#SPFBO : My Second Batch of Books
2 July 2020
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Blake Arthur Peel, Burn, Chains of Blood, Crystal Crawford, GE Hathaway, Knightmare Arcanist, Mid-Lich Crisis, ML Spencer, My Second Batch of Books, Ranger's Oath, Shami Stovall, SPFBO, Steve Thomas, The Edge of Nothing
300 books 10 Judges 1 winner
The 1st of June marked the start of the sixth Self Published Fantasy Blog Off (details here.) My Introductory post is here. You can find my first batch of books here and my update here.
As with previous years I’m hoping to read a batch of books each month. I will read at least 30% and hopefully will choose one or two books from each batch to roll forward and read fully and review before choosing semi finalists and a finalist. My book list is chosen randomly and the six books I will be reading this month are outlined below:
Burn (Desert Deities, #1) by G. E. Hathaway
After a devastating power outage wipes out most of Tucson, survivors Liam, Noah, and Ellie have more than the hot summers to worry about. In the absence of modern technology, ancient spirits awaken and the Sun God and Rain Goddess resume their timeless war over the elements. Friendships are tested and lines between good and evil are blurred as the humans are thrust into a strange and dangerous journey that reveals the mysterious forces ruling the desert. When the Rain Goddess is injured and the temperatures rise, Liam, Noah, and Ellie must find a way to restore power to the city before they all burn.
Ranger’s Oath (Arc of Radiance/Fall of Radiance #1) by Blake Arthur Peel
The barrier between worlds is broken. Only he knows the truth…
Magic has protected Tarsynium for a thousand years, shielding its people from being ravaged by bloodthirsty demons. When a young ranger’s apprentice named Owyn Lund discovers that the Arc of Radiance has been breached, he tries to warn anybody who will listen.
But legends aren’t supposed to be real.
When a village is mysteriously destroyed, rangers, mages, and rebels all point the finger, blaming each other for the demons’ brutality. However, Zara Dennel, a mage’s ward, has heard Owyn’s tale—and she’s inclined to believe him.
Together, they must prove that friendship is greater than intolerance, unity is more important than division, and that even the most powerful magic can sometimes not be enough.
Failure means the end of all things. A second—and lasting—Doom.
Experience the beginning of a thrilling Epic Fantasy series suitable for all ages. It’s perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir, Sarah J. Maas, and Brandon Sanderson.
Knightmare Arcanist (Frith Chronicles #1) by Shami Stovall
Magic. Sailing. A murderer among heroes.
Gravedigger Volke Savan wants nothing more than to be like his hero, the legendary magical swashbuckler, Gregory Ruma. First he needs to become an arcanist, someone capable of wielding magic, which requires bonding with a mythical creature. And he’ll take anything—a pegasus, a griffin, a ravenous hydra—maybe even a leviathan, like Ruma.
So when Volke stumbles across a knightmare, a creature made of shadow and terror, he has no reservations. But the knightmare knows a terrible secret: Ruma is a murderer out to spread corrupted magic throughout their island nation. He’s already killed a population of phoenixes and he intends to kill even more.
In order to protect his home, his adopted sister, and the girl he admires from afar, Volke will need to confront his hero, the Master Arcanist Gregory Ruma.
A fast-paced fantasy with magical creatures for those who enjoy the Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera series) by Jim Butcher, Unsouled (Cradle Series) by Will Wight, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan.
Website: https://sastovallauthor.com/
The Edge of Nothing (The Lex Chronicles #1) by Crystal Crawford
An evil force terrorizes Arameth, but those out to stop it have a serious problem: their prophesied hero is dead.
Centuries ago, a malevolent magicborn overtook Arameth, fracturing their world and unleashing a devastating war between magicborn and their non-magic neighbors. To protect their magical heritage, the Ancients of Arameth sealed themselves off in The Core, wiping all memory of magic from the ordinary people. The remaining magicborns retreated into hiding, unable to use their abilities for fear of inciting the wrath of the Ancients’ dark regime—or the terror of their own neighbors.
Two hundred years later, the damage wreaked by the Fracture threatens to unravel their world. A dark energy from The Core is slowly corrupting once-beautiful Arameth, and the Worldforce, the source of all Arameth’s magic, is destabilizing. The heroes sworn to restore the balance fail catastrophically in their final battle, and tensions peak between the peoples of Arameth. Fluctuations in the unstable Worldforce bring frequent disasters.
But not all of Arameth’s problems come from The Core…
Lex is a seventeen-year-old with no memories before this morning, and no clue why a group of villagers want him dead. Realizing they have mistaken him for a destructive magicborn who slaughtered innocents in their village, Lex flees for his life—only to discover he’s more tangled in the conflicts of the past than he ever imagined. And the mysterious girl he stumbles upon during his escape creates a whole new set of problems…
An epic fantasy / portal fantasy / soft sci-fi mashup, this book is teeming with quirky characters, fantastical creatures, surprises and suspense. With subtle clean/sweet romance, high-stakes adventure, and a strong focus on friendship and second chances, this all-the-feels fantasy debut will keep you flipping the pages.
Website: http://ccrawfordwriting.com
Mid-Lich Crisis by Steve Thomas
Is trying to sacrifice your estranged wife to a bloodthirsty demon an irredeemable act of evil? This is the sort of question the Dread Wizard Darruk Darkbringer struggles with. After being called evil one too many times, Darruk sets off to find a new purpose in his life and become a beloved celebrity. Can a dark wizard come to terms with himself and prove to the world that a few atrocities don’t define who he is? You’ll feel guilty for laughing at his twisted tale of self-discovery.
Chains of Blood (The Chaos Cycle #1) by M.L. Spencer
He thought he was born Rylan Marshall…
…until he found out he wasn’t.
Instead, he was born the son of a demon.
Would that mean he was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps?
Rylan was attacked, his young son murdered, his baby daughter taken. But his assailant left him with two gifts: the gift of magic…and an oath to darkness. Rylan blamed himself, even though he knew it wasn’t his fault.
The life he knew was over.
And war is coming.
A new enemy, stronger and more fearsome than any other, appears out of the night.
Will Rylan use his newfound power to make a stand? Will he learn its use in time to make a difference? Or will his oath to darkness guide him to the enemy?
And when he finds out they’ve taken his daughter…how far will he go to get her back?
Once again, good luck to everyone. If you’d like to visit my blog for a guest post, excerpt, etc, then leave me a note in the comments.
#SPFBO5 My second batch of books
Today is the second month of the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off. As with previous years I have divided my 30 books into five batches of six books (selected using a random sequence generator). Each month I will highlight that month’s selection at the start of the month, providing details about the books and the authors. As the month progresses I hope to have a clear favourite out of each batch – although things don’t always go to plan of course – I will provide mini reviews for each book and hopefully a full review for each semi finalist – which I’m thinking should be five books in total. The aim being to then choose a finalist from those semi finalists.
I’d like to wish everyone the best of luck and I hope you all enjoy the competition.
On a separate note, if any of my authors wish to pay me a visit for either an interview, a guest post, or anything else then let me know. Also, if any of my books have audio versions available then let me know – I’m happy to use audio too.
Without further ado here are my six books for August:
Healer’s Ruin by Chris O’Mara
Chalos the Healer is marching to war. As the Ten Plains King lays siege to the mysterious kingdom of the Riln, the Healer realises that if he is to survive, he has to think and fight like a soldier.
But Chalos isn’t a soldier. He doesn’t even own a sword.
To make matters worse, the famed Wielder of Aphazail, a mage of extraordinary power, has come to the aid of the Riln… and is slaughtering the invaders in droves.
Empires clash, gods walk, kingdoms tremble and sorcery carves a bright and blazing path across an ancient and mysterious land… a path that leads to HEALER’S RUIN.
The Owl & the Dragon by Randy Nargi
Hytwen and Ortwen: two remote villages on the southern edge of the Empire of Harion. Separated by a misty lake. And a deadly family secret.
When ex-Imperial Investigator Bander arrives in the village of Hytwen, ragged and half dead after a savage attack on the road, all he wants is the aid of a healer and a new pair of boots. But he’s soon pressed into service by the wealthy lord of Hytwen to find a twelve-year-old girl who’s been abducted from the manor. Everyone suspects the neighboring village, and with the drums of war beating, time is running out.
As Bander digs deeper, he confronts a brutal gang of trained killers, a mysterious barmaid, and a sinister mage plotting destruction from the shadows. Soon it becomes clear that things aren’t what they seem, and the hunt for the missing girl is just part of a diabolical mosaic of murder and chaos that threatens to destroy scores of innocent people.
But not if Bander can help it.
The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King
John Carver has three rules: Don’t drink in the daytime, don’t gamble when the luck has gone, and don’t talk to the dead people who come to visit.
It has been almost five years since the incident in Kabul. Since the magic stirred within him and the stories began. Fleeing the army, running from the whispers, the guilt, and the fear he was losing his mind, Carver fell into addiction, dragging himself through life one day at a time.
Desperation has pulled him back to Afghanistan, back to the heat, the dust, and the truth he worked so hard to avoid. But there are others, obsessed with power and forbidden magics, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth of his gifts. Abducted and chained, Carver must break more than his own rules if he is to harness this power and survive.
Realm of Beasts by Angela J Ford
An enchantress and a wizard get tangled in the grisly plans of an undead creature.
Tor Lir, the Nameless One, is unsure what he is. However, he knows he was born to bring balance to the powers of good and evil.
Forsaking his birthplace and fleeing from suggestions of a dark knowledge he’d rather not discover, he decides to take his fate into his own hands.
A chance encounter with a dead body, a dangerous beast, and a desirous creature lead him on the path to Paradise, where he senses imbalance.
Banished from her village and lost in a wicked forest, Citrine makes a deal with a dark creature, but that was before she found Paradise—the legendary land of a friendly giant.
Falling in love with the land, Citrine takes advantage of her time to study the lore of herbs and craft a spell of protection for her mythical beasts.
When darkness creeps into Paradise, bringing the mysterious Nameless One and an omen of death, Citrine realizes the consequences of her actions spell danger for herself, her beasts, and Paradise.
As time runs out the undead come to life. Citrine faces the ultimate showdown as everything she holds dear is ripped away.
The Prince of Cats by Daniel Olesen
To stay alive, Jawad must succeed where all others have failed: he must catch the Prince of Cats. More legend than man, the Prince is draped in rumours. He can steal the silver teeth from your mouth in the blink of a smile. He is a ghost to walls and vaults, he laughs at locks, and Jawad must capture him before powerful people lose their patience and send the young rogue to the scaffold.
Ever the opportunist, Jawad begins his hunt while carrying out his own schemes. He pits the factions of the city against each other, lining his own pockets in the process and using the Prince as a scapegoat. This is made easy as nobody knows when or where the Prince will strike, or even why.
As plots collide, Jawad finds himself pressured from all sides. Aristocrats, cutthroats, and the Prince himself is breathing down his neck. Unless Jawad wants a knife in his back or an appointment with the executioner, he must answer three questions: Who is the Prince of Cats, what is his true purpose, and how can he be stopped?
Immortals’ Requiem by Vincent Bobbe
There are beings that live a shadow’s breadth from our reality. They are the dreams and nightmares of humanity, the ancient seeds of fairy-tale and superstition.
These are the Immortals, creatures of magic that should live forever… and they are fading.
When a horror two thousand years dead returns to contemporary England, creatures long thought lost to myth and legend collide in a scramble for survival that could tumble civilisation back into the dark ages of blood and death.
If you like grimdark fantasy, ravening zombies, terrifying shapeshifters, scheming vampires, and vast supernatural worlds, you’ll love Immortals’ Requiem!
*Final note: if I have any of your details wrong then please let me know.
**Other SPFBO posts:
My Process My 3 covers for the cover competition Author Interview - Elise Kova My First Batch of BooksMy First Batch of Books Feedback on My First Batch of Books
Books and travelling with Lynn 