The Sands of Ethryn by C S Lakin

The King is ruling a dying land.  There's a water shortage and food supplies are limited.  When a team of workers find an old archeological site, he comes for visit.  When he touches a beautiful gem set at the top of an altar, he falls into a coma.  This is a perfect opportunity for an old enemy to arise and take over the kingdom...

The author sent me an ARC of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

Mr. Lakin's fairy tales are always twisted tales that connect different times and different worlds together.  She does that well and she also gets you interested and empathetic about her characters.  The King spends of this book in a coma and you get bits and pieces of his past life interspersed with current events.  The Vizier thinks he's strong enough to control a demon he's bringing to life and looks at this as an opportunity to succeed and take over the Kingdom.  He's wrong, the demon takes over control of his body...

My favorite part of the story is the young couple in love.  She is a scribe and works in the scroll room with her grandfather.  He's also a scholar but he's royalty.  Since she has an illness that gives her fits, they can never marry.  But love doesn't care about those things.

This is a complex story with the mix of past and present in the story.  It reads well, there is plenty of action, and the evil almost palpitates off the pages when you read about the demon.  Ms. Lakin has created another fantasy world where the fight between good and evil is hard fought.  

This book is part of The Gates of Heaven series, but it reads just fine alone.  Here's a story with faith in God and evil from Hell meeting in a battle that will end badly for the loser.  Are you ready for a trip back in time?

The Crystal Scepter by C S Lakin

He's so greedy for power and wealth that he cuts his own father's neck at the age of 15.  Now he's king and he can do anything he wants.  Anything except keep the love of his wife and raise his son.

Ms. Lakin sent me an ARC of this book for review (thank you).  It has now been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy. 

This lady writes the most fantastic fantasy adventures you can imagine.  There's a bit of magic, help from the Gods, and monsters all in her story.  When Ms. Lakin sends me a book to read, I always feel like she's taking me by the hand and leading me into a new land with many new characters and challenges.  You can read each one alone or read the whole series, it's your choice.  If you try one, I'm sure you'll want to read more.

Pythias has no fear.  He kills the King of Elysiel and steals his crystal scepter thinking it will give him immortality.  Unfortunately, it comes with a curse.  He meets the being that was the King's enemy and makes a deal with her and then breaks it.  She's a very bad enemy to have.  And he tries very hard to defy his destiny because it's not what he would choose.  Sorry, life doesn't work like that, even in this world.

You won't be bored reading this book.  It has lots of action, you empathize with the characters and it isn't long before you hope against hope that the good guys win.  I enjoyed this read.  Why don't you give it a try?

Happy reading. 

The Unraveling of Wentwater by C S Lakin

Teralyn lives in the Heights with her parents and her mentor, Antius.  He encourages her musical talent and she works in his garden.  They are very good friends and she spends most of her time with him because both her parents work.  When she asks to go the village of Wentwater, Antius talks her parents into it.  What harm would it cause for her to go the festival in Wentwater?

Ms. Lakin sent me an ARC of her book for review (thank you).  You can preorder it on Amazon at this time.

This is the fourth in series of fairy tales that have a touch of Christianity mixed within.  Each story is stand alone and I've enjoyed the first three, so I was looking forward to reading this one.

Teralyn finds her release in music.  It opens magical worlds she can't see at home in the Heights; they are happier and hopeful in their music in Wentworth.  When she visits the festival, she also finds a boy named Fromer.  Fromer is Justin's brother.  Justin lives in the Heights and has brought Teralyn to the village for Antius.  He becomes very angry and obsessive about Teralyn and is extremely jealous of Fromer.  He decides he will win her even if he has to search out the witch of woods and bargain to do it.

This story is intricate and entertaining.  There is magic, evil, pain and suffering and more in this tale.  It's wound together well and keeps your attention from beginning to end.  I found myself hoping for a happy ending, but was far from assured that would be the way it would turn out.  You'll have to read the book to find out exactly what happens.  I can tell you words are involved...

I'm giving my ARC of this book.  If you'd like to win it, leave a comment here on the blog and email me at info at bookfaerie.com with your name and address and why you'd like to read it.  I'll pick a winner about a week.

Happy reading!

The Map Across Time by C S Lakin

This an amazing tale of time travel and a search for the cure of an ancient curse...


Living Ink Books will be publishing this book in March and sent me an ARC for review (thank you).  I had read the Wolf of Tebron and loved it, so I was anxious to see where the next book in the series would take me.


First the queen dies from some mysterious disease and then the King starts acting weird.  The King's teenage twins, Adin and Aletha, know there is something evil going on.  The kingdom is falling into disrepair and the people are close to revolting and the councillor is gaining too much power.


Ms. Lakin does a wonderful job of making her story move right along with no wasted motions and no unanswered questions.  Her characters are filled with life and you feel like you are there travelling with them.  You also empathize with Adin, who has some physical deformities and his father's scorn for defective.


The King has become a collector.  He wants the best, the most uncommon, the hardest to find objects.  So when he finds out there is a firebird in the forest, he wants to acquire it for his collection.  Adin decides he will try to capture the bird and see if he can win the King's favor.  But his adventure in the forest eventually leads him into the past...


The author's accounting of time travel gets a bit complex, but is a great read.  Adin's sister, Aletha, follows him back in time and there are tough choices to be made about how to save their world and how to accomplish it.


I really like this author's work and highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good fantasy read.  My very favorite character is Winston, the pig.


If you'd like my ARC, leave a comment here on the blog and email at info @ bookfaerie.com (take out the spaces) with your name and ADDRESS and why you'd like to read it.  I'll pick a winner in about a week.

Wolf of Tebron by C. S. Lakin

When Joran sees his wife consorting with his neighbor, he orders her out of his house and tells her to go to her family and think about her vows.  She tries to talk to him, but he doesn't listen.  He knows what he saw.  But when she suddenly is missing and just "vanished" on the wagon ride to the other community, he decides he'd better go find out what happened to her.

The subtitle to this book is:  Gates of Heaven Series Book 1.  It is from AMG Publishers under the imprint Living Ink Books.  I got my copy from Net Galley as an ebook for review.  (Thanks to both of you.)  This book was published in trade paperback in June and is currently available at your local bookstore.

Even if the title didn't include Book 1, you'd know that this was just the beginning of an epic journey.  Joran is having nightmares about trying to save his wife, who seems to be held captive by the Moon.  When the little stocky woman who sells goose eggs at the market tells him she can see his dreams, he doubts her.  But when he can no longer function because the dreams overwhelm him, he visits her for advice.  She tells him to travel to the house of the Moon for his answers.  Not quite sure where that is, Joran begins his adventure.

He helps save a wolf right at the beginning of his journey, and they travel together.  He not only visits the Moon, but visits the Sun, too.  And his journey still isn't over.

This is a comprehensive fairy tale with strong characters.  They aren't always right, they have their own internal challenges to conquer, and the route they take is dangerous.  But they maintain their belief it can be accomplished, help each other, manage to overcome the problems they encounter.  Joran even finds he can do something that he abhors doing because he must. 

This book is being marketed for adults, but I believe young adults would enjoy it, too.  The author takes you through a gauntlet of emotions and keeps your attention all the way through.  The feeling you get at the end of book is that the future is hopeful.  I'm sure the next book in the series will have some magic involved, too.

I enjoyed this read.  Why not get a copy and "taste" it yourself?