"Forging Silver Into Stars" by Brigid Kemmerer

Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer is a fantasy book about two kingdoms, loyalty and magic.  Emberfall is led by Rhen and Harper, Syhl Shallow led by Grey and Lia Mara.  Rhen and Grey are brothers, Grey is a magesmith and the people of Syhl Shallow are afraid of his magic so a faction called the Truthbringers is plotting to kill him.  Most of the story is about Jax and Callyn, friends from childhood, who live near woods in Briarlock which is part of Syhl Shallow but a good distance from the palace.  Callyn and her younger sister run a bakery and Jax, a cripple, is a blacksmith who works for his father in a forge near the bakery.  They both owe lots of taxes and are pretty delighted to find an easy way to earn more silvers.  Are they committing treason though?  Can they trust Alek, the one who pays silvers.  Is Tycho, the king's courier, telling the truth?  Does Tycho really care about Jax and does Alek really care about Callyn?  

This seemed slow to me at the start because I was just finished Defend the Dawn which I loved so much I hated to see it end.  This is a story about trust as was Defend the Dawn.  Decisions must be made about which side to take.  Can Jax and Callyn maintain their friendship if they take different sides?  Most of this book is about inner struggles and choosing sides, determining who to trust.  The characters are all interesting and I loved the action in the last quarter of the book.  It was fast-paced and fun seeing how everything was coming to a head.  I could have done without the gay relationship, but enjoyed the book other than that.  I also loved the ending!  I recommend this one to any Brigid Kemmerer fan.  I'm sure there will be more in this series and look forward to them.  (Karen's review, 4 stars)  

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"Endure" by Sara B. Larson is Heart Wrenching! (Updated)

Endure by Sara B. Larson is the third and final book in the Defy Series which we both highly recommend.   Alexa again has her hands full trying to hold off the enemy and make sure King Damian is safe!  This book is probably the best of the series.  It has tons of action from the outset and the pacing of the book is very good!  I just had to see what was going to happen next!  This is one of the top series that I have ever read!  I LOVED IT!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Karen's review 3/19/16:
Endure by Sara B. Larson is not only the third book of the Defy trilogy, but also the best! Good characters are motivated by love and loyalty while evil characters are motivated by greed and power in a struggle to survive. Alexa and Damian’s love story continues on throughout this book and is heartbreaking. Alexa’s fight against Armando and his black sorcerers is amazing! There is lots of action in this book as well as the tender moments of friendship and love.

I loved this last book of the series which is captivating and even made me cry near the end. When Alexa left King Damian after his proposal to rescue her friend, Rylan, I thought she was nuts and was proved to be right! I actually felt she made a very bad decision there and didn’t have as much sympathy for her during her captivity as I otherwise would have. I felt it was her own fault for being so stupid to go back to Dansii with Eljin to save Rylan.

At any rate, this is a very entertaining and adventurous fantasy/clean romance series I highly recommend, especially for anyone new to fantasy. I was never bored and it moved along well. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)
This series reminded me a lot of THE THRONE OF GLASS series by Sarah J. Mass.  I discuss some differences and similarities in this video:
  



See my reviews of Defy-Book 1 and Ignite-Book #2

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"DEFY" by Sara B. Larson (Both of us Liked This Fantasy!)

Manny Boy being defiant--ignoring the book!

In Defy by Sara B. Larson, Alexa is a fighter, the best of the guard that protects Prince Damian.  She also has a secret that she hides, but when another guard and the prince are taken captive, Alexa finds out there are other secrets out there.  

This book was SO GOOD!  I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it.  From page 1 I was hooked!  The characters are really good and there is lots of action too!  I will continue with this series for sure!  This is my book of the month!  I highly recommend this one!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)


(Karen's review 3/4/16)
Defy by Sara B. Larson is a YA fantasy novel about Alexa, who pretends she is a boy to avoid being captured and put into King Hector’s “breeding house.” Instead, she serves with her twin brother as a guard for Prince Damian. She is actually the best sword fighter in the army and would be captain except she is too young.

There is some mystery and action throughout this first book in the series. Secrets are revealed, people feel betrayed and Alexa finally gets to be herself. With some magic and a love triangle, this book kept my interest and I enjoyed it.  I look forward to reading the rest of this series with Ignite and Endure.
(4 stars)

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"The Beauty of Darkness" by Mary E. Pearson (Book 3 of Remnant Chronicles) UPDATED

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson is the third and final book of the Remnant Chronicles series, and in my opinion, the best!  Lia survived Venda and is now headed home to save her people because an army is coming to her land.  I thought this book was very good.  At close to 700 pages, it is a big one!  Lia was so good!  Even better in this one than the first two.  Rafe and Kaden were good as well and I enjoyed them too.  I LOVED the ending!  This is my book of the month for December!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)


Karen read this one first:
The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson is the third book of the Remnant Chronicles series and finishes strong.  Princess Lia continues to be awesome and an amazing peacemaker!  In this book, traitors are caught and alliances are made with love taking a back seat as Rafe, Lia and Kaden work together to bring down the cruel Komizar of Venda.  All through, I kept hoping that Lia and Rafe would eventually marry.  Do they?  You'll have to read the book to find out!

Wow!  This book drew me in and I found myself thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it.  I loved this series and really cared about the complex characters as they developed.  Every book in this series is great!  I liked this series even more than THE THRONE OF GLASS series by Sarah J. Maas because it was much easier to follow and wasn't so much magic which made it more believable and realistic. 
(Karen's review, 12/2/16, 5 stars)  

The first book of this series is Kiss of Deception and the second is Heart of Betrayal. 

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"The Heart of Betrayal" (Book 2 of Remnant Chronicles) by Mary E. Pearson (UPDATED)

The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson is book two in the Remnant Chronicles series, the sequel to Kiss of Deception, which I LOVED. Lia and Kaden are taken as prisoners by the barbarians of Vaden and deception is prevalent in this book throughout, but not for the reader as it was in book one. Lia continues to be both feisty, brave and deceptive. She pretends not to care for Kaden in order to save his life while relying on Rafe, the assassin, to protect her. Tension between Kaden and Rafe continues to escalate, but they both love Lia. Lia and Kaden catch short times together to hatch an escape plan, that is even more urgent as Lia’s wedding to the Komizar fast approaches. There is some brutality in this book with lots of interesting characters and relationships. Will Rafe betray the Komizar to protect Lia? Will he kill Kaden? Will Griz get his revenge? Will Kaden and Lia be successful in their escape?

I LOVED this book so much! It moved along quickly and was as much fun to read as Kiss of Deception. I thought the funniest part was when Lia beat Griz at cards, but the saddest was when the Komizar killed the little girl. This is a good series that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys adventure, romance and fantasy with royalty. I look forward to the next book to find out what happens! (Karen's review 8/1/15, 5 stars)

Gerard read this too 12/8/16, but didn't like it as much as I did:
This book is the follow up to Kiss of Deception which I liked better.  Lia is being held captive in the city of Venda and Kaden is keeping an eye on her, making sure no harm comes to her.  Rafe is also captured and is waiting for his army to come and rescue him and Lia.  As in book one, the part that Lia tells were the highlight for me.  She is really good!  There is some action finally near the end which sets up the final book.
(4 stars)

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"Snow Like Ashes" by Sara Raasch is Great! (Updated)

Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch is her debut fantasy novel about courage, determination and a mission of 8 Winterians to free their captured slaves and rebuild their kingdom. Meira, the main character and one of the surviving remnant, is a 16-yr-old orphan girl who wants to be a soldier and contribute to help Winter. This looks like an in surmountable task especially since Winter has lost its magic conduit. The secrets, betrayal and lies all create a very good story line.

This book sailed along. Once Meira decides to do whatever it takes to help Winter even if it’s not the way she wants, the book took off. I liked the love triangle and the fighting scenes best. For me, it was really hard to pull for Winter because I don’t like Winter. The kingdoms were named for the four seasons and then four other kingdoms were rhythms which I really didn’t understand. The magical part didn’t make much sense to me either, but it did make things interesting. I really liked the ending and think this is a very good debut novel. (Karen's review 8/19/15, 4 stars)


In Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, a YA fantasy novel, the kingdom of Winter has been conquered.  A few people remain and vow to rebuild their land.  Meira is one of them.  She would do anything to help Winter make a comeback!  This book is very good because there is lots of action which made it fly by.  Meira is a fantastic character who I cheered for all the way!

If you loved the Sarah J. Maas books, which I did, you will love this one too!  It is hard to believe this is the author's first book which she first drafted at age 12!  I LOVED this book and look forward to the next one in this series.  Books don't get any better than this!
(Gerard's review 8/12/15, 5++ stars)

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