Book Review 4.5/5 Stars Mercy’s King

June 26, 2021June 13, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Christian, dragons, Fantasy, medieval Christian, Katy Huth Jones, Medieval Fantasy

*spoilers are possible in discussion

Summary:

Probably the most violent and action-packed of the series to date.

Additional Comments:

– The king ails under something mysterious, but it’s time for the annual tournament. Dragons are attacking outlying villages. Valerian gets some of the blame. He and Merry ride hard to discover what has happened.

– When the king succumbs to the mystery ailment, Kieran smuggles Drew and Valerian’s family out of the keep. Sir Greggory becomes the head of the regency council with Rafael as the puppet king.

– Rafael’s part was kind of frustrating. The light cast on him turns from him being painfully naive to dumb to helpless to sort of coming to his senses.

– the beginning part involved a lot of setup so was relatively slow paced.

– Content Warning: things come to a head here. Though nothing is described in gruesome detail, there is mention of and treatment of torture, beheadings, skulls on spikes, threats of rape, etc.

– Valerian and his family spend a lot of time in exile, hiding.

– The setup had good payoffs.

– The story should probably be taken as a ginormous start to finish one with the others in the series. If so, this has a climax-y feel to it.

– I get that medieval women didn’t do much but it’s a tad disappointing that Merry has only a bit role in the story.

– Valerian’s strong faith is interesting.

– Dolan looks like he will be a fun character in the future. Joy’s kinda useless but I guess that’s to be expected of an 11-year-old kid. She will likely have a bigger role later. I think there is a spin-off series.

– The title fits. At first, it doesn’t seem to, but by the end, perhaps it fits better than some of the others.

– Yes, I cried at the end or at least wanted to cry.

Conclusion:

You should probably start the series at the beginning. This is a beautiful, tragic, action-filled entry in Christian epic fantasy.

Audiobook Promotions …

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Many of my 50 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Awakening – Redeemer Chronicles Book 1, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
The Holy War – Redeemer Chronicles Book 2, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
Reclaim the Darklands – Redeemer Chronicles Book 3, MG fantasy (Amazon) (free codes)
River’s Edge Ransom – Prequel to Redeemer Chronicles (Amazon) (email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)

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Devya’s Children Series Links:

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – short stories featuring Jillian. (Amazon) (free codes)
The Dark Side of Science – official prequel to Devya’s Children; Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live. (Amazon) (Please email devyaschildren @ gmail.com for free codes)
Ashlynn’s Dreams – Genetically altered Dream Shaper learns her gift. (Amazon) (free codes)
Nadia’s Tears – Jillian tries to awaken her sister, Nadia, from a coma. (Amazon) (free codes)
Malia’s Miracles – Jillian and her siblings try to save a friend’s mother. (Amazon) (free codes)
Varick’s Quest – Jillian and Danielle get kidnapped. Nadia’s also in trouble. (Amazon) (free codes)
More Scifi:
Reshner’s Royal Ranger (epic sci-fi) just made it there. (Amazon) (free codes)

Guardian Angel Files:

Spirit’s Bane – Allister and Mina are training to be Guardians. Satan’s out to get them. (Amazon) (free codes)
Kindred Spirits – Mina’s exiled to Earth. Allister’s stuck in the Heavens. (Amazon) (free codes)

4/5 Stars Call of Kythshire by Missy Sheldrake

March 26, 2021March 13, 2021 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Audiobooks, Fantasy, medieval, Young Adult Missy Sheldrake, Penny Scott-Andrews

Narrated by Penny Scott-Andrews

Run Time: 14 hrs and 12 min

Summary:

Azi’s recent promotion to squire heralds good things, but then, her mother disappears on the king’s quest. The one that should have been an easy quest.

Additional Comments:

Characters 4/5 stars: Azi and Ryan (I might be spelling that wrong as I heard the audiobook) are the sort of good-hearted characters you can root for.
Side characters 3/5 stars: Flit seems like a waste of space for ¾ of the book before she proves her use. I could be biased here though because the “fairy voice” was super annoying. The prince and the evil mage played their parts well enough. Azi’s parents are nice. Wasn’t completely clear on the identity of Ryan’s parents. Maya is his mother. And I think Elliot is his father. But Elliot was mentioned late in the book and my first thought was “who the heck is Elliot?” The cook side character is adorably supportive.
World-building 4/5 stars: There’s a lot going on and the world’s pretty cool. There are some parts that don’t jive well. I’m keeping this vague to avoid spoilers, but if the world’s set up the way it is, then things should have been way easier for the protagonists. Same thing from the other side. If the bad guys had the sort of power they did, they did surprisingly little with it. Still, the limitations exist so the protagonists have stuff to do, and to that extent, it works. The way that things work out for some situations, like with Azi’s father are convenient. Ryan being silent on some key points, couched in magic rules, also convenient.
Performance 4/5: Handled well. The narrator has a nice range of characters, and scenes with multiple characters are still understandable. I didn’t like most of the fairy voices. (That’s just one person’s opinion. A hundred other people will hear the same parts and be fine with it.) I’d just decided that normal fairy voice was the worst thing to hit audiobooks when “whispered” fairy voice became a thing. Thankfully, the fairies aren’t in every section. That did have a cool twist at the end though. Almost made it worth it.
Azi’s family is nice.
The world as a whole is a neat medieval fantasy with D&D style classes (mages, clerics, paladin, etc). The costs of magic were interesting.
Pacing 3/5 stars: It’s long. Very long. There are ages long sections about balls and sneaking around that probably could have been shortened. Given the audio length, the book’s probably 130K words.
Very nice cover art.
End fight was cool.
Closure 4/5: Wrap up worked. It clearly angled for a sequel, yet closed off enough threads to be satisfying.

Conclusion:

Whether they know it or not, Azi and Ryan have a quest to save the source of magic from evil.

Interested in a fun writing course designed for teens? Check out Storyquest Academy. (Note: affiliate link – if you sign up for the class through this link, I earn a commission … you get a great deal – win-win 😉 … seriously, most writing courses are a LOT more expensive.)

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 42 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

4/5 Stars Mercy’s Gift by Katy Huth Jones

March 9, 2021February 28, 2021 Julie Gilbert Christian, dragons, Fantasy, medieval he who finds mercy series, Katy Huth Jones

Summary:

Prince Valerian and his new wife, Merry, settle into married life and their new roles. The first threat has been dealt with, but troubles brewing in the southern section of the kingdom.

Additional Comments:

I don’t often read books these days, but unfortunately, this one hasn’t yet made the journey into audiobook. Still, it’s worth the effort to read. Took me a few months to finish, but that has more to do with the amount of time I have to read than my interest level in the book.
Plot 4/5: There’s decent balance between the goings-on of the heroes and the villains, even though it’s probably way more focused on the good guys.
Main Characters 4/5: Merry’s Healing gift makes her somewhat useful so she’s a tad more than just the prince’s good little wife-y. Otherwise, everything’s focused on Prince Valerian’s exploits (preparation for tournament, tournament, trip to see father, etc). They’re young. Like super young, but I suppose that’s accurate for the time period. Kieran’s a cool character. Valerian only had a few moments that made me wanna smack the irrational jealousy out of him. His Sight gift is kinda awesome.
Side Characters 4/5: Gwen is a little more fleshed out than Drew. The king and queen are barely mentioned, but fulfill their function well enough. Cormack’s awesome. I guess Kieran and Tristam could be considered side characters since they don’t rate a blurb spot, but they’re in it enough to make them at least semi-main characters.
End twist worked very well. 4/5.
Dragons – yay.
Closure 4/5: Even though you know there’s a lot more to come, it feels like this part of the story has an end.
Content Warning: Medieval violence. A LOT of medieval violence. Lots of implied marital relations. Nothing’s described in detail. I’d definitely still categorize this as a clean book, but if you’re squeamish about blood and violence, it might not be the right series for you.

Conclusion:

It’s a solid entry in a long, long, long series, but so far, well-worth reading.

Audiobook Promotions …

Many of my 44 audible titles are listed on Audiobooks Unleashed.
Whether you’re looking for mystery or suspense or fantasy, I’ve got a title for you. Free codes are probably on audiobooks unleashed.
Normal links go to audible. *The Amazon labeled links are affiliate links. That means I get a very small payment from Amazon if you go through with a purchase.*
Note: Filter by US if you’re looking for those codes as many titles are out.
Ones I think may still have US codes: Reshner’s Royal Ranger, Never Again, Innova, The Golden City Captives, The Holy War, Reclaim the Darklands, Eagle Eyes, Treachery Makes it Tense, Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts, The Dark Side of Science, Ashlynn’s Dreams, Nadia’s Tears, Malia’s Miracles, and Varick’s Quest
There are plenty of UK codes, but not many US ones left.

Redeemer Chronicles (Fantasy)

Devya’s Children Series Links:

Guardian Angel Files:

Julie C. Gilbert – Writer, Teacher, Believer

Words live on forever, use them wisely.

medieval

Book Review 4.5/5 Stars Mercy’s King

*spoilers are possible in discussion

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Audiobook Promotions …

4/5 Stars Call of Kythshire by Missy Sheldrake

Narrated by Penny Scott-Andrews

Run Time: 14 hrs and 12 min

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Audiobook Promotions …

4/5 Stars Mercy’s Gift by Katy Huth Jones

Summary:

Additional Comments:

Conclusion:

Audiobook Promotions …