A.J. Calvin

I have been looking forward to book two in the outstanding CAEIN LEGACY series ever since finishing Exile where we learn about Andrew, a half-dragon shifter and the complicated relationship he has with his three brothers. Author AJ Calvin has written wonderfully deep and complex relationships within the family, as well as fantastic world building! GUARDIAN is a book that focuses on the journey Andrew takes with Alexander, his younger brother who also bears a special rare mark that designates him as a mage. But before he can gain his full power, he must go through a dangerous pilgrimage, and Andrew, being an awesome brother, volunteers to go with him as his guardian. I loved the author’s note saying how much of the relationship is based of her relationship with her brother. The love and genuine affection shows! This is such a fantastic quest novel, with wonderful trials at every step of the way, some neat new characters we meet and interesting ways that the chessboard changes with regards to Colin, the one evil brother out of the bunch, who keeps sending people after them, and Thomas, the brother left behind who they communicate with in letters. Without spoilers, the world building is fantastic, I am intrigued to see where things go with some of the new characters, and with Alex, and I cannot wait to see what happens next as Andrew turns his attention to helping Thomas in the next book. Such a great series! 5/5 stars.… (más)

THE TALISMAN OF DELUCHA is another wonderful installment in The Relics of War series. This is a book I feel like I could read multiple times and glean something new from the characters and exquisite world building with every reread. AJ Calvin does such a great job writing complex characters and interesting fantasy worlds. I loved the way the writing made me connect in small moments with the characters. Favorite moments: Tavesin who is so gifted and so desperately wants to find Arra. His powerlessness as he watches her communicate with him through visions, brutalized, with him unable to do anything was heartbreaking. Emra’s moment of realization when she finds an important relic and realizes something about her destiny. I loved watching her organizing an army. Ravin, Adalin and too much mead 😊. This was a great second installment to the series and I look forward to book three. 5/5 stars.… (más)

I’ve been so excited to start AJ Calvin’s new series because I really enjoyed her standalone urban fantasy, HUNTED. In THE MOON’S EYE, Vardak, a warrior and one of the scorpion men, is tasked by the gods to protect Jana, the mortal daughter of another god in her quest to retrieve a magical relic—The Moon’s Eye. First they have to find the relic. Then they have to make the perilous journey to get it. The world building is richly described. Vardak and Jana’s world is a harsh desert wasteland where multiple tribes and races live and author AJ Calvin describes each one in intricate detail. This really reminded me a lot of the style of SJM’s Throne of Glass with all the different complex story perspectives, the twisted court politics, the magic, blackmail and betrayal, but of course it was a unique and exceptional story of its own. I loved the detailed world building that went into every aspect of the story. The battle scenes were phenomenal. The descriptions of the world which is desert-based and insect-alien based was just so interesting to read, like Vardak and Jana when they’re on their journey and seeing the artwork on the walls. I loved the Myrkr, the blue skinned silver tattooed warriors led by Arundej, who don’t show their faces. I also found the storyline with Dranamir and the princess to be one that I really enjoyed. I just loved all the storylines and the rich gorgeous storytelling. This was a great book and I’m looking forward to book two!… (más)

This book was seriously addictive! I really enjoyed HUNTED, the story of an ordinary girl who discovers she has frightening supernatural powers—the ability to summon demons. Chandra Gray is in college and has a fraternal twin (Zandra—more on her later!) when she begins receiving strange phone calls. She soon learns from Ailzak, an experienced summoner that she is a powerful summoner who must learn to control her ability to summon demons. This is a well written novel with a wonderful, detailed world building and a well explained magic system. In addition to summoners, there are also hunters, who seek to destroy the summoners… and someone very close to Chandra may be destined to be her downfall (the setup here was really awesome.) Great pacing, with a good sense of threat/suspense and interesting scenes as we watch Chandra’s training progress.

Each different demon that Chandra learns to summon is intricately described. The scenes with the incubus/succubus was a favorite. I also enjoyed the tension between Ketae/Chandra/Ailzak as Ketae and Chandra were struggling to navigate a romantic relationship and that dynamic began to interfere with her training. The first half of the book is mostly set up and training, which I enjoyed. The second half, after Chandra’s transformation into a summoner and ascension into the leader of the order kicks this urban fantasy into a high-octane thrill ride where one sister is pitted against the other. Please tell me there will be a sequel!

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
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