Sally’s Cafe and Bookstore – Author Updates – #Reviews – Deborah Jay, Andrew Joyce and Jacqui Murray

The first author with a recent review is Deborah Jay with The Prince’s Man which is Book One in The Five Kingdoms Series.

About The Prince’s Man

Think ‘James Bond meets Lord of the Rings’

Rustam Chalice, dance tutor, gigolo and spy, loves his life just the way it is. So when the kingdom he serves is threatened from within, he leaps into action. Only trouble is, the spy master, Prince Hal, teams him up with an untouchable aristocratic assassin who despises him.

And to make matters worse, she’s the most beautiful woman in the Five Kingdoms.

Plunged into a desperate journey over the mountains, the mismatched pair struggle to survive deadly wildlife, the machinations of a spiteful god – and each other.

They must also keep alive a sickly elf they need as a political pawn. But when the elf reveals that Rustam has magic of his own, he is forced to question his identity, his sanity and worst, his loyalty to his prince.

For in Tyr-en, all magic users are put to death.

Award winning novel, THE PRINCE’S MAN is a sweeping tale of spies and deadly politics, inter-species mistrust and magic phobia, with an underlying thread of romance.

One of the recent reviews for the book

Colleen M. Chesebro Elementals, Elves, Trolls, and Magic!

February 27, 2019

The Prince’s Man,” begins with an introduction to the young Risada, as she listens in on a conversation between her parents. There’s trouble between the different houses in the kingdom, and Risada’s mother believes there is a spy in their midst. An assassin hiding in the shadows of the room steps forth and murders both her mother and father. From that day forward, Risada vows revenge on whoever killed her parents.

Twenty years later, the game is revealed when Rustam Chalice, an undercover spy in service to Prince Halnashead delivers to him the elixir of eternity, which of course gives eternal life to anyone who drinks it.

The political stability of the Kingdom of Tyr-en is at stake, and the veracity of the elixir’s power is questioned. The potion requires elven magic to be effective, and after the wars which ravished the kingdom, all magic has been banned. Additionally, the prince fears that whoever is selling the concoction is using the proceeds to fund some type of military action against him.

To save the kingdom, Chalice partners with Risada and together they save Elwaes, the captured elf, abused by Lord Melcard Rees-Charlay and Doctor Hensar, the resident physician for their domain. The poor creature requires immediate medical attention which must be given by his Elven community. Chalice and Risada set off after Prince Halnashead agrees on the journey believing the Elves will align with his kingdom.

The journey is long and treacherous. Along the way, the threesome is tormented by trolls, sprites, disgusting worm-like creatures, and many other trials and tribulations. Their journey heats up with the character addition of a water elemental who takes a liking to Chalice, pleasuring him in ways no human woman possibly could. The seducer becomes the seduced, and I would say Chalice has finally met his match.

There’s also high sexual tension between Chalice and Risalda, who manages to stay out of reach. But that wasn’t really the story. For me, it was Chalice’s connection to Elwaes and how he discovers his own magical abilities which transform his entire belief system. Along the way, this Casanova learns humility and acceptance, qualities that are sure to come into play in subsequent novels.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. In epic-fantasy, there are always new names, locations, and cultural nuances to be learned because of the world building. I took my time and immersed myself in this unusual and fascinating land. Be ready for the ending, because now I can’t wait to read the second book in the series, “The Prince’s Son: The Five Kingdoms: Book Two.”

MY RATING Character Believability: 5 Flow and Pace: 5 Reader Engagement: 5
Reader Enrichment: 5 Reader Enjoyment: 5 Overall Rate: 5 out of 5 Stars

Read all the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Princes-Man-Five-Kingdoms-Book-ebook/dp/B00I9N2Q20

and Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Princes-Man-Five-Kingdoms-Book-ebook/dp/B00I9N2Q20

A selection of other books by Deborah Jay

Read all the reviews and buy the books: https://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Jay/e/B00E4X3UHY

And Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deborah-Jay/e/B00E4X3UHY

Read more reviews and follow Deborah on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7172608.Deborah_Jay

Connect with Deborah via her website: http://deborahjayauthor.com/

The next author with a recent review is Andrew Joyce for Yellow Hair. It is a book that I can personally recommend.

About Yellow Hair

Through no fault of his own, a young man is thrust into a new culture just at the time that culture is undergoing massive changes. It is losing its identity, its lands, and its dignity. He not only adapts, he perseveres and, over time, becomes a leader—and on occasion, the hand of vengeance against those who would destroy his adopted people.

Yellow Hair documents the injustices done to the Sioux Nation from their first treaty with the United States in 1805 through Wounded Knee in 1890. Every death, murder, battle, and outrage written about actually took place. The historical figures that play a role in this fact-based tale of fiction were real people and the author uses their real names. Yellow Hair is an epic tale of adventure, family, love, and hate that spans most of the 19th century. This is American history.

Awarded Book of the Year by Just Reviews. Awarded Best Historical Fiction of 2016 by Colleen’s Book Reviews. Andrew Joyce is the recipient of the 2013 Editor’s Choice Award for Best Western for his novel, Redemption: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.

One of the recent reviews for the book

Kindle Customer No Matter How Often

We are horrified by accounts of the holocaust but a hundred years before we perpetrated the same against the natives in this country. Almost wiping them and their culture from existence. This books tells a very realistic account of that travesty.

Also by Andrew Joyce

Read the reviews and buy all the books: https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Joyce/e/B00EUCFDTM

And Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-Joyce/e/B00EUCFDTM

Find more reviews and follow Andrew on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7242284.Andrew_Joyce

Connect to Andrew: https://andrewjoyce.wordpress.com/

And the final author today with a recent review is Jacqui Murray for her novel Born in a Treacherous Time.

About the book

‘The book’s plot is similar in key ways to … Jean M. Auel’s The Clan of the Cave Bear–Kirkus Reviews

Born in the harsh world of East Africa 1.8 million years ago, where hunger, death, and predation are a normal part of daily life, Lucy and her band of early humans struggle to survive. It is a time in history when they are relentlessly annihilated by predators, nature, their own people, and the next iteration of man. To make it worse, Lucy’s band hates her. She is their leader’s new mate and they don’t understand her odd actions, don’t like her strange looks, and don’t trust her past. To survive, she cobbles together an unusual alliance with an orphaned child, a beleaguered protodog who’s lost his pack, and a man who was supposed to be dead.

Born in a Treacherous Time is prehistoric fiction written in the spirit of Jean Auel. Lucy is tenacious and inventive no matter the danger, unrelenting in her stubbornness to provide a future for her child, with a foresight you wouldn’t think existed in earliest man. You’ll close this book understanding why man not only survived our wild beginnings but thrived, ultimately to become who we are today.

A recent review for Born in a Treacherous Time.

Feb 22, 2019 C.W. Spooner rated it it was amazing

Jacqui Murray’s Born in a Treacherous Time will, no doubt, be compared with Jean Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear. But Murray has her own distinct, confident voice, and she uses it here to great effect. Read this book and you will never forget Lucy, and it is likely you will feel a sincere debt to her, our ancient ancestor.

I was privileged to read many chapters of this work while it was in progress, and I know the extensive research and hard work that went into it. To see the finished product now is very gratifying. Murray is the consummate pro—just look at the long list of her accomplishments—and an outstanding mentor to working writers in her community. I feel lucky to know her, and even luckier to read her work.

Read the reviews and buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Born-Treacherous-Time-Nature-Book-ebook/dp/B07CTCR944

and Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-Treacherous-Time-Nature-Book-ebook/dp/B07CTCR944

Also by Jacqui Murray