Olga Godim

Eriale is almost an Adept magician, the most powerful there can be. As the seventeen-year-old half-sister to the Queen, Eriale is found in the midst of a scandal when she turns a suitor into a sheep, she is sent on her first Journeyman's quest until the incident is forgotten. While on her quest, Eriale is bound to use her magic to help those around her, but she also wants to do one important thing so that she can become fully adept- lose her virginity. She hopes to do this with the help of Kealan, the courier who delivered the request for help. First, however, Eriale and Kealan must stop an evil force that is destroying the lives of the people of Grumesh.

A fun, fantasy adventure in a beautifully built world with a strong heroine. The castles, crystal fairies and magical workings were so well described that I had no trouble painting this world inside my head. I absolutely loved Eriale's character, she is strong, brave and level headed, but not without any faults. She was very easy to identify with. Most of all, I enjoyed the way virginity was treated in the book, not something to be held onto and cherished, but something she needed to lose in order to fully gain her magic. Eriale was ready to help in whatever way she could with her magic, even when it meant taking on pain. Her relationship with Kealan was sweet, though I knew where it would go; it was interesting to see their interactions as the relationship developed.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.… (más)

Eagle En Garde is a fun fantasy adventure that follows Darin, a lieutenant in the mercenary group, the Eagles. He lives in the kingdom of Talaria, which has a border that prevents all magic from entering. The Cleaners, a religious group, has formed and preaches against magical beings. Within Darin's travels as a mercenary, he has saved Elves, bore a half-elvish daughter, rescued witches and befriended Dwarves. To Darin, magic is helpful, not harmful; so when he uncovers a Cleaners plot to decimate all the magical beings in the area, he must act quickly in order to save his family and friends.

This story kept me intrigued throughout. Sometimes I have trouble with a story told completely through a male point of view; however, Darin's character was easy to read. He was intelligent, thoughtful and performed his job well without the many stupid mistakes that often trip up this type of hero. The way Darin finally stops the Cleaner's troops in insightful, rather than a bloody battle. Most of all I liked his relationship with his daughter. Darin might not of known that he even had a daughter until she was four, but he is determined to go see her as soon as he finds out. I do wish that we got to see more of that relationship grow. The world building is wonderful with beautiful descriptions of the magical worlds. I especially loved the Elves tree-top world where they magically wound trees together and hardened them.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review.… (más)

Squirrel of Magic features a young witch who lives through some fun adventures. I loved the characters and plot idea, and the book was short enough to read really quickly and in one sitting. I also liked the author's dialogues and narrative voice.

I didn't like the light vs darkness fighting; I've read it too many times. Give me grey characters with egotistical motivations to make me happier. However, the book was fun to read, so this wasn't too much of a problem.

I definitely expected the book to be a children's book, but I was surprised when I saw some of the scenes for older readers.… (más)

“Squirrel of Magic” is a collection of fantasy short stories. Don’t get fooled by the title or by the cover, this is not a children’s book! With explicit language, violent scenes and a dash of romance, it is meant for the young adult or adult audience.

The main theme is, of course, the fight between good and evil. Darya, a good witch, is the protector of her city, Vancouver. Her magical abilities are a secret, and she strives to keep them that way. To everyone’s eyes, she is a normal girl who works as a web designer. Every story comes with its sub-plot. Darya needs to fight bank robbers, thieves, rapists, wife beaters, other witches and even disarm a bomb, in order to keep the city safe and get her friends out of trouble. In the same time, she is trying to maintain a normal relationship with her boyfriend (a human).

Olga Godim wrote this collection with a lot of humor, and, in her own words, “I never considered myself a humor writer, but how could I write about a telepathic squirrel without at least a bit of humor?”
The overwhelming presence of dialogue, the colloquialisms, and the casual tone make this book an effortless read, but a very good, entertaining read, nonetheless.

The main characters are Darya, a witch, and Beatrice, a squirrel that plays the role of Darya’s familiar. They communicate telepathically, and, of course, everybody else sees in Beatrice a mere strange-to-have pet. In the seventh story, “The Rat Heist”, another important character, Patrick, comes in, becoming Darya’s boyfriend and contributing to the plot in the next three stories: “Flute Enchanted”, “Fashion Show”, and “Hypnosis Diarrhea”. Episodic characters appear in each of the stories; most of them are human, but we also encounter some witches, a sylph, and another witch’s familiar. The main characters are very well delineated, realistic, making you feel that you can encounter them in your everyday life, making you wonder if, maybe, your next-door neighbor is a witch. My favorite character is Beatrice, the cranky squirrel, always complaining, always asking for a treat, always looking for boys (squirrel boys, of course) in the trees in the park, but full of love for her witch. If you want to know more about Beatrice, in her own words, you can read Beatrice’s interview here: http://olgagodim.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/fantasy-character-interview-14-beatric...

The general setting is Vancouver, Canada, nowadays. Of course, each of the stories comes with its sub-settings: a bank, a mall, a school, a retirement home, dark and narrow alleys, a cemetery, and the list can go on. The author’s attention to detail can be seen in her choosing of the right setting for each part of the story, in order to create the right atmosphere. I mean, what setting could be more appropriate for the punishment of a rapist than a cemetery? What more unusual place to find a sylph than in a garbage bin on a dark alley?

I recommend this book open-heartedly to teenagers and adults who need to escape for a while from their monotonous life into a life of magic, where everything is possible, and good always prevails.
… (más)