Saturday, November 12, 2016

Morgan Huneke - Crannig Castle

Crannig Castle
Time Captives Trilogy


By Morgan Elizabeth Huneke


Available on Amazon




Product Description (from Amazon)

God, please look after Adriel. Keep him safe and keep him from acting foolish. And please help him to be able to find me.

Rae knew she could trust God to look after both of them. It was all she had now.

The Time Captives have been reunited. The rightful king has been freed. Now all that remains is to defeat the strytes who still hold a tyrannical rule over the people of Calhortz. But with their lack of soldiers, it’s a task that is easier said than done. They need allies, but are they worth it when it requires facing ghosts from their pasts?

Returning to his home country only brings the loss of Adriel’s family to the forefront of his mind. His determination to find Rae has never ceased, but now that determination could potentially destroy all that he and the Time Captives have been working towards. And his new-found faith may not be able to withstand the challenge.

Will they be able to set aside their personal struggles for the sake of the freedom of all or will they allow their pasts to consume them? Will they manage to win back Crannig Castle from the rule of the strytes? The fate of Calhortz hangs in the balance.

Crannig Castle is the final book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom

About the Author (from Amazon)

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Her other interests include reading, playing the piano and violin, and politics. She is the author of Across the Stars and The Experiment. To learn more about Morgan and her work, visit: www.morganhuneke.com or www.morganhuneke.blogspot.com

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Kendra


Well, here it is, at last, the final volume of the Time Captives trilogy. Please pay no mind to the shattered pieces of my heart that are scattered over the floor.

The Time Captives is one of the most unique portal fantasies that I've ever read. So much so that I have harped on the author for the "next book" since I read the first one, and she has obligingly sent me beta copies in exchange for my feedback. This book was no exception, and then she also sent me an ARC to review. (Which I then ignored and just preordered the book and read it again as soon as it appeared on my kindle.)

It's hard to believe that this series has come to an end already, and while I'm thrilled to finally know how it ends, there's a large part of my that's in denial that it's over. And I might be plotting a fanfic.

The story begins directly after the events of the previous book, and it's time to do what the Time Captives were sent to Calhortz to do - free the people from the strytes' oppresive rule and instate the true king. Of course, there is the fact that the strytes have a large army and that will be an issue.

The first half of the book deals with gathering allies. Some are easy to convince, but are small in number, such as the elves, merfolk, and kalicans. The events of the companion novel, Espionage, come into play as they seek the aid of the neighboring country of Briznom. Then there are the true people of Briznom - who have been made slaves.

The second half of the book deals with what happens when things go terribly wrong while seeking the aid of the slaves.

There were some intense moments in the previous books, but this final volume took it to a whole new level. Since the Time Captives are all together now, it is no longer necessary for them to be held in place in time, so now they can change, age, be injured, and ... unfortunately ... die. If you're an emotional reader, bring tissues.

There are a LOT of characters in this trilogy, but most of them are well develloped and have their moments to shine. Most of them go through excellent character devellopment. Some will annoy you, others are endearing, a few will break your heart.

The message was excellent, though I think that the worldbuilding surrouding how Christianity fits into the world could and should have been stronger. It wasn't bad, and fine for younger readers, but it was never really explained - you were given the general notion that it's simular to how it is in our world, but it was never explained why. My take is that the people came from our world originally and the customs carried over, but it was never discussed.

However, while the history of the world could have been much better (you learn practically nothing past when the strytes came in and conqured Calhortz), all other aspects of the worldbuilding were much better. Diverse cultures and rich landscapes and geography abound. It's well worth a visit.

If you love Christain Fantasy or Portal fantasy, this is a book you don't want to miss.


Genre/Theme: Fantasy, Portal Fantasy, Christian


Reading Level: CHILD - children's literature to
TEEN - upper elementary to middle school 
Profanity: NONE - no offensive language 
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at 
Other: 
There's quite a bit of fighting in this book. Nothing is really described, but injuries, and even deaths, happen. 




1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the review, Kendra! Sorry/not sorry for shattering your heart. ;)

    ReplyDelete

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