This is my sixth and final batch of books for the SPFBO!  I’ve already started these so I’m on track to complete the first stage fairly soon.  I’ve listed below my links to updates and reviews for the first/second/third/fourth and fifth batch of books.

The book choices are being randomly chosen. I’m aiming to read about 20% of each book or five chapters (which I think should be enough to give me a fair idea of whether or not the book could be my potential final choice).  Basically, if one of the books is standing out above the other four then that will be the clear choice from that section.

My next set of five are below.  I’ve added underneath each a synopsis (taken from Goodreads) and also linked up the titles so they’re easy to check out.

1. The Fallen Shepherd Saga by Peter Ravlich

The dark ones never forget a hunter. For Antonio, newly-former priest, that’s not a great thing. It gets worse when he’s confronted by two bodies and the unmistakable trail of a succubus. Why the Hell did it have to be a succubus?

He might have lost his title, lost his identity, lost his backup; but he still has his blade, and this hunt might offer a chance at redemption, a chance that Antonio desperately needs.

The Fallen Shepherd Saga was originally published as a three-part serial story. This volume is an expanded omnibus edition.

2. The Vengeful Half by Jaclyn Dolamore

This novel contains interior comics and art by the author.

Olivia might look human, but she’s grown up with a heavy secret: her mother is a potion-maker who fled her home in a parallel world, the Hidden Lands.

Alfred is the blind, charismatic young heir to the illegal potions trade. When Olivia’s mother is kidnapped by the magic dealers with whom she once made a bad bargain, she has no choice but to trust Alfred’s offer of help. They travel to a strange new world of bootlegged American pop culture, lifelike doll people, and reincarnation. Alfred finds himself putting his position on the line to defend Olivia against his family’s conniving plans. Maybe he has morals…or maybe he’s just falling in love.

When Olivia escapes from an attack by a curiously familiar sorceress, she learns that potion dealers weren’t the only thing Mom was hiding from. Dark secrets lurk in Olivia’s past, and now Olivia must kill or be killed by the girl with whom she once shared everything…

3. Magic Banquet by A E Marling – this book was a swapped title.  Originally I was due to read Off Leash by Daniel Potter but I exchanged books due to a conflict of interest.

Dragon steaks, ambrosia, and chimera stew. In the Magic Banquet, one guest always dies of joy. Or so they say. The street waif, Aja, just wants a few mouthfuls of the first course, but this is a party not easily left.

The dishes lavished upon Aja do more than entice. They enchant. They endanger. They change her. When she learns that a dragonfruit will make her mature, she eats it all. She is tired of being seen as a child, of being excluded and overlooked by respectable families and that other girl at the banquet, who is the empress in disguise. But Aja ages too fast, too much, and too soon. She is dying. She must replenish her lifeforce by eating a phoenix before she can even think of escaping the mortal banquet.

Guest List:
Aja, a thirteen-year-old girl who stole into the banquet before anyone could tell her she’s too young.
Janny, an old woman hungry for eternal youth.
The Empress Nephrynthian. But she’ll insist on you calling her Ryn.
Her guard, Fos Chandur.
Solin, graceful on his crutches and deadly with his magic.
And a dark lord.

4. Ninth Wind by Moses Siregar III

“In THE NINTH WIND, Moses Siregar takes readers to a fascinating new world where politics, magic, and adventure mingle in exciting and profound ways. If you like fantasy, you’ll love this!” –NYT Bestseller David Farland

THE NINTH WIND SPEAKS FOR THE DEAD …

The Ancestors whisper of rebellion, their breath a cold blue wind in the forests and hills of Andars. The Rezzian occupation lingers, dragging the folk of the hills through bitterness and despair.

Three siblings stand ready to challenge the Kingdom of Rezzia. Their fates have long been seen by the primordial Orns: one by Angst, one by Fidelity, one by Wrath.

Idonea searches the dark wood to master the magic of the three sacred trees. Skye pursues omens to lead his shield-brothers to victory over Rezzia’s legions. As armies battle for control of the Andaran hills, Dag calls out so that he may become as impenetrable as Altrea, allowing nothing to bend him, or turn him, or break him, so that he may stand and defend his kin. The ten gods of Rezzia and their lions stand in his way.

The Ninth Wind is the long-awaited return to Moses Siregar III’s award-winning epic fantasy series, Splendor and Ruin. Drawing on Norse, Greek, and Indian mythologies, the Ninth Wind is a tale of betrayal and retribution, of gods and sages and witches, of fearless journeys and magical awakenings.

It is a tale of honor, devotion, and valor. An adult tale of the children of wind and wood.

5. The Fall by Michael DeAngelo

Icarus must intervene before a wicked ritual is completed, or humanity will be banished from the world of Tellest forevermore. But his people, the elves, have determined that humans are too dangerous to share the realm. How can he protect the friends that he has made without betraying his race?

Samael is a man scorned, whose only desire is to enact vengeance on those who have wronged him. However, his involvement is the deciding factor in the call to banish humanity. For the sake of all the races of Tellest, he must work with Icarus to put a halt to the foul dealings.