The Crown’s Game

TheCrown’s Game by Evelyn Skye, 399 pages

“Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters--the only two in Russia--and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side. And so he initiates the Crown's Game, an ancient duel of magical skill--the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the tsar's most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death. Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter--even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has? For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown's Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with--beautiful, whip smart, imaginative--and he can't stop thinking about her. And when Pasha, Nikolai's best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love . . . or be killed himself. As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear . . . the Crown's Game is not one to lose.” I absolutely loved this book.  The characters, the setting, the story were all amazing. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

My Real Children

My Real Children by Jo Walton, 320 pages

Patricia is nearing the end of her life in a nursing home.  She has a form of dementia, just like her mother did, and she recognizes that she is easily confused about many things.  However, one of the most confusing parts is that she seems to remember living to different lives, simultaneously, one as a wife to Mark, mother of four children, and one with Bee, mother to three different children.  She realizes that it sounds crazy, and doesn’t try to explain to anyone.  There was a definite point in her life when the split happened.  She can’t remember which life is real, or if somehow, both of them are.  This book was fantastic.  Alternating chapters were told from her two different lives and I loved both parts.  This is definitely for people who like realistic fantasy and science fiction.