November 1st saw the start of the second stage of the SPFBO – the Self Published Fantasy Blog off organised by Mark Lawrence.  All the details can be found here.

There can be only one – could be the catchphrase for this competition.  We started off with 300 books and 10 bloggers.  Each blogger was assigned 30 books and chose one to take forward into the next round.  For the final stage each blogger will now read and rate the books selected by the other 9 bloggers and when the ratings are jotted up hopefully we will have an outright winner.

I am really looking forward to this stage – there are some great looking books put forward into this round and I’m excited to pick them up.  As with round one, my book order has been chosen at random (basically numbers drawn from a hat – I’m not kidding) and as for the first stage I’m going to spotlight each book before I read it followed by my review upon completion.

So, the first book out of the hat was:

The Shadow Soul (A Dance of Dragons #1) by Kaitlyn Davis – synopsis from Goodreads copied below.  This certainly sounds intriguing ‘an age of myth that is about to be reborn’ – not to mention ‘perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Kristin Cashore, and Tamora Pierce!’ Strong praise indeed.  The story is told in alternating male/female POVs – I’m keen to see how that works out and basically with the above comparisons – I can’t wait to dive in.

Described as ‘a solid YA fantasy’ this entry was put forward by Fantasy Literature:

From bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis comes a fantasy adventure perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Kristin Cashore, and Tamora Pierce! Told in alternating male and female perspectives, THE SHADOW SOUL has been hailed as “an amazing start to a new series that is going to have people of all ages wanting so much more.” (Happy Tails & Tales Reviews)

When Jinji’s home is destroyed, she is left with nowhere to run and no one to run to–until she meets Rhen, a prince chasing rumors that foreign enemies have landed on his shores. Masquerading as a boy, Jinji joins Rhen with vengeance in her heart. But traveling together doesn’t mean trusting one another, and both are keeping a deep secret–magic. Jinji can weave the elements to create master illusions and Rhen can pull burning flames into his flesh.

But while they struggle to hide the truth, a shadow lurks in the night. An ancient evil has reawakened, and unbeknownst to them, these two unlikely companions hold the key to its defeat. Because their meeting was not coincidence–it was fate. And their story has played out before, in a long forgotten time, an age of myth that is about to be reborn…

Watch this space!