Category: Fantasy - Blazer Tales

Blazer Tales

There are 4 ways to use this blog: 1) Scroll through to see a variety of books; 2) Click on the 3 lines at the top left to get a drop down menu of books broken down by grade levels; 3) Go to the search box and for title, genre, or subject; and 4) Go to Categories and search by subject matter.

***These reading levels are just a guide to help if needed. Please, please, please do not let any of these numbers deter you from reading whatever you want!!!***

Reviews Published

Professional Reader

10 Book Reviews

Outlaws by Jen Calonita

9/28/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 4.7

What would you do if you were kicked out of school, banished to the middle of the forbidden forest, and brought shame to your family? This is what has happened to the Royal Academy Rebels - Devin, Sasha, Logan, Heath, and Raina - all because they disagreed with how the fairy godmother was running the academy. When this group of friends suspected that Olivina was in cahoots with certain villains, Olivina did the only thing she knows how to do when she is being opposed... banish them. This is not the first time she has banished someone from RA, but it is the first time she has done it as a group, and it is the first time she has done it to siblings of the royal court. When these five find themselves in the middle of the forest, they face many challenges. Devin thinks if they find Red Riding Hood then she can help them find a way to get back with their families and not bring shame to them. Not only do they find Red, they also find a group of others who have been banished from RA. Their first challenge is to get Sasha's article printed in the Happily Ever After Scrolls. This is a problem because the HEAS are published by ogres, not humans, and Olivina has her hand in everything that goes on there. Can they sneak in and get Sasha's article out to everyone and expose the wicked Olivina? Their second challenge is to sneak back into Royal Academy for the Masquerade Ball, one of the biggest balls of the year. Will these five misfit kids find a way to redeem their family name? Can they find a way to finally expose the evil Olivina? Or will Olivina win and the kids will be exiled from the school and their families forever? Read this incredibly exciting second installment to the Royal Academy Rebels series!!

There are not many books that grab me and won't let go, but this is one of them! If you have read my blogs before then you know that I am not a super fast reader. So when I say I read this book in just a few hours because I couldn't put it down, you know it's a great one! Jen Calonita weaves such an amazing story that includes Disney princes and princesses and fairy tale characters. The Royal Academy Rebels can not be missed!!! (and a quick note to Jen Calonita - please make a book three!! I am not ready for these characters to end! I want to see and hear more about them as they grow and develop in their talents!!)

Misfits by Jen Calonita

9/28/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 4.4

If you were born to live one way but you but you grew up wanting to live another way, would you do what you thought was right, or would you follow your heart? For Princess Devin Nile, she would be happy living her life in the forest taking care of all the animals. Devin has a very unusual talent - she can talk to and understand animals. However, Devin is a princess and she is expected to go to RA, Royal Academy, where all of the prince and princesses go to learn the proper ways of royalty. From the moment Devin steps out of her pumpkin carriage and onto the Royal Academy campus, she does not fit in. She did not read and memorize the princess manual like all of the other girls so she seems to be breaking the rules left and right. For example, her first class is with Snow White and it is Creature Care. Devin is so excited because this is right up her alley, but when a dragon gets loose, according to the manual, Devin is supposed to sit back and wait for a prince save the day. So when Devin helps to get the dragon under control, she is given her first strike for not following the rules. Next, when all of the princesses are kidnapped and placed in a tall tower, being attacked by a dragon, and the tower is on fire, Devin tries to wait for a prince to come but once again, she jumps in to save the day. Strike two. If Devin gets strike three she will be kicked out of RA and her family will be humiliated, they will lose their place in society, and never be able to show their face again. Devin can not let that happen so she promises to be the perfect princess. Olivina, the fairy godmother, has made it very clear to Devin if she doesn't get in line she will be banished. Olivina has also threatened her roommates and friends - Heath and Raina White, Snow White's siblings; Sasha Briarwood, Princess Rose's sister; and Logan Nederlander. So when everyone is gathered in the ballroom and trouble comes once again, is Devin going to sit back and be the perfect princess she is supposed to be or is her instincts going to kick in? Will Devin get her third strike, get kicked out of RA, and bring shame to her family? Or will she sit back and let the princes take care of the situation? And what about Olivina, the fairy godmother? Is she on the good side or is something more sinister going on? Check out this amazing fantasy novel to find out the answers to these questions and so much more!!

This is one of my favorite books that I have read in a while! I love anything to do with Disney princesses and fairy tale characters. Jen Calonita brings a winner with her newest series, Royal Academy Rebels. I was listening to this book on my drive to and from work. I was in the middle of chapter 19 of 20 when I pulled up at work and I did not want to go in. I needed to finish this action-packed, edge-of-your-seat book. This book is incredible and when you get to the end you will have to read book 2, Outlaws! Do not miss the Royal Academy Rebels series!!!

The Cryptid Keeper by Lija Fisher

9/20/2019

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 6.8

When you are thirteen years old you should be thinking about homework and friends, right? Well not Clivo Wren! Clivo has taken over his deceased father's job of searching for the immortal cryptid. It is summer and the Myth Blasters, a group of kids who know everything there is to know about cryptids, have moved into Clivo's basement. The Myth Blasters do all of the leg work to research where the immortal might be, and Clivo sets off to find it. But something strange is going on. It seems that every cryptid Clivo finds ends up missing. Is someone following every one of Clivo's moves? Clivo, his best friend Jerry, and the Myth Blasters are trying to solve the mystery of where the cryptids are disappearing to and what they find may put all of their lives at risk. In their search Clivo also uncovers the secrets of his father's death. Will Clivo and his friends be able to find the immortal cryptid and protect it from the evil forces? Can they figure out what has been happening to all of the other cryptids? And will they all make it out alive? Don't miss the conclusion to The Cryptid Catcher!!

If you loved the beginning to this story, you will absolutely become obsessed with the end! If you thought the first one was full of action and suspense, then you better put your seat belt on for this one! It is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and even a few of those "are you kidding me?" moments. You just can't help but fall in love with Clivo and his friends. Do not miss this one!!!

Dead Voices by Katherine Arden

9/20/2019

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 4.2

Wouldn't it be exciting if your dad won a trip to a ski lodge for the winter break? Ollie sure thinks so! When her dad wins a trip for five to Mount Hemlock Lodge, Ollie and her best friends, Coco and Brian, her dad, and Coco's mom head out for the trip of a lifetime... but first they have to make it there. They are driving in a blinding snowstorm at night and things are going okay until Coco screams for them to stop because someone was standing in the middle of the road. As they skid to a stop, they get out and no one is there. Who did she see? When they finally make it to the lodge, crazy things start to happen, Ollie and Coco both have scary nightmares, a stranger shows up out of the blue, the power goes out, and the generator quits working. As the sun goes down, the ghosts come out and things go from bad to worse. Ollie gets trapped on the opposite side of the mirror from her friends, Brian gets lost from Coco, and if they don't figure out a way to get Ollie back before dawn, they will all go to sleep and never wake up. Ollie, Coco, and Brian have been in a similar situation just a few months before when they had to battle The Smiling Man and his scarecrows. Can they work together again to get out of this horrific situation, even after being separated? Who is doing this to them? And can the ghost be trusted or should they not listen to the dead voices? Read this super scary, edge-of-your-seat book to find out if they survive or if they become one of the dead voices!!

Katherine Arden knows how to write a spine-tingling book that you will love to read in the dark! Dead Voices is the second book to Small Spaces and it is just as exciting and scary as the first one. Ollie, Coco, and Brian are three friends that will always look out for each other and stick together no matter what. In book one, these three seem like the most unlikely people to ever be friends, and now they are inseparable. I am so hoping that this is not the end of this trio's adventures!! Do not miss Small Spaces and Dead Voices!!!

The Bone Garden by Heather Kassner

9/10/2019

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 5.6

We all have bones inside of our bodies, right? Of course! But what if you were made from bone dust? Irréelle lives with her cruel creator, Miss Vesper. Irréelle lives a simple life - she lives to serve Miss Vesper. Everyday Irréelle has to go to the basement to collect the bone dust for Miss Vesper's experiments. But lately Irréelle seems to be making mistakes and an irritated Miss Vesper threatens to turn her back to dust and create a new creature. When Irréelle seems to make the ultimate mistake, she destroyed one of Miss Vesper's creations, she runs away to the bone garden, the area beneath the cemetery. This is where she meets Guy, a former servant to Miss Vesper who went missing months ago. Together, Irréelle and Guy go on a mission in the graveyard to find what Miss Vesper is always searching for. When they stumble upon Lass, Miss Vesper's newest creation, they all have to try to uncover the mystery that Miss Vesper is hiding before she turns them all to dust.

This is such a sweet story of friendship, standing up for one another, and standing up for yourself. The story does have a creepy undertone but not a super scary book. Irréelle will capture your heart and before the book is over you will want to wrap your arms around her! I loved this book!

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

9/10/2019

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 4.1

Do the things you read in books sometimes come true? Does history ever repeat itself? Eleven-year-old Ollie loves books so when she sees a woman trying to throw a book into the river, she knows she has to save it. However, when she starts to read it she gets more than she bargained for. The book contains friendship, love, loss... and someone called The Smiling Man. As creepy as it sounds, Ollie knows that it is just a book, that is until her class goes on a field trip to the local farm, Smoke Hollow. That is when Ollie finds out that the woman from the river is the same as the owner of the farm. Ollie knows something is just not right but she can't figure out what it is. As the bus is going back to school it breaks down and there is no cell service. When the teacher has to leave the kids to go walk back to the farm, things go all wrong. Ollie starts putting the pieces from the book to what is happening and she realizes she needs to leave the bus. Ollie bribes the creepy bus driver with some of her dad's amazing food and he gives her some very valuable advice - run away and stick to the small spaces. Ollie doesn't really have any friends so when a small girl named Cocoa and a popular, hockey star boy named Brian follower her into the woods, she acts annoyed but really she is thankful for the company. As soon as the sun goes down they heard the screams from the bus and the scarecrows come to life. Ollie can not believe it when comes face to face with the characters in her story, but in ghost form. The next day as the sun comes up they find their friends are scarecrows and that The Smiling Man is real. Can Ollie and her friends find a way to get out of this bizarre, alter-universe world that they are in and save their friends, or will they fall into the hands of a madman and become a scarecrow forever? Read this incredibly fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat, scary story that will have you wishing for daylight!!

Small Spaces is a frightening, hair-raising story that will have you turning the pages long into the night to see how it ends. This book, much like the book Ollie finds, is full of love, loss, unexpected friendships, and difficult decision that could be life or death. Don't miss this one!!

The Cryptid Catcher by Lija Fisher

9/5/2019

Interest Level: 5-8; Reading Level: 6.0

Do you believe in mythical creatures like the Loch Ness Monster? Bigfoot? The Abominable? The Yeti? Well what about The Chupacabra? Well, Clivo had never even thought about these creatures, that is until one night a strange man knocks on his door to tell him that his dad had been a Cryptid Catcher, one who seeks out these mythological creatures. How could this be? Clivo's dad always told him that he was an archeologist, but his dad is gone now and Clivo can not ask him. But now this strange man, Mr. Chauncery, has proof and he wants Clivo to take up where his dad left off. How can Clivo go around the world chasing these creatures when he is only thirteen-years-old? He has a diamond credit card, a wad of cash, and a group of kids whose whole life is researching the myths. His goal is to find the immortal cryptid, the one who has magical blood to make some live forever. Clivo is in a race to find this creature before the bad guys, but what happens when the bad guys find him? Read this fast-paced, action-packed, edge-of-your-seat, page turner to see if Clivo can find these mythical creatures or if he will succumb to the same fate at his father. Read to find out!!

I loved everything about this book!! Clivo is a kid who has lost both of his parents, has to live with a slightly eccentric aunt and only has one friend. He is a character that will grab your heart from page one and won't let go. He has been through a lot but he is determined to try to fill his dad's shoes. The supporting characters in the book will make you laugh out loud with their dry humor. This book is a must read!! Don't miss it!!

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

12/2/2018

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 4.6

Imagine that you live on an island that is shrouded with tales of monsters that live in the forest. Now imagine that you are forced into those woods and you come face to face with one of supposably imaginary creatures. This is exactly what Corinne is facing. She is not afraid of anything so when two annoying little boys tie her dead mother's necklace to a gouti and send it racing into the woods, she doesn't even have to think if she is going in after it. After she retrieves the necklace and is trying to get out of the woods she encounters a creature that she had only imagined in her mind. Corinne doesn't understand what she has encountered until a strange, new woman shows up in town and then later in her own house. Severine is a very beautiful woman who is first spotted in town talking to the elusive island witch and then later when Corinne comes home this same woman is cooking dinner for her father. Corinne soon learns that Severine is one of the mythical Jumbies that live in the forest. Severine tries to get Corinne to join her in her quest to overtake the people that live on the island. When Corinne refuses, her father is put under a spell that will become permanent in three nights, and the townspeople are under nightly attacks. Can Corinne and her friends fight and defeat these very real creatures to save the town and her father? Will Corinne find out things about herself and her mother that can help in the battle, or will it be her downfall? Read this amazingly magical book to find out who wins the battle!

Evangeline of the Bayou by Jan Eldredge

11/21/2018

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 5.7

Would you like to be in the business of chasing monsters and spirits? Evangeline is from a long line of haunt huntresses and fighting these demons is in her blood... or so she thinks. Whenever she tries to go off on her own things don't always go as planned and she seems to make things worse. Plus, every haunt huntress gets a familiar, some type of animal that is fiercely loyal, and Evangeline still has not found hers yet. She is beginning to doubt that she even has haunt huntress powers. Then her Gran accepts a job in the big city of New Orleans to help a family whose wife/mom is very sick. It is not long before they realized that Mrs. Midsomer has been bitten by a rougarou, a human that turns into a werewolf-type beast. At the next full moon Mrs. Midsomer will turn into a rougarou and if she makes her first kill, then she can never turn back. But if Gran can kill the alpha rougarou before all of that happens, then she will be released. This task seems impossible when Gran falls, breaks her leg, and is taken into surgery right before the moon is full. Gran's last words before she is knocked out is for Evangeline to run away back to the bayou. This is Evangeline's plan when she realizes that she is not a haunt huntress, but that is not what happens. Does Evangeline really not have any haunt huntress powers? Will Mrs. Midsomer turn into a rougarou and make her first kill? Is there anything that Evangeline do to save Mrs. Midsomer and her son, Julian? Read this high-paced, action-packed, slightly funny about family, friends, and finding yourself.

Comet Rising by MarcyKate Connolly

10/22/2018

Interest Level: 3-6; Reading Level: 4.8

What would you do if you thought you were safe from the enemy that tried to kidnap you, only to find out that she was a lot closer than you thought and your safety is in danger? Emmeline is now staying with Lucas and his parents since she has run away from home. All seems safe right now, especially since they are hidden from Lady Aisling, the evil woman who kidnaps children for their talents. Emmeline is a shadow weaver and Lucas is a light singer. Lady Aisling wants their talents very bad. The other good thing they have going for them is that Emmeline's once shadow, now human "friend" Dar is locked in an escape-proof cage in the attic. Despite her endless tricks and mind games to get away, she is safely tucked away so that she can not cause anyone harm. Everything seems fine until one night the comet that gives these magical abilities shoots across the sky twelve years too early. They know this is the evil workings of Lady Aisling to gain more talents. The problem is, when the comet gets off course it will affect all of the celestial beings to change course, and that is not good. They know they need to defeat Lady Aisling so they go in search of other children with talents to help go into battle with them, only to find that Lady Aisling has taken each one before they can get to them. In the meantime, Dar has escaped. Will she use her powers for good or evil? Will Emmeline and Lucas be able to battle and defeat Lady Aisling by themselves? Will they be able to find the sky shaker and set things right before the sun, moon, and stars collide? Or will Lady Aisling get to them first and have all of the talents for herself? Do not miss this exciting, action-packed finale in the Shadow Weaver series.