Quintessence

Enchanted Bookstore Legend #5

by Marsha A. Moore

Barbaric Dark Realm warfare threatens to overtake all Dragonspeir lands, including the Alliance. Lyra McCauley, the fifth Scribe of the Alliance, finds herself in a desperate competition to gather four missing keystones. Those amulets of the four natural elements guarantee victory for the side possessing them. The Dark Realm’s alchemist, Eburscon, beats her to finding the water gem, the Pearl of Pendola. Three more keystones remain: the fluorite containing earth energy, the moonstone of the sky, and the fiery, dangerous Emtori Ruby.

The powerful gems, stolen centuries ago, channel astral energies and can restore much-needed Alliance power—the last hope. The wizard, Cullen, who is Lyra’s beloved, relies on Alliance magic for his immortality and will perish if the land falls to the Dark Realm.

Lyra uses her rare magical energies of quintessence and the Staurolite, governor of the four natural elements, to guide her to the hidden keystones. However, greed and power drive opponents, who challenge her in close pursuit, planning to destroy the Alliance, or to claim the power of quintessence for themselves.

The Dark Realm captures the ten-year-old Alliance seer, Kessa. Her abilities can give them information about the locations of the keystones, complicating Lyra’s plans. Will her love, allegiance, and quintessence allow her to save Cullen, Kessa, and the Alliance before the Dark Realm claims all of Dragonspeir?

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 7, 2013

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

[Tarran · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I love the entire series and I could easily continue to read about Dragonspeir. This book completely gripped me, I couldn't put it down. Just an amazing series!

[Kasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventures with dragons are my favourite books to read and this one's a beauty. Quintessence is the fifth and final of Marsha's Enchanted Bookstore Legends. It's the first one I've read and it's full of magic, dragons, quests and battles.
The author immerses you in the fantastical world of Dragonspeir which is entered through enchanted books in a modern day Indianapolis bookstore. Lyra and Cullen are magical lovers who are on a quest to return four missing keystones to the Alliance and defend against the Dark Realm.
I certainly had some catching up to do, being given this fifth book to review. Cullen is a wizard and Lyra is a scribe, which seem fairly similar to me, but use different kinds of magic. Lyra has Quintessence, which is very rare. You'll have to forgive my ignorance, as I'm sure this is well described in the earlier books. Kessa is a 10 year old seer who has been imprisoned by the bad guys and is in need of rescue.
I must admit I got a bit lost in the hosts of magical creatures and was thankful for the descriptions at the start of the book. Here are a few of the many weird and wonderful creatures: malificates; black dragons; cimafa - small dragons; circutamina - tree spirits; witches; alchemists; fire drakes - like dragons; golden dragons; guardians; magma drakes; psuedodrgaons; a warlord; an auspex; scorpents - scorpion snakes; magical locust; sorcerors; skeleton-people; blue dragons; bronze dragons ;talking phoenix, tortoise, trees and unicorn. There are also wizard familiars such as an owl and a psuedodragon. Wow! I wish I had a hard-cover book, because my Kindle wouldn't let me skip back and forth to the descriptions.
The magic and characters have coloured auras, some colours are good and some bad. The lead characters have a very cool communication stone and can speak telepathically. Other magical elements used included the craft of fascination and bloodswear bond.
Intricate characters and magic aside, this is a great story and builds towards an exciting battle with (you guessed it) lots of awesome dragons. Will the young seer be saved, or will the scribe need saving herself? You'll have to read it to discover the outcome of this epic series.
I rate this book 4 stars and definitely recommended it for fantasy and adventure lovers.
One last note, is that the book is promoted as a fantasy romance, but there's not a lot of romance here so I would classify it as fantasy adventure. The romance part is not for children.
Add Comment

[Susan Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of a series is always hard to finish, especially when you love the characters in the books. I absolutely love this series. From book 1 when Lyra actually stepped into the Book of Dragonspier and was transported to that land -- what avid reader has not hoped for that very same thing. She finds her true love there as well as discovering her own powers as a Scribe. Each book brought her more and more into her powers. I laughed and I cried and I celebrated all their victories as if they were my own. I am now sad that I can not look forward to Lyra's and Cullen's future adventures together.

[Lauren Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I've read the other Enchanted Bookstore Legends books, I feel as if I know the characters and I feel at home in Dragonspeir. Joining Lyra, Cullen, Kenzo, Noba and the others in this final adventure was so much fun. The story is a wonderful combination of action, suspense, passion, loyalty, friendship, personal reflection, and more. I was thoroughly satisfied with the conclusion of this fantastic series.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legend 5, Quintessence is the final legend in this epic fantasy romance series called The Enchanted Bookstore. In this novel we find Lyra searching for the four missing keystones which are the amulets of the four natural elements in order to gain their power for the alliance so that they can overcome the dark realm. However, Ebuscon, the dark realm alchemist, beats Lyra to the water gem, the Pearl of Pendola. Three more gems still need to be found: the Fluorite aligned to earth energy, the Moonstone of the sky and the Emtori Ruby of fire. Lyra is fighting not only for the alliance but for her own immortality and that of Cullen, her love who will die if Dragonspier falls in the hands of the dark realm, she fights also for the 10 year old alliance seer, Kessa who has been captured by the dark side. Lyra goes in search of the stones in her own world and harnesses the help of members of her own family including the ghost witch and these cross over to Dragonspeir with her and Cullen to aid her in her fight. They return to find Dragonspeir being attacked on all fronts and in the last battle which is fought with magic and from every angle possible many friends are lost. Lyra’s fight goes head to head with Ebuscon and it is a battle like no other. This novel is a story of courage, hope, loyalty and above all love, but it is also one which is heart-breaking as so many beloved characters die during the war. The ending is as magnificent as the whole series has been right from the start!

[Gay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful story with more magic, both good and bad. Evil is taking over Dragonspeir and it is up to Lyra with Cullen and some family members to stop it. Can she do it? This is the last book in the Enchanted bookstore series. This is a must read for anyone who loves magic and adventure. This book makes you want to laugh, cry and sometimes shake Lyra to make her get her head together! I absolutely loved this book. The romance in this book just makes it that much better. You won't be sorry for picking up this book and the whole series. Start with book one and follow through.

[Marcia Haskell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end doesn't disappoint

In this final book, the links get tied together, old friends are threatened and then saved and all the pieces of the various contacts are finally resolved. Lyra gathers her family and her friends together in her desperate attempt to find the 4 stones to save the alliance. As she searches, she encounters both her friends from various regions and her enemies from the dark realm. This stories brings resolution to the issues raised in the earlier books, with a number of surprises and problems before the solution.

A very satisfactory series, I recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy.

[Janet Swiftbird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic series ending

The last book of the series will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering if Adalyra will end up in the darkness or will the light persevere to overcome?

[glenda Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

With each book, the story just get better and better! And the surprise in the last book makes a great ending.