a sucker for any story that has a little clean romance…and this one does. It snuck up on me, which was a pleasant surprise.

As I writer, what I really enjoyed and appreciated: Kudos to the author on her grasp and description of the fantasy world. I struggle with world building and really appreciated Kay L. Ling’s amazing grasp of the world she created. Her creativity and descriptions of the giant flying insects had me shivering in repulsion. Bravo! In addition to the fantastic world building, I appreciated the humor she brought in with the giant talking rats. Giant rats? You’ll have to read the story. 🙂

Who’d enjoy this book: Lovers of both epic fantasy and urban fantasy who want to read something more positive and uplifting.

My overall impression: Beyond the forest took me to another land with a main character (Lana) that followed her heart. There was the right amount of humor (sometimes, even silly, which I love) to keep me entertained. I defiantly cheered for Lana and her crew of gnomes and other fantasy creatures. The whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking how it reminded me of Lord of the Rings. I will definitely be watching for the second novel in this series, Shadowglade.

About the author: Kay L. Ling began writing fiction at an early age. In grade school, her stories evidenced a sense of wonder and love of adventure. In one, mythical creatures lived and traveled inside a rainbow, and in another, a bored sixth-grader turned her teacher into a maroon sofa and then teleported herself to London. As she grew up, Kay never lost her ability to imagine strange and wondrous peoples and places, and now she would like to share her unique fantasy adventures with others.

Where to find this novel:

• Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6AIPYX
• Amazon UK : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M6AIPYX

Other books in the series:

• Shadowglade (Coming in spring.)

My disclosure: I hate star ratings. Honestly, I think these are so subjective and sometimes reflect the reader more than they do the book. Because this is my blog, and I can do anything I want, I’m not using them.

I think ANYBODY who puts the time, effort, and dedication to write and publish an entire novel deserves 5 stars anyway. Also, when I read indie authors, I realize they operate on a shoestring (non-existent) budget and don’t have a team of college educated professionals helping them fine tune their novels.

Did you know that I love to read? I don’t talk about it much on this blog, since my focus has been on writing, but it’s true.

I love books!

I love them so much, that I’m adding a new feature on my blog. I figured, since I’m putting the time in to read books, I’d share them with whoever’ll listen to me. (Note: I tend to almost exclusively read independently published novels these days, and this is a nice plug for them too.) I’ll be sharing the speculative fiction novels I read, since that is my writing focus (and my passion.)

**See my disclosure at the end**

I hope you enjoy this new feature.

Okay…here we go.

Novel: Codename Omega: Omega Rising

Author: Jessica Meats

How I found this book: Mystery-Thriller Week is an eleven day celebration of novels, authors, and readers with a passion for mystery and thriller stories. It runs from February 12^th to the 22^nd. I stumbled across this novel through the pages of participants. What caught my attention was the books genre: a scifi mystery. If you enjoy mystery & thriller novels, head over to the Mystery-Thriller Week blog or join their Facebook group. It should be a lot of fun.

Amazon book description:

Jenny Harding has no money, no qualifications and no career history. A job working security for a big tech firm seems too good to be true. Maybe it is.

She is tasked with hunting down a group of thieves who have been stealing sensitive technology. Caught up in a battle involving alien forces, Jenny has some important questions to answer:
–Who are the thieves?
–What’s their real purpose?
–And is she on the right side?

What’s not in the blurb: Being hunted down and attacked wasn’t the kind of job interview Jenny Harding had in mind when she turned in her resume to Grey Tower. Now, she’s got the job and becomes tangled in a web of missing high-tech devices…not only that, when one of the thief’s are killed, she finds her hands on technology that can only be described as alien.

As I writer, what I really enjoyed and appreciated: Kudos to the author on the foreshadowing. The story was told in first person past tense and there were times the main character would give you a glimpse of things she wished they knew at the time…or what was yet to come. I felt this did a fantastic job of creating suspense and a feeling of dread for the future. (And secondarily, I enjoyed the references to the martial arts throughout the book. While I was reading, I caught myself wondering if the author had some type of training herself.)

Who’d enjoy this book: This book is a great, quick read, with some good action and science fiction that takes place on Earth (not space-opera, even though there are aliens.) Right up my alley. The book wraps up quickly, and leaves some things unresolved, as it is the first book in a series.

My overall impression: For some reason, this is the third novel in a row I’ve read written by a European writer. I’m digging that. This story was a nice introduction to a series, showcasing how an “average” person got caught up in an alien conspiracy—becoming a hero, costume and all. I enjoyed the alien technology, adapted for human use. This had it all…a little action…conspiracy…scifi…mystery…and romance. The plot was well done. Despite really enjoying the creative concepts of the story, this story is told first person, filtered through the main character’s perspective. It gave it an old-time detective story feel, which detached me from the story’s action. Not bad–just different than I typically read.

About the author: Jessica Meats is a graduate of the University of York and works in the IT industry. She draws on her experiences as a technology specialist and martial arts student to create a unique and interesting fictional community of combat experts and computer geeks.

Other books in the series:

• Codename Omega: Traitor in the Tower (Book 2)

My disclosure: I hate star ratings. Honestly, I think these are so subjective and sometimes reflect the reader more than they do the book. Because this is my blog, and I can do anything I want, I’m not using them.

I think ANYBODY who puts the time, effort, and dedication to write and publish an entire novel deserves 5 stars anyway. Also, when I read indie authors, I realize they operate on a shoestring (non-existent) budget and don’t have a team of college educated professionals helping them fine tune their novels.