#Review - Accepting the Mantle by Helen Savore #Mythology #Fantasy

Series: The Phoenix Succession # 3
Format: E-Book
Release Date: July 28th 2021
Publisher: Oberon's Forge Press LLC
Source: Publisher
Genre: Mythology / Fantasy

King Arthur has Returned…

But with Oberon satiated there's no more threat to the modern world. Best to hide and wallow in guilt for the two lives he took: Jamie and Drea. At least she gets a chance at a normal life.

But she doesn’t want it. Alexandrea is haunted by memories she doesn’t trust, and she isn’t sure what she’s more afraid of: Delusions of controlling the elements? Or falling into Jamie’s arms?

Amid their uncertainty rises an old threat: Morgana. Forced into a new body, she tries to refresh her life, but the Grail is gone! Realizing Druids have returned, Morgana vows to find them, and take one for herself.

 

Accepting the Mantle is the third installment in author Helen Savore's The Phoenix Succession. This book continues a month after the ending of The Sword in the Throne. This time around, the story isn't just about Alexandrea and Jamie, it also adds a new threat in Morgana who has been body swapping for a very long time and now wants to find the presumed last Druids left on the planet; Drea and Jamie. Morgana is the supreme druid after Merlin who was also the Phoenix and defied generations. Morgana has played a very long game. 

She remembers the fae massacre of the druids at Camlann and Arthur and the Knights of the Round table falling and her own betrayal. When Morgana learns that the Grail is gone, she goes hunting for it and finds it in the most unusual places; Jamie who is now Arthur who was her half brother who she betrayed. Realizing the Druids have returned, Morgana tracks Jamie and Drea down until it's a battle of wits and wills. With the Grail at hand, Morgana doesn't have to worry about forcing her way into a new body unless Drea or Jamie can stop her first. 

Arthur was conceived to provide a vessel for Oberon's vessel but when his soul was reunited in Jamie after he summoned the Phoenix, he became the legendary Arthur. When Arthur/ Jamie healed Oberon, there was no further purpose for the Phoenix, and no more purpose for Arthur.  Jamie in essence stole Drea's destiny when he took a piece of Arthur's soul from her which lingers for a very long time in this story. Jamie has no idea how much of him remains or if he now fully Arthur and the Phoenix. Arthur gave Oberon his humanity back so that is one less threat he has to worry about. For now.

Drea was trained by Moralynn, who was daughter of Morgana, to be the Phoenix Succession. She trained her entire life for the moment it would be her turn to carry the mantle only to be betrayed by Jamie. Now Drea has no memories of her life before thanks to Jamie aka Arthur. Drea struggles mightily to regain her life. She believes she's seeing illusions but can't say anything for fear of being put away in a asylum like Jamie's mother. She does remember Rhys, (who lost his leg thanks to Fae), and now wears a prosthetic. She remembers Phil who is her caretaker. Drea doesn't really come back to herself until she travels to meet with Titania aka Lady Fate. 

I do believe that this is a fulfilling finale to the series and the ending is as good as it could get. I had issues with Jamie doing what he did to Drea and other spoiler-y things, but in the end he once again proves himself worthy of her. Drea has a rough time for a great chunk of this story, but with friends like Rhys around, things get better gradually. I do believe that the confrontation between Morgana, Jamie, and Drea wasn't rushed. It was fated. 

Thank you to the author for reaching out to me and providing me a copy of this book. I am grateful that she considered me worthy of providing an unabridged and honest review.  

 

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#Review - Camelot Crumbles by Helen Savore #Fantasy

Series: A Faerie Forge Chronicle
Format: Kindle Edition, 306 pages  
Release Date:  September 18, 2018
Publisher: Oberon's Forge Press llc
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy
Moralynn’s life was all planned out

… But not her death.

Moralynn was conceived for one purpose: to become a powerful enough druid to succeed Merlin.

When the Fae brag of destroying Camelot, Moralynn escapes home to find it alive, but transformed.

Why is Lancelot King?
How did Arthur become a druid?
Since when is she betrothed to Galahad?
Druids are dying, but before she can solve the mystery she awakens days earlier, in someone else’s body. As Moralynn investigates how to save this Camelot she must resist temptation to surrender to each person she inhabits.

How many times can she witness Camelot Crumble before madness takes her?

You’ll love this Groundhog Day meets King Arthur story because everyone loves solving the mystery alongside the characters.

Camelot Crumbles, by author Helen Savore, is part of the authors Faerie Forge Chronicles. This story is Groundhog Day meets King Arthur. The protagonist of the story is Moralynn who you may know if you've read the author's Phoenix Succession series. Moralynn was born to be Merlin's successor or Phoenix Sparked. She's also a Druid, and a healer. But Lady Fate and Queen Titania, who controls time, decide that Camelot will fall which plays right into the hands of the Fae. So, Moralynn, cursed by time, is sent back to an altered reality where Lancelot is King, not Arthur. 

In this reality, Moralynn hasn't been chosen as Phoenix Sparked yet and Merlin is still alive. She’s also betrothed to Galahad. This realities Merlin is holding off officially naming her his heir. He instead uses other characters like Mordred to prove they are worthy. Moralynn finds herself cycling through various incarnations from Sir Kay, to Prince Galahad, to Mordred, to Arthur, to Gawain, to Percival. This is a time of war. The Romans, who are fearful of shapers and druids, are on the move. Lancelot's Knights are being eliminated one by one which shouldn't happen, and Guinevere is married to Lancelot, not Arthur. 

Lancelot has made an alliance with the Fae, but how far can you really trust them? Oh, I probably should say that in this reality, Lancelot is also Fae. What's especially twisted is that Druids like Moralynn are being targeted. As Moralynn recycles through a cast of characters, who you won't remember unless you write them down, she gets closer to exposing the truth. But she also loses memories of her true self along the way. The more she dies, the more she loses of herself. As Moralynn searches for answers, will it be enough to save Camelot before it falls? The one thing that becomes crystal clear is that some of these characters are more than they are made out to believe. 

They have no problem watching the Knights fall one by one until there are no more Druids. But Moralynn will eventually come to realize that the world need Camelot, and it needs the Phoenix to rise. But, after untold deaths, can she do anything to save Camelot? I think this is a good refresher as to who Moralynn was before she started training Alexandrea to become the next Phoenix Sparked.  I think it is time for another story in the Phoenix Succession series as well since things remain cloudy for Alexandrea and Jamie.

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#Review - Lady Leaves the Lake by Helen Savore #Fantasy

Series: Faerie Forge Chronicles
Format: E-Galley, 254 pages
Release Date: December 20th 2019
Publisher: Oberon's Forge Press llc
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy

A smith’s courage is bound into a sword of destiny

Viviane is a fae smith, capable of creating epic weapons that shape the elements. Smiths aren’t permitted to fight in the battles that forge the faewilds, but Viviane rebels and finds herself responsible for the death of a herald.

Cast out by her family, Viviane must sunder fae society so that smiths are free to shape the world. 

If the tales of King Arthur were true, given how much trouble and woe has come to the world, what crisis would it take for King Arthur to return? Stories like Lady Leaves the Lake, The Phoenix Grail, and Sword in the Throne, expand the Arthurian legend, not simply by retelling but continuing the story centuries later in modern times, as we approach King Arthur's return. While we follow our modern day problems we start to learn how the legend truly unfolded. The story channels a variety of influences: Oberon and Titania rule the Fae as Gods, Creator, and Fate. 

 

There is a heavy emphasis on life, rebirth, and the soul's journey, as the concepts of reincarnation are central to the conflict between the humans, who reproduce, and the Fae, who are reborn. The author has a unique variation of the legends of Excalibur, Arthur and Viviane. This is the story of Viviane Llyn, a smith of her aquatic people, and the creation of the sword, Excalibur. Viviane appeared in The Phoenix Grail, but this is her story from when she becomes a smith, to when she creates the fabled sword which will become Excalibur. 

 

To when she becomes the Lady of the Lake. This is a brutal world. Oberon's heralds are hunting those who are smiths called Llehfin.  All matter of mythical creatures like myrial, komodrian, dwarves, demions, seraphs, and Elves occupy this universe. War ravages the fae wilds, leaving main character Viviane and their companions to the task of forging magical weapons and artifacts to save their realm. After losing her mentor Escal, Viviane is hopelessly lost. Her only real friend is Gasperion, a dwarf who also appears in The Phoenix Grail, asks her to make a sword. A sword called Escalibor.

 

The world-building is fascinating, a perfect blend of familiar tropes, original concepts, and clever twists that fall halfway between. As the story moves through phases in her exiles and wandering to find where she will belong, she becomes a caravan guard with the name of Nimue, hiding her past identity. Mercenaries become her world and when she has tired, she is given the job of defending against the "Heralds who carry enormous lethal hammers with their seraphim elite. They bear the messages of death and war. Finally taking her last job she had refused, she stands before the Heralds. 

 

Books by the author that have either been released, or will be:

 

The Phoenix Succession

• The Phoenix Grail
• Sword in the Throne
• Accepting the Mantle

Faerie Forge Chronicles

• Lady Leaves the Lake
• Camelot Crumbles

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#Review - Sword in the Throne by Helen Savore #Fantasy

Series: The Phoenix Succession #2
Format: E-Book, 343 pages
Release Date: September 16, 2019
Publisher: Oberon's Forge Press LLC
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy

Can you craft a weapon out of healing?

Jamie discovers his hallucinations are fae spirits stealing life, and joins his childhood friend Drea in her quest to banish them. Along the way he accidentally unlocks a traitor’s healing ability, who in turn uses it as a sign to prove he is King Arthur returned. Drea has given up on the Phoenix but Jamie has not, and learns more about his magic from Viviane’s family. Not satisfied with the grail, the false Arthur’s search now spans both the the faewilds and the Earth.

Can they stop the impostor Arthur’s crusade when the one thing they need most to stop the fae is the most sure sign of Arthur’s return itself… to draw the Sword from the Throne.

Sword in the Thorne is the second installment in author Helen Savore's The Phoenix Succession series. After the so called Investiture failed, and since there will be no Phoenix any time soon, the story actually focuses more on Jamie than it does Alexandrea. After the events of the previous novel, Drea has been rethinking her life goals while Jamie has to travel to Llehfin to become the first Human life smith. After all, a deal is a deal, and Jamie needs to come to terms with the new reality he walked in by allying with Drea and Moralynn.

Jamie arrives in Llehfin knowing that he is a hostage to hold Moralynn to her agreement with Viviane, the Lady of the Lake. The issues become that much clearer and dangerous when Oberon declares war on the Llehfin in hopes of finding the person who is supposed to be Arthur reincarnated. Meanwhile,Drea is adrift without Moralynn around who fled to Annwn & Arthur's sword is still stuck in Oberon's throne. To make matters even more twisted, Adhomai believe he's Arthur reborn.

Moralynn makes a choice that until the Phoenix flies again, the fae will stay dead and not reincarnate as they have done over the ions. While Moralynn apparently has the scabbard and the grail, Adhomai is destroying the human world looking for the Regalia and Arthur's artifacts so that he can prove that he truly is Arthur reincarnated. Drea really ends up being more or less castaway in this book as she knows now that she will never become the Phoenix even after years of being told that was her destiny. Her so call mentor has abandoned her, and Jamie, who she dragged into this world, has made a deal which will see him grow even more as a character along with some surprising revelations and twists. After 1,000 years of Arthur being gone from the world, could he finally have returned? 

While I was surprised that the author focused more on Jamie than on Drea, the cover of the book itself is a clue that he will become the focal point from this point while Drea is being subjugated to not having any role at all. The ending didn't work for me as it left so much unanswered questions and as I said, left Drea adrift while Jamie now gets to play the role of a lifetime. Who knows that the author has in store for her next installment? Guess we'll find out!

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#Review -The Phoenix Grail by Helen Savore #Fantasy

Series: The Phoenix Succession # 1
Format: E-Galley
Release Date: June 21, 2019
Publisher: Oberon's Forge Press llc
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Alexandrea’s family descends from King Arthur’s knights, the sole humans who can see the Fae. They’ve worked with Merlin’s forgotten apprentice for generations to stop Fae from leeching life.

Now she is the last, and must follow in the footsteps of the grail knights, seeking the Phoenix grail. Worse, the fae are visiting Earth more, including Alexandrea’s friend Jamie who sees visions predicting his patients deaths.

Can Alexandrea summon the Phoenix in time to regain what her ancestors lost and stop the deaths that plague our world?

 

The Phoenix Grail is the first installment in author Helen Savore's The Phoenix Succession series. This story actually features several key characters: Moralynn, the so called Phoenix Spark who was an apprentice to Merlin until his demise. Alexandrea Morgan, a Druid who was taken in by Moralynn to be her student and heir apparent. Jamie Penderson, a friend of Alexandrea's as a teen, an accolade of Alexandrea's father, and a trained doctor who has the ability to see phantoms who appear when people die.

This is a different take on the whole Arthurian mythology by adding Odin and Puck to the mix. In this reality, Arthur has not been seen in centuries, but it is hopeful that his return will save humanity. In order for Arthur to return, the Phoenix must rise to take back Arthur's sword which now rests in the hands of Odin. I really did take a chance with requesting and reading this book because I like stories about Arthur, Morgan Le Fey, and Merlin. This is a modern story that features descendants from Author's time fighting to bring peace to humankind while also dealing with Oberon, Puck, the Lady in the Lake and Adhomai who might be ally, or may have an ulterior motive. 

While Moralynn, Alexandrea and Jamie are searching for a way to bring back the Phoenix and balance to the world, there are those who stand in their way. At every avenue, it seems as though someone is one or two steps ahead of them. The conflict between Raebyn (aka Puck) goes back centuries to the point where she lost her life, woke after years in stasis, and found out that everything she cherished was gone. She is remanded to perform the rite of reincarnation to all fae who pass by Odin and Titania.

While Moralynn's memories slowly fade away, and a war is brewing in the fae realms, she's been fighting her own battles to bring back magic to the world and thus saving humankind from being overrun by the Fae. The Fae have all but committed genocide against the Druids leaving only a handful left in this world. With Jamie's help and a bit of surprises along the way, the allies will travel to many historical sights that you can easily look up on the internet to see what their significance was to Arthur and his hopeful return. 

Will I read the sequel? If the author and the publisher release a sequel I will. As I am looking at this on Goodreads right now, there seems not to be any interest in reading this book. I would definitely urge you to rethink not reading this book if you are a fan of Arthurian tales and mythology.  

Unfortunately, there are no buy links for this book. If you would like to request the book, look for it on NetGalley.