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Right-ho! Time to be all objective about a subjective experience, and stuff...

FIRST: Good book. Highly recommend to those interested in Epic Fantasy. There's war, gruesome fighting, friendships, loyalty, true love (not of the romantic kind), evil, magic... all of that. And a Golem.

You're in good hands with Ben Galley. His descriptions and metaphors are as epic as the tale.

So, several totally honest facts:
I read an ARC copy. There were some errors, which I presume have been fixed for the final release.
I started this in February...
I am a mum to a toddler (who was a little over 1 when I started this), and no, he does not sleep through the night.
I am from a middle-income family, and I picked up more work over the past few months, but the days and weeks got no longer to accommodate the extra work, and we need the money, so I can't use it to buy myself time... I'm selling my time to someone else.


What does all this mean? It means I am tired ALL. THE. TIME. And, yes, this does affect my reading experience.

Early on, I found it hard to get into the book because I kept falling asleep before I could finish a chapter. That's my problem, not the book's. It's a big, juicy tale.

So, when I read a book I want to fall in love with at least one of the characters. I didn't. I'm not sure if this is because I was tired, or if what I needed wasn't there (but may have been tweaked enough to be there in the final edition?), but that was my experience. So, I did take some time out to read a couple of light, fluffy tales that my tired brain could digest more easily, hence why I took my time to get through this one.

However, on reaching the end, I could certainly appreciate the journey I had been on and the truths of life that had been explored in the story.

If you are a fan of epic fantasy, with some quirky characters that are offset from the standard moulds enough not to be boring, then I truly believe you will find value here.

This one is a tough one to review.

I finished it, and willingly, so that's a big point in its favour. No DNF, here.

I even found myself carving out any time I could spare to read it at times. There were times I was ready to gush over it.

And yet...

Early on, I wanted to know amore about how these portals opened up. What did they look like. Were they doors? Holes in the ground? Did they float in mid-air? How was security monitored? Were there keypads? Or guards? Rie was able to use someone else's "code" to go through a portal, so I'm guessing there weren't guards there. So, I wondered how she input this "code".

I was also a bit concerned that while the Shadow Realm was so named because it had short daylight hours, it also seemed populated with dark-skinned beings (vampires, dark elves, and the like). Yet, in our world, populations that evolved in areas of lesser daylight hours (farther north or south) tend to have lighter skin, to make as much Vitamin D as possible in those limited hours. In fact, Vitamin D deficiency is more common in darker skinned individuals during winters in places with short winter days... However, at the end of the book, we learn that these populations simply travelled to these different realms at some time in the past, rather than having evolved there. So, that might explain that. I would like to know what the impact is for these populations living in this realm with such short days (which seems to be a constant state, rather than seasonal, as on Earth); do they need to take supplements? Have their bodies adapted to simply not need so much sunlight? Such details wouldn't alter the story, and I suppose exploring them could have slowed the pace, so I understand not delving deep, but they were questions that swirled through my head as I read, so I would have loved to have got a hint.

The middle was probably the best bit. Just along for the ride, following a growing group of characters as Rie tries to learn who tried to have her killed.

I liked the pixies.

As the story began to wind up and tie up loose ends, I found myself feeling... disappointed. It started to feel like a book written with a plot firmly in mind, with the characters doing what needed doing and never straying from that path into full realness. When that declaration of attraction came, it felt scripted, to me (and this is, of course, just my opinion). And then later there came the knowledge that Rie simply attracts people, it's sort of a magic power of hers... If I was Rie, I would have immediately questioned the sincerity of that early declaration that I was so happy about. To me, it throws up so many questions.

I also would have liked more of a demonstration of who Lord Garamaen was earlier on. We learn a lot more about him at the end, but I felt like he wielded a lot of influence on Rie's journey, so I would have liked to have another hint or two regarding his standing in the worlds. He was able to remain neutral across realms. Why? Why did the kings tolerate this? Well, the answer is pretty clear near the end; forcing him to pick a side would be more trouble that it would be worth, but Rie never asked this question. She just went along for the ride and answers eventually revealed themselves. Just a moment of "Who is he to have set up the treaty, made demands to have the Human Realm remain neutral, and be granted this?" would've satisfied me. If Lord Garamaen was an inconsequential character, then fine. But as a fairly major force in the background of various realms, I would have liked to have felt more of a connection to him from earlier on.

Anyway, on a fundamental level, this was an enjoyable read and I can see it appealing to many. It just didn't address the questions that mattered to me

Just putting this here as a wee Goodreads Notice Board for WARRIOR'S TOUCH.

Release date set for 2nd September 2018! Counting down!

04 July 2018: We have a cover. The paperback is currently in the process of having a proof copy printed. If all goes well, then we will push the little red button that starts the release process and the countdown will truly be on. Keep watching my spaces (Facebook, Twitter, website...)

13 October 2016: After a crazy year of moving house and welcoming a new baby, WT has finally been returned to my editor for second round of edits.

29 June 2015: Well, that read-through was eye-opening. Some small errors to fix. And a couple of bigger things (a Scrivener/Touch Screen error that saw an entire scene in the wrong spot, and an editing error that saw an old paragraph still in the story, even though it's irrelevant now). Time to correct...

11 January 2015: Wonderfully exciting to see interest in WARRIOR'S TOUCH steadily climbing. Thanks to everyone who has let me know they're looking forward to it, one way or another. Won't be too long before final edits start. I'll keep you posted!

23 November 2014: Expected Release: Northern Spring/Southern Autumn 2015.

30 October 2014: Contract was signed a few weeks ago. And now Healer's Touch's cover artist, Matt Donnici is on board for WT's cover.

29 July 2014: WT is definitely being read by Kristell Ink.

20 July 2014: For those uber keen, I have made the first 5 chapters available via my Wattpad profile: www.wattpad.com/story/9840974-warrior%27s-touch-the-aenuk-chronicles-2

... but, that'll still leave you waiting for the rest of the book. So, it's up to you if you want to read that... (plus, it's not been vetted by my editor, though it has been read by Beta Readers)

20 June 2014: For those interested, I have popped a "How I did it(ish)" blog post up on my website: HERE. It may or may not be interesting.

18 June 2014: At this stage, I have no clue of publication date. I apologise.

12 June 2014: WT shared with Kristell Ink. This is the first stage toward final publication. If they like it, then the real work will begin.

24 May 2014: It is currently in the hands of my Beta Readers. Hopefully more pleasure than chore... we shall see (nervous grimace).
Have had some promising comments from one reader regarding the early chapters.

This was my experience... I'm sure many others will enjoy.

I was expecting a light read, but it took me a while to get through this one. Not because it was heavy reading, but more because I just didn't get sucked into the characters enough to fully care. There were countless missed opportunities to dig a bit deeper. I suspect it had to do with it's round-robin between the three girls, when perhaps three decent books could have been produced? Each from a different woman's POV. Just a thought. I kept reading to find out who Frankie Green ended up with, even though I didn't really care. I didn't know Jason enough to really like/dislike him (I mean, by the end, he wasn't cool, but if Frankie had changed, maybe he could, too? ... with a gentle prod). And Floyd... he had a few one-liners and the like, but I felt like they were hiding the real him, so I didn't fall in love with him, either. I realised by about 70% through that I just didn't care... and that made the rest a bit of a trudge.

On the plus side, I was pleased to see that this was written BEFORE Whatever Happened to Vicky Hope's Back Up Man? because that means Laura Kemp has got BETTER, and I may yet pick up another book of hers.

This was a lesson, though. I've been finding my recent Fantasy reads a bit trudgery, and thought a dip into "chick lit" would lighten the load... And it just goes to show, it's not about genre, it's totally about whether the book clicks for you. And this one didn't for me. Back to Fantasy, for now.