BOOKS'S PALETTE: February 2021

Michael G. Manning writer

Art of Adept Series Books:

Art of the Adept 1 / The Choice of Magic (Michael G. Manning) 2019 Rating: 7Stars Goodreads rating: 4,4

The ancient magic of wizards was anything but dark. It was the enlightenment that lifted humanity from the squalor of superstition, and the worship of fell spirits and capricious gods, but those days are gone. The shining glory of the sorcerers burned away the subtlety of wisdom, replacing it with easy power, held only in the hands of the elite a new age built upon the elemental supremacy of aristocrats and the ignorance of the masses. But this will change, for the greatest power comes with knowledge, and the deeper teachings of wizardry have not been utterly lost. The last wizard of the old tradition still survives in solitude, nursing tired grudges and waiting for death. His passing might have gone unnoticed, but for the imposition of a youth too stubborn to accept his refusal to take an apprentice. With a new student comes new hope, and that hope has caused old powers to stir again. That the world will change is inevitable, but the shape of the future is anything but certain.

Art of the Adept 2 / Secrets and Spellcraft (Michael G. Manning) 2019 Rating: 7Stars Goodreads rating: 4,5

Now a student at Wurthaven, Will is confronted with the truth of the present. The powerful magic embodied by wizards like his grandfather is but a distant memory, while the practice of the current day is timid and uninspired, and yet he needs the knowledge still preserved and managed by the college. At every turn he finds that sorcery is supreme, while wizards are trained merely to assist and support those who hold the real power a power based on an evil so deep that few living know the truth of its foundation. As a student of wizardry, he’s expected to know his place and stay in it, but Will isn’t like the other students. His grandfather’s teaching has made him into something different, something forgotten something they will learn to fear. If he can grow into his power. With every choice, every refusal to submit, Will creates more enemies, enemies who aren’t content to let him live in peace. Without friends or support, Will must survive the knives in the dark, for Cerria is no place for those who refuse to follow the rules.

Art of the Adept 3 / Scholar of Magic (Michael G. Manning) 2020 Rating: 6,5 Stars Goodreads rating: 4,5

The looming war with Darrow has faded to a distant shadow, but Will’s continued studies at Wurthaven are disrupted by an unforeseen threat. Selene’s absence has raised suspicion among her friends and Will’s father in law, the king, who is now directing his ire at the obvious culprit, his daughter’s new husband. Meanwhile the citizens of Cerria have begun disappearing and a shadowy figure is stalking Will’s sister, Laina. With his power pushed to the limit, Will finds himself attempting to preserve a family that rejected him and trying to save a city whose king might rather see him dead. Desperate for help, he may not be able to trust the powers that have supported him in the past, for though the fae could be the source of the catastrophe; they only offer their assistance for a price. Evil stalks the streets of Cerria at night, seeking the blood of his family, the destruction of the city, and the death of the king. Will may have to decide what is most important for Terabinia: preserving the people of its most prosperous city, or saving its questionable ruler?

Art of the Adept 4 / Scholar of Magic (Michael G. Manning) 2020 Rating: 6,5 Stars Goodreads rating: 4,6

War looms on the horizon but Selene’s training as a wizard must begin, even though her age makes success nearly unattainable. Will searches for a solution, but their only hope may be a dangerous bargain with the king. The fate of two nations lies on Will’s shoulders and the future is paved with violence. With few options, he needs the aid of uncertain allies and dubious friends. Traitors lurk among them, and soon he will be forced to choose who to trust and who to sacrifice. For a terrible power has arrived in Darrow, and the price of victory will be paid in blood.

T.A .White writer

Dragon Ridden Chronicles Books:

Dragon Ridden Chronicles 1 / Dragon-Ridden (T.A .White) 2012 Rating 7,5 Goodreads rating: 4,1

Tate leads a life full of secrets. Having an incredibly life like dragon tattoo that moves when nobody is looking and no memory of her life prior to eight months ago can make things difficult. When a momentary impulse leads Tate to return an ancient hairpin to its rightful owner, it sparks a chain of events that soon affects every aspect of Tate’s life. Now with several people convinced that she holds the key to unimaginable power, Tate’s about to learn how a single action can have unintended consequences. With no allies to watch her back, Tate’s going to have to move fast if she wants to survive in the city of Aurelia, where friends are often enemies in disguise and appearances are deceiving. She’ll find that monsters walk the labyrinth beneath Aurelia’s streets where the secrets to Tate’s past rest. Unlocking her hidden memories might just be the only thing keeping Tate alive and preventing the coming war.

Dragon Ridden Chronicles 2 / Of Bone and Ruin (T.A .White) 2017 Rating Stars: 8Stars Goodreads rating: 4,2

An ancient discovery has been made close to the city of Aurelia one that promises wealth and power equal only to the dangerous secrets lying at its heart. With three powerful groups vying for control of the discovery’s unlimited potential, it will take a delicate touch not to tip the scales toward war. Something Tate Fisher, a newly accepted dragon-ridden with a bit of a memory problem, has never been known for possessing. Tate must learn to navigate the undercurrents of this society if she wants her friends and empire to come out the other side in one piece. Because these secrets involve Tate, and they don’t intend to let her go so easily.

Dragon Ridden Chronicles 3 / Destruction's Ascent (T.A .White) 2018 Rating Stars: 8Stars Goodreads rating: 4,3

When the past rises, the world burns. Newly conscripted into the Emperor’s dragon corps, Tate Fisher is still trying to figure out all that her new position entails. Along with an elevation in status comes dangerous enemies. Enemies who would rather see the dragons fall into ruin than remain in their current place of power. When a dragon goes missing, followed by a child close to her, Tate is forced to confront the hidden agendas of those in the highest seats of authority. Her search for the truth takes her deeper into the maze of tunnels that lie beneath the city. It’s a place where secrets lurk and dangers abound.There, she’ll uncover a plot whose origins stretch all the way back to the beginning of this world one that can only end in the destruction of everything she knows and loves. The key to saving her city lies in her uncertain past. If only she could remember what that was.

The Firebird Chronicles Books / Scifi:

The Firebird Chronicles 1 / Rules of Redemption ( T.A .White) 2019 Rating: 8Stars Goodreads rating: 4,4

The war everyone thought was over is just beginning. Kira Forrest is a survivor. She’s risen above the pain of her beginnings to become a war hero only to leave it all behind in the pursuit of a simple life. Now a salvager, she makes a living sifting through the wreckage of dead alien ships from a war that nearly brought humanity to its knees. After her ship takes damage, she’s forced to re-route to a space station where her past and present collide with dangerous consequences. Kira’s existence holds the key to a faltering peace treaty with the Tuann a technologically advanced alien race who dislikes and distrusts all humans. Winning her freedom should be easy, but a powerful and relentless Tuann warrior stands in her way. Deceiving him seems impossible, especially when he strays dangerously close to secrets she struggles to hide. Can Kira reconcile the pain of her past with the possibilities of her future? The fate of two races depends on her success.