The Lord of Dreams by C. J. Brightley

When a fairy king grants a human wish, there’s more at stake than dreams.

Claire Delaney has a good life, despite her adolescent angst. But she wants more. In a moment of frustration, she wishes to be “the hero.”

What she actually wants is to be the center of attention, but what she gets is a terrifying Fae king demanding that she rescue an imprisoned fairy, facing fantastical dangers and hardships she could not have imagined.

Yet the dreams–and the rescue–are only the beginning of her journey. She is at the center of the king’s audacious gamble to end the war that has raged in Faerie for half a century.

The Lord of Dreams follows Claire—she wishes to be a hero, to be noticed, and when that wish is granted by a Fae king, Claire is thrown into an adventure she is woefully unprepared for.

This story is like a puzzle. With each chapter, we are given one more puzzle piece, gain another part of the larger picture. At first we understand very little, but it unfolds, slowly, naturally, until we see everything. It’s subtle and clever and I enjoyed it immensely.

Brightley really has a way with fae, and just like every other story by her I’ve read with them, the fae and their world and their magic shine here too.I loved watching Claire go from selfish and afraid at the beginning of the story to selfless and brave at the end. It was a gradual, subtle shift, and it really was beautiful to watch.

And the fae king. He is a fascinating character to peel back, layer after layer. His hair made me chuckle every time it was mentioned. He’s enigmatic and definitely a little crazy and I loved every moment of it.Like the rest of the story, the romance was subtle and gradual, and it ends with a great HEA.

I highly recommend this story. I hope Brightley writes more about Claire and the fae world one day.

This review was written by Constance Lopez. Constance knows magic is real. Dragons, faeries… and don’t even get her started on unicorns. She grew up having epic duels in the woods with her siblings, and nature is still one of her favorite places to be. If she isn’t out there working on her stories, she’s dragging her children and husband on adventures (they always enjoy it once they’re outside). Except in summer. For those months she hides inside, because Texas heat is real and it hates her.

Books have always been her haven and inspiration, and now she writes her own noblebright stories, hoping to pass those feelings along to others. Fantasy, of course. Because everything is better with magic. Her debut YA fantasy will release in Spring 2021.

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Dreams and Shadows – Jeffrey Collyer

Michael desperately wants to fit in …
He doesn’t realize the only place he’ll ever fit in, is another world …
Michael is a troubled young man, searching for something, but he does not know what it is. He was an orphan, and doesn’t have a true family—no one who truly cares for him. He has a strange dream, then an odd experience that throws him into another world. Yet, for the first time in his life, he feels like he belongs. 
He meets all sorts of people, and they all have magic inside of him. Again, he feels alone in a world of magic, but soon he meets good friends, and he realizes he may not be as powerless as he once believed …

Audio Narration:
Michael Troughton does a good job with the book. He’s British, and not a spectacular narrator, but all the same, he does do the audio book version justice. 

Genre:
Portal Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Action and Adventure Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery Fantasy, Noblebright

Likes:
This is a wonderful tale of a man discovering the potential within himself, and fighting for what is right. Michael is a great character, a noble man, and becomes a hero. 
The magic system in this book is brilliant. It’s called weaving, and reminds me a bit of Wheel of Time, but add a little bit of The Last Airbender to it to make element magic. However, it’s richer than that. Different people have different weaving abilities. Stone Weavers, who can weave stone, Soul Weavers who can join souls for marriage, Bow Weavers who can use a bow and arrow unlike any other—releasing arrows so fast it’s hard to see with the naked eye, Sword Weavers who can use a sword like nobody’s business, Fire Weavers who can use fire, Sooth Weavers who can detect whether the truth it being told, and so many more!

Dislikes:
This book started slow. Really slow. It starts on earth, in England, where Michael is a lonely character feeling sorry for himself, and hung up on why his mother left him, and why he’s so unworthy to be loved by everyone, including his mother. So, it’s slow to start, but after the new world is introduced, it really kicks off! 
The reunion with the person thought to be Michael’s mother was short lived, and full of questions. I wish it would have been developed a bit more. 
The cover really doesn’t do this book justice. I think a more traditional epic fantasy cover that could capture the magic of weaving would have brought me more into what this book held.

Analysis: 
This is a brilliant book. I have read the book several times and listened to the audio version a few times as well. It really captures me, and is a true tale of Heroic Noblebright. A grand adventure of a man doing everything he can to help the people around him. He won’t give up, and neither should you when you pick up this series. The Aylosian Chronicles has become one of my all time favorite fantasy series, and I hope Jeffrey Collyer writes in this world for a long time to come. 

Content Ratings:

Rated: PG

Heat: None.

Profanity: None.

Violence: Mild Action

This review is by USA Today Bestselling Author Craig A. Price, Jr. Craig writes the Claymore of Calthoria novels, a series featuring a warrior with a shattered past and a quest for vengeance; Dragonia Empire novels, a series featuring a resistance fighting a corrupted empire, and a world of dragons and wyverns; Dragon’s Call novels, a series featuring three sisters who use dragon guides to reunite the fallen kingdoms of Verdil; and Ghost Pr0be novels, a series set in a Sci-Fi future where abortion is illegal in favor of artificial wombs to raise more people for space exploration, a series full of humor and a space mage. 

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