"Of Bees and Mist" by Erick Setiawan

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Of Bees and Mist through Barnes and Noble’s First Look program. I received the book yesterday (May 21st) and, quite frankly, devoured it. I finished it in less than twenty-four hours. From the first chapter I was totally drawn in, and I struggled to put it down.

In order to truly appreciate what Erick Setiawan has done, you simply have to give yourself over to the fantasy world he has created. Assume that all manners of wonder and enchantment are not only possible but likely, and allow yourself to be swept away. Once you have allowed yourself to become part of this new reality, you will find yourself drawn into the domestic drama surrounding a brave and lovely young girl, Meridia.

Of Bees and Mist chronicles Meridia’s trials and tribulations, beginning in her bizarre and neglected childhood years, and following her through her troubled adult life. Pronounced dead at birth, she is given a new lease on life as a result of her mother’s determination alone. However, following a vaguely remembered incident in the first year of Meridia’s life, her mother withdraws from reality. That, coupled with her father’s inexplicable disdain, leaves her to be raised primarily by a nurse in a cold, haunted, bizarre home that is surrounded by an ever-present mist.

During her sixteenth year, Meridia meets Daniel, the love of her life. After persuading her parents for their blessing, the two wed and move into Daniel’s family’s home. Meridia believes that her marriage will begin a new and wonderful life, removed from the strife and loneliness she has grown accustomed to. Unfortunately, her new mother-in-law, Eva, is a cold, jealous, manipulative shrew, bent on controlling the lives of all around her. At first, she sees her new daughter-in-law little more than a new servant for her household. Soon enough, however, she realizes that she has miscalculated Meridia’s strength of will, and it becomes all out war.

And what a war. In a world where magic abounds, both women have arsenals beyond anything I would ever have imagined. While Eva’s biggest strength comes in the form of her bees (grievances come to life, buzzing and swarming around her adversaries), Meridia finds that her strength comes from the family she sought to leave behind.

I was so pleasantly surprised by Of Bees and Mist that I really can’t say enough good things about it. It was everything I look for in a novel. Fantasy, richly developed characters, and old-fashioned drama. I couldn’t help but get emotionally involved from the beginning. I can give it nothing less than five enthusiastic stars.

"Chasing Demons" by R.L. Geerdes

Can you imagine waking up in a hospital bed and being told that the life you had lived and loved for the past two years was nothing but a figment of your comatose imagination?

That is the scenario facing Katrina, the heroine of “Chasing Demons.” Awaking in a room full of strangers, Katrina is told that she has been in a coma for the last six months; the result of a horrific car accident. However, she has memories of a magical land called Arconia, where she recalls spending the last two years living another life. Falling in love, discovering her true heritage, and cultivating magical ability. Unfortunately, the memories of her magical life are fleeting, and by the time she leaves the hospital with her fiancé (a man she thought dead as a result of the car crash that catapulted her into Arconia), she believes them nothing more than the remnants of dreams.

Back in Arconia, Katrina’s mate Castin awakes from a powerful sleeping spell to find Katrina gone. He soon learns that she was kidnapped, sent back to earth by a powerful sorceress, Fatale. Without hesitation, Castin and Katrina’s father, the powerful wizard Drestin, set off on a perilous journey to Earth to rescue her. They cannot possibly know that Katrina’s kidnapping was little more than a diversion, a way to lure two of the most powerful mages in Arconia away. Because when they are gone, there is no one left to stand in the way of Fatale and her ultimate goal to rule all of Arconia.

Of course, nothing is as it seems, and Katrina & Castin’s allies fight the good fight while Castin & Drestin struggle to bring Katrina back alive. In the colorful and creative realm that R.L. Geerdes has imagined, anything is possible, and good has the strength and tenacity to overcome evil.

I found “Chasing Demon’s” impossible to put down. I was intrigued by the premise immediately. (I mean, what is reality anyway?) I did have some issues with the ease in which most of the problems that arose were solved by the characters. And the length of the book (only about 300 pages) left little room for character development. And the book ended abruptly, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Of course, this is book two in the Mistress of Beasts Saga, so I am sure that the answers will be found in book three. Hopefully, that installment finds its way onto bookshelves soon. All in all, I have to give “Chasing Demons” a healthy 3 ½ star rating.