The Librain……retired

Hello and welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup post. Regular visitors may have become used to coming here to find that I haven’t been able to finish a book in a week! I must admit that I have been struggling with my reading. For a number of reasons (house moving, poor concentration and mental health problems), I have found it really difficult to choose the right books that will enable me to fully immerse myself in the story and forget about my worries. So, I am pleased that I can now write that I seem to have found just the right book series to help with all of this.

I did wonder for a while whether I should have a change and choose something different. Perhaps I am boring my kind followers. Then I gave myself a metaphorical shake! After all, what is the purpose of reading fiction! Am I doing it for myself, or for other people? The answer is pretty clear: definitely at the moment I am reading for my own mental health. I am trying to transport myself out of the worries of everyday life, especially at a time well known to bring stress: moving house and severe ill health.

So, I have definitely decided that I am going to continue with the Green Rider series until I reach the end, or until the quality of the books switches me off! So far, I am really enjoying them. Here is the book that I finished yesterday…

I have now read the third book in the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain: The High King’s Tomb. Here is the blurb…

“With the ghostly help of the First Rider, Karigan G’ladheon had transported the corrupt spirit of Mornhavon the Black into the future, buying valuable time for her king and country.But how far in the future is Mornhavon now? A hundred years? Ten years? Only one year? There’s no way to tell. So though the immediate threat has passed, Mornhavon’s shadow still lies heavily on the land, and on their minds … although there are threats closer to home as well. The D’Yer Wall, protecting Sacoridia from the dark, corrupted Blackveil forest, remains breached despite Karigan and her fellow Riders best efforts. They’ve scoured the land searching for lost documents and magical clues to help mend the breach, fend off any incursions from Blackveil Forest and, more pressingly, protect them from Mornhavon’s return.Nor is the breach in the wall the only danger. Mornhavon may have gone, but the descendants of his people remain and they’re ready to claim the land that their forefathers failed to conquer. These vengeful enemies, hidden within the peaceful borders of Sacoridia, have spent generations honing their dark magic ready to strike – and ensuring that their blow, when it comes, will be one that Karigan and the Sacordians have no defence against …”

And this was my short review on Goodreads…

The High King’s Tomb by Kristen Britain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was another very enjoyable adventure with our heroine at the centre of quite a complex plot. The tale flowed on from the previous book, with the characters continuing to develop and more dangers and perils for them to face. Some sections were related from different points of view, but we were soon returned to Karigan’s plot lines. The whole thing was an exciting and absorbing read. Now for the next book!

View all my reviews

---

I really hope that I enjoy the next book as much as I did this one!

Happy reading!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

📚📕📚📕📚

Here is this week’s post about my reading journey. With all that is going on in my life, settling in to our new home and trying to sell the old one, trying to find just the right book has proved quite difficult.

The book was First Rider’s Call by Kristen Britain, #02 Green Rider series. I had enjoyed the first book because the story was entertaining and easy to read. So, I decided to continue the series with the second book. Here is the blurb…

“Karigan may have heard the First Rider’s call, but she’s not about to let it take over her life … … or at least that’s what she thinks. She swore to complete a dying man’s mission – to deliver a sealed letter to King Zachary. Now that task, more dangerous than she could have imagined, is complete and her work is done, Karigan wants to leave the dangerous world of tainted magic and ancient magicians behind her and return home. Exhausted in both body and spirit, she plans to return to her quiet life and her father’s business.But it proves no match for the Rider’s call; ghostly hoofbeats sounding in her mind, visions of the freedom of the open road, all calling her back to the king’s service as a Green Rider. Karigan resists it, but when she wakes up to find herself – in her nightdress – on horseback and halfway across the country, her destiny is she is a Green Rider.As she discovers, it’s not a good time to be called to serve. For a thousand years the D’Yer Wall, a physical and magical barrier protecting the land from the ancient, corrupted Blackveil Forest, has held. For a thousand years the forest, an arboreal prison containing one of Sacoridia’s greatest enemies, has been quiet. Not any more. The wall has been breached, unnatural, lethal creatures are finding their way into Sacoridia, a dark sentience is stirring, and the Green Rider magic itself is failing. And in the midst of it all, Karigan is about to be called to her duty …”

And here is my response on Goodreads. Apologies for the brevity, but I am not feeling very well today.

First Rider’s Call by Kristen Britain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a good follow up to the first book in the series. A much darker and more complex plot with a lot of danger and sense of foreboding. The author has clearly developed as a writer. I am definitely going on to read the third book.

View all my reviews

---

When I went to Amazon to look for the third book in the series, I saw that there are loads more! I am unsure whether I will continue after book 3. We will have to see how it goes.

Happy reading!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

📚📕📚📕📚

Welcome to this week’s Reading Roundup, my dear friends and fellow readers! Today, I am feeling rather amused about my most recent book. You will find out why that is later on in this post.

Here is the book that I finished yesterday…

I have been really struggling with my reading this year. The stress of moving house has meant that my concentration levels have plummeted and I am unable to immerse myself in a book, no matter how well written. I have had so many false starts that I have lost count. Trying to find just the right balance of gripping plot and excellent writing has been very difficult. So many have brought down my mood because many of my favourite authors write from a dark angle. Anyway, I looked through my ebook collection and chose Green Rider by Kristen Britain. Here is the blurb…

“Young heroine Karigan hardly has time to regret being expelled from school (for duelling) before finding herself committed to the desperate errand of a murdered Green Rider.

The Riders are an elite messenger corps using both horses and magic; the message is a terrible warning. Bad things from bad places are invading this fantasyland, their presence being only part of a devious, sorcery-aided human struggle for the throne. Karigan’s wild ride is beset by a variety of enemies, but aided by her own developing talents plus certain strange allies.”

This book was just what I needed! It has a fast paced plot with interesting characters and a satisfying ending.

And then I went on to the Goodreads site to write my response…

And saw that I had already written one in 2018!!! To be honest, I am not sure whether to laugh or cry that I couldn’t remember that I had read the book before. My memory issues since the stroke don’t seem to follow any rules or pattern, so they can surprise me at times in unexpected ways.

So, here is my response from 2018, together with a footnote from this year…

---

Note: the Goodreads’ widget doesn’t seem to be working this morning, so I have posted a screenshot of my review above. Thinking about it, the paltry three stars was a bit unfair. The book deserves four and I am going to read the sequel, beginning today I hope!

Happy reading!

Love and best wishes,

Anne

📚📕📚📕📚