3 Young Adult Fantasy Novels to Read

by MK French

The year might be winding down, but there are still some great young adult fantasy novels to read. 

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

6 Fantastic Fantasy Novels You Have to Read

by MK French

There are some really great fantasy novels coming out this month. I'm going to give you a rundown of all the best I've read so you can go ahead and pre-order what will become your next favorite book. There is a little of something for every fan of fantasy on this list - young adult, dark fantasy, folklore, and fairytales.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

6 Fantastic Fantasy Stories to Read

by MK French

There are a lot of great fantasy stories coming out this month and I recently finished up an omnibus that came at the end of 2022. If you are a fan of fantasy then you need to check out these books.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

2 Fantasy Novels for Young Readers

by MK French

Did you or your kid get a new eReader for Christmas? If they (or you) love fantasy novels, then definitely check out these two books for young readers.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

4 Books for Fans of Young Adult Fantasy

by MK French

There is some really great young adult fantasy coming out this month. Here's a round-up of 4 books you'll want to keep an eye out for.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

4 New Books for Fans of Fantasy

by MK French

Some really good fantasy novels are coming out this month. I slipped in one more from January.  If you are wanting to celebrate the Lunar New Year with a book, you can pick up The Touch of Murder. The other two come out a little later this month so either pre-order them now or put them on your wishlist as you won't want to miss them.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

Tea for Dragons by Kandi J. Wyatt, Illustrated by Ishika Sharma ~ a Review

by MK French

What if dragons were real and you could invite them over for tea and snacks? What would you serve? What would dragons like to eat?

Amazon affiliate inks are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

3 New & Notable YA Fantasy Novels

by MK French

I'm back with another list of not to be missed fantasy novels. This time I'm focusing on 3 young adult fantasy novels that have recently published or coming out later this month.

What I Learned While Writing Dragon's Winter by guest Kandi J Wyatt

You’d think writing fantasy I don’t need to do research, but that’s not the case. One of the reasons my tag-line is “where fantasy and reality meet” is because I write realistic fantasy. That can require research. 

While writing Dragon’s Winter, I had several different places pop up that required me to look them up to see if they fit within the timeframe or even how they were done. 

An Unexpected Exploit by Kandi J. Wyatt ~ a Review

by MK French

Franklin follows a Sasquatch through a portal from Myrtle Beach, Oregon to the realm of Shinwano. There, he discovers a world full of mythical creatures and vows to protect the land. He doesn't realize how difficult it is to keep that promise, especially when a poacher, an NSA agent, and his friends are interested in the portal for different reasons. The poacher threatens his family, forcing Franklin to reconsider that promise and still try to keep his family safe. The consequences of that decision is more than a rift in the space-time continuum.

An Unexpected Escapade by Kandi J. Wyatt ~ a Review

by MK French

Eighth grade brings with it a lot of problems: homework, reading for school, chores, and a new student named Karlie in the classroom. Myrtle Beach had some strange events the summer before, but Will won't discuss it with Ana or her best friend Daisy. They soon have a secret of their own when a unicorn shows up. Winston, the NSA Special Division officer is still present and will be investigating.

Meet Ana from An Unexpected Escapade by Kandi J. Wyatt

This middle-grades fantasy is releasing on April 9th! Pre-order now for just 99 cents!

Today, we get to know Ana, one of the characters in this new book from Kandi J. West. Keep reading after the interview to enter the giveaway.

An Unexpected Adventure by Kandi J Wyatt ~ a #KidLit Review

by MK French

How it begins...

PSST, Harley." Cherise's voice, although quiet for her, was loud enough to get us into trouble with Miss Smith. "Harley!"

Review: Journey from Skioria by Kandi J Wyatt

by MK French

Tania is a nine-year-old girl that fell overboard and is now lost in the land of Skioria. Various races in the land are brought together to help bring her back to the land of humans, some of whom have to defy the conventions of their people in order to do so. It's a long distance to travel across Skioria, and the way is complicated by rugged terrain and storms.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2017; 978-1974651122
ebook, print (152 pages); fantasy, middle grades

Journey from Skioria is a middle-grade fantasy novel and billed as a Lord of the Rings style of story. It does literally involve a mixed-race group of people united for a common cause, as well as travel across a large landscape on foot.

The chapters are short, which should make it easier for younger readers, and it's easy to grasp what's happening.

There are descriptions of the land and the folklore of the places, which would appeal to anyone interested in the topic.

Perhaps because of the focus on making it approachable to younger readers, it's too easy as an adult to skip past entire paragraphs describing the moment to moment travels that they all undertake. At the same time, characters sometimes say profound things, such as one adult comforting a child with a sense of loss: "All the outward tears have dried up; so the rain cries the tears I can’t.”

Tania comes across as a fun girl, even in a scary situation like this, and her personality shines as she learns about the different people and nations of Skioria. Everyone in the book bonds rather quickly and becomes so very emotionally attached, so that conflicts are resolved quickly.

For younger readers, this is a benefit; Tania being involved in decisions and helping the adults will show children are capable of being leaders and reasoning out solutions to complicated problems. It's definitely an optimistic message and one that most children can absorb without even realizing it.

Buy Journey from Skioria at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and golden retriever.

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4 Novels for Your Young Adult to Read Before School Starts

Reviews by MK French

School is already going back in some areas and others will be following over the next several weeks. If your teen hasn't finished their reading assignment for summer and needs a book to read, here are 4 young adult novels for teen to choose. The books can be enjoyed by the young at heart, too.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.

Murder in Little Shendon by A. H. Richardson

August 2015; 978-1515283973
ebook, print (256 pages); mystery

Little Shendon is a picturesque village in England full of colorful characters, including the belligerent shopkeeper Fynche, who is found murdered. Almost everyone in the village had some kind of motive for doing him harm, or at least enjoy the thought of him getting what he deserved. Police Inspector Burgess has his hands full, so he invites his amateur detective friends Sir Victor Hazlett and the actor Beresford Brandon to help him conduct interviews of everyone in the village.

There's a timelessness to the book even though it likely was to have taken place in the fifties based on offhand remarks made about characters being in "the war." It felt like they were referring to World War II, and the details about plugging in a telephone to use and needing a switchboard added to that feeling.

I adored reading Agatha Christie books as a kid, and this book is definitely in keeping with the spirit of her mysteries. Where Agatha Christie's detectives somehow knew details that hadn't been discussed in the book prior to the big reveal, A. H. Richardson absolutely has all of the details in the book. They are definitely little, easily glossed over, and made me want to thwap my head at the end for missing it.

This is a very thinky and detail oriented book... Don't read it in a rush like I did!

Buy Murder in Little Shendon at Amazon

Dragon's Future by Kandi J. Wyatt

June 2016; 978-1533212351
ebook, print (258 pages); fairy tale

Ruskya and Duskya are twins from a poor family in their village, yet are chosen as riders by the two dragons that have waited year after year. They train for the next fifteen years, and the future of the dragons and the surrounding villages is put at risk when a strange turquoise dragon arrives.

I was reminded of Anne McCafferey's Dragonriders of Pern series, though I find this one a little lacking in comparison.

The naming conventions with y's everywhere gets annoying to read after a while, and it can be hard to keep characters' names straight. The plot starts off slow, without a lot of explanation for the traditions discussed, and the time jumps are a bit startling. The pace picks up about halfway through, which definitely helps. Some of the characters don't quite ring true, most notably Carryl's father, but it could be that she had overstated the disaster their relationship had been in the past.

Still, these issues aren't likely to bother the YA audience that it's aimed at.

The action sequences are well done, and there's a good amount of tension in the second half of the book. That will definitely hold the interest of a younger reader, and I think they will likely want to read the rest of the series, too.

Buy Dragon's Future at Amazon

Love is Love by Mette Bache

August 2017; Lorimer; 978-1459412323
ebook, print (176 pages); romance

Sent to live with her cousin's family in Vancouver, Emmy feels continually out of place and lacking in comparison to her more glamorous cousin. Then she meets Jude, who is confident, cool, funny and transgender. Emmy is sure that he doesn't like her, but the two of them do share a real connection.

This is a short novel targeting a YA audience.

Emmy's insecurities about her appearance, weight, and sense of self lead her to do just about anything to be seen as worthwhile to other people, and it's hard for her to connect with her mother. She's just as insecure around her cousin Paige or all of her friends, and the outsider feeling never really goes away unless she is with Jude.

He has the same feeling of being an outsider: because he is transgender, his family all but disowned him, friends misgender and put down his choices, and he feels out of place in his own body. The two bond well, with awkward moments; we really feel Emmy's anxiety and awkwardness, and it definitely resonates with any aged reader of the book. Those kinds of worries are universal, regardless of the source of it.

Possibly because this is such a short book, we really don't see much about why Emmy and her mother don't really connect. There are some mentions of Emmy taking medication, but we never see it or any of the care that should go along with having some kind of prescription. She's on her own a lot so that most adult figures are absent and conveniently out of the way for her.

It's a failing that most YA stories seem to have, and I was disappointed that Emmy's bonding with her uncle didn't really go anywhere. I would have liked to see more emotional growth for Emmy, but it was great to see someone like her be the main character and get the guy in the end, as well as having Jude as a nontraditional love interest. Neither are caricatures played for laughs, and we really root for their happiness along the way.

Buy Love is Love at Amazon

Satan's Son by Simone Elise

April 2017; 978-1545337097
ebook, print (122 pages); paranormal romance 

Addison Meyer died in a car accident and went to hell because of her poor attitude and disrespectful behavior. She has a job to do in order to atone, and Ethan Beast, the Devil's son, has to explain what she needs to do. She finds him incredibly attractive, if annoying, and feels that he's her soul mate.

I wanted to like the idea of this based on the plot, but I actually found Addison too annoying. She was scatterbrained, deliberately obnoxious, clumsy, and had no respect for authority. As far as sins go, she was a fairly typical nineteen year old, so the thought of her going to hell didn't sit right.

I like the concept of Hell being endless lines and bureaucracy, as well as cramped dorm room accommodations.

Ultimately, the Devil having a suburban family and Ethan being so awkward and like a teenager around Addison didn't work for me. I didn't get much of a sense of either them as separate people, let alone as a potential couple.

Buy Satan's Son at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and golden retriever.

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