The Book: Horizon

The Author: Christie Rich

The Story: Evil has many faces — unfortunately, Rayla Tate has seen them all, or so she thinks. Since she learned she was an Elemental, she has been hunted for her power. But Rayla hasn’t met her greatest foe; she hasn’t seen true evil…yet.

Rayla betrayed her bondmate to be with the man she loves. Now that she has Heath at her side, she is ready to face the fae council and move on with her life. Too bad Zach has other ideas. He’s not about to give Rayla up just because his sister got in the way. He will find Rayla and prove to her that he is the man she is meant to be with, even if he has to face the monsters of the dark realms to do it.

Despite her growing feelings for Heath, with every passing day her body gives in to her bond with Zach. Rayla must leave the dark realms or risk losing control of her mind and ultimately her power. Once back in Lombarda, she discovers a secret about her origins that could shake the foundations of the world, both fae and human.There is more at stake than who she is bound to. The Order and the fae both want control of the same thing, and this time it is not her.

Rayla must unite with unlikely allies to destroy the evil plaguing Faeresia. For if she refuses, she will succumb to a compulsion she never could have anticipated and plunge the world and those she loves into darkness or utter oblivion.

Review by Nancy Straight: Horizon is the final book in the Elemental Enmity series, and what an ending!! This was one of those series that will stay with me for years to come. Five stars isn’t even close to enough!

How do you describe a story that moved you, that days later you cannot get out of your head? I’m going to have to try, but know there is no way my review will do this story justice. It starts out after Rayla has been rescued by Heath, the two are in love, but she is still bonded to Zach (Ammon). Zack searches for his bond-mate and she is physically ill from their separation, but her heart only wants Heath. This disagreement between Rayla’s heart and body was heart-wrenching.

When Zack finds Rayla she vows not to give herself over fully to him. She doesn’t hide her feelings for Heath and Zack (who I expected to EXPLODE) accepts her, thankful to have whatever pieces of her she’s willing to share. Another Fae, more powerful than the five Fae Lords sets his sights on Rayla. He’s vile, evil, powerful, and one of the most horrible villains I’ve come across in the paranormal romance genre. I won’t say anymore because it would be impossible to do so without spoilers.

The story is eloquently written. I love the way Christie Rich writes, every scene is written so vividly that I feel like I’m in the story. The scenes are full of action and *swoooooon* she makes me fall for every male character! How is that possible? I hate love triangles, but she has accomplished a love-pentagram (five sided – five Fae Lords) that I could not put down!! Her characters are multi-dimensional and her plot is deeply layered.
I know you’ll fall in love with Christie Rich’s writing, just as easily as you fall in love with her characters.

Review by H. Coop: What an imagination Christie has! Truly enjoyed all the books in this series. I love the twists and turns this book took and was so glad to have answers to several questions at the end.

I think this wrapped everything very nicely. Definitely closure, but I love how there is still room for the author to add more to the to this world. There’s still so much I want to know more about; the characters, the place, and time, etc. I truly hope Christie keeps on writing!!

Definitely recommend reading ALL the books in this series. It does not disappoint!

The Book: A Dream of Storms

The Author: William Kenney

The Story: Twelve years ago, The Battle of the Black Sun had left Hagan scarred inside. The scent of blood and the incessant ring of steel were etched in his mind. Though his sword had turned the tides, he had sworn off war and become a recluse, retiring to the hills above his hometown of Lauden and turning to drink. He had hoped to be forgotten. The world would not let him forget the oath that he had sworn in his youth, however, and an honorable Stone Troll named Gorin was sent to convince Hagan to honor it. Councilcrane, the ruling body of mages, had summoned him to the city of Harquinn and Hagan knew that the threat of war from across The Edge must have returned.

Gorin brought ill tidings. Autumn had never come to Elfwhere, but the leaves had begun to fall, foretelling the return of the dark lord Mournenhile, thought destroyed all those years ago. Like an ungodly pairing of bat and wolf, Mournenhile’s army of Pith have swarmed into the Elven forest bent on their utter destruction.

Reluctantly, Hagan must once more step into the horrors of war and offer his blade to the cause. Joined by his inexperienced younger brother, D’Pharin and a small group of new companions (Vasparian, an Elf that served with Hagan under the Black Sun, Windenn, the Woodwarden and Shindire, the haughty Elf from across The Sleeping Sea) he sets off for the ancient city of Harquinn with a heavy heart.

What will the mages ask of him this time? Memories of atrocities committed in the name of Harquinn flooded back into his mind.

Can he become the hero that he once was, redeeming himself and driving back the horrific creatures within the armies of Mournenhile?

Review by KRager: Mr. Kenney is comparable to early Tolkien! I enjoyed this book, his characters are likeable and believable, the story is active and interesting. It kept me involved and was, unfortunately, over before I was ready for it to be. He has a real knack for character and story development. Very imaginative!

Review by Gary Vanucci: From the beginning, William pulls you in with vivid imagery, emotional scenes and likeable characters. One thing I look for in a fellow writer are characters with which you can relate on certain levels and William does this nicely. Even more of a credit to his writing is the detailed landscapes and settings. His scenes and descriptions paint a picture of imaginative storytelling on par with the best of the best.

His story takes twists and turns that are a bit out of the ordinary and add to the overall enjoyment of the story’s progression.

Just when you assume you understand a character’s motivations, he tosses in a twist that throws you for a loop! All of the characters are well-written and unique, with as much depth as is necessary, which is to Mr. Kenney’s credit. Trying to keep everything straight in an imaginary world can be a challenging task and he does this flawlessly. I will not spoil the ending of book 1, but it certainly is a cliff hanger!