Lost Volumes

Enchanted Bookstore Legend #3

by Marsha A. Moore

When Lyra McCauley learns residents of Dragonspeir’s Alliance are suffering with a deadly plague, she doesn’t heed the warnings of her fiancé, wizard Cullen Drake, to remain safe in her human world. After all, she’s the present Scribe—one of five strong women in her ancestry who possessed unique magic, each destined to protect the Alliance against the evil Black Dragon of the Dark Realm. With Cullen dependent upon Alliance power to maintain his immortality, the stakes are doubled for Lyra.

She leaves her college teaching and puts herself at risk for the community afflicted by black magic. To find a cure, she and Cullen travel into the vile, lawless underworld of Terza to strike a bargain with an expert. Their efforts further enrage the Black Dragon, vowing to decimate the Alliance and avenge the murder of his heir.

Lyra must secure the three lost volumes of the Book of Dragonspeir. Written by the three earliest Scribes, each book contains energy. Possession of the entire set will enable overthrow of the Dark Realm. Following clues into dangerous lands, Lyra and Cullen seek those volumes. His assistants, Kenzo the tiger owl and Noba the pseudodragon, prove invaluable aids. Only if they succeed, will the Alliance be safe and Lyra reach closer to the immortality she needs to live a life with Cullen.

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2012

About the author

Forest hiker, mangrove paddler, freshwater springs tuber, beach dreamer

Writer of adult and young adult fantasy romance

The magic of nature primes my creative wellspring for writing, watercolor painting, drawing, knitting and sewing. I’m a registered yoga teacher. My personal practice helps weave the mystical into my writing.

After moving from Toledo to Tampa in 2008, I’ve happily transformed into a Floridian, in love with the outdoors year-round. I’m crazy about cycling and hiking. I live with my husband on a large saltwater lagoon from which I kayak through mysterious mangrove tunnels to Tampa Bay. Never have enough days at the beach, scribbling away at stories with my toes wiggling in the sand.

For a FREE ebook sample of her writing, read her historic fantasy short story, LE CIRQUE DE MAGIE, available at Amazon and Smashwords.

Learn more about Marsha at her website:
http://MarshaAMoore.com
and chat with her on:
Instagram http://instagram.com/marshaa.moore_author/
Twitter
http://twitter.com/MarshaAMoore.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/marshaamooreauthorpage

Reviews

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book in the epic fantasy romance series about Lyra, a mortal who is a scribe to the magical realm of Dragonspeir and Cullen, her fiancé, who is the imperial sorcerer and also runs the enchanted bookshop in the human world, a shop which serves as a portal to the realm. Lyra is still striving hard to bring peace to the alliance in Dragonspeir and trying to rid them of the evil which the black dragon wants to wreck upon them, so in this book she goes in search of the last two books written by the previous scribes. In doing so she also gains more favour and moves forward towards her immortality and being able to live with her lover Cullen forever. We see her acquiring a book from her own human world, and get to meet some of her cousins but the other book she acquires by visiting different and dangerous areas in the magical realm. We see very excellent world building of both the underworld setting of Terza with its very depraved creatures and lawlessness and the magical and dreamy place of Aria, and the people who live in the sky above the clouds. We also meet once again the very kind Ysmena, the lady of the forest, and her very cute and helpful Circutamina who tend so well to all their duties, minding the portals, tending to the trees and the bee hives and gathering their honey and doing this in such a joyful manner. Evil is never far behind during these quests and Lyra and Cullen are in constant danger however with every book Lyra finds her magical capacities grow as she takes on the powers of her ancestors the previous scribes. Kenzo the majestic owl and Noba the pseudodragon as always add that touch of fun to the tale with their antics and backchat especially Noba who is so different to the serious dragons both in size and in his cuteness. These books keep drawing the reader into their magical world of fantasy with their awesome characters both human and animal alike that I cannot get enough of this series and am so looking forward to the next book.

[Tarran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually sad that I'm about to start the last book in the series. I love the characters and worlds that have been created. The whole series is riviting and difficult to put down once you start!

[Gay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book! Each book in this series is better than the last! There is danger around every corner and betrayal as well. With just a touch of romance thrown in to make this an outstanding story. I can't wait to read the next one.

[Linda Harley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an enjoyable read but not as good as Volume 2 of the series. Lyra went on multiple mini quests to recover information, and the books. All of these mini adventures were interesting in that knew worlds were opened to the reader, that made the story somewhat interesting. However, in all honesty this book lacked the ability to keep my interest for extended periods of time. I frankly had to motivate myself to sit still long enough to get through it. The biggest flaw for me, was that several times the author broke the logical rules that she had set up in previous books, or that was just so outlandish it did not make sense. I understand this is a fantasy book, but there are still some basic rules and laws that are created in this fantasy world, and it feels that several times these were overlooked. By the end of the book, what should have been the climax in my opinion was an anticlimax. I wont spoil it by revealing the details here, but it’s a prime example of where the rules set up were broken. At least in this book, it became more clear that magic has some sort of cost, but then there are magical ways to restore the magic, and viola the characters are up and running again as if they are back to normal. At least Lyra, does not seem to suffer any from using her magic. In addition, this book was riddled with grammar issues, which could be overlooked, but it felt as if the book and the story and the telling was rushed. The pace of the book is also off, in that the rhythm and the flow of the text and chapters do not match.
As for family friendliness, it still rates a 1 out of 5, for the same reason as the previous books. There are R rated sexual scenes that are inappropriate for children and young adults. This book is written for a mature audience.

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third book of the enchanted bookstore series starts off with Lyra receiving a disturbing email from her fiancee in Dragonspier stating that the people there are plagued by black magic and dying quickly. The dark Dragon is seeking revenge for the death of his son by using the plague. Lyra hurries to Dragonspier to help against fiancee Cullen's advice, being the scribe and a healer she feels it is her duty to help. Lyra and Cullen face going into a darker realm, Terza to gain a cure for the plague, you must fight black magic with black magic!

Finding one of the Dragonspier lost scribe volumes in Terza Lyra and Cullen set out to find more since each hold power from the scribe who wrote them and are extremely valuable in the war raging between good and evil in Dragonspier. Can Lyra finally be the scribe who defeats the black Dragon and brings Dragonspier peace?

This is the only book of the trilogy I have read, though the author was good at pitching in information from the previous novels so I could easily follow the story. I found this book to be an enticing story, but I also found it lacking. I feel that the story line is great and hoped for an amazing read. Could be that I have not read the previous books, but, I found it a little repetitive. While there was action in the story it just didn't hit it for me. I do believe the book was well written though. I think the author designed a very interesting world and characters.

[Marcia Haskell · Rating 5 out of 5]

New magic, new magical lands are explored love renews

I greatly enjoyed this third book of the series. The dragons and other familiars were like visiting old friends and the feelings Lyra experiences when she touches her ancestor's writings and her responses to those she visits are indeed like visiting old friends and making new ones.

Kyra's love for Cullen continues to support her and aid her growth and the feeling, while reading this book, of being in a place I remember and enjoy added to my enjoyment. If you enjoy fantasy, I heartily recommend this series. But I do recommend the books be read in sequence.

[glenda Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story

This book keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout the entire story. Following Lyra down an unknown paths keeps the reader from one book to another spell bound and anxious to read more. Can't wait to read the next book.