Charlotte E. English

Born and raised in England, Charlotte now lives in the Netherlands with her partner and two cats. She is an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction and has been writing stories and scripts in the genre since her teenage years.

Website: http://charlotteenglish.com/
Twitter: charlottenglish
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Blog: http://charlotteenglish.com/

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• Two Years and Counting

dark fantasy    detective ghost story    dragon wars fantasy    dragons    drifting isle chronicles    epic fantasy    fae    fairytale    fantasy adventure    fantasy adventure books    fantasy adventure swords and sorcery    fantasy animals    fantasy detective    fantasy fiction    fantasy ghost story    fantasy mystery    fantasy romance    fantasy saga    fantasy short fiction    folklore    folklore and mythology    ghost stories    ghost story    ghosts    high fantasy    murder mystery    mystery adventure    mystery and fantasy    paranormal fantasy    regency    regency romance    sci fi    science fiction    science fiction adventure    short stories    sorcery    steampunk    steampunk adventure    steampunk fantasy    steampunk romance    strong heroines    supernatural    supernatural mystery    witches   

C. M. Barrett
Latest book: Book of Sorrows: Book 4 of A Dragon's Guide to Destiny. Published August 11, 2013.
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Copper Crow Books
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Lindsay Buroker
Latest book: Balanced on the Blade's Edge. Published March 28, 2014. (4.86 from 7 reviews)
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M. Louisa Locke
Latest book: Mr. Wong Rights a Wrong: A Victorian San Francisco Story. Published February 28, 2014. (5.00 from 1 review)
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Olivia Boler
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• Big Dragons Don't Cry on March 25, 2011
  
  The title of this book is mildly misleading. I expected a very humorous book, and it does have humour; but it also has a more serious & occasionally tense storyline. The book is constructed around three interwoven narratives. One is the story of Druid, a depressed water dragon left alone in the swamps without the company of any other dragons. The second is the story of a group of cats, principally Tara, destined to save the world - even though she is only a pint-sized kitten. The third is the human angle, following a feeling young woman and her artistic lover through the difficulties of a rather deranged, emotion-suppressing society. The agenda of the story is clear: it makes some salient points about the destructiveness of human societies and the need to change our way of thinking. Some books could become leaden with such a heavy core message, and this one does come a little close to belabouring this point. However, it is written with a light, entertaining style and leavened with sufficient humour to avoid this. The characters are engaging and largely loveable, and I liked the resolution to the story. I'd have liked to hear more about the final fate of characters such as Phileas - is he allowed to marry and have a normal life now? - and Serazina & Berto. However, perhaps this is coming up in a sequel! This book also stands out from the crowd in the quality of the writing, editing and proofreading. I will recommend it to others & hope a sequel emerges fairly soon.
  
• The Hawk And His Boy on April 09, 2011
  
  This book opens the 'Tormay Trilogy', and it's a great start. The quality of the writing is excellent - smooth, accessible, clear - and the book is very well edited, with few discernible errors. The story follows the adventures of a range of characters situated across the duchies of Tormay. Jute is a child-thief hired to steal a mysterious box; the completion of the job changes his life forever. Levoreth is niece to a duke, though her talent for conversing with animals suggests that she's more than she seems. Nio is a scholarly wizard, powerful, driven and ruthless. Ronan, aka 'the Knife', is at the top of the thieves' guild and justly feared. We also meet a small child who survives the inexplicable and brutal murder of the rest of her village, and the soldier-captain who takes her in. As the above might suggest, there are a lot of different plot-threads going on here. They are all interlinked, but they come very thick and fast; to begin with I struggled a little to keep up. However, the coherence of the story improves as the book goes on and the links between the characters become steadily clearer. By the end I felt caught up in the tale, and I'm looking forward to finding out how it progresses in the second book
  
• Liberator's Ruin on Sep. 29, 2011
  
  It’s hard to know how how to classify this book. It’s been called steampunk, which it certainly isn’t. It’s full of gadgets, yes, but the level of technology is more twentieth century. There are cars, planes, radios, movies and telephones. It makes for a very interesting world; I don’t think I’ve ever read a work of fantasy fiction (including a form of magic) that featured essentially modern technology. A refreshing change. The story centres around the country of Illum, which has been conquered and absorbed into the Rhivellian Empire. A deposed princess is determined to take it back, but a High Inquisitor stands in her way. And around the edges of this is one airship captain and his crew, just trying to make a living. The characters are a high point in this story. One thing I liked best about the book is the lack of real heroes. Everyone has an agenda, everyone has their strengths and their moral weak points. My favourites were Airship Captain Nathaniel and his crew; there’s a hint of Firefly about this group that’s highly appealing. The ending also turns some expectations around, giving a resolution that’s something of a surprise. Like I said, there are no heroes. The book is sadly let down by very poor editing. I noticed typographical errors on nearly every page, and there are areas where the writing needs some tidying up. It says a lot, though, that I thoroughly enjoyed the book anyway. My rating would hover between four and four-and-a-half stars if not for the editing issues. As it is, I give three-and-a-half, rounded up to four.
  
• The Man Who Crossed Worlds (Miles Franco #1) on Jan. 09, 2012
  
  These days it seems like the title of Urban Fantasy can be given out to anything that so much as involves a city somewhere. This book is Urban with a capital U; you can practically smell the stench of Bluegate, a city that’s fallen a long, long way from grace. There’s nothing remotely pretty about this story. Miles Franco is a Tunneler, which means he can do entertaining stuff with reality and pop off to another dimension anytime he feels like it. But that isn’t too rare a skill in Bluegate. What’s unusual about him is that, unlike almost everyone else in the city, he honestly means well. He could’ve taken a well-paid job with one of the many city gangs if he didn’t mind too much about incidental things like morality. But he does, so he doesn’t, and ends up living pretty rough in an apartment barely better than a shed. Being the only decent bloke also gets him into trouble. When a dangerous new drug seems set to hit city circulation, Miles is dragged into the mess that’s rapidly developing. Really, with the number of beatings Miles seems to attract it’s amazing he’s survived this long. All the more so given what a naive, easily manipulated chump he is. But he manages to be likeable in spite of being constantly duped. This is a well-written story, very noir with a clear and diverting narrative voice. Miles’s sense of humour is enjoyable, and one of the most likeable things about him is that his sense of the ridiculous never fails, even when he’s in deep trouble. He’s got a line ready for all circumstances. Perhaps it’s the only defence this shrimp can manage to muster, albeit a poor one. Shrimp he may be, by the way, but he certainly doesn’t lack courage. This story is full of twists and turns and Miles would do well to avoid trusting anyone too much. Most of the twists are well done, and kept me guessing until almost the end. The final one let me down a little when it turned out to be exactly what I was hoping wouldn’t happen. That aside, this was a really strong book and an entertaining read. I’m hoping Miles will grow a bit of a brain in time for the next book, though; maybe next time he won’t be duped by almost everyone.
  
• Hope Road (John Ray #1) on Jan. 26, 2012
  
  I don't usually enjoy books written in the present tense, but in the interests of being open-minded I gave this one a try. What comes across as pretentious in some books actually worked well here. It gave the story an interesting feeling of immediacy. John Ray is a great hero. He's rather charming without being sleazy, he's popular and confident but without being obnoxiously arrogant. His background is interesting: how do you get away from the stigma of being part of a notorious crime family? I really felt John's frustration at having spent a lifetime trying, and still finding himself typecast as a crook. The murder mystery was absorbing and pleasingly complex. Barlow handles the complicated story well, feeding clues to the reader at a good pace. There's a lot going on here - counterfeiting schemes (multiple), crime gangs, prostitutes and police, mysterious receptionists and wayward sons - but it all fits together beautifully. On the downside, there's a revelation about John's recent life that disappointed me a little. It was interesting, and certainly a surprise, but it changes him significantly in a way that I didn't altogether like. Additionally, 'Den' the cop girlfriend lacked something; I didn't get a clear idea of who she is, other than an idealistic cop, or why John loves her. Maybe she needed a bit more screen time (so to speak). That said, this is the first in a projected series of nine books, so I imagine we'll be hearing plenty more about both characters in due course. This is a read for fans of fast-paced crime thrillers with great plots, vivid language and interesting characters. It certainly isn't a cosy mystery though, so be ready for some grime.