Sage Fire Reviews

Undercurrents

True Love Triumphs

Love sneaks behind curtains, waterfalls, even the political intrigue of mythical medieval kingdoms to find its true calling.  But will it prevail when an evil queen uses love and lust to bedazzle young men into performing her deadly deeds? Roddri would make a perfect fall man for the queens plots if it weren't for that darn racial deviant Lady Ziamara and that pesky wisp of nothing called true love.

Synopsis: 

Mythical medieval kingdom or not, racial intolerance was the accepted norm; and certainly the Imp captured and raised as their own, Lady Ziamara, was about the best any closure on racial tolerance a reader could expect.  Love between two nobles was not expected, so why should she have the largess of being able to have a say in whom she married?  Lady Ziamara's step parents arrange for her to marry an unknown lord on the Imp border.

Roddri is doomed to the evil mechanisms of the greedy queen, and not his love the Lady Ziamara.  Accused of killing the king, he hides and runs.  Along the way he meets and befriends a large number of people who can not believe he is accused of killing the very friendly king. 

Reality finally rears its resourceful head, and coincidences start to fly.  What connection has the resistance leader to Lady Ziamara? Can the border lord hold Lady Ziamara against her will?  Will Roddri rescue his love? Who is the large quiet stranger who guides Roddri to full knighthood?  You will have to read to find out.

Impression: 

If this book has any flaws, it is the term "Imp".  Because it is a fantasy, the reader immediately expects the Imp based characters to have varying degrees of magic.  Once the reader wraps their mind around the concept it is only a racial term to describe a different race -- bone structure, hair color, skin color, etc. -- of people, the story falls neatly into place.

The author has a great grasp of the differences apparent between older and younger people, and uses them to intense effect.  The authentic Victorian, almost Regency style of speech places the reader in the very midst of the action and traps them there.  Putting down the e-reader to run to the bathroom almost physically hurts!

For a delightful romp into a land that never was, filled with love, sadness, joy, pain, and redemption .. this is a must read book. It is an incredible can not put down tour de force for a first novel.  Expect great future writings from Cynthia Harris.

I give this book 9 campires.

RATING:  9 Campfires

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Targeted readership:

All readers over the age of 12.  Will appeal especially strongly to young ladies between 13 and 25 but diverse enough to hold the interest of anyone reading the story.

0 Flames for sexual content.

Author's credentials:

Cynthia Harris is an original Baby Boomer, and still booming (or should that be "blooming"?  She trained as a languages teacher, blancing the Classics and modern languages, but has since taught a bit of everything, including mealwork (just one step ahead of the students).  Drama for children is her current passion.

Cynthia lives on a small farm in New South Wales, Australia, with a wonderful husband, and a large number of four-legged family members who enjoy a peaceful and relaxing lifestyle.  She wishes she could do the same.  She has two adult children, also wonderful.

Her hobbies are many (limited, alas by available time) and include reading, writing, and studying; horse-riding; sewing and various arts and crafts; history; national and historical costumes; music, singing and dance; gardening; and fairly obviously, myths, legends and fairytales.

She has been writing sinc she learned how to write, and is still learning.  Writing is exciting, relaxing, therapeutic, and above all, great FUN!

Reviewer & reviewer credentials:

MD Johnson is a mountain northwest regional -- freelance author, living in Payette, Idaho.

His writing interests include poetry, romance, westerns, science fiction, travel, and history. His work has appeared in a diverse range of publications including True Romance and Ballyhoo Stories.

In 2007 he bacme an EPIC author and he has republished the 1935 western classic historical novel, “The Bitterroot Trail” as the anthologist. http://thebitterroottrail.pencraft.biz 

Mr. Johnson also runs a book review web site, Sage Fire Reviews, http://sagefire.pencraft.biz . Mr Johnson specializes in small press editions which include multi-format e-books in the genres above. In early 2008, Mr. Johnson was nominated and accepted membership into the National Book Critics Circle.

If you have a book or an ARC, you would like Mr. Johnson to review, please address your questions to him at queries@pencraft.biz.

All work © 2008, MD Johnson, all rights reserved.