jbronderbookreviews

Storm Raiders (Storms of Magic – 1) by PT Hylton and Michael Anderle

In a time when magic rules the sea, she only trusts her sword.

Abbey has always been an outsider in Holdgate. While the people of her adopted city dominate the seas with their weather-controlling storm magic, she prefers the work in her father’s blacksmith shop.

Besting any foolish enough to question her skills with a sword.

But when her father is falsely accused of murder, she has to sneak aboard a stormship and take to the seas in a quest to clear his name.

Teaming up with a young storm mage and a no-nonsense Captain, Abbey sets off on a swashbuckling adventure.

She’ll soon learn that the legendary Storm Raiders–a terrifying group of seafaring pirates–are all too real.

Set on the foundation laid by the Kurtherian Gambit Series, Storm Raiders tells an entirely new story in the Age of Magic–and of the heroes and villains who battle for control of its destiny.

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About the Authors

PT Hylton

I mostly write about secrets. People with secrets. Towns with secrets. How keeping secrets tears people apart, and how sharing secrets, even terrible ones, brings people together.

In that spirit, I’ll share my own secret origin story.

I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and I’ve written in some form or fashion ever since I could. But it wasn’t always fiction. After college, two friends and I started a small production company called Plethora Films. We spent a few years making short films and almost-but-not-quite finishing a feature film. For better or for worse, we disbanded just before YouTube hit the scene. To my knowledge, none of our shorts are even online.

I spent the next eight years putting all my creative energy into making podcasts, most successfully with the long-running guitar podcast Six-String Bliss. I also had some short-lived podcasts, including Guitar New Weekly, Real Dad Fitness, and Time-Traveling Film Critics.

One day I was talking with my daughter and encouraging her to go after her dreams.

“Do you have any dreams, Daddy,” she asked.

“I want to be a writer,” I said.

“Then why aren’t you doing it?”

That lit a fire under me something fierce, and I got to writing.

The things I’ve published so far:

The Deadlock Trilogy – A science fiction suspense series about a small town with a secret. Includes Regulation 19, A Place Without Shadows, and The Broken Clock.

Zane Halloway -The Zane Halloway series takes place in a world of magic, mystery, and assassins. It’s an epic sword and sorcery tale told in novella-sized chunks.

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Michael Anderle

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My Review

5 Stars

Holdgate is a regular seafaring community that has storm mages that are there to help protect and defend the town along with helping captains on ships. Abby and her father came from another town when Abby was an infant. Her father is the local blacksmith but everyone always looks down on them as outsiders. Dustin is a young storm mage that grew up with Abby but then followed the path of a storm mage and now has taken his test and passed.

Abby’s father is falsely charged with murder and Abby is determined to find the real killer. She convinced Dustin to let her on the ship he is traveling on to find the real killer and traitor to Holdgate. But there is much more happening than just a murder and Abby and Dustin are in for one heck of an adventure.

I’m sorry to say that I have never read or heard of the Kurtherian Gambit Series. I went into this story fresh and absolutely loved it. I felt for Abby always being the outsider even though she grew up in Holdgate. But finding out about her father’s past was a great twist.

Dustin was a bit of a pompous jerk in the beginning. He just knew that he was a powerful storm mage and Abby is quick to put him in his place. I loved how powerful he became and how it happened. That was a great twist that I didn’t expect but was hoping he would eventually figure out.

Gabra Zackman did a fantastic job narrating this story. I was drawn into this story and had a hard time walking away for regular life. I instantly purchased the complete collection of this series and can’t wait to listen to the rest of the books. It’s definitely one I recommend for the fantasy lovers out there.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily listened to it and chose to post an honest review.

I would like to thank Michelle Cobb for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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Surviving the Forest by Adiva Geffen

Five shots on Saturday morning changed their fate …

She was a beautiful and happy young woman who lived a fairytale life. Shurka, her beloved husband and their two small children lived in a pretty house in a village in Poland, surrounded by a little garden with lilies. This was their life and nothing could harm it, or so they thought…

WWII broke out and though the happy family thought the Germans would never reach their idyllic village, they quickly understood they were wrong and their happiness came to a brutal end. The family had to flee their house and find shelter in a neighboring Ghetto where they realized that the Gestapo was taking Jews away on trucks every night, and they were never seen again.

The family decided to escape into the deep dark forest. There, surrounded by animals, they knew that this was their only chance to get away from the real beasts. They had no idea what would await them, but they knew that doing nothing was not an option if they wanted to survive.

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About the Author

Adiva Geffen is a prolific writer and playwright. She lectures and leads many writing workshops, and she’s a board member of the Israeli writers Association. Adiva has published 21 books, including children’s stories, reference books and, most famously, suspense novels; most of which were best-sellers. In fact, Adiva is widely regarded as the best suspense writer in Israel. Her plays have appeared on major stages in Israel.

Drawing from rich life experience and pure imaginative force, Adiva Geffen creates compelling characters and captivating scenarios in which suspense, humor, passion and joy are woven into an almost addicting emotional thrill-ride. Her latest duo, detectives Sami and Dikla, have become staples in Israel’s literary community.

Geffen began her career as a special-ed teacher. After leaving the education field, she served as the spokesperson for the Habima National Theater for more than a decade. She founded and subsequently led the Israeli Theater Award for 10 years.

Born in Haifa and the mother of three sons, Geffen now lives in Tel Aviv, Israel, with her partner Aharon Meidan.

Her latest book “Klara’s Boys” is set to be published in 2017.

My Review

5 Stars

The small village of Wolka Zablocka had a mixture of religion and families. Everything worked together and got along. Then Hitler and his Nazis start trouble. Sarah “Shurka” Shidlovsky and her family thought that this little village was too small for the Nazis to worry about, but they were wrong. They still came and gathered the Jews. There were stories of families being taken in the night and never coming back.

Finally Sarah takes her family into the Parczew Forest. There they lived with others fighting against the elements and animals. Illness and raids killed many in the two to three years that Sarah lived in the forest until they were liberated by the Russians. Sarah lost almost all of her family and finds that even though the war is over she is still looked down on.

It is always hard to read the stories from the survivors of World War II. People that were prosecuted just because they were Jewish or were different did whatever they could to survive. This is a touching account of Sarah Shidlovsky’s life in this hard time. All she wanted was a simple life on her farm with her family but that was not to be.

If you like reading stories of those that lived through World War II, this is a great addition to your library. It’s touching, heartbreaking, raw, but a great look at what many had to do to live.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank Ari at Candid Book Reviews for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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