J. S. Malcom

'Realms Of Ghosts & Magic' surprised me and not in a good way. I'd expected the first novel in a new fantasy series. What I got was closer to a Pilot Episode for a new fantasy series.

There was enough there to establish some of the key features of the world (which creatures inhabit it, how their magical systems work, the relationship between the supernatural world and everyone else), engage the reader with the main character by sharing her point of view and some of her backstory, set her in the context of her friends and family and then introduce a challenge.

My problem was with the ending. In the last twenty per cent of the book, the pace increased, the tension rose and it felt like everything was coming together. Then I got handed an ending that felt like a cliffhanger. I could almost see 'To Be Continued...' scrolling across the screen just before the credits for the Pilot Episode.

I hate cliffhangers. They always leave me feeling cheated, just like this one did.

I'm tempted to write "Putting that to one side..." except it feels like that old joke, "Apart from that, Mrs Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?" For me, the cliffhanger guarantees that I won't be continuing with the rest of the series

For those who don't mind (maybe even enjoy?) cliffhangers, 'Realms Of Ghosts & Magic' does have some entertaining things to offer. The magic system was original and was disclosed with a light touch and little bits of humour. There were new(ish) twists on witches, mages, vampires, fae and a type of supernatural body-snatcher called a vamanec p'yrin. The heroine's background was one I hadn't come across before and was really intriguing (although handled in a soft-focus PG way that took the edge off). The tone leant toward YA humorous romance but the plot didn't. The characters are not young adults and everyone involved seems to know better than to trust that romance is real. The writing was functional. It kept the plot moving and never distracted me but it didn't make me hungry for the prose of the dialogue.

This was a fairly solid three-star performance most of the way through and it opened up a huge range of possibilities for the rest of the series but there wasn't enough there to make me want to buy the next book and find out what happened after that cliffhanger ending.… (more)

I have really loved this whole series so far. Autumn started out a mess and she became a wonderful character, especially when she brought Louie back to life. Cassie was brash and more than a little crazy but oh so much fun. Now it's Julia's turn. Up until now we figured since Cassie is such a vibrant personality and she lived inside Julia's body for 15 years that Julia must be a meek little mouse, a real pushover for someone like Cassie. Wrong. It takes someone of really strong character to take in the lost soul of a little girl when she was just a child herself and maintain her own consciousness in the process. I love Julia and I love this book where she starts coming into her own. Learning some shocking things about herself in the process and gaining confidence in herself. Oh the emotional roller coaster of this book! Chuckling one minute and gasping the next. And this is just the beginning! I can't wait to see where her story takes us.… (more)