A Stranger to Command by Sherwood Smith

 Fantasy Fiction. This book is a prequel to Crown Duel which I read a month or so ago. It follows the the character, Vidanric, in Crown Duel when he was a teen and illustrates the history behind the wars among the different countries. It's pretty technical in it's descriptions of training and preparing young men and women for possible military conflicts, but I kept reading because I liked the main character and liked to see how his character developed. I think the author is very good at character development, but her books do not always move quickly and require patience as you read. I'm glad I finished it, but would not recommend reading it before reading Crown Duel. 

Recommend: only after reading and loving Crown Duel.

Dragonwatch Series by Brandon Mull

 Junior Fantasy Fiction. Master of the Phantom Isle, book 3. Another reread for me as I was preparing to read book number four which recently was published. This book was my least favorite of the series so far. It reminded me of book five in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and episode five of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back. Bad things happen. People are sad. Will it get better? Seth and Kendra's attempts to make the world right and rid it of the threat of a Dragon War seem thwarted at every turn. But keep reading, book number is worth the wait!

Recommend: Of course. 

Champion of the Titan Games, book 4. It has been awhile since I was really excited to get all the mundane things done during my time so I could get back to a really good story. Number four is definitely worth the wait!  There were so many plot twists and lessons learned along the way. I finished this book with a lot of insights into my own life and discussed some of my findings with my daughter who had already read the book. Now comes the hard part, waiting for the final book in the series to be published!

Recommend: Yes!