Two Short Book Reviews:

Hello, hello! Today I am bringing you two short reviews for two fantasy books I read this week. The first one is the sequel to the Runestone Saga series by one of my favorite authors. The second is a middle grade fantasy about a young boys adventure in a magical world adjacent to ours where he meets all kinds of wonderful creatures and an intriguing girl who can fly. Let’s get to it, shall we?

Bane of Asgard by Cinda Williams Chima

Publication Date: October 22, 2024

Confession:

I overall enjoyed this second and final book in this duology but I did have some minor issues with it. Nothing that really took away from the story, just some little things that bugged me.

This is a story based on the Norse mythologies and takes place after Ragnarok. I loved the characters in this series, even some of the bad ones. But our two narrators really captured my heart. I loved both Reginn and Eiric, our two main narrators of this story. There are a couple of chapters from others points of view as well, which I very much appreciated. They are both brave and fiercely loyal to their friends and in Eiric’s case family. Reginn is very clever and smart and her strength lies in her self confidence as a performer. Eiric tends to rely on his muscles rather than his brain, but he can be pretty smart about things when he wants to be.

The story is rather clever and very interesting and the writing is suburb, but this second book was a bit on the slow side and perhaps too long. It might have been better if it had been divided into two books, as the last 50 pages or so felt very rushed. There were also some new storylines that came up in this one that were not explored as well as they should have been. But all of the old plots were neatly wrapped up, but in a very rushed way.

If you liked tha]e first book then this will certainly be a solid read for you. If you enjoy books based on the Norse myths this is a duology you might want to take a look at. Check out my review for the first book, Children of Ragnarok, and consider adding it to your TBR.

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

Read by Samuel West

Publication Date: September 14, 2023

Confession:

I really enjoyed this delightful first book in what I hope is a long middle grade series. It has a lot going for it, with wonderful characters and some marvelous creatures. Samuel West also did a great job of narrating this story with voices for all of the characters and some great ones for the creatures as well.

The story is an adventure quest in a magical land. Christopher is a young boy who discovers that his family have been the guardians of a magical land that is dying. He joins Mal, a young girl who can fly, on a journey to discover why her world is dying. It takes them to many magical places and they meet many magical creatures along the way. I loved both of these young children who were often put into some difficult situations on their own, but manage to make it out just in time. The ending was a bit on the bitter sweet side, and maybe a bit on the rushed side, but the whole book was just charming and fun.

The author did a great job with the writing and descriptions of the magical creatures and land. I think she also did a nice job of depicting the two tweens and making them feel very real. I loved all of the adventures that these kids went on, and even though there were adults along for part of the adventure, they never insisted on intruding on the children’s need to fix what was wrong.

A delightful new magical adventure series that I am sure many middle graders will be flocking to. It will appeal to adults as well.