H.L. Burke Archives ⋆ Liz Delton

Coming May 1st~ Reformed Blog Tour by H.L. Burke

By Liz | April 5, 2020 | Comments 1 comment

The new book from one of my favorite indie authors, H.L. Burke, is a departure from her usual fantasy and steampunk genres, but promises to be just as awesome. The first in a superhero series, Reformed is coming out May 1st, and is currently available for preorder for only 99 cents!

And check out that cool cover art!

Once a villain, always a villain?

Optimistic and idealistic superhero Prism is determined to redeem her father’s legacy by rebooting his super villain rehabilitation program. To do so, she sets her sights on Fade, the relapsed super villain who was the reason the government canceled the original program in the first place. However, when she petitions for Fade to be released into her custody, she finds out things might not be as simple as she thought.

Convicted of an unforgivable crime, Fade received a choice: surrender to trial and possible execution or endure a memory erasure so he could start fresh. Now with no recollection of his time before incarceration, Fade doubts he has the ability to be anything but the villain the public believe him to be.

A series of attacks by a mysterious power-swapping villain points back to Fade’s past and the crime that cost him his freedom and memory. With her father’s legacy and her own reputation on the line, even Prism has to wonder: can a villain truly be reformed?

About H.L. Burke

Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.

An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.

Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.

She is the author of a four part fantasy/romance series entitled “The Dragon and the Scholar,” the Award Winning (2016 Realm Award for Young Adult Fiction) Nyssa Glass Steampunk series, and MG/Fantasy “Cora and the Nurse Dragon,” among others .

Preorder Reformed here

Follow H.L. Burke on:

Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Website

Book Review: Coiled by H.L. Burke

By Liz | June 15, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

What a magical book! I was really excited to read this book, because it’s a retelling of a Greek myth–but it’s entirely unique, and very well-told.

I recently interviewed H.L. Burke on my blog as part of her Coiled release blog tour, and the book will be available on June 15, 2017.

A twist on Eros and Psyche, the story of Laidra and Calen is at times heartbreaking, heartwarming, and full of intrigue, adventure, and even an Olympian-style quest.

Laidra is cursed with hideousness that worsens whenever she heals someone, while Calen is cursed with the incredibly debilitating–and rather inconvenient to say the least–problem of turning into a giant snake when he is seen by another person.

There’s beautiful symmetry with the two curses, and ugly humanity rears its head in different ways when their respective families are confronted with just how to handle their cursed children.

I enjoyed this read from beginning to end, and though I thought I could see where it was going one moment, was pleasantly surprised by each turn of events. I thought the tale was expertly woven, and–importantly for me–no cringe-worthy romance: I loved watching Laidra and Calen’s relationship develop right from the start.

Burke’s characters always have real depth to them, especially in this book. Even the gods and demi-gods, though by definition are stuck within a certain role, each has quite a personality and lends their voice to the story. I always love the humanization of mythological gods. On the side of a vase the gods look all perfect and pristine, but when they get involved with mortals, they’re squabbling and plotting right down in there.

I would highly recommend for a pleasant YA read that will give you a good adventure, love, curses, intrigue, and even a magical beast or two!

Available on Amazon, Kobo, Nook and iBooks.

Also check out the Facebook Launch party happening June 23rd!

Book Review: Beggar Magic, by H.L. Burke

By Liz | October 6, 2016

Over the past few days I have had the pleasure of listening to H.L. Burke’s Beggar Magic through Audible. I’ve listened to lots of audiobooks over the past few months (Lord of the Rings, Outlander, Dune, The Martian…) and this one didn’t disappoint.

Burke’s imaginative world of Gelia City is a city of magic–a magic that resides in the very air and fills the city with its ever-changing sounds: the Strains. But not everyone is fortunate to hear the Strains and use their magic as well as others. The Highmost are born with seemingly unlimited control over the Strains, but the Common are only able to weakly wield them, with beggar magic.

Leilani, a Common, no-nonsense girl, crosses paths with a high-strung Highmost called Zebedy, and her world takes an unusual turn as she is swept into the manic life of the Highmost. One of the things I admired about Leilani’s character is that she never settled for anything she didn’t want, and never let anyone walk over her. Gotta love a strong female lead! The two friends are drawn into a serious mystery concerning the Strains, leading them through Highmost intrigue, breaking class barriers, and there’s even a bit of romance.

The writing (and narration) flow quite naturally, and I loved all of the tiny details placed throughout the book by Burke. Even before the main conflict was presented, I was drawn in to the unique setting and the two girls’ strong characters. Seriously, the Strains were a whole new type of magic, the idea of which kept me thinking about this book even when I wasn’t reading it.

This is an audiobook that you can gobble up really easily. I would definitely recommend it for fantasy lovers of any age.

I received a complementary copy of the audiobook in exchange for this honest review.

Save