The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castiel- Book review

Here is my review of  The Malevolent Seven by  Sebastien de Castiel- fantasy featuring the most unlikely group of people who have to save the world.

Picture a wizard. Go ahead, close your eyes. There he is, see? Skinny old guy with a long straggly beard. No doubt he’s wearing iridescent silk robes that couldn’t protect his frail body from a light breeze. The hat’s a must, too, right? Big, floppy thing, covered in esoteric symbols that would instantly show every other mage where this one gets his magic? Wouldn’t want a simple steel helmet or something that might, you know, protect the part of him most needed for conjuring magical forces from being bashed in with a mace (or pretty much any household object).
Now open your eyes and let me show you what a real war mage looks like . . . but be warned: you’re probably not going to like it, because we’re violent, angry, dangerously broken people who sell our skills to the highest bidder and be damned to any moral or ethical considerations.At least, until such irritating concepts as friendship and the end of the world get in the way.
My name is Cade Ombra, and though I currently make my living as a mercenary wonderist, I used to have a far more noble-sounding job title – until I discovered the people I worked for weren’t quite as noble as I’d believed. Now I’m on the run and my only friend, a homicidal thunder mage, has invited me to join him on a suicide mission against the seven deadliest mages on the continent.  
Time to recruit some very bad people to help us on this job . . .

Review

I enjoyed most of The Malevolent Seven by Sebastien de Castiel featuring the most unlikely antiheroes who have to save the world led by Cade Ombra ( who has once of the best first point of view voice I’ve come across). But there was one aspect of this dark fantasy I didn’t like.

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong- Book review

Here is my review of Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong, concluding this fantasy retelling of Romeo and Juliet in 1927 Shanghai.

After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.
Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.
Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.

Review

I wasn’t sure I wanted to read Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong, the concluding part of this Duology, after I finished These Violent Delights ( Review here)

But I saw this book when I was on holiday, so I ended up buying it to see if I enjoyed the second part more( and had run out of physical books.

The Withered King by Richardo Victoria – Book review

The Withered King by Richardo Victoria was an amazingly fun read- an impressive blend of science fiction and tech.

Fionn is the wielder of a legendary Tempest Blade, and he is blessed – or cursed – by the Gift. Though his days as a warrior are long over, his past leaves him full of guilt and regret. Life, however, has other plans for him, when he agrees to help a friend locate a missing person. Gaby and Alex never expected to become heroes… until they met Fionn. As an ancient evil arises and consumes the land, Fionn must help them to master their own Gifts and Tempest Blades. Together the three of them, and their friends, will chart a course aboard the flying ship Figaro to save the planet. Will Fionn’s past be an anchor, or will he overcome the one failure from his former life before time runs out? In a world where magic and science intermingle, anything is possible. Including second chances.

Review

I love sci-fi fantasy, so I was so pleased to discover when reading the second chapter that The Withered King by Richardo Victoria wasn’t just a fantasy but a fantasy with lots of tech ( including flying machines).

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J Maas- Book review

Here is my review of prequel  novella to The Throne of Glass books by Sarah J Maas.

The twist of a knife. The birth of a legend.

Step into the world of the #1 bestselling Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas with this collection of prequel novellas.Celaena Sardothien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful Assassin’s Guild and its scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, she yields to no one and trusts only her fellow killer-for-hire, Sam. But when Arobynn dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, Celaena finds herself acting independently of his wishes and questioning her own allegiance.If she hopes to escape Arobynn’s clutches, Celaena will have to put her faith in her wits and her blade … knowing that if she fails, she’ll lose not just a chance at freedom but her life.A prequel to the New York Times bestselling Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas explores the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling — and deadly — world.

Review

The first three books of The Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas are some of my favourite fantasy books and I was pleased to read the prequel novella, The Assasin’s Blade features connected short stories showing us how Calena ended up from assassin to prisoner.

Song of Silver ,Flame like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao – book review/blog tour

I’m so pleased to be part of the blog tour for Song of Silver, Flame like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao- YA fantasy

Once, Lan had a different name. Now, she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people’s magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and spends her days scavenging for remnants of the past. For anything that might help her understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother.No one can see the mysterious mark, an untranslatable Hin character, except Lan. Until the night a boy appears at the teahouse.
Zen is a practitioner – one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom, whose abilities were rumoured to be drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Magic to be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.
Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. And destroy the world.

Review

One of the things I love about blog tours is coming across books that would never hit my radar like Song of Silver Flame like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao and I loved this YA Fantasy filled with magic, loss and anger.

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.

Power was a double-edged sword- but not to have it that was to have no weapon at all.

While this is a book about magic with all the usual themes you would expect in a YA book such as complicated romances, identity and angst, this book has so much more. It is a book that captures the feeling of being powerless and what anyone would do to protect themselves and the people they love.

The book describes the horrors of colonisation and the slow erosion of local culture either deliberately or accidentally as a result.

Lan and Zen are the two third-person narrators- Lan is searching for the truth about her mother and the seal she left on her arm as she died and Zen,  one of the last disciples of Hin magic and his own dark, secret.

I loved the world-building, the descriptions of the tea houses, the towns and the terrains Zen and Lan travel through are beautifully described and vivid, The magic used by the Hin magicians isn’t unique but the use of seals to hide and perform magic felt fresh and different.

The Elantians (the invaders) did feel a little one-dimensional but the Winter Magician felt truly evil and threatening.

The story races along and despite the sometimes dark themes, there is a humour and some sensual touches. The main plot of Lan’s identity does have a resolution ( to some degree) but the overriding arc of the story continues in the next book which I can’t wait to read

This is the first book that I have read by the author but I will be adding her backlist to my TBR list.

Content warning

Threats of sexual violence

Perfect for fans of

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by Sue Lynn Tan, THE FINAL STRIFE by Saara El-Arifi, and IRON WIDOW by Xiran Jay Zhao. The Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Burdago

Weyward by Emilia Hart – Book review

Here is my review of Weyward by Emilia Hart historical fantasy featuring three women from three generations and their fight to escape trapped their lives.

‘I had nature in my heart, she said. Like she did, and her mother before her. There was something about us – the Weyward women – that bonded us more tightly with the natural world.
We can feel it, she said, the same way we feel rage, sorrow or joy.’
In 2019, Kate flees an abusive relationship in London for Crows Beck, a remote Cumbrian village. Her destination is Weyward Cottage, inherited from her great Aunt Violet, an eccentric entomologist.
As Kate struggles with the trauma of her past, she uncovers a secret about the women in her family. A secret dating back to 1619, when her ancestor Altha Weyward was put on trial for witchcraft…

Review

Weyward by Emilia Hart is an ambitious story about three different women at three different times but all three need to escape their trapped lives.

I received a copy of the book for a free and unbiased opinion

The story of three women suffering from surprisingly similar problems is at times harrowing. Kate in 2019 is trapped in an abusive relationship and has escaped to a cottage she has inherited from her Great Aunt. Violet in 1942 whose father controls her life to an extreme degree and Altha who as a clever independent woman in 1619 is accused of witchcraft.

City of Last Chances by Adrian Tchaikovsky- Book Review

Here is my review for City of Last Chances, epic fantasy  by Adrian Tchaikovsky

There has always been a darkness to Ilmar, but never more so than now. The city chafes under the heavy hand of the Palleseen occupation, the choke-hold of its criminal underworld, the boot of its factory owners, the weight of its wretched poor and the burden of its ancient curse.
What will be the spark that lights the conflagration?
Despite the city’s refugees, wanderers, murderers, madmen, fanatics and thieves, the catalyst, as always, will be the Anchorwood – that dark grove of trees, that primeval remnant, that portal, when the moon is full, to strange and distant shores.
Ilmar, some say, is the worst place in the world and the gateway to a thousand worse places.
Ilmar,
City of Long Shadows.
City of Bad Decisions.
City of Last Chances.

Review

I’ve enjoyed Adrian Tchaikovsky’s science fiction books so I was keen to see how his fantasy compared to this and was happy my request was approved by NetGalley for the arc of  City Of Last Chances.

I received a copy of this book for a free and unbiased opinion.

This is a hard review to write. I didn’t really love the book as much as I thought I would ( although I didn’t dislike the book as much as I thought I would after I finished it either).

Kaikeyi By Vaishnavi Patel – Book review

This alternate take on a much maligned woman was difficult to put down. Here is my review this fantasy- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel.

Publication date 27 October 2022

Kaikeyi retells the story of Rama ( an avatar of the Hindu God Lord Vishnu) from the Ramayana from the first-person point of view of Kaikeyi, Rama’s stepmother. In the original story, Kaikeyi asks her husband to exile his heir and favourite son Rama to a forest for 14 years and place her son on the throne. Rama’s banishment eventually leads to a battle of good and evil- his triumphant return to Ayodhya is celebrated during the annual festival of Diwali.

The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman- book review

I enjoyed this South-East Asian Inspired YA Fantasy featuring secret societies, dying magic, royal intrigue and four conflicting siblings. Here is my review of the Ivory Key – the first in a duology.

Vira is desperate to get out of her mother’s shadow and establish her legacy as a revered queen of Ashoka. But with the country’s only quarry running out of magic–a precious resource that has kept Ashoka safe from conflict–she can barely protect her citizens from the looming threat of war. And if her enemies discover this, they’ll stop at nothing to seize the last of the magic.
Vira’s only hope is  the Ivory Key, rumored to unlock a new source of magic. But in order to infiltrate enemy territory and retrieve it, she must reunite with her siblings. Each of them has something to gain from finding the Ivory Key.They must work together to survive the treacherous journey. But with each sibling harboring secrets and their own agendas, the very thing that brought them together could tear apart their family–and their world–for good. 

Review

I loved this South-East Asian inspired fantasy-The Ivory Key by Akshaya Raman, the first in a YA duology.

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows- Book review

Here is my review of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows – a queer, romantic fantasy

Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.
Caethari Aeduria always knew he might end up in a political marriage, but his sudden betrothal to a man from Ralia, where such relationships are forbidden, comes as a shock.
With an unknown faction willing to kill to end their new alliance, Vel and Cae have no choice but to trust each other. Survival is one thing, but love—as both will learn—is quite another.

Review

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows was one of my anticipated reads of 2022 as I enjoy books with intrigue, fantasy, magic and very occasionally a bit of romance and this book seemed to have it all. But I have to admit to feeling a little disappointed.