Children/ Early Readers

The Search For Synergy by Brett Salter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’ve had the pleasure of reading “The Search For Synergy”, the first book in the Talisman series by Brett Salter. If you’re looking for a clean ‘younger’ adult series (preteens – early high school years), to help get your child/ or yourself into reading or the fantasy genre, I highly suggest this series. It’s everything a starter young adult series should be to grab interest in a world of knights and dragons. It’s adventurous, action-packed, plenty of danger to keep anyone satisfied in the fantasy stream.

Characters are well developed, and it was lovely to see the author spend the first few chapters to really dive into Rome’s character. As he struggled along with not only figuring out Who he is but also What he is, as readers, we really get the feeling that we are right alongside him the whole way. I personally thought that it helped set up the plot for the next few chapters/ books. I’ve also enjoyed watching how Rome and Julian interacted with each other as their friendship continued to grow and morph.

This first book gave me really strong vibes of Harry Potter mashed with the Arthur legends (Merlin in particular), and the Hobbit/ Lord of the Rings.

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Riders of Fire and Ice by Brett Salter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Riders of Fire and Ice is the second book of the Talisman series by Brett Salter. Rome and Julian are back with more adventure as they go on a road trip to old England in search of Camelot. We get introduced to new characters and not all of them are good! Following the simple and clear writing style from the first book, The Search for Synergy, this novel is just as interesting and engaging. The pace was really good and was easy to follow along. Since this book was geared more toward researching the Darkbrands than adventure, some people might have mixed feelings about it. I personally thought it was a nice change since it gave me a deeper understanding of the problems they are facing and the general backstory. It allowed the rest of the series to carry on the adventure and action smoothly since we have more knowledge of the backstory.

I really enjoyed seeing Rome and Julian’s bond continue to grow as trust between them strengthens. They have such a balanced relationship and have each other’s back, which I really loved to see. Camela, Julian’s sister, and Krysta were both lovely to read about as they got added to the group. They bring courage, friendship, a female flair, and of course different views/opinions to their overall group, furthering the balanced feel.

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Windy City Ruins (Talisman Series) by Brett Salter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I honestly believe this series just keeps getting better which each book. The first two books, “The Search for Synergy” and “Riders of Fire and Ice”, set up the series really well. We had already got introduced to the main characters and received a pretty thorough well-developed backstory that had set up the rest of the series. In this particular book, we get to see more of Salter’s imagination through minotaurs/ reptiles/ ruins! I found that this novel gave me strong Percy Jackson vibes as Rome and Julian traveled to New York this time. I also thoroughly enjoyed reading as both Rome and Julian continued to grow into their own characters. I can’t explain how highly I recommend this series to middle-grade, young readers! It’s really perfect!

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Spirit of the Dragon by Erynn Lehtonen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be honest, I enjoyed this book more than I originally thought. As much as I love fantasy novels, this type of fantasy is usually not one that I would automatically go for. But I found myself interested enough to keep reading through the storyline, eager to see how it all plays out. If you like warriors, goddess powers, dark sorcerers, and adventure, this book/series might be for you!

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Eyes by Nghịch Tử
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just want to start off by saying that this book had not only reached all my expectations but also went beyond that. Eyes, by Nghich, has very quickly become my new favorite novel. You really can’t go wrong with demons, black magic, spirits, adventure/danger, and of course the mythical aspect of a children’s nursery rhyme. I personally really like how deep and thoughtful the world-building was, compared to many other reads I’ve gone through. I wasn’t able to merely ‘skim’ or ‘glance’ over a paragraph, but really truly sit and thoroughly read line by line to get the full effect of the writing. I enjoyed that even though the culture of the setting and the characters are different than what I’m used to, that I was still able to understand and appreciate all the little hidden twists in the writing.

Honestly, I would highly recommend this book to anyone. The story was engaging and interesting and the characters were well built and developed.

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Hopscotch and the Case of the Missing Memories by Kara Mugleston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hopscotch and The Case of The Missing Memories was such a lovely book. Even though I’m 25, I still thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this book. Who doesn’t love a bit of mystery, family, and adventure all in one story? This being geared toward the younger audience (children), I truly believe this is perfect for that age group. With the narration being from the dog, ‘Hopscotch’, I personally thought it added a bit of interesting flair. This story was truly adorable and entertaining!

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