Weekly Wrap Up : 10/2/19
10 February 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Jenn Lyons, Stephanie Burgis, The Ruin of Kings, Thornbound, Weekly wrap up
I’m finally getting round to reinstating my weekly wrap ups. I need to do these posts as they keep a log of the books I’ve read and also help to keep me focused on upcoming books and outstanding reviews. So, this week I’ve read two books and for the moment I’m keeping on top of my reviews. I do have four more SPFBO reviews still outstanding but I’m slowly making progress.
My books:
- The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1) by Jenn Lyons
- Thornbound (The Harwood Spellbook #2) by Stephanie Burgis
Next week’s reads:
- The Taking of Annie Thorne C. J. Tudor
- White Stag by Kara Barbieri
- The Orphanage of Gods by Helena Coggan
Upcoming reviews:
- The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1) by Jenn Lyons
- Thornbound (The Harwood Spellbook #2) by Stephanie Burgis
I’d love to know what you’re reading this week.
#SPFBO The Purple Haze (The Western Lands and All That Really Matters, #1) by Andrew Einspruch
9 February 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Andrew Einspruch, SPFBO, The Purple Haze
The Purple Haze was one of the nine books that I rolled forward and read completely as part of the first stage of the SPFBO competition. This is a YA read that is fun, quirky and quite charming.
As the story begins we meet Eloise, Eloise is heir to the throne of the Western Lands and All That Really Matters and she finds herself with the unusual predicament of being offered the hand in marriage of her childhood friend Jerome, the Chipmunk. Not wanting to upset Jerome’s mother, a powerful seer, but at the same time not really thinking a marriage between a chipmunk and a human is truly viable, Eloise comes up with an alternative suggestion, to appoint Jerome as her Champion (not to be confused with champignon!) I would say that this opening sequence pretty much sets out the stall for the tone of the book which involves a good deal of fun and a crazy adventure.
The main thrust of the story revolves around the kidnapping of Eloise’s twin sister, the spare to the heir. But for a few minutes and random chance Johanna would be the future heir, the rivalry between the two acts as a barrier between the two forming a friendship, that is until Johanna is taken by her uncle who has hatched a nefarious plot to marry his niece in a bid to have more power and Eloise realises she’s closer to her sister than she realised and steps up to rescue her. From here there are plenty of unusual capers that seem to lead down one false trail after another.
The title of the book refers to a strange purple haze that covers part of the country providing a division between the different realms. Very little is known about the whys and wherefores of this strange and rather dense like fog – people who go into the haze never return to tell tales and in fact it is used in some places as a punishment for criminals!
I liked Eloise, she has a good personality and is a snowball character in that she seems to gather others to her plight ensuring that we have an entertaining group to read about along the way. She’s also resourceful and doesn’t panic in an emergency. She can be terribly proper but also kind and thoughtful.
In terms of criticisms. I don’t have anything major. I think the style of this might not work for everyone, it meanders and ducks and dithers somewhat and it involves a lot of humour and puns along the way. I like the style and actually think it takes a lot of skill to write a novel of this nature but at the same time I recognise that this particular brand of crazy might not be for everyone. I’m also not sure how viable it is to send off the heir to the throne in search of her sister – I mean effectively this means both children are now out there in the wilds with the potential to not return should all go awry. So, no heir and no spare!
Think Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz. An unusual world with oddball characters, magic and all sorts of talking animals. This is a lovely, charming read that ends on a note that makes me want to read more. It’s a journey – not just a physical journey but a coming of age style story in which Eloise comes into her own.
My rating would be 3.5 of 5 stars.
Friday Face Off : ‘Hi little cub. Oh no, don’t be ssscared.’
8 February 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, Friday Face off, Joanne M Harris, The Testament of Loki
Here we are again with the Friday Face Off meme created by Books by Proxy . This is a great opportunity to feature some of your favourite book covers. The rules are fairly simple each week, following a predetermined theme (list below) choose a book, compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – the list has been updated to help out those of you who like to plan ahead – if you have a cover in mind that you’re really wanting to share then feel free to leave a comment about a future suggested theme. This week’s theme:
‘Hi little cub. Oh no, don’t be ssscared.’ – A cover with snakes
I found this week’s theme slightly easier than I expected. I did have a few books that I thought of using but decided on: The Testament of Loki by Joanne M Harris:
The covers:
My favourite this week is:
I just love this cover and also really loved both books in the series – I don’t know if more are planned but one can but hope.
Like last week I’ve added a Mr Linky here so that you can leave a link if you wish or please leave me a link in the comments so I can visit and check out your covers. Thanks
I’ll be updating the list soon to take it through a few more months – if you have any suggestions you’d like to see adding then drop a note in the comments. Thanks
Next week – A heart – for Valentine’s day past
Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ of one of your favourite covers)
2019
15th February – A heart – for Valentine’s day past
22nd February – “Woe, destruction, ruin, and decay; the worst is death and death will have his day.” – A cover with abandoned building/s
1st March – ‘who will buy this wonderful morning’ – A cover featuring a shop or market
8th March – ‘Two little fishes and a momma fishy too’ – A cover featuring a fish/fishes or other sea creatures
15th March – ‘Beware the moon, lads.’ – A cover with a shapeshifter
22nd March – ‘A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse’ – A cover featuring a king
29th March – “I thought unicorns were more . . . Fluffy.” – A cover featuring a unicorn
5th April – ‘nomad is an island’ – A cover featuring a desert landscape
12th April – ‘Odin, Odin, send the wind to turn the tide – A cover featuring a longboat
19th April – ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – A cover featuring a school
Can’t Wait Wednesday : Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
6 February 2019
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Can't wait Wednesday, Chuck Wendig, Wanderers, Wishful Endings
“Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly meme that was originally created by Breaking the Spine. Unfortunately Breaking the Spine are no longer hosting so I’m now linking my posts up to Wishful Endings Can’t Wait Wednesday. Don’t forget to stop over, link up and check out what books everyone else is waiting for. If you want to take part, basically, every Wednesday, we highlight a book that we’re really looking forward to. This week my book is : Wanderers by Chuck Wendig. Because – Chuck Wendig! and also check out the description – this sounds great:
A decadent rock star. A deeply religious radio host. A disgraced scientist. And a teenage girl who may be the world’s last hope. In the tradition of The Stand and Station Eleven comes a gripping saga that weaves an epic tapestry of humanity into an astonishing tale of survival.
Shana wakes up one morning to discover her little sister in the grip of a strange malady. She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and are sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other “shepherds” who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.
For on their journey, they will discover an America convulsed with terror and violence, where this apocalyptic epidemic proves less dangerous than the fear of it. As the rest of society collapses all around them–and an ultraviolent militia threatens to exterminate them–the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart–or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.
Due for publication : July 2019
More books for the tbr??
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic. Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here. This week’s topic is:
Upcoming Releases I’m On the Fence About
Well, I’m not on the fence about these books but I am trying to be good at the moment in terms of review requests, simply because I’d like to catch up and improve my feedback, and quite a few of these are due to be published this month so I already know there’s no way I could fit them in at the moment. Here are five books that I’m keeping in mind in case I suddenly discover the secret of time travel or, to put it another way, here are some more books for my tbr – because I’m not really fooling anyone – I want all the books:
Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre
A dark, romantic YA suspense novel with an SF edge and plenty of drama, layering the secrets we keep and how appearances can deceive, from the New York Times bestselling author.
In this tiny, terrifying town, the lost are never found. When Araceli Flores Harper is sent to live with her great-aunt Ottilie in her ramshackle Victorian home, the plan is simple. She’ll buckle down and get ready for college. Life won’t be exciting, but she’ll cope, right?Wrong. From the start, things are very, very wrong. Her great-aunt still leaves food for the husband who went missing twenty years ago, and local businesses are plastered with MISSING posters. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city limits that the locals don’t talk about. Ever. When she starts receiving mysterious letters that seem to be coming from the past, she suspects someone of pranking her or trying to drive her out of her mind. To solve these riddles and bring the lost home again, Araceli must delve into a truly diabolical conspiracy, but some secrets fight to stay buried…
The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey
From the bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison—a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.
The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism—drugs and sex and endless parties—distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can’t mask.
Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city’s streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion—and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.
But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo’s, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms.
Dark Shores (Dark Shores #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
Piracy, blackmail, and meddling gods meet in Dark Shores, a thrilling first novel in a fast-paced new YA fantasy series by Danielle L. Jensen.
A PIRATE WITH A WILL OF IRON
Teriana is the second mate of the Quincense, a ship beholden to the Goddess of the Seas. Her people are born of the waves, and they alone know how to cross the impassable oceans between East and West.
A SOLDIER WITH A SECRET
Marcus is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is his only family, and even they don’t know the secret he’s been hiding since childhood.
A DANGEROUS QUEST
When a power-hungry ruler captures Teriana’s crew and threatens to reveal Marcus’s secret unless they help him conquer the unknown West, the two are forced into an unlikely–and unwilling– alliance. They unite for the sake of their families, but both must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much they are willing to sacrifice.
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
A sweeping historical novel about a dancehall girl and an orphan boy whose fates entangle over an old Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers.
When 11-year-old Ren’s master dies, he makes one last request of his Chinese houseboy: that Ren find his severed finger, lost years ago in an accident, and reunite it with his body. Ren has 49 days, or else his master’s soul will roam the earth, unable to rest in peace.
Ji Lin always wanted to be a doctor, but as a girl in 1930s Malaysia, apprentice dressmaker is a more suitable occupation. Secretly, though, Ji Lin also moonlights as a dancehall girl to help pay off her beloved mother’s Mahjong debts. One night, Ji Lin’s dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir: a severed finger. Convinced the finger is bad luck, Ji Lin enlists the help of her erstwhile stepbrother to return it to its rightful owner.
As the 49 days tick down, and a prowling tiger wreaks havoc on the town, Ji Lin and Ren’s lives intertwine in ways they could never have imagined. Propulsive and lushly written, The Night Tiger explores colonialism and independence, ancient superstition and modern ambition, sibling rivalry and first love. Braided through with Chinese folklore and a tantalizing mystery, this novel is a page-turner of the highest order.
A Pinch of Magic (A Pinch of Magic #1) by Michelle Harrison
‘A SPELL-BINDING STORY, STEEPED IN MAGIC. I ADORED IT’ – Abi Elphinstone, author of Sky Song
Three sisters trapped by an ancient curse.
Three magical objects with the power to change their fate.
Will they be enough to break the curse?
Or will they lead the sisters even deeper into danger? …
The enchanting new story from Michelle Harrison, author of the bestselling THIRTEEN TREASURES trilogy
Books and travelling with Lynn 