Under the Hat of Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy Author Rebecca Ryals Russell

 

Laman, Stardust Warriors MG Series (out 2012)

When 14-year-old Laman wakes on a beach after being struck by lightning, he and hissister, led by a tiny fairy on a hummingbird, take off on a journey like they’d never imagined. Joined by a fiery-tempered red-head they struggle to make sense of visions and feelings while escaping the dragon-demons hunting them.

 

Harpies, Book 2: Seraphym Wars YA Series (out 2012)

Harpies, Book 2 in the Seraphym Wars Series, follows fifteen-year-old Griffen as he discovers why he has been transported from his home on the Outer Banks of South Carolina on Earth to a desolate beach somewhere on a foreign planet. Accompanied by a talking bird, Griffen begins a quest to fulfill his role in a prophecy and find his way home. Joined by twelve-year-old Seth, a strange fire-bug, and fourteen-year-old Mercy, a runaway with Empathic skills, Griffen learns to control his new ability to pull lightning from the sky at will—especially while battling demon-dragons and sea monsters who want them all dead. Following mere intuition, the three, accompanied by an oddball Burrowing Elf, transport downriver toward an island Griffen keeps seeing in visions. Narciss has other plans for the three intrepid Vigorios, however, and Griffen discovers a brave side he never suspected he had—unless he was playing video games. But this turns out to be no game.

 

Jeremiah Holyfield, Prequel: Stardust Warriors MG Series

MuseItUp Bookstore

For centuries upon centuries Reverend Jeremiah Holyfield guarded the Prophecy in a small village church at the base of the mountains wherein dwell Narciss and his Legio of evil demon-dragons. But now that the dragons burned the village and church to the ground, Jeremiah must run and hide, taking the precious document with him. Accompanied by eleven-year-old Abram, who happened to be in the church at the time, the two must cross a scorching desert, survive one catastrophe after another and still hide from dragon attacks along the way. In their search for a safe new home in the distant Solimon Mountains they encounter Majikals and monsters, natural disasters and discover new friends.

 

Prophecy, Prequel: Seraphym Wars YA Series

MuseItUp Bookstore

For centuries the residents of Solsyl lived in peace and harmony with the planet. Then the dragon-demons arrived, causing the Great Shuddering. Majikals from everywhere scurried to find shelter from the evil while humans hid. Laud regretted his rash decision of exiling the demons on Solsyl and asked one of his advisors, a member of The Conscientia, to protect his people. Jeremiah Holyfield agreed to leave the peaceful world of Revrum Natura for a life of constant strife and fear on the newly renamed planet of Dracwald. But Narciss, ruler of Tartarus and King of the demons, desperately wants what Jeremiah has sworn to protect—a Prophecy of Narciss’s future doom. And Narciss refuses to take no for an answer. But Jeremiah discovers allies along his path and even true love, which he never dreamed possible.

But forever is a long time to protect something without ever letting down one’s guard.

Review–I enjoyed the story of Jeremiah Holyfield and wanted to know more about the prophecy and the teens of which it speaks. This book is a standalone and can be read at any point in the series. I hadn’t realised when I started reading that none of the teens would feature in this story, so I kept wondering when one would pop up. D’oh!

Prophecy provides some background information about the world – Dracwald - in which the Seraphym Wars unfolds. On this planet evil dragons terrorize humans, and the opening of the book brings that terror into full focus. The opening of the book is however the most dramatic and the rest of the book is more suspenseful.

It’s a fairly short book - at seventy-ish pages - and I was expecting more resolution, but then realised that really the book does a good job of bringing the reader into Dracwald and providing some background information. Although not the first book in the series, Prophecy certainly has peaked my interest in the series.

If you liked Paolini’s books, I think you’ll enjoyRebecca Ryals Russell.

Posted by K R Weinert http://krweinert.blogspot.com/2011/10/prophecy-by-rebecca-ryals-russell.html

 

Zarena, Book 1: Stardust Warriors MG Series

MuseItUp Bookstore

I…was pulled into Zarena’s world from the very beginning!…From the very first time she pulls open the door and we see the world she has entered, the descriptions are vivid and take you there…The world that Russell has created is fascinating and I still feel like if I close my eyes I can be there with Zarena. It’s such a tranquil place. Yet, evil lurks in this place of peace, in the form of a friend. 3 stars   Valerie/Romancing the Book

Readers will instantly find themselves cheering Zarena on in her new role. This is a fun story for any middle grade reader, and it sets up what will surely be an exciting series. 4 STARS  Kelly Hashway  MG Author/Blogger/Reviewer