The Crystal Cave (The Arthurian Saga, Book One): Mary Stewart

"Born the bastard son of a Welsh princess, Myridden Emrys--or as he would later be known, Merlin--leads a perilous childhood, haunted by portents and visions. But destiny has great plans for this no-man's-son, taking him from prophesying before the High King Vortigern to the crowning of Uther Pendragon...and the conception of Arthur--king for once and always."

This was my aunt's favorite series when she was a teenager--so much so that she reread it in college and has gotten the entire series for her eleven-year-old daughter. Naturally (being the Arthurian freak that I am) I stole the books before my cousin could even get her hands on them and decided that I would read them :) (Don't feel too bad for her...she was reading another book and had to finish that one first anyway.) I ended up falling in LOVE with this book!!! It was beautiful! The writing captured me and held me fast.

As for Merlin...there are hardly words to describe how much I love his character. There is this hunting mystery about him. The author was wise enough to reveal enough about him, but not too much so you're kept absolutely fascinated. I just wanted more, more, more! The ending was so enthralling that I was relieved I had the second book sitting right next to me. I don't know what I would have done had I been forced to wait to read it!

Each character--no matter how small--was complex. I'm truly so impressed that Stewart was able to do so without becoming long-winded. It was brilliant to take this story from Merlin's point of view. It added twists and complexity that I believe only a few authors would have been able to handle. Keeping true to history was a marvelous decision on Stewart's part. It made everything come alive rather than simply relying on fantasy and magic. Everything seemed more real.

Overall, I adore Stewart's work. Her writing is as timeless and magical as the black hills of Wales and the story of a wizard who would make an orphan into the greatest king of all.

The Knight's Redemption: Joanne Rock

“The Curse Of Spinsterhood Lay Upon Her

“But Ariana Glamorgan swore she would dispel the fog that clouded men’s minds and be seen as she really was—particularly by Roarke Barret, a knight of great prowess beset by sorrows of his own. For prophecy foretold him as the true destined husband of her heart…!

“ ’Twas no matter who Roarke Baret wed, so long as the lady was Welsh. However, secrets made a poor dowry, and in hiding her true identity, Ariana brought lies in abundance to the marriage bed. He’d been deceived…and yet Roarke remained intrigued by this woman who awakened magic in his soul…!”

Yet again…this is one of the books that I forgot to review…for almost a year… This one, in particular, I remember liking a lot. It was a fun read with well-written characters that easily make the readers care for them.

The plot was creative and was constantly moving—making for an overall good book. This is the only book I have read by Joanne Rock, but I would definitely like to read more.

The Lion's Bride: Connie Mason

“THE LADY AND THE LION

“Lord Lyon of Normandy had saved William the Conqueror from certain death on the battlefield, yet neither his strength nor his skill could defend him against the defiant beauty the king chose for his wife.

“Ariana of Cragmere lost her lands and her virtue to the mighty warrior, but the willful beauty swore never to surrender her heart.

“Saxon countess and Norman knight, Ariana and Lyon were born enemies. And in a land rent asunder by bloody wars and shifting loyalties, they were doomed to misery unless they could vanquish the hatred that divided them—and unite in glorious love.”

There’s actually a cute story behind my acquisition of this book. So, my mom has always been a big reader—just like me—and she was recently cleaning out our basement when she brought up a big cardboard box and told me I could have everything inside of it. It was full of her old books! Needless to say, I was SO excited because one can never have too many books. Among the books (many of them older than myself) was a book by Connie Mason titled The Lion’s Bride. I think it’s just so cool when an author can have an effect on two generations of avid readers.

Now, down to the actual review. As always, Connie Mason didn’t disappoint me in the least. Her characters were well-written and the plot was interesting. She does a very good job of creating amazing settings and dragging her readings into the periods her books take place in. However, I must admit that there is quite a bit of similarities in this book to her book titled A Touch So Wicked. Granted, there were differences because they took place in different centuries, but I couldn’t ignore the slight…“recycling”…if you will…(I don’t mean for that to be mean!) of the plots. This wasn’t necessarily a terrible thing, but it was definitely noticeable.

Overall, I really liked this book a lot and am very pleased with Mason, yet again!

The Knight's Redemption: Joanne Rock

“The Curse Of Spinsterhood Lay Upon Her

“But Ariana Glamorgan swore she would dispel the fog that clouded men’s minds and be seen as she really was—particularly by Roarke Barrte, a knight of great prowess beset by sorrows of his own. For prophecy foretold him as the true destined husband of her heart…!

“ ‘Twas no matter who Roarke Barret wed, so long as the lady was Welsh. However, secrets made a poor dowry, and in hiding her true identity, Ariana brought lies in abundance to the marriage bed. He’d been deceived…and yet Roarke remained intrigued by this woman who awakened magic in his soul…!”

Like with the book by Margaret Moore, I read this book a while ago and finally got around to putting it in my blog for others to read about.

This was the first book by Joanne Rock that I read and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed it. The characters seemed real that the plot was very believable. I loved the interactions between the characters and I found myself fairly unable to put the book down. I will be sure to write more about Rock's books in the future!