Off the Bookshelf: ARMOR OF ALETHIA, by Ralene Burke

 

Goal for this year: Clear off at least ONE shelf in my to-be-read bookshelf (currently 2-1/2 shelves). This book was in a basket I won in a raffle at the Realm Makers conference. If all the books by the group of authors who put the basket together are this enjoyable ... I'm going to get a lot less writing done this year than I planned!

Karina, our heroine, has plans for a life of service as a healer. She doesn't enjoy court life, especially since the queen, her guardian, doesn't seem to like her. What did she ever do to her? The king, however, knows some secrets that Karina thought she had kept hidden from everyone.

Those secrets, and her painful past and family shame send Karina hurtling across the country on a quest when the king dies unexpectedly. And with soldiers and bounty hunters and soon monsters hunting her, either because the queen has accused her of murdering the king, or to stop Karina from fulfilling prophecy. First step in the plan for her to save the kingdom: find pieces of the sacred armor. That becomes a little difficult when she is kidnapped from the soldiers protecting her and handed over to the enemy of her kingdom. She learns painful lessons along the way. The question is if she will learn and grow quickly enough to be the hero the kingdom of Alethia desperately needs.

Off the Bookshelf: BELLANOK: Reluctant Savior, by Ralene Burke

The second book in my quest to read all my fellow-Realmies' books (the ones already in my library) before going to Realm Makers in July is BELLANOK, a fantasy by Ralene Burke.

This is a really a novella, the beginning of a series of stories about the adventures of Brian, a pastor in a Chicago church who is ready to throw in the towel. What good is he doing there? Is this church where God really wants him?

Then Fauna and Roman walk into his church, and they need his help. He thinks they're crazy, until strange, scary things start happening and his life is threatened. They voyage to the island of Bellanok, a separate kingdom, a piece of Eden -- right off the Georgia coast ...

And doggone it, that's where the story ends! So what happens after Brian and his two recruiters wash up on the shores of Bellanok? You gotta read the next installment.

Next up: FINDING ANGEL, by Kat Heckenbach