Telesa – The Covenant Keeper by Lani Wendt Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I’ve never seen anything so beautiful – and so terrible in my life.”

Leila is searching for a place to belong after her father’s death. Against his final wish, she travels to Samoa to try to find out about her mother, who her father had told her was dead.

After she arrives on the island, she settles into her routine, but a fire builds inside of her that she can’t explain. Even as she adjusts to her knew school – and the God-like boy, Daniel – she gets throwing for a loop again – her mother is alive. Now, she needs to find answers to the cause of the flames. Answers only her mother can give her.

Trying to quench her inner fire, but thoughts of Daniel feed the flames, so she agrees to move in with her mother to find out how to control this power. But even as she learns to control herself as a telesa, she finds out why her mother’s name brings fear to the locals and must decide between her mother’s ways and her own.

Full of Samoan culture, Telesa: The Covenant Keeper is a tale of accepting who you are and standing up for what you believe in.

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Rook by J.C. Andrijeski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The clouds enveloped my mind, leaving nothing but silence.

Allie Taylor has spend 28 years thinking she was human and, despite being adopted, leading a normal life. She holds down a job as a waitress, working with her best friend, Cass, and has a good relationship with her brother, Jon. Even though she takes care of her mother ever since her father died, her life was more mundane than anything. Except for the drawings and images that she can’t get out of her mind. And the Mono Man, who she finds out is Revik, who has started to follow her around. And the beating she gives her ex, that she didn’t even know she was capable of…

Allie’s world, though similar to our own on the surface, hides a deep secret – the seers. A race of beings with mental powers so powerful that most are enslaved, the seers are feared by the mere humans – including Allie, even after she finds out she’s one of them. Now, she must fight for not only her life and that of her family, but also of the entire human race.

Andrijeski spins a marvelous tale, filled with action, excitement, good guys vs. bad guys, magic and beautiful prose. Allie’s world is familiar yet not, and her process of accepting who and what she is – with help from Revik, prostitutes, her brother and others – is a fascinating journey sure to please.

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In Wilder Lands: The Fall of Eldvar by Jim Galford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Tell me I am not a slave, but put a leash on me and I will call you a liar.”

Estin just wants be left alone, in a world where his kind are hated and thought of as slaves. Haunted by memories of his mother’s capture and his father’s beating, Estin struggles to survive and keep from being captured.

Until the day he meets Feanne.

Estin finds himself doing things he never imagined his kind of wildling to do: fighting and protecting rather than running and hiding. Feanne touches Estin like no other, and he breaks through her hardened heart, showing her that there is more to life than fighting.

While the war rages around them, Estin and Feanne, along with the rest of the wildlings, face difficult challenges of their own. Estin’s relationship with Feanne changes vastly throughout the book, though his drive to protect her and her kits only grows stronger. Estin puts himself into several heartbreaking situations, breaking himself nearly to the limit, and somehow overcomes these challenges and becomes who he’s never known he wanted to be.

There is no lack of humor, love, or confrontation; they are all blended into the story effortlessly to create a very real picture of who these characters are and what they struggle with. While the story is very character-driven, the attention to details within the world itself are not forgotten, giving the reader a vivid look at the world of Eldvar.

Galford’s writing is beautiful. His descriptions of the characters, the surroundings, the internal struggles, and the world itself are magical, transporting the reader into the story to walk beside these characters. Anyone looking for an epic fantasy should not pass this book by.

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The Beast Call by Anne Tibbets
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dray Rena is a typical girl in the town of Genua…mostly. Her secret, kept hidden from all but her brother, is that she can do magic. Feared among the others of the continent of Madis, those with magical abilities learn quickly to hide them or risk being burned at the stake.

Rebelling against an arranged marriage, Dray runs off with her brother Lurin to join the army, intent on bringing down the evil King Nuro. Dray, in addition to her gift with animals, also finds herself skilled with a sword, much to the chagrin of Lurin. The two once inseparable siblings drift further apart as Dray’s talents are called into service more and more.

The Beast Call has so much potential, and could be fleshed out either into a full-length novel or a series. As is stands, the novella is fast-paced and a good mix of action and descriptions. While I also would have liked Dray to have more interactions with the animals she called and further development of her relationship with Milikan, The Beast Call is a great read for young fantasy lovers.

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