Difference between revisions of "Newest Fantasy Reviews"

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[[Category:Fantasy|*]]
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{{newreview
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{{Frontpage
|title=The Murdstone Trilogy
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|author=A G Slatter
|author=Mal Peet
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|title=The Briar Book of the Dead
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=Teens
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|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Philip Murdstone is becoming a bit of a has-been. The once-acclaimed children's author has won ''literary'' awards, dontchaknow. Literary. Got that? But these are past glories. His novels about young outsiders are no longer anything new. In fact, his agent can't even sell his latest. And Minerva Finch, said agent, is all about what she can sell. There's nothing for it, she tells Philip, but a foray into fantasy. He's going to have to write a sword-and-sorcery epic. She's even got an A4 blueprint of what's required: realms, minions, dark lords, dwarves, elves, swords, and all the rest of it. Fantasy, you see, is selling by the ''bucketloads, containerloads, downloads''.
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|summary='' There's a part of me that wants to keep this just to myself for however long I can. This secret magic of my own, all mine, at last. I just want to enjoy it for a while.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1910200158</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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Within a remote mountain pass, far away from the world, lies Silverton; a town under the protection of the Briar's, a family of witches who protect the town and the wider world from the Darklands. Though she has always wished for magic, Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations and as such since she was young, her training as a steward revolved around letters and administration rather than spells and potions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, Ellie's cousin Audra becomes the Briar Witch, the town's leader, and Ellie takes her place beside her. As challenges come her way left, right and centre, Ellie uncovers the rare ability to communicate with the dead, putting her at the heart of a maelstrom of chaos. Reeling from one family secret to another, Ellie must decide who to trust and determine what to do as the Briar witches' legacy, everything they have sacrificed to survive, is under threat.
|title=An English Ghost Story
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|isbn=1803364548
|author=Kim Newman
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary=The Naremores, a family with a troubled past, leave London in search of peace in the quiet Somerset countryside. Finding the perfect home – 'The Hollow' – appears to symbolise a turning point and the end of all their problems. The Hollow seems possessed of a healing magic which can restore health and relationships as well as hopes and dreams. Unfortunately, the positive power of the Hollow is suddenly challenged and the family are plunged into horrors that perhaps they should have foreseen…
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781165580</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Rachel Greenlaw
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|title=Compass and Blade
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|rating=3.5
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|genre=Teens
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|summary=''I can hear the song of the sea. The call of the deep, the answering beat in my heart.''
  
{{newreview
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Rosevear, a remote and partially forgotten island, survives on luring ships into the rocks and plundering the wrecks. Mira, like her mother before her, is one of the seven who swim out to survey the ruins rescuing any survivors and any treasure that lies within. But when the Council Watch lays a trap to end the wrecking, they capture the island's leader and Mira's father. Desperate to save him from death, Mira makes a bargain with a wreck survivor who is as charming as he is secretive and with only coordinates to guide her, she sets off in search of a family secret that lies buried deep in the sea. With only nine days to unearth what might save her father, as her journey takes her from the watched streets of foreign islands to the heart of the smuggler's territory, Mira must be determined to stop at nothing to save the future of her home and the ones she holds most dear.
|title=Shifting Shadows: Stories From the World of Mercy Thompson
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|isbn=0008664730
|author=Patricia Briggs
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary=To recap, then – meet Patricia Briggs.  Besides one standalone book [[Aralorn: Masques and Wolfbsane by Patricia Briggs|Aralorn]] her many novels have been set in one universe – a world in the NW USA where all kinds of fantasy creatures live in amongst humans, whether officially or otherwise. Car mechanic Mercy Thompson is part-coyote, and therefore can shapeshift, but we've also seen how she has other minor talents in solving problems and identifying threats that other aspects of the fantasy world can deliver. Her colleagues have been fae, her best friends (and worst enemies) vampires, and she's now the partner of the region's alpha werewolf – who employs a witch as fixer; everywhere you look there is lore as to how all these species interrelate and the books drip with rules about every aspect of living beyond the mundane.  So far there is a minor trilogy set on the edges of Mercy's world, but eight major – and majorly successful – books fully focussed on her.  But Patty Briggs must clearly have a very restless imagination, and a will to narrate strong stories, and the results have also led us to this fat volume of short stories, that come from instances, characters and times scattered throughout her mythology.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0356505278</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=T Kingfisher
|author=Mark Morris
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|title=Thornhedge
|title=The Wolves of London - The Obsidian Heart Trilogy (Book 1)
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Alex Locke has grown from the young petty criminal he once was.  Now a psychology lecturer with a beautiful 5-year-old daughter he has every incentive he needs to stay straight.  It would take something devastating to make him return to his former life but devastation happens.  Alex is coerced into doing on last job: stealing a piece of heart shaped obsidian from someone it didn’t belong to in the first place. What are the consequences?  What's so special about this piece of rock?  As all hell breaks loose, Alex is about to find out.
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|summary=''You had a right to retake your place.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1781168660</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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T Kingfisher's latest novella is a lovely reimagining of a fairytale that is well known and well beloved. But whilst there is a princess trapped in a tower, sleeping under an eternal enchantment, Thornhedge is not her story. Instead, our protagonist is Toadling, who was stolen away by fairies when she was a new-born baby and secreted away to the land of fairie where her childhood was spent being taught how to draw magic from her veins and cast spells.
|author=Chrysler Szarlan
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|isbn=1803364238
|title=The Hawley Book of the Dead
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary= Revelation (Reve) Maskelyne is the latest of a long line of girls named Revelations in the Sears family. This has a significance she's unaware of as she divides her time between a happy marriage, parenthood and sharing the limelight with her husband Jeremy as illusionist team The Amazing Maskelynes. Until the day she kills Jeremy…  The tragic event triggers the realisation that someone has been stalking Reve for most of her life.  For the protection of her 15-year-old twins and 10-year-old daughter, Reve runs to Hawley Five Corners, a large New England estate that's been in the family for centuries.  Reve has always known that not all magic is illusion but now she has to rely on that.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1780891466</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Nicole Jarvis
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|title=A Portrait in Shadow
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|rating=4.5
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|genre=Historical Fiction
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|summary=''I want all of Florence to know my name''
  
{{newreview
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Cast out from Rome, Artemisia Gentileschi arrives in Florence seeking an oasis in which her art can find a home and where her future can thrive rather than stagnate. But as some as she enters Florentine society she faces great opposition from the powerful Accademia, the self-proclaimed guardians of the healing magics that through paintings have the power to protect the city and its citizens from plagues and curses. The all-male Accademia has hoarded power over art and architecture for centuries and guard it above all else. To them, Artemisia – an ambitious young woman who promises trouble and change – has no place amongst them and their society.
|title=The Free
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|isbn=1803362340
|author=Brian Ruckley
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary=The Free are a band of mercenaries - magical warriors who have travelled the world and are renowned for their skills in battle. Finally reaching a point where they can retire from war, their leader Yulan is offered one final contract - one he cannot refuse.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0356501957</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
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|author=Thomas D Lee
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|title=Perilous Times
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|rating=3
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|genre= Fantasy
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|summary= ''Hate is the path of least resistance''
  
{{newreview
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Set in the near-distant future, in a world on the verge of climate collapse, Britain is in great peril. The British Isles desperately needs a hero (or several) to save the day and rescue what little remains. What no-one expected was that one of the Knights of the Round Table would answer the call.
|title=Eren
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|isbn=0356518523
|author=Simon P Clark
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Confident Readers
 
|summary=People - Mum, mostly - are keeping secrets from Oli. Why have they had to leave London and come to live in the country with Uncle Rob? Why hasn't Dad come too? Why does everyone keep turning off the TV news every time it comes on? Why does Em's dad dislike Oli when he doesn't even know him? When will Dad come? When will life go back to normal? |amazonuk=<amazonuk>1472110978</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Amelia Estelle Dellos
|author=Edward Cox
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|title=Delilah Recovered
|title=The Relic Guild
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|rating=4
|rating=4.5
 
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=The Genii War was so devastating that now, 40 years later, the world is a dismally different place. The Labyrinth, once a hub permitting access to unlimited locations is now a prison. The police, under the control of the Resident and his especially enabled Relic Guild, maintain order.  The war may have left lasting reverberations but at least the Genii have been destroyed. If they hadn't been, combine their malevolent presence with the fact that the Relic Guild is not as strong in numbers as they once were and things could worsen considerably. Errrr… Labrys, we have a problem!
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|summary= We meet Dee at a point when her life isn't going as planned but things might, just might, be about to look up. Out of work, about to lose her flat, Dee is up for an accountant's job. But it's not to be. Dee is attacked by two men calling themselves witch hunters. She survives the attack but not unscathed. Witch hunters? What on earth has that to do with Dee? She's just an ordinary woman, living an ordinary life. Slivers of memory of things that are not ordinary at all return to her and things will never be the same....
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1473200296</amazonuk>
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|isbn=B0BKYFDLLV
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Hadeer Elsbai
|title=The Broken Eye (Lightbringer 3)
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|title=The Daughters of Izdihar
|author=Brent Weeks
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|rating=4
|rating=3.5
 
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=War is coming to the Seven Satrapies - not that most of the people in power want to admit it. The Color Prince may not have succeeded in keeping hold of his super powerful Banes yet, but he's steadily moving through the Satrapies, burning and killing everything in his path all the same.
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|summary= Drawing inspiration from Egypt, ''The Daughters of Izdihar'' explores the lives of two women who could not be more different, yet find themselves fighting for the rights of women and weavers – those with magical abilities - in a society pitted against them. Nehal, born into the upper class, wishes to attend the Weaving Academy to learn to control her abilities and then join the military, but instead she is forced into an arranged marriage with Nico. Giorgina on the other hand did not have a privileged upbringing like Nehal and feels great pressure to provide for her family and maintain their reputation, whilst secretly attending meetings of the Daughters of Izdihar – a group campaigning for women's rights. Giorgina also happens to be in love with Nico. What follows is a story of an unjust society, filled with hypocrisy and cruelty, from which blossoms a group of admirable women fighting for their rights and overcoming their personal obstacles.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1841499099</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0356520471
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Heather Fawcett
|author=Benedict Jacka
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|title=Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
|title=Hidden: An Alex Verus novel
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|rating=4
|rating=4.5
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|genre=General Fiction
|genre=Fantasy
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|summary=Emily Wilde is an expert academic scholar on faerie lore, and she has travelled extensively, and researched meticulously, to write her life's work, the very first encyclopaedia of faeriesWhilst she is brilliant at research and speaking to faeries, she is not so good with peopleSo when she finds herself far, far North in the small village of Hrafvsnik, having somehow offended the village matriarch, she is not sure what she has done, nor how to redeem herself and put her final investigations for her book back on the right trackEnter Wendell Bambleby, her dashingly handsome and insufferable rival who arrives unexpectedly, all charm and delight, much to Emily's frustrationBut why is he here?  What does he want?  And what exactly is going on with the faerie folk around Hravsnik?
|summary=Anne Walker, life mage and former good friend of Camden magic shop owner/future diviner Alex Verus is in troubleAlex would love to help her but first he has to find herMeanwhile his guilty past as a dark mage apprenticed to the less-than-nice Richard Drakh has come back to haunt himIn fact there are rumours that Richard himself is coming back to haunt Alex personally as Richard's more than mildly miffed about Alex's betrayalHang on Alex – it's going to be a bumpy ride!
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|isbn=0356519120
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0356502317</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Christopher Golden
|author=Angus Watson
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|title=Road of Bones
|title=Age of Iron (The Iron Age Trilogy)
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|rating=3.5
|rating=4.5
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|genre=Horror
|genre=Fantasy
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|summary=The Kolyma Highway… the 'Road of Bones'… the R504Stretching for over a thousand miles across Siberia, it's one of the world's most notorious routesFor months of the year it's a spread of sheet ice suspended above the permafrost surrounding it, while its 'spring' sees it turn into a huge blodge of unremitting, apocalyptic-level mud, which dries into rutted, puddly dustI don't think google streetview updates it very often.  Built because Stalin wanted so much uranium and other Siberian minerals, and because he wanted to give too many people a lesson, it legendarily cost a life every metre it coversYou can easily find documentaries about it online, but that's a bit rich, for one of our main characters, Felix 'Teig' Teigland, is a film-maker, doing a recce with his cameraman buddy, John Prentiss – who's mostly there to encourage the project to fruition to claw back some of the funds he'd invested in the pair's prior TV projects.  They pick up their oh-so-chatty local guide, gain the company of a local beauty, and fetch up at the guide's childhood villageAnd that's where things start to go awry…
|summary=Location: Here or hereabouts Date: 67BCThe Romans are coming but, before they turn up, the collection of disparate tribes they're destined to call Britannia has other problemsThere is much infighting among these mini-kingdoms and currently Dug the Warrior's region is subjected to a massive killing machine – the army of King ZadarEverything's fine though; Dug is just one of the people who want to kill himYes, there's Dug, Lowa the talented archer-ess who used to work for Zadar and Spring, a little girlSome would say that they can't get through the army of thousands that surround the King but they're going to try anyway.
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|isbn=1803361476
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0356502619</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Andrew Givler
|author=Deborah Harkness
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|title=Soul Fraud (The Debt Collection Book 1)
|title=The Book of Life
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|rating=4
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Historian witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont are back home in the 21st century but now face the tragic news of Aunt Sarah's partner, Em's death. Hard-to-get-along-with Baldwin has taken over as head of the de Clairmont clan and is making life dangerously difficult for Diana, Matthew and their unborn twins. If this isn't enough, they still need to find and remove the secret manuscript, Ashmole 782 – the Book of Life.  However, they have very dangerous competition.
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|summary=''Matt has a terrible life. Seriously—it's awful. It is so bad that Dan the Demon is shocked when Matt turns down his infernal offer: 10 years of a blissful life in exchange for his soul.''
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0755384776</amazonuk>
 
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{{newreview
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Poor Dan! I know, I know, we shouldn't feel sorry for soul-catching demons. But he really is a terrible salesman. He never hits his targets and, when he fails to get even Matt to sign on the dotted line, he's so desperate that he simply forges Matt's signature.
|title=The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic
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|isbn=1958204021
|author=Emily Croy Barker
 
|rating=3
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary=Feeling the need for a little escapism and fantasy reading, I chose this debut novel by Emily Croy Barker, expecting an enchanted but modern fairy tale for grown ups. However, I have to say, I was a little disappointed. The book starts out brilliantly, introducing us to Nora in her mundane life as she struggles to write her university thesis whilst dealing with a relationship breakdown, then by chapter two, suddenly transports the reader to a magical other-world, rather like ''Alice in Wonderland'' or ''Harry Potter''. We then follow Nora as she meets the enchanting, beautiful, Ilissa in a land where everything turns out to be too good to be true and looks are very much deceiving. Nora is literally locked into marriage with Ilissa's son Raclin and we learn that her only way out of this entrapment is through the help of magician Aruendiel, an enemy of Ilissa and from another land named Uland. A promising start, suggesting unexpected events, conflicts, a fast paced story and twists to come. Unfortunately, for me, the intrigue soon faded and the exciting plot beyond this never really materialised.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1405913096</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Olivie Blake
|title=Codex Born
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|title=The Atlas Six
|author=Jim C Hines
 
 
|rating=4
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Bands are famed for having that tricky second album syndrome, but the same can be said for authors when writing the second book in a series.  [[Libriomancer by Jim C Hines|Libriomancer]] was the first in a series that blasted onto the scene with an infectious enthusiasm that allowed you to forgive its one or two minor flaws. Could the follow up continue the momentum, or will it stagnate?
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|summary= Dark, sharp, and highly inquisitive, ''The Atlas Six'' makes its publishing debut after becoming a Tik-Tok sensation.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091953472</amazonuk>
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|isbn=1529095239
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Daniel Abraham
|title=The Ripper Affair
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|title=Age of Ash
|author=Lilith Saintcrow
 
 
|rating=4.5
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Emma Bannon, Sorcerer Prime and servant to the crown, has been locked away in her house for some time now, trying to avoid being drawn into affairs of treason and murder, thank you very much. But when Archibald Clare discovers the secret Emma has been keeping from him - in a violent incident at a court that takes the life of Clare's manservant, Valentinelli - Emma finds herself unable to avoid being thrown back into the fray. For someone sorcerous is murdering frails in the darker corners of Londinium, and though Emma would rather Clare spend time resting and recovering his faculties, she soon starts to realise that they may be the only ones capable of stopping whatever danger is blooming in the night.
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|summary= We meet Alys under the most northerly of Oldgate's four bridges, she has a knife in her hand and a meeting that she dreads.   Meanwhile the City of Kithamar is at a point in the turning of years when the worlds are at their thinnest and all things are possible. It is the night between the funeral of a Prince and the coronation of his successor.  For a night the Kithamar is un-ruled.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0356500942</amazonuk>
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|isbn=0356515427
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author= Ann Sei Lin
|author=Ben Peek
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|title= Rebel Skies
|title=The Godless
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|rating= 5
|rating=4.5
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|genre= Teens
|genre=Fantasy
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|summary= Kurara has spent her entire life as a servant on the Midori, a massive dining hall floating in the sky where soldiers of the Empire come to drink and make merry between their conquests. However, when a man named Himura arrives to tell her that she is a Crafter like him, someone with the power to form paper into whatever she desires – a power sought after all across the Empire. He asks her to come with him, to leave the life of dreary servitude that is all she has known. Well, soon Kurara won't have any say in the matter, because the Midori is destroyed by a monstrous paper spirit known as a shikigami, and she is forced to flee out into the world. She joins Himura aboard the Orihime, a sky-ship whose express purpose is to hunt down shikigami, and a whole world of adventure awaits her…
|summary=These are strange times in Mieera, the land made from the bodies of dead gods. The Leeran army is closing in on a Mieera defended only by a scratch army of citizens and The Dark, a band of mercenary saboteurs led by cynically tough Bueralan. Ayae the cartographer's apprentice has a more personal crisis. She's pulled from a burnt out building alive and totally unscathed.  This can only mean one thing: she's one of the cursed. As the effects of this newly endowed immortality hit her she must decide what to do.  Zaifyr, the mysterious charmed man, has some ideas but then so do the sinister Keepers which doesn't help much.  Meanwhile that army is getting closer…
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|isbn=1406399590
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1447251245</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|isbn=B09Q3P283Y
|author=John Hornor Jacobs
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|title=Shadebringer
|title=The Incorruptibles
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|author=Grayson W Hooper
|rating=3.5
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|rating=4
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=Fisk and Shoestring are a couple of the mercenaries paid to guard Ruman high born Cornelius and his family of spoilt, back-biting in-fighters on board their steamer, The Cornelian.  The exception to the continuous badly-mooded is Cornelius' daughter, the healer, Livia. She seems to have struck up a rapport with Fisk; the reason why they get on so well seems hidden in a dark secret that Shoe hopes to crack if they live that long. The truth is that life is cheap – the Stretchers roam the land, bloodthirsty and dangerous ensuring that Fisk and Shoe earn every penny Cornelius allows them.
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|summary=Clyde Robbins signs up for the US Army during the Vietnam War. He's not really that invested in the fight against Communism, nor is he particularly interested in a career in the military. If he's honest - which Clyde usually is, with himself at least - he hasn't got many choices and this one, at least, gets him out of the rut he's in. He's good in training and is quickly put onto a non commissioned officer training course. He's chuffed with himself.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>057513366X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Jennifer Saint
|author=Karen Maitland
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|title=Elektra
|title=The Vanishing Witch
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|rating=4
|rating=4.5
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|genre=Literary Fiction
|genre=Historical Fiction
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|summary='Elektra' by Jennifer Saint tells the story of three women who live in the heavily male dominated world of Ancient Greece. Cassandra, Clytemnestra, and Elektra are all bit players in the story of the Trojan War. Yet Jennifer Saint shows us that often the silent women have the most compelling stories and the most extreme furies.
|summary=More and higher taxes are being levied on the English by teenage King Richard II and his uncle/advisor John of Gaunt to pay for the wars against France. They may cause annoyance to the rich but they're breaking the poor, people like Lincolnshire river boat man Gunter and his family.  Meanwhile some of the better off are facing problems from other quarters. Cloth merchant Robert of Bassingham is losing his stock before it arrives due to theft and unrest among the weavers in Flanders.  It's not a good time to be English and eventually something will snap; we're heading towards 1831 and the peasants will be revolting.
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|isbn=1472273915
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>147221501X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Dean Koontz
|author=Jaye Wells
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|title=Quicksilver
|title=Cursed Moon: Prospero's War: Book Two
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|rating=2.5
|rating=5
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|genre=Thrillers
|genre=Fantasy
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|summary=Meet Quinn Quicksilver. He's not had the chance to get to be a mercurial character yet, for he's lived in a nun-run orphanage since he was a three-day old foundling, and now is starting a career on a needless magazine's staff. But when this book starts he IS now ''subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind'', for something – call it unearthly intuition, call it mind-control, call it a supernatural urge – has demanded of him that he go to a derelict diner, find a gold coin worth a fortune, cash the value of it out of his bank and prepare for going on the lam. And all this is just in time for two of those typical Men in Black types to turn up and suggest he's of interest to them. Helped to escape, he finds his flight is interrupted by other instances of him acting without being in control, the discovery that he is not unique in having some kind of burgeoning power – and a whole lot more besides.
|summary=It's now six weeks since Kate Prospero saved her brother Danny's life by cooking the illegal dirty magic antidote to her Uncle Abe's poisonous recipe.  Abe is safely in prison but Kate, as an MEA cop trained to track and punish practitioners of dirty magic, now has a secret. There are also other matters clawing at her mind.  A series of thefts and murders is disrupting Babylon, causing it to become more dangerous by the day - and that's saying something!  Indeed as the Halloween new moon approaches the murder and mayhem will increase. Meanwhile Kate is discovering even older secrets than hers which cause her to question everything she's been brought up to believe.
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|isbn=1542019885
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>035650302X</amazonuk>
 
 
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{{Frontpage
{{newreview
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|author=Tasha Suri
|title=The Widow's House (Dagger and the Coin)
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|title=The Jasmine Throne
|author=Daniel Abraham
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|rating=4
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=The fourth in Daniel Abraham’s majestic The Dagger and the Coin series has pretty much everything you can want in an epic fantasy adventure – even more so than the first three. There’s action, war, politics, betrayal, great relationships between family and friends. There’s a surprising amount of laughter here, even if it’s all rather bleak, as some of the heroes are using gallows humour to cope with the amount of death and destruction they're forced to see. Even better than any of this, though, is the superb characterisation. Abraham has given us perhaps half a dozen character arcs which are absolutely masterful. From the widowed woman trying to save her country by betraying its leader, while juggling an inappropriate romance with a servant (these two are probably my favourite couple ever), to a villain who manages to be simultaneously evil enough to make your skin crawl yet often pitiable and, sometimes, even likeable, all of the main players here are brilliantly portrayed.  I also think the dialogue here is outstanding, hugely quotable.
+
|summary= On the night of her sacred burning, Princess Malini defies her brother and refuses to step on to the pyre. She is immediately sent to be imprisoned on the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once filled with a community of people who got powers from the mysterious deathless waters. But now the temple is nothing more than an overgrown, decaying ruin. One day, Malini witnesses a girl kill someone with magic. Instead of reporting her for such a gruesome crime, Malini claims that the girl saved her from an attacker and begs for the girl to become her own personal maidservant.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0356504697</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0356515648
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Genevieve Gornichec
|author=AJ Smith
+
|title=The Witch's Heart
|title=The Dark Blood (The Long War)
+
|rating=4
|rating=5
 
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=The lands of Ro are slowly being subjugated by the evil sorceresses known as The Seven Sisters. Their only hope is to kill them and only one man is up to the task: the Dark Blood assassin, Rham Jas.  He chooses master forger and fixer Kale as his assistant but, as this will reduce Kale's life expectancy markedly, Kale's not keen.  Meanwhile Utha, albino Black Order cleric, his squire Randall, axe maiden Halla Summer Wolf, Timon the Butcher et al are dragged into a bloody conflict during which they have to fight for more than just their own survival.
+
|summary= A modern and approachable reimagining of the Norse myths that centres around a witch named Angrboda. She hides in a forest at the edge of the nine worlds, remembering nothing of her past life but that fact that she was survived burnt at the stake three times because of Odin's wrath. Her attempts to live in peace, however, are quickly thwarted when Loki shows up with her literal heart—the one that was cut from her chest before she was tied to the stake—and refuses to leave her alone. After an initial period of mistrust, Angrboda begins to fall for Loki's charms, and the two start an unusual family made of up a half-dead daughter, a son that's a wolf, and another son that's a snake.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>178185226X</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=1789097061
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=Hannah Whitten
|author=Guy Adams
+
|title=For the Wolf
|title=The Rain-Soaked Bride
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=The last thing that the afflicted people see before their death is a wet woman in white.  The last thing they feel is their own personal rain cloud soaking them while everywhere else remains dry.  All also happen to be in top government jobs.  What's happening?  British Intelligence Department 37 (in the form of August Shining and Toby Greene) is there to find out.  This may not be the full extent of the problems facing them though; not with a South Korean delegation coming to the UK for talks and August's sister April wanting to get in on the act.
+
|summary=In Red's family, the first daughter becomes queen, and the second daughter becomes a sacrifice. To Red's misfortune, she is the second daughter. Sent alone into the woods with nothing but the cape on her back, Red knows what to expect: within the woods is a wolf, and he is the one who will decide the fate of their kingdom. If she is not a worthy sacrifice, the monsters he keeps contained to the woods will be released, and the fabled kings he keeps hostage will never be returned—or so the stories go. But when Red enters the woods, expecting nothing more than to be killed within the hour, she finds that the legends are lies. The wolf is not a monster—he's a man.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091953162</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0356516369
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Andrez Bergen
 
|title=Depth Charging Ice Planet Goth
 
|rating=4
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary=16 year old Mina lives in Nede (that's 'Needy' out loud), a suburb of the Australian state of Victoria where she's in the final throes of school. However she feels very much an outsider, especially after the recent death of her mother.  Mina's alienated further by her bullying elder brother and her father's attempts to move on with his life before Mina is ready.  She has friends that she spends time with in a disinterested Goth way, the friend who understands her most being Animeid.  Animeid is even more different than Mina, being half-girl, half-bird, but neither of them seems to mind.  It doesn't affect anyone else after all – Mina's the only person who can see her.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1782796495</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Anthony Ryan
 
|title=Tower Lord: Book 2 of Raven's Shadow
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary= Reva, young adherent to the True World Faith, has a mission: murdering Lord Vaelin Al Sorna.  Frentis (one time Sixth Order Brother to Vaelin) also has murder on his mind but can't help it as he works through the deathly wish-list of the mysterious woman who binds his will.  Lyrna's brother Malcius now rules as King of the Unified Realm and she's happy to remain princess. However someone else thinks differently; she's summoned to a meeting that will prepare her for an uncertain future.  Meanwhile the greatest threat the Realm has ever known advances.  Friend or foe?  The difference may be indiscernible but differentiating means survival.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0356502449</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Guy Adams
 
|title=The Clown Service
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary=If British Secret Intelligence Service operative Toby Greene worked for MacDonald's he'd be sacked for ineptitude. Unfortunately for the nation he cost thousands of pounds more to train than your average burger-flipper so he's off to Section 37 instead.  The Section's label mentions anti-terrorism but, as his former boss told Toby ''If the security service is the circus, then Section 37 us where we keep the clowns.''  Meanwhile an old school Russian spy is coming to the UK with enough power to destroy London.  This may only be Toby's first job for 37 and will include a touch of astral projection but what could possibly go wrong?
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0091953154</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Mark Lingane
 
|title=Decay: 2 (Tesla)
 
|rating=5
 
|genre=Teens
 
|summary=The city has been rebuilt for war.  The waves of cyborg attacks are just the beginning – what follows is more devastating.  Not only that but also the flood of refugees surging in daily is as much of a problem as a resource.  Actually in one or two cases the word 'problem' is a bit of an understatement.  In the middle of this hell Seb and Melanie are doing their best to fight and survive, although survival doesn't look like an option once they realise they have to go into the enemy's hive and bring the battle to the cyborgs.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0992377986</amazonuk>
 
 
}}
 
}}
 
+
{{Frontpage
{{newreview
+
|author=John Gwynne
|title=Landline
+
|title=The Shadow Of The Gods
|author=Rainbow Rowell
 
 
|rating=5
 
|rating=5
|genre=General Fiction
 
|summary=Georgie McCool has always known what she's wanted and pursued it until she has it. She got her dream job writing comedy, she's about to get her own show, and she got her dream guy, Neal.
 
 
Only, she's not so sure she has him anymore.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1409154912</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|title=The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy)
 
|author=Marie Rutkoski
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Teens
 
|summary=Kestrel has two alternative futures ahead of her. As the daughter of a general of a vast, expansionist empire, she can make a politically advantageous marriage or she can enlist in the military. Kestrel doesn't want either and her life is spent in a delicate game of manoeuvres with her father as she tries to put off the decision.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>1408858207</amazonuk>
 
}}
 
 
{{newreview
 
|author=Tim Hall
 
|title=Shadow of the Wolf
 
|rating=4
 
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|genre=Fantasy
|summary=The child Robin Loxley is mysteriously separated from his father during what had been a routine foray into the forest.  In grief and bewilderment Robin becomes a loner, choosing to raise himself.  He's more than happy with the solitary lifestyle until he meets Marian Delbosque, spoilt daughter of local gentry.  Their friendship is cemented as they play together but their future won't all be childish games. They have a quest and Robin, as a winter-born, has a destiny that he can't begin to guess.  The clue is in the mysterious words he heard whispered in the forest after his father's disappearance: ''Not yet.  Too soon.  He must suffer the wounds.''
+
|summary=The Shadow Of The Gods is the first installment of the Bloodsworn Saga, set in the era of the Vikings in the shadow of Ragnarok, when the Gods have battled and their bones lie scattered for all to see. This story is the ultimate in High Fantasy, and John Gwynne certainly does justice to the genre, with mythical creatures, archaic language and battles galore. This is a thick book, with an intricate plot and fascinating characters that are woven together to create a wonderfully realistic and gritty world in which our heroes must do battle.
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>191020000X</amazonuk>
+
|isbn=0356514218
 
}}
 
}}
  
{{newreview
+
Move on to [[Newest For Sharing Reviews]]
|author=Stella Gemmell
 
|title=The City
 
|rating=4.5
 
|genre=Fantasy
 
|summary=The City has been fighting for centuries, be it the recognised war of Red versus Blue fuelled by the mysterious Emperor or the daily fight of the Dwellers struggling for existence in the sewer settlements.  Such oppression breeds unlikely heroes.  A former general, now a fugitive from a questionable justice, a 16 year old soldier trying to out-run her father's reputation, a famed Red army leader and a little girl who believes in someone whom others hardly notice any more; these carry hope for the City, whether the City realises it or not.
 
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0552168955</amazonuk>
 
}}
 

Latest revision as of 09:13, 18 February 2024

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Review of

The Briar Book of the Dead by A G Slatter

5star.jpg Fantasy

There's a part of me that wants to keep this just to myself for however long I can. This secret magic of my own, all mine, at last. I just want to enjoy it for a while.

Within a remote mountain pass, far away from the world, lies Silverton; a town under the protection of the Briar's, a family of witches who protect the town and the wider world from the Darklands. Though she has always wished for magic, Ellie Briar is the first non-witch to be born into her family for generations and as such since she was young, her training as a steward revolved around letters and administration rather than spells and potions. When her grandmother suddenly dies, Ellie's cousin Audra becomes the Briar Witch, the town's leader, and Ellie takes her place beside her. As challenges come her way left, right and centre, Ellie uncovers the rare ability to communicate with the dead, putting her at the heart of a maelstrom of chaos. Reeling from one family secret to another, Ellie must decide who to trust and determine what to do as the Briar witches' legacy, everything they have sacrificed to survive, is under threat. Full Review

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Review of

Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw

3.5star.jpg Teens

I can hear the song of the sea. The call of the deep, the answering beat in my heart.

Rosevear, a remote and partially forgotten island, survives on luring ships into the rocks and plundering the wrecks. Mira, like her mother before her, is one of the seven who swim out to survey the ruins – rescuing any survivors and any treasure that lies within. But when the Council Watch lays a trap to end the wrecking, they capture the island's leader and Mira's father. Desperate to save him from death, Mira makes a bargain with a wreck survivor who is as charming as he is secretive and with only coordinates to guide her, she sets off in search of a family secret that lies buried deep in the sea. With only nine days to unearth what might save her father, as her journey takes her from the watched streets of foreign islands to the heart of the smuggler's territory, Mira must be determined to stop at nothing to save the future of her home and the ones she holds most dear. Full Review

1803364238.jpg

Review of

Thornhedge by T Kingfisher

5star.jpg Fantasy

You had a right to retake your place.

T Kingfisher's latest novella is a lovely reimagining of a fairytale that is well known and well beloved. But whilst there is a princess trapped in a tower, sleeping under an eternal enchantment, Thornhedge is not her story. Instead, our protagonist is Toadling, who was stolen away by fairies when she was a new-born baby and secreted away to the land of fairie where her childhood was spent being taught how to draw magic from her veins and cast spells. Full Review

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Review of

A Portrait in Shadow by Nicole Jarvis

4.5star.jpg Historical Fiction

I want all of Florence to know my name

Cast out from Rome, Artemisia Gentileschi arrives in Florence seeking an oasis in which her art can find a home and where her future can thrive rather than stagnate. But as some as she enters Florentine society she faces great opposition from the powerful Accademia, the self-proclaimed guardians of the healing magics that through paintings have the power to protect the city and its citizens from plagues and curses. The all-male Accademia has hoarded power over art and architecture for centuries and guard it above all else. To them, Artemisia – an ambitious young woman who promises trouble and change – has no place amongst them and their society. Full Review

0356518523.jpg

Review of

Perilous Times by Thomas D Lee

3star.jpg Fantasy

Hate is the path of least resistance

Set in the near-distant future, in a world on the verge of climate collapse, Britain is in great peril. The British Isles desperately needs a hero (or several) to save the day and rescue what little remains. What no-one expected was that one of the Knights of the Round Table would answer the call. Full Review

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Review of

Delilah Recovered by Amelia Estelle Dellos

4star.jpg Fantasy

We meet Dee at a point when her life isn't going as planned but things might, just might, be about to look up. Out of work, about to lose her flat, Dee is up for an accountant's job. But it's not to be. Dee is attacked by two men calling themselves witch hunters. She survives the attack but not unscathed. Witch hunters? What on earth has that to do with Dee? She's just an ordinary woman, living an ordinary life. Slivers of memory of things that are not ordinary at all return to her and things will never be the same.... Full Review

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Review of

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai

4star.jpg Fantasy

Drawing inspiration from Egypt, The Daughters of Izdihar explores the lives of two women who could not be more different, yet find themselves fighting for the rights of women and weavers – those with magical abilities - in a society pitted against them. Nehal, born into the upper class, wishes to attend the Weaving Academy to learn to control her abilities and then join the military, but instead she is forced into an arranged marriage with Nico. Giorgina on the other hand did not have a privileged upbringing like Nehal and feels great pressure to provide for her family and maintain their reputation, whilst secretly attending meetings of the Daughters of Izdihar – a group campaigning for women's rights. Giorgina also happens to be in love with Nico. What follows is a story of an unjust society, filled with hypocrisy and cruelty, from which blossoms a group of admirable women fighting for their rights and overcoming their personal obstacles. Full Review

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Review of

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

4star.jpg General Fiction

Emily Wilde is an expert academic scholar on faerie lore, and she has travelled extensively, and researched meticulously, to write her life's work, the very first encyclopaedia of faeries. Whilst she is brilliant at research and speaking to faeries, she is not so good with people. So when she finds herself far, far North in the small village of Hrafvsnik, having somehow offended the village matriarch, she is not sure what she has done, nor how to redeem herself and put her final investigations for her book back on the right track. Enter Wendell Bambleby, her dashingly handsome and insufferable rival who arrives unexpectedly, all charm and delight, much to Emily's frustration. But why is he here? What does he want? And what exactly is going on with the faerie folk around Hravsnik? Full Review

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Review of

Road of Bones by Christopher Golden

3.5star.jpg Horror

The Kolyma Highway… the 'Road of Bones'… the R504. Stretching for over a thousand miles across Siberia, it's one of the world's most notorious routes. For months of the year it's a spread of sheet ice suspended above the permafrost surrounding it, while its 'spring' sees it turn into a huge blodge of unremitting, apocalyptic-level mud, which dries into rutted, puddly dust. I don't think google streetview updates it very often. Built because Stalin wanted so much uranium and other Siberian minerals, and because he wanted to give too many people a lesson, it legendarily cost a life every metre it covers. You can easily find documentaries about it online, but that's a bit rich, for one of our main characters, Felix 'Teig' Teigland, is a film-maker, doing a recce with his cameraman buddy, John Prentiss – who's mostly there to encourage the project to fruition to claw back some of the funds he'd invested in the pair's prior TV projects. They pick up their oh-so-chatty local guide, gain the company of a local beauty, and fetch up at the guide's childhood village. And that's where things start to go awry… Full Review

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Review of

Soul Fraud (The Debt Collection Book 1) by Andrew Givler

4star.jpg Fantasy

Matt has a terrible life. Seriously—it's awful. It is so bad that Dan the Demon is shocked when Matt turns down his infernal offer: 10 years of a blissful life in exchange for his soul.

Poor Dan! I know, I know, we shouldn't feel sorry for soul-catching demons. But he really is a terrible salesman. He never hits his targets and, when he fails to get even Matt to sign on the dotted line, he's so desperate that he simply forges Matt's signature. Full Review

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Review of

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

4star.jpg Fantasy

Dark, sharp, and highly inquisitive, The Atlas Six makes its publishing debut after becoming a Tik-Tok sensation. Full Review

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Review of

Age of Ash by Daniel Abraham

4.5star.jpg Fantasy

We meet Alys under the most northerly of Oldgate's four bridges, she has a knife in her hand and a meeting that she dreads. Meanwhile the City of Kithamar is at a point in the turning of years when the worlds are at their thinnest and all things are possible. It is the night between the funeral of a Prince and the coronation of his successor. For a night the Kithamar is un-ruled. Full Review

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Review of

Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin

5star.jpg Teens

Kurara has spent her entire life as a servant on the Midori, a massive dining hall floating in the sky where soldiers of the Empire come to drink and make merry between their conquests. However, when a man named Himura arrives to tell her that she is a Crafter like him, someone with the power to form paper into whatever she desires – a power sought after all across the Empire. He asks her to come with him, to leave the life of dreary servitude that is all she has known. Well, soon Kurara won't have any say in the matter, because the Midori is destroyed by a monstrous paper spirit known as a shikigami, and she is forced to flee out into the world. She joins Himura aboard the Orihime, a sky-ship whose express purpose is to hunt down shikigami, and a whole world of adventure awaits her… Full Review

B09Q3P283Y.jpg

Review of

Shadebringer by Grayson W Hooper

4star.jpg Fantasy

Clyde Robbins signs up for the US Army during the Vietnam War. He's not really that invested in the fight against Communism, nor is he particularly interested in a career in the military. If he's honest - which Clyde usually is, with himself at least - he hasn't got many choices and this one, at least, gets him out of the rut he's in. He's good in training and is quickly put onto a non commissioned officer training course. He's chuffed with himself. Full Review

1472273915.jpg

Review of

Elektra by Jennifer Saint

4star.jpg Literary Fiction

'Elektra' by Jennifer Saint tells the story of three women who live in the heavily male dominated world of Ancient Greece. Cassandra, Clytemnestra, and Elektra are all bit players in the story of the Trojan War. Yet Jennifer Saint shows us that often the silent women have the most compelling stories and the most extreme furies. Full Review

1542019885.jpg

Review of

Quicksilver by Dean Koontz

2.5star.jpg Thrillers

Meet Quinn Quicksilver. He's not had the chance to get to be a mercurial character yet, for he's lived in a nun-run orphanage since he was a three-day old foundling, and now is starting a career on a needless magazine's staff. But when this book starts he IS now subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind, for something – call it unearthly intuition, call it mind-control, call it a supernatural urge – has demanded of him that he go to a derelict diner, find a gold coin worth a fortune, cash the value of it out of his bank and prepare for going on the lam. And all this is just in time for two of those typical Men in Black types to turn up and suggest he's of interest to them. Helped to escape, he finds his flight is interrupted by other instances of him acting without being in control, the discovery that he is not unique in having some kind of burgeoning power – and a whole lot more besides. Full Review

0356515648.jpg

Review of

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

4star.jpg Fantasy

On the night of her sacred burning, Princess Malini defies her brother and refuses to step on to the pyre. She is immediately sent to be imprisoned on the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once filled with a community of people who got powers from the mysterious deathless waters. But now the temple is nothing more than an overgrown, decaying ruin. One day, Malini witnesses a girl kill someone with magic. Instead of reporting her for such a gruesome crime, Malini claims that the girl saved her from an attacker and begs for the girl to become her own personal maidservant. Full Review

1789097061.jpg

Review of

The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

4star.jpg Fantasy

A modern and approachable reimagining of the Norse myths that centres around a witch named Angrboda. She hides in a forest at the edge of the nine worlds, remembering nothing of her past life but that fact that she was survived burnt at the stake three times because of Odin's wrath. Her attempts to live in peace, however, are quickly thwarted when Loki shows up with her literal heart—the one that was cut from her chest before she was tied to the stake—and refuses to leave her alone. After an initial period of mistrust, Angrboda begins to fall for Loki's charms, and the two start an unusual family made of up a half-dead daughter, a son that's a wolf, and another son that's a snake. Full Review

0356516369.jpg

Review of

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

5star.jpg Fantasy

In Red's family, the first daughter becomes queen, and the second daughter becomes a sacrifice. To Red's misfortune, she is the second daughter. Sent alone into the woods with nothing but the cape on her back, Red knows what to expect: within the woods is a wolf, and he is the one who will decide the fate of their kingdom. If she is not a worthy sacrifice, the monsters he keeps contained to the woods will be released, and the fabled kings he keeps hostage will never be returned—or so the stories go. But when Red enters the woods, expecting nothing more than to be killed within the hour, she finds that the legends are lies. The wolf is not a monster—he's a man. Full Review

0356514218.jpg

Review of

The Shadow Of The Gods by John Gwynne

5star.jpg Fantasy

The Shadow Of The Gods is the first installment of the Bloodsworn Saga, set in the era of the Vikings in the shadow of Ragnarok, when the Gods have battled and their bones lie scattered for all to see. This story is the ultimate in High Fantasy, and John Gwynne certainly does justice to the genre, with mythical creatures, archaic language and battles galore. This is a thick book, with an intricate plot and fascinating characters that are woven together to create a wonderfully realistic and gritty world in which our heroes must do battle. Full Review

Move on to Newest For Sharing Reviews