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Rhuna #1-3

Rhuna Box Set

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Unique Historical Fantasy!
"wonderful imagery"
"delightfully creative imagination" - Maria Flanagan
"a mystical tale of ethereal beauty"- Barry

Have you ever wondered who built the pyramids or the eerie statues on Easter Island - and how they were made?
Maybe they were made with superhuman powers - or magic - by a highly advanced civilization like Atlantis!

And maybe there was a young girl named Rhuna who finds out that she has these powers, and that she is the only one with special magic to defeat the Dark Master who has brought evil and chaos to her idyllic utopian civilization.

This box set features the first three books in the series: Rhuna, Keeper of Wisdom, Rhuna: Crossroads and Rhuna, The Star Child.

The first book describes Rhuna's adolescence as she learns about her Atlan heritage and the special powers which help capture and defeat the Dark Master.

Book 2: Rhuna: Crossroads

This book is set in exotic Ancient Egypt and features unforgettable characters and a riveting adventure.

"full of twists, many unexpected" - Melissa
"fast paced and quite a page turner" - Simone
"a gripping sequel" - amazon reviewer

Some years have passed since Rhuna helped to defeat the Dark Master in her new home of Atlán, and now Rhuna has a teenage daughter who accompanies her on an assignment in Ancient Egypt to investigate some disturbing reports.

She soon discovers an astonishing underground network of the Dark Master's followers, along with the secret group of Atlans dedicated to stopping them. In the process of trying to carry out her assignment, Rhuna is confronted with enormous challenges that could drastically change her entire life and everything she has ever believed in!

Book 3: Rhuna, The Star Child

In the thrilling sequel to Rhuna: Crossroads is set in mystical Ancient Egypt where Black Magic was developed by the followers of the legendary villain, The Dark Master. As strange and frightening curses plague the population, Rhuna discovers the underground organization that performs this uncanny new magic, but she can only combat it with the help of her long-lost father. Having learned from her father amazing new skills to empower her on the Astral Plane, Rhuna once again strives to preserve peace and harmony in the idyllic Atlan civilization.
Far more challenging than fighting powerful Dark Forces, however, is Rhuna’s personal anguish when her daughter becomes involved with the leader of the Black Magic movement, and the once-perfect Atlan society based on utopian principles begins to crumble all around her. Shocking events escalate Rhuna’s world to a breathless climax as she and her family undergo a momentous upheaval, and she is forced to make great personal sacrifices for her loved ones.

864 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2016

4 people are currently reading
27 people want to read

About the author

Barbara Underwood

16 books194 followers
As an only child of older migrant parents, I was exposed to a different culture and outlook as I was growing up in the suburbs of Sydney. At the age of 10 I became interested in history and travel, and in sixth grade my teacher commented on my flair for writing.

After a lot of travel and reading about history - I started with Thor Heyerdahl's adventures which led me to other books about unexplained mysteries such as pyramids and other megaliths around the world - I came to a point where I wanted to put it all together in an epic fantasy novel.

Once I finished writing "Rhuna, Keeper of Wisdom", I felt there was so much more to tell, so I wrote a sequel...and then another!

I am now working on book 5 in this series about Rhuna which I've titled "A Quest for Ancient Wisdom", and I'm planning several mini novellas and short stories for subscribers to my newsletter emails!

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Erin MacMichael.
Author 6 books23 followers
February 16, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy of fantasy novels set in ancient Atlan (Atlantis) and Egypt. The author's description of Atlan high culture is both imaginative and vivid, and so is her handling of the extraordinary abilities of the main character Rhuna and other Atlan masters. Woven into the story is a wide array of talents such as telepathy, remote viewing, herbal medicines, healing with light, astral travel, and energetic projection. Also touched on are the harmful practices of curses, ritual sacrifice of animals and children, parental abuse, and rape.

Rhuna is quite a likable character who starts out a bit on the naïve side in the first novel, Keeper of Wisdom, as she moves from humble beginnings on a remote island into the thriving Atlan capital and taught to handle her inborn abilities. Her awe and affection for Tozar and the Atlan masters as well as her misplaced fear of the banished Dark Master are understandable, but youthful.

The pace picks up considerably in the second book, Crossroads, where Rhuna and her teenage daughter travel to Atlan's distant colony of Safu (Egypt) to investigate reports of the Dark Master's followers. Out from under the shadow of her domineering spouse and the myopic Atlan High Council, Rhuna blossoms to become quite the spitfire, juggling the challenges of newfound abilities along with an unexpected, passionate new relationship. In the face of growing Atlan criticism, Rhuna admirably manages to hold to her personal integrity while she works to uncover the dangerous activities of some particularly nasty characters.

The third novel, The Star Child, finds Rhuna an outcast from Atlan society, but happily remarried and reunited with her father and eldest daughter. Unsettled when an adversary from her past resurfaces in Safu, she discovers that Goram (Beacon of the Night) has become the leader of a band of Atlans practicing the dark arts. Rhuna is horrified when her daughter falls for the roguish older man and does everything in her power to prevent the potentially harmful liaison.

The interesting thing about Goram is that he isn't a two-dimensional "bad guy." He's charming, sensual, and dedicated to a cause he believes in. Although he makes choices I don't agree with, he is nonetheless enormously appealing and likable, and shows signs of shifting his stance on some core beliefs. Maybe that's what makes him so attractive.

This brings me to what I liked best about these books: the characters grow through difficult circumstances and choices which aren't black and white. Rhuna transforms from an awe-struck girl into a talented adept and strong mother, learning the fine art of support through her own trials while Goram shifts from a self-serving, angry man into one who can love and change. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series to find out where Rhuna and her family end up next!
Profile Image for CinderBelle615.
123 reviews8 followers
November 15, 2018
I received this series from the author through Booktasters in exchange for an honest review.

Pros:

Original. The world building unique and fun to learn about, it was one of my favorite things in this series that made me want to learn more and more about it!!

Images. I really am a fan of imagery in books and I felt like the author provided beautiful images in my mind about the world.

Suspense. I just knew Rhuna would eventually be face to face with Dark Master and I just kept thinking THIS PART IS WHERE SHE MEETS HIM OMG GHAAA!! I really loved the suspense building up to that moment.

Length: I got books 1-4 so maybe that made me like this even more, if I would just have gotten book 1 I would have been expecting more so I am glad I got a good amount of reading to enjoy.

Cons:

The Writing 1: The writing style lagged on for …a good majority of the series. I didn’t get used to it at all even when I was finished.

The writing 2: I would have wanted the author to “show more” and “tell less” like the way she did with the imagery parts in the books. As I was reading the series the author wrote in such a way that deprived the reader of feeling part of the book, visualizing things that could have been told in a different fashion in order to get attached. The way the author executed most of the writing felt a bit rushed.

Dialogue: Again, I think that in order to have avoided that ‘rushing feeling’ I think it would have benefited a lot from more dialogue. **HOWEVER this could also be something positive, because the rushed feeling I got when reading made this a pretty quick read despite it being pretty lengthy (books 1-4) ** and the little dialogue it DID have I felt like was pretty awkward, if there isn’t enough dialogue then it’s pretty difficult for the reader to see if there is actual chemistry or not, maybe it’s clear for the author who knows the character, but not so for the reader.

The main character: This isn’t an issue for this series specifically, I feel like I have had this issue with the vast majority of books I have read. (a couple of examples: The Mortal Instruments series, And I Darken series.) The main characters, I don’t know why I end up liking EVERYONE ELSE BUT the main characters in books. Rhuna was really bland for the most part of the series. By the end of the series though, I at least grew to respect her and appreciated all she went through and even though I felt like I couldn't connect with her 100% I liked how the author made Rhuna out to be stronger and wiser than the young clueless girl she started out as.

Overall I think it's worth the read just so you learn about the unique worlds that Rhuna also had to learn about in her process of growth and maturity and I am glad I didn't give up on it because by the 4th book I felt like the plot had gotten better and Rhuna had become less bland

I tried to do this with zero spoilers!
Profile Image for Kerstin Vollbrecht.
175 reviews
December 28, 2017
The first book of the series, Rhuna-Keeper off Wisdom, narrates the story of a young teenage girl who meets an Atlan master, Tozar, on her island, Chinza, where she had grown up as an outsider due to being different, especially in her tone of skin. As she meets Tozar, a revealing and educating journey begins for her, especially when she travels with him to Atlan theory where her education in developing her skills in working with the cosmic energies begins. As her abilities develop and she demonstrates superior skills, she is called to help too counteract the activities is the Dark Master in order to guarantee freedom and a peaceful living in the territory for Atlan people and other tribes which share the territory. It it's just the beginning of the adventure, but it's a very lovely story, including the love story, personal transformation, and the spiritual growing of our main character. The book describes in detail the things she learns about the workings and use of the cosmic energies. The characters are very lively described and the plot is very well developed.

With Crossroads, the second book un the Rhuna trilogy, the journey of the life of this extraordinary and kind-hearted woman continues and takes her, along with her daughter Lozira, to Safu in order to investigate disturbing happenings in that place far away from her home and husband. As she discovers that the members of Atlan council in Safu are followers of the perished Dark Master, things get dangerous for her and the people she befriends, who are also observing the strange events that unfold. At the same time, she becomes a loved and respected person for the native people as her efforts are directed towards improving their lives, which leads her tho take actions that estrange her from Tozar and the High Council at her home in Atlan. This second book has more suspense and tension than the first one, including her story full of courage, change, also personal, newbeginnings, loyalty and love. The plot is very well developed from beginning to end, as well as the characters.
The Third book in the series, The Star Child, narrates the next challenges of Rhuna and her family a few years after the events of the preceding book, her small daughter Shandi, her husband Aradin and Lozira, who runs away from Atlan and especially from her father in order to be with her mother in Safu. Rhuna and the group of observers are observing a new group of supposedly followers of the Dark Master, working with curses to obtain what they want and are about to unleash a war with a neighbouring tribe because their traveling merchants see themselves affected by those curses, even their queens family, so all Atlans have to flee the city. There's many surprises and unexpected happenings in this book, that make it a real page turner.
I have enjoyed all three books very much, as they are harmoniously building the story of Rhuna's life.
Profile Image for  B. Sinsational.
167 reviews12 followers
May 10, 2017
Otherworldly amazing read. Timeless heirlooms, that will be picked up and read (and loved) by generations after generation. Thornbirds, Gone with the wind, Wuthering heights, Clan of the cavebear..is other books that has the same quality to them...Books of a certain caliber becomes immortalized because they are unique, captivating and appeals too the reader on many levels. For A series to achieve the same its much harder. This book series is all that, has "IT" factor galore, timelessness and is frankly so darn good one cant help it?.. it is a instant infatuation, admiration, and as a reader it triggers a unprecedented awe feeling inside (especially if you have prior knowledge of the aubjects featuring in these books).
12.7k reviews189 followers
May 11, 2017
Another great fantasy story by an amazing author. This kept me reading until the very end. Just loved it
Profile Image for Tony Parsons.
4,156 reviews101 followers
June 29, 2016
Rhuna. (Book 1: Rhuna, Keeper of Wisdom 9-242
Rhuna Mama (f) originally came from Chinza (island).
Morning Glory (f), Windy (f,), Mala Mahuni (m, Solver of Riddles,) & Solver of Riddles (m) bid farewell to Rhuna as she was headed out to sea.
Rhuna promised to keep in touch with Tozar (Atlán Master, member of the High Council) & to Morning Glory.

She was given a fresh food basket & healing remedies for her long journey to Atlán (Empire) then Mediz (island).
Tozar (aka Harbinger of Solace) greeted Rhuna (aka Adopted by the Rain) when she arrived.
The Dark One takes advantage of the less fortunate displaced PPL.
The PPL thought they would lose their children to the High Priest.
Revealer of Brightness (m) called a meeting. Rhuna was there.
The Atlans & Xoratán refugees were safe but had not found homes yet.
Beacon of the Night (m) & Rhuna attened another meeting at the Orator’s Square.
Master of Solar Light Healing (m) & Tamer of the Storm (f) both spoke.
The High Priest had also done horrible things to the Arawana woman.
Rhuna attended meetings of the Circle of Healing, & assisted in diagnosing & prescribing food diets, herbal remedies & got involved with apothecary methods.
62 Atlan men & women would make the journey with Rhuna (Keeper of Wisdom), Tozar & Flower of the Field to Chipka (city).
Shelter of the Forest had cleared out all of the undergrowth, made the land ready for planting & sowing, & Gazing of the Waters set up the water supply, irrigation & drainage systems.
Discerner of Works would supervise the stone & construction building.

Their mission was to make living conditions better for the Arawana men & women.
Revealer of Brightness (m) made sure the surrounding area was safe/secure from harm or enemies.
Everyone began to call her Priestess Rhuna.
The High & Low Council each did their tasks of laws & judgements.
Book 2: Rhuna: Crossroads 243-457
Rhuna (Atlan Master, Keeper of Wisdom, Healer) & Lozira (Tozar/Rhuna’s daughter, Melody of the Dawn) & Wanderer of Plains journeyed to Safu (Land of the golden pyramids) where they were met by Abu-Malech (Primary Attendant/servant).
Faleesh of Quadur (f) was their servant.
The Reigning 1 greeted the group & introduced them to all of the dignitaries.
The next day Lozira was escorted by Abu-Malech to the Creative Arts School.

Atlan Council members of Safu were brutally killed.
Later what was Tozar’s (Rhuna’s husband) message to Rhuna?
Will Lozira return to Atlán?
Book 3: Rhuna, The Star Child 460-665
Rhuna (Atlan Master, Healer, aka The Star Child) now resided in Safu (Benshu) with Aradin (Rhuna’s 2nd. husband), & Shandi (Aradin/Rhuna’s daughter, aka Little Honey Cake).
Faleesh (Rhuna’s servant, confidant) saw to the reigning 1’s every needs.
How is the Golden Pyramid activated?

Rhuna met quite frequently with Roses of the Field, Possessor of Discernment, Keeper of Wisdom, Ruler of Numbers, Progress of the Wind, Roaming the Hills, Divider of Fortunes, Revealer of Truths, Echo of the Evening, Designer of Works, Reaching the Moon (Softness lover), Softness of the Clouds (Reaching’s lover), Guardians of Knowledge, Echo of the Evening (m), Beacon of the Night, Charmer of Snakes, as well as other memebrs of the High Council & the Low Council.
The many Observers all also contribute words of wisdom or benifical ideas to Rhuna.
Abu-Malech (Ubanti) & Queen Uxbana (Zambalu) came to see Rhuna.
What is the Extended Consciousness?

What is Harbinger of Solace request to Rhuna?
It was a concern Tozar (Atlán) might become more of an enemy than the Dark 1.
The Ubanti Army are contemplating on invading Safu.

Should Rhuna see to the Varappa PPL’s needs.
What is going on between Goram & Lozira (Melody of the Dawn)?

Warning: This book contains adult content, violence, or expletive language &/or uncensored sexually explicit material which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive to some readers.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A fairly well written YA Fantasy book. It wasn’t always very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish, but never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a huge set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great YA mystical Fantasy movie (Game of Thrones), animated cartoon, or a mini TV series. To be continued. It was just OK for me but I will still rate it at 5 stars.

Thank you for the free instafreebie; PDF book
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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