The Du Lac Chronicles: Book 1 by Mary Anne Yarde

As the temperatures are soaring into the 30's here, the only place to be is the beach. After a refreshing dip I reach for my faithful Kindle and read until it gets too hot again. This one was great beach reading. One of my favourite genres; historical fiction. Quite a sweet Romeo and Juliet style plot, but with two more books in the series, I hope that the final outcome will be happier! 5 stars.

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This romance that mixes fiction, fact and legend works well. It kept me hooked from beginning to the end. The star crossed lovers were both characters I understood and felt great empathy for as they searched for a place of safety where they could be together. I liked that the writer has set this romance after the fall of Camelot so we recognise and know quite a lot already about the main character Alden’s father; Lancelot du Lac. Not much is known about the dark ages so the bringing in of a well-known saga was something that I liked and gave me some background. Unlike many romances that border on the erotic, this one was clean. In my opinion this was a big plus as the characters were in their late teens and early twenties, so their romance was suitably sweet and innocent. There was plenty of action as the young couple fled Annis’ enraged father and they made their way across ancient Britain. The dialogue contained enough humour to provide us with some lighter moments, overall an engrossing and well balanced read. I’m delighted there are another two books in the series as there are more secrets to uncover and adventure to be had.

Sword of Shadows by C N Lesley

Had to set my excitement aside for just a few hours to catch up with my second life as a writer. Work at the airport is now finished for two weeks while we take a deserved break in New York (hence the excitement!) Next to writting there is always a lot of other things to do like; posting to and reading news groups, reading books and posting a review. I hope NY will be inspiring and I will come back with a few stories for the bundle I'm currently working on.(working title: Ordinary People) So before we jet off tomorrow here is a five star read to consider:

Sword of Shadows by C.N. Lesley on Amazon.com

Arthur and his brother live in a brutal world where a cruel species ; the Nestines have enslaved the land dwelling humans(Terrans) A wrist band makes sure the humans aren’t even aware that the Nestines exist and use them for food. Arthur leads a small band of rebels who are free. During a battle they realise that they might have come on the radar of the Nestines and that the technology protecting them has been compromised. They flee to Avalon; the underwater city of the submariners and where their mother lives. At first I found the world the writer set the story in bewildering. There were many species, warring factions and character. I was not aware that this book was the second in the series and that put me in the early chapters at a disadvantage. (Note to author, it is a good idea to put next to the title on Amazon book 1 or book 2 so it is clear the book is part of a series) As the book was so well written I read on and started to thoroughly enjoy this epic adventure. The Nestines are spine chillingly evil and the book is action packed. I liked the mix of Arthurian legend with the futuristic. We have Arthur on a quest for a sword while being hunted with space ships. I appreciate as well that the writer has gone the route of using more medieval morals (Kidnapping woman from other tribes to start a settlementJ) rather than going the more mainstream YA route of young women having an equal role. Like it or not, it makes the world Arthur lives in seem more brutal and dangerous.