The Memory Thief: Streets of Nox Valar (Chronicles of the Crossing Book 1)by CD Corrigan

Rasa fell to Ashen Fields of the Sunless Crossing with no memory of anything that had gone before. She didn’t know where she was, what her name was, or how she came to be there. She didn’t even know that she was dead. Almost immediately, she was being attacked by monstrous creature after monstrous creature, again, without knowing why. When Secan found her, she at first assumed he was another being simply determined to try and kill her and almost tried to do the same to him as she had to the other … things that had attacked her. Together, they set off to try and find a way to help her regain her memory and figure out where she belonged in the realm of those who had died. What they didn’t know was the dangerous plot that was being implemented by an Angel that endangered the balance of life/death in the Sunless Crossing.

I read an advance review copy of this book, and like the other tie-in novel to the Black Ballad RPG game, I enjoyed this one a great deal. There is a lot going on in this book, keeping the pace fast and drawing the reader of this fantasy series quickly into the story and making them want to know more about what is really happening.

Thus far, I have been enjoying this series. It is an easy read, well written, and quite entertaining. Those who enjoy role-playing games, have read any of the other Black Ballad tie-in novels, or who have played an RPG set in the Black Ballad world of the Sunless Crossing, will likely enjoy this book a great deal. It is a very entertaining story, and the realm of those who are currently dead, but aren't yet ready to enter their afterlife is a fascinating one that I believe readers will enjoy... whether they have played the RPG game itself or not.

The characters are another great source of entertainment for the reader, and I can easily imagine the difficulty in waking up with no memory only to have someone try to convince you that you are dead, even though to yourself, you feel as alive. It would be one thing to have a memory of being killed, but with no memory at all? That would be quite difficult, I would imagine, at least until something convinced you otherwise.

There are some interesting subplots in this story that I think made it a book that was quite difficult to put down, and one where I kept wanting to know what would happen next. I think that if you give this book a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.

Flight of Fate by Angelina J Steffort

Ayna, the Crow Queen, is currently trapped in her crow form, unable to change back to her human form after a bargain made with Sister the goddess who had at one point created a curse that punished all crow fae by not allowing them to fully return to their fae form. The bargain allowed the Crow Queen to save her people, but left her trapped as a crow. And no one seems to know how to return her to her human form. But who is it harder on? Ayna or her beloved mate Myron? Both are tormented, and unfortunately, neither of them can put all their energy and resources into finding an answer as not only are the few remaining Crows in danger, but all of Askerian Fae as well. The King of Tavros is still coming for them with the magic-dampening potion that Ephegos and the Fire Faeries helped to create. And right now, that is the bigger threat.

I read an advance review copy of this book and as I have the previous books in this series, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Ms. Steffort has a way of drawing you into the story that lets you feel for the characters during the rough times and leaves you cheering for them at others. And as heartbreaking as much of this story often was, it does have its happy and joyful moments as well. This is a complex tale with many moving parts, and just when you think that maybe you have it figured out, something happens to show you that there is still so much more going on than you realized. (At least that’s the way it went for me.)

I do not believe that we yet have the full story of what the Brother and Sister Guardians are up to, let alone what the Human King of Tavros and the Crow warrior who turned many of the Crow Faeries against their king are up to. I believe there is more behind their alliance than we have yet learned, and I also believe that there will be more betrayals and victories yet to come for our heroes, And I for one, and very much looking forward to finding out what will happen next, as this was not the last book in this series.

The cliffhanger ending of this book was not as heartbreaking as the one in the previous book, but it does leave quite a bit open as to what will happen next. One thing is for certain, I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in this series. I don’t know if it will be the final one or not, but either way, it should be a very good read as well.

Amazon requires me to state that I have an Amazon Associates account that I use to generate the links to the books on their website. Purchasing something after following those links will earn a few pennies for me off the sale, though as of yet I have not earned anything from my Amazon Associate links.