Carrie Slager
Posts
- Lazy Sundays: Looking Ahead
- The 2015 Annual WordPress Report
- My 2016 Blogging Goals
- Have you finished The Mad Reviewer Reading & Reviewing Challenge for 2015? Let me know!
- Lazy Sundays: Audiobooks
Cover Reveal: The Carnelian Destiny by Cheryl Koevoet
On the eve of the royal wedding, a mysterious missive arrives at the castle, threatening to cast a shadow over Darian and Marisa’s joyful celebration. And as they prepare to embark on the honeymoon trip of a lifetime, dark forces of the Apollyon Order are mustering in the east; calling upon an ancient, evil beast with the power to destroy the stronghold of Crocetta. In danger of losing everything, Marisa and Darian must enlist the help of the Crimson Knights from all over the Carnelian world to defend their kingdom. But this time, it might not be enough.
Cover design by Najla Qamber of Najla Qamber Designs. You can also find her on Facebook.
About Cheryl Koevoet
I was born in a suburb of Portland, Oregon where I grew up and lived during my elementary and high school years. After that, I traveled a thousand miles to a sunnier south to study graphic design/communications at Biola University in La Mirada, California. After a couple of years, I returned to the Pacific Northwest to continue my studies at Portland State University.
While vacationing with my family in 1989, I met a young Dutch officer on board a cruise ship, and we were married three years later. I sailed with my husband around the world to more than 55 countries, seeing the world and enjoying the multi-culture experience. In 1994, we settled in The Netherlands to raise our four children outside the city of peace and justice, The Hague.
First published in 2013, The Carnelian Legacy was my debut novel and its sequel, The Carnelian Tyranny was released in 2014. The third book in the series, The Carnelian Destiny, is scheduled for a Spring/Summer 2016 release. My next project, Broken Bloom, is about a young woman living in The Netherlands in 1634 during the notorious tulipmania phenomenon.
When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading and catching up with family and friends via social media.
Facebook Fan Page Facebook Author Page Series Website Author Website Twitter Pinterest
Get the first book, The Carnelian Legacy on audiobook for a special low introductory price! Just click on the picture above.
The Carnelian Tyranny by Cheryl Koevoet
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Three months after her trip through the vortex, Marisa MacCallum is having second thoughts about her engagement to Darian Fiore as she struggles to adjust to royal life.
But when palace spies uncover a secret plot to assassinate the royal family and eradicate the Crimson Knights, Marisa and Darian must put their plans for the future on hold to stop Savino da Rocha and his legion of warrior giants from stealing the throne.
After narrowly escaping an attempt on her life, Marisa is left to defend Crocetta while Darian marches off to war. But when Savino strikes at the heart of the kingdom with supernatural powers of darkness, Marisa must wage an even greater battle against the spiritual forces bent on destroying her family and ending the Fiore dynasty forever.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
Normally, I try to avoid books that deal with heavy religious themes. They just aren’t for me as most of them come off as overly preachy and generally obnoxious. With that said, I did love The Carnelian Tyranny, which basically follows the story of the life and death of Jesus Christ in an alternate world. So what made this book different from so many religion-themed books I’ve read? Well, for one there’s not all that much preaching. Yes, there are scenes where the characters pray and debate their faith but it never comes across as Cheryl Koevoet herself saying to her readers “You must accept Christianity”. No, it was just a book where faith is presented as a normal part of many of the charcters’ lives and that was that.
And what really separates The Carnelian Tyranny from many other books I’ve read with similar themes is that while the religious aspect is part of the plot, it’s not necessarily the main focus at all times. No, Marisa’s doubts about her engagement and her role as the future ruler of Crocetta are front and centre. There’s also the whole Savino angle as our devious Count isn’t going to take Marisa’s perceived insult toward him lying down. So the religious plot and the political plot are intertwined in a way that feels quite natural, particularly in a society generally modeled on Medieval Europe. And of course there’s also Marisa and Darian’s relationship, which becomes strained because Darian doesn’t understand why Marisa is so reluctant to get married young and Marisa is having a hard time accepting her new high status even though she knows it’s her duty (and her birthright).
Marisa in this second book is a little more confident and just a little more sure of herself. She’s working hard to learn the language of her people as well as the customs and responsibilities being a ruler of Crocetta involves. Marisa has Darian to support her but their relationship obviously isn’t perfect. They argue and fight but you can always tell they love each other deeply. I can’t go into much detail without spoiling some amazing plot twists, but when they get separated it’s this love that keeps both of them going even when things seem completely hopeless. Best of all, Cheryl Koevoet doesn’t neglect her secondary characters as she lets us see things not only from Darian and Marisa’s points of view but also those of Marisa’s brother Marcus and a few other notable characters.
With a relatively unpredictable plot and some great character development, The Carnelian Tyranny is a solid second book. On top of that, there was also some great world-building as readers were introduced to the politics of the entire world of Carnelia because Crocetta is not as isolated as it may appear. There are outside forces constantly at work and not all of them are friendly toward Marisa as the new ruler. The only real quibble I have with The Carnelian Tyranny is that I felt everything was wrapped up too neatly in the end. There weren’t any outside threats other than Savino when the story was over despite the fact many countries/kingdoms would love to attack anyone near them when they’ve proven weak (as history has shown us time and time again). And one of the outside kingdoms that came to Crocetta’s aid didn’t actually play that big of a role in the war against Savino. I felt there was more to explore in the way of international politics.
However, if you loved The Carnelian Legacy, you’ll probably enjoy The Carnelian Tyranny as much as I did. I can’t wait for the third book.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Dragon Thief by Marc Secchia
(Cover picture courtesy of Amazon.)
Kal was not a thief. He certainly did not intend to steal any dragon’s treasure.
He was an adventurer. Avid art collector. Incurable wealth adjuster and risk-taker. Kal had legendary expertise in the security arrangements of palaces and noble houses the world over. He hankered for remote, craggy mountaintops and the dragon hoards he might find hidden beneath them. Besides, what harm was there in looking? Dragon gold was so … shiny.
Most especially, he was not planning for any treasure to steal him.
That was a little awkward, to say the least.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.]
Dragon Thief starts with our loveable rogue Kal foolishly trying to steal a dragon’s horde and finding a gorgeous, naked woman amongst the treasure. What’s a rogue to do? Does he rescue her as well or is this some sort of trap set up by the dragon? What could a dragon possibly want with some random woman? Well, as Kal finds out there’s more to the woman than meets the eye because the woman, Tazithiel, is a Shapeshifter. And although she’s not happy about a thief in her hoard, things take an interesting turn and the two work out a mutually beneficial truce that turns into a friendship, then something more.
Both Kal and Tazithiel have problematic pasts and both have huge trust issues. Kal has trust issues by virtue of his chosen profession while Tazithiel has a horrific past filled with abuse because of her shapeshifter status. Yet they come together with a fascinating goal: to find out what’s on the other side of the 25 league tall mountains that encircle the Island World. Is there a world beyond there containing something other than islands surrounded by poisonous clouds? What manner of creatures live beyond the Rim-Wall Mountains? Obviously Kal and Tazi’s journey isn’t as straightforward as they’d like, but they do find answers in an interesting way by the end of the book.
Marc Secchia has brought his trademark painstaking care to world-building once again. Not only do we learn so much more about various islands and cultures within the Island World, we learn a lot more about dragon lore and the fate of Aranya and the Sylakian Empire. There are also more technological innovations than we saw in any of the previous books because Dragon Thief takes place 311 years after Aranya, which was the most recent book in the Island World’s long timeline. I don’t want to give away too much, especially if you’ve read the previous books in the same world, but let’s just say some things have changed tremendously while others will never change. Especially people/dragons.
While the beginning is a bit slow after Tazithiel decides not to eat Kal on the spot, the beautiful writing style keeps things interesting as the two new lovers work out their issues. After that, the plot speeds up quite a bit because dragons aren’t exactly the kind of creatures that are welcome everywhere in the Island World. And once Kal introduces Tazi to some of his friends and associates…let’s just say things get interesting as Tazi discovers a whole difference side of our thief. Best of all, throughout the book there is Marc Secchia’s trademark humour that had me quite literally laughing out loud at some points. So while there are some pretty heavy themes in Dragon Thief, it’s not all doom and gloom.
Although there’s no official sequel set, the ending is satisfying yet leaves a little wiggle room if Secchia wants to continue the story of Tazithiel and Kal. Their actions have some very fascinating implications for our Island World and I can’t wait to see what he does with the new revelation about the Rim-Wall Mountains.
If you haven’t read any of Marc Secchia’s dragon books, Dragon Thief is a great place to start. It’s funny and touching, fast-paced yet with plenty of character development and there is some incredible world-building going on here. And if you’re already a fan like I am, Dragon Thief is a great installment in the overall story of the Island World. It builds on what we’ve seen and learned in previous books and introduces us to both an old friend and a whole new cast of characters to love. You really can’t ask for more.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Amazon Barnes and Noble* Goodreads Powell’s**
*Not available until Decmber 12, the release date.
**Not available.
Like all of Marc Secchia’s dragon books, you don’t really need to read this one in a particular order. However, it does help if you read the books in order of publication because of certain minor spoilers that crop up. Here’s my current recommended reading order:
- Aranya (Shapeshifter Dragons #1)
- The Pygmy Dragon (Shapeshifter Dragon Legends #1)
- Shadow Dragon (Shapeshifter Dragons #2)
- Dragonfriend (Dragonfriend #1)
- Dragonlove (Dragonfriend #2)
Like I said, you don’t have to read all of these books before Dragon Thief but they will certainly give you a greater appreciation of all of the mythological references contained within the book. For example, there are references to the Pygmy Dragon, Hualiama and Aranya. They’re easy to figure out in the context of the book but again, you’ll have a greater appreciation of just how intertwined Secchia’s various series are and how rich the mythology he’s created is if you do. With that said, if you’ve read the first two Shapeshifter Dragon books you may want to wait until the third is out because there are some minor spoilers in the references to Aranya throughout the book. And of course the very existence of dragons is a bit of a spoiler considering how dire Aranya’s situation is at the end of Shadow Dragon.
Lazy Sundays: Winter Sucks
Even though I’ve moved over 400 kilometres (250 miles) south, I find that my new home is much colder. Which is odd, because you’d think that the further south you live, even if it’s just a couple hundred kilometres, the warmer things would be. Apparently not. I find that my new city is colder than it is up north because the wind blows right off the frozen river. So although the ‘real’ temperature isn’t that low, the windchill quickly makes things unbearable. At least up north I wasn’t near a river and had trees for shelter.
Or maybe I’m just being more curmudgeony than usual because the windchill has prevented me from going outside much lately. I’m geting slightly stir-crazy but at the same time I’ve been reading much more than I normally would. So I guess that’s an upside?
I hope you guys are warmer than I am! How was your Sunday?
Discussion: Blog Traffic Patterns
One odd thing I’ve noticed over the years is that Mondays are my absolute best traffic days but Fridays are my worst. This isn’t that odd when you think about it: people love to procrastinate at work on Mondays whereas on Fridays they’re more focused on going out. But what’s interesting to me is what happens when there’s a holiday in North America (primarily in the United States): traffic goes down.
With everyone at home, you’d think my traffic would go up. Yet the week of American Thanksgiving always finds virtual tumbleweeds blowing across the expanse of my blog. What gives? Do people only visit during work hours to procrastinate or when it’s a holiday do more people spend time with their families instead of on the internet? It’s an interesting question and I wonder if it’s the same for a lot of other blogs or even larger websites.
Well, what do you guys think? If you’re a blogger, do you have this happen as well?