Blog Tour (Book Review): The Skin (Black Hind’s Wake #1) – J.E. Hannaford

On Oct 20, 2021Oct 20, 2021 By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Review, Self-Published6 Comments

Hello!

Today I’m delighted to be reviewing ‘The Skin’ by J. E. Hannaford as part of the blog tour organised by Storytellers on Tour. This is the first book in the Black Hind’s Wake series, and what a way to start a series! I absolutely loved this book, and there is a chance to win a copy of this one for yourself at the end of the post.

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 Review:

You cannot fix this world alone, Selkie.’

‘I know. But, when we die, all that is left are shadows of our lives preserved in the memories of those who remain. I plan on leaving an exceptionally long shadow, filled with ripples of moonlight for those I helped, and darker than the worst of nightmares for those who wronged us.’

How far would you go to save your skin?

I’m a selkie, trapped above the waves until I can recover my skin. Humans used to call us seal-wives many years ago – before they broke the planet. Up here, the magic is fading and Old Ones like me are traded as trophies for rich and powerful humans to display in collections.

Without the Old Ones, the magic fades, without magic, the planet dies.

Humankind has gone too far and someone has to put a stop to it. I just wasn’t expecting it to be me.

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Book Review: The Echoed Realm (The Chaos Cycle Duology #2) – A.J. Vrana

On Aug 10, 2021 By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, IFA Summer Challenge 2021, Indie, Review1 Comment

Hello!

Today I am delighted to be reviewing The Echoed Realm, the second book in The Chaos Cycle Duology by A.J. Vrana which is out in the world TODAY. The first book in the series – The Hollow Gods – was one of the first books I ever requested on netgalley (you can find the review HERE), and it blew me away so I leapt at the chance to read and review an arc of The Echoed Realm and Dreamwalker I loved this book!

Parliament House Press is also releasing special hardback editions of both books on October 26th of this year, and the pre-order campaign is up and as pre-order incentives all hardbacks are signed and come with a custom-made bookplate and a postcard of new character art. (You can check these out below – as well as the stunning cover for the book – the cover for The Hollow Gods is still to be revealed!

You can pre-order HERE

*****

Disclaimer – I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.

Book Summary:

Miya’s world ended in Black Hollow.

It’s been three years since the Dreamwalker upended her life and left her with a heavy burden. A fledgling to the ethereal realm, Miya stumbles into the nightmares of those haunted by spectres. Little does she know, one of them is coming for her, clutching a dark secret abreast.

Kai has found a new purpose with his companion, but the price is his freedom. Bound and beholden to Miya, he struggles to adjust to his new role as her vanguard.

Meanwhile, Mason discovers he may be a pawn trapped in a web of schemes. Was his time in Black Hollow an accident, or was it only the beginning of some greater machination?

As Black Hollow’s bloody stain spreads beyond its wooded borders, Miya fights to evade a past she barely understands. The Dreamwalker’s legacy is a vise grip, and it isn’t letting go. Primordial horrors draw near, fables come alive, and long-buried histories rise from the grave, ready to hunt.

Sharpen your claws and bloody your teeth. There’s fear to be sown.

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Blog Tour (Book Review) – To Dream and Die as a Taniwha Girl (Yarnsworld #5) – Benedict Patrick

On Nov 19, 2020Nov 19, 2020 By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Review, Self-Published3 Comments

Hello!

Today is my stop on the blog tour for ‘ To Dream and Die as a Taniwha Girl’ by Benedict Patrick organised by Storytellers on Tour. The Yarnsworld books have been on my radar for a while, so I leapt at the chance to read this one, and I have read the rest of the series too and will be posting the reviews for those at a later date . 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 was given a copy this book in exchange for an honest review.’

Book Summary:

There is a price to pay for becoming a story.

Kaimana has defied the gods and won the freedom to spend the rest of her days travelling the collection of tropical islands she calls home.

But the people of the islands have taken notice of her.

They have started to tell her story; for many children, one of their favourite fireside tales is now that of the Taniwha Girl, the brave woman who befriends monsters.

Some islanders even pray to her.

The gods are displeased, but they are not the only ones paying attention to Kaimana’s rise to fame. On the borders of the island ring, an ancient demon – an old enemy of the Crescent Atoll – spreads its influence, and a spider-faced figure shadows Kaimana’s movements.

To secure her own safety, and that of her island home, Kaimana has to make a choice: turn her back on the people of the Crescent Atoll and continue enjoying the life she has won for herself, or give up all she holds dear to live up to the legend of the Taniwha Girl.

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Blog Tour (Book Review) – The Naseby Horses – Dominic Brownlow

On Aug 23, 2020 By Rowena AndrewsIn Literary Fiction, Mystery, Review2 Comments

Hello!

Today is my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Naseby Horses’ by Dominic Brownlow, organised by Damppebbles Blog Tours. I hope that you will check out both the author and the book, as well as the rest of the blogs involved in the tour.

Disclaimer: ‘I was given a copy this book in exchange for an honest review.’

9781999630560

Book Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Simon’s sister Charlotte is missing. The lonely Fenland village the family recently moved to from London is odd, silent, and mysterious. Simon is epileptic and his seizures are increasing in severity, but when he is told of the local curse of the Naseby Horses, he is convinced it has something to do with Charlotte’s disappearance. Despite resistance from the villagers, the police, and his own family, Simon is determined to uncover the truth, and save his sister.

Under the oppressive Fenland skies and in the heat of a relentless June, Simon’s bond with Charlotte is fierce, all-consuming, and unbreakable; but can he find her? And does she even want to be found?

Drawing on philosophy, science, and the natural world, The Naseby Horses is a moving exploration of the bond between a brother and his sister; of love; and of the meaning of life itself.

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Book Review: The Hollow Gods -A.J.Vrana

On Mar 2, 2020Apr 28, 2020 By Rowena AndrewsIn Fantasy, Horror, Review4 Comments

Hello!

I have been a little distracted the last week or so and bouncing between books. I have started ‘Beyond Redemption’ by Michael R. Fletcher, and I have been listening to the audiobook (a new format for me) of ‘Celtic Empire’ by Clive Cussler, who I was very sad to learn had passed away. He is my favourite non-fantasy author after I picked up a copy of ‘Trojan Odyssey’ while on holiday nearly fifteen years ago, and since then I have read all but a few of his books.

Disclaimer e-copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Hollow Gods

Book Summary

Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret.

For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: occasionally, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead.

When Kai wakes up next to the lifeless body of a recently missing girl, his memory blank, he struggles to clear his already threadbare conscience.

Miya, a floundering university student, experiences signs that she may be the Dreamwalker’s next victim. Can she trust Kai as their paths collide, or does he herald her demise?

And after losing a young patient, crestfallen oncologist, Mason, embarks on a quest to debunk the town’s superstitions, only to find his sanity tested.

A maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas, and deadly secrets loom in the foggy forests of Black Hollow. Can three unlikely heroes put aside their fears and unite to confront a centuries-old evil? Will they uncover the truth behind the fable, or will the cycle repeat?

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