Merlin’s Charge by Peter Joseph Swanson

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Merlin’s Charge
Author: Peter Joseph Swanson

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Publisher: Stonegarden.net Publishing

Genre: Fiction/Sci-fi/Fantasy

Length: 224 pgs.
Reviewed by: Jes

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 3

Presentation: 4

Editing: 4

Story: 5

Writing Ability: 5

Overall Card Rating: 

                                                  

About The Book: In the wasteland of Britain in the year 500, a cranky Merlin tutors a teenage Arthur. Missing the comfort of the Realm of Dragons, Merlin amuses himself with two simultaneous sneaky marriages to the feuding witches, Nimm and Mother Hubbard. With the help of young Parsifal, they all begin the search for the holy grail, their town's communal cauldron, which was stolen by a Pict witch to make a demon bell. Recovering the cauldron will end the drought in time for Arthur to be King. Along the way they meet a host of colorful characters and face obstacles of a most phenomenal nature. Classic Peter Joseph Swanson—wickedly bawdy.

The Review: Merlin’s Charge is a novel from Peter Joseph Swanson set in 5th century Briton and it focuses on one story of Merlin and Arthur on the quest for the Cauldron of plenty. This is a well written story that takes from classic legend and ideologies of the Great King and his tutor with adding an updated feel to the characters. Merlin’s Charge follows the young prince as he faces and battles the Pict witch who has stolen the Cauldron of Plenty from an already suffering village. The whole land of Briton is in the middle of a drought and a Cauldron which never empties is a dream come true for the starving people, it is truly the grail as it is more important than gold or treasure. Add in the complications of Merlin’s two wives and Parisfal the Inheritor; you have an interesting weave of personalities.

 
I enjoyed the writing that Swanson provided: the quips as well as dialogue between all of the characters. It was light hearted and kept the reader intrigued and involved in the story. I felt that Swanson had revitalized the story of Merlin and Arthur. He managed to create a young Arthur who was learning the ways of being a king and kept light hearted to the ideals of youth, while Merlin had an air of knowing and otherworldliness that you would come to expect from a great wizard such as Merlin.

What I appreciated as a reader was the consistency which the author kept to his characters; they had a solid design and kept to the personalities which were introduced. I find that this is one of the harder things in writing, that many authors forget small details either about the characters or their surroundings, where this wasn’t missed in Merlin’s Charge.
 

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys fantasy and Arthurian tales or legends. Swanson has managed to refresh very old and popular characters, giving a believable story and respecting the current ideas.

Pagan Elements:

Yes, this is a high fantasy and there are some elements of classic Druid and Celtic pagan leanings. It is light in terms of pagan elements and does not identify to being a pagan by today’s definitions, but I would call it “pagan light”.

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Harvest Moon by Krista D. Ball

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Harvest Moon
Author: Krista D. Ball

Author Site

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Publisher:  MuseItUp Publishing

Genre: Romance, fantasy, Native American

Length: 35 pages
Other: No violence, sexual content or bad language

Reviewed by: C. LaForce

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: (3.5)  The cover is lovely, and I like that it is dark and focused on the individual as that matches my mental imagery of the story, however, the hands of the person in the photo are elderly and masculine. The story is focused on two young people. The elders spoken of most, are female. Minor detail, but irksome. It wouldn’t have stopped me from picking up the book though as I wouldn’t have understood the discrepancy until after reading the story.

Presentation: (4)

Editing: (4)

Story: (4) This is not my usual genre, but I enjoyed the story enough to re-read it.

Writing Ability: (4) “Harvest Moon” is the first story that I have read by this author.

Overall Card Rating: 

                                

About The Book:

Dancing Cat angers her Ancestor, whose harsh punishment teaches her that true strength comes from the spirit within.

Cursed, abused, and desperate to know her future, Dancing Cat sneaks a glimpse inside her tribe’s Sacred Bundle, a powerful source of spirit magic. Instead of the future, she sees her most powerful ancestor, Small Tree and incurs her wrath. Small Tree strips Dancing Cat of everything — her home, her identity, even her gender – and drops her in the middle of enemy lands.

Injured, and in a strange, new body, she is befriended by Bearclaw who is on a spirit quest. He offers her assistance and asks for nothing in return; a kindness Dancing Cat had forgotten existed. She struggles to weave a path around the obstacles of friendship, identity, and longing in order to survive her eventual return home to face even further punishment.

And she does it while wearing someone else's skin.

The Review:

It was dark and foggy and close. Or not. Perhaps that is not what the author intended, but in my mind’s eye, that is what I pictured. Rather than the warm fall sunshine that likely lit the setting of the first part of the story, or the bright white of sun on snow in the latter part, I pictured dense fog and darkness. Less weather, and more my own mental process of shutting out the rest of the world and focusing on the main characters. There was a world, with details, in which this story is set, and there were other important characters, but I didn’t care about them and banished them all into the haze. I found that the only thing important to me were the two lovers.

Dancing Cat was a young woman of her tribe, cursed by misfortune, not her own doing. In misery, she turns to the spirits of her people for an answer, any answer, or lacking a reply, she was ready to make her own desperate choice. Her answer is magical transformation, with a twist, and transportation that dumps her into the lap of another troubled young soul on his own spiritual quest. The beauty of this story is how these two unique beings, neither fitting in well amongst others of their tribes, find each other and fall in love. They discover in each other, matching needs and perfect soul mates. I hesitate to give more details of the story in this review as it is a short story and I might steal something away and spoil things for the reader. Suffice it to say that the first thing I did when finishing this story, was to turn back to page one and read it again. 

Pagan Elements: Spirit quest, magical transformation. Refers to Native American spirit magic.

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & the Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Candy Coated Clown by J. Morgan

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Candy Coated Clown
Author: J. Morgan

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Publisher: Champagne Books

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Length: 60 pgs
Reviewed by: Karmyn Klein

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 5

Presentation: 5

Editing: 5

Story: 5

Writing Ability: 5

                                         

About The Book: When Candice’s birthday stripper is a no show, clown-napping seems like a good idea—one that leads her right into the arms of true love, floppy shoes and all.

The Review:

So far Candice Sullivan’s 30^th birthday has been terrible. After a bad day at work, her birthday seems to take a turn for the worse (or is that better) when, instead of the planned birthday stripper, a birthday clown shows up.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. I thought the same thing when I realized the male romantic lead was a clown. Eek! I mean is there anything less sexy than a clown? But somehow author J. Morgan manages to do the impossible. Not only is Ash the clown a total hottie, he’s able and willing to handle crazy Candice and her manic birthday mood, all while making the reader laugh in delight.

Reading Candy Coated Clown was a lot like taking a ride on a rollercoaster. When I say Candice is crazy, I mean she is a total fruit loop, a natural clown, if you like, while Ash the clown is her counterbalance, the straight guy, the peanut butter to her jelly. They are a match made in romantic comedy heaven!

If you want to laugh and fall in love all at the same time, you need to read Candy Coated Clown. This story is a true treat and unique read in a sea of the same ol’ romance stories. I’d love to read more stories about Candace and her clown, and hope J. Morgan writes a sequel.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

A Player’s Agenda by Ambrielle Kirk

PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: A Player’s AgendaBr
Author: Ambrielle Kirk

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Publisher: Breathless Press

Genre: Contemporary/Erotic/Interracial/Romance

Length: 23 pgs.
Reviewed by: Karmyn Klein

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 4

Presentation: 4

Editing: 3

Story: 4

Writing Ability: 4

Overall Card Rating:

About The Book: Mariah has had to work hard for everything in life, and that includes her MBA in Accounting. She doesn’t have time for promiscuous sexy jocks with only one thing on their mind. She’d have to be content with daydreams about former football player Damien, whose nightly sexual conquests made the campus rumor mill. No one is more surprised than she, when Damien approaches her after class one day with a lust-filled agenda on his mind. Does Mariah have the right mix of bedroom moves to tame this player…forever?

The Review: In A Players Agenda, big time player and all around hottie Damien Peterson is obsessed with his classmate, the sexy and seductive Mariah Coleman. Unable to concentrate on the class lecture, he decides he needs to make his fantasies into reality.

Like every other red-blooded woman on campus, Mariah has lusted after the delectable Damien, but she’s a realist. Damien probably doesn’t even know she exists. Mariah wonders what would a rich white boy want with a poor black girl?

In Ambrielle Kirk’s short story, opposites not only attract, they have some serious sexual chemistry. Both characters are realistic for the college scene. Damien is ruled by his sex drive and Mariah by her insecurities, not very likable but definitely relatable. And while love at first sight is a hard sell (unless you’re Shakespeare), Ms. Kirk did an admirable job of showing why her characters are compatible and how they just might make it in the long run.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. Kirk’s steamy stories as she progresses as a writer.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Corsair Cove by Angela Ashton

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Corsair Cove
Author: Angela Ashton

Author Site

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Publisher: Champagne Books

Genre: Time Travel/Romance

Length: 383 pgs.
Reviewed by: Violet Harper

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 5

Presentation: 5

Editing: 3

Story: 4

Writing Ability: 4.5 

Overall Card Rating: 

About The Book: Pirate turned Privateer, Jacque Cherif LaFleur awakens on a beach only to discover he's washed in with the tide...200 years after he's presumed dead. His only possessions are his Letters of Marque, signed by the King of France himself, and a rare ruby. With the police quirking a suspicious brow and history mocking him with its fallacies, Jacque enlists the aid of the rescue angel that has taken him under her wings. As vengeance fuels his quest, Jacque sets out to right the wrongs of his past. And just maybe, the King's coveted diamond, also reported missing that infamous day, was still where he'd hidden it, on the Island of Guadeloupe...

The death of her beloved father has left Esa Keats devastated by his betrayal. He's willed the family business to a complete stranger. Desperate to flee the chaos that has become her life, as well as her fiancé, Esa escapes to the Florida Keys. Absorbed in her own misery, she is oblivious to the bulk sprawled along the shoreline. Until she stumbles over it. To her surprise, the bulk is none other than a man dressed in 18th century pirate garb. The annual "Pirate Festival" is in full swing, therefore, she believes him to be victimized by a bottle of rum. That is, until he pulls her into his arms and brands her with his kiss. As Esa embarks on a quest with the eccentric renegade that promises far more than buried treasure, she finds herself thrown back to the 18th century...and straight into the hands of the corsair's treacherous crew...

The Review:

The hard part about a time travel romance is the shock of putting a character from one century into another. An author could spend years describing the differences in setting. The key is to choose the important elements and let the rest go. Ms. Ashton does a spectacular job of describing Jacques’ reactions at being in a foreign situation, and in describing Esa’s changing feelings toward the handsome, displaced pirate.

The pacing is a little relaxed, which leaves plenty of time for character development. If I had one criticism, it would be that I think we could do with less character development. Some things seemed over explained. However, the brilliantly conceived plot makes up for any lapses there.

Corsair Cove has every one of my favorite pirate/treasure hunting movies rolled into one. Once again, Ms. Ashton has written a true five-carat ruby.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Holiday Spirits by C. R. Moss

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Holiday Spirits
Author: C. R. Moss

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Publisher: eXtasy Books

Genre: Paranormal/Romance/Menage (M/M/F)

Length: 69 pgs.
Reviewed by: Keri Stratton Alley

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 2

Presentation: 4

Editing: 3

Story: 2

Writing Ability: 4

Overall Card Rating:    

About The Book: At the start of the Las Vegas marathon Jenna bumps into a man from her past and embarks on a life changing journey by just the touch of his hand.  As recollections of a former life assail her, she makes a promise that Artim will be an early holiday gift to herself.

After ages of searching for the love he left one fateful day, Artim finally encounters her.  When he realizes Jenna not only remembers who he is and what she was to him, but also the heartache he caused her, he believes it would be for the best if he disappeared again.

Can Jenna keep Artim, her holiday spirit and the present she promised herself around long enough to enjoy?

The Review: This concept seemed fairly interesting: an immortal man searching for the reincarnated soul of his lost love. However, the execution of the story left me feeling unsatisfied.

This story read like a bad porn – just enough plot thrown in so they can use the “plot based” classification, but not enough plot to hide the gratuitous sex. Though well written, the sex seemed to distract from the plot rather than enhance the story. It was also sudden; rather than waiting until after their dates had gone to “pay off the bet” the two male characters immediately retire to a bedroom for sexual shenanigans – without inviting the women along. Methinks they doth protest too much about their distaste for the male-on-male action…

Jenna’s reactions to the supernatural situations seemed unrealistically blasé. The author gave no indication that she had ever been, in any way, inclined towards paganism, magick, or past life regressions. I would have expected someone thrown into such an extreme situation to have at least a moment of doubt, confusion, or anxiety about being crazy. Jenna had none; she simply continued blithely into stranger and stranger scenarios, including stepping far out of her sexual comfort zone.

Pagan Elements: The story is based on the concept of a woman’s past life directing her to a lost love from the past.

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Owl Woman by Elen Sentier

                                            

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Owl Woman
Author: Elen Sentier

Author Site

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Publisher: Pea Green Boat, Britain

Genre: mystery/romance/suspense 

Length: 287 pgs.
Reviewed by: Keri Stratton Alley

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 5

Presentation: 4

Editing: 3

Story: 4

Writing Ability: 3.5

Overall Card Rating:

About The Book: Waking from a dream where her archaeologist father, Jacob, is killed, Vicki finds the phone ringing and his housekeeper telling her he is dead, just as she saw in her dream. She goes home to find out what has happened and old things begin to surface … her father’s obsession with his ancestors; his mistress’ mania to find the grail; Vicki's own lover from the past. And the village is in turmoil because Sylvie, her father’s mistress, has capped the spring and the village is dying for lack of water. Vicki meets Merle again, her ex-lover from whom she ran away, and learns Jacob had found the village’s famous 4000 year-old gold cup that he’d been searching for all his life. This re-awakened Sylvie’s own grail-obsession. She and Jacob fought. Now the cup has disappeared again, both Vicki and Merle suspect Sylvie of taking it and begin the hunt to find and retrieve it. Events are exacerbated by Vicki’s resumed but still rocky relationship with Merle. And by the shadowy Owl Woman, the spirit-of-place, who has her own agenda and wants to settle old scores. Vicki finds herself becoming this spirit… and the Owl Woman is wanting to settle old scores.

The Review: Blending ancient historical lore with modern characters, Ms. Santier provides an engaging story of magick, mystery, and romance.

The characters are believable; perhaps more so because of their varied reactions to the supernatural events that surround the story. Some of the characters who are regular magickal practitioners use their abilities as second nature, which I found to be true to my personal experiences with regular pagan practitioners. Those who are introduced to supernatural abilities during the course of the story have realistic reactions ranging from shock to excitement.

I especially appreciated Ms. Santier’s skill in portraying both dreams and journey states as part of the plot. Both elusive and difficult to describe, dreams and journeys can often seem hokey or out of place in a story. Neither was true for Owl Woman. Instead, the dreams and journeys were masterfully written and excellently placed for maximum effect.

I enjoyed the consistent rotating third person perspective; hearing the perspective of so many interesting characters was lovely. For the most part, Ms. Santier’s writing flows smoothly, keeping the reader engaged and interested. However, there were a few moments of transition between chapters and, subsequently, viewpoints that could have used a bit of polishing in order to maintain the flow of the prose.

Pagan Elements: This book is awash with pagan elements. From the background history of the location and magickal “far-seeing” techniques, to spellwork, psychic attacks, and interactions with both spirits and animals, Ms. Sentier does a wonderful job of liberally spicing the story with realistic and regular uses of pagan elements.

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.