Laura Lond

What a fun book!! I had so much fun reading it that I'm requiring my teenage son to read it, too. This is a very quick read as the book is only 127 pages long, but it packs a lot into those 127 pages. Poor Lord Arkus just wants to be the best villain he can be, but instead of capturing an evil spirit to help him wreak vengeance on his sworn enemy, Prince Kellemar, "a last-minute mistake leaves him with a Sparkling instead--"a goody-goody spirit that helps heroes, watches over little children, and messes up villains' plans." Will Lord Arkus be able to reach supervillain status, or will the Sparkling's influence turn him into a hero instead? As this was just book 1, I plan on reading the next book in the series to find out!

Highly recommend - 5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley and Laura Lond for the opportunity to read and review this book.… (más)

This is the first in a series of three short stories told from the perspectives of a prisoner, a knight, and a king. All of these men (or elves, in the case of the prisoner) are embroiled in a web of conspiracy that connects them together, along with many other characters and circumstances. I have recently come across several examples of short stories that are not executed very well (I think inexperienced authors view them as "easy" because they are short, not realizing that, due to their brevity, they can in many ways be harder to write and organize than full-length novels), but this author executes these nicely despite the complications of how things tie together. I also enjoy the different "vantage points" of the story, as told through the eyes of each person. If you're looking for something fantasy-ish, well-written, and short, this would probably suffice, especially if you can listen to the audio version. Only disappointment for me is that the ending to the story as a whole is a little lacking. All of the nuances of the web are explained, as far as I can tell, but I wish more of the loose ends had been tied up about what happens to each character and how they go forward.… (más)

I enjoy this (and its successor) immensely, especially the audio version. There is just one weird and unexplained thing I want to point out that happens at the beginning. This is a Medievalish fantasy with magic and supernatural creatures but not technology. Yet, in the beginning when Arkus is staking out the lake to capture the Gormak, he says "I checked my watch," like it's modern day and he looked at his left wrist or consulted a pocketwatch?? I know it's a little nitpicky, but it really stuck out for me, especially since there are no other references to other devices of a similar nature in anywhere else in either story. I know Arkus had to try to wait for four minutes and did not want to go over five minutes, but I thought he would just kind of guesstimate or have some other way of telling the exact time that was not mechanical.… (más)