A First Page Sneak Peek at Primnoire

 A 

First Page

 Sneak Peek

 at

Primnoire

A high fantasy novel.

“We need to leave, Cole,” Anna said, drawing up her hood, hiding the burns consuming half her face, “Grandfather will beg that I campaign if we’re not quick.”

She slipped, tucked, and buckled Cole’s lengthy saddle strap, giving the storm bison a rub between his long silver hooked horns. She tapped two fingers to the pouch at her hip. The vial of deer lure sloshed inside. Anna applied the storm bison’s bridle, hoping at such an early hour Williamton’s people were asleep. It soothed her to walk under the waking sun with only the wind to upset the quiet morning.

Straw crunched as they left the dry-stone stable through a tall, aged set of doors. The final remnants of rain clouds manifested from Cole’s nostrils and drifted out them. Clumps of soggy straw clung to Anna’s calf-length boots. She scratched behind the storm bison’s ear. Cole nuzzled her cheek with his wet black nose.

She stifled a giggle at how cold it was against her cheek. Anna looked up, narrowing her eye at the highest point of her home. The doors to her grandfather’s balcony were shut, and the window beside it closed. He hasn’t woken yet, Anna yawned, rolling her shoulders. Her lord grandfather had kept her up late, and all over Lamparien politics again. His passion for it was admirable, his care for others was truly boundless, but of late, with the need for a new prime or primnoire coming, his rants were growing repetitive.

She took in the homes beyond her own. Some homes were old and run down, built when her family founded Lampara and made its laws. The Brighton’s had even secured binding trade agreements with each country bordering Lampara. She brushed a fly off her shoulder, putting aside history for the hunt ahead.

A Review of The Devil Takes You Home

A

Review

of

The Devil Takes You Home

A Novel By Gabino Iglesias

Four Stars

I waited a while to buy this book because exploring beyond the fantasy genre isn't something I do often. Most books in my home library have an element or two of magic in them. This book had more than just the supernatural magic I'm used to. It had the magic of emotion. Emotion mixed with struggle, heart ache, and the dangers of the real world.

This book transported me from the comfort of a boring life to a world that takes no prisoners. It showed that people will do almost anything for money while maintaining a fraction of humanity. The story's protagonist Mario does both of those things. He holds onto what he's lost and hopes that what he gains will bring it back.

The magical elements of this story were both fascinating and disturbing. It appears that the protagonist felt exactly as I did with each new encounter. I can say for certain that my reactions would have been drastically different than Mario's.

As for the technical aspect of the story I will be brief. I felt toward the end there were a few inconsistencies.

Now beyond my own thoughts and experiences with this story something important needs said. The struggles you'll read about in this story and the thoughts from the protagonist aren't Woke. They are pieces of a life not everyone has or will experience. I personally have never been a huge risk taker or dealt with the hate Mario experienced. Guess what? I'm prepared to understand them and learn. You should too. 

A 2024 Review of A Christmas Carol

 A Review

of

Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol

We think of Charles Dickens Christmas classic as belonging to a specific time of the year. I think A Christmas Carol is a story you can read year around. You can enjoy it for a life time. Every lesson contained within the pages of this book are universal. 

You see a grumpy, bitter old man be placed in the shoes of those less fortunate. Scrooge is a character that shows what happens when money becomes all consuming. The added ingredients to Scrooge's dark and cheep persona is loss combined with an endless need to improve one's financial situation.

I won't spoil this story in any way. Hollywood has done that several times over while doing the story justice. Just know this one major thing. People can change.

Five Stars.