Cover Reveal: Stargun Messenger – Darby Harn

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Cover Reveal, Sci-FiLeave a comment

Hello!

Today it is my pleasure to be helping out with theEscapist tours Cover Reveal for Stargun Messenger by Darby Harn. It’s available for preorder now (see links below), and will be released on the 5th May.

Book Summary:

To save the stars, Astra Idari must outrun her own shadow.

Astra Idari is a mess.

She drinks too much, remembers too little, and barely pays for it all as a Stargun Messenger. She hunts down thieves who steal filamentium, the fuel that allows for faster-than-light travel. When Idari meets Gen Emera, she meets the girl of her dreams and the last living star. There’s just one problem.

Filamentium is only found in the blood of living stars.

Everyone wields knives and justifications for butchering the living stars to get around, but once Idari knows the truth, she faces a stark choice. Either she turns Emera over to her employers who control the filamentium monopoly, or risks everything to help Emera fulfill her quest to save her people.

The choice should be simple, but it’s not losing her life that terrifies Idari. It’s finally living. Idari knows she’s human despite outwardly appearing to be an android with a failing memory stitched together by her ship’s irascible AI, CR-UX. She’s been just getting by for longer than she remembers, assured in her humanity, but not enough to risk it.

Idari has lived her entire life in darkness. The dark comforts and shields. The dark preserves in its cold, and Idari may not be able to keep her star out of her shadow.

“If James Joyce had grown up reading X-Men comics and obsessively playing Destiny, he would have written this. A breathtakingly imaginative, star-spanning romp that is equal parts swashbuckling galactic adventure and lyrical introspection about love and identity.”

– Wayne Santos, author of The Chimera Code

Continue reading “Cover Reveal: Stargun Messenger – Darby Harn” →

Book Review: Eleventh Cycle (Mistland #1) – Kian N. Ardalan

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Review, Self-PublishedLeave a comment

Hello!

Today I am sharing my review for Eleventh Cycle by Kian Ardalan, the first book in the Mistland series. This was a book that I really wanted to love, but as you will see from the length (and I apologise…I think this is my longest review to date) that didn’t happen. There is so much potential in this book, and it has some of the most spectacular worldbuilding, but it turned out not to be the book for me.

Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.

Book Summary:

It has been a thousand years since the last Seed abandoned their duty. The mists are closing in. Finally, the Morning Bell tolls. A new Seed is born, but is it too late?

The rot eats away at mortals. The Witnesses pray so that they may not turn into one of the forgotten. And the constricting mists infect the lands with fear.

But there is more to this tale than just the Elders and their Seeds. Four mortals will have a part to play in Minethria’s fate. A farmer girl with only love in her eyes. A warrior born to the life of a refugee. A highborn stuck between the realm of gods and men. And a woman running into front lines and away from home.

Will the cycle finally be completed? Or will the mist swallow all?

“A seed is born and the evil is slain, so doth another cycle commence. Yet the last Seed born hath turned traitor, and the mists which had been pushed back, returneth.”

Continue reading “Book Review: Eleventh Cycle (Mistland #1) – Kian N. Ardalan” →

Cover Reveal: Orphan Planet (Odyssey Earth Series #1) – Rex Burke

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Cover Reveal, Sci-FiLeave a comment

Hello!

Today it is my pleasure to be helping out with the cover reveal for Orphan Planet by Rex Burke. This is the first book in the Odyssey Earth series and is available for preorder now (see links below), and will be released on the 18th April.

Book Summary:

With Earth in crisis, humans are travelling deep into space. But humanity’s future just took a wrong turn.

A seventeen-year colony-ship voyage – a straight shot to a new planet. Handpicked, single-minded crew, and a thousand settlers in hypersleep. No children, no families, no fuss.

That was the plan, anyway.

Captain Juno Washington commands a ship of loners and oddballs. The teenagers of the Odyssey Earth didn’t ask to be born, and face an uncertain future. And Jordan Booth really didn’t want to be woken up early.

After an unexpected change of course, relationships are tested like never before. If they listen to advice, pull together and stop squabbling, they might just make it.

Yeah, right. Good luck with that.

Continue reading “Cover Reveal: Orphan Planet (Odyssey Earth Series #1) – Rex Burke” →

Blog Tour (Book Spotlight): The Way of Unity (Velspar – Elegies Book 1) – Sarah K. Balstrup

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Book Spotlights, FantasyLeave a comment

Hello!

Today I am joining the Escapist Books blog tour for The Way of Unity by Sarah K. Balstrup with a spotlight post featuring a extract to whet your appetites.

Please do check out the other stops on the tour.

Book Summary:

The Seven Lands of Velspar put their faith in the Intercessors, a psychic priesthood responsible for the purification of the spirit. Where passion flares, they soothe its intent. Those who cannot be soothed, are cast out, their spirits destroyed by fire.

The Intercessors are mystics of the highest order, but Velspar’s ruling Skalens believe their power has grown too great.

Surviving the Intercessor’s murder plot against her family, Sybilla Ladain rises to power. The Skalens come together under the banner of her grief, bringing the practice of Intercession to its brutal, bloody end.

Yet victory brings Sybilla no peace. In time, she will have to face the people of Velspar, forced to live in a psychically alienated world, and a band of rebels led by an escaped Intercessor set on her annihilation.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Spotlight): The Way of Unity (Velspar – Elegies Book 1) – Sarah K. Balstrup” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): Chronicles from the World of Guilt – Chris Durston

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Indie, ReviewLeave a comment

Hello!

After A WEEK and train wifi playing absolute havoc with my attempts to get this post up and running, I’m delighted to be belatedly joining the blog tour for Chronicles from the World of Guilt by Chris Durston, a book that caught me by surprise.

Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.

Book Summary:

What is Guilt?

Is it an enormous flying whale? Maybe an alien, come from deep space to punish us? Some call it an angel or a god, others a demon.

What nobody can deny is that it is the end.

These tales chronicle the story of the Earth in the centuries after the apocalypse: struggles for survival against twisted, horrific foes; small moments of kindness and warmth in the dark; life going on, even as the whole world changes.

These are the Chronicles from the World of Guilt.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): Chronicles from the World of Guilt – Chris Durston” →

Cover Reveal: The Necessity of Rain – Sarah Chorn

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Cover Reveal, FantasyLeave a comment

Hello!

Today it is my honour and pleasure to reveal the cover for The Necessity of Rain by Sarah Chorn which is coming 27th June 2023 and is available for preorder now! There is also an extract from the book (and oh your hearts are not ready for this one) to whet your appetite.

Book Summary:

It begins with a butterfly in chains.

Since the dawn of time, life has been comfortable and predictable. The gods have wrested pockets of Creation from Chaos, formed civilizations, and built entire realities. Now, the nature of Creation is changing and the Divine are losing their divinity.

Rosemary, daughter of the God of Creation, can no longer deny this when a strange delegation from Dawnland braves the paths through Chaos and survives. Come to negotiate trade and protection agreements with the Divine of Meadowsweet, it is the butterfly woman who so captivates Rosemary. The weight of her sorrow, the heaviness of her secrets.

For the soul is a battleground. Clouds are massing along the horizon, and Rosemary… 

She must survive the storm.

Continue reading “Cover Reveal: The Necessity of Rain – Sarah Chorn” →

Blog Tour (Book Spotlight): Ghostly Howls – Stephanie Hansen

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Book Spotlights, Paranormal, RomanceLeave a comment

Hello!

Today I am joining the Escapist Tours blog tour with a spotlight for Ghostly Howls by Stephanie Hansen, a paranormal romance novella.

Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.

Book Summary:

Irish folklore meets small town USA

A heartbroken half banshee, a cockle selling soul possessor, and a town haunted by mysteries…if they don’t find the killer, Orla and Molly might die before finding their soulmates.

Orla and Dave’s love has been unrequited for as long as they can remember. Cormac and Molly are used to drawing outside the lines. None of them are prepared for the new ghostly neighbors.

In a town that’s always ostracized them, can Molly and Orla finally use their powers openly in order to save the citizens?

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Spotlight): Ghostly Howls – Stephanie Hansen” →

Blog Tour (Guest Post): ‘My Journey to Romance’ – Dan Fitzgerald (The Delve)

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Guest Post, Romance, Self-PublishedLeave a comment

Hello,

It is my pleasure to be joining the Escapist Book Tours blog tour for The Delve by Dan Fitzgerald. This book is the first in a new trilogy of standalones, set in the same world as the Maer Cycle (but you do not need to have read them to enjoy this book). You can check out my review for The Delve here as I was lucky enough to read an ARC – and this book was one of my favourite reads for 2022!

Today, I am delighted to welcome Dan to the blog with a fantastic guest post about his journey to writing romance, it’s a fantastic post, very open and personal and for me incredibily relatable; and I want to thank Dan for sharing this post.

Book Summary:

The sword wants what it wants.

The Deepfold mine has gone dark on the eve of war. Without its supply of brightstone, the Maer’s technological advantage over the humans will evaporate. A rising knight named Yglind has earned his Forever Blade and been sent on a quest to uncover the cause of the blackout. Joined by his trusted squire Ardo and a prickly mage named Aene, Yglind hopes to cement his legacy and the Maer’s chance at victory in the coming war.

Inside the Deepfold, they are plunged into a world of bloodshed and chaos. Unknown foes have slaughtered many of the miners, and a gruesome dragon stalks the dark tunnels. While taking refuge in the mine’s impregnable keep, Yglind and Ardo seek solace in each other’s arms and the courage to face the cruel forces arrayed against them.

With their civilization hanging in the balance, they strike out against the invaders as their quest hurtles toward its bloody end.

The Delve is a fast-paced spicy romantic fantasy, the first in the Time Before trio of linked standalones, set 2,000 years before the Maer Cycle trilogy and the Weirdwater Confluence duology. The series are independent and can be read in any order.

Author’s note: this book contains explicit, consensual sex scenes, violence, gore, and death, and is not intended for readers under the age of eighteen.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Guest Post): ‘My Journey to Romance’ – Dan Fitzgerald (The Delve)” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): A Shade of Madness (The Ashes of Avarin #2) – Thiago Abdalla

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Review, Self-PublishedLeave a comment

Hello!

Today it’s my pleasure to be joining the Escapists Books blog tour for A Shade of Madness by Thiago Abdalla, the second book in the Ashes of Avarin series and sequel to the SPFBO finalist A Touch of Light. You can find my review for book one HERE, and please do check out the rest of the stops on the tour!

Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.

Book Summary:

Avarin tumbles into madness through the shattered ruin of a centuries-old peace.

As griffin riders clash against airships above and hordes of madmen below, Lynn finds herself surrounded by enemies. Ones that will test the limits of her faith. To defeat them, she must risk everything… including her sanity.

Adrian has lost the Legion, but new magics on foreign shores might be the answer he needs to rebuild his army. His return to the Domain will bring vengeance, and the hope that he will finally prove himself to his father.

Nasha’s curse has taken on a new, terrifying shape. She dreads it could be just what the dead goddess needs to escape from Her prison within the Silent Earth. Will she be strong enough to resist, or will Nasha’s curse give rise to the monster she fears to become?

Madness is spreading and it cares not for the borders of men.

A Shade of Madness is the second book in the Ashes of Avarin series, picking up straight after the exciting conclusion of A Touch of Light.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): A Shade of Madness (The Ashes of Avarin #2) – Thiago Abdalla” →