Book Buzz ~ The Magic Warble

Think action, courage, bravery, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and another dimension….another world beyond our reach but not beyond the reach of a 12-year old girl named Kristina. Enter The Magic Warble, written by Victoria Simcox.

The Magic Warble is the first book in a fantasy adventure series that’s filled with all kinds of colorful characters, including bullies, an evil queen, the queen’s evil zelbocks (which remind me of trolls), dwarves, gnomes, fairies, and talking animals. Twelve year old Kristina is the main character, also known as “the chosen one.” Her teacher has given her a special Christmas gift that awakens Kristina during the night, when she’s transported to another world far beyond her wildest dreams. From the get go, Kristina is thrown into an action-packed adventure that sometimes leaves her wondering whether or not she’ll even make it out alive.

You see, Kristina has a coveted possession that the evil Queen Sentiz is after, the Magic Warble. If the Magic Warble is placed at the top of Mount Bernovem in its rightful place, the kingdom will be restored back to its peaceful state with the evil Queen Sentiz dethroned and the rightful Queen Lafinia restored to her throne. An abundance of fairy blossom will also return….something that the citizens in the land need to stay young, healthy, and alive…. something that also heals.

Several obstacles are thrown in Kristina’s way, though, as she travels with the young Prince Werrien to fulfill her destiny as “the chosen one.” Obstacles include the queen’s zelbocks, the capture and imprisonment of Prince Werrien, and the appearance of some unexpected visitors from back home where Kristina is from (anyone who happened to touch even the container the Magic Warble was contained in, would be brought to this world).  Everything is not as it seems either; there are eyes and ears everywhere, and fear abounds, meaning not everyone Kristina meets along the way is of true and noble character. Throughout her adventure, Kristina must gain the confidence and courage she needs to push on, even when the going gets tough. She also begins to form relationships and friendships….friendships that will stand the test of time.

From the moment I picked up this book, I was pretty much on the edge of my seat. Yes, it’s more of a kid’s book, geared toward ages 9-13, but the entire story setting reminds me of a fairy tale, Narnia, Lord of the Rings type of setting…. yet a completely unique story in and of itself. It’s definitely a book that kids who enjoy those types of stories would enjoy very much. The story incorporates the values of courage, honesty, bravery, determination, perseverance, and more. From Kristina’s heart stopping jump off a cliff with Prince Werrien to escape their pursuer to hiding in a thorn bush, trying not to breathe as the Zelbock stands next to her searching the landscape for any sight of her…. it’s a story that’ll keep you interested and wanting more. I’d love to see this book made into a movie.

I won’t spoil the end of the book, but I will let you know there is a second book already written, The Black Shard, so it’s an ongoing tale of adventure. You can purchase The Magic Warble for $16.95 in book form; $2.99 in ebook form. Be sure to also Like The Magic Warble on Facebook and follow @VictoriaSimcox on Twitter.

(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book, free of charge, for the purposes of review. All views/opinions remain solely my own.)

Play the Hilarious Game of Blurt! {Giveaway}

(This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Christina Anne on winning this giveaway! Thank you to all who entered.)

As the boys are getting older, family game night is taking on new meaning. This past weekend, I happened to be down for the count with some kind of bug….by Sunday afternoon, I was feelin’ restless. So, out came a board game. I happened to have a new one sitting on the shelf from Educational Insights, so we decided to give it a try. All I can say is I haven’t laughed that much in a long time. We were all laughing the entire game. I swear, the neighbors probably heard us laughing, yelling, and acting all crazy up in here.Blurt! is the name of the game. It’s a fast-paced word game that turns into a race around a game board. Setup was super easy with this game, and the instructions were easy to follow. I’m not one to enjoy reading the instructions for any game; I need more patience in that area. These instructions were fairly short and sweet, though. Each player has a colored game token. The card box holds all the clues; there are 1,800 clues total. Each card has an “easy” side and a more challenging side. A die is also included with the game, since each turn requires a roll of the die in order to figure out which clue to read off the card. The game board is very bright and colorful with squares for the track all the way ’round the board.The object of the game is to be be the first person to make it all the way around the game board. In order to move your game piece, you have to blurt out the correct word when given the clue. Each person takes his/her turn being the Reader. A roll of the die not only determines which clue to read, but it’ll also determine how many spaces the person who blurts out the correct word will get to move. The best part is that each player can blurt out as many words as he wants….making it sometimes quite energetic and hilarious. Of course, there are bonus blurts throughout the game in the form of one-on-one challenges between players who land on the same space or who land on the same color of space as their game token. There are also advanced play options. A Junior Version is even included for players ages 7-9.We could have played the Junior Version, since Jacob is 9, but we decided to go full-fledged, game on. We had a blast. Even Jaden got in on the action, although he mainly just wanted to drive his game token around the board like a car. We yelled out answers, challenged each other, laughed ’til we dropped, and just had fun. For us, it was nice to let go of the busyness of life for awhile, forget everything, and just laugh together. The game is also challenging for Jacob; it introduces new words to him, increasing his vocabulary. It makes him think; it made all of us think. Even smaller children have fun counting out the spaces for you when it’s time to move. The only thing I might change about this game is the die (the die does not have dots; it has whole numbers on each side). I know, it might seem petty…. but I like a regular die because I think it’s good for kids to visualize the dots and what number they stand for. Such a small issue, though, and honestly not one I’m worried about.Blurt! could definitely be enjoyed by groups, forming teams. It’d be an awesome party game, both for kids and adults. It’s geared toward ages 7+ and 3-12 players. You can purchase Blurt! for $29.99 from Educational Insights. I highly recommend this game, and give it 8 thumbs up from my whole family.

The awesome news is that one MamaBuzz reader can enjoy some hilarious family game time with Blurt! because Educational Insights is giving the game to one reader! Please leave a comment (see below) to enter, but then be sure to leave a separate comment for each optional way that you enter. This giveaway will end on Tuesday, February 28. The winner will be chosen, via random.org. This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada only (void where prohibited). No purchase is necessary, and the odds of winning are based on a number of entries. Good luck, and have a wonderful day!

  1. What game makes your family laugh ’til you feel like you’re gonna drop? Share a comment.

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(Disclosure: I received this game, free of charge, from Educational Insights, for the purposes of review. All views/opinions remain solely my own.)

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