Lynn Kurland - Star of the Morning

Darkness covers the north, since the black mage has begun his assault on the kingdom of Neroche.
Legend has it that only the two magical swords held by Neroche's king can defeat the mage. Now the fate of the Nine Kingdoms rests in the hands of a woman destined to wield one of those blades...
In this land of dragons and mages, warrior maids and magical swords, nothing is as it seems. And Morgan will find that the magic in her blood brings her troubles she cannot face with a sword-and a love more powerful than she has ever imagined.

Comment: I had this book in the pile since 2013, and I think I added it because it was a fantasy story and I tend to like the genre. If I remember correctly, I also saw some vague comments here and there which suggested there would be specific elements in it I would like too.

In this story we meet Morgan, a shied maiden, or warrior, who likes her easy life on the island of Melksam but her mentor and father figure sends her on a mission, to deliver a blade to the king of Neroche. On the way, she travels with a small group of friends and they get mixed up with all kinds of adventures but Morgan is wary of the blade she carries because it has magic and Morgan grew up to despise all types of magic.

At the same time, Adhemar, the king of Neroche is also traveling, dealing with some royal business but also trying to find someone who could carry a magical sword in his castle, since his own magical sword lost its power. His younger brother Maich, the arch-mage, decides to find his brother after he had gone for a while, and he finds him with Morgan's group. He can't help but be drawn to Morgan but decides to keep his identity of of his brother's a secret, because the more time he spends with Morgan, the more he realizes she is the person they are looking for... but what will she do when she finds out the truth?

It can be quite risky to start a book without reading enough information about it because while the idea of keeping things vague for better enjoyment and without possible spoilers is a great one, it can also mean when a less than positive surprise happens, then one can blame only oneself... 

I say this because I had this book in the pile for so long, I barely paid attention to it, and now while reading it felt the story dragged, and I saw myself as one of those readers we see in memes or cartoons who wonder how it will be possible the plot to end that well when there are only, like, twenty pages left... well, it cannot be, for there are more books after and, unlike the majority of series, which have stand alone stories as part of a sequential main arc, here this is truly the first part of an ongoing series, from what I could understand after investigating better.

This means that in this book we only have a part of Morgan and Miach' romance, as well as the overall plot. There is a second and third book with them as protagonists, so... I guess 'd have to read the three to have the full experience and it is true this doesn't have to be that bad, but since I thought I was saving myself from spoilers which might be included in the blurb of the following books, I wasn't aware of this and now I feel a little let down.

That aside, the story was interesting and fantastical enough to make reading it enjoyable, but since things were slow and dragged a little, I will admit there were times I felt I wasn't accomplishing that much. I liked the hints of romance and I liked that this was, at its base, a story about a quest and about love/courage triumphing and so on, but the writing style seemed to also be a little sparse. There were also times it felt as if nothing really was happening, or not quickly enough, considering the characters had some urgency in their goals.

I liked the magical details and I liked that Morgan was clearly someone who had magic bus she despised it. I've found her personality captivating enough and the reasons why she was so opposed magic seemed solid, which was made even more important the more we learned about her past. She is certainly easy to root for, and she is a practical person. Although humor is a subjective matter, I liked some of her comments and some things she did/said were funny in that context.

Miach is harder to read, but deep down he is a softie who wants to do his duty, which he learns later on that could affect his personal wishes. He falls in love with Morgan through actions and time shared, which I found great, and no intimacy happens between them, which highlights the depth of their emotions, but while this is being described, it still felt vague, slightly superficial... I suppose it has to do with the writing style and the fact things were not discussed between the two of them, and I surely miss this, it's something I would have liked seen oriented better at this point.

The whole magic stuff in this world isn't hard to grasp, there are evil guys who need to be stopped, but the sort of cliffhanger in the end, when Morgan finds out who Miach and Adhemar really are, and something about her own identity too, was annoying because I feel there was no real reason to finish the story that way, unless is shock factor. I'm still debating if I really want to read the next book, on one hand I'm curious to see what happens, on the other it seems it's not just one book, but two more I'd need to read to know what I want, so....

Grade: 6/10

Lynn Kurland - Stardust of Yesterday

Daydreaming of her wonderful castle, she imagined that it contained a handsome, brave knight --
Suddenly, her eyes flew open. She scrambled over her chair, looking with alarm at what was quivering in front of her, only an inch away from where her toes had dangled off the edge...
It was a sword.
"I'll not miss my mark a second time." A deep voice grated from behind her.
She whirled around.
It was her knight.
It was also her ghost.
Genevieve Buchanan had inherited a castle - and a ghost to go along with it. But Kendrick de Piaget was no typical ghost. He was a handsome and infuriatingly arrogant thirteenth-century knight. At first he wanted to frighten Genevieve, though she was more charmed than scared by his ghostly tricks...But when his thoughts turned to wooing her instead, Genevieve had to face her greatest fear: falling in love...

Comment: I no longer remember when and why I got this book.It's one of those that lingers in the pile for a long time before you realize it's there. After checking it at GR I even found out it's was #11 in a series! Truthfully I wasn't in the mood to back list the other 10 stories so I jumped into this one anyway. It was my first book by the author and I really didn't have any expectation or comparing story either. It would be a discovery in all senses.

This is the story of Genevieve, she's a young woman with a business, the only steady thing in her life. After knowing about and rejecting the inheritance of a castle in England, her life crumbles and her business is ruined faster than a bullet. Her only remaining option is to accept the castle and try to find a new life there. But a ghost lives at the castle an wants her to sign if off to him, so he can die and rest in peace at last, after 700 years trapped in the castle and its land.
But Genevieve isn't like the previous owners of the castle and she meets the ghost eye to eye...and the ghost isn't ugly or easily ignored...Genevieve proves to be the perfect match to him...

Well...many things could be said about the novel but the one that comes to mind is too much going on. Many elements in this story and the tone in which it is told wasn't the most fascinating to me, so in the end this book resulted in an average reading for me.

Let's go by parts...
The plot. It was imaginative yes. I liked how they seemed so apart but close in what mattered and how interesting it was to see the relationship between the two main chaarcters develop. The reasons for Kendrick's presence were sad and his attempts to be free of his curse weren't done the best ways but I guess if it were to be true, 700 years is too much to hang onto one's patience so...

The characters. I liked them enough although after they got together, it's like the dynamics between them changed too much. It was better on one way, but I felt their closeness and feelings changed in a way that let go of that special things that united them before. It's complicated to explain. I don't thin the sex part which annoys some readers as that weird...for some people sex isn't easy I guess. I actually though the whole situation was done well enough. I think both of them had layers to unravel while reading. Kendrick wanted freedom but he found something even better when he was almost giving up. I understand his behavior and attitude but after he changed, I no longer found him as special as that. I liked Genevieve too, but once again, nothing about her stood out as much I imagined she could. In a way, they were quite balanced together but I wouldn't say they are the most romantic or perfect couple ever in romances...

The writing. Well, as a first try, I didn't think this was a bad book. I just thought there was an obvious inner humorous tone to the story I didn't like that much. I mean it's not that it is badly done but I think something a bit more serious would suit better. Although this isn't a comedy, not even close, I read this with a sense of humor always there somehow and sometimes I wanted some ore seriousness included.

Based on this novel alone I don't feel the will to try another book. But this one won a RITA and this author is quite well received by many...I wonder, was this the bad book to start or is this author just not for me, personally? I'll give her another try in the future, one day... but this book despite the acclaimed ovation didn't seduce me that much, when I thin about it as a whole, so... better luck next time, I hope.
Grade: 5/10