Showing posts with label #bookreview #BookReview #amreading #fantasy #historicalfiction #romance #HisFic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #bookreview #BookReview #amreading #fantasy #historicalfiction #romance #HisFic. Show all posts

Monday, 13 June 2016

Book Review ~ Dragon Knight's Shield @m_morganauthor


Dragon Knight’s Shield
Mary’s Morgan

“Is he always so exasperating?”

Angus could not fathom what she meant by the word, nor did he care.


Angus MacKay, leader of the Dragon Knights, failed his brothers and his clan upon the death of his sister. Now he must fight the darkness of despair tempting his soul. Back on Scottish soil, he comes face to face with Deirdre who can wield a sword as mightily as his warriors, and he takes her captive. Yet, with each passing day, the fire dragon inside him roars to claim the one woman fate has destined for him. Famed mystery writer, Deirdre Flanagan, is unprepared for the next chapter in her life. On a vacation to Scotland, she steps through the mists and enters into a skirmish alongside a Highlander. However, the fight has only begun, and now she must battle Angus as well as evil in order to claim the love of this Dragon Knight. Will their love be powerful enough to shield them from danger, or burn them to ashes?



What did I think of the book?

“They were an ancient order, descended from the great Tuatha Dé Danann, the Sidhe, or in simpler terms: the Fae. Half-human and half-fae, each was blessed with mystical powers. Given to them were holy relics from the Fae and guardianship over their dragons.”


It's hard being the first-born son. It is even more difficult when you are a Dragon Knight. Angus Mackay has failed his brothers, the Clan and his sister. He is racked with grief and guilt from his sisters death. He takes himself away from his beloved Scotland and makes his living travelling from one tournament to the next, but dark forces are plotting against him and his people. He has to put aside his guilt and seek redemption from the Fae.

Deirdre Flanagan has the greatest friends. For her thirty birthday, her friends present her with a voucher for a holiday in Scotland. If only she knew just where such a journey would take her.

Wow! What an adventure Mary Morgan has just taken me on. From modern day America to the ruggedness of Scotland in the Middle Ages, this book had it all. Romance. Betrayal. Guilt. Love. Hate. Fear. Redemption. And let’s not forget - time-travel!

Calling it a page-turner does not give this book enough credit. Once I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I stayed up until the early hours of the morning so that I could finish it – it is that kind of book.

Just to make things clear this is book 4 of a series, now I have not read the other books, and I was a little bit concerned before I started it that I wouldn't be able to pick up the story, but that wasn’t the case at all. Morgan didn’t go into vast amounts of detail retelling a story already told, but I felt she gives just the right information, to make the backstory clear, so I had a sense of what had come before.

I liked Deirdre. She goes from mystery writer to a warrior princess – thank goodness for all those martial art lessons back in America!  She is incredibly brave, and although she is initially shocked at being transported to a different time - and for a while she thinks it is all some elaborate re-enactment group that she has stumbled upon - she rises to the occasion and seems to make an unconscious decision to make the best of it. Likewise, Angus stole my heart. His guilt was so heartrending that I cried when I was reading about what had happened to him. He is this amazing warrior who tries to do what is right for his brothers and his Clan, but it didn’t work out the way he had hoped, and he really punishes himself for that. His journey to redemption is incredibly difficult, but so worth the read.

Lachlan is the perfect antagonist – he is a frightfully evil, power-obsessed, lunatic. I hated him – just thinking about him makes my skin crawl. I am going to stop thinking about him now!! (Shivers)

Morgan’s attention to detail has to be commended. She brought 13th Century Scotland back to life. From the harshness of the Highlands to the intrigue and danger at court, it was a vivid picture and historically very accurate.

If you love history, time-travel, romance and a great plot – then the Dragon Knight Series are the books for you. I am definitively going to be losing myself in this world again. I can’t recommend this book enough.

I Highly Recommend.


“This is like some damn romance novel,” she choked out.
 
Where can I purchase Dragon Knight's Shield?
Kobo 
About the author 
Scottish paranormal romance author, Mary Morgan resides in Northern California, with her own knight in shining armor. However, during her travels to Scotland, England, and Ireland, she left a part of her soul in one of these countries and vows to return. 
Mary's passion for books started at an early age along with an overactive imagination. She spent far too much time daydreaming and was told quite often to remove her head from the clouds. It wasn't until the closure of Borders Books where Mary worked that she found her true calling--writing romance. Now, the worlds she created in her mind are coming to life within her stories.
 

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Tuesday, 22 March 2016

Traitor Knight by Keith.W.Willis #BookReview #amreading @kilbourneknight

"Oh, why hadn't she just let the dragon eat her back when she'd had the chance? It would have made everything so much simpler." 

I had the pleasure of reviewing the historical fantasy Traitor Knight by Keith.W.Willis

What's the story?

When Morgan McRobbie rescues a damsel-in-distress from a dragon, he expects she’ll swoon, murmuring “My hero!” Instead, Marissa has only loathing for the man everyone believes will betray Kilbourne. That’s fine with Morgan. A woman in his life would just complicate things.

A high-level informer threatens the kingdom’s security, and Morgan is out to stop him. Posing as a turncoat himself, he’s walking a fine line between honor and betrayal. A single misstep could result in disaster, and his mission is fraught with distractions: the pesky dragon, a pair of conniving courtiers, and the disillusioned damsel who’s certain Morgan can’t be trusted.

If Morgan’s going to save the kingdom, win the girl, and manage to stay alive, he’ll need to step up his game. Because the traitor is lurking in the shadows, and his scheme calls not just for the betrayal of Kilbourne, but also the destruction of Morgan McRobbie.


What did I think of the story?
"Amazing, simply amazing," the king said again. "This shall have to go down in song, you realize?"
"As long as I don't have to attempt the singing of it," Morgan replied.
 
The book open with a ferocious dragon, who's plans are thwarted - not so much by the brave heroic knight who is intent on rescuing the maiden - but by a bad, and appallingly timed case, of the hiccups.

And if that does not get your fingers twitching to turn the pages of this book, then I don't know what will!

This book was so much fun, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The protagonist, Morgan McRobbie - the commander of the Kilbourne Military - is everything a fine commander should be – Brave. Loyal to a fault. Honest. With a dubious reputation?  Hopeless romantic ( and I mean hopeless). Traitor...okay so he is a complex character, with one or two issues to work through. But for what it is worth - I really liked him!

Lady Marissa, is just great fun. She isn’t one of those maiden's who is prone to a fainting fits when a spider runs across the room - she bravely faces down a dragon, a network of spies, Morgan and her cat! Of all the characters in this book, I think she made me laugh out loud the most. She was so much fun to read about and boy, as a love interest she was more than a match for Morgan! I even felt sorry for him on occasions - because ouch, that must have hurt!

 Through out the story there is a 'real' traitor in the bosom of the court, whose secrets are as dark as his plots. But thankfully, The Watch (a police force) knows how to deal with men like him - if only the scoundrels would stop escaping from their dungeons, they would have everything in hand.

I would like to congratulate Willis on the very believable world he created -think medieval England meets fairy-tale. I soon felt at home there. All of the characters in this book had flesh on them - their individuality shone through. There was plenty of action, romance, suspense, a murder or two, a chase across the roof tops and a dragon - did I mention a dragon?

All in all, a really enjoyable read. I Highly Recommend.

Where can I buy this fabulous book?


About the author.
 
Keith W. Willis graduated (long ago) from Berry College with a degree in English Lit. He now lives in the scenic Hudson Valley/Adirondack region of NY with his wife Patty. They have one grown son, Matt, who actually thinks it’s pretty cool that Dad wrote a book.
 
Keith’s interests include camping, canoeing, and Scrabble. Keith began writing seriously in 2008, when the voices in his head got too annoying to ignore. When he’s not making up stories he manages a group of database content editors at a global information technology firm. TRAITOR KNIGHT is his first published novel.

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