The Shadow Reader Series (Sandy Williams)

* * * * * *     6/10   10

Volume 1 Book The Shadow Reader Series (Sandy Williams): The Shadow Reader (2011)
There can only be one allegiance. It’s her time to choose. Some humans can see the fae. McKenzie Lewis can track them, reading the shadows they leave behind. But some shadows lead to danger. Others lead to lies. A Houston college student trying to finish her degree, McKenzie has been working for the fae king for years, tracking vicious rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn’t her only secret. For just as long, she’s been in love with Kyol, the king’s sword master and relationships between humans and fae are forbidden. But any hope for a normal life is shattered when she’s captured by Aren, the fierce and uncompromising rebel leader. He teaches her the forbidden fae language and tells her dark truths about the Court, all to persuade her to turn against the king. Time is running out, and as the fight starts to claim human lives, McKenzie has no choice but to decide once and for all whom to trust and where she ultimately stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

Reviews of The Shadow Reader:
The Shadow Reader was a wonderful, action filled book, with many tense moments.  The lead characters, such as McKenzie, Aren, Kyol and many other great secondary characters were ..
http://www.thereadingcafe.com/the-shadow-reader-by-sandy-williams-a-review/

I encourage all readers with a love of Urban Fantasy to run, not walk, to your nearest book store and get your very own copy. Ms. William’s Shadow Reader is a must read for 2011..
http://smexybooks.com/2011/11/the-shadow-reader-by-sandy-williams.html


While reading The Shadow Reader, I sucked up the tension and quickly flipped through the pages. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of a love triangle when I began reading, but it wa..
https://scooper.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/reviewanalysis-of-the-shadow-reader-by-sandy-williams/


I do have two criticisms of the novel, one more serious than the other. The first is that I wasn’t completely sold on the Aren-McKenzie part of the love triangle. I was never in ..
http://reflectionsonreadingromance.blogspot.com/2011/10/early-review-of-sandy-williams-shadow.html


One element that I enjoyed immensely was the interaction between McKenzie and Aren (one of the rebels). Yep, theirs is part of a love triangle (cue groan of distaste if that’s no..
https://www.bookloversinc.com/2012/03/01/review-the-shadow-reader-by-sandy-williams/


The characters as a whole are filled with personality, at least the important ones. I like how that the good guys and bad guys aren't clearly defined. Both the Court faes and reb..
https://imaginaryreads.blogspot.com/2014/01/review-shadow-reader-by-sandy-williams.html


There were several aspects about this book I liked.  I enjoyed the politics – the rebels against the realm storyline, while not new, was suitably entertaining, there was some nic..
http://www.soireadthisbook.com/2012/08/review-shadow-reader-by-sandy-williams.html



Volume 2 Book The Shadow Reader Series (Sandy Williams): The Shattered Dark (2012)
McKenzie Lewis has a gift. It allows her access to a world few have seen, and even fewer can comprehend. It’s her secret. And it exists in the shadows…  McKenzie was a normal college student, save for one little twist: she’s a shadow reader, someone who can both see the fae and track their movements between our world and the Realm. It’s a gift for which she has been called insane, one for which she has risked family and friends and one that has now plunged her into a brutal civil war between the fae. With the reign of the king and his vicious general at an end, McKenzie hoped to live a more normal life while exploring her new relationship with Aren, the rebel fae who has captured her heart. But when her best friend, Paige, disappears McKenzie knows her wish is, for now, just a dream. McKenzie is the only one who can rescue her friend, but if she’s not careful, her decisions could cost the lives of everyone she’s tried so hard to save.


Reviews of The Shattered Dark:
THE SHATTERED DARK has a number of emotional scenes that I love just as much as these. There are confrontations and fights, choices and revelations. It’s a high action novel that..
http://darkfaerietales.com/giveaway-shattered-dark-sandy-williams.html

My one complaint about this book was the lack of time McKenzie and Aren were able to spend together romantically. But this is urban fantasy, not paranormal romance, and one of th..
https://goldiloxandthethreeweres.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-shattered-dark-by-sandy-williams.html

To be clear though, I didn't dislike this book but I didn't love it either. It reminds me of The Lord of The Rings : The Two Towers - an in-between story, a stop gap until the ma..
https://ahellofawoman.blogspot.com/2013/04/review-shattered-dark-by-sandy-williams.html

I know I should say something about Sandy, but I don’t know what, there are no words to describe how magnificent she is! Her writing is flawless, the world-building is incredible..
http://bibliophilemystery.blogspot.com/2012/10/review-shattered-dark-mckenzie-lewis-02.html

The main conflict is a treacherous path filled with deception, misdirection, and betrayal. You never know who is telling the truth and just when you think you’ve figured it out, ..
http://smexybooks.com/2012/10/review-the-shattered-dark-by-sandy-williams.html


Volume 3 Book The Shadow Reader Series (Sandy Williams): The Sharpest Blade (2013)
Torn between two worlds. Torn between two lives. McKenzie Lewis’s ability to read the shadows has put her and …those she loves in harm’s way again and again. The violence must end, but will the cost of peace be more devastating than anyone ever imagined? After ten years of turmoil, the life McKenzie has always longed for may finally be within her grasp. No one is swinging a sword at her head or asking her to track the fae, and she finally has a regular albeit boring job. But when a ruthless enemy strikes against her friends, McKenzie abandons her attempt at normalcy and rushes back to the Realm. With the fae she loves and the fae she’s tied to pulling her in different directions, McKenzie must uncover the truth behind the war and accept the painful sacrifices that must be made to end it. Armed with dangerous secrets and with powerful allies at her side, her actions will either rip the Realm apart or save it.


 Reviews of The Sharpest Blade:
Aside from a wonderful romance, there's also the adventure of the Fae Realm. Every time the characters enter the Realm, and honestly quite often when they're just minding their o..
https://goldiloxandthethreeweres.blogspot.com/2014/01/

There were plenty of twists and twists on twists that I never saw coming.  This book would build me up to these wondrous highs and then drop me to crushing lows in the span of a ..
https://thisisnotacliffhangerbookblog.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/review-the-sharpest-blade-by-sandy-williams/comment-page-1/

The plot was tied perfectly well at the end. I was pleased that there were losses that were sad and not everyone ended up in a happy couple. Those always annoy me. But the main p..
https://zeenatkwon.wordpress.com/2013/12/16/arc-review-the-sharpest-blade-by-sandy-williams/

I’ll miss these characters and this world and am sad to see this series end, but will most definitely be picking up whatever this author comes out with next..
http://fictionvixen.com/review-sharpest-blade-sandy-williams/

There is no doubt that The Sharpest Blade gives us a tougher and stronger McKenzie, who is fully in the middle of this civil war.  Though Kyol and Aren are on the same team, to p..
http://www.thereadingcafe.com/the-sharpest-blade-by-sandy-williams-a-review/

The Sharpest Blade does wrap up an ending but there was still quite a bit left open. I kind of felt unfulfilled by the ending. If there was a next book, I’m not sure I would read..
http://darkfaerietales.com/review-sharpest-blade-sandy-williams.html










 
First pages / excerpts and first chapters of The Shadow Reader / The Shadow Reader Series (Sandy Williams):  

The Painter Mage series (D.K. Holmberg)

* * * * * *     6/10   10

Volume 1 Book The Painter Mage Series (D.K. Holmberg): Shifted Agony (2015)
My name is Oliver Morris and I’m a painter. I can use color and shapes and patterns to infuse them with power. In that, I’m more like a wizard than anything, except I don’t have any spells or incantations. Sometimes I wished I did; it might be easier than working the magic I command. After my father's disappearance not dead, though I'm the only one to believe he's not I was exiled from Arcanus, the only place to learn painter magic and discover what happened to him. Or so I thought. For the last ten years, I was forced to learn the dangerous arcane patterns, patterns forbidden in Arcanus. And now I've finally returned home, determined to find out what happened to my father. Only, it turns out my father was hiding more secrets than I realized. When another painter from Arcanus shows up, she unleashes a deadly threat that our world hasn't seen in centuries.  Somehow, I'm the only one able to stop it.




Volume 2 Book The Painter Mage Series (D.K. Holmberg): Arcane Mark (2015)
Oliver Morris has survived the hunter attack, creatures who feed on magical ability, nearly sacrificing himself to protect his best friend Devan. But to truly keep her safe, he’ll need to help Taylor return to Arcanus before she releases any other dangers on his city. Then Devan is abducted by a dangerous painter, one who might be more deadly than anyone he’s ever faced, and demands that Oliver hand over a mysterious and powerfully magical item. Oliver knows he can’t save her on his own, but he’ll need to find a way to trust Taylor, forge new allies, and learn to control magic he believes beyond his ability if he wants to save his friend, or a fate worse than death awaits Devan.


Volume 3 Book The Painter Mage Series (D.K. Holmberg): Painter For Hire (2015)
Painter and master of arcane patterns Oliver Morris knows that he must stay on this side of the Threshold or he risks the Trelking, a being of incredible magical power as well as his best friend Devan’s father, forcing him to kill the Druist Mage. When a dead painter is discovered near the local diner, a place that should be protected, Oliver realizes that he has even less time to prepare than he thought. Then an old friend appears with power he should not possess, putting everyone in the city in even more danger. Oliver is forced to depend on knowledge that he still doesn’t fully understand and must make a choice to protect the city or risk losing Devan, something he can't allow happen again.




Volume 4 Book The Painter Mage Series (D.K. Holmberg): Stolen Compass (2015)
My name is Oliver Morris, and I’m a painter. I can use color and shapes and patterns and infuse them with power. And somehow, the Trelking claims I’m destined to kill the Druist Mage. After defeating my old friend Nik, I now have a teacher, but first I have to figure out how to animate him and then I can try to convince him to teach me how to defeat his master. As if that wasn’t impossible enough, the Trelking himself crosses the Threshold and demands that I recover a dangerous shardstone box, one that had been protected by my father. If I don’t, I know what steps the Trelking will take, especially now that he knows about Devan and I. But what can be so important for the Trelking to risk making the crossing? Something else has crossed the Threshold while the Trelking held it open that places the city in incredible danger. Now I have to protect Conlin from magical attack once again. Only this time, I suspect the Trelking is the one attacking the city.




Volume 5 Book The Painter Mage Series (D.K. Holmberg): Stone Dragon (2017)
After surviving the last attack on Conlin, I now serve as the city’s protector while studying with Nik as he teaches me the magic he learned from the Druist Mage. It’s knowledge I’ll need if I’m ever going to be able to kill him and prevent his marriage to Devan. The power I’ve demonstrated has drawn the attention of something else, a power unlike anything I’ve ever faced, and one that intends to test me. If I fail, not much will happen only that the balance of magic is disrupted and the barrier between our world and that on the other side of the Threshold will fall. I’ve got three days to prepare, and I know that won’t be enough to get ready, but what choice do I have?








 
First pages / excerpts and first chapters of Shifted Agony / The Painter Mage Series ((D.K. Holmberg)):