YA Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

This book, Cloaked in Shadow, is by a fellow book tuber, Ben Alderson and this is his debut novel. I’ve watched Ben’s BookTube videos for quite awhile now and was excited when I learned he was publishing a novel.

The story follows Zacriah Trovirn, a young elven man who is taken to the Elven capital of Thessolina, where he is forced into King Dalior’s new army of shapeshifters. But Zacriah isn’t a shapeshifter. In truth, he doesn’t know what he is. But he does have magic — he knows that — but it’s the kind of magic no other elf has and Zac is well aware that it’s something he should keep from everyone. So he does.

Fearing that the king and others will discover Zac’s strange magic, he attempts to escape and meets the King’s handsome son, Prince Hadrian. Hadrian later agrees to take Zac under his wing and train him for an upcoming duel.

We soon discover that War is brewing between the elven nations with the peace between the kingdoms is crumbling apart. There is also something dark going on within the kingdom — and we learn that not everyone is who we think there are.

The book is a fast-paced — part fantasy, part adventure story and part LGBT romance with plenty of suspense, intrigue, and twists and turns. I felt that the characters were well-fleshed out and the beautifully written and vivid descriptions and stunning imagery were especially evocative.

I’ve read LBGT fantasy romances before: vampires, werewolves, ghosts and even ghouls – but I think this is the first gay elf book I’ve read. The romance was sweet and didn’t dominate the story, once the characters started getting involved. I was happy that it wasn’t Insta-Love but was a rather slow burn.
This book had it all: elves, shifters, elemental magic, healers, empaths, magic, battles, evil schemes, and even a handsome prince.

Now I will warn you that the book takes off to a slow start — the first two chapters were a tad on the boring side, as they mainly consisted of Zac sitting the wagon on the way to Thessolina observing his fellow passengers and the countryside. But once you get past that, the book really takes off and the actin is non-stop.
My only huge niggle with the book was that the last scene ended rather abruptly and with a cliff-hanger and for those of you who’ve watched my videos, know that I hate cliffhangers.

There were also a couple of instances where the characters used modern language which kind of yanked me out of the story. One of characters said something was “fucked up’ and in another chapter said something was “bullshit” which was not only out of character, but seemed out of place to me in this setting.

But regardless, this was a compelling story with a unique plot, snappy dialog, fun creatures and an interesting cast of diverse characters that kept me turning the page. I felt that the author did an excellent job with the world building and I felt Zac was a complex and multi-faceted character. I enjoyed Ben’s writing style and look forward to reading more by him.

You can check out Cloaked in Shadow here at Amazon.

I’ve heard quite a bit of praise for Marie Lu’s books, and while browsing at the library, Batman caught my eye, especially given that I love superheroes and the idea of a teen Batman peaked my interest. What I found was a delightful, fast-paced original story based on the Batman theme and I loved the modernization of an old favorite.

The Setting

This book shouldn’t really be called “Batman” as the story takes place before Bruce Wayne (who is eighteen in the book) has become Batman. The story begins on young Bruce Wayne’s high school graduation day, and Bruce has just come into his inheritance.

We already see Bruce’s desire to stop the crime and violence in his city early on as he intervenes in a police chase which lands him in hot water with Gotham City’s finest. But it’s only because of Bruce’s intervention that police were able to apprehend a suspected murderer who’s part of the gang called The Nightwalkers suspected of several murders and thefts in Gotham City.

Welcome to Arkham

As a result of his meddling, Bruce is sentenced to community service at one of the worst places possible: the Arkham Asylum, home for the criminally insane which houses the most dangerous criminals in Gotham. There, he encounters Madeleine, the Nightwalker suspect who was apprehended as a result of Bruce’s interference. The enigmatic Madeleine refuses to speak to the authorities, but she begins to strike up a conversation with Bruce during his daily chores.

Through this new friendship, Bruce learns more of her background and history, and she really seems to understand him. The more they talk, the more Bruce begins to feel a connection between the two of them. She then starts feeding him little nuggets of information about the Nightwalkers, which Bruce ends up personally verifying.

Helping the Police

Given that Bruce is the only person that Madeline will talk to, he begins working closely with the police in order to gain additional information from Madeleine about the Nightwalkers. But Madeleine is not only very intelligent and possibly deadly, she is also extremely cunning, and she ends up reading Bruce like a book. Madeleine is well aware of Bruce Wayne’s history, and she uses this to get him to trust her. She reinforces this trust even further by giving him those much-needed clues to the whereabouts of the Nightwalkers.

But is it a trap?

Though it appears as though she may be helping him, is she actually leading him into a trap? It’s difficult to tell as the story progresses. Madeleine is creepy at times but at other times incredibly charming and seemingly authentic.

In spite of Bruce’s better judgment, he finds himself falling for her, but as he becomes more deeply involved with the situation, he begins to suspect that she may not be as sincere as he thought when he learns that some of what she’s told him are lies.

It’s also worth mentioning at this point that the Nightwalkers’ modus operandi is to steal every bit of money from millionaires and billionaires and then murder them afterward. As a reader, we can’t help but wonder: is Bruce Wayne next on their list?

The Characterization

The characters in this story were excellent. It’s fun that the story takes place from the Bruce Wayne’s point of view so we get a peek inside the head of the extremely intelligent kid with complex emotions who is destined to be the infamous Batman. I really liked his personality — compassionate, honorable, and caring on hand and a bit of a dangerous, daring bad-boy on the other.

Madeleine is an awesome antagonist — a clever master manipulator who ends up playing everybody around her. She’s also quite a complicated character, which doesn’t make it easy for the reader (or the other characters in the book) to figure her out. She definitely has many layers to her, and she keeps everyone guessing.

Verdict

The story is fast-paced, gripping and action-packed, and a true treat for the superhero fan (the Wayne Tech drones were a nice extra touch). I was drawn in almost immediately, and the riveting plot kept me turning the page. This story has it all: an intriguing tech-savvy villain, a noble hero, murder, justice, bloodthirsty thieves, a brilliant mastermind and even a touch of romance. I felt that the pacing was perfect and the dialog snappy, with an excellent build-up to the climax.

Though I felt the title of the story (Batman) was a tad misleading, it did do an excellent job of planting the seed for Bruce Wayne’s future evolution into Batman. Batman:Nightwalker was a fun mystery that kept me guessing throughout the entire novel. It was a fast read with plenty of surprises as the story unfolded.

For me, this was an excellent introduction to Marie Lu’s work (I love her writing style), and I look forward to reading more by her. And even though I’m more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy, I’ve been wanting to dive into the DC Icons series and coming across this book provided me an excellent opportunity to do so. Recommended!

You can check out Batman HERE

I’ve always been a fan of Greek mythology and fiction about it (loved the Percy Jackson series) so I was quite excited to dive into this book, the first novel in a trilogy by Astrid Arditi.

The blurb is as follows:

A hero’s tournament. A defiant contender. Does one girl have the courage to take on Mount Olympus?

Hope’s world doesn’t have room for heroes. She barely has time for schoolwork, swim team, and taking care of her ailing mother. But when she’s invited to a mysterious tournament, the all-powerful hosts won’t take no for an answer.

Transported to Mount Olympus, Hope comes face to face with her new trainers—the pantheon of Greek gods. While other contenders train hard to gain a fighting edge, Hope searches for a way out. Instead, she finds a gorgeous shadow god who may just convince her to stay…

As each round unfolds, the ultimate prize draws closer—the granting of her heart’s deepest desire. If she survives the final challenge, her mother’s cure would be within reach…but only if Hope can ignore the tournament’s dark purpose.

Olympian Challenger is the first book in a bold YA urban fantasy trilogy. If you like Greek mythology, forbidden romance, and feats of courage, then you’ll love Astrid Arditi’s heroic coming-of-age tale.

What Starts It All Off

Hope Diaz receives a strange invitation with only the words: You are cordially invited . . . but nothing else. Later on that day, all of a sudden, she is able to read the entire invitation, which reads:

You’re cordially invited. . . 

To embark on a singular journey.

If your heart is true,

And your soul heroic,

Dare to face your fears,

And your most precious wish will be granted.

If these words you can read,

Don’t breath them to a soul,

The punishment would be severe

That confidant may disappear.

You have until midnight.

As it turns out, the invitation was delivered to high school seniors everywhere around New York City but only a few were able to read the entire wording. Later that night, Hope sees a young boy on top of a bridge. A moment later, she hears a splash and realizes that the boy has jumped in. She immediately plunges into the water in an attempt to rescue the boy. Unable to find him and now out of air, she resurfaces only to be swept up by an enormous wave.

When she wakes up, she at Mount Olympus where she, along with the other kids who ended up there with are, area whisked off where they end up meeting The 12 Olympian Gods: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Dionysus along with several demi-gods, heroes and mythical creatures.

Descended from the Gods

The kids then all learn that they are descendants of the Gods, though they are not told which one (or ones) — that will be revealed in time. But they are then told that they were brought to Mount Olympus in order to compete against each other – that each of the contenders must face several trials and quests with the winner becoming the new Olympian Champion of the Gods.

Hope Is Not Amused

It was never Hope’s intention to enter into any otherworldly competition — she only jumped into the water to save the boy. Now all she wants to do is to return home and take care of her mother, who has dementia. Hope is determined to escape her plight.

Her first several days are filled with training along with the other 24 contenders. Still, Hope manages to sneak away and makes several attempts at escaping Mount Olympus. Unfortunately, she learns that all of the exits are sealed and that the only way she can return back home is to win the challenge. In other words, she’s stuck.

An Alliance With A Shadow God

So she ends up forming an alliance with a handsome shadow God who manages to convince her to stay. She slowly learns that there’s more at stake in winning this competition than simply a heroic title. She also discovers that not all is as it seems and that the Gods have an ulterior motive for the trials.

She also begins to suspect that these old gods may have neither the challengers nor humanity’s best interests at heart and that there may indeed be a more sinister reason behind the challenge.

Regardless, she finds renewed motivation to take the trials seriously, and she gets swept up in the quests, striving with everything she has to win all the while keeping in mind the huge reward at the end: the winner’s most precious wish will be granted.

With this wish, Hope will be able to cure her mother.

Verdict

This was a fast-paced story with plenty of action, suspense, and emotion. I loved the nail-biting quests that the contenders had to undertake. The main heroine is strong, selfless, brave and kind and though she made friends as well as enemies, she always focused on what was the right thing to do, regardless of her personal desires. I really grew to love this character as the story progressed.

The rest of the characters were also vivid, diverse and well-rounded, adding a realness to them and to the story. As such, the story was filled with interesting character interactions adding to the excitement and suspense of the novel.

This story made me think of Percy Jackson getting sucked into The Hunger Games especially once the quests became more and more dangerous. The story was fun and thrilling, with just a touch of romance thrown in (which I’m guessing will be more fleshed out in the upcoming sequels).

The plot itself was interesting and I enjoyed the storyline. Being a fan of Greek Mythology, I loved reading about this pantheon of Gods, hearing their stories and seeing their strengths and weaknesses and felt that this novel took a unique and interesting approach to this mythology. The world building was amazing and made the reader feel as though we were right there on Mount Olympus along with all of the gods, heroes and challengers.

Astrid Arditi’s writing is easy to read and flows well so it makes for fast reading, which worked well for this fast-paced type of story.

My only niggle with this book is that the story ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger (don’t worry — we do find out who wins the championship) which I’m never a fan of. If it wasn’t for the cliffhanger, this would have been a 5-star book for me. Regardless, this book held my interest enough so that I would definitely recommend it and will be picking up the sequel as soon as it’s released. Recommended!

Note that the version I read was an Advance Reader Copy kindly provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The novel is not yet out — it will be released on July 31, 2018, so if this sounds like something you’ll enjoy, make sure to add it to your calendar!

I’m always a sucker for a story that takes place in or is tied to a bookstore which is exactly where Battledoors: The Golden Slate starts out.

The Blurb for the book is as follows:

Life constantly seems to be wavering between really good and really bad for Owen, a lonely sixteen-year-old still reeling from the unexpected death of his mother and a fresh move to Toronto. After ducking into an old bookstore to escape high school bullies, Owen discovers that he can travel to a parallel, twisted version of the city with a magical tablet called a Battledoor, where he encounters new allies, bizarre creatures, and the ultimate antagonist who will stop at nothing to procure the magical Golden Slate for himself.

Forced to work together with friends and enemies in order to return home, Owen is faced with a series of choices that will prompt him to find courage he never knew he had, explore the possibility of romance, and try to find a way to let go of his painful past and move on. But is Owen ready to finally take control, and become the protagonist of his own story?

The Protagonist and The Bully

The tale revolves around Owen, a high school student living in Toronto who is being bullied by an abrasive sociopath named James Vanier and his mute pal Lucas (though referred to as mute, I don’t think he really was as he did speak a time or two during the story). Up until this point, the bullying consisted of verbal abuse and some beatings. This morning, however, things seemed to take a darker turn as James pursued Owen with the clear intention of stabbing him. From James’s thoughts, it becomes clear to the reader that there is indeed a dark side to this young man – the word “broken” comes to mind.

Introducing: The Battledoor

Pursued by James and Lucas, Owen along with two high school friends Emily and Bea dash into an old bookstore hoping to lose them. While in the bookstore, Owen is attracted to an item called a Battledoor, which is a tablet-like device which the bookstore owner describes as a book where the reader chooses his or her own adventure by making a series of decisions. The owner of the bookstore gives the tablet to Owen and to Emily and Bea, he gives corresponding hornbooks.

James and Lucas discover their hiding place and burst into the bookstore. James attacks the store owner and amiss the confusion, Owen activates the device. Once he does so, a temporary door appears in the bookstore through which Owen, Emily, Bea, James and Lucas all go. They find themselves outdoors in an alley, and it only takes them a moment to realize that they are no longer in Toronto but in some sort of alternate universe . . .and thus the adventure begins.

The Doors

Through every world, there are a series of doors that lead to an unknown destination but one thing we can be certain of: there will always be a battle of some kind to be fought (hence the name “Battledoor”). Owen is typically given two choices such as “Fairies” or “Furies”. As we quickly learn, the most innocuous sounding choice is not always the best one.

The Story

The story had kind of a Jumanji feeling to it, where the characters are playing a game with real-life consequences — or perhaps “Ready Player One” in which the characters enter into a video game. Regardless, Battledoor: The Golden Slate is a fast-paced rollercoaster ride of an adventure story, and I loved the idea of not knowing what lies around the next corner. There are plently of surprises along the way. We also met some very zany characters and unique creatures along the way, including. . .

The Villian

In the Battledoor world, Owen is known as “The Protagonist”, which makes sense, giving that he is the hero of the store in which he and his friends are trapped. But as there is a protagonist in every story, there also needs to be an antagonist. Though we may have initially suspected that James would end up being the villain in this story, he is not (although I’m guessing he still could go either way). There is, however, a perfectly terrifying and sinister villain who goes by the name of Vellum whose main goal is to — you guessed it — kill the protagonist.

My Only Niggle

Perhaps the only drawback to Battledoor: The Golden Slate is that it’s not a complete story. That is to say, the book ends with an unsatisfying cliffhanger, which is something I personally dislike. But there are a lot of books out there with series cliffhangers that generate 5-star reviews so apparently many people aren’t bothered by them. So as you enter into this story, know that you’ll need to purchase the next book in the series in order to find out what happens next.

But I will say that those who do buy this book will most likely rush out to get the next one to find out the outcome of this exciting adventure.

The Verdict

This was a fast-paced fun book with a rollicking adventure that draws the reader right in. I found the characters to be well-developed and enjoyed learning more about them as the story progressed. The journey of our five heroes (and company) never gets dull, because we get taken from scene to scene pretty quickly.

I also enjoyed the world building and thought the author did an excellent job of portraying the many alternate universes our heroes encounter. Overall I found this to be an amazing read that was incredibly fun and entertaining, with a gripping story and vivid setting. The book is set to be released on April 3rd, 2018 so this may be one you’ll want to add to your TBR list.  Recommended!

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

You can purchase Battledoors: The Golden Slate here at Amazon