I met Vanessa through the Grumpy Old Gods anthologies and am happy to share her new release.

About the Series

The first two books have been published for a while, but book 3 and the companion book came out this month.

About the Book

Wizard of Ends by Vanessa Finaughty

A powerful sorceress wants the Queen of Ends dead – revenge for the king’s refusal to hand over his crown. Believing the Land of Ends to be rightfully hers, the sorceress conjures creatures of darkness to hunt the queen. She is not expected to survive the night.

Only the wizard Lashlor Leaflin can protect Queen Narraki Dragonsbane. Except Lashlor believes that anyone who abuses magic will not see the goddess in the afterlife, so he avoids using it – at almost any cost. Torn between his beliefs and loyalty to the throne, Lashlor faces an impossible choice: risk the goddess’ wrath or risk the kingdom and all in it.

Lashlor is certain that a confrontation with such a formidable sorceress will be the death of him, but it soon becomes apparent that he may have no choice but to call on the power he holds within – power he doesn’t believe is strong enough.

Check it out on Goodreads.

Buy links:

Smashwords | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple | Everand | Thalia | Angus & Robertson | Vivlio | Fable | Palace

My Review

An interesting story about a wizard who prefers to not use his magic if another way exists (e.g. not killing with magic if a bow and arrow would suffice). When others believe him to be face, Lashlor says to his queen: “I am what I claim, My Queen. Just because someone does not do something does not mean they cannot.”

I nearly stopped reading when a message to the king was stuck through the eye of his horse. It’s just horrific.

The beyeni remind me of hyenas.

I liked the fast pace of this high fantasy story. I would have liked a bit more fleshing out of the characters and world, but it didn’t detract too much from the core story. The fight scene involving all the wizards, witches and sorceresses was quite vivid.

I liked the queen. The king is a bit of an idiot.

I read the book in one sitting and cannot wait to see what Lashlor gets up to next to save his queen.

Trigger warnings: animal cruelty (horses run near to death, the horse with the message through the eye).

*I received an ARC from the author and this is my honest opinion.

About the Book

Wizard of Ends, Book 2: Dark Creature by Vanessa Finaughty

Escorted by soldiers of Ends, Lashlor sets out to find an old flame, Rune Arcana, the only person who can help to remove the curse placed on the Queen of Ends. Lashlor believes that Rune currently resides in the Mountains of Eclador. The only trouble is – Rune now despises him and, in all of recorded history, no one has ever returned from these mountains. Rune could refuse his request. She could be dead. Lashlor and his companions could meet the same fate.

If they do not brave the mountains, however, Queen Narraki will remain in the form of a rabid creature of darkness… forever.

Forever is a long time, and King Lanaran fears the Wizard of Ends will not return. Ignoring Lashlor’s advice not to meddle with the curse, the king employs other magic users to attempt to undo the dark magic – with disastrous consequences.

Check it out on Goodreads.

Buy links:

Smashwords | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple | Everand | Thalia | Angus & Robertson | Vivlio | Fable | Palace

My Review

The enchanted mountain was an interesting twist.

Rune is a fun character and she has interesting powers. The relationship between her and Lashlor is cute in it’s complicated manner.

I would like to know more about the wizard’s unusual knowledge of magic and all he is capable of.

The magic users too scared to tell their king “no” are even more idiotic than he is. And that’s saying something.

The king’s friend is just as foolish as he is.

As for the bandits… They’re probably as crazy as their kings.

An interesting high fantasy story that gives you all the thrills of the genre without having to read a door-stopper of a book when you’re short on time and energy.

Trigger warnings: mental health issues – especially insanity.

*I received an ARC from the author and this is my honest opinion.

About the Book

Wizard of Ends, Book 3: United Army by Vanessa Finaughty

King Lanaran Dragonsbane of Ends ventures into the mysterious, unexplored Mountains of Eclador in search of his kidnapped long-time friend and ally, the King of Storher. Not expecting the rescue to be an easy one, the captain of his army, Lashlor Leaflin and Rune Arcana travel with him.

In Lanaran’s absence, a united army rides for Ends.

With the King of Ends away and aid not forthcoming, the looming war seems lost before it’s begun. Ends has no hope of defeating the enemy’s vast numbers. The enemy also appears intent on using magic for this war – something never done by any army in all the known lands.

In a desperate bid to save her kingdom, Queen Narraki Dragonsbane enlists the aid of the magic users of Ends. With their combined power, her kingdom might just stand a chance. It’s a risk, of course. Magic users have let her down before and, already, she defies tradition by not standing back and allowing the temporary Captain of the Army of Ends to take the lead in the pending war. She cannot fail.

Check it out on Goodreads.

Buy links:

Smashwords | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple | Vivlio | Fable | Palace | Books2Read

My Review

The magic system is interesting – and that final scene with the wolf…!

Again, the rulers of Ends show their disdain for the knowledge of the wizard when it goes against their wishes and again their combined idiocy outweighs even their arrogance.

Rune and her penchant for impatience is stronger than she knows. I would’ve liked to see more of her and Lashlor interact in this story,

What I didn’t like was the druid enchanting animals to attack the enemy soldiers and protect Ends with their lives while all the soldiers and citizens of Ends hid.

A cliffhanger ending making one wait on the edge of your seat for the next book.

*I received an ARC from the author and this is my honest opinion.

About the Book

Wizard of Ends companion: Magic in the Real World by Vanessa Finaughty

Delve into the world of ancient magic, discover ancient magic books and ‘magical’ plants, and learn about how science is magic. A real-world school of wizardry? Yes, it exists! Healing magic in today’s world and modern attempts to use magic? Yes, those are real too. Is your mind a force to be reckoned with? Yes, it seems so!

Are people who believe in magic nuts, or is there something to it? There is evidence that every one of us has the ability to manipulate the energy all around us (scientifically proven energy) – this is what we call magic.

This companion to the Wizard of Ends fantasy adventure series includes eye-opening information about magic in the real world, along with character interviews, a guest post written by the series’ main character, Lashlor Leaflin, insights into the series, its characters and the author, and the first three chapters of Book 1.

Check it out on Goodreads.

Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/u/3ynK56

My Review

Part 1 is what really interested me: magic in the real world (plants, spell books, etc.). Though it is short-form blog-style chapters, it was interesting.

Part 2 is comprised of character interviews, bios, etc. more in the line of what one can expect from a blog tour promoting the series. It also feels longer than the first part of the book connected to the title.

I was expecting this companion book to be more in line with the content of part 1, but expanded. There is more mention of book 1 with its buy links and a couple of chapters extracted from the book included than interesting folklore and mythology discussions, which makes this feel less like a companion book about magic in this series and how it’s found in the real world, too, which can stand on its own, and more like this is intended to sell book one.

*I received an ARC from the author and this is my honest opinion.

About the Author

Vanessa Finaughty is a multi-genre author who has published more than 20 books, including school books published by Oxford University Press Southern Africa. Vanessa grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and still lives there with her husband and their four children (two human and two furry, four-legged).

Vanessa has always been passionate about books, and knew from a young age that she wanted to write them one day. She loves animals, coffee and the smell of wet grass, and hates excessive weather, long queues and liars. Her interests include reading, photography, the supernatural, mythology, aliens and outer space, ancient history, life’s mysteries and martial arts, in which she has five years’ experience in Ki Aikido.

Author blog | Twitter | LinkedIn | Amazon | Smashwords | Goodreads

Have you read any of these books? Any questions for the author?