Ring of Dragons (Age of the Sorcerers—Book Four) by Morgan Rice

 

I give Ring of Dragons (Age of the Sorcerers—Book Four) five stars. Author, Morgan Rice, has masterfully woven the plot and multitude of characters into a page-turning Epic. With this many characters an author often loses their way and the plot becomes confusing, unfinished or even boring. Not so in the Ring of Dragons. I was submerged in the story. I cared about the characters. I either loved them or hated them, and those I didn’t know well still served a purpose. Each character does a fine job of carrying their part to make the plot work. There’s no fluff. The words are carefully crafted and tell the story well as this magical world lures the reader forward a step at a time. The only thing I don’t like about the book, is that it doesn’t tie up all the plot threads but leaves the main story wide open and unfinished. It’s more than a cliff hanger. It leave you standing on the cliff. But I love the story enough to buy the next book in the series to keep reading.

 

This book is for fantasy lovers who love dragons, swords and sorcery carried off by complex characters in a unique world with touches of revenge, romance, and backstory to keep it enthralling. I highly recommend this story. I’ve already bought, book five, Crown of Dragons, by Rice and will post a review shortly.

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The World Jesus Knew: Beliefs and Customs from the Time of Jesus

I originally learned about The World Jesus Knew: Beliefs and Customs from the Time of Jesus by Ann Punton on The Wretched TV show hosted by Todd Friel. He talked about a few things he learned from this book as he held a copy in his hands. It sounded interesting, and I picked up a copy. I was not disappointed. I give The World Jesus Knew a solid four-star rating.

 

 

Punton states that she hopes to present new insights from old sources she sites. She met this goal throughout the entire book. Take, for example, the phrase “you will heap burning coals on his head,” (Prov. 25:22). Punton explained this metaphor from the Hebraic perspective. During biblical times fire was a source of light, but also how they cooked and kept warm. Back then, starting a fire took work, so people tried their best not to let their fires die out. When it did go out, for some reason, people borrowed live coals from a neighbor or friend to rekindle the fire. Live coals were heaped into a container and carried upon the head. So heaping coals on a person’s head was a blessing.

 

The book uses credible sources and covers everything from the type of home Jesus would have lived in as a boy, synagogue life, clothing, the festivals, the Torah, the Scribes, Pharisees, Herodians, and much more about the culture. The only thing I didn’t care for was her added musings about what she thought might have happened or believed by the people living at the time. Those sections stood out in contrast to the well-resourced elements.

 

I’d recommend this book to history buffs, Jewish, Christians, and anyone interested in the Bible times and things related to the Bible. 

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Born of Dragons (Age of the Sorcerers—Book Three)

Born of Dragons (Age of the Sorcerers—Book Three) did not disappoint. It picks up where book two of the series, Throne of Dragons, left off, with the queen beside her husband’s unresponsive body wondering when he will awaken. Morgan Rice does a masterful job at making the reader care about a royal family. Unpredictable scenarios carry the royal siblings across the realm where mystery, magic, and subterfuge, challenge their strengths and weaknesses. 

Princess Lenore faces marriage to a power-hungry nobleman’s son who is only using her so he can become king. Her sister, Erin, who never wanted to be a princess, is fighting to prove her skills to gain a place among the Knights of the Spur, and a third princess is exiled with the scale sickness. 

The remaining princes offer just as much drama and won’t disappoint, but I’m not going to spoil the read by mentioning the details here. Let’s just say you won’t be disappointed. Then throw in the elements of magic, the old sorcerer and the unlikely young peasant, Devin, finding powers he never knew he had. 

All of these characters play integral roles in this unfolding saga, along with a host of secondary characters that make things exciting at every turn. Even with a large cast of characters, the writing is done well. All the characters are relevant, interesting, and unique which helps to keep them all straight.

I do love this story and plan to get the next book in the series to find out what happens next to these characters I’ve grown to love and hate. The only reason I give the book 4 stars instead of 5 is that I really don’t like the way the book just ends without tying up threads of the story in a satisfying way. Instead, it picks up in the next book. That’s fine. But it is not my preference and since it is my review, it gets 4 stars for that reason.

If you enjoy clean fantasy with relatable characters and plenty of action I recommend Born of Dragons to you. It offers hints of romance, magic, dragons, and an encroaching war ready to take over everything that’s good. You won’t be disappointed.

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The Shepherd's Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher

I give The Shepherd's Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher five solid stars. It is well-written, the story is not preachy, the relationships are realistic, and it shows God’s hand in the day-to-day lives of the characters. The Shepherd’s Voice takes place during the Great Depression, in the small town of Ransom, Idaho. The heroine of the story, Akira Macauley, is a plucky, independent redhead who runs a sheep ranch left to her by her grandfather. When she finds an unconscious hobo on her property, she offers him water to drink and moves him into the shade where he passes out. God tells her to bring him home and care for his needs. He wakes up in a bed in her home.

Turns out the man is Gabe Talmadge. He is originally from the town of Ransom, but he’s been gone--in prison for ten years. His father is a wealthy, greedy man who owns the whole town, who has never loved his son. Akira offers Gabe a job on the ranch and a place to live. He accepts and receives so much more. By her example and words, he comes to trust in Lord, and his life is changed. Of course, that doesn’t mean all his problems are gone. Everyone in the town knows his past.

I like that the story is realistic rather than a sappy, too-good-to-be-true version of life. The characters experience the whole gambit of emotions as they face trials, difficulties, love, and hope with growing faith. In fact, this is one of those rare books in which I find no fault.

I highly recommend The Shepherd’s Voice to anyone who enjoys Inspirational Romance. This story gently carries the message of God’s forgiveness, how to accept it, as well as how to learn to forgive yourself once the sin is confessed. It’s a book you won’t want to put down.

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Throne of Dragons (Age of the Sorcerers—Book Two) 4 Stars

 

In Throne of Dragons (Age of the Sorcerers—Book Two), author Morgan Rice continues the epic tale of the royals of Royalsport as they face a coming war amid personal tragedies. The cast of characters outside the royals add depth to the story that immerses you in a fantasy realm with knights, dragons, monks, sorcerers and ruthless enemies who bring to light an unfolding understanding of magical powers and the history of two kingdoms that were once one.

Morgan has done a masterful job of making me care about her characters and emotionally take sides. Whether you love them or hate them, each character does their part to move the story along and carry you deeper into the plot of a captivating world where good and evil fight for control. It’s one of those “just one more chapter” books that’s hard to put down. The only thing I don’t like about it, is that the story leaves you hanging and hungry to know what happens next. (And so I’m already reading, Born of Dragons, book 3 in the series).

If you’re a fantasy enthusiast and looking for a quick read, I recommend this one. 

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Thanks for reading. If you have a book to recommend or share (no horror or erotica) be sure to mention them in a comment.

 

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