The Amber Isle and A Forest of Eyes

Happy Tuesday, fellow readers! Can you believe that it's the last week of August?! Fall is looming right around the corner. Before it sneaks up on us, I have a fun summer adventure for you. It's books 1 and 2 of "The Book of Never" by Ashley Capes.

First, the trigger warnings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Clean

Trigger Warnings:

Alcohol use

Violence/fighting

Knives

Theft

Explicit language

Death

These books are a series of adventure novellas. Books 1-4 are included in the "Sword and Magic" anthology that I've been reading. They are available individually as well. Here, I'll just cover the first two books, as I felt packing all four into one blog post would be a little much. So, here we are. Let's get started.

Book one is called "The Amber Isle" and book two is called "A Forest of Eyes." Readers are immediately introduced to the main male character, MMC, who has a very unusual name. He is named "Never." Now, I must say that I struggled with this as a name. Since never is a very commonly used word, and I haven't heard it used as a name before, it kept tripping me up while I read. I do give it points for uniqueness, though.

Never is as unique as his name, and book one takes us along with him on his quest to discover more about who he is. He has something very unique about himself that he sees as a curse. Like any good adventure, he encounters many hardships and obstacles along the way and meets interesting characters who become his travel companions.

The characters are indeed intriguing and the world building is well thought out. I'm all for an otherworldly experience, and I think that all of the different types of people with their unique abilities are truly interesting. Pop in a background of unrest with a war going on and it kicks things to a whole other level.

There's enough to the story to keep things interesting and moving along though the books do feel a bit slow at times. Overall, I enjoyed the first two books, though.

Here are my official reviews:

An intriguing journey into the unknown.

Never is a unique name for a unique man with a "curse." His solo journey for answers becomes an adventure complete with interesting traveling companions, deadly creatures and terrains, and a war ever present in the background. "The Amber Isle" is a good start to an adventure series.

"A Forest of Eyes" is a great second book in this adventure series. The characters get even more interesting and the world building continues to grow and enchant. There is a feeling that there are more mysteries awaiting just around the bend.

So, if you'd like to follow Never and his companions to adventure you can read the first four books in "Sword and Magic" here: https://a.co/d/6Rt7kPA

Or, you can pick up book one "The Amber Isle" here: https://a.co/d/4crJBJg

That does it for me for this week, dear readers. Please join me again next week for another wonderful recommendation. Until then, curl up with a good book.