Val Muller

The Man With the Crystal Ankh (Hollow Oak Book 1)

There is a legend of The Hollow Oak, everyone has heard the tale; a four hundred year old curse of Sarah Willoughby and Preston Grymes. Soon Sarah Durante is about to find out how true this is when she is haunted by the deceased Carlton Gray. But things get complicated when she learns of the Sanguisuga, which need life to exist.

Sarah finds that she is the key to stopping this evil force, due to her ancestors and the gift of talking to the dead. With the help of Carlton she can stop this evil, but she finds it won't be an easy task when she discovers what it takes to stop it.

An original exciting story, with a great plot an likable characters. The story moves at a steady pace, with attention to detail , engaging dialog and likable characters. I was hooked from the first page up until the end. I look forward to more in this series and highly recommend The Man With the Crystal Ankh.… (más)

The Scarred Letter by Val Muller

Heather Primm has a dream of becoming a journalist and starts her own blog. When she writes of some popular football players using steroids, she wins a prize for the article, but loses popularity through out the school. She soon falls victim to a vicious attack and a letter "T" is carved on her faced, marring her for life as a "traitor".

She is literally shunned by the entire school, including some teachers. She refuses to name her attackers, a true journalists move. Even the Principal wants her to transfer schools. But Heather holds her head high and stands her ground. She is determined to stand strong on her beliefs.

I liked this story a lot. This is something that could happen in real life. We see how Heather is treated for revealing an unpopular truth. How the students and teachers feel the importance in winning athletic awards versus winning journal awards based on honesty.

I highly recommend to (upper) middle school readers, young adult, and adults as well. A well written fantastic story. A must read for all.… (más)

What would you be willing to do in order to achieve your dreams? How far would you go to protect someone you love? These questions are at the core of this wonderfully creepy story. We have a house that might or might not be haunted; Faulkner, a reclusive writer whose inspiration comes from dark places; and Lorelei, a young woman who desperately wants to explore that darkness. Their meeting is orchestrated by a mysterious man in a fedora, whose influence goes deeper than Lorelei could ever imagine.

I thought Faulkner and the man in the fedora were well developed and intriguing characters. Lorelei sometimes felt a little shallow to me, and her behavior was inconsistent. She accepted some extreme oddities in the house without much curiosity or exploration, and other times she reacted strongly to something that should have already been obvious to her. Despite this, the story definitely held my interest and kept me hooked until the end.… (más)