A little belated due to a diary blip on my part, but here is my stop on the Random Things Tour for The Nightmare Tree by Paul O’Neill.
Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Book Summary:
The debut short story collection from a fresh new voice. Thirteen tales of horror and suspense.
In the forgotten places of Scotland, terror awaits.
Contains the chilling stories: The Great Slime Kings – Three’s a Crowd – The Summer Bullet – The Only Emperor – Down Below is Silence and Darkness – Guardians – In a Jar of Spiders – We the Dark Deniers – Blocks – Nightmare Soup – The Dumps – Once Upon a Flame – The Nightmare Tree (novella).
Today is my stop on the blog tour for ‘A Ritual of Flesh’ by Lee C. Conley organised by Storytellers on Tour. This is the second book in Dead Sagas, and you can find my review of the first book ‘A Ritual of Bone’ HERE. I’ve read and reviewed A Ritual of Flesh before, and I had always planned to do a Halloween reread, so I leapt at the chance to join this tour during spooky season.
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).
Book Summary:
As evil ravages the north and the dead walk, all eyes fall to Arn… The apprentice journeys south, home to the College, unaware of the dark events that transpired in the High Passes after his departure. His leg in ruins, and haunted by watching shadows, the College council in Arn awaits him, but he does not travel south alone.
Arnulf and his warriors must travel to Arn also, with tidings for the king of the risen dead and the terrible curse which has destroyed all that he knew. Arnulf seeks vengeance upon the College, but must choose wisely if he is to save his son.
Meanwhile in the west, Bjorn and his strange Wildman companion report back to High Lord Archeon at Oldstones with grim news of cannibal Stonemen encroaching from the Barrens, but is embroiled in news of war and invasion as Archeon requests his service once more.
In the capital sickness awaits them all, Nym has fled to the city and must now continue her struggle for survival on the plague ridden streets of Arn, keeping all who she cares for safe from the halls of Old Night.
The many threads of this Saga converge on the city of Arn, but amid plague, invasion and terror, a greater darkness is looming. Dark forces are seeking to unleash evil upon Arnar, honour and renown is all, and sword, axe and shield is all that stands between the living and the grasping hands of the dead.
Today I’m delighted to be reviewing Spirits of Vengeance by Rob J. Hayes which is out in the wild now. This is the latest standalone book in the Mortal Techniques series, which I have loved since the moment I picked up Never Die and I leapt at the opportunity to read this one early – although life delayed the review until today.
Disclaimer – I received a copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own.
Book Summary:
He’ll die as many times as it takes.
The Ipian Empire was once a land that welcomed dragons and spirits alike, but a century of war and bloodshed saw them all but vanish. Now, the lost things are returning and the Onryo have gathered. Five legendary spirits with mysterious powers, bent on freeing an ancient evil that would wreak havoc on humanity.
Haruto swore his soul to the God of Death for the chance to hunt down the vengeful ghost of his wife. Now an onmyoji, he’s tasked by the Imperial Throne to hunt down monsters and malicious spirits. But he knows not all spirits are evil and not all deserve the peace of the sword.
Kira is a student at Heiwa, an academy for children with dangerous techniques. But she has a secret, she’s not like the other students. When the school is attacked, she flees with one of the tutors, determined to hide both from those who would kill her, and those who would use her.
As a plague of spirits sweeps across the land, the Onryo leave a bloody trail for Haruto to follow. But who’s hunting who?
The Mortal Techniques novels are a series of stand-alone stories that can be read entirely independently, set in the award-winning Mortal Techniques universe.
Today in a first for the blog as in conjunction with FantasyBookNerd I have a map reveal for Trudie Skies’ upcoming Gaslamp fantasy series The Cruel Gods. The first book ‘The Thirteenth Hour’ will be released 13th October 2021, and the cover reveal is next Monday and organised by Storytellers on Tour.
I have been excited for this book ever since Trudie started talking about it and sharing snippets about, and it is one of my most anticipated reads for the last part of 2021, so it was an honour to be asked to help out with the reveal. Also, I love maps (as anyone familiar with the blog will have noticed) and this one while unconventional is absolutely beautiful. However, before we get to that below is the summary for the book to whet your appetite (and even better, at the bottom you’ll find the pre-order links, because October isn’t that far away), and also an interview with the cartographer Soraya Corcoran as well as some examples of her other work, and I hope that you will check out her work.
*****
Book Summary:
When the saints fail, the sinners step up.
Cruel gods rule the steam-powered city of Chime, demanding worship and tribute from their mortal subjects. Kayl lost her faith in them long ago, and now seeks to protect vulnerable and downtrodden mortals from their gods’ whims. But when Kayl discovers powers that she didn’t know she had—and destroys a mortal’s soul by accident—she becomes Chime’s most wanted.
Quen’s job was to pursue sinners, until the visions started. Haunted by foreboding images of his beloved city’s destruction, Quen hunts soul-sucking creatures made of aether who prey on its citizens—and Kayl is his number one target.
To ensure Chime’s future, Kayl and Quen must discover the truth of Kayl’s divine abilities before the gods take matters into their own hands.
For a city that bows to cruel gods, it’ll take godless heathens to save it.
Today I am delighted to be hosting a spotlight for ‘The Twelfth Ring ’ by Sam Clarke a semi-finalist in BBNYA 2021.
**
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.
Today I am delighted to be hosting a spotlight for ‘A Game of Wings and Marks’ by Rebecca Crunden 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.
When I was invited to do a guest post on atmospheric writing, I was flattered. But I quickly ran into a problem: I don’t actively aim for atmospheric writing. So it’s not something I put tons of conscious effort into, and it’s definitely not something I have a checklist on hand to achieve.
I tried to look back and reverse engineer it, but that was making things harder than they had to be. In my experience, atmospheric writing isn’t a goal. It’s a natural outcome of my process.
I guess I should eventually explain what atmospheric writing is, and why you may or may not want it.
Atmospheric writing has a consistent tone. The very world through your characters’ eyes has a mood, almost a flavor. This is what this story FEELS like. It doesn’t mean you can’t add humor or romance or action in a story that is primarily in another genre. But it has a core identity, and it doesn’t betray that identity.
Today is my stop on the blog tour for ‘Gunmetal Gods’ by Zamil Akhtar organised by Storytellers on Tour. This is the first book in the Gunmetal Gods series, and it is also a Semi-Finalist in SPFBO 7.
I hope that you will check out the book and the authors, 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, all views are my own.’*
Book Summary:
They took his daughter, so Micah comes to take their kingdom. Fifty thousand gun-toting paladins march behind him, all baptized in angel blood, thirsty to burn unbelievers.
Only the janissaries can stand against them. Their living legend, Kevah, once beheaded a magus amid a hail of ice daggers. But ever since his wife disappeared, he spends his days in a haze of hashish and poetry.
To save the kingdom, Kevah must conquer his grief and become the legend he once was. But Micah writes his own legend in blood, and his righteous conquest will stop at nothing.
When the gods choose sides, a legend will be etched upon the stars.
Hello! Continuing the Six Recs series, I have some of those (seemingly) elusive standalones for you because sometimes you’re not in the mood for an entire series, or time is against you, and these six books are all brilliant ones to dive into.
Today I am bringing you another six recommendations, and this time I have six completed series for you to add to the TBR. I love the anticipation of waiting for the next book (albeit impatiently), but sometimes you want to sink your teeth into one that you know is complete so that you can devour them all at once. Please check out the series and authors below!
