Shatterskin by Beca Lewis

Shatterskin (The Return To Erda) is the first in a fantasy series aimed at young adults.

Hannah is about to do a portal dimensional jump. This is definitely a first for her, and even though she has some small trace of powers on Earth, she doesn’t know how they will translate in Erda. Erda is a breathtakingly magical place. Similar to Earth, but blessed with nature beyond anything she has ever seen before. As Hannah meets new characters and people, memories are slowly beginning to come back. Memories of having lived in Erda before. Of being someone important, someone needed. As it turns out, Hannah is a princess and in order for her full powers to be revealed on Erda, she needs to train. And train she does. Hannah finds out that the threat she will be facing is a giant metal robot named Shatterskin who was created by Abaddon, an age-old enemy of Erda. Shatterskin, accompanied by the green slimy blobs called Shrieks, literally destroys everything in his path, and nature cannot rebuild where he has been. Will Hannah be ready in time or have the inhabitants of Erda left it too late to bring her back?

The author has created a lovely world in Erda, one that feels gentle and flows with nature and as you picture the damage done by Shatterskin, it actually feels rather sickening. The writing is very evocative and you are able to picture the dragons and tree people and fairies and get swept up in their emotions. As the battles against Shatterskin and the Shrieks took place, the author helped you to understand the despair the characters were facing, and it became much more than just a story.

I found Hannah a bit whiney in the beginning, but I guess with all she was going through she was bound to be feeling out of sorts. The story is very light and you don’t delve too deeply into the character’s emotions, which is understandable seeing as this is the first book and the characters and their roles need to be introduced. There is no cliffhanger, but plenty of paths are left open for the series to move into! The editing was fantastic, and no mistakes occurred which would interrupt the flow of reading.

Thank you to Reedsy Discovery and the author for an ARC.

https://reedsy.com/discovery

Ancient Fall (Legends of Rhyme series #7) by Jaime Lee Mann

This is the final instalment of the Legends of Rhyme series and is aimed at middle grade so contains no profanity or scenes of a sexual nature.

The event they dreaded happening has come true. The Coraira opals that so many carry have gone black, which can mean only one thing. The land is dead. Those in Rhyme and Cymbria, whether sea or land, the Ice Realm and even Coraira, find themselves drawn together to fight not only evil that has again presented itself, but a far more powerful adversary. Mother Earth has taken a look around and decided that those she entrusted to look after all that she has provided have failed and will not be given another chance. That means that all of her warnings have been ignored and it is time to take it all back from humanity. All manner of beings from mermaids, to pixies, to giants, to humans and all those connected must band together with a phoenix of legend to break the curse and somehow convince Mother Earth that they can do better than those before. Will they be able to persuade her of their pure intents, though? And even if they do, will it be too late to stop the destruction she has begun?

The final book was always going to be difficult to bring together, as all the character’s stories had to be tied up and finished off. This meant a lot of hopping between characters and chapters where sometimes the chapter was only a page long and their story was so briefly touched on it almost seemed a waste.

I did, however, really enjoy how the final pieces were put together and the last questions about family and connections were answered. The poems leading into the sections were very well written and the big idea of Mother Earth fighting back was a very sobering thought. It brought home the idea that we need to look to the future and repair damage that was done before. This was also brought through as a thread in the book with regards to family ties and broken promises.

I was a little annoyed that at 86% the book was over and the rest was taken up with a summary of the previous books in the series, a list of characters and more about the author. While I appreciate the added extras, as soon as I see so much extra added, I wonder if the book couldn’t have been added onto instead considering its abrupt ending. The book also only started at 7% due to the hyperlinks. Again, the discussion questions were a great addition and would definitely prompt some lively debates.

I thoroughly recommend the series, not only for the fictional aspect it represents but for the morals it emphasises. The writing is compelling and flows easily and the characters draw you into their stories.

Thanks to Netgalley and Blue Moon Publishers for a chance to review the book and the series.

The League of Necros by Alexander Ellis

For full review please go to:

https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=111835