The River Kings’ Road
BY: Liane Merciel
PUBLISHED BY: Gallery Books
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4391-5911-8
Pages: 388
Ages: Adult
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

I don’t read much fantasy books. The first look at the cool cover design caught my interest. “The River Kings’ Road is set in the kingdoms of Oakharn and Longmire - once a strong empire, but has fallen apart, splitting into two empires. The village of Willowfield is brutally murdered by the red mist - created by a crazy witch named The Thorn. The villagers are all killed including Sir Galefrid, and his family.

A mercenary knight, Brys Tarnell, saves a crying baby from the massacre. The baby Winston is the heir to Sir Galefrid. Brys doesn’t know anything about raising a baby and gets help from a baker’s daughter, Odosse. She is also a mother.

Leferic, Galefrid’s brother, wants control of both kingdoms. Once he hears of the rumors that his nephew has is alive, he makes a deal with the witch. Now, Brys and Odosse must protect Winston from the clutches of The Thorn.

“The River Kings’ Road” is an exciting debut novel by Liane Merciel. The action starts up in the first chapter, as the massacre of Willowfield occurs. The descriptions of this fantasy world is well written. The dialogue between the Brys and Odosse is superb. The author is currently working on the second novel in the series titled “Heaven’s Needle.” I can’t wait to read it. I recommend the book to anyone who enjoys fantasy/adventure novels.

Note: I would like to thank Gallery Books for sending me this complimentary copy to review.

ISBN: 978-0-689-87864-0

After a brief hiatus, R.L. Stine returned to his “Fear Street” series with book one in a new trilogy back in 2005. Lewis, Jamie, Nate and other teenagers begin sneaking out at night - giving them the freedom to do anything the want. They hang out at the old Fear mansion that is soon to be demolished. The mansion is said to be cursed by the spirit of Angelic Fear. One night the kids discover a hidden room filled with valuables. They steal several of the objects.

A year passes by and the Fear Mansion has been torn down. Several shopping stores have been built over the ruins, including a bar called “Nights.” The bar stays open late at night and serves beer to the teens. Strange accidents soon occur, and it eventually ends up with one of the teens being murdered. Is the curse of Angelic Fear true?

I grew up reading the “Fear Street” series. I quit reading them in the late 90’s when I could no longer find in the stores. After I did some research online, I found out that there are dozens of “Fear Street” books that I don’t have. In 2005, I was looking forward to this new series, but I could never find them at my local Walmart or at the Barnes & Nobles in the city. I never thought about the books again, until late one night I typed in “Fear Street” in the search engine at Overstock.com. That’s were I found the “Fear Street Nights” trilogy. “Moonlight Secrets” is under 200 pages and is an easier and faster read than the new supernatural style teen books that are out today. There’s not very many thrills in the first book. It mostly just introduces the characters and sets everything up for the second and third books. Fans of the original series will get a kick out of the return of Simon and Angelic Fear. This is a must read.

Jennifer from Crazy for Books has created this meme.

If you'd like to participate, here's Jennifer's instructions:


Every day I seem to find another book blog that I start following. In the spirit of the Friday Follow, I thought it would be cool to do a Book Blog Hop to give us all bookies a chance to connect and find new blogs that we may be missing out on! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs that they may not know existed!


So, if you'd like to participate, just repost this on your blog, sign MckLinky and check out other blogs in MckLinky! Let's connect and make new book bloggy friends!! So, if you consider yourself a book blogger, come join the fun!


Pretty please - Your blog should have content related to books, including, but not limited to book reviews.

Demon Possessed
BY: Stacia Kane
PUBLISHED BY: Pocket Books
PUBLISHED IN: 2010
ISBN: 978-4391-6761-8
Pages: 321
Ages: Adults
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

The psychic psychologist Megan Chase is back in “Demon Possessed,” the third and final book in the series. A FBI agent is wanting to know what her involvement with Greyson Dante is, and where the rumored demon meeting is going to be located at. Of course, Megan denies everything. The truth - Megan is attending the demon meeting with her demon lover, Greyson.

Greyson is pressuring Megan to join the “family” - to become a full-fledged demon, and he has a few dark secrets kept hidden from her.

Then, things start to go wrong at the meeting, including a minister performing “weekend exorcisms.” To make matters worse, a scary angel wants to kill Megan.

I have never read the first two books in the series, so it took me awhile to figure out what was going on. Megan Chase is a bold fantasy heroine, who doesn’t want to settle down. The book’s weakness is the lack of action, and it’s unnecessary focus on Megan’s emotions. The love scenes between Megan and Greyson are unbelievable. There was no passion, just dread. There are enough twists and turns to keep you turning the pages. “Demon Possessed” is fast-paced, just falling over three-hundred pages. Fan of the previous books will enjoy the final installment. If you’re new to the series, I would recommend reading the first book so you want be confused as I was.

Every day it was the same conversation between the birds and frogs. The birds could fly, and in their eyes that made them superior to the frogs. The frogs believed they were smaller and not as important as the birds.

A young group of tadpoles gives the birds and frogs some advice. It doesn’t matter if the birds have wings, that doesn’t make them any different. They are the same as anything else on earth.

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle
BY: L.J. Smith
PUBLISHED BY: Harper Teen
PUBLISHED IN: 1991
ISBN: 978-1-61523-818-7
Pages: 492
Ages: Young Adult
Reviewed by Billy Burgess

I can’t believe these books came out back in 1991! I was excited to get my hands on the first volume. I remember when they first came out, but never got a chance to read them until now.

Elena Gilbert has come home to Fell’s Church, Virginia after visiting France. She begins her senior year at the Robert E. Lee High School, where she meets the mysterious new student, Stefan Salvatore.

After the homecoming dance, Elena is attacked by her classmate Tyler. Stefan comes to her rescue, and they soon fall in love. Stefan’s older brother, Damon, comes into town. Strange attacks happen in Fell’s Church. Is Damon to blame? What is Stefan’s dark secret? If you’ve been watching the television show on the CW, you can probably answer these questions.