Book Review - The Lost History of Dreams by Kris Waldherr

Photo Credit - Amazon

When famed poet Hugh de Bonne is discovered dead in his bath one day, his cousin Robert Highstead is tasked with helping Hugh with his last wishes. Robert is a post-mortem photographer and has to transport Hugh's remains for burial in a chapel where his wife's remains preside. The chapel, Ada's folly was built by Hugh sixteen years earlier as a dedication for his late wife and muse. However, since her death, the chapel has been locked and abandoned but, fans of de Bonne visit the site.

Ada's niece refuses to open the glass chapel for Robert unless he does something for her in return. She promises that she will allow Hugh's remains if Robert records Isabelle's story of Ada's and Hugh's love story over the course of five nights.  As Robert listens to Isabelle's story, he discovers secrets that closely align with ones he has been keeping secret. 

I love a good horror story but, this one didn't deliver. The beginning of the novel was very slow and it took a while before I became interested in the plot. I felt like there were no spooky elements but, only a few predictable surprises and a case of one too many mistaken identities. The novel fell short as a ghost story but, it had a few twists and turns.

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Book Review - The Banished Lands by Benjamin Mester

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A prophecy old as time promises that a kingdom will be in grave danger. When the old world has disappeared and only the history of the events remain, will Durian and his friends be able to solve the mystery? Durian and his friends travel across mystic lands and meet a wide array of friends and foes. Will they be able to outwit the mysterious force that is chasing them?

I thought the novel was an action-packed and thrilling fantasy read. It reminds me a bit of "The Hobbit", especially with Durian and friends who have no fighting experience but, they try to battle the evil forces. I enjoyed the fact that the book used a poem to create a puzzle that could help prevent evil from taking over. The novel is the first book in the series and I appreciated that it didn't leave us on a cliffhanger. However, the ending point left readers wanting to read the rest of the series.

**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

About the Book

Book Title: The Banished Lands, book one in The Banished Lands Series
Author: Benjamin Mester
Genre: Fantasy
Release date: May, 2015

A kingdom in danger. A prophecy that will change everything. But will they understand it in time? The old world is gone, and barely even histories remain. But something from that time is returning. The closing lines of a farewell poem, written centuries ago by the last great king of the age to his slain wife, might be more than just a poem:
The world and all its light shall fade,
I’ll stay with her beneath the shade
And wait until the world’s remade…

Join us in this epic fantasy adventure as three friends plunge into the great mystery of their age, twelve centuries in the making. A mysterious fog blankets the forest just outside the sleepy town of Suriya. A dark plot unfolds as Durian and his friends discover ties between a strange wanderer and the warlike barbarian kingdom far to the north. Are the mysterious things happening in the forest a prelude to invasion? What happens next will propel Durian and his curious friends into the middle of the oldest riddle in the history of their kingdom, a dozen centuries old.

About the Author

Benjamin Mester is a novelist and poet. He fell in love with the written word and beauty of language at a young age, marvelling at the way a story can transport a person, enveloping their whole mind and heart as they dive into new places and grand adventures. A lover of nature, Mester has spent the whole of his adult life immersed in the study of poetry, often wandering the woodlands of northern Minnesota or the beaches of California.

If asked about his writing, he would say his overarching goal is to inspire people to live with greater passion, often quoting one of his favorite Proverbs, 14:8: The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways. How often do we stop to give thought to our ways, asking ourselves why we live the way we do? What does it mean to live to the full? How can I love more deeply? Mester hopes his writing will build a longing in his readers, that his stories inspire them to want more for their lives than the mediocrity of good enough we so often settle for.

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Benjamin is giving away a grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d1c7/the-banished-lands-celebration-tour-giveaway