Category: Historical

Blog Tour (Book Review): Shield Breaker (The Wolf of Kings #2)- Richard Cullen

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Historical, Review, Traditionally-PublishedLeave a comment

Hello!

Much later than intended thanks to a chaotic week and a poorly dog, but today I am joining the blog tour for Shield Breaker by Richard Cullen. This is the second book in The Wolf of Kings series, and after reading the first book Oath Bound out of interest last year I was delighted to be invited to read and review book two.

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

Book Summary:

Styrkar the warrior sails to dangerous lands in this thrilling new historical adventure from Richard Cullen. The sequel to Oath Bound, longlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 2022.

England, 1068: a land gripped in the iron fist of Frankish invaders. But the Conqueror does not sit easily on his fledgling throne. Rebellion is rife, and the flames of uprising have been ignited in every corner of the kingdom.

Thrown back into this crucible is Styrkar the Dane, former housecarl of the slain King Harold. Forced to travel to Ireland by his deadliest enemy, he must risk the fates of his brothers-in-arms in order to protect the one thing he loves.

So begins a journey that will take Styrkar to the royal court of Dublin, and the frigid climes of the north of England, for loyalty, love and vengeance. He will be tested, beaten and broken, but can any man keep the Red Wolf chained for long?

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): Shield Breaker (The Wolf of Kings #2)- Richard Cullen” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): Hag of the Hills (The Bronze Sword Cycles Duology) – J.T.T. Ryder

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

Hello!

Today I am delighted to be joining the Escapist Tours blog tour for Hag of the Hills by J.T.T. Ryder, the first book in the Bronze Sword Cycles Duology.

If you want to check out the book for yourself, then it is currently available FREE on amazon from May 2nd – May 6th!

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

Book Summary:

“Nothing is unconquerable; even our gods can die.”

All his life, Brennus has been destined for warriorhood. However, a farmer’s life doesn’t provide many opportunities for swordplay and glory, despite the Goddess of Winter’s gift of the Sight—the ability to see the sidhe of the Otherworld. But when the Hillmen kill his family and annihilate his clan, he knows the truth—no one can avenge his homeland but himself.

As he prepares to set out against the Hillmen and their Queen, the clan’s chief druid entrusts his daughter, Myrnna, to his protection, to which Brennus swears a solemn oath. As they fight toward the sanctuary of Dun Torrin, he must survive the endless hordes of Hillman and the monstrous sidhe while shielding Myrnna from harm, aided only by the Sight, a band of shifty mercenaries, and an ancient bronze sword.

As Brennus struggles through this new world of blood and magic, the tension between protecting Myrnna and avenging his homeland threatens to tear him apart. Failure means the curse of dishonour. Victory would bring glory to himself and his ancestors. But what if keeping both of his promises proves impossible?

In the words of his father…

“Nothing is unconquerable; even our gods can die.”

Hag of the Hills is the first book in The Bronze Sword Cycles duology, a heroic fantasy set in 200 B.C. on the Isle of Skye, steeped in Celtic mythology and culture.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): Hag of the Hills (The Bronze Sword Cycles Duology) – J.T.T. Ryder” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): The Carnival of Ash – Tom Beckerlegge

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Historical, Review1 Comment

Hello!

Today I am joining The Write Reads blog tour for The Carnival of Ash by Tom Beckerlegge.

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

Book Summary:

Cadenza is the City of Words, a city run by poets, its skyline dominated by the steepled towers of its libraries, its heart beating to the stamp and thrum of the printing presses in the Printing Quarter.

Carlo Mazzoni, a young wordsmith arrives at the city gates intent on making his name as the bells ring out with the news of the death of the city’s poet-leader. Instead, he finds himself embroiled with the intrigues of a city in turmoil, the looming prospect of war with their rival Venice ever-present. A war that threatens not only to destroy Cadenza but remove it from history altogether…

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): The Carnival of Ash – Tom Beckerlegge” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): No Gods, Only Monsters (Antiquity Chronicles) – Steve McHugh

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

Hello!

Today I am delighted to be joining the Escapist Tours blog tour for No Gods, Only Monsters by Steve McHugh which out in the world tomorrow!!

Please do check out the rest of the tour stops, and there is also a chance to win a copy of this fantastic book for yourself at the end of the post.

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

Book Summary:

Diana, the Roman Goddess of the hunt, lives alone on the far edge of the Roman Empire. When an old friend arrives looking for help, Diana finds herself thrust back into her old life, and old problems.

With innocent lives caught in the crossfire, Diana realizes that the only way to ensure the safety of her friends and loved ones is to do what she does best: hunt her enemies down.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): No Gods, Only Monsters (Antiquity Chronicles) – Steve McHugh” →

Blog Tour (Book Spotlight): The Blood of Outcasts (The Bane Sword Trilogy #1) – D.A. Smith

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Book Spotlights, Fantasy, HistoricalLeave a comment

Hello!

Today I am delighted to be joining the blog tour for The Blood of Outcasts by D.A. Smith organised by Escapist Tours. This is the first book in The Bane Sword Trilogy, and below you’ll find an extract and a chance to win a copy for yourself. Please do check out the rest of the tour.

Book Summary:

What if spilling your own blood was the only way to save yourself?

Masako escapes the Lord Council with only her life intact, her clan shattered and master dead in wake of disaster she wrought. It is her cursed blood that cries out, and a godsborne that answers.

By the power in her blood, and a promise made with it, she’s given a second chance. With it, she must unite the outer clans, move past old rivalries and worse, or face annihilation at the hands of a foreign sect of sorcerers, the Taosii, and their silent invasion.

Only, Masako was executed, she’s meant to be dead. Demonic rumours and a destructive past sow doubt in her campaign before it is begun.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Spotlight): The Blood of Outcasts (The Bane Sword Trilogy #1) – D.A. Smith” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): Born of No Woman – Franck Bouysse, Lara Vergnaud (translator)

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Historical, Review, Traditionally-Published1 Comment

Hello!

Something a little different today, as I am reviewing Born of No Woman by Franck Bouysse and translated by Lara Vergnaud as part of the Random Things Blog Tour, and I hope you’ll check out the rest of the blogs on the tour as well as this impactful book.

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

Book Summary:

Nineteenth-century rural France.

Before he is called to bless the body of a woman at the nearby asylum, Father Gabriel receives a strange, troubling confession: hidden under the woman’s dress he will find the notebooks in which she confided the abuses she suffered and the twisted motivations behind them.

And so Rose’s terrible story comes to light: sold as a teenage girl to a rich man, hidden away in a old manor house deep in the woods and caught in a perverse web, manipulated by those society considers her betters.

A girl whose only escape is to capture her life – in all its devastation and hope – in the pages of her diary…

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): Born of No Woman – Franck Bouysse, Lara Vergnaud (translator)” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): A Wild Winter Swan – Gregory Maguire

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Review, Fantasy, Traditionally-Published, Historical1 Comment

Hello!

Today I am reviewing A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire as part of the Random Things Blog Tour, and you can find the rest of the schedule below. Please do check out the rest of the tour, and this fantastic book.

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

Book Summary:

Following her brother’s death and her mother’s emotional breakdown, Laura now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in a lonely townhouse she shares with her old-world, strict, often querulous grandparents. But the arrangement may be temporary. The quiet, awkward teenager has been getting into trouble at home and has been expelled from her high school for throwing a record album at a popular girl who bullied her. When Christmas is over and the new year begins, Laura may find herself at boarding school in Montreal.

Nearly unmoored from reality through her panic and submerged grief, Laura is startled when a handsome swan boy with only one wing lands on her roof. Hiding him from her ever-bickering grandparents, Laura tries to build the swan boy a wing so he can fly home. But the task is too difficult to accomplish herself. Little does Laura know that her struggle to find help for her new friend parallels that of her grandparents, who are desperate for a distant relative’s financial aid to save the family store.

As he explores themes of class, isolation, family, and the dangerous yearning to be saved by a power greater than ourselves, Gregory Maguire conjures a haunting, beautiful tale of magical realism that illuminates one young woman’s heartbreak and hope as she begins the inevitable journey to adulthood.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): A Wild Winter Swan – Gregory Maguire” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): The Ancient Ones (The Ancient Ones #1) – Cassandra L. Thompson

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Indie, Review3 Comments

Hello!

Today is my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Ancient Ones’ by Cassandra L. Thompson organised by Storytellers on Tour, this is the first book in The Ancient Gods trilogy and the second book in the series ‘Liminality’ is due for release on the 31st October!

I hope that you will check out the book and the author, and enjoy the rest of the tour with the schedule in the banner below or (HERE).

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

Book Summary:

Some things are not meant to die…

When David stumbles upon a tragic young woman in a sordid Limehouse pub, he has no idea she’d recognize him as the last vampyre alive, nor that she’d be the one to pull out his story. Yet as he recalls his life from the sweltering vineyards of Ancient Rome to the cold horrors of Medieval Romania – as well as his tumultuous past with the mad and mysterious Lucius – he realizes she is much more than what she seems.

Gothic horror and mythological fantasy blend seamlessly together in this thrilling adventure, breathing new life into vampire lore as it reveals its true origins. The Ancient Ones is a tale of myth, mayhem, and magic … with a dash of romance that bites.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): The Ancient Ones (The Ancient Ones #1) – Cassandra L. Thompson” →

Blog Tour (Book Review): Tarō – Blue Spruell, Miya Outlaw (Illustrator)

On By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Historical, Indie, ReviewLeave a comment

Hello!
A belated review for Tarō by Blue Spruell as part of the Loves Book Tour. I’ve always been interested in anything to do with Japan, and I love their folktales so I leapt at the chance to read this one.

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

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Book Summary:

Lost in the mists of Mount Fuji . . . but no one can escape destiny. . . .
Orphaned by a rival warlord and bewitched by a ghost, young Tarō must reclaim his birthright and find his destiny as the legendary boy samurai and hero of Japan.

Accompanied by Tanuki, his shape-shifting badger sidekick, Tarō embarks on a quest of self-discovery and revenge, falls for Kamehime, the teenage samurai daughter of a powerful warlord, and ultimately becomes embroiled in the political struggle for the imperial throne. Along the way, Tarō and his allies face fearsome yōkai, the ghosts, goblins, and ghouls of Japanese folklore.

Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): Tarō – Blue Spruell, Miya Outlaw (Illustrator)” →

Book Spotlight: It Happened in Silence – Karla M. Jay

On By Rowena AndrewsIn BBNYA, Book Spotlights, HistoricalLeave a comment

Hello!

Today I am delighted to be hosting a spotlight for ‘It Happened in Silence’ by Karla M. Jay a semi-finalist in BBNYA 2021.

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This year, the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the 65 books that made it into Round Two with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title. BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 10 finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Continue reading “Book Spotlight: It Happened in Silence – Karla M. Jay” →