SPFBO X is now underway and the books allocated.  I’ve divided my books into three sets of five.  Hopefully tackling one batch of five per month for the next three months.

For those who don’t know about SPFBO (the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off) – this is a competition created and run by Mark Lawrence.  The competition is now in its tenth year and you can find more about all the other entrants and judges over on Mark Lawrence’s blog.  This year I am again teaming up with the Critiquing Chemist.

This year I am planning on reading the first 25% (or for those larger books the first 100 pages) of all the books in my allocation.  This way I will quickly gain an idea of the books that I want to continue to read.

Without further ado, lets take a look at my first five books:

River of Crows by NP Thompson

A cryptic prophecy. A dangerous quest. An explosive family secret. And a crow with a white feather who is more than he appears…

Mortal peril is twelve-year-old Ty Baxter’s new normal when he teams up with the weird girl from school to help an injured bird and suddenly finds himself trapped in a strange, magical world.

Now the target of a brutal tyrant with unfathomable power, Ty grapples with a life-altering revelation about his past and the implications of an ancient prophecy. As he struggles to control his own emerging magical Talent, Ty embroils himself in a desperate gamble to help his new friends save their missing family before the emperor uses his dark sorcery to transform them into birds, enslaving them forever as soldiers in his enchanted avian army.

And if he survives all of that, he’s probably still going to get grounded—if he ever finds a way to get back home.

***

Dark Empathy by Katy Morgan

For an empath, “How do you feel?” is never just a question.
Not when it can kill you.

These are the rules:

1. Rare and powerful empaths never escape the compound.
(Bastian Lucas escaped a year ago, and just because he’s been dragged back doesn’t mean he won’t escape again.)

2. Compound officers don’t ask questions.
(Captain Henry Mortimer has always followed orders, but Bastian’s arrival—and the disappearance of one of Henry’s team—have him wondering things he probably shouldn’t be wondering.)

When Major Valentine orders Bastian and Henry to investigate a series of murders committed by an asset with powers similar to Bastian’s, it brings to light more than just a cover up. Things like why an empath who shouldn’t exist is killing senators, what’s really behind the compound’s sinister asset program, and whether Bastian and Henry will live to see the end of this case.

Because they’re in danger of breaking rule number three as well:

3. Don’t fall in love.

***

Messengers of Ilbeor by TJ Klapprodt

Messengers connect six races of the verdant and beautiful land of Ilbeor, and newly trained messenger Alanda feels the promise of her adult life as she steps into the world to find her fortune. Faithful dog Alis at her side, Alanda traverses the mountainous wilderness only to be punished by storm and sun before becoming the first elf-friend in generations. When she meets charming messenger Tostig and feels the spark of a connection unlike any she’s ever known, she believes her life has truly begun.

After being greeted by tragedy and a brother changed by primal magics she does not understand, Alanda must travel the icy wastes with an unlikely companion to discover the answers to her brother’s prophetic gifts and her own heritage. With only a mysterious artifact to guide her way, she knows only one thing: her entire destiny is about to change. In Tostig’s attempt to race to her side, he is waylaid by the mysterious Sashu toward his own changed future as powerful magician and a hand of the gods themselves.

As Alanda and Tostig uncover who they were fated to be, they learn the appearance of peace in Ilbeor is only given by the lack of outright war…and when they each come to the attention of vengeful elven mage Altoneir, they stand to find out just how much they have to lose.

***

Facing Shadows by Anna J Worthy

“We’re more than our worst impulses, more than the shadows we face.”

When Evaya, a 16-year-old warrior, stumbles into one of the mysterious chasms that have suddenly appeared near her remote island village, she’s determined to find what’s causing them before another one destroys them all.

If only it were that simple.

Her concerns are ignored by her village’s Elders who are distracted by the decades-long feud between warriors and hunters—a conflict that has Evaya questioning which side she should be on. And a desperate power-play made by the volatile Elder warrior, Delcrom, could unravel any hope of unity.

Meanwhile, a prophesy suggests that pairing Evaya with the flawless young hunter, Rykas, would finally end the village feud. But she has developed complicated feelings for Aldric, a brooding cook who’s fallen hard for her. The only thing Aldric wants more than Evaya is to defeat his father, Delcrom, who intends to pair Evaya with Valgrun, a treacherous young warrior who will stop at nothing to claim her.

Evaya must unite her people and confront the mystery of the chasms before it’s too late. But can she save them without sacrificing her heart?

***

Woodspell by CR Collins

Humanity’s time has run out.

She’ll never be a victim again, but Rowena’s new power could destroy her country.

WOODSPELL is Volume 1 in the completed trilogy, TALES OF ARDONNA: WOODSPELL SERIES, a fairy tale for adults.

The series includes the following:
WOODSPELL – Volume 1
THE WILDER WORLD – Volume 2
A WAYWARD WIND – Volume 3

Content Advisory: adult themes, domestic violence, suicidal ideation

Good luck everyone 😀