A thrilling, gripping read, full of gods and heroes.
921596
When Fates, men, and the gods become misaligned, an imbalance prevails that can devastate both mortal and immortal realms. When men escape their fated doom, something - or someone - must pay the price. Who would dare tamper with the Fates but Tempus, Commander of the Sacred Band, also called the Riddler, the Sleepless One, avatar of the storm god, Enlil?

Determined to save 23 paired warriors of the doomed Sacred Band of Thebes and incorporate them into his own Sacred Band, Tempus entreats the Fates. His desire is granted, but the Thebans pay a price. Evil dreams of Chaeronea, the battle that claimed their comrades, plague them. Tempus beloved Band of Stepsons must go back to the sinkhole that is Sanctuary and face the evil that comes from a world out of balance. When one of their own, the strong-willed wizard-boy Shamshi, is saved from Stepson justice by Askelon, the dream lord, the two form a pair and become a power for evil that threatens to tear the Band apart. It falls to Niko, Tempus right side companion, to protect his Commander from the repeated consequences of the battle of Chaeronea, many worlds away, where the Thebans were fated to die. If Niko and Tempus cannot turn the tide and push this battle in a new direction, all will be lost.

The natures of the main Stepson characters are explored in great depth in this tale. Nikos constant grappling with his love for his Commander, his inner balance (or maat), his need to kill Shamshi or be killed, and his concern for his friends, now takes a new turn as he is forced to confront a fundamental question. How has his relationship with Harmony, tutelary goddess of the Thebans, altered his essential nature?

Straton and Critias are still conflicted by Strats deep connection to the necromant, Ischade. Yet Ischade herself has depths yet unplumbed. She has her own agenda, indulges her own desires and hungers, yet never fails to aid the Band when called upon to do so. Does this compliance stem purely from her love for Strat, or are there other compulsions driving her actions?

A new character enters the scene - the Theban goddess Harmony. She brings her own kind of balance by muting the rage of the Storm God Enlil and opposing the youthful petulance of Sanctuarys own storm god, Vashanka. Yet she also brings conflict when she heals Niko of a mortal wound. Does this make him immortal, like the Riddler, or has he simply been touched by divinity?

All the emotions and strife of humankind can be found between the covers of this gripping book. The battle scenes are fierce and realistic; the fears, nightmares, hopes and despair of the characters keenly felt by this reader. The devastating fire at the Stepson barracks and the consequences for both men and horses was almost too wounding to read. Gods and goddesses, ghosts and necromants, murderers and Fates stalk the world of the Sacred Band, whose love, loyalty and warlike skills are tested as never before.
187037
Book three continues in the same capacity as the previous books. It's fast-paced, thrilling with no dull moments. There's magic, war, friendship, family and death. There is war between men and war among the Gods. It's a spectacular part of the book, Gods using their power.

Field Marshal Tamas leads the war effort, fighting the Kez and multiple traitors. A potential foe arrives at the shores of Adro. With Tamas and his army away, the people must handle the new arrival on their own. Adro must decide what to make of the man and his army. Is he there to cause war or is he there to bring peace?

Field Marshal Tamas remains a formidable ally and enemy. True to his word, Tamas continues to battle, to finish what was started the night of the coup.

In a sad, heart-wrenching ending, Tamas, Taniel, Bo, Vlora and the soldiers fight to fulfill their purpose to make Adro a democratic republic, free from the tyrannical rule of Kings. These men and women give their lives for their country and their loyalty is inspiring.

In the end, when the dust settles, even the most battle scarred and tested soldiers grieve, love and forgive. War is complicated and takes on new forms, even after guns are laid down.

Excellent story. Highly recommend the series!
3794387
Soul storm is a gripping story about a man on a journey to find his abducted wife. In the process, Ken finds a hidden strength within himself that stems from faith: a belief in god and a belief in the moral fiber that can still exist in Everyman. While the circumstances that propel the plot are certainly fantastic, Hemeon compels the reader to continue through his artful use of language and his skillful introduction of twists and turns. By the final pages, the book is impossible to put down and the reader eagerly waits to find out how the myriad characters and their plot lines crescendo for a grand finale.
1562429
This book is the first that I have read from this author.  I will gladly read any book that he writes!
The book is fast paced.  The main character witnesses something that leaves him scared, confused and hunted.  The action doesn't stop, but it becomes apparent that it is more than just an action story.  Ethical, political and spiritual elements combine within the unfolding events to make a gritty but heroic tale of good versus evil.  Esau is not just a witness to the event, but finds he also has the abilities needed to confront the perpetrators.  This is truly a page turner.  In my mind this work really deserves five stars.
4247376
Jon Sprunk has written a fast paced, action packed thriller which has appealing qualities that transcend it's genre.  Anybody who is interested in romance, heroism, and/or political intrigue, will be enthralled by this book, the first in what promises to be a noteworthy and successful series.

This is not exactly a political book, but it does touch upon the issue of separating church from state.  He uses a fictitious religion in what seems to be a lampooning of the contemporary Christian political movement in the United States.

Although politics and religion are touchy subjects, I do maintain that this book is written in such a way that anybody can appreciate, regardless of where the reader stands. I highly recommend it for everyone.
3238323
This book just took me right into the middle of the Norse gods and wow, what a great storyline.  I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book and find out how it turned out.  If you like thrilling stories, this is one that just will take you for a great ride.  Climb Aboard and hold on!!!
4676725
A wonderful story full of fantasy, myth and history.  A great read and well worth your time.  Take a trip with a hero.
317906
A brilliant conclusion to an exceptional fantasy trilogy. Not only packed with fast-paced action sequences, but also a brave, beautiful presentation of the power of faith. The ending kept me riveted, and even made me cry for joy and sadness at the same time. By far one of the best endings I have ever read.
2932219
I highly recommend this compelling story, skillfully made up on a solid base of deep, personal knowledge and experience. The reader is drawn into the thrilling action, feeling all the extreme fatigue, stress, fear and hope, as the protagonists do. I never climbed up the top of a mountain, but now I feel as if I did it. This is a promising onset of a new author.
2233803
THE READER is a glorious epic fantasy adventure with magic and pirates and assassins and secret societies and warring island nations and gloriously imaginative mythology. I got swept up right away--there's so much going on, so many distinctive characters, so many settings, but it's not confusing. It feels like you've been dumped into this fascinating world and sent off on an adventure, and what a great ride it is.

Sefia is a fantastic main character. She's complex, tough, compassionate, stubborn, and interesting, and the depth of her backstory and life experience is built up so wonderfully. But so many of the other characters are just as amazing, even when they're not in the center. The pirates! The assassins! The librarians! There are so many layers to this world, and so many people to inhabit it. I can't wait to read the sequel not just to find out what happens next, but to have a chance to spend more time in this glorious fantasy setting.

But what I really love most of all is how smartly all the stories-within-stories and myths-within-myths are layered and interconnected. It's no easy feat to make a book about stories--about reading, writing, remembering, vastly important but not exactly action-pact acts--into such a heart-quickening adventures, but Chee pulls it off like it's the easiest thing in the world.
3493354
Wow, what an adventure!

I truly enjoyed reading Trinity. It is the story of Kiana, a young woman, who has been locked away all her life because she is a goddess reincarnated, and there are those who will stop at nothing to see her destroyed. Then her tower is attacked. It happened so suddenly, it took me by surprise. I was like, whoa, what just happened. So I reread, and the whole place just exploded. Kiana is now on the run, and she decides she's going to find peace between her people and her enemies. The back cover mentions she's accompanied by an inexperienced guard and a hunted outcast. Let's just say, "hunted outcast" is an understatement. Wow.

Where to begin? The story world is rich and complex. We have conflicting cultures and beliefs, embodied in the characters themselves. Loved the characters. How they changed and grew, the love that slowly blossomed between two of the characters. I'll let you read the book to find out who the lucky guy was. The ending was stunning, complicated, but beautifully worked.

I will be looking for more books from this author.
675523
It was a fun book to read, full of action and Magic. They were twists and turns throughout the book. Some of these were amusing, well others had you sitting on the edge of your seat. I learned a lot about Norse mythology which was an added bonus.
3308041
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Grounded in a historical setting during the time of the Crusades, Armor of God takes the reader on an exciting adventure where fantasy probes the truth of faith, purpose and passion.  Lesch is a talented writer whose description creates a believable and captivating world.  At times, the story was so exciting, I had a hard time putting it down.

The main character, Jean Baptiste who has special God-given powers, is engaging and larger than life as we follow him on his quest for justice.  Through Lesch's skill with language, Baptiste's struggle with his own passion and purpose makes this not just a light fantasy, but a rich, thought-provoking and exciting adventure with contemporary significance.  If you enjoy fantasy embedded in the aura of history and enriched with spiritual impact, you are sure to enjoy Armor of God.
2290784
This book was a fantastic experience and full of excitement, magic, war and love. It kept me reading non stop from beginning to end.
1287057
In this novel there are monsters with and without magic, a hero who faces an actually believable amount of foes, the fighting scenes are terrific (some even bordering on the "oh, God! That was too brutal!"  It has a share of the erotic, a splended array of characters, and the world that is built is exquisite.
Another top-notch author who truly understands the need to paint a picture as vivid as possible to suck the reader in.  Once you start this, and get into it about 5 chapters or so, you'll be fully hooked.
1893789
When the protagonist achieves Nirvana within the first few pages, you know you're entering a story thats goin places. When the first words a hero  hears after rebirth into physical life are Brace yourself you know the ride is going to be exciting.

J.F. Dubeau has created a post-human universe of gods, engineered life-forms tasked with repairing a damaged, uninhabitable galaxy while we hibernate in safety. Dagir is born into a lush universe, a vivid and thrilling trans-human society  and into instant calamity. She is quite literally made-to-order and unleashed barely in time to respond to a civil war that is staggering in its bredth and suddenness, though the causes for it are rooted in human programming written hundreds or thousands of years before.

If you're looking for a fast pace and a grand scale (and thats my bag, baby), you won't be disappointed with The Life Engineered.
4438685
Ann Gimpel has written a glorious tale of heroism, love, and fantasy. The characters come to life throughout this book in such a way that makes you want to know more. The world building is awesome. Wizards fight in an urban fantasy way with bad guys known as Infernals. Think every bad thing to ever be imagined and then some, now you have a little taste of these evil things. They are poison to everything, corrupting that which they cannot kill. This is set in a post apocalyptic, dystopian earth that is dying due to the destruction from humans never caring about the earth. This book is a mix of Urban Fantasy, Romance, and High Fantasy with Wizards, human mages, earth mages, Gods and Goddesses, and so much more. There is A LOT of action! Lots of fighting. There is something for every lover of paranormal and fantasy.

There is something that keeps bugging me. While the book was truly amazing, I feel it didn't need part of the ending. Why give her that burden? Why have that in a book that is a standalone?  For me it took away from the HEA.

Keep Writing

This book does have romance in it. There is even a bit of darkness, though it is not long or descriptive.