A Wizard's Choice by Maya Tyler

A Wizard’s Choice. Maya Tyler. Tirgearr Publishing.  July 2019. pb, 170 pp.; ASIN: B07SSVX7DQ.

Kurtis Warde has to make a choice – to live as a wizard or a human.  However, he feels very obligated to his grandfather, who has raised him and protected him from the evils of the feud of centuries between the Wizards and the Faeries.  Kurtis first meets Dee, a vampire, who introduces him to a world of phenomenal sex.  He is obviously besotted by her but she sees their initial sexual encounter as just that and no more.  Kurtis is haunted by the fact that he has no idea who his mother and father are but that is about to change.

He begins to visit Alina, a Life Coach, who has the gift of reading auras and spiritually connecting to her clients with her intuitive gifts of connection.  She quickly connects Kurtis to the fact that his ancestors were the Annunaki, beings from space who were the wizards and faeries of old.  This connection unleashes the continuation of the lethal feud between the two groups and previous spells of protection no longer protect Kurtis and Alina.

Kurtis will soon know his parents but may not be able to heal the strife from which his grandfather has been protecting him all these years. A wizard uprising led by the Bauer family began to cover their plans to overthrow the Delafontaines. Kurtis was related to the faeries who nearly annihilated the family who are actually ancestors of Alina.  This then is the story of how Kurtis will act to end the feud of centuries with the help of Alina and his family.

A Wizard’s Choice is an interesting read, a romance, adventure, thriller, and magical tale full of complex characters.  Modern technology is combined with ancient spells and magic to protect characters from the nonstop conflict.  The choice turns out to be so much larger than Kurtis or his grandfather had imagined! Rather than end on a definitive note, it is clear at the end of this novel that there will be more novels in this series (this is the second in the series, although it may be read as a stand-alone novel). Nicely crafted story, Maya Tyler!

If You Want to Make God Laugh: A Novel by Bianca Marais

If You Want to Make God Laugh: A Novel.  Bianca Marais. Penguin Publishing Group.  July 2019; pb, 448 pp.; ISBN #: 9780735219311.

It’s the late 1900s.  Nelson Mandela is about to become the first African President of South Africa, but apartheid is still very much rampant in the minds of white Afrikaan citizens.  Splinter rebel groups have fought for freedom for years; now some of those groups are out to wipe out all blacks.  In this time of new freedom and old prejudices, three women wind up living together.  Zodwa is a young pregnant woman whose failures have given her mother tremendous grief.  Her brother was part of the Inkatha Freedom Group and is considered dead but his body, living or dead, has never been found.  Now Zodwa will never achieve her dreams of being educated and free.

Two sisters, Ruth and Delilah, are seeking to fashion a life of agreement but past memories in both white women haunt the present.  Ruth was a stripper and prostitute who has been married and divorced three times.  Delilah was a convert to the Catholic faith and fell in love with a priest who later abuses her.  She has a son who becomes a priest and later dies under the dominance of his father.  Delilah would do anything to see her son and discover the truth about their separation.  Meanwhile Zodwa gives birth but her mother gives away the child.  By coincidence, she finds him and agrees to work for his foster parents, Ruth and Delilah.  All three live together with their funny bantering, highly sarcastic bickering and a sense of need that brings redemption to all of their lives.

If You Want to Make God Laugh is an uplifting, solid story that is crafted well and includes a huge segment of African history that has not been well-known up to now, the period of reconciliation led by Bishop Desmond Tutu, and the plague of HIV disease that led to an AIDS crisis.  Change is a process, not a miraculous moment or miracle.  Yet many miracles happen in this tale revealing tremendous violence, sexuality, romance, Church abuse, forgiveness and growth into a new life.  You will never forget this amazing story.  Bianca Marais is a writer to watch and relish with this novel and hopefully with what will follow! Congratulations on this story of relentless love and transformation!