The Mage's Daughter

The Mage's Daughter by Lynn Kurland


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What I liked: I really enjoy the magical aspect of this story. LK does a magnificent job of creating characters, worlds and stories that I just want to fall in to.

What I didn't like: This book focused a little more (too much in my opinion) on the romance aspect of the story. I'm not sure what the plot of the story was. There seemed to be no climax, the story just flowed and then ended.

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed this book, despite it's lack of direction. The story telling and fantasy aspects made up for the lack of plot.

Pub. Date: January 2008
Series: Nine Kingdoms Book 2

Synopsis: In the kingdom of Neroche, nightmarish creatures have been unleashed as weapons in a war of evil. Morgan the mercenary, daughter of a treacherous black mage, must fight against them-as well as for her very life. Miach of Neroche would risk his own life to save Morgan's, but he must do so at the peril of the realm, forcing dangerous choices in the deadliest of quests.

Recommended Reading:
Princess of the Sword (Nine Kingdoms Book 3) by Lynn Kurland
Star of the Morning (Nine Kingdoms Book 1) by Lynn Kurland
A Tapestry of Spells (Nine Kingdoms Book 4) by Lynn Kurland
Till There Was You by Lynn Kurland

My Enemy's Cradle

My Enemy's Cradle by Sara Young


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
What I liked: This story had an original plot involving a side of WWII that few people hear about. The author used lovely images, sometimes startling details, to tell the story. In some places it was easy to fall into scenes.

What I didn't like: In several scenes I felt that the author was telling the story, not allowing it to exist in my head. I felt unemotionally attached to the characters. The book lacked a climactic build to some crucial scenes.

Final thoughts: An enjoyable story. I look forward to seeing what else this author writes. I think that as she grows as an author her stories and style will only get better.

Recommended by Kathy

Published: January 2008

Synopsis: Cyrla's neighbors have begun to whisper. Her cousin, Anneke, is pregnant and has passed the rigorous exams for admission to the Lebensborn, a maternity home for girls carrying German babies. But Anneke's soldier has disappeared, and Lebensborn babies are only ever released to their father's custody— or taken away.

A note is left under the mat. Someone knows that Cyrla, sent from Poland years before for safekeeping with her Dutch relatives, is Jewish. The Nazis are imposing more and more restrictions; she won't be safe there for long.

And then in the space of an afternoon, life falls apart. Cyrla must choose between certain discovery in her cousin's home and taking Anneke's place in the Lebensborn—Cyrla and Anneke are nearly identical. If she takes refuge in the enemy's lair, can Cyrla fool the doctors, nurses, guards, and other mothers-to-be? Can she escape before they discover she is not who she claims?"

Recommended Reading:
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Diplomat's Wife by Pam Jenoff
The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff
Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

The Moonlit Cage

The Moonlit Cage: A Novel by Linda Holeman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book grabbed me from the first page. A wonderful story, brilliantly told. The character voices were so brilliantly portrayed I felt intimately involved with each character. The details were so vivid in this book, the images were clear in my mind as I read. I loved this book!

Pub. Date: March 2007

Synopsis: Daryâ’s simple life in mid-nineteenth-century Afghanistan is torn apart when a hateful curse by a jealous tribeswoman leaves her an outcast in her small Muslim village. She looks to her arranged marriage to the son of a nomadic tribal chief with hope that it will deliver her from this oppression; instead, Daryâ finds herself regularly beaten by her wrathful husband, and more isolated than she can bear. Seeing no choice other than to flee from her torment, Daryâ barely escapes through the foothills of the Hindu Kush.
Destitute and alone, Daryâ meets David Ingram, an enigmatic Englishman traveling in Afghanistan. Although he is a complete stranger, she joins him on his journey to Bombay—and embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Ranging from the arid Afghan plains to the lush tropical villas of India, across mighty seas to Victorian London’s fetid streets, The Moonlit Cage is an intense and sensuous story of love, loss, and redemption.

Recommended Reading:
An Echo in the Bone (Outlander Book 7) by Diana Gabaldon
Follow Me by Joanna Scott
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger