#SPFBO : My First Batch of Books – Update
30 June 2021
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Ashley Capes, CE Page, Deathborn, Graves Robbed, ML Roberts, My first batch of books - update, One of Us, Rosalind Tate, SPFBO, Stranded
Today I’m posting an update for my first batch of SPFBO books (which can be found here). This year I’m teaming up with the lovely ladies from the Critiquing Chemist and we split the batch of books equally – which gives me a little more time this year.
This month I read and reviewed my first four books and today I’m providing my feedback on which books will be cut or rolled forward. At this point I’m not making any decisions on semi-finalists as the semi finalists will be decided by both blogs before agreement on a finalist is reached. We will each put forward hopefuls and then take it from there.
I would mention that this is ultimately the most difficult part of the competition for judges and authors. I don’t find making cuts easy to be honest however it’s the nature of the competition. There can be only one. I would also like to thank the authors of the books that are highlighted today for taking the decision to throw their hat into the ring. It can’t be easy and I definitely applaud you for taking this step.
This month certainly got off to a great start. I completely read all four books and I don’t think I could have asked for four more different reads. A historical, alternate reality, portal book, UF with a unique concept, epic/high fantasy with intriguing magic and a YA high school adventure with witches and fae. This is why I love fantasy.
All that being said I won’t keep you waiting longer, below are my first four books.
Stranded (The Shorten Chronicles #1) by Rosalind Tate
Sophie Arundel is stranded in history, stuck in a grand house in 1925 England. Thankfully, she has her faithful dog Charlotte with her. Oh, and fellow student Hugo, annoying and charming in equal measure.
Baffled by upper-class rules, courted by boring suitors, Sophie is desperate to get back to the twenty-first century, but the only way home is through a hidden portal — and she must work with Hugo to unlock its secrets.
As one clue leads to another, Sophie and Hugo discover that history is unfolding differently. Mobs rule the streets. And when chaos turns into a deadly revolution, anyone in a grand house is fair game.
Sophie and Hugo are running out of time…
My review is here.
In a nutshell, Stranded is a very easy to read, cosy mystery. There is a slow romance building and the attention to detail in terms of the period is very well done and interesting. Clearly the author enjoyed writing this and it shone through. I did have a couple of criticisms but nothing that left me wanting to put the book down. It is a little light in terms of the fantasy elements however.
Conclusion: Cut
***
Graves Robbed, Heirlooms Returned (Reed Lavender #1) by Ashley Capes
At least when you’re Death’s nephew the bad guys literally have nowhere to hide, right?
Meet Reed Lavender, a mostly-human detective with the uncanny ability to hear the final words of the dead. But on this case he’ll need more than his usual tricks to solve the murder of a teen runaway – he’ll need something that just might be more trouble than it’s worth – the help of his ragtag Reaper-cousins.
But the deeper Reed digs the more he realises there’s something far bigger and darker beneath his city, something vast, something that is ripening to rot…
In a nutshell this is urban fantasy. I loved the concept of this one and also the writing. The pacing is very fast, probably, for me, a little too fast as I found myself wanting to slow down a little and let things develop, take a breather maybe. I have to say though that this was entertaining to read and I would definitely pick up more books in the series to see what the author comes up with next. I think my real issue is I would have liked this to maybe take a little more time with the set up as I felt like I wanted more somehow.
Conclusion : Cut
***
Deathborn (Sovereigns of Bright and Shadow #1) by CE Page
Corruption is a disease with no cure that ends with a rapid descent into madness and violence. And until now it only targeted mages.
When an infected warden shows up challenging everything Margot thought she knew she is thrown into the chase to find the impossible cure. But to understand this new revelation she needs someone who knows possession … She needs Nea and lucky for Margot, her warden friend Garret has been tasked with tracking the rogue necromancer down.
Garret is used to dealing with dangerous mages so this should be like any other job: find the mage and deliver her to the king. But from the moment he finds Nea he is dragged into a deadly game of dark secrets and brutal machinations. Now he must make a choice: deliver Nea as promised and place a weapon in the hands of a madman or deny his king and change the lives of wardens and mages forever.
My review is here.
Conclusion : Roll Forward (I won’t elaborate further at this point, my review is linked above)
***
One of Us: the City of Secrets by ML Roberts
The witch wants her dead, the fae want her alive, the police want to bring her in for questioning. High school should not be this way.
Olivia knows the rules: study hard, never lie, do unto others, but when a witch makes the rules and the others are fae, telling the truth will get her locked up.
Last month she saw the impossible, now she sees it again. She tells herself it’s all in her head. How else explain a shining man who fell out of nowhere or a student who died but still lives?
She carries on with her usual activities: volleyball, pop quizzes, a favor for Mom, but denial won’t make it go away. When she thinks it can’t get any worse, it does.
Friends, enemies, the police, someone is lying. If not one of them, one of us.
My review is here.
In a nutshell this is YA high school fantasy. I think it got off to a slightly shaky start, maybe a little bit of clunky dialogue here and there and perhaps a little overly drawn out in terms of really getting started. But, once the action began I confess to being very entertained. For me, it felt like the author gained in confidence as the story progressed and there was a chaotic, crazy popcorn munching vibe going on. Yes, I enjoyed this,,the story hooked me as things progressed and I wanted to know what was going on. There, however, is the rub. I did finish the story on a slight note of confusion, I know that there are more books (or is it book?) planned but I didn’t come away from this with a real understanding of motivations in terms of the central ‘baddies’. I admit that I’m not really the target audience for this one, but I think with a little more polish it would definitely be a series I could see myself continuing to read.
Conclusion : cut
My thanks again to the authors.
I will be posting my second batch of books very soon.
Deathborn (Sovereigns of Bright and Shadow #1) by CE Page #SPFBO
22 June 2021
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: CE Page, Sovereigns of Bright and Shadow, SPFBO
Deathborn by CE Pages is the third SPFBO book that I read this month as part of the SPFBO Competition. Graves Robbed, Heirlooms Returned by Ashley Capes is the second of the books I’ve read (review here) and Stranded by Rosalind Tate was my first book and my review can be found here.
I must say that I do love this cover – feast your eyes:
Deathborn brings to readers an interesting world with Mages, a disease known as Corruption and a mad king desperate for absolute power.
As the story begins we’re thrown into a situation involving a number of friends who witness a disturbing find regarding the spread of Corruption that starts them on a desperate search for answers.
Okay, let me just throw in here a little background or world building before anything else. This is a world with mages, each with different magical abilities depending on the element they are in control of. There are mages that heal or control storms for example and those with the ability to control the spirit world are known as necromancers. Wardens work for the Order and are used to keep mages under control – basically, they suppress a mage’s connection to the source of power that they draw from leaving them unable to use magic. The King wants to take control of the Order in a political maneuver that is not popular with everyone, particularly as it essentially means he would also take control of mages, and this has caused rifts to develop in the Order. On top of this, three years prior, a dreadful event took place at a college called Kalhanna, all the mages were wiped out or purged and a necromancer known as Nea is rumoured to be responsible and has been in hiding since although not everyone believes the rumours.
Now, with that in mind, we return to the start of the story where a warden has just burst onto the scene, infected with Corruption. This could be the start of disaster (the disease having only affected mages prior to this), a cure must be found and in order to do so our characters need to take immediate action, they also need to locate Nea who can potentially help them with searching for a cure – unfortunately, they’re not the only ones looking for her. King Evard has asked one of his Warden Commanders, Garret, to locate her and bring her in.
The main characters we immediately meet are Margot, a mage and healer, Declan who is working on a cure for Corruption, and Garret a Warden Commander. They discover information about a journal that could help with a cure and could also be the location where Nea is hiding out – so, two birds one stone.
From here the plot moves forward as each of the pov characters continues with their tasks. The chapters alternate between Margot, Nea and Garret although Margot has less involvement following events in the earlier chapters that i won’t elaborate on here. To cut a long story short Garret is searching for Nea and when the two meet his loyalty will be tested. Nea has her own story and her own reasons for hiding and handing her over to the king could be very dangerous.
I had a good time with Deathborn, with a few reservations. The writing is good, the characters were set up well, there were complicated relationships and politics involved I thought Page did an excellent job of setting up the magic and had clearly given a lot of thought to how everything came together. For example, The Barrier and the Between. The Between is the realm of spirits and the barrier keeps the realms apart. To be honest, the actual world itself was only fairly briefly drawn, it feels mediaeval in terms of weapons, forts, etc, but the magic, the world of the mages and other related issues such as Deathborn and Reanimations are well thought out and keep the story interesting.
In terms of criticisms. Well, the start of the book involves looking for Nea – she’s been in hiding for three years as I mentioned above. Two things that puzzled me about that were firstly, that the king didn’t take any steps prior to this, why was there a three year gap where nothing seemed to happen? (Slight spoiler : I don’t understand why Margot only now became useful as a pawn). Secondly, I wouldn’t say that Nea was particularly well hidden – but I think that might be just a misunderstanding on my part, Garret seemed to find her easy enough but then he had co-operation from others in order to do so (co-operation that wouldn’t have been forthcoming for the king). That aside there was a certain amount of going back and forth which started to feel a bit frustrating and I felt particularly exasperated with one of the decisions that Garret makes during the story that made me wonder what he was thinking – but. again, I’m thinking not to include spoilers here so won’t go into more detail.
On the whole though this was an enjoyable read. I felt myself engaging well with the characters, I thought the magic system was well developed, the pacing was good and it sets up well for the next instalment (although I would point out that this doesn’t end on a note of completion).
I received a copy courtesy of the author for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
#SPFBO Review (5): A Wind from the Wilderness (Watchers of Outremer #1) by Suzannah Rowntree
6 March 2021
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Wind from the Wilderness, SPFBO, Suzannah Rowntree
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. Stage 1 is now complete and the finalists can be found here. My previous four book reviews can be found here, here, here and here. Today I am reviewing my fifth finalist.
A Wind from the Wilderness is the finalist put forward by the Fantasy Hive and their review can be found here.
I have very mixed feelings for this book which can be loosely summed up as : incredible respect for the historical depiction of a fascinating period, a love of the author’s prose, an almost wonderfully unsettling feeling of quite literally being swept into a period so thoroughly that it sometimes felt like I was witnessing the scenes in person, standing bewildered as battles took place around me and yet, even with all that incredible imagery and impressive attention to the period, I was unable to really connect with the central character and I had a frustrating feeling, even after finishing, that I was missing something fundamental. So, mixed feelings.
AWftW reads like historical fiction with very light fantasy elements – which although a little on the skimpy side did feel pertinent to the period. There’s almost a biblical feel to the whole thing that makes me think of brooding skies and smiting! However, I cannot deny that the start of the book gave me expectations that there would be more sorcery involved when one of our main characters is thrown forward in time. As it is, the fantasy elements are indeed subtle. There’s a feeling throughout of events being slightly manipulated by a dark presence that haunts the crusades, one of the characters is driven by prophecy and the final chapters give a promise of darker things yet to come.
Lukas Bessarion is the main character and the one who finds himself thrown forward in time almost 400 years. For the most part Lukas is trying to return to his family and mindful of that need finds himself marching towards Jerusalem with the allied forces. He becomes attached to a young woman known as Ayla who is also on her own particular quest. Ayla seeks revenge for the death of her father. The two form an unlikely attraction, both keeping secrets that would make them natural enemies. The third character is Raymond St Gilles, a knight of the crusades whose inclusion gives us a means of following the crusade as the allied forces move slowly forward, battling and strategising.
I will admit that I’m not an expert on this period of history, that being said I really don’t think you need to be because the author has clearly researched this particular period very thoroughly and the story comes across as very well grounded. The infighting, petty jealousies and difficulties in simply moving such a large contingent, from A to B, really come across well. There are frustrating times where battles feel on the brink of disaster simply because forces that should be working together are pulling in opposite directions due to lack of true commitment to each other and then added to this is this dark element that seems to stalk the battlefields causing misery and despair. All told I think Rowntree has done a remarkable job of bringing this particular period to life and giving a fictional account of events that feels like a plausible account
The plot is perhaps something that I felt a little puzzled about. Lukas is the clear focus for the story and we know that he has a strategy to move forward towards Jerusalem. This part of the story felt a little loose for me, I didn’t really have a real grip on how Lukas expected to make changes or find a way back to his family – any more than he did to be honest, which is probably why it felt perplexing. Even as the story ended I’m not sure how Lukas’s story will ever come to a conclusion, I expect that might be part of the bigger plan for the series but even with that in mind I felt like I was missing something somehow.
As I mentioned the writing is really good. The author does a fantastic job of creating a sense of place and time and really bringing events to life – but, I felt like the pacing was slow and I think that links into the slightly floundering feeling that I mentioned above in respect to the plot. In fairness, the start was intriguing and I really enjoyed meeting Ayla. She’s a character that stole the show a little for me in fact I found myself looking forward to the chapters in which she appeared. It’s difficult to put my finger on what slowed this down for me, again I think it boils down to puzzlement about where things were headed which left me at certain points feeling like this was more a historical recounting than anything else.
In terms of criticisms. Well, I mentioned that this feels more like historical fiction with a loose scattering of fantasy. To be honest that wasn’t particular an issue for me as I like this type of read and I thought the fantasy elements fit well with the story told here. I think my main problem is that I didn’t really connect with the characters. I didn’t really buy into the romance and think I would have preferred this to remain a friendship, and the ending was very bitter sweet – which is a little ironic as the author makes quite clear early on about the direction that one of the characters is going in – so really it shouldn’t be unexpected – and yet I did find myself unpleasantly surprised. I also had issues with the pacing at stages which left me conflicted because I was enjoying the way the author told the story but at the same time was finding certain chapters very slow to get through.
Overall, my feelings remain mixed ont this. On the one hand I’m not sure I’m giving the book all the credit it’s due with this review which feels confused or conflicted at best. On the other hand, although I loved the way the author writes and think she’s done an incredible job in many respects I still remain very detached in terms of the main character and this gives me a lot of difficulty in terms of scoring this one.
After much internal debate I would rate this as a 7 out of 10.
My thanks to the author for a copy for review. The above is my own opinion.
#SPFBO – Not a Review : Finalist Reading Schedule, Book #5
20 February 2021
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: A Wind from the Wilderness, Book No.5, Not a Review, SPFBO, Suzannah Rowntree, Watchers of Outremer #1
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. Stage 1 is now complete and the finalists can be found here .
During Stage 2 I will read, review and score the remaining 9 finalists as will the other judges until a winner is revealed. As with previous years I have given each of the 9 books a number and randomly selected a reading order. Today’s post is to highlight the fifth book I will be reading and provide information regarding that particular finalist. The first finalist I read was Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire. This was a great start to the finals and my review can be found here. My second book was The Fall of Erlon by Robert H Fleming which I posted my review here. My third book was Shaun Paul Steven’s Nether Light, my review for which can be found here. My fourth book was a Norse myth inspired story called Darkness Forged by Matt Larkin and my review is here..
My fifth finalist will be :
| A Wind from the Wilderness by Suzannah Rowntree |
A Wind from the Wilderness (Watchers of Outremer #1) by Suzannah Rowntree is the finalist selected this year by the Fantasy Hive and their review can be found here. .Below is the description and author details:
Hunted by demons. Lost in time.
Welcome to the First Crusade.
Syria, 636: As heretic invaders circle Jerusalem, young Lukas Bessarion vows to defend his people. Instead, disaster strikes.
His family is ripped apart. His allies are slaughtered. And Lukas is hurled across the centuries to a future where his worst nightmares have come true…
Constantinople, 1097: Ayla may be a heretic beggar, but she knows one thing for sure: nine months from now, she will die. Before then, she must avenge her father’s murder–or risk losing her soul.
Desperate to find their way home, Lukas and Ayla join the seven armies marching east to liberate Jerusalem. If Lukas succeeds in his quest, he’ll undo the invasion and change the course of history.
But only if he survives the war.
Only if his enemies from the past don’t catch him.
And only as long as Ayla never finds out who he really is.
A Wind from the Wilderness is Book 1 in the new Watchers of Outremer series. If you love stories full of dark magic, bloody warfare, and star-crossed love, then you’ll be spellbound by this sweeping historical fantasy!
Author:Hi! I live in a big house in rural Australia with my awesome parents and siblings, writing historical fantasy fiction. You can visit me online at https://suzannahrowntree.site
If you like the mythic fantasy of Stephen Lawhead, S. A. Chakraborty or Naomi Novik, you’ll probably like my stories too!
Website : https://suzannahrowntree.site
Twitter : suzannahtweets
#SPFBO Review (4): Darkness Forged (Legends of the Ragnarok Era #1) by Matt Larkin
13 February 2021
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Darkness Forged, Legends of the Ragnarok Era #1, Matt Larkin, SPFBO
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. Stage 1 is now complete and the finalists can be found here. My first, second and third finalist reviews can be found here, here and here.
The fourth book I read for Stage 2 of the SPFBO Competition was Darkness Forged by Matt Larkin. This is an unrelentingly dark book that I actually enjoyed far more than I anticipated (given my current reading mindset). The story here is a retelling of an old Norse myth about three brothers who each embark on a quest and we follow their exploits as they head off in different directions. For the most part we focus on one brother in particular who struggles with his own inner demons and in fact the title of the book I think refers to this particular character and the torments he suffers along the way that eventually shape him into something dark and merciless.
As the story sets out we have an almost fairytale style – although, to be clear, this is definitely not a bedtime story (unless you like nightmares). Three brothers returning from a hunt find their homestead abandoned, their wives missing and all that is left behind are their three wedding bands. Each brother sets out to search for their wife swearing to return home in a year’s time.
So, the three brothers.
Slagfid is the eldest, married to Svanhit he is a master swordsman. A slightly difficult character to like. He definitely said some rather irritating things as the story began and of the three he was the one who came across as least concerned with the search for his wife. Slagfid decides the best way to find his wife is through battles and heroic deeds. All three wives are Valkyries, their backstory is provided and obviously they have returned to the duties to which they are bound. Slagfid eventually becomes embroiled in a plot to help a princess vowing to kill her enemies after she saved him from drowning. He believes that the fights he undertakes will undoubtedly warrant a visit from the Valkyries..
Agilaz is the middle brother. A serious young man and an adept woodsman, tracker and archer, married to Olrun. Agilaz finds himself in service to a Jarl, accompanied by his young son Hermod. Agilaz also finds himself losing sight a little of his original purpose until he hears the fate of his younger brother and sets out to help him. His path also becomes fraught with danger once he is entangled with the fate of his brother.
Volund is the youngest brother with the darkest story. Following an apprenticeship to the dark dwarves he is a master blacksmith and can create fantastic weapons and armour not to mention craft jewels and goblets. Volund’s apprenticeship was harsh beyond measure and has filled him with darkness that is barely held at bay. The love for his wife Altvir is the only shining light in his life and of the three brothers he remains constant throughout in his desire to find her. Unfortunately, his path takes a very dim turn and he finds himself captive, injured and increasingly bitter at his circumstances and this leads him to commit atrocities that are unforgivable.
Considering the length of this book I think the author manages to really get across a good feel for the place and time. Undoubtedly this was a harsh time in which to live. The struggles to survive, the constant threat of attack from one source or another, the cold, the hunger, it all comes across well, and is, of necessity, bleak. Mostly told in a linear fashion the story also includes flashbacks or interludes that paint a picture of Volund’s apprenticeship and help us to understand what he went through as a young boy.
In terms of criticisms. Well, It is difficult to form a real attachment to any of the brothers. The elder two don’t have as much page time and the youngest carries out some quite harsh deeds in his quest for revenge. Plus, ultimately the ending is far from happy on most accounts. This is also very dark and I would make mention of various triggers, rape, sexual slavery and torture, to name just a few that immediately spring to mind. Mostly, such dark deeds do take place off page but I thought I should mention them nonetheless. On top of this I found the dialogue a little annoying as the story set out, mainly because it all seemed to revolve around women and was rather disparaging, although this is something that became less noticeable as the story moved on (probably because the brothers went on their separate ways).
Overall, and in spite of the grimness, I did enjoy this tale. However, this isn’t a lighthearted or fun read and the tone is fairly relentingly harsh so be warned of that before picking it up. I also found myself a little sad that Volund’s tale was so bittersweet (undoubtedly erring on the bitter side) but, given his actions it was kind of obvious that this was never going to have a ‘happily ever after’. Also, to be fair to the author, having read up a little more about these brothers and their myth I think he does an excellent job of fleshing out their story and filling it with magic, sorcerers, shapeshifters and other fantasy elements.
I received a copy courtesy of the author, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.
My rating 8 out of 10.
Books and travelling with Lynn 