A.A. MacConnell's Blog, page 3

Review: Edge of the Breach

The book in question.

Edge of the Breach is a story about Kyder and Rune. Getting into the rest of what the book is? Difficult to put in a paragraph to paraphrase and not spoil. Both are born at the strongest point in the year to be a Summer Mage and a Winter Shield, respectively. They come from vastly different ways of life and suffer through very different traumas. And I’m not even sure this book (for me) was really about the two of them meeting, even though that was definitely the author’s...

Review: Into Thin Air

The book in question.

This was a hard read. And I mean that in several ways. The first third of the book is the set up. So many names and dates and explanations. The book comes with a list of names of everyone involved, right at the start of the book. This part is necessary, for sure, but very dense. Perhaps more so because I knew what was coming and my nerves were on edge for that.

The next third was the ascension. This was hard because of knowing what came next, for one. But as the c...

May Readathons

Help me, for I am now obsessed with these things. Did I say help me? I mean yes, I need to read more. I read thirteen books last month and Im going to double that. More than double it.

So here are seven readathons for May!

[image error]Image from @Medievalathon announcement video by @HollyKnece

First is Medieval-A-Thon. Its for the entire month. You increase your status, acquire clothes, weapons, and companions! There are eighteen prompts: seven for clothes, five for weapons and six for the animals. Im...

New Book!

After many problems in many things, Im proud to announce that the third book of the Spears of the Lelult, Spears Reach, will be available on May 31st.

Lebna and his spear-sister Lulu are two of the Lelult Taleis most trusted spears. Talei takes them with her to witness a union of two women one of them Yigdu.

But to make sure this union goes smoothly, Talei leaves Lebna and Lulu in charge in Badjeba.

And they wait for the return of their Lelult from Masiwava.

Of course, everything must go...

April Is As April Does

Been a while, but Im about to start up keeping people updated here. I have books, I am trying to put myself out there, its a big deal.

But I dont want to talk about that right now. I want to talk about the 2020 OWLs Readathon. A themed readathon on its third year. Its my first time, but after The Bookie Trials I joined just last weekend, I want more involved readathons. It is a lot more fun like this, plus it helps me find more books.

First things first, choosing the career. Depending on the...

A Simple Life (pt28)

There were many places Coleen could go. Any of them would do. If she was not a dead man, she was still Coleen. There was nothing she could do about a trespasser unless they were nervous and inexperienced (or maybe experienced) enough to let her talk. But her voice wasn’t something to use anymore. Or her body. Or anything.

Something stopped her from moving. The stupidest thing in the world. She gave up so much. She allowed herself to be surrounded by the knights and sent back to the start. Did...

A Simple Life (pt27)

Emil was not at home when the doorbell rang. Coleen no longer had an impulse to see who it was or ruin everything by opening the door. She had not had that impulse for fifteen months.

Something was wrong. Coleen could feel it, even though she had not neared the door to check. The person had not left. They wanted someone to answer the door. They knew she was home.

They knew someone was home. Though if they saw her face all they would know was that the usurped King Cole was here. No matter...

A Simple Life (pt26)

There was no point in deigning that with an answer. Instead she decided to ask the more obvious question, the one she should have asked first. “You have a job?”

Emil looked pleased she had asked. “Of course. There are only so many favours we can call in.”

Coleen hadn’t thought about it. She hadn’t seen him return with money before now, just pulling from the prepared funds. It was odd to think of Emil as a member of society. Coleen supposed he had been doing that already, she just hadn’t...

A Simple Life (pt25)

“That is it.”

Coleen was not sure if she wanted to look away from the stove top long enough to acknowledge Emil. Knowing he would continue to speak either way, she decided against it as she added the paprika.

“Your being quiet is one of the creepier things I’ve ever had to deal with.”

She put the paprika back on the counter. “Really? After lifetimes, a twenty seven year old being quiet is what you find creepy?”

“Look at me.”

He was in one of those moods. Coleen was never going to understand...

A Simple Life (pt24)

Coleen was red.

Coleen realized she did not know whether she still thought of herself as Faith or not. It seemed to her that everything Faith had done that she liked was done by someone else. The Faith of now. When Faith did something she could not stand… (Lizzie Lizzie Elizabeth!)

Well, then it was Coleen. It was all Coleen.

She had been trying so hard not to think of Elizabeth.

“I feel a degree of separation to everything now,” she said to Emil. “And I haven’t even begun to dive into any of the powers.”

They drifted at the edges...