The Light of Asteria (The Kailmeyra Series) – Elizabeth Isaacs

“If Nora Johnson hadn’t been on campus that day she would have never known her true destiny. Helping her friends move into the dorm that she wanted to call home, Nora accidentally collides with mysterious stranger, Gavin Frey. His very first touch sends flames through her heart.

The world seems different-something within her has changed. She tries to resume her mundane life, but she is now consumed with the one whose very presence ignited her soul, the one with eyes of emerald. Nora soon learns that an energy buried deep within has been unleashed. She now wields unimaginable power and has become Gavin’s source, his strength.

Her newfound joy is shaken when she discovers that Gavin is not who he appears to be and she has been thrust in the middle of a war of mythical proportions. Negativity allows all things evil to flourish, the earth is under siege.

The fate of creation hinges on the power within her heart. Will she be strong enough to survive?”

I got this eBook when it was available for free on Amazon, I liked the sound of the synopsis, it sounded like my kind of book.

I found it a bit hard to follow at the beginning, I didn’t really understand the prologue and I generally felt a bit confused about what was going on.  However, it soon started to become clear to me and it turned out to be a really powerful story full of danger, love, passion and mystery.  I’m definitely going to read it again so that I understand the beginning better.

I loved Gavin although I thought he seemed a bit stalker-like at the start, obviously there is a reason for this but at the time I felt it was a bit strange.  Nora spends her time trying to figure out who this mysterious handsome guy is and why he suddenly seems to be everywhere she goes.  Once Nora understands Gavin more, she starts to come into her own by discovering her own abilities, powers and who she really is.

The connection between Nora and Gavin is fantastic to read and there are many great lines that capture their time together, one of my particular favourites is

“At this moment, I simply was one big ball of emotion, tumbling helplessly, totally out of control … like a rag doll in white water”.

There are many touching moments within the story, not just between Nora and Gavin but others as well. All the characters connected well and contributed to the overall emotional roller-coaster that had me smiling with happiness one moment and crying tears of sadness the next.

The magical world of Kailmeyra was described beautifully and after I finished reading I felt like I had been on a journey too, whenever I wasn’t reading it I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  The story raised important questions about forgiveness and intent that I couldn’t help but translate into my own life.  I have a feeling that this is one of those stories that will stay with me long after I finished it.

This is a pure, beautiful, emotional and thought-provoking book that took my mind to magical places.

The Iron Witch and The Wood Queen – Karen Mahoney

“Donna is a freak.  An outcast.  Branded with iron tattoos that cover her hands and arms, she is cursed with a magically-enhanced strength that she does everything she can to hide.

But now, the dark exiles of Faerie are coming and Donna must choose between saving her best friend – or betraying one of the world’s greatest secrets.”

This book was an impulse buy, I really loved the gorgeous cover and thought it was a story about witches (I enjoy a good witch story), it turned out that it wasn’t about witches but was really good nonetheless.

The action starts early on in the book and there are so many things that are intriguing and made me want to read on for explanations.  It has a dark and mysterious feel to it with lots of magical revelations, a dangerous rescue mission and other worlds that just keep the reader guessing.

I enjoyed Donna’s journal entries, it gave a good insight into her feelings surrounding the confusion in her life, especially when she finds herself battling evil to protect her loved ones.  I loved the relationships between Donna, Navin and Xan and I look forward to seeing them develop in the next book.  Donna definitely gains some trust issues after she uncovers lie after lie and I found myself distrusting pretty much everyone in the story.

Towards the end of this book I was holding my breath wondering what Donna was planning, I couldn’t see a way out of the situation she was in so I was unable to predict what she was going to do.

With all the various elements of this book I found it to be a very different story to others that I have read, I was really interested in the alchemical side of it all and details of the orders etc.  This was another thing I was looking forward to more of in the next book.

“Born into the mysterious world of an ancient alchemical order, Donna has always been aware of the dark feud that exists between the alchemists and the fey.  Her own mother – bound by a dark Faerie curse – has been confined to a hospital bed for as long as she can remember … But now there is a chance to release her, and Donna will stop at nothing until she is free.

Armed with her own brand of powerful magic, Donna must face the fearsome Wood Queen in order to save her mother.  But in the Ironwood – a place that haunts Donna’s dreams – there is far greater and more dangerous magic already at work …”

This book has an equally gorgeous cover, one that enabled me to visualise Donna’s tattoos easily – whenever I was struggling to imagine them I just took a look at the cover!

Donna is as strong and determined in this book as she was in the first, and this time she is starting to discover more about her own power.  She meets some really interesting new characters, discovers even more lies and questions some of her existing friendships as again she struggles to save someone she loves.

Donna’s relationships with Navin and Xan continued to intrigue me in this book and something happens at the end of this book that is definitely going to complicate things for her, I look forward to seeing how things turn out.

I really enjoyed the whole story, it was really different and well written, however it didn’t grip me like other books have done – I found that I was happy to put the book down to pick up at another time and this is unusual for me.  When I did pick it back up though, I had no problems getting back into it and remembering all the characters so I can’t say that it affected my enjoyment of the book.

This is a dark and magical story with many interesting elements that will keep you guessing.