Vortex Visions (Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles Book 1)

Vortex Visions by Elise Kova was an enjoyable book for me. It follows Vi Solaris, who is somewhat a prisoner and somewhat a bargaining chip in a larger game. What we find out almost immediately is that she is slated to become the next emperor as she was born minutes before her twin brother. The logistics of why she was sent to grow up in the southern kingdom away from her family was not something that seemed to be clearly articulated; however, in the grand scheme of things, it did not matter.  What does matter is that she comes from a line of powerful fire-bears and she is next-in-line—that is if she can awaken the powerful magic dwelling deep within.

Spoiler, not really, chapter one establishes that Vi is struggling to unlock her magic and is no closer to figuring it out then she was when she first was told she had fire magic. Now, as a reader, I am expecting the rest of the book to be about her trying to figure it out and being unsuccessful until some climax event towards the end of the book. Well, in chapter two under the most uneventful circumstance, Vi unlocks her magic, the end, and the reader is left unsatisfied, right? Wrong. Even though her magic is unlocked, she is still unable to control it which drives the rest of the story.

Now, there are a lot of other characters we are introduced to, and honestly, none of them are really worth mentioning, except for Taven. On Vi’s birthday, she is allowed to leave her “prison” and go for a hunt, which really is more about her enjoying a few days of freedom with her adoptive sister, and her best-friend turned royal guard. Some stuff happens and then she finds herself in a ruined where she sees a vision as well as meets Taven. In truth, this is a really strange slow-building relationship that at this point is cliché. I am hoping as the series goes on it does not end the way I predict because that would be disappointing. That said, I find myself interested in this character because the way he is introduced causes the reader to ask a lot of questions that are slowly answered as the story proceeds.

Here is what I like about the story, it is entertaining and the narrator on audible adds a good level of depth. It does a good job of establishing the series and allows room for speculation. What I absolutely hated about this book is the cliché relationship developing between Vi and Taven, the places where the predictability is too obvious, the fact the moment she unlocks her magic is nothing special, and that the true conflict of the story is not introduced until halfway through the story. This is not to say there is no conflict until this point, there is, but it is secondary and forgetful once the reader knows what the real issue is.

All things considered, I will be reading the second book in this series shortly. Like I said in the beginning, I really did enjoy this book; however, as a standalone, this book falls into the grey zone between making it and not making it on my bookshelf. I say this because I would definitely have it around and suggest my nieces or daughters read it as I am sure they would enjoy it, but for me, there are just certain things it is lacking. That said, I will not grade this book alone, but will reserve judgment and make a final recommendation on the series as a whole to determine if it will make it on my bookshelf.

House of Assassins

House of Assassins is book two in the series of the Saga of the Forgotten Warrior and man was it good. This book picks up where Sons of the Black Sword ended with Thera awaking in the torture chambers of the wizard assassins. As the book continues we learn several important bits of information. First, the reader receives a glimpse into Thera’s past and how she came to received her “gifting”. Next, we also begin to understand what happened to the House of Assassins. Lastly, we learn that a pissed off Ashok is on his way to protect the Prophet.

This book is filled with lots of action and as with the first, Larry Correia experiments with the question of what happens when what you believe in is corrupt or when you begin to lose faith? For Ashok, following his sentencing, he continues to struggle with following the law and reconciling the impulses of his heart (so to speak). This was probably the most interesting thing for me, watching this character transition for someone who only saw the world in black and white to someone starting to see in color was brilliant.

At the same time, Keta is experiencing his own crisis of faith. As the Keeper of Names, and the mouthpiece of the prophet, Keta is the most stout of the religious. However, even he begins to waver in his faith. His spiritual struggle creates an avenue for the reader to finally begin to relate to this character. By the end of the book, I actually started to like him.

Now, that said, there is a lot that happens in this story and unlike the first book, there were no confusing time jumps. Everything was easy to follow while maintaining elements of surprise and staying true to the delivery style of the first book. Also, the balance between story, action, and conflict was on point. I never felt like one outweighed the other, but that each element blended together to the point I was able to completely immerse myself into the world within these pages. That is until I reached a particular part towards the end of the book.

One thing I refuse to do in my reviews is to give away any spoilers. As such, I cannot state the one major issue I had with this book. What I can say is that some people will feel the way I did about it, and others may think that it does not matter. Either way, it does not take away from the fact that this book is full of excitement and thrills. This leads me to my recommendation. If this was a standalone book it would not make it onto my bookshelf because of the issue I did not discuss as it is a spoiler. However, as a book series, it does. Especially if the correction I mentioned in my review of the first book is implemented.

Son of the Black Sword

Larry Correia’s, Son of the Black Sword, is an interesting book that is a little hard to rate. The first eight chapters of the book are important; however, the ordering of those chapters almost had me put the book down. At one point, around chapter six, I had to start the book over to really try to focus on what was happening in the world Correia created. What made the first eight chapters difficult is that the reader is given an event that was happening in the present and then you have several flashback chapters that were pretty much back-to-back. First is five years, then eighteen, another event that happened eighteen years ago, and finally twenty years ago. Being honest, I wish Correia would have just started with these chapters and brought us to the present instead of giving us the present and flashing back so rapidly. For me, it detracted from the story even though these chapters are critical to understanding the main protagonist Ashok Vadal.

Ashok is a 20 year Senior Protector in the order responsible for upholding the law. He is dedicated to his service and is often referred to as the most dedicated of all the order. In addition to maintaining the law, the Protectors are called upon to dispatch a demon that left its territory in the water and was now on land. This is where the book begins. Ashok has been called to a village to kill a demon that has surfaced on land. It is also here where the reader is introduced to Angruvadal, an ancestor blade that has a mind and will of its own. Not only are we introduced to the main protagonist, the black ancestor blade, the understanding of the law, and the separation of borders, but we are also introduced to the ideas of “Cast” and “non-people” or the “cast-less.”

At first, I found myself becoming extremely annoyed over this separation of people because it is not explained in detail until much later. I cannot provide that explanation in this review because of its importance to the path the author takes the reader. What I will say is, when explained it makes sense.

Now, once you make it past chapter eight the real story begins. With the information Ashok learns, he begins down a path that challenges everything he had been raised to believe. I love the parallel in his development because it is so relatable. Ashok finds himself traveling from one understanding of social injustice, racism, and elitism to the other side. Not only that, but we also watch as he the foundation of his identity is destroyed and he is now trying to come to peace with his new situation.

The depth of this story is really great and the level of action is on the gritty side, but for me it was great. The one thing I really appreciate about this book is that upon completion there is no aspect of romance. I am sure at some point there will be, but this story stayed true to the narrative and did not force a love interest for the sake of doing it. I mentioned this novel being hard to rate and that is simply because of the first eight chapters. As it is currently written, I would not have this book on my bookshelf because if I ever went to reread it I would skip the first eight chapters and dive into the meat of the book. If, however, the beginning of the book was reworked into a more linear fashion, this book would definitely make it on my bookshelf. To be clear, the only issue I have is the start of the book. And for full disclosure, I immediately book the sequel and cannot wait to continue the journey Correia is taking his reader on.

Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone, follows the main character Zélie on her journey to return magic to the Orïsha. The maji are individuals who are blessed with the ability to use magic. King Saran orchestrated the genocide of the active maji years before this book begins. The only individuals allowed to live were the children who had not yet activated their abilities. Subsequently, the magic system that enabled the use of magic had been disabled. That said, the social-political issues this book addresses fall within slavery, racism (systemic), oppression, greed, and elitism.

Zélie is an interesting main character. As a young girl of color, she is empowered by her father, and called by the gods, to return magic to the maji. As she embarks on her journey, she goes through every stage imaginable ranging from self-doubt to “I can do this.” I believe she is meant to show young girls two things. First, that they are strong and capable to bring great change to the world no matter where their social status lies, and second, that you must believe in yourself. Throughout the entire novel, so many different people put their faith in Zélie, but despite their trust, she still struggles to believe herself capable. Through her eyes, the reader experiences the social-political issues mentioned earlier.

There is one other issue this novel addresses and that is through the character Inan. As the heir to the throne of Orïsha, Inan has watched how his father has ruled the kingdom. After meeting Zélie, and being tasked to capture her, we watch as he begins to realize that maybe the hatred they are breed to feel toward the maji is wrong. That is until certain events give him insight to understand the “why” behind his father’s rationale. Watching the internal struggle he goes through is thought-provoking. Yes, racism is a big problem, however, when it has been woven into the fabric of your bones, it is not easy to walk away from it—even if you can see that it is wrong.

All of that said, as a reader, this novel would not make it onto my bookshelf. I love the young girl empowerment, and the fact the book is not afraid to address some real-world issues. However, the book itself falls flat for a few reasons. To start, the narrator for the novel made me want to put this book down from the jump. She was going for an African/tribal dialect and it was awful. Tomi did better hiring someone who actually has an African accent. The other issue is the speed at which Zélie’s romance develops. It is unbelievable and leaves the reader scratching their head. Lastly, the genesis for the magic system, and subsequently the termination and re-ignition, is corny.

All-in-all, I picked this novel up because a friend of mine told me it was good. I will say, I am interested in the sequel to this series and that is because I do not like to leave series unfinished. Plus, the setup is there for a really exciting sequel and I am interested to see how things develop. I want to know if the potential this novel has is capitalized on. However, I would not really recommend this book for the higher end of the target demographic. I would recommend for the academic spectrum as a way of dissecting the issues the book addresses, and I would recommend for teen and early young adults.

On this day 1 year ago, I entered the very first keystroke into my 💻 for my 📖 The Upper Limits: Unbreakable (#uppers_unbreakable ). This has been a wonderful journey form getting help from @jennamoreci , Michael Larron and Author Level Up, @selfpubwithdale , @merphynapier and many others through their podcasts and YouTube's. And a special thanks to @krazedsart the great artist I know. My buddy @nelsonanthonyphotography showed me her work and I literally cried when she completed my commission for my main characters: Narrock and Allister (don't they look boss?). It was one thing to dream it and capture it on paper...but a completely different feeling to see my characters brought to life. And to all my friends, family members, beta readers (Mike, Terisa, and Dan the man Parker) for encouraging me and providing me feedback. To my wife @bubbly_planner for dealing with me and being supper supportive at every stage. And last but not least to my daughters who also showed their support. Here's to 2020 when I finally get to publish. #amwriting #authorpreneur #authorsofinstagram #fantasynovel #fantasy #writersofinstagram #selfpublisher #selfpublishing #goalkeeping #dream #creativefreedom #create #writingmatters #readersofig #savethearts https://www.instagram.com/p/B4N74hyAxCL/?igshid=988oud4kvk1w

On this day 1 year ago, I entered the very first keystroke into my 💻 for my 📖 The Upper Limits: Unbreakable (#uppers_unbreakable ). This has been a wonderful journey form getting help from @jennamoreci , Michael Larron and Author Level Up, @selfpubwithdale , @merphynapier and many others through their podcasts and YouTube's. And a special thanks to @krazedsart the great artist I know. My buddy @nelsonanthonyphotography showed me her work and I literally cried when she completed my commission for my main characters: Narrock and Allister (don't they look boss?). It was one thing to dream it and capture it on paper...but a completely different feeling to see my characters brought to life. And to all my friends, family members, beta readers (Mike, Terisa, and Dan the man Parker) for encouraging me and providing me feedback. To my wife @bubbly_planner for dealing with me and being supper supportive at every stage. And last but not least to my daughters who also showed their support. Here's to 2020 when I finally get to publish. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4N7N_Ggn7p/?igshid=z0ccl7jxs7gc

So, recently I gave @airbnb a try for a trip I had to Lubbock Texas. I had never used it prior to this trip. The listing pictured is where I was supposed to stay. Before I tell you what happened, I told the host I would not leave a negative response regarding my experience if they were willing to refund my stay. I ask this because I don't like leaving negative replies because I don't like affecting people's income. That said, the host decided to bad mouth me on my profile so now I am going to share my experience from that night so no one else will go through what I did. I entered this listing at roughly 7 pm. Within 30 minutes a giant spider dropped from the ceiling and just looked at me like I was out of place. Needless to say, I killed that spider. I briefly left to get some food and when I got back I checked for more bugs. No surprise there were others, but I just figured they flow in with the door. Either way because of the spider I was paranoid so when I went to bed at 10, I didn't even change out of my clothes and slept on the top of the covers. For the next hour I listened as rodents were moving around in the closet. Because I was trying to save a few dollars I tried to push past it. I was only in town for 2 days, I can deal. Well, I was wrong the moment I started to hear rodent claws/paws walking across the hardwood floors under the bed. I was out of this place by 11 pm and checking into a hotel by 11:15 oh and this was after spending the day flying. Then imagine my surprise when the next day I put my hand in my jacket pocket only to find a hole had been chewed into my brand new denim jacket. Like I said, I wasn't even going to share this, but because the host decided to try and twist the situation I am now telling everyone, if you ever go to Lubbock do not stay at this place. As for me, if I ever choose to use @airbnb in Lubbock I most definitely will never stay at any property owned by Carrie. https://www.instagram.com/p/B3-2_j5A1Rd/?igshid=182xc5r2rsyjv

Today's challenge...as I'm learning to write better, I'm realizing one of the challenges is to use my words to "show" and not "tell" my reader what is going on. So let's see what you've got. Using your words, how would you describe this picture? #amwriting #authorsofinstagram #authorpreneur #authorlife #fantasynovel #selfpublisher #selfpublishing #usingyourwords #wordchallenge https://www.instagram.com/p/B3qD9LJgZlu/?igshid=kl42du4b98ln

Too many dreams die before they are ever realized because we start worrying about things outside our control. If you have a dream then go get it. #authorpreneur #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #creativefreedom #create #bethebestyou #beaboutit #writersofinstagram #selfpublisher #selfpublishing #daretocreate #daretobeyou #daretodream #gogetit #dontbeafraidtobeyou https://www.instagram.com/p/B3NxnCFAj6V/?igshid=c6y9x4ccbx3q

I started #uppers_unbreakable last October. While it is currently going through editing, I started #uppers_unleashed WELL now it's time to seriously get back at it. Currently I'm roughly 6K words into my target 90K words. Have to admit, a little scared about making sure I build on the first book, but at the same time, supper excited about the direction I'm heading. And just FYI, I know the major milestones I want in the book, but when I write, I love allowing the story to write itself. Oh, and my goal was to have my debut novel publish ready by the end of 2019 and I'm still on pace to met that. Anticipated launch date? October 2020. #amwriting #authorpreneur #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #creativefreedom #create #fantasy #fantasynovel #expressyourself #fearnothing #powerofthepen #selfpublisher https://www.instagram.com/p/B3GCrrHAz1T/?igshid=1qebbd29qbx99

When I think about being a kid and trying to impress everyone else at the expense of me, I can't help but think of the wasted time. I've fallen in love with myself for the last roughly 7 years and everyday I spending doing what I enjoy, is another day I create a future for myself. Drama, heartache, and mess are the byproducts of trying to please others. But true happiness is the result of doing the things you love simply because you love them. Your future only belongs to you, so build it the way you desire. People can't love you until you love yourself. #neverstopdreaming #bethebestyou #inspiration #dontbeafraidtobeyou #dowhatmakesyouhappy #dowhatyoulove #nofear #creativefreedom #create https://www.instagram.com/p/B2iJoong1rE/?igshid=tu769yjgnr5e

Someone told me only two people carry the entire world on their back...Atlas and God. Make sure you are taking care of yourself. People spend they entire life working, but never carve out time to live working on the things that make them happy. You have one life, don't waste it being too busy working. #bethebestyou #beaboutit #knowyourworth #knowthyself #inspiration #startdreaming #keepdreaming #takecareofyourself #takecareofyou https://www.instagram.com/p/B2flTEmgCiX/?igshid=mpal7oheaprf

A little over 10 months ago, I typed the first words to my current novel which will debut next year. When I was 16 I loved to write poetry, even called myself a lyricologist, but then I lost the will to continue writing. I have picked up many things since then looking for my voice. I taught, mentored, acted, coded, and got involved in multimedia and photography, but all of that was short lived when I found myself actually being happy. A lot of those things served as coping mechanisms to endure hard times in my life (not the teaching or mentoring), so when I was truly happy I had no idea what to do with myself. Then I decided to dream and when I did, The Upper Limits (#uppers_unbreakable) became a song in my ❤️. For the first time in my adult life, I think I'm finally ready to speak and be heard. For the first time, I think I actually want something that I'm willing to put the time and energy into to succeed, to immerse myself into a culture and and stamp my name on it. I'm ready to be a boss and build a brand. I have 7 years til I can retire from my current job and my goal is to make a life so I never have to have another boss over me. If I fail, so what, because for the first time in my life, I'm not concerned with that side of the coin. #authorlife #authorpreneur #amwriting #creativefreedom #create #writersofinstagram #fantasy #fantasynovel #bethebestyou #beaboutit #betruetoyourself #fulfillment https://www.instagram.com/p/B2FD5SwgP6H/?igshid=u9rxdo9rh581