Who Doesn’t Love A Unicorn – The Unicorn Key by J A Culican @jaculican

Posted on December 1, 2019 by fundinmental

NEW RELEASE

I have been a collector of all things Unicorn for some time now, so when I saw the opportunity to read The Unicorn Key by J A Culican, I had to jump on it. I’m prancing with joy that this is a series because I want more.

The Unicorn Key (Realm of Light and Fire Book 1)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love a story with unicorns, but there are so many other supernatural and mythical creatures to fear and love, that I barely had a moment to catch my breath as the threesome set off on a dangerous quest to find the Diamond.

An unlikely duo appears at Freya’s door. Opal is a young ‘girl’ with pink and purple hair and a gruff attitude, making it hard to like her. Jet is a young ‘boy’ with blue hair and a lighthearted demeanor, making it easy to like him.

Freya’s grandfather had a stroke and had not spoken in years, but when the duo arrived on their doorstep, he told her she must join them on their quest to find the Diamond and save them from the Darkness that is taking over the land.

River volunteers his services in reading the map, which is in a code they cannot decipher. Can he be trusted…or is he after the Diamond for himself.

Trouble is sure to find them as they enter the woods, travel to distant mountains and come face to face with Baxil. They will encounter many supernatural creatures and have others join in their quest.

Unicorns are not extinct, just very well hidden. Like elephants and rhinos in our world, they are valued for their horns.

I love the Diamond twist.

The action ramps up as their journey nears its end. The characters grow, develop, and show their true colors, while forming a family of sorts, with a little romance thrown in for good measure.

The world building is magical, supernatural, and the more I read, the more I got lost in it, worrying, fretting, and wondering how the Diamond would save their world.

I love this quote:

I would never make the mistake of letting my fear stop me again. Life was too fragile, too uncertain to risk never getting the chance again.

Their quest is over, but there will more to the story and I look forward to being there for it.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Unicorn Key by J A Culican and J A Armitage

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

I was born with a secret. The problem was, I didn’t know it…

Not until two weirdoes turned up at my door asking to speak to my grandfather. My grandfather that had been mute since a stroke five years ago. When he uttered his first words in years to them asking us to find Cassiopeia, I found myself leaving the comfort of the only home I’d ever known and embarking on a quest with the strangest couple of people I’d ever met.

As elusive as they are strange, I only followed in the hope that whoever Cassiopeia was, she would help my grandfather. However these two are looking for a rare diamond and my own quest means nothing to them. They are hiding secrets of their own, secrets that neither is willing to share.

Thankfully, they enlist a navigator to help them through the perilous terrain, a local bad boy and money grabber only interested in one thing…and no it isn’t me.

With the three of them dead set on finding the diamond and me out to find Cassie, tension is high, and it’s not helping that the dark fae know we are looking and will stop at nothing to keep hold of the diamond. Add unicorns, mages, evil gryphons and dragon shifters into the mix and soon my life takes on a terrifying turn, which nothing has prepared me for.

The Unicorn key is an electrifying first in series by the USA Today Bestselling authors who brought you the Dragon Tamer series. Realm of Light and Fire is guaranteed to have you hiding under your duvet with your flashlight, turning the pages.

Scroll up and one click now for the adventure of your life.

ABOUT J A CULICAN

J.A. Culican is a teacher by day and a writer by night. She lives in New Jersey with her husband of eleven years and their four young children.

J.A. Culican’s inspiration to start writing came from her children and their love for all things magical. Bedtime stories turned to reality after her oldest daughter begged her for the book from which her stories of dragons came from. In turn, the series The Keeper of Dragons was born.

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One Sentence Review – Unicorn Magic by Roz Marshall @RozMarshallAuth

Posted on June 29, 2019 by fundinmental

I love unicorns and when I saw the awesome cover for Unicorn Magic by Roz Marshall, I had to have it. I definitely enjoyed my first visit to Feyland.

Cover by Alba Covers

Amazon / Goodreads

MY ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

I love the cover for Unicorn Magic and this magical story that warmed my heart making me want more from Roz Marshall and the Feyland series.

GOODREADS BLURB

In Feyland, not everything is as it seems…
Feyland: a new computer game that allows Scottish teenager Corinne MacArthur to escape the sadness haunting her everyday life after losing a loved one. It’s a game where legends come to life, the lines between reality and fantasy become blurred, and the impossible becomes – probable?

Unicorn Magic is the 1st story in the Celtic Fey series set in Anthea Sharp’s Feyland universe (with her kind permission). A stand-alone short story with a full plot arc, Unicorn Magic was first published in the anthology Chronicle Worlds: Feyland.

This is a clean urban fantasy which is set in Scotland (and the faerie realm) and uses British English spelling and grammar.

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Giveaway – The Blue Unicorn’s Journey to Osm by Sybrina Durant @Sybrina_spt @GoddessFish

Posted on July 31, 2017 by fundinmental

I love the magical and elusive unicorn, so when I heard about The Blue Unicorn’s Journey to Osm, I had to ‘saddle up.’

The Blue Unicorn’s Journey To Osm by Sybrina Durant

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GENRE: Teen Fantasy Book

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MY REVIEW

There’s no place like home…OSM means awesome.

He is supposed to be their savior. But how can that be possible? He has no magic.

He feels an outsider, he just doesn’t fit in. Does anyone feel a touch of Rudolph in this?

The fun, colorful, imaginative illustrations are wonderful, filled with fantastical creatures, both good and bad.

Each creature is unique, individual, just like in real life.

Is there such a thing as a fish unicorn? If so, imagine the possibilities.

Set your imagination free.

The Blue Unicorn…reads like old time fairy tales…where life and death choices are made…And …maybe, you will learn why you never see a unicorn.

This magical fantasy filled with fun and humor, sadness and happiness, and lessons learned. We are not alone.

I voluntarily reviewed The Blue Unicorn’s Journey to Osm by Sybrina Durant.

4 Stars

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BLURB

The book is about a little blue unicorn who was born into a magical metal-horned tribe of unicorns. He is expected to save the tribe from the evil sorcerer, Magh but how will he be able to do that with no metal and no magic? Read the book to find out how a plain blue unicorn comes of age with the help of a brave stag and a loyal firebird. The book is meant for teen readers and anyone else who love unicorn stories with lots of pictures.

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EXCERPT

“Why, would you take off alone, Ghel?” Alumna asked. “You know how dangerous it is out there. You were almost a manticore’s dinner.”

It was obvious Alumna was angry. She tried to control her voice but it came out in sharp, short tones.

“Or worse,” Lauda exclaimed, “you might have been captured by Magh’s minions and had your hooves and horn taken.” The hide on her back rippled fearfully.

Ghel shuddered, too. She had thought she was doomed when she first saw the manticore. She would have been if Nix had not arrived in the nick of time to save her.

All the other unicorns put on brave faces but the thought scared them, also.

The seriousness of their situation was fully revealed when Alumna said, “The entire tribe is going to have to make a journey all the way across MarBryn to Mumna said sadly. “The Numen told me Blue’s destiny is to ensure the safety of our tribe. He said it is time for Blue to join with the Moon-Star.”

No one tried to hide the shock they felt. They all spoke at once: “Join with the Moon-Star?”

“Corn feathers! Is he gonna sprout wings to do this trick?” Lauda exploded. “The Moon-Star’s in the sky and Blue sure as heck can’t fly.”

They all thought it sounded like nonsense. Unicorns cannot fly.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links

I am the author of the “Learn To Tie A Tie With The Rabbit and The Fox” series of instructional books for boys and girls. I also co-write, edit and publish children’s books by other authors, Sandi Johnson (Children’s books) and Britt Brundige (Tween graphic novel). For the older crowd, there’s a little bit of romance by Historical Regency Romance author, Gina Rose.

I am also the publisher of the 4 volume set – Sybrina’s Phrase Thesaurus.

Createspace / Amazon / B&N / Smashwords / ITunes / Kobo / Newsletter / Website / Facebook / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest / Instagram / LinkIn

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GIVEAWAY

Sybrina Durant will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.

You can see my Giveaways HERE.
You can see my Reviews HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Unicorns and Magic ~ Fallenwood by Leslie D Soule

Posted on March 19, 2015 by fundinmental

NBTM_TourBanner_Fallenwood

As soon as I saw the cover, I knew I had to share this.

I LOVE UNICORNS!

Fallenwood Cover Love!

Leslie D. Soule

So the brilliant artist who created the Fallenwood cover, with the black unicorn Shadowmere on it, which I love, is artist Stephanie Flint. She’s the same artist who designed the cover for Forgetting Fallenwood, which is book 2 in the series. For the cover on book 2, we see Ash, who has returned to the real world and is trying to live a normal life. She’s got a state job and she’s all dressed up. She’s holding her mocha and keeping her head up and trying to walk a very different path than the one she was on in Fallenwood. This makes the contrast so stark when she eventually gives up this life to return to Fallenwood in order to figure out what’s happened there and how she lost her memories.

As for the covers, all I did was make a suggestion content-wise and Stephanie did the rest – coming up with these absolutely beautiful covers and I don’t even know how she did it, but I give her major kudos for it. She’s managed to take subject matter that could essentially be very bland and straightforward, like the image of Ash standing there with the coffee cup in her hand, and give it a magical, ethereal quality. Same with the image on the cover of Fallenwood, where the unicorn has a turned-away stance that adds to the feeling of magic to be felt there.

So there it is! I’m so fortunate to have had the opportunity to have such a great cover artist do these covers for Fallenwood. I’m honored, really. What a great experience.

I love learning about the covers for books and am so happy you were here today, Leslie, to tell us about yours. Thanks so much for sharing and I wish you many downloads!

Isn’t this cover a beaut?

Fallenwood

by Leslie D. Soule

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BLURB

Fallenwood – where your dreams and nightmares are only a portal away…

Fallenwood—a land where magic is the life force, dragons are sages, and wizards good and evil battle for supremacy. When 23-year-old Ash is thrust into the middle of Fallenwood’s power struggles, she is also forced to face her own inner battles. Life on Earth was hard enough on Ash, who is locked in grief for her stepfather. Now, the fate of Fallenwood rests on her shoulders. She must destroy the Great Crystal—the catalyst for all the land’s magic. As the kingdoms prepare for war, Ash must look inside to find the power to save the world, and herself.

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EXCERPT

“Now then, I’ll explain the meaning of the unicorn and the crown.” Ash continued munching on wontons as she listened.

“In Fallenwood, there is a black unicorn—the only one of its kind. It was the horse of the Great King Palomides Hyperion back in the Golden Age of Fallenwood. It grazes in a field called The Field of Death that stands between two rivers. It is so named because if anyone tries to capture the black unicorn, it will run them through with its horn, whether the person uses magic or not. But what’s important is that the unicorn has become a symbol of freedom and power.

“People fight for symbols. They go to war for them. They die for them, and devote their lives to the search for them and any number of things. The black unicorn was bred of a black warhorse stallion and a unicorn mare, and it has a name that I will not repeat here. If any of the six kingdoms of Fallenwood were to get their hands on the black unicorn, it would give that kingdom legitimacy over all others.

“So even today, there are people who stand at the edges of the rivers and watch the unfortunate individuals who have been sent by their respective kingdoms to embark on what is essentially a suicide mission. People have tried nets, magic barriers, teaming up on the unicorn, all to no avail. Every person who has tried to catch the black unicorn has been gored to death. The black unicorn symbolizes a power that will not be dominated.

“We are all caught up in the struggle between the unicorn and the crown. You’ll learn all you need to know about the philosophy of the crown when we arrive at Castle Evendown.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My name is Leslie Soule (pronounced “soul” like that part of you that is innate). I am an author who loves to try new genres and Sacramento, California is my hometown. I have an M.A. in English from National University and am a member of the English Chapter of the Sac State Almuni Association, and the Sacramento branch of the California Writers Club (as of June 2014).

Amazon Buy Link / Website

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GIVEAWAY

Leslie will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found HERE.