An Aurora YA Review: Once Upon a Time in America (The Knight Cycle #5) by Michael J. Bowler

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

With Lance leading the way, the Knights of the Round Table have set out to convince the American people that amending the Constitution to protect children is right and just and long overdue. As the team travels from state to state, they are met with acceptance, indifference, and even hostility. But Lance’s popularity and mystique as The Boy Who Came Back, coupled with his innate charm, gradually sway more and more of the populace, not to mention state legislators, to their cause.

The journey becomes a rite of passage that propels the young people into adulthood, and solidifies Lance’s status as an iconic and influential figure.

But he’s uneasy. He knows Arthur is hiding something from him, something that will bring him great sadness. After The Excalibur Incident in Las Vegas, Lance becomes more and more certain that the future is one he won’t like, despite his stunning success at winning over some of the most intractable states.

Then comes the attack, sudden and brutal.

Now the Round Table is in disarray, and Lance must confront a cold-blooded killer who’s luring him into an obvious trap. But if he refuses the challenge, more loved ones will die, and everything he’s fought for will die with them. Surrounded by the diverse young knights who have become his family, Lance sets out to battle his enemy with the knowledge deep in his heart that only one of them will survive. Is this the end of the Round Table?

The Knight Cycle concludes…

This whole series was really great and after reading this book, and seeing the whole story, it really made me like even the other books seem better than they were when I first read them. Everything in the books just seemed to have a really good arc. The series had a great plot, and the plots within each individual book were good in and of themselves. The arcs that the characters went through were really interesting, and I just had a good time reading the books.

I can also see why other teenagers and people my age would enjoy this whole series and this last book. The characters are charming and interesting, as well as being the type of characters that teenagers can easily relate to, and if you like fantasy mixed with contemporary, then you should absolutely read this series and I can almost guarantee that you’ll enjoy it. There’s good writing and a lot of heart behind these books, and the series is a really great one.

Cover art by artist Reese Dante: This is maybe my favorite cover art from the whole series. I feel like it flows really well together and shows the progression of the books, again, really, really well. And it’s absolutely beautiful. It would definitely make me pick up the book and even check out the rest of the series based just on that one cover.

Sales Link: Amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

Paperback, 1, 320 pages
Published November 12th 2014 by Michael J. Bowler
ISBN 099087110X (ISBN13: 9780990871101)
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Knight Cycle #5
other editions (1)

Books in The Children of the Knight, The Knight Cycle Series are:

Children of the Knight (ebook & paperback) Dreamspinner Press Amazon
Running Through a Dark Place (Children of the Knight, #2) Amazon paperback only
There Is No Fear (Children of the Knight, #3) Amazon paperback only
And The Children Shall Lead (Children of the Knight, #4) Amazon paperback only
Once Upon a Time in America (Children of the Knight, #5) – series conclusion

Amazon Paperback

An Aurora YA Review: Tales From High Hallack Volume Three by Andre Norton

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

In the third and final volume of High Hallack, tales of high fantasy, science fiction, and coming of age reach back as far as 1943, yet are still as fresh and relevant today as when they were written. High Hallack was a place in Andre Norton’s fiction and was also the name of the genre writer’s library she opened in Tennessee. It is a wondrous keep that she called home, and now High Hallack opens its gates and allows these amazing stories to unfold.

This book is a compilation of short stories, all taking place within the same world, but not necessarily interconnected. It focuses largely on high fantasy elements.

I really had a great time reading this book, and it’s definitely one that I would have picked up even if I had just seen it on a shelf somewhere. Some of the stories had be so on edge that I read through them again simply to get the thrill of it. I think that the author really captures making very real characters in very ridiculous circumstances, which is always something that I love to see in my fantasies. Short stories can often fall short in making you really care about the characters in such a short amount of time, but that is really not a problem with this book. I found myself, with many of the stories, even wishing that they could have gone on longer!

The book only lost a star because, while I absolutely loved a lot of the stories in the book, some of them weren’t quite suited to my fancy, which is a matter entirely of personal opinion and every story was very well written, my interest levels just varied throughout the book.

Cover Artist: L.C. Chase. The cover art is simple, but pretty and well suited to the book. I think the dark color scheme definitely makes it appealing, while the bright color of the fire draws the readers eyes to the bottom of the page where the artist wants them to look.

A MelanieM Note: I first discovered Andre Norton when I was about Aurora’s age and have loved her writings ever since. I was curious when I saw this new collection of her stories just published. Would this generation of YA readers find her as relevant and exciting as I found her all those years (decades if I am honest) ago? Happily, it turns out the answer is yes, Andre Norton and her stories are timeless. Pick them up and discover that for yourself!

Sales Links: Open Road Media amazon Buy It Here

Book Details:

ebook, 300 pages, also in paperback
Published October 14th 2014 by Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy (first published January 1st 2014)
ISBN 1497660378 (ISBN13: 9781497660373)
seriesTales from High Hallack #3

Tales from High Hallack Collections by Andre Norton:

Tales From High Hallack, Volume 1: The Collected Short Stories of Andre Norton, Volume 1
Tales from High Hallack, Volume 2: the collected short stories of Andre Norton
Tales from High Hallack, Volume Three: The Collected Short Stories of Andre Norton

An Aurora YA Review: Children of the Knight (Children of the Knight #1) by Michael J. Bowler

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A Harmony Ink Press Young Adult Title

According to legend, King Arthur is supposed to return when Britain needs him most. So why does a man claiming to be the once and future king suddenly appear in Los Angeles?

This charismatic young Arthur creates a new Camelot within the City of Angels to lead a crusade of unwanted kids against an adult society that discards and ignores them. Under his banner of equality, every needy child is welcome, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or gang affiliation.

With the help of his amazing First Knight, homeless fourteen-year-old Lance, Arthur transforms this ragtag band of rejected children and teens into a well-trained army—the Children of the Knight. Through his intervention, they win the hearts and minds of the populace at large, and gain a truer understanding of themselves and their worth to society. But seeking more rights for kids pits Arthur and the children squarely against the rich, the influential, and the self-satisfied politicians who want nothing more than to maintain the status quo.

Can right truly overcome might? Arthur’s hopeful young knights are about to find out, and the City of Angels will never be the same.

Arthur, a boy apparently the reborn King Arthur, of legend, is in Los Angeles, California, with a Camelot of his very own, fighting the oppressive nature of the city with an admirable message of equality and acceptance.

I think this book had a really original idea behind it, which was something that I immediately loved, with so many books marketed toward young adults seeming like a copy of The Hunger Games or Twilight or Harry Potter. This book definitely didn’t seem like that, and the author took the idea that had a lot of potential, and transformed it into a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It was interesting to see an attitude toward the adult world from someone who hadn’t quite reached adulthood yet, and seeing a young person fighting for something they really believed in, in an inclusive way. The book sends a great message without being overt about it, or pushing the theme to the point where it distracts from the actual story.

The characters were great, as well, and, again, the original idea behind the story fueled my interest at the beginning, but before long, I really cared about the characters and wanted to know how their journeys were going to play out. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it very highly.

Cover Artist: Reese Dante. I’ve said this before, and it is absolutely my own personal bias, but I simply don’t enjoy photo-edited covers as much as drawn covers except in very rare cases. That being said, this cover is well put together, and it is suited to the book, it simply isn’t my cup of tea.

Sales Links: Dreamspinner Press All Romance (ARe) amazon buy it here

Book Details:

ebook, 344 pages
Published June 20th 2013 by Dreamspinner Press (first published June 19th 2013)
original titleChildren of the Knight
ISBN 1623806569 (ISBN13: 9781623806569)
edition languageEnglish

Series the Knight Cycle:

Children of the Knight #1, The Knight Cycle #1

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