December Countdown, Day 1 : Snow
1 December 2020
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: December meme, Mark Lawrence, The Girl and the Stars
December book meme (details here). A book set in a cold or wintry place:
Friday Face Off : Covers that use mostly ‘words’
20 November 2020
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Books by Proxy, Covers that use mostly words, Dispel Illusion, Friday Face off, Limited Wish, Mark Lawrence, One Word Kill

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 (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – 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. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout. This week’s theme:
“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”
This is another one of the themes I came up with to coincide with the sci fi event taking place during November so hope you’ve all come up with something good. I’ve gone for a series rather than a face off. This definitely falls into sci-fi and all three books are just excellent – I highly recommend them. The Impossible Times series by Mark Lawrence. And, here are the covers:
My favourite this week is a close draw. I wanted to choose Limited Wish but instead I’ve gone for :

Do you have a favourite?
I’ll be updating the list in order to include forthcoming events that I’m aware of so that you can perhaps link your themes up where possible (if you know of an event you’d like to share then let me know in the comments). As always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know.
Next week – Modern sci fi
Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ or one of your favourite covers) (I’ve added some new themes – some of these are slightly different, in order to avoid too much repetition I’m trying to make the themes more of a suggestion that everyone can interpret how they like.
2020
27th November – Modern sci fi
4th December – Fae – or fairy??
11th December – Lake – the mysterious lake
18th December – Highly Stylised
25th December- Freebie – or day off.
Friday Face Off : holding an object – just as it seems
17 July 2020
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book of the Ancestor #3, Books by Proxy, Friday Face off, Holy Sister, Mark Lawrence

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 (this doesn’t have to be a book that you’ve read), compare a couple of the different covers available for that particular book and choose your favourite. Future week’s themes are listed below – 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. I’ve also listed events that take place during the year, that I’m aware of, so you can link up your covers – if you’re aware of any events that you think I should include then give me a shout. This week’s theme:
Holding an object – just as it seems
Firstly, a quick note in case you’ve spotted I’ve been absent this week. I’m on holiday – not physically, but I have family staying (we are being careful of course but it is good to be together) and given the length of time since we’ve all seen each other I’ve not been reading and blogging. I’ll be back on board again in a few days. Hope everyone out there is staying safe and well.
This week’s theme is hopefully a lot easier than last week’s I found the final book in a series that I loved, Holy Sister (Book of the Ancestor #3) by Mark Lawrence. Only a few covers but check them out:




Difficult to choose this week. I quite like the cover with the green accents but at the same time it feels like it is aimed at a young audience – although that’s probably just me! I like the first cover because even though the character looks young (which is appropriate I think) at the same time the cover feels adult and has a dark vibe. The other two covers are very similar and whilst the character depicted feels a little older than I would like I think my favourite is:

Do you have a favourite?
I’ll be updating the list in order to include forthcoming events that I’m aware of so that you can perhaps link your themes up where possible (if you know of an event you’d like to share then let me know in the comments). As always, if you wish to submit an idea then leave me a comment – or if you’d like to host a week then simply let me know.
Next week – Framed – more meanings than one. A cover with a frame, a picture within a cover or a murder mystery set up??
Future themes: (if you’re struggling with any of these themes then use a ‘freebie’ or one of your favourite covers) (I’ve added some new themes – some of these are slightly different, in order to avoid too much repetition I’m trying to make the themes more of a suggestion that everyone can interpret how they like.
2019
24th July – Framed – more meanings than one. A cover with a frame, a picture within a cover or a murder mystery set up??
31st July – White – a cover that is predominantly white
7th August – Action – a cover that depicts action of some sort
14th August – Glasses or spectacles – “One could mention many lovable traits in Smee. For instance, after killing, it was his spectacles he wiped instead of his weapon.”
21st August – Potions – hubble bubble
28th August – Dark road – ‘the road goes ever on and on’
4th September – Cold and crisp – any cover that gives you winter vibes
11th September – A cover with a pattern
18th September – Minimalistic and lacking clutter
25th September – A very busy cover full to bursting with detail
2nd October – A standout font
9th October – Mist/fog – “A thin grey fog hung over the city, and the streets were very cold; for summer was in England.”
16th October – Spider web – “Farewell, Aragog, king of the arachnids, whose long and faithful friendship those who knew you would never forget!
23th October – Ripped/torn – interpret it as you wish
30th October – Forest/jungle – ‘None of the Jungle People like being disturbed.’
6th November – Planets – “You’re on Earth. There’s no cure for that.”
13th November – Bright – ‘The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades’.
20th November – Words only – “Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”
27th November – Modern sci fi
4th December – Fae – or fairy??
11th December – Lake – the mysterious lake
18th December – Highly Stylised
25th December- Freebie – or day off.
SPFBO6 : Cover Competition
It’s difficult to believe but the next SPFBO competition is about to start (more details and links can be found here) and in traditional style we begin with a cover competition. So, posted below are the 30 books that I’ve been assigned (which I’m excited to tuck into – in fact who am I kidding I have actually started already). I will be posting an introductory piece but thought I better make my selection for the competition. Below are my covers and my final 3 that will be submitted for the cover contest (follow this link to see all the other contestants):
My three covers:
Which are your favourite 3?
Favourite Fantasy books – in a nutshell #wyrdandwonder

IMAGE CREDITS: Flaming phoenix by Sujono Sujono | Decorative phoenix by Tanantachai Sirival
Today I’m posting using a theme I’ve seen around the blogosphere as part of the Wyrd and Wonder event. Check out this and this post who have already tackled this topic in wonderful fashion. Basically, describe five of your favourite fantasy books in five words. Actually, this was tougher than I expected but here goes:
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
– Aztec vampires feuding in Mexico

Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor #1) by Mark Lawrence
– Kickass assassin nuns in training

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
– Pirates? Princesses? True love? Inconceivable

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory
– Dysfunctional psychic family meets gangsters

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White
– Pride, Prejudice, Dragons… oh my!






