The Friend Scheme

by Cale Dietrich

I'm going to give him the power to destroy me. I guess thats what love is.

    The Friend Scheme, the second novel by Cale Dietrich, was a very cute read. Cute is the best word I can use to describe it, in all of its early teens flirting and first dates, mixed in with a sprinkling of and underground crime world, and Romero and Juliet almost, glory. We follow Matthew Miller, whose father is head of one of the biggest crime families in Florida. Matthew never fit in with the crime family, not like his older brother, Luke, who took to it like a match to dry grass. Besides that, Luke and Matt actually have a cute brotherly relationship, Luke knows his brother is more gentle and looks out for him throughout the whole story. 

    Matt has known he likes boys for years, but hadn't acted on it, so never really came out to anyone. That was until, at one of his families meetings, he meets a boy. Someone he's never seen before, but makes it very obvious they both feel the same about the crime world and women. 

Both ain't it. 

Only catch is, Matt is pretty sure this boy is a member of their rival family, the second most powerful crime family in town. Out of respect for their families, the two never talk about their family, or even tell each other their last names. Only it's hard to get to know someone when keeping half of your identity a secret. 

While is nots the deepest story I've ever read, and some moments were really awkward and consisted of the two love interested talking about movies and video games whenever they were hanging out, I still really liked it. I had to choose my favorite quotes from the book, so below is the honorable mention. 

"You're friends with a straight guy? In this economy?" - The Friend 

Scheme

:)

 The Shadow of What Was Lost

by James Islington

    

You can put your trust in something that's obvious, thats measurable, or predictable - that's not faith. Nor is believing in something that gives you no pause for doubt, no reason or desire to question. Faith is something more than that. By definition, is cannot have proof as its foundation. 

    Where to even begin with this story. It's an epic fantasy, with great world building and magic that is similar to the all famous Force in Star Wars. It's packed with characters but everyone of them play unique parts, the first being the main character Davian, who goes from being a not-so-ordinary student into a Kan prodigy.

The two types of 'magic' in this book are the gifted who can channel Essence, which is the life in all living things, such as the water in grass, the warmth from the sun, and soul of a person, used by the Gifted. The second type is called Kan, thats used by Augurs, who can use both, but only Essence when drawn from an external source.

Theres a heavy political presence in this story, but it was done very well and kept things interesting. The base of the politics is that the Augurs and Gifted used to rule with the kings, Augurs could see the future through visions and if multiple Augurs saw the same vision it was guarantied to take place. 

Until, the Augurs stopped getting the future right and pissed off one too many kings. Augurs started going missing, and the gifted were placed under a band, sealed in magic, that they could never use Essence on another person. Then they started making Shadows.

Any Gifted could become a Shadow, after anyone with essence severed their connection with it. The process leaves permeant scarring,  and the person became a shadow, who were even more scrutinized and publicly hated. So much so, that Davian, when he was young and running errands for the school of Gifted, was attacked and given two scars on either side of his face. However, an onlooker came to his rescue, and that was the first known time after the ban that a Gifted used Essence on another person, to break the tenants, thought to be impossible. That guy was known as Taeris. 

A few more characters are Asha, who was a Gifted at Davians school and they were close friends, and maybe more, before the school was attacked, and she was turned into a Shadow. She was thought to be dead, but instead ending up serving at the palace in the capital, as King Elocien's advisor, who doubled as a spy against a group of Rouge Shadow's in the inner city, and then eventually a helper of the three Augurs who were hiding in the palace among the staff. 

Wirr, or Torin, was also at the school and Davians best friend. He kept his true identity a secret while they were in school, but soon he revealed he was the crown prince of a kingdom who hated the Gifted. He left in secret to train, and luckily left with Davian the night before the school was attacked.

They met up with Taeris, and were led to find a boy named Caeden. Unfortunately, that was all the boy seemed to know about himself. But soon the boy showed he was skilled with killing supernatural creatures, showed incredible use of both Kan and Essence, and in the end, learned he was not who he thought he was at all. 

There shapeshifting, time traveling, and great evil creatures being kept at bay by a eroding boundary, that if humans cannot figure out its stance on Essence and Kan, will to caught 'with their pants down' so to speak, with a great evil that the old Augurs foretold. 

So, theres a lot going on in this story, and this was just the beginning. 

:)