Recommended Read - The Witchcraft Wars Trilogy

I was very pleased when author Tracey Alley approached me to review her series. I love the fantasy/action genre, and knew I'd get into her stories. However, I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed them!!

The first book is Erich's Plea, and it introduces us to a wide cast of characters including a former assassin halfling, a prince-turned-druid, a half ogre/half troll, a necromancer, a mage without memory, and more! The setting is a magical realm in which there are many species, all divided into twelve kingdoms. There is a little bit of back story in this first novel, but nothing that takes away from the action and suspense, which I appreciate - I'm not a fan of too much or too little back story in the books I read! This first book focuses primarily on Slade, the former-prince-turned-druid, and his mysterious capture by The Dark One. From the breakout (not a spoiler, trust me) to the journey ahead, this book keeps you interested!!

The second book is Ursula's Quest, and we learn more about Slade's sister, the beautiful princess Ursula. She also partakes on a journey, and we meet some additional characters along the way. Her quest is going on at the same time as Slade's, though they don't realize that they are both working towards a similar goal until the end. We also learn more about Ulrich, their eldest brother who has taken over the throne in a deceitful manner and has alliances with The Dark One and his counterpart, the witch Shallendara. This book still had quite a bit of action, but I felt it not to be as interesting as the first and third books.

The final book is Slade's Destiny. The title foreshadows happenings towards the end of the book, though I won't give it away because I'm not a fan of spoilers. ;) Everything really comes together in this book, and it is so filled with action that you honestly won't be able to put it down!! There is war, intrigue, and a lot of mystery that all becomes clear in the end. Some doubtful characters become good, while the most evil become more glaringly evil. All of the characters really show their depth in this book, and it was probably my favorite of the three!

Overall, this series is a fantastic read for anyone into the fantasy genre. I know some reviews have found the writing to be hard to follow, but I think it was tied together wonderfully and appreciated how the story moved from one character's point of view to another, so that you got a well-rounded feel for the story. The only thing that did bother me was some formatting and editing issues, but they were fairly few and far between, and it could have been because I was reading a pdf on my Nook, which sometimes doesn't format as well as the epub file formats do.

I gave Books One and Three five stars, and Book Two four stars, on Goodreads.