Hello! In between the chaos of work, and the sheer exhaustion of adding on 30+ hours of commuting to a full time job, and with a lot of help from some truly wonderful people, I am delighted to finally be sharing a story that has lurked in my files for far too long. Legends speak […]
New Release: Elior (A short story) — Rowena Andrews
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”
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”
Hello,
Today I am catching up a long overdue review. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of Dyer Street Punk Witches from the author, and then life got turned upside down, inside out and every other word for messy that you can think of and this wonderful book has been out in the world for a few months now. So a massive thank you for the arc and an even bigger apology to the author for taking so long with the review – but I LOVED this book!
Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Book Summary:
Kit hung up her brass knuckles, but the shadows of her past always lingered. Now they’re back to claim her.
Kit “Fadulous” Hamley, magazine editor, activist and former punk rocker, is a well-known loudmouth in St Alphege’s. She works tirelessly to hold local authorities to account. Some say she’s making up for her criminal youth. Others spread rumours of witchcraft. Only a handful of people know how dark her secrets really are.
When an old friend warns Kit that a former rival has resurfaced, those secrets start to resurface. People have gone missing, with body parts and strange symbols left behind, and someone is stalking Kit. The gang she abandoned are scared stiff and her magic-wielding bandmates are long gone. Kit herself is a target, and if she can’t unravel exactly how this new feud connects with her past mistakes, it could kill her.
Decades older, a little wiser, and contrary as ever, Kit’s going to remind them all what a punk witch can do.
Get ready for a riotous ride into the seedy underbelly of St Alphege’s, where gang warfare and occult conspiracies tear ordinary lives apart. Dyer Street Punk Witches is a standalone urban fantasy thriller, packed with tough, subversive characters and tense twists – you won’t be able to put down.
Hello!
Attempt two at this as the train wifi and wordpress ate the first one. Today I am delighted to be joining the Escapists Tours blog tour for A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell by Luke Tarzian. This was my book of the year for 2022. I was honoured to be a beta reader and arc reader for this book, and I have read it countless times since. I ADORE this book, so I am glad to be able to shout about it again. Below you will find an extract to whet your appetite, as well as my review, with a few new comments in (brackets) as I’ve revisited the book this week.
There is also currently a chance to win a copy of this fantastic book for yourself over on my twitter (this is not linked to the blog tour)
Please do check out the rest of the posts from tour.
Book Summary:
BRIEFLY, A WORD ABOUT ORDER
Order is the focal point around which existence revolves. Without order there is only chaos. And in the halls of Damnation (pronounced Dam-NAWT-ion, thank you kindly) the first sign of impending chaos is a cup of tea made without the water having first been well and properly boiled in a kettle.
Why is this relevant, O nameless narrator, you ask? Who cares about the preparatory order of tea in the fires of Hell?
Lucifer, dear reader. After all, how does one expect to properly greet the newcomers to Hell without having first had a hot cup of tea to bulwark the cold?
Behold The Morning Star, frantic on the annual Morning of Souls, the arrival of Damnation’s newest recruits.
Someone has misplaced the kettle.
Continue reading “Blog Tour (Extract & Book Review): A Cup of Tea at the Mouth of Hell (Or, An Account of Catastrophe by Stoudemire McCloud, Demon) – Luke Tarzian”
Hello!
Today I am delighted to be joining the Escapists Tours blog tour for Stellar Instinct, the new spy-fi thriller by Jonathan Nevair the author of the Wind Tide trilogy (Goodbye to the Sun, Jati’s Wager, No Song But Silence). This is a fantastic book and you can check out my review HERE, and I can’t recommend it highly enough! I would also like to thank Jonathan for the fantastic post that I’m featuring today.
There is also a chance to win a copy of the book for yourself, so check out the giveaway details at the end of the post.
Please check out the rest of the stops on the tour.
****
Book Summary:
A secret agent. A gaming mastermind. Two players in a dangerous competition blurring the boundaries of entertainment and reality.
Mysterious signals pulse from an icy planet in a remote star system. GAM-OPs wants answers. Enter Lilline Renault, secret agent extraordinaire. To ordinary citizens she’s Keely Larkin, an adventure company guide with a flair for the daring and a penchant for writing trite poetry. Lilline’s at the top of the spy game, but publishing her literary work is proving harder than saving the galaxy.
When the mission uncovers a dastardly plan threatening billions of lives, Lilline leaps into action. Verses flow as she rockets through space, dons cunning disguises, and infiltrates enemy territory with an arsenal of secret gadgets. But to prevent the whims of a self-obsessed entrepreneur from turning the galaxy into a deadly playground means beating him at his own game. Lilline will need her best weapon to stand a fighting chance: her instinct.
STELLAR INSTINCT: A spy-fi thriller set in space.
Continue reading “Blog Tour (Guest Post): Jonathan Nevair ‘Escapist Thriller vs. Space Opera’”Hello!
What’s this a second review in one day? Yep, and this time I am delighted to be reviewing Bonds of Chaos by Zack Argyle, the final book in the Threadlight series. And what a way to bring this wonderful series to a close, and I still have so many thoughts and feelings over this book, and I will admit I rambled in this review – because there is so much to love.
You can read my reviews for the previous books here: Voice of War | Stones of Light
Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Book Summary:
TO BREAK THE BONDS, THERE WILL BE SACRIFICES
When all was lost, the Heralds returned, and the world embraced them as gods and saviors. But there are some who know the truth: the Heralds are not what they seem.
Now, in a desperate attempt to stop them, Chrys and the others travel to Cynosure with hopes of enlisting the only Amber threadweaver with the power to help.
Chrys, Laurel, Alverax, and those they love.
Together, they will stop the gods…or they will die trying.
Hello!
Continuing with the catch up with a review of No Land for Heroes by Cal Black, the first book in the Legends & Legacies series, and again apologies to Escapist Tours and the author for how belated this post is.
Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Book Summary:
Mildred Berry is down to her last four bullets…
In a wild west where the only things more dangerous than outlaws are dragons, Deputy Berry is struggling to protect her town and keep her family fed. As a last resort, she robs a train for ammunition only to find that the cargo she needs so badly was owned by war hero Frederic Rousseau.
The same Frederic Rousseau whom she served during the Amelior Civil War. The same Frederic Rousseau she’s been hiding from for the last five years.
Millie knows a secret that could ruin Rousseau’s life, and he’ll stop at nothing to keep her from telling the truth. With her violent past bearing down on the life she’s built for herself, Millie has to decide how far she’ll be willing to go to keep her town safe.
Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): No Land for Heroes (Legends & Legacies #1) – Cal Black”Hello!
Well life has well and truly knocked me down for the past month or so, and while everything is in disarray outside the blog, I am trying to get back into the swing of things. And first things first, that means catching up on my blog tours and reviews – and my sincerest apologies to Escapist Tours and the author for being so delayed.
These Gossamer Strings was a book I was looking forward, and delighted to have the chance to read and review, as I really enjoyed the first two books and you can find my reviews for them here: Where Shadows Lie and Whispers of Stone.
Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Book Summary:
A Silence is Broken. The River Beckons. The Forgotten Wait.
With eighteen days until her tribunal and Water Rite, Elenor must find a way to save her doena and keep her throne. The threat of war looms larger and only an alliance through marriage has the potential to save it. But who to trust when all her closest allies have secrets of their own?
The past is creeping up on them, a web of maneuvers and lies spreading back to before the fall of the DomEmpire. Gabriel can feel it constricting around them, drawing him ever closer to a future he never wanted. Confronting the truth of his heritage may be the only way to save Lirin, but at what cost?
Perhaps one the desert has already paid. Shaken after the death of the Red, the Mondaer must choose their path forward. Protect the new Gatekeeper and Incarnate as they have always done, or embrace a future without reliance on Gifts? Fedrik and Fay’s safety depends on the answer, and it’s not looking good. Would they be better off trusting Daemon, or is North right that he intends to use them as a weapon?
These Gossamer Strings is the final installment of the first arc of the Last Gift Series. Threads torn asunder are weaving back together and the Gatekeeper is coming for his Incarnate.
Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): These Gossamer Strings (The Last Gift #3) – Allegra Pescatore”
Hello!
Here is the second review for today, as it is my stop on the Escapists Tours blog tour for Whispers of Stone by Allegra Pescatore, the second book in the Last Gift Series. You can find my review for book one here, and I hope that you will check out the other blogs involved with this tour. There is also a chance to win a copy for yourself at the end of this post.
Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Book Summary:
A God is Dead. A Queen is Missing. Secrets are Unraveling.
On trial for the murder of the King, Elenor and Gabriel must become allies if they want to survive. His magic is spiraling out of control, awakening a mystery hidden in the very walls of the palace. She has one month to pass her Water Rite and find a way out of the marriage her parents set up. But things are about to get much more complicated.
Between sadistic family members intent on taking Elenor’s throne, Tirit Mindel breathing down Gabriel’s neck, and a Golden Dragon appearing in the sky above the Mondaer Desert with an ominous warning, more than the Kingdom of Lirin is at stake.
If that weren’t bad enough, time is ticking down for Fedrik and Fay as well. With the desert turning against them and Daemon as a questionable new ally, figuring out how to control Fedrik’s Gift has become a matter of life and death.
Picking up in the fallout of Where Shadows Lie, Whispers of Stone is the long-awaited and non-stop second installment of The Last Gift. Dive back into the world of Dracona and hold onto your hats. Things are about to get… salty.
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Author’s Note: While the Last Gift may be read as a stand-alone series, it is meant to be read alongside the other books of Project Ao. The Suggested Reading Order is:
Where Shadows Lie
NACL: Eye of the Storm
Whispers of Stone
These Gossamer Strings
NACL: Storm Surge (Forthcoming)
Continue reading “Blog Tour (Book Review): Whispers of Stone (The Last Gift #2) – Allegra Pescatore”
Beneath A Thousand Skies 