Author: Realm Lovejoy
Series: Le Fay #1
Pages: N/A
Date Published: November 11th, 2014
Publisher: N/A
Format: ebook
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
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Modern-day Camelot. Where knights no longer carry swords. Magic is dangerous. And those who seek control are not to be trusted.
Sixteen-year-old Morgan le Fay is a fire user. An ordinary girl with an extraordinary skill, she has the ability to create and command fire at will. Her dream is to become the Maven—the right hand of the future King Arthur. In the chance of a lifetime, Morgan is selected to join Arthur’s Round, an elite group of young magic users from which the new Maven will be chosen.
Along with the other fire, water, and wind users in Arthur’s Round, Morgan is rigorously trained and tested. The handsome Merlin, a brilliant water user, takes a particular interest in her. Is his friendship to be trusted, or is Merlin simply trying to win the position of Maven for himself? Among the many rivals Morgan faces is the current Maven, Mordred, who seems determined to see her fail.
But Morgan has a secret—years ago, her mother was executed for using fire magic, and Morgan’s desire for justice makes her more than ready to take on the challenge before her. Can she prevail in Camelot’s tests of survival and magic? Only time—and Morgan’s powerful fire—will tell.
~My Thoughts~
Put down your TBR piles boys and girls, we have a REAL winner with Henge, and you are going to need to drop everything to get your hands on this one!
I'm not going to lie. I haven't been this excited about the first book in a series in a LONG time. I've seen the love triangles that dominate YA literature. I've seen the reckless sex romps that have taken over New Adult Literature. I've cried at every weepy teen book about abuse, cancer, and coming of age. Yet, I was unprepared for the action, and pure thrill of reading Henge.
Retellings are still all the rage right now, and one of my favorite classics is that of Camelot. It's hard not to like Arthur, Guenevere, Excalibur and the lot, but Henge is something that touches on these iconic characters and objects ye at the same time tells a completely different tale from the one we expected.
Henge is very fantastically crafted, as we are in the mind of Morgan La Fay (A witch/fairy/sorcerer depending on which legend you read). She can manipulate the element of fire while others can manipulate the other elements (cue Avatar the Last Airbender binge watching session) and Morgan is vying for the title of Maven or advisor to the throne.
I was actually really impressed by Realm's writing ability. It seems that in this day and age, writing ability has been thrown to the side in an effort to get a new book out on Amazon every other month, and believe me, the craft is suffering because of it. Realm has been able to craft a wonderfully strong story line with characters that you really love (or love to hate) and a plot that thrills and excites the entire time!
I'm not going to lie. I haven't been this excited about the first book in a series in a LONG time. I've seen the love triangles that dominate YA literature. I've seen the reckless sex romps that have taken over New Adult Literature. I've cried at every weepy teen book about abuse, cancer, and coming of age. Yet, I was unprepared for the action, and pure thrill of reading Henge.
Retellings are still all the rage right now, and one of my favorite classics is that of Camelot. It's hard not to like Arthur, Guenevere, Excalibur and the lot, but Henge is something that touches on these iconic characters and objects ye at the same time tells a completely different tale from the one we expected.
Henge is very fantastically crafted, as we are in the mind of Morgan La Fay (A witch/fairy/sorcerer depending on which legend you read). She can manipulate the element of fire while others can manipulate the other elements (cue Avatar the Last Airbender binge watching session) and Morgan is vying for the title of Maven or advisor to the throne.
I was actually really impressed by Realm's writing ability. It seems that in this day and age, writing ability has been thrown to the side in an effort to get a new book out on Amazon every other month, and believe me, the craft is suffering because of it. Realm has been able to craft a wonderfully strong story line with characters that you really love (or love to hate) and a plot that thrills and excites the entire time!
~Try an Excerpt!~
The water is at my waist. My heart thunders in my ears. This
is fast-moving—definitely magic-caused. How is it possible for a magic user to
produce this much water? It’s icy, violent—it wants me dead.
Panting, I drop my book and start swimming. I have to reach
the stairs. With each stroke, the water rises a foot higher. Light fixtures
flash, then strobe for a second before fizzling out completely, darkening the
room. Quickly, I swim over a bookshelf. I am getting closer and closer to the
ceiling. As I swim past a chandelier, I hit into the crystals. Panic seizes me,
and my body becomes heavier as my muscles tighten. The water user is flooding
the library up to the ceiling so that I can’t make it out. There’s nothing I
can do with fire magic when there’s this much water. Soon the water will reach
the ceiling, and I won’t be able to breathe.
I’ve got to take a deep breath while I can and swim to the
stairs.
There are only several centimeters of space between the
ceiling and me. Fear takes hold of me, making my whole body taut and harder to
stay afloat, but the instinct to live kicks into gear, and I focus on my goal:
getting to safety. I have swum in the icy, rough waters of the Celtic Sea. The
water user will have to work much harder to drown me. I exhale and inhale to
oxygenate my bloodstream and then take my final gulp of air just before the
water rises past my head. I plunge beneath the cold water.
~Meet Realm!~
Realm Lovejoy
is an American writer and an artist. She grew up in both Washington State and
the Japanese Alps of Nagano, Japan. Currently she lives in Seattle and works as
an artist in the video game industry. CLAN is her first book. You can find out
more about her and her book at realmlovejoy.com
Website:
http://www.realmlovejoy.com/index2.php
Blog:
http://realmlovejoy.blogspot.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/authorrealmlovejoy
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/realmlovejoy
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23151530-henge
Realm will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteI've seen lots of covers before, but the first thing I thought when I opened this blog was that this is one sexy cover. Definitely grabbed my attention. However, it's the excerpt that has sustained my attention. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for reading and taking the time to write a detailed review of Henge! I'm so thrilled that you enjoyed the book, especially since you love the Arthurian legends and do a lot of reading. I'm glad you liked the writing quality too since I definitely strive for quality over quantity. (I drafted the series in 2011 so it's been through many years of work.) I hope you'll stay tuned for the next book coming out this year!
ReplyDeleteI'll be back in the eve in case your readers have any questions for me. Thanks!
Great excerpt! Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeletenice blurb
ReplyDeleteAny reference to the legends of Arthur & I'm in.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about the author. I love the Seattle area!
ReplyDeleteI liked the excerpt best. This book sounds like such an interesting and intriguing read. I will totally have to add this book to my "to-read" list.
ReplyDelete