Today I’m taking a look back at some of my semi finalists from  SPFBO 9 (which came to it’s dramatic conclusion at the end of April).

Anyway, for more information about the competition and the finalist chart look here and here.

For #SPFBO 9 I found some very good reads and choosing a finalist was very tricky.  Here’s a few of the books that I really enjoyed:

Twicetime by Carol Carman

The cover and description:

Building a bodyguard to kill your aristocratic niece’s vengeful ex-husband should be easy for a witch.

All you need is the right body and the right magic, and soon you have a mindless killer to do your bidding.

Of course, it all depends on what the butler brings back from the cemetery.

For Frances Stein, reanimating the dead is one thing, but convincing the corpse there’s life after death is another. Finding out he’s neither mindless nor killer is something else entirely.

Especially when he’s her last hope, because they both have a limited lifespan, and time is literally running out…

***

This book was such a lot of fun.  I really enjoyed the story and the writing and it was easy to like the characters.  The plot is a crazy mixed bag with plenty going on and in spite of the slightly hectic feel the author succeeds in pulling on your emotions.  This one captured my attention from the first page and held it until the last.  I have no hesitation in recommending this book and would love to see it get the attention it deserves.  Here’s my full review.

Under The Lesser Moon by Shelly Campbell

The cover and description:

‘Dragons once led our people across the wastelands, away from storms, and toward hunting grounds.’
That’s what the elders say, but eleven-year-old Akrist has squinted at empty skies his whole life. The dragons have abandoned them, and it’s Akrist’s fault. He’s cursed. Like every other firstborn son, he has inherited the sins of his ancestors. In his camp, he’s the only eldest boy left. Something happened to the others.
Something terrible.
When Akrist befriends Tanar, an eldest boy from another tribe, he discovers the awful truth: they’re being raised as sacrifices to appease the Goddess and win back her dragons. The ritual happens when the dual moons eclipse. Escape is the only option, but Akrist was never taught to hunt or survive the wastelands alone. Time is running out, and he has to do something before the moons touch.

***

This was absolutely gripping.  A story with a stone age style setting that follows a nomadic tribe on their continuing hunt for food and survival.  The story follows a young boy called Akrist, as the first born son he is cursed and shunned and he will eventually be sacrificed to appease the Gods.  Now, I will say that this is not an easy read, the description grimdark is very appropriate in this particular case.  This is a brutal world and a sometimes difficult read.  There are no soft bumpers here and in fact there are some very dark chapters, but even with these moments of, well, horror, the story is totally compelling.  I couldn’t put this down and will definitely pick up the sequel.  My full review can be found here.

Finally, today I’d like to take a look at Dream of Death City by PJ Nwosu.

Here is the cover and description:

Chilling, dark fantasy with a heavy dose of Sherlock Holmes in this new series of twisty mysteries in fantasy worlds.

Pale moths haunt an icy frontier. Beneath the shadow of a drowned death god, a frozen body is unearthed from the snow.

Investigators arrive to a superstitious island to solve a brutal crime. Among them is a lowly slave desperate to prove her worth and a soldier with dark dreams. Neither are prepared for what they find.

Death City is a strange and violent frontier, and no one who survives comes back clean.
First though, Thora and Diem must survive.

Welcome to the Red Kingdom.

The Red Kingdom is a new series of dark mysteries in fantasy worlds that delve into a land of vicious crimes, strange lore and Purge House zealots.

***

I loved this book.  It’s really well written and feeds into my love of fantasy and mystery combined.  My review is here.  This story gets off to an explosive start which really gripped me immediately.  We then follow our two main characters who have been sent to a very remote corner of the world to look into the disappearance of a young woman.

I can’t say enough good things about this.  The characters are good, the story is intriguing and I loved the imagination and strength of world building. I’m still waiting to see if there’s a second book due out so I can grab a copy and see where these characters take us next.

I hope I can tempt you with one or more of these reads.  There can be only one winner of SPFBO but there are still plenty of other fantastic books along the way.