ReviewsFeed

Blog Tour Review – Wizard of Ends: United Army – Vanessa Finaughty

Posted on November 3, 2025November 3, 2025 by fantasyst95

I’m super excited to share today’s fantasy novella review with you. Wizard of Ends: United Army is the third book in Vanessa Finaughty’s Wizard of Ends series. Whether or not you have read the earlier books in the series, this third book is an enjoyable read. I didn’t get the time to pick up books 1 or 2 before reading and sharing my thoughts on this latest book. However, I hope this offers a unique perspective compared to other reviewers on the tour.

I will catch up with the earlier books at a later date. I expect they will be as easy to read as United Army. In fact, I read this novella in one day. It’s super approachable. Are you looking for a short story that doesn’t compromise on world-building and setting? If so, Wizard of Ends: United Army (and no doubt the earlier books too) are a strong recommendation.

Thank you to Vanessa for allowing me to take part in the tour. It’s a pleasure to feature a new author, and really to read a book at a completely different pace to those I pick up.

For the sake of transparency, it’s also prudent for me to declare that whilst I received a copy of the book in order to provide my review, the views expressed within are entirely my own. Now, let’s get to it!

Wizard of Ends: United Army – Vanessa Finaughty

Genre: Fantasy novella

Pages: 147

Audience: Adult

Publisher:

Original Publication Date: 20 Oct 2025

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Wizard of Ends: United Army

Purchase Links –

King Lanaran Dragonsbane of Ends ventures into the mysterious, unexplored Mountains of Eclador in search of his kidnapped long-time friend and ally, the King of Storher. Not expecting the rescue to be an easy one, Lashlor Leaflin, Rune Arcana and the captain of his army travel with him.

In Lanaran’s absence, a united army rides for Ends.

With the King of Ends away and aid not forthcoming, the looming war seems lost before it’s begun. Ends has no hope of defeating the enemy’s vast numbers. The enemy also appears intent on using magic for this war – something never done by any army in all the known lands.

In a desperate bid to save her kingdom, Queen Narraki Dragonsbane enlists the aid of the magic users of Ends. With their combined power, her kingdom might just stand a chance. It’s a risk, of course. Magic users have let her down before and, already, she defies tradition by not standing back and allowing the temporary Captain of the Army of Ends to take the lead in the pending war. She cannot fail.

My Thoughts

Plot

There’s a lot going on in Wizard of Ends: United Army. No Queen would wish to hear the news that an army is on the way to take your city. However, Queen Narraki keeps a level head even when she finds herself in peril and surrounded by those who doubt her authority. It’s a common scenario in this modern world of ours, so something that was easy to relate to. Yet, I loved seeing Queen Narraki fight against those who would challenge her to do her best in a time of great danger.

I also enjoyed seeing multiple plot lines throughout this short books. Characters split across the map are all given a balanced amount of airtime. I’m intrigued as to what has happened to date that separated these people, and it means I want to go back and recap the earlier books. As a fan of multi-perspective books like George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series and Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings series, I got this same feel without the heady commitment these series entail.

And, naturally, Wizard of Ends: United Army makes it clear that we are only seeing the beginning of trouble. The cliffhanger at the end has us wanting more already…

Setting

For a book with a relatively short page count (at least, compared to some of the tomes I’m known to pick up…), the novella doesn’t scrimp on world-building. Whilst I would have benefited from reading the earlier books in the series to understand the underlying magical principles and character arcs, it wasn’t necessary. I was still able to follow what was going on and understand critical events and points of tension.

Wizard of Ends: United Army balances action with storytelling in harmony with one another. This must be very hard to do when writing a more condensed narrative. However, in practice, I think Vanessa strikes the balance just right. There is plenty of action from the perspectives of multiple characters. Yet, readers still get the backstory and context of the wider world.

Characters

There are a number of character’s and perspectives that influence the narrative in Wizard of Ends: United Army. Again, even though I effectively joined this narrative parkway through, I was able to follow characters and who they were in the grand scheme of events.

Wizard of Ends: United Army left me wanting to know more about the characters that make up the story. Coming into this series where I did, I have left off with questions about the characters of the narrative. Could those be answered in books already written or in books yet to follow? I sincerely hope so! It’s made me very curious and has me wanting to invest more time with this series. If that doesn’t tell you how much I want to sell the series to other readers – that I actively want to pressure reading more in my own time without obligation – then I don’t know what will!

Narrative Style

Multi-perspective fantasy books re my absolute favourite, so Wizard of Ends: United Army ticks all the boxes for me. What’s better is that this book gave me all my favourite elements of fantasy books in a smaller page count. From someone who can pick up several hundred page books on a semi-regular basis, this made a refreshing change. United Army doesn’t require a lengthy commitment, but still appeals to fans of the genre through its complex magic system, conflict and tension.

Summary

Although Wizard of Ends: United Army is the third book of Vanessa Finaughty’s Wizard of Ends series, it can be read as a standalone. That’s how I’ve enjoyed the book. Based on my great experience, I have every intention to go back and read from the very beginning. No doubt this will help fill in my understanding of where character’s have come from and what they have experienced so far.

If you are looking for a fun, short read and are a fan of fantasy novels and novella’s, I can’t recommend Wizard of Ends: United Army enough. Having made slow progress with reading lately, and juggling self-imposed deadlines, it made a refreshing change. I picked up this book and was engaged with the story from start to finish.

Author Bio

Vanessa Finaughty is a multi-genre author who has published more than 20 books, including school books published by Oxford University Press Southern Africa. Vanessa grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and still lives there with her husband and their four children (two human and two furry, four-legged).

Vanessa has always been passionate about books, and knew from a young age that she wanted to write them one day. She loves animals, coffee and the smell of wet grass, and hates excessive weather, long queues and liars. Her interests include reading, photography, the supernatural, mythology, aliens and outer space, ancient history, life’s mysteries and martial arts, in which she has five years’ experience in Ki Aikido.

Author animation: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPbiHY3Mj9F0mU_Kkph2ZbrAq1srb2Zbi)

Author links

Author blog
Twitter
LinkedIn
Amazon
Smashwords

Sunday Summary – 3rd November 2025

Posted on November 2, 2025 by fantasyst95

It’s been a little odd taking a step back this week. However, it’s made a nice change and to be honest, a refreshing break. Today’s Sunday Summary is very light on content sharing, because I deliberately put a halt on content production so I could prioritise some reading.

Speaking of which, shall we take a look at the books I’ve read this week?

Books Read

The Shadow of What Was Lost

Progress with The Shadow of What Was Lost is a little slower than last week. Compared to last Sunday’s four and a half hour progress, I have only half that to share in this Sunday Summary.

That said, I am still enjoying this audiobook. I’m intrigued as to where this narrative is going to take (and I hope, reconnect) characters. If I have one criticism, it’s that events in the book seem a little convenient. It’s a hard one to explain without giving away what’s happening in the story so far. Given the feats the characters are having to go through to fulfil a vague quest, people and events crossing their paths are timed just a little bit too… right… to feel realistic.

Nevertheless, it’s common in the fantasy genre. I’m determined to not let that hamper my enjoyment of the book. Maybe it won’t last, or maybe it will. Only time will tell.

Hopefully next week’s update will be able to delve into this idea a little more.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

With my more immediate review obligations out the way, I had hoped to finish A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping pretty early on this week. However, it wasn’t meant to be. I had an original return due date back to the library on Tuesday this week. Despite furiously reading to meet this deadline, I still had 230 pages left to go and one night to do it. I made a noble effort and got through half that in one evening. However, with time running out, I admitted defeat and extended my loan.

Despite the renewed and increasingly lengthened timeline to now finish this book, I was still determined to finish it this week! Whilst it’s fresh in my mind, I wanted to read Sera’s story and discover if she was ever reunited with her magic. No spoilers here friends – if you want to know that, you’re going to have to get your own copy (or borrow it from your local library). What I can say is that for a book I wouldn’t have picked up of my own volition, I really enjoyed it. Naturally, that made finishing the final 100 pages or so in the second half of this week a very easy thing to do.

Wizard of Ends: United Army

With a review coming up on the blog tomorrow, my final read of the week has been Wizard of Ends: United Army.

It’s not common for me to read and review a book in a series without reading the earlier books to date. However, circumstances meant I didn’t have time to read those first. So, I picked up Wizard of Ends: United Army as a standalone book. And you know what, the world didn’t collapse. I was able to understand events and invest in the characters and action as it was taking place. Sure, I have questions about who is who and how they got there, but that just makes me want to read books 1 and 2 after the event. As things go, Wizard of Ends: United Army was a fun, short fantasy novella. Given my reading progress has been a little slow of late, it was refreshing to read a book in a day.

Do I have my reading mojo back? Well, as of this Sunday Summary maybe not quite. However, a quick win is always a great motivator! Lord knows I need it!

Books Discovered

After finding a Waterstones book voucher earlier today, I may have taken a wander into our local and made an… exchange. The books I picked up are books I’ve read already. They’re books on my re-read list that I don’t have physical copies of. I got myself the deluxe sprayed-edge box set of Hunger Games; I’ve had my eye on those for a while. The best part is, I want to re-read these very soon. Perfect timing!

I also got myself a hardback anniversary edition of The Handmaid’s Tale, an absolute classic!

So, technically as of this Sunday Summary I don’t have anything NEW on the TBR… but I do have another box set and a hardback on my physical shelves.

Coming Up…

I’m not exactly phasing myself back into making content next week. On the contrary, it’s a mental week and I’m starting early. My review of Wizard of Ends: United Army goes live tomorrow morning UK time. Thankfully, that’s already prepared ready to go! I hope you’re as intrigued by this fantasy novella as I was!

Next, I’m sharing my monthly wrap-up for October’s reading progress. I expect this post to drop mid-week, likely Wednesday. It’s not been quite the productive month that September was, but that was perhaps a little ambitious and hopeful on my part!

Thursday also sees another review on the blog. This time, I’m reviewing The Angel Prophecy by Rob Jones. You may recall I reviewed an earlier book in the series, The Atlantis Covenant, at the beginning of September. I have yet to start this book, so again, need to get my skates on!

Finally, I’m back next week with another Sunday Summary update post. Fingers crossed for some reading miracles this week and I can meet all my reading obligations! I also have work book club coming up (after a one week delay already).

Wish me luck!

Sunday Summary – 26th October 2025

Posted on October 26, 2025 by fantasyst95

Somehow it’s the end of another weekend, so today’s Sunday Summary is all about catching you up on everything I’ve read this week.

Firstly, let’s recap the blog posts I’ve shared.

On Patreon, I shared a Shelf Control regular feature on Friday. This week’s feature is a horror/thriller novel I’ve got on my bookshelf and owned for about five years!

On the blog, I started early with a guest post on Monday. Ahead of reviewing Vanessa Finaughty’s third Wizard of Ends book shortly, I featured her AI Image Writing Prompts post.

On Thursday, I reviewed Woden’s Storm by Donovan Cook. I enjoyed this historical fiction book and second instalment to his The First Kingdom series. If you want to take a look at that post, here’s a link to my review.

Books Read

The Shadow of What Was Lost

I’ve progressed with four and a half hours of audio of The Shadow of What Was Lost this week.

I’ve had fun with this audio and I’m looking forward to recording a video of my thoughts on this book soon. I’ll be recording that as part of my ChatGPT reading challenge. It’s been a great start and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Woden’s Storm

My priority this week was to finish Woden’s Storm ahead of reviewing the book on Thursday. Thankfully, I finished the book just on time on Wednesday night so I could share my post first thing Thursday morning.

If you enjoy historical fiction based in Britain with lots of action and in-fighting. If you’re a fan of the lines of Bernard Cornwell, Matthew Harffy or M.J. Porter, Woden’s Storm would be a great fit!

I’ve already outlined my thoughts in full detail, so I won’t re-hash them here. Instead, I’ll point you to my review.

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping

The last book I’ve got progress to share in this Sunday Summary is A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. So far, I’ve read the first 100 pages of the book and I’m enjoying it so far.

I’m hoping Sera figures out what’s happened to her magic and maybe gets it back. Already, I’m invested in her personal story and I’m enjoying the whimsical cast alongside her… especially Roo-Roo and Clemmie!

It’s a complete change of pace from Woden’s Storm in a narrative sense. In a more literal sense, it’s similar in that I have a deadline to read the book. It’s a library loan due back in just a couple of days. So, skates are on and I’ll have more to tell you next week.

Books Discovered

I’m back to a quiet week of no news! The focus is more on getting books read and off the TBR than building it up. So, as of this Sunday Summary, we’re aiming in the right direction.

Coming Up…

I’ve got some catching-up on books to do this week. I’ve got a few bookish obligations coming up. I need to finish my library loan and return it very soon. Our work book club is fast coming up and I may need to push it out a week as I’ve yet to start the book. Then, I’ve got two reviews scheduled for early November.

With this in mind, I’m parking content online this week but for another Sunday Summary next week. I’m hoping that gives me the space I need to catch up on my reading. This month hasn’t quite been the productive reading month I wanted. However, there’s time to rectify that!

That’s all from me in today’s Sunday Summary. What have you read this week?

Blog Tour Review: Woden’s Storm – Donovan Cook

Posted on October 23, 2025October 22, 2025 by fantasyst95

I’m super excited to share today’s historical fiction book review with you. Fans of the genre have had plenty of historical fiction content of late. Today’s blog to review for Woden’s Storm is no exception! Set a little earlier than other well-known authors in the genre like Bernard Cornwell and Matthew Harffy, we get all the drama of in-fighting and war in a slightly different historical setting.

Before we get into my review, thank you to Rachel, Boldwood Books and the author, Donovan Cook, for the chance to read and review Woden’s Storm so I can feature the book/series on my blog again!

If you haven’t caught up yet, my review of book 1, Woden’s Spear, can be found here.

FYI, I received a copy of the book in order to provide my review. However, this is an unbiased review and the views expressed within are entirely my own.

Woden’s Storm – Donovan Cook

Genre: Historical fiction

Pages: 345

Audience: Adult

Publisher: Boldwood Books

Original Publication Date: 22 Oct 2025

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Goodreads – Woden’s Storm

A storm is coming.

A storm that will banish the old and deliver the new.

450AD Britain

Octa has the spear of Woden, but the redemption he sought is out of his grasp. With his banishment and the death of his father, he can no longer return to his Saxon homelands. His only salvation is to join forces with Hengist and Horsa, and their Jutish army that beaches itself on Brittania’s shores. But can he trust their motivation or are there greater plans afoot?

The Gods have their own plans, though, and Octa’s fate is not his own to control as Friga, the mother of the Saxon gods, battles to avoid a war with the gods of the Britons and Saxons using Octa as her weapon.

Prince Vortimer, the son of High King Vortigern, is angered by his father’s agreement with Hengist and Horsa as they remain unchecked and their numbers swell. He suspects treachery and encouraged by some well-placed words of a stranger, he rebels against his father and gathers his army to attack the unwelcome visitors.

War is coming to Britannia and as Octa struggles to understand his role and fate, he knows he has one question to answer. Will he run or will he stand and fight?

Purchase Link – https://bit.ly/wodensstorm

My Thoughts

Plot

The gods have a lot to answer for when it comes to driving the plot for this book. Multiple gods and faiths come together and set up a clash for the ages. I love that the diversity and the gods and beliefs of the people set within Britain showcase the diversity of the people at the time.

In modern-day terms, we think of England as one and the same. In Woden’s Storm, that is very far from true!

Following on nicely from Woden’s Spear, Woden’s Storm is full of action, adventure, and the protagonist Octa finds himself in a few scrapes. Octa is a very different character from the first book, and that plays out in the narrative.

Overall, the plot of this second instalment of the series feels different from the introduction, Woden’s Spear. That first book feels more like a personal coming-of-age story; the second book takes a wider scope on events in the country and how Octa’s actions have thrown him into this tumultuous, but entertaining to read, setting.