Lucci's List: March 2020

This month I am focusing on fantasy tales, particularly of the Irish sort. I hope you enjoy my reviews and try some new books out for yourself! Stay tuned next month as I delve into National Poetry Month.

"Unbridled Commentary...Without Flinch!: from a Woman of Years in the "Middle" of Her Life" by Kaye A. Peters is a short memoir providing insight into a well-loved life.
From the pain of losing a son to the joy of finding a faith community, this memoir provides a mixture of happy and sad, sentimental and real.

"Wild Irish Heart (Mystic Cove, #1) is a supernatural love story. From Boston to Ireland, Keelin journeys to re-discover her Irish roots. Through the guidance of her grandmother Fiona, she realizes she has mystical healing powers. All the women in the quaint village have witchy powers, which makes for an eerie yet charming fairy-tale setting.

For all the female empowerment that is strong throughout the story, the love interest Flynn nearly ruins it. The love scenes are less sex and more violence. It was a turn-off to me. Flynn at first seemed to be the dramatic mysterious type but he proved to be a jerk. But Keelin stayed in love with him any way, which was disappointing.

All in all, an interesting tale, if the sex scenes are skipped over.

"Irish Imbas: Celtic Mythology Collections Book 1" is half folklore, half history. The author tells the tales of ancient Celts while remaining true to the original flavours. Each story is accompanied by an explanation or description of how the story came to be, how it was passed down through generations and cultures, and how important the origins are to the story.
It was interesting to me to discover the origins of these lost classics.

"The Gods Who Chose Us" by Michael J. Roy is a unique sci-fi fantasy novel. Based on the idea that both Norse and Greek gods are true entities, humanity is torn between supernatural wars.
The gods were watching humans all along, and conducting social experiments with them. The ancient Greeks and Norse myths were not quite accurate, the author illustrates. Their characters are modernized and give a whole new meaning to "larger than life."
Science and technology go hand in hand with out of this world godly powers. The strong factual base of the "magic" in this book was believable. This gave the fantasy a science fiction flavour that added another dimension of action to the story.
This book had a fantastical blend of everything I love about Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Magic, science, technology, powerful characters, interwoven plots, a melting pot of worlds, and time travel!
A couple of times I got off track and confused reading this book. I appreciated the glossary of gods; it was fun to read the brief character descriptions. My favourite character was Sigyn. She had a quieter bravery than some of the more wild characters. I also was fascinated by Aion, because I am a time travel nut.
There were a few swears but they were appropriate to the dialogue. The action was thrilling rather than gory. I recommend this book to anyone who has a zeal for Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and for fans of "The Maze Runner," "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief," and"Ender's Game,"

"The Faerie Guardian (Creepy Hollow, #1) by Rachel Morgan is a delightful example of a modern fantasy adventure. Violet, the main character, is a fairy whose duties include protecting humans. Her mission, another teen named Nate, becomes immersed in her fairy world and they discover strengths within themselves that prove how strong they are when they combine their talents.

The author's world-building is exceptional. The fairy land is described with surreal realism, and I could picture every tiny flower.

The descriptions often lend themselves to poetry, providing beautiful breathless excerpts I found myself reading again and again.

"Droplets of water are strung like pearls from the silver strands of a spider's web. Bluebottle glow-bugs stick to the leaves and branches, lighting up the night with their blue-green bodies. And high above us, clouds are draped like sashes of color across the sky. Amethyst, azure, jade."

The ending serves a real punch, and is worth the wait.