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Review of Waking Magic: The Revelations of Oriceran (The Leira Chronicles #1) by Martha R. Carr & Michael Anderle

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I won a copy of Waking Magic, by Martha Carr and Michael Anderle through Goodreads.

Description from Goodreads:
There are some on our planet who believe you can’t handle the truth, so the truth has been hidden for millennia. The only problem is the truth is coming back… Early.

Some of the crazy history shows on cable TV might not have the answers, but at least they ask the right questions.

Homicide detective, Leira Berens is in a race against a magical force with a mischievous troll by her side with a penchant for swearing.

The stakes are real. And so is the magical world she just visited.

An elven prince is dead, a timebomb as a necklace is loose in her world, and her mother may not be crazy.

It’s a lot. But with help from unexpected places, Leira is going to accomplish more than she ever thought possible.

Welcome to The Revelations of Oriceran.

Because some believe you can’t handle the truth.

Review:
I was bitterly disappointed by this. Let me start with a little bit of a rant. This is labeled as the first book in a series, book 1. But I picked it up and was completely confused, lost. The story had obviously started somewhere else. How can that be if this is book one, I asked.

Well, apparently there is a book .5. Now, I have no problem with .5 books (or however you want to labeled something that comes before book one). This is the place for a prequel. But if the story is part of book one, if it’s necessary to read and understand the story, then I firmly believe this is not a prequel, it’s not book .5. IT IS BOOK ONE. So, I take some serious issue in how this author has chosen to number the books. I couldn’t pick up book one and find the start of a story. I couldn’t easily catch up or follow it. This is a serious problem for me. Especially since it doesn’t really end either. So, I didn’t get a complete beginning or ending.

Outside of that (for me) one big issue, I also thought the book rushed and unfocused. Tell me, if you have a few short days to find someone and a magical object would you take the time to go bowling? As an author, would you dedicate pages to someone’s trip to CVS?

There was very little in the line of plot progression, character development or world building. (Maybe it’s all in that previous book, which only further supports my assertion that it should be book one.) I’ll grant that the characters were likable and the troll cute. But you never get to know them.

The writing is mechanically fine and I don’t remember too many editing errors. But I have no desire to continue the series.

Edit: Another reviewer, who did read the ‘prequel’ stated that it is the “the first 3 or so chapters of the book, despite being published separately.” I’ll add that it’s not even a freebie. So apparently you have to pay for the first 3 chapters of this book separately. That’s a big FAT “no” from me.

Storm Raiders

Book Review of Storm Raiders (Storms Of Magic Book 1), by PT Hylton & Michael Anderle

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I received an Audible copy of Storm Raiders (by P. T. Hylton & Michael Anderle) for review.

Description from Goodreads:
In a time when magic rules the sea, she only trusts her sword.

Abbey has always been an outsider in Holdgate. While the people of her adopted city dominate the seas with their weather-controlling storm magic, she prefers the work in her father’s blacksmith shop.

Besting any foolish enough to question her skills with a sword.

But when her father is falsely accused of murder, she has to sneak aboard a stormship and take to the seas in a quest to clear his name.

Teaming up with a young storm mage and a no-nonsense Captain, Abbey sets off on a swashbuckling adventure.

She’ll soon learn that the legendary Storm Raiders–a terrifying group of seafaring pirates–are all too real.

Set on the foundation laid by the Kurtherian Gambit Series, Storm Raiders tells an entirely new story in the Age of Magic–and of the heroes and villains who battle for control of its destiny.

Review:
Generally enjoyable and I thought Gabra Zackman did an excellent job with the narration.

The good: I liked Abby and Dustin. I liked that she’s pretty much badass and he’s more than willing to let her go forth and kick butt, while he takes a step back. I thought the writing was quite readable and the world, future Earth, is interesting. Though that same world seems to be part of a larger series in which several authors are creating stories. (I didn’t realize that until I got to the Authors’ Notes section at the end.)

The bad: I simply could not believe that there was such a large and long running conspiracy and no one knew about it. Which mean, I pretty much didn’t believe the underlying premise of the mystery and plot. Further, I don’t believe that even if such a large, long running conspiracy had been occurring two separate groups could undercover it in a day or two. That was all far too convenient and easy.

Personal quibble: I didn’t like the cursing. Now, I don’t have any issue with cussing in general. I, myself, curse like a sailor. But the book is YA and I would say on the lower side of YA. Not quite MG, but certainly I could see a tween reading it; which means the cursing seemed out of place. So, my complaint isn’t any sort of prissy, moralistic one, but stylistic. It felt like the author aimed for a certain audience, which genre-wise generally doesn’t include ‘dirty words,’ but then dropped a curse in every once in a while and then I didn’t know which age bracket he was aiming for after all.