SUNDAYS SEVEN | COMING UP IN THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS…

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Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!

We are now firmly settled into the new year, or at least I pretend to be! We are only 23 days into January. I thought I would change up my Sundays Seven a little and talk about a few of the new books coming our way next week. Hopefully I can find seven I want to sing about!

I am also going to throw in a few Sci-Fi books that intrigue me, as I don’t read much sci-fi even though I want to. Apparently I’m a little too comfortable with fantasy and romance!

ON TO THE BOOKS…

GOLIATH BY TOCHI ONYEBUCHI

Goliath is one of Tor’s upcoming releases and sounds incredibly interesting with a varying and fun cast of characters from all backgrounds. We have a journalist, a space dweller and a group of labourers all trying to make their way in a violent and harsh world!

SYNOPSIS:

In the 2050s, Earth has begun to empty. Those with the means and the privilege have departed the great cities of the United States for the more comfortable confines of space colonies. Those left behind salvage what they can from the collapsing infrastructure. As they eke out an existence, their neighbourhood’s are being cannibalized. Brick by brick, their houses are sent to the colonies, what was once a home now a quaint reminder for the colonists of the world that they wrecked.

A primal biblical epic flung into the future, Goliath weaves together disparate narratives—a space-dweller looking at New Haven, Connecticut as a chance to reconnect with his spiralling lover; a group of laborers attempting to renew the promises of Earth’s crumbling cities; a journalist attempting to capture the violence of the streets; a marshal trying to solve a kidnapping—into a richly urgent mosaic about race, class, gentrification, and who is allowed to be the hero of any history.

You can find the Goodreads link here.

ONLY A MONSTER BY VANESSA LEN

I love monsters so a story about finding out your family are terrifying monsters calls to me. I am a little sceptical with it being romance and the protag being 16 but it might be a wholesome romance and not be smutty but we shall see!

I also really like this book cover, something about it just works form me.

Plus, I am always intrigued about debuts and what makes them stand out in todays market, so let us see!

SYNOPSIS:

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story . . .

. . . she is not the hero. 

You can find the Goodreads link here.

THE STARLESS CROWN BY JAMES ROLLINS

Apocalypse. Impending death sentence. Team of outcasts. Thief. Hunted by enemies…

It is like this authors just got all the things I like to read and threw them into one awesome sounding book!

SYNOPSIS:

A gifted student foretells an apocalypse. Her reward is a sentence of death.

Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of outcasts:

A broken soldier, who once again takes up the weapons he’s forbidden to wield and carves a trail back home.

A drunken prince, who steps out from his beloved brother’s shadow and claims a purpose of his own.

An imprisoned thief, who escapes the crushing dark and discovers a gleaming artifact – one that will ignite a power struggle across the globe.

On the run, hunted by enemies old and new, they must learn to trust each other in order to survive in a world evolved in strange, beautiful, and deadly ways, and uncover ancient secrets that hold the key to their salvation.

But with each passing moment, doom draws closer.

You can find the Goodreads link here.

LIGHT YEARS FROM HOME BY MIKE CHEN

This book is out of my normal reads but it sounds really quite fun and a little dang emotional.

Imagine your brother vanishing and then coming back older and with news of a war…One of the elements I loved about Sword Of Kaigen was the family drama and the emotional punch it had so the fact I loved that, despite the difference in books, is really drawing me in to this one.

SYNOPSIS:

Every family has issues. Most can’t blame them on extraterrestrials.

Evie Shao and her sister, Kass, aren’t on speaking terms. Fifteen years ago on a family camping trip, their father and brother vanished. Their dad turned up days later, dehydrated and confused—and convinced he’d been abducted by aliens. Their brother, Jakob, remained missing. The women dealt with it very differently. Kass, suspecting her college-dropout twin simply ran off, became the rock of the family. Evie traded academics to pursue alien conspiracy theories, always looking for Jakob.

When Evie’s UFO network uncovers a new event, she goes to investigate. And discovers Jakob is back. He’s different—older, stranger, and talking of an intergalactic war—but the tensions between the siblings haven’t changed at all. If the family is going to come together to help Jakob, then Kass and Evie are going to have to fix their issues, and fast. Because the FBI is after Jakob, and if their brother is telling the truth, possibly an entire space armada, too.

The perfect combination of action, imagination and heart, Light Years From Home is a touching drama about a challenge as difficult as saving the galaxy: making peace with your family…and yourself.

You can find the Goodreads link here.

SCORPICA BY G. R. MACALLISTER

Ohhhh this book has me hella interested. It sounds different and filled with drama. Warrior women, mothers, queendoms and so much more. this one could truly be something amazing.

SYNOPSIS:

A centuries-long peace is shattered in a matriarchal society when a decade passes without a single girl being born in this sweeping epic fantasy that’s perfect for fans of Robin Hobb and Circe.

Five hundred years of peace between queendoms shatters when girls inexplicably stop being born. As the Drought of Girls stretches across a generation, it sets off a cascade of political and personal consequences across all five queendoms of the known world, throwing long-standing alliances into disarray as each queendom begins to turn on each other—and new threats to each nation rise from within.

Uniting the stories of women from across the queendoms, this propulsive, gripping epic fantasy follows a warrior queen who must rise from childbirth bed to fight for her life and her throne, a healer in hiding desperate to protect the secret of her daughter’s explosive power, a queen whose desperation to retain control leads her to risk using the darkest magic, a near-immortal sorcerer demigod powerful enough to remake the world for her own ends—and the generation of lastborn girls, the ones born just before the Drought, who must bear the hopes and traditions of their nations if the queendoms are to survive.

You can find the Goodreads link here.

THE EMPIRE’S RUIN BY BRIAN STAVELEY

I was recently introduced to Staveley’s work and loved it so just based off his previous work I am really excited for this book. Though I do want to finish his other works first before tackling this.

SYNOPSIS:

The Annurian Empire is disintegrating. The advantages it used for millennia have fallen to ruin. The ranks of the Kettral have been decimated from within, and the kenta gates, granting instantaneous travel across the vast lands of the empire, can no longer be used.

In order to save the empire, one of the surviving Kettral must voyage beyond the edge of the known world through a land that warps and poisons all living things to find the nesting ground of the giant war hawks. Meanwhile, a monk turned con-artist may hold the secret to the kenta gates.

But time is running out. Deep within the southern reaches of the empire and ancient god-like race has begun to stir.

What they discover will change them and the Annurian Empire forever. If they can survive. 

You can find the Goodreads link here.

THE JUSTICE OF KINGS BY RICHARD SWAN

This one has been on my radar for a while now as I received an ARC of it a good while ago! I have waited and waited to read this but I have a week off now so it is time to dive into this!

SYNOPSIS:

The Justice of Kings, the first in a new epic fantasy trilogy, follows the tale of Sir Konrad Vonvalt, an Emperor’s Justice – a detective, judge and executioner all in one. As he unravels a web of secrets and lies, Vonvalt discovers a plot that might destroy his order once and for all – and bring down the entire Empire. 

As an Emperor’s Justice, Sir Konrad Vonvalt always has the last word. His duty is to uphold the law of the empire using whatever tools he has at his disposal: whether it’s his blade, the arcane secrets passed down from Justice to Justice, or his wealth of knowledge of the laws of the empire. But usually his reputation as one of the most revered—and hated—Justices is enough to get most any job done. 

When Vonvalt investigates the murder of a noblewoman, he finds his authority being challenged like never before. As the simple case becomes more complex and convoluted, he begins to pull at the threads that unravel a conspiracy that could see an end to all Justices, and a beginning to lawless chaos across the empire. 

You can find the Goodreads link here.

There you have it, seven books that I have found that are releasing very soon and looking back at them 2022 looks pretty damned promising. We have futuristic and intriguing sounding books and some awesome sounding fantast too!

Thanks for reading.

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 BOOKS THAT DIDN’T FALL VICTIM TO MIDDLE BOOK SYNDROME…

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Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!

Good evening all! How are we all doing? Great I hope. It may be the end of the weekend but worry not I have a treat for you.

I have been meaning to do this post for a little while now, so why not restart my Sundays Seven with this little gem!

Here I am going to give you seven books that I feel have been a solid second instalment in their series. As much as we love series’ sometimes the middle book is a weaker book. Don’t get me wrong they are still good books but they sometimes fall victim to middle book syndrome!

What is middle book syndrome do you ask? Well, you may know it as ‘Second Book Slump’. Either way it refers to those second books that don’t quite live up to the first book. There are tons of reasons for this and some are even worth it! Some authors opt for more character development. They have already won you over so now they take the time to build their characters. Which again is not a bad thing at all but it can mean a lag in pace and we always notice it!

I see a good amount of people calling out series’ that slump but I am not about that, because the books are still solid books, they just miss some of the marks we readers demand. We are needy folk!

Any who, away from my ramblings. Let’s get to it…

ON TO THE BOOKS…

THE CRIMSON CAMPAIGN BY BRIAN MCCLELLAN

As the fantastic reviewer Petrik said in his review of this book “It’s not an exaggeration to say that The Crimson Campaign is a marvellous sequel that’s better than the first book in every aspect“.

Petrik speaks the truth!

McClellan showed huge improvements in this instalment, not to say book one wasn’t great, it truly was but McClellan gave us so much more in book two. Characters grew, the action increased, the magic became more prevalent and so much more!

Tamas’s invasion of Kez ends in disaster when a Kez counter-offensive leaves him cut off behind enemy lines with only a fraction of his army, no supplies, and no hope of reinforcements. Drastically outnumbered and pursued by the enemy’s best, he must lead his men on a reckless march through northern Kez to safety, and back over the mountains so that he can defend his country from an angry god. In Adro, Inspector Adamat only wants to rescue his wife. To do so he must track down and confront the evil Lord Vetas. He has questions for Vetas concerning his enigmatic master, but the answers might come too quickly. With Tamas and his powder cabal presumed dead, Taniel Two-shot finds himself alongside the god-chef Mihali as the last line of defence against Kresimir’s advancing army. Tamas’s generals bicker among themselves, the brigades lose ground every day beneath the Kez onslaught, and Kresimir wants the head of the man who shot him in the eye.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

STONES OF LIGHT BY ZACK ARGYLE

I recently read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it! This is another fantastic series, and while I loved book one, book two showed so much improvement! There are so many ways for an author to avoid the slump and Zack definitely did these in this instalment. We see more character growth, the stakes are raised and Stones of Light not only moves the overall plot forward it has its own story arc too!

The coreseal is shattered and a new darkness is coming.

Chrys swore to never again let the Apogee take control but, in a moment of desperation, he gave in. Now, he will learn what the Apogee truly wants.

In Alchea, Laurel will do anything to get her threadlight back, even if it means working for the leader of the Bloodthieves. But she has no choice…a life without threadlight is no life at all.

To the west, Alverax travels with the Zeda people to the large port city of Felia, where they seek refuge after the fires in the Fairenwild. But he shattered the coreseal, and no one quite knows what the consequences will be. They only know it won’t be good.

Together, they doomed the world…now, they must save it.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

PRIEST OF LIES BY PETER MCLEAN

I am a HUGE fan of this series. This is a series in which every book gets better and better as it goes on. Priest of Lies continues with Tomas’ utterly distinct and incredible narration.

This is another series in which the stakes get higher and the risk greater! We also see huge development to several characters who are all pivotal to the story. This book is incredibly written and evokes so much emotion.

Tomas Piety has been many things: soldier, priest, gangster…and spy. As Tomas’s power grows, the nobility better watch their backs, in this dark and gritty epic fantasy series.

People are weak, and the poorer and more oppressed they are, the weaker they become–until they can’t take it anymore. And when they rise up…may the gods help their oppressors.

When Tomas Piety returned from the war, he just wanted to rebuild his empire of crime with his gang of Pious Men. But his past as a spy for the Queen’s Men drew him back in and brought him more power than he ever imagined.

Now, with half of his city in ashes and the Queen’s Men at his back, the webs of political intrigue stretch out from the capital to pull Tomas in. Dannsburg is calling.

In Dannsburg the nobility fight with words, not blades, but the results are every bit as bloody. In this pit of beasts, Tomas must decide once and for all whether he is truly the people’s champion…or just a priest of lies.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

AN ECHO OF THINGS TO COME BY JAMES ISLINGTON

To some this might seem a slightly odd book to have on this list because it can definitely feel like a second book. Some very good friends and I decided it was a bridge book. It has some of the characteristic’s of middle book syndrome but Islington still manages to make this book shine, and I personally think that is a feat in itself. An Echo of Things to Come remains engaging throughout and despite its page count keeps you wanting to learn more about the characters and the world.

I think that is easily one of this series’ main strengths you are constantly asking ‘what is next?’.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

A FOOL’S HOPE BY MIKE SHACKLE

Oh my, is this a book that knows what it is doing! Mike raises the stakes, he ups the action and anything you thought you knew he obliterates.

I think this is easily one of the best second books I have read, hence why it makes the cut!

A Fool’s Hope is intense, filled with action, packed with emotion and does not hold its punches.

If you haven’t read this series then you need to start it! NOW!

War takes everything.

From Tinnstra, it took her family and thrust her into a conflict she wanted only to avoid. Now her queen’s sole protector, she must give everything she has left to keep Zorique safe.

It has taken just as much from Jia’s revolutionaries. Dren and Jax – battered, tortured, once enemies themselves – now must hold strong against their bruised invaders, the Egril.

For the enemy intends to wipe Jia from the map. They may have lost a battle, but they are coming back. And if Tinnstra and her allies hope to survive, Jia’s heroes will need to be ready when they do.

The sequel to the darkly fantastic WE ARE THE DEAD: with more unflinching action, A FOOL’S HOPE sees Jia’s revolutionaries dig in their heels as they learn that wars aren’t won in a day.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

THE FIRES OF VENGEANCE BY EVAN WINTER

The Fires of Vengeance is a top quality sequel, one of which I hugely enjoyed. This is a series that I feel is going to keep getting better too. Which considering what an incredible book The Rage of Dragons was is very impressive!

This is a second book you just don’t want to end, it is another author who has you constantly wondering what is going to come next. There are cliff hanger’s throughout and the risks are immense.

It is another very intense book, which is fast paced but also has time to build on all you have already been introduced to and with exquisite detail. It builds on the already incredible The Rage of Dragons and takes you to new heights.

Desperate to delay an impending attack by the indigenous people of Xidda, Tau and his queen craft a dangerous plan. If Tau succeeds, the queen will have the time she needs to assemble her forces and launch an all-out assault on her own capital city, where her sister is being propped up as the ‘true’ Queen of the Omehi.If the city can be taken, if Tsiora can reclaim her throne and reunite her people, then the Omehi might have a chance to survive the coming onslaught.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

VALOUR BY JOHN GWYNNE

Is it really a list from me if John Gwynne doesn’t feature in it? No. No it is, and so here be Valour by John Gwynne.

If you haven’t read this series then be prepared to be wowed with every book. John Gwynne doesn’t just do book two right, he does books three and four perfect also. As one of my all time favourite series I am so chuffed to tell you that this book is phenomenal and while Malice was near perfection, Valour brings you even more!

Gwynne reveals so much more in this book. You can expect intrigue, scheming, deception, villainous POV’s, heroics, humour and SO MUCH MORE!

The Banished Lands are torn by war as the army of High King Nathair sweeps the realm challenging all who oppose his holy crusade. Allied with the manipulative Queen Rhin of Cambren, there are few who can stand against him. But Rhin is playing her own games and has her eyes on a far greater prize . . .

Left for dead – her kin have fled and her country is overrun with enemies – Cywen fights to survive. But any chance of escape is futile once Nathair and his disquieting advisor Calidus realize who she is. They have no intention of letting such a prize slip from their grasp. For she may be their one chance at killing the biggest threat to their power.

Meanwhile, the young warrior Corban flees from his conquered homeland with his exiled companions, heading for the only place that may offer them sanctuary. But to get there they must travel through Cambren, avoiding warbands, giants and the vicious wolven of the mountains. And all the while Corban struggles to become the man that everyone believes him to be – the Bright Star and saviour of the Banished Lands.

Embroiled in struggles for power and survival, the mortal world is unaware of the greatest threat of all. In the Otherworld, dark forces scheme to bring a host of the Fallen into the world of flesh to end the war with the Faithful, once and for all.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

Some common threads I notice in these delightful books are:

  • Increase in the stakes;
  • Even though these are second books they still have their own plot arcs;
  • Increase in pace and intensity; and
  • Further development to not one but all of their book elements (characters, world, plot, reveals, etc).

Or at least that is what I think 🙂

There you have it, seven books from seven authors that know their craft and have produced an EXCELLENT sequel!

Thanks for reading.

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 SFF AUDIOBOOKS UNDER 12 HOURS…

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***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***

Happy Sunday Bookish Folk! Sam here, and I am going to talk to you today about AUDIOBOOKS…

I love audiobooks!

But boy can some of them be long ass narrations, I mean they are long ass books so it not going to be a short narration but still they can be pretty daunting. I find that I quite like the 12 to 16 hour mark, I will listen to longer but I like that it doesn’t take me ages to finish these narration lengths.

They are great for cleaning, cooking, longer drives, commutes and so much more! But this isn’t a post about when you can listen to audiobooks. So, here is a list of seven audiobooks within the Fantasy genre that are less than 12 hours long…

ON TO THE AUDIOBOOKS…

The Black Elfstone NARRATED BY SIMON VANCE

Book One of the Fall of Shannara, TERRY BROOKS

Narration Length: 10 Hours 37 Minutes

A lot of people talk about Terry Brooks and his books and yet I haven’t read any of his books yet but when I saw this audiobook was just over 10 hours I had to pick it up, and then to see it is narrated by Simon Vance…I WAS SOLD!

Simon Vance is a great narrator and has one of those voices I could listen to for quite some time, he always brings his books to life and his characters are always distinguishable and fun. I have started to listening to this narration and straight off the bat he sets the tone of the opening scene and brings to life the characters involved.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

GRAB THE AUDIOBOOK

THE HOBBIT NARRATED BY ANDY SERKIS

J. R. R. TOLKIEN

Narration Length: 10 Hour and 24 Minutes

This is one of my favourite audiobooks, and it is a favourite book of mien too but to have it read by Andy Serkis is nothing short of amazing! We all love Gollum and his unique voice to to have Serkis narrate this and bring Gollum to life on a whole other level was so fun.

Serkis bring everything from the long descriptions to the singing to life, and I really hope he narrates the LOTR’s audiobooks to then I can listen to them.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

GRAB THE AUDIOBOOK

RING SHOUT NARRATED BY CHANNIE WAITES

P. DJELI CLARK

Narration Length: 5 Hours and 36 Minutes

Now, this is a super short audiobook as it is a short story but it is so good and it packs so much into its five and a half hours! I loved this when I read it, and I grabbed the audiobook so I could keep reading/listening while I did other things too.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

GRAB THE AUDIOBOOK

The BEAR AND THE NIGHTINGALE NARRATED BY KATHLEEN GATI

Book One of the WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY, KATHERINE ARDEN

Narration Length: 11 Hours and 48 Minutes

This absolutely gorgeous novel can be enjoyed in Gati’s soothing and immersive voice. Gati really tells this story, it is so atmospheric and I adore this audiobook. They way she tells the story is just so soulful and brilliant and you really get a feel for the characters and their struggles and triumphs.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

GRAB THE AUDIOBOOK

BLOOD OF ELVES NARRATED BY PETER KENNY

Book One of the WITCHER SERIES, ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI

Narration Length: 11 Hours and 11 Minutes

Ok, so The Witcher series hardly need any introduction, it is a TV show, a book series and a game. It is everywhere. It has epic creatures and Geralt…what more do you need to know?! The narration of this book is really great Kenny has a really unique voice. I will admit at first I wasn’t sure but having a few more narrators and listens under my belt I can appreciate Kenny’s voice for what it is, and that is a gritty and very charismatic voice.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

GRAB THE AUDIOBOOK

DRAGON FLIGHT NARRATED BY SOPHIE ALDRED

Book One of the DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN, ANNE MCCAFFREY

Narration Length: 10 Hours and 7

In this instance it is Sophie Aldred who needs no introduction, I listened to Sophie’s narration of The Doors of Eden and I also have her narration of Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward. Sophie is an incredible narrator and I had such fun listening to The Doors of Eden, obviously it is as much to do with the book as it is the voice, but I cannot praise Sophie enough.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

GRAB THE AUDIOBOOK

BLACKWING NARRATED BY COLIN MACE

Book One of the RAVENSMARKS TRILOGY, ED MCDONALD

Narration Length: 11 Hours and 27 Minutes

Ahhh Colin Mace, I love Colin Mace’s voice. He is very similar to Simon Vance in that he is a narrator I can listen to for longer durations. He is such a great storyteller and and his voice…I swear it just is a balm to my soul!

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

GRAB THE AUDIOBOOK

Also check out 7 AUDIOBOOKS FOR PEOPLE WHO STRUGGLE WITH AUDIOBOOKS for even more audiobook recommendations!

Thanks for reading.

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 BOOKS WITH FIERCE ASS MOMMA BEARS…

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***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***

Happy Sunday Bookish Folk & Happy Mother’s Day to all you beautiful mommas out there!

Well, seen as though it is mothers day I figured what better way to celebrate than to have todays Sundays Seven feature some of the awesome mums that feature in SFF books!

I was talking to David and Eleni a little while ago about tropes and I had myself a wee moan about the orphaned hero trope. I don’t hate it but I always thought to myself why can’t the hero just have a normal and functional family? I get it, the ambiguous origins trope means that you can have an easier route to other tropes such as the amazing trope of found family or the secret heir trope, but there are still ways to get to those with them having a family! Then to add to that, when there is a family dynamic we see the evil step mother or the disgraced child (in the terrible parents eyes) and so you can see how parents have themselves a wee bit of a bad rap in books!

And folks that ain’t on! I have a fierce ass momma bear of my own, and she has been mom and dad for a bloody long time, so as a thank you to her and all the fierce mothers out there I wanted to find some books with some fierce, loyal and loving mums in them!

So, without further ado, here are seven books which feature a fierce momma bear…

ON TO THE BOOKS…

ORKA

(The Shadow of the Gods BY JOHN GWYNNE)

“Fear is no bad thing,” Orka said. “How can you be brave if you do not feel fear?”
“I don’t understand,” Breca said, frowning.”
“Courage is being scared of a task and doing it anyway.”

Having just read this incredible book (which I will post a review for soon) I simply could not have a list about fierce momma bears and not feature Orka! I think I was less than ten pages into this book and I knew I would love Orka, I even tweeted about expecting to see one of the fiercest mums in the book and I wasn’t disappointed!

Orka is such an incredible mum, and not one I would want to mess with…AT ALL! This mum has some serious skills and she will scour the earth for her son and die to protect him! The raw emotions you see within the pages of this book are incredible, from the motherly chastising to her internal worries and fear you will feel it all!

“It is a hard world, and we will not always be here to protect him from it. We are not just his parents, we are his teachers, too.”

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

MOLLY WEASLEY

(HARRY POTTER SERIES BY J.K. ROWLING)

“You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!’ screamed Mrs. Weasley.
Bellatrix laughed, the same exhilarated laugh her cousin Sirius had given as he toppled backwards through the veil, and suddenly Harry knew what was going to happen before it did. Molly’s curse soared beneath Bellatrix’s outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart.”

I love Mrs. Weasley she is a different kind of fierce mum, she is the stay at home beautiful mother to a brood of seven (I think) and she is such a loving and caring mum and one I adore! She is funny, she cooks the best food, knits the sweater and will shout at her silly kids through a letter for being a dumb kid! I’m sure I have pushed my mum to some of the levels of frustration you see from Molly for being a little shit!

“Now, you two – this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve – you’ve blown up a toilet or –”
“Blown up a toilet? We’ve never blown up a toilet.”
“Great idea though, thanks, Mum.”

Then throw in the fact that on top of her children already she has no issue taking Harry and Hermione under her wing too!

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

MISAKI

THE SWORD OF KAIGEN BY M.L. WANG

Oh Misaki! How I love her, she made me feel strong yet beaten and so much more.

Misaki is another type of fierce mother and her journey is a phenomenal one, she goes through so many stages with her children and motherhood, she goes from feeling like her children are husbands and less hers, to longing for her old life and all the way to her realising that isn’t the case and her fighting ! It is an emotional roller coaster!

“What is really important to me was protecting the people I cared about. I’ve never needed a sword to protect you—to raise you the way your father wanted. Caring for my family meant putting away the fighter, so I did.”

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

ALANA

SAGA BY BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

I love this series! And Alana is funny, kick ass and such a great mum. She is always trying to e better and very rarely has Hazel far from her.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

TAMRA

RACE THE SANDS BY SARAH BETH DURST

“Tamra’s breath caught in her throat. She spun around and there was Shalla! Dropping to her knees, Tamra pulled her in tight until she yelped.”

Tamra is another mother who just wants what is best for her little girl! She faces so many challenges through her journey and is constantly trying to make the best of her situation. She proves that they don’t need all tings lavish, but what her daughter does need is unconditional love!

On top of that she assumes a mother role of another character within the book too, despite all her struggles.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

AGNES

ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES BY ALIX E. HARROW

“Agnes almost laughs at her: of course she wants a child. Of course she wants to lay its sleeping cheek against her breastbone and smell its milk-sweet bread, to become on its behalf something grander than herself: a castle or a sword, stone or steel…”

In The Once and Future Witches we see a different take on being a mum, we see it through the eyes of Agnes as her baby grows in her tummy.

Agnes shows the love and care that mothers go through on their journey, from realising they are pregnant to the bond they slowly but surely develop throughout the pregnancy. Agnes develops a fierce love for someone she has never met and you see how it changes the way she sees the world, the people and how she makes some huge decisions.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

CERSEI LANNISTER, GILLY, LYANNA STARK & CATELYN STARK

GAME OF THRONES BOOKS BY GEORGE R. R. MARTIN

Game of Thrones reps so many mums here, and with such a variety too! We have Cersei who, despite having some seriously messed up traits, can’t be said to not love her children! Yes, she makes mistakes but down to her core her children are her everything.

Gilly is my absolute favourite she goes so far to protect her baby, she is so wholesome and lovely and is always trying her best!

Then we have Catelyn and Lyanna Stark! Lyanna did everything she could before her son was even born to ensure he was safe and it cost her everything, if that isn’t a fierce display of love then i don’t know what is! Then we have the super tough mum, Catelyn Stark she might have been a dick to Jon but she loved her own children fiercely and always seemed to have their best interest at heart.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

There you have it, seven books that feat a different variety of all the strong momma bears out there!

Thanks for reading. Who are some of your favourite mums in books!?

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 BOOKS ON MY NETGALLEY TBR…

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***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***

Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!

This post is about a few things this week. Not only is it seven books I am SO excited to read, but also seven book on my NetGalley TBR that I have to get and I am so excited for! So we have a degree of accountability today…but books!

My NetGalley ratio is NOT good. So, having got through many of my physical arcs I can get to my NetGalley ones and make a move on my ratio. I have some serious work to do, but I am so up for it

ON TO THE BOOKS…

SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN BY SHELLEY PARKER-CHAN

I am so excited for this book, every time I read the synopsis I nearly screw the TBR and just pick it up. I love Mongol history from its rise to its fall, it is one of the most interesting periods and then throw in the serious Mulan vibes and I am practically vibrating with excitement for this book!

She’ll change the world to survive her fate . . .

In Mongol-occupied imperial China, a peasant girl refuses her fate of an early death. Stealing her dead brother’s identity to survive, she rises from monk to soldier, then to rebel commander. Zhu’s pursuing the destiny her brother somehow failed to attain: greatness. But all the while, she feels Heaven is watching.

Can anyone fool Heaven indefinitely, escaping what’s written in the stars? Or can Zhu claim her own future, burn all the rules and rise as high as she can dream?

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is a re-imagining of the rise to power of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu was the peasant rebel who expelled the Mongols, unified China under native rule, and became the founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: Hardback | Kindle | Audiobook | Bookshop.Org

Phoenix Extravagant BY Yoon Ha Lee

I am ashamed I haven’t read this book yet, I actually got it quite some time ago and it is still yet to be read. With its discord, need for revolution and mechanical freaking dragons I need to pull my finger out and get this book read!

Dragons. Art. Revolution.

Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint.

One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers.

But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.

What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight… 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: Hardcover | Kindle | Audiobook | Bookshop.Org

Northern Wrath BY Thilde Kold Holdt 

This is another one I really wish I had read already, it sounds fab and it reviewed so well. I was silly enough to let page count steer me away each time I contemplated it.

Following in the steps of Neil Gaiman & Joanne Harris, the author expertly weaves Norse myths and compelling characters into this fierce, magical epic fantasy.

A dead man, walking between the worlds, foresees the end of the gods.

A survivor searching for a weapon releases a demon from fiery Muspelheim.

A village is slaughtered by Christians, and revenge must be taken.

The bonds between the gods and Midgard are weakening. It is up to Hilda, Ragnar, their tribesmen Einer and Finn, the chief’s wife Siv and Tyra, her adopted daughter, to fight to save the old ways from dying out, and to save their gods in the process.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook | Bookshop.Org

The Black Coast BY Mike Brooks 

Recently released this book is reviewing really well! I have read each one I have seen pop up in th book community and they all make me even more excited to read this book. I’m actually due to start it in the next few days.

The Black Coast is the start of a series filled with war-dragons, armoured knights, sea-faring raiders, dangerous magic and battle scenes.

When the citizens of Black Keep see ships on the horizon, terror takes them, for they know who is coming: for generations, Black Keep has been raided by the fearsome clanspeople of Iwernia. Saddling their war dragons, the Naridans rush to defend their home only to discover that the clanspeople have not come to pillage at all. Driven from their own homeland by the rise of a daemonic despot who prophesies the end of the world, they have come in search of a new home. Meanwhile the wider continent of Narida is lurching toward war. Black Keep is about to be caught in the cross-fire of the coming war for the world – if only its new mismatched society can survive. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook | Bookshop.Org

Songs of Insurrection BY J.C. Kang 

I only recently found out about this book from stalking the indie lists on Goodreads and then I saw it on NetGalley and couldn’t resist! This is another I’m due to read in the near future.

Lose yourself in this fusion of Asian and Western fantasy, which critics extol as “wonderfully opulent,” “Breathtaking,” and “Unique.”

Only the lost magic of Dragon Songs can save the world. Only an awkward girl with the perfect voice can rediscover it.

The Dragon Singers of old summoned typhoons and routed armies, liberating mankind from the orcs before fading into legend. Now, with the world again facing a new cataclysm, the power of music stirs in Kaiya, an a naïve misfit with the perfect voice.

Without a master to guide her, she must rely on Hardeep, a disgraced foreign paladin, to help awaken her latent magic. His motives might not be entirely noble. When he leads her to the fabled Dragon Scale Lute, which only a Dragon Singer can wield, it is up to Black Lotus Clan to intervene.

Because the instrument’s fell power can save the world…

Or destroy it. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: Paperback | Kindle (Free on Kindle Unlimited)

We Ride the Storm BY Devin Madson

I am so sooooo LATE on this one, I’m pretty sure bloody book three is due out soon! I have no excuses!

In the midst of a burgeoning war, a warrior, an assassin, and a princess chase their own ambitions no matter the cost in Devin Madson’s visceral, emotionally charged debut. 

War built the Kisian Empire. War will tear it down.

Seventeen years after rebels stormed the streets, factions divide Kisia. Only the firm hand of the god-emperor holds the empire together. But when a shocking betrayal destroys a tense alliance with neighboring Chiltae, all that has been won comes crashing down.

In Kisia, Princess Miko Ts’ai is a prisoner in her own castle. She dreams of claiming her empire, but the path to power could rip it, and her family, asunder.

In Chiltae, assassin Cassandra Marius is plagued by the voices of the dead. Desperate, she accepts a contract that promises to reward her with a cure if she helps an empire fall.

And on the border between nations, Captain Rah e’Torin and his warriors are exiles forced to fight in a foreign war or die.

As an empire dies, three warriors will rise. They will have to ride the storm or drown in its blood.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: Paperback | Kindle | Audiobook | Bookshop.Org

Ashes of the Sun BY Django Wexler

I actually have this book in physical copy too, from Goldsboro but I originally got it on NetGalley. Considering when this book came out you can imagine how shite my ratio is!

Long ago, a magical war destroyed an empire, and a new one was built in its ashes. But still the old grudges simmer, and two siblings will fight on opposite sides to save their world in the start of Django Wexler’s new epic fantasy trilogy.
Gyre hasn’t seen his beloved sister since their parents sold her to the mysterious Twilight Order. Now, twelve years after her disappearance, Gyre’s sole focus is revenge, and he’s willing to risk anything and anyone to claim enough power to destroy the Order.
Chasing rumors of a fabled city protecting a powerful artifact, Gyre comes face-to-face with his lost sister. But she isn’t who she once was. Trained to be a warrior, Maya wields magic for the Twilight Order’s cause. Standing on opposite sides of a looming civil war, the two siblings will learn that not even the ties of blood will keep them from splitting the world in two.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: Paperback | Kindle (Free on Kindle Unlimited) | Audiobook | Bookshop.Org

As usual thank you for reading another Sunday Seven!

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 FANTASY BOOKS WITH GREAT ROMANCES…

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***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***

Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!

Well, Happy Valentines Day all!

I’m not going to waffle on to much today and will get straight to the list today. I know, I’m cheating but I am so so tired and really want to read my book!

ON TO THE BOOKS…

THE STONE KNIFE BY ANNA STEPHENS

The Stone Knife is an amazing epic fantasy with some genuine and wholesome relationships. It isn’t quite a romance because it has already established relationship but it is a joy to read.

A fantasy epic of freedom and empire, gods and monsters, love, loyalty, honour, and betrayal, from the acclaimed author of GODBLIND.

For generations, the forests of Ixachipan have echoed with the clash of weapons, as nation after nation has fallen to the Empire of Songs – and to the unending, magical music that binds its people together. Now, only two free tribes remain.

The Empire is not their only enemy. Monstrous, scaled predators lurk in rivers and streams, with a deadly music of their own.

As battle looms, fighters on both sides must decide how far they will go for their beliefs and for the ones they love – a veteran general seeks peace through war, a warrior and a shaman set out to understand their enemies, and an ambitious noble tries to bend ancient magic to her will.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK | BOOKSHOP.ORG

NEVERNIGHT BY JAY KRISTOFF

Nevernight is an incredible book, and I loved the romance within it. It isn’t in your face and is a subtle sub plot that adds to the characters development both individually and as a group.

Mia Corvere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death.

Destined to destroy empires, the child raised in shadows made a promise on the day she lost everything: to avenge herself on those that shattered her world.

But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, and Mia must become a weapon without equal. Before she seeks vengeance, she must seek training among the infamous assassins of the Red Church of Itreya.

Inside the Church’s halls, Mia must prove herself against the deadliest of opponents and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and daemons at the heart of a murder cult.

The Church is no ordinary school. But Mia is no ordinary student.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK | BOOKSHOP.ORG

THE NIGHT CIRCUS BY ERIN MORGENSTERN

The Night Circus is praised for so many things, from its magical atmosphere to its beautiful prose, but another aspect this book did well in my opinion was its romance. It is a high stakes competition made all the more difficult by its star-crossed lovers.

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway – a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love – a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. 

Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK | BOOKSHOP.ORG

POISON STUDY BY MARIA V. SNYDER

Poison Study is a great young adult fantasy, it is a character driven story with an intriguing premise! The romance is slow burn and done wonderfully.

Choose: A quick death… or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK (FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED) | BOOKSHOP.ORG

THRONE OF GLASS BY SARAH J MAAS

I love these books, theses books are New Adult and are very much Fantasy Romance, it is trope as hell but I love these books.

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien. 

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK | BOOKSHOP.ORG

MOON CALLED BY PATRICIA BRIGGS

This is a fun Urban Fantasy that has a great romance, and I could help but put a shifter romance in here. it is one if the better done romances.

Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy’s next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she’s fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy’s connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water…

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK | BOOKSHOP.ORG

GRACELING BY KRISTIN CASHORE

This is YA, and I really don’t know why, it doesn’t feel YA to me, or at least it didn’t when I read it. It is a great story and the romantic aspect is done really well. The romance is authentic and real, and it isn’t a main plot to the story.

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug. 

She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po. 

She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. 

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, debut author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK | BOOKSHOP.ORG

There you have it, seven books that I have found that have some great romantic elements!

Thanks for reading.

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 ATMOSPHERIC BOOKS THAT TRULY IMMERSE YOU INTO THEIR WORLDS…

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***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***

Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!

I have been reading a lot more over the last two months, I read a lot anyway but I made a big push in December for the Goodreads goal and January saw quite a few books too. It was some of my January reads that actually inspired this post, two books in particular…The Bear and the Nightingale and A Ritual of Bone. These books were such atmospheric books, they truly transported you into their worlds and you felt the moods they imagined.

So, I’m ready to find more books of that nature. I truly appreciate brilliant world building but at the same time it is my least coveted aspect in a book. I am much more for character development and plot. Don’t get me wrong I want world-building but I sit firmly in the category of moderate world building. I don’t need everything told to me in explicit detail, I like to fill in the gaps myself but having read the above two book I now fid myself wanting more of them, not meticulous world building but immersive and atmospheric reads.

ON TO THE BOOKS…

The Bear and the Nightingale BY Katherine Arden

This is an amazing book, I had been told on more than one occasion that this book was really atmospheric, and it was honestly the first time I had ever heard a book be described as such. So, little ole me was like okkkk, good. It wasn’t until I read this book that I truly understood just how accurate this was.

It is the dark and stormy night that makes you shiver and feel like you need to throw a few more wooden logs onto your fire. The mood is clear and purposeful.

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

The Bear and the Nightingale is a magical debut novel from a gifted and gorgeous voice. It spins an irresistible spell as it announces the arrival of a singular talent. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK

A RITUAL OF BONE BY LEE C. CONLEY

When I think of what atmospheric is, it is so many things but for this novel it is much about the mood. It is that obscure haunting feeling that fills you as you slowly reveal what this book gives you, the slowly unravelling of the books events…

“Only valour and steel can stand against the rising dead”

Arnar is a land of warriors, its people as stalwart as the stones themselves. In a land of dark forests and ancient hill forts, a forgotten evil is awoken by curious minds. 

The Great Histories and the Sagas say nothing of this evil, long passed from the memory of even the studious scholars of the College. For centuries, the scholars of Arnar have kept these records and preserved the knowledge and great deeds of a proud people. The story of these peoples forever chronicled in the Sagas of the Great Histories. 

But now the evil spreads and the dead walk in its wake, terrible creatures roam the night and even the spirits are restless. The Dead Sagas could perhaps be the final chapters of these great records. 

Many threads entwine to tell this Saga, interweaving the tales of those who played their part in the search for answers and ultimately their fight for survival. Amid plague, invasion and terror, the inexorable rise of the dead sends a kingdom scrabbling to its knees.

This Dark Fantasy Epic combines dark malign horror and gritty survival adventure as the Dead Sagas unfold in a world where honour and renown is all, where beasts and savages lurk in the wilderness, and where sword, axe and shield is all that stands between the living and the grasping hands of the dead.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: PAPERBACK | KINDLE EBOOK (ALSO FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED) | AUDIOBOOK

RING SHOUT BY P. Djèlí Clark

I feel like this is even more impressive, that is managed to create such an intense atmosphere in far less words than all the other books on this list.

D. W. Griffith is a sorcerer, and The Birth of a Nation is a spell that drew upon the darkest thoughts and wishes from the heart of America. Now, rising in power and prominence, the Klan has a plot to unleash Hell on Earth.

Luckily, Maryse Boudreaux has a magic sword and a head full of tales. When she’s not running bootleg whiskey through Prohibition Georgia, she’s fighting monsters she calls “Ku Kluxes.” She’s damn good at it, too. But to confront this ongoing evil, she must journey between worlds to face nightmares made flesh–and her own demons. Together with a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter, Maryse sets out to save a world from the hate that would consume it.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

GRAB THE AUDIOBOOK | KINDLE | HARDCOVER

THE NAME OF THE WIND BY PATRICK ROTHFUSS

I feel like I put this book into so many lists, I don’t but it was in last weeks Sunday Seven, so it feels like it sometimes. BUT, this book belongs on this list!

Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. 

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. 

A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: AMAZON.CO.UK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK | THE BROKEN BINDING (USE CODE SAMBOOKINH FOR 5% OFF)

Every Heart a Doorway BY Seanan McGuire

I have spoken to this a few people about this book and all of them have said in some way or another that this is such an engrossing and enchanting book and made even more immersive by the beautiful prose.

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere… else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced… they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: AMAZON.CO.UK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK

SABRIEL BY GARTH NIX

Now, this one might seem like a little bit of an off one but one praise that comes up quite a lot for this book is that is des an incredible job at giving that dark and foreboding feeling with magic and strange creatures.

Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him. 

With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn’t always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: AMAZON.CO.UK | KINDLE EBOOK (FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED) | AUDIOBOOK

The Shadow of the Wind BY Carlos Ruiz Zafón

I have had this on my TBR since September 2020, so I haven’t read this but from the reviews and some other posts and articles this book is worthy of being on this list.

The story takes place in Barcelona, 1945 and for those readers that haven’t ever stopped foot there it matters not because this book delivers. Want to visit Barcelona, red this book and be immersed!

Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets–an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.
–back cover

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BUY IT: AMAZON.CO.UK | KINDLE EBOOK | AUDIOBOOK

Thanks for reading.

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 BOOKS TO RESTORE YOUR FAITH IN PROLOGUES…

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***Please note this page contains affiliate links and at no extra charge to you I can earn a small fee on any qualifying purchases. Any and all money earned through these goes straight back into the blog***

Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!

I hope your week has been good and filled with bookish goodness. Well, like I said it’s Sunday so that means I am going to give you seven books, one for every day of the week!

This week I am taking on a subject a lot of readers have a strong ass opinion on.

The Prologue…

I personally like a prologue, I have read some killer prologues that have me really excited for the story ahead but I have also seen some that I’m just like..

There are quite a few types of prologues and I don’t think you can hate them all and I don’t think you can love them all. Some are a direct copy of a paragraph you will get to at some point in the book, some are a character introduction or and introduction to the magic and some are – and these are my favourite – a historical event or inciting incident that set the story you are about to read in motion.

What is your favourite or most hated type of prologue?

So, lets see if you agree with my seven books, and whether you feel they show that a prologue can be a good thing.

****

LEGACY OF ASH BY MATTHEW WARD

Matthew Ward gave us such a wonderful prologue in this fantastic first instalment. He sets the tone of the book and give you crucial background information to a brilliant story, this is actually what made me read this book.

Whoever chose which part of the book would feature as the audio sample did the correct thing, they chose this books prologue and it is fantastic. It moved it u my TBR considerably and I for one am glad.

A shadow has fallen over the Tressian Republic.

Ruling families — once protectors of justice and democracy — now plot against one another with sharp words and sharper knives. Blinded by ambition, they remain heedless of the threat posed by the invading armies of the Hadari Empire.

Yet as Tressia falls, heroes rise.

Viktor Akadra is the Republic’s champion. A warrior without equal, he hides a secret that would see him burned as a heretic.

Josiri Trelan is Viktor’s sworn enemy. A political prisoner, he dreams of reigniting his mother’s failed rebellion.

And yet Calenne Trelan, Josiri’s sister, seeks only to break free of their tarnished legacy; to escape the expectation and prejudice that haunts the family name.

As war spreads across the Republic, these three must set aside their differences in order to save their home. Yet decades of bad blood are not easily set aside. And victory — if it comes at all — will demand a darker price than any of them could have imagined.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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NAME OF THE WIND BY Patrick Rothfuss

So, I may not have finished this book (and yes I have every intention of finishing it) but I can still appreciate this books prologue. The language used is lovely, and such a delight to read. Though, I will admit I was thankful it wasn’t used in the main body of the book as for me it would have been too much.

Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. 

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. 

A high-action story written with a poet’s hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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The Shadow Of What Was Lost BY James Islington 

I don’t even care if I am biased because I am currently reading this book, the prologue was sooo good. it was just the right mix of dark and descriptive but leaves you asking questions making you eager to continue the book.

OLD POWERS AWAKEN

It has been twenty years since the god-like Augurs were overthrown and killed. Now, those who once served them – the Gifted – are spared only because they have accepted the rebellion’s Four Tenets, vastly limiting their own powers.

As a young Gifted, Davian suffers the consequences of a war lost before he was even born. He and his friends are despised beyond their school walls for the magical power they wield: a power that Davian, despite his best efforts, cannot seem to control. Worse, with his final test approaching and the consequences of failure severe, time to overcome his struggles is fast running out.

But when Davian discovers he wields the forbidden power of the Augurs, he unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that will change his life – and shake the entire world. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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MISTBORN BY BRANDON SANDERSON

I read this book so long ago and of the entire book the only thing I remember is the prologue. I feel like that is a good thing, I remember just being wowed by the world you are shown and this really interesting magic system you are teased with. It is written well and is generally a good and solid prologue.

The mists rule the night…
The lord ruler owns the world.

For a thousand years the ash fell.
For a thousand years, the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years, the Lord Ruler reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Every attempted revolt has failed miserably.

Yet somehow hope survives.
A new kind of uprising is being planned, one that depends on the cunning of a brilliant criminal mastermind and the courage of an unlikely heroine, a Skaa street urchin, who must learn to master Allomancy, the power of a mistborn.

What if the prophesied hero had failed to defeat the Dark Lord? The answer will be found in the Mistborn trilogy, a saga of surprises that begins here.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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THE RAGE OF DRAGONS BY EVAN WINTER

Mmmmm, Evan Winter does it right!

This is such a damn good start to a book, and as are most of my favourites it is an inciting incident, one that set the wheels turning in this world and led to the story you are about to read.

The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.

Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He’s going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn’t get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He’ll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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THE LIES OF Locke Lamora BY SCOTT LYNCH

This is actually another book but remember nothing from, its nothing against the books I just read them that long ago. I plan to reread them but alas finding the time is never easy.

Though, again I remember to mysterious and rather interesting prologue, I mean they are trying to sell a kid soooo…is pretty intriguing.

They say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. They say he’s part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumor. And they are wrong on every count.

Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. He steals from the rich – they’re the only ones worth stealing from – but the poor can go steal for themselves. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman Bastards.

Together their domain is the city of Camorr. Built of Elderglass by a race no-one remembers, it’s a city of shifting revels, filthy canals, baroque palaces and crowded cemeteries. Home to Dons, merchants, soldiers, beggars, cripples, and feral children. And to Capa Barsavi, the criminal mastermind who runs the city.

But there are whispers of a challenge to the Capa’s power. A challenge from a man no one has ever seen, a man no blade can touch. The Grey King is coming.

A man would be well advised not to be caught between Capa Barsavi and The Grey King. Even such a master of the sword as the Thorn of Camorr. As for Locke Lamora …

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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THE WAKING FIRE BY ANTHONY RYAN

I LOVED this opening, again it is an overall inciting incident that is set a little bit back from when the story takes place. What makes this even better in my opinion is that it is laid out like a report of an officer who was there.

I really enjoyed this prologue, it introduced us to a few characters though not necessarily our main characters and set the tone perfectly for this book and what was to come..

Throughout the vast lands controlled by the Ironship Syndicate, nothing is more prized than the blood of drakes. Harvested from the veins of captive or hunted Reds, Green, Blues and Blacks, it can be distilled into elixirs that give fearsome powers to the rare men and women who have the ability harness them—known as the blood-blessed.

But not many know the truth: that the lines of drakes are weakening. If they fail, war with the neighboring Corvantine Empire will follow swiftly. The Syndicate’s last hope resides in whispers of the existence of another breed of drake, far more powerful than the rest, and the few who have been chosen by fate to seek it.

Claydon Torcreek is a petty thief and an unregistered blood-blessed, who finds himself pressed into service by the protectorate and sent to wild, uncharted territories in search of a creature he believes is little more than legend. Lizanne Lethridge is a formidable spy and assassin, facing gravest danger on an espionage mission deep into the heart of enemy territory. And Corrick Hilemore is the second lieutenant of an ironship, whose pursuit of ruthless brigands leads him to a far greater threat at the edge of the world.

As lives and empires clash and intertwine, as the unknown and the known collide, all three must fight to turn the tide of a coming war, or drown in its wake.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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There you have it, seven books that will restore your faith in prologues!

Thanks for reading.

S A M | The Book in Hand

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 BOOKS TO START YOUR READING YEAR OFF AND PULL YOU OUT OF THAT SLUMP…

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Happy Sunday Bookish Folk and welcome back to Sundays Seven!

Another first of 2021!

This will be my first Sundays Seven post this year, I haven’t posted a Sundays Seven in so long. My last post was SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 BOOKS TO HELP YOU REACH YOUR GOODREADS READING GOAL and that was in early December, damn it has been over a month!

But I am back now!

And with a post I hope you like! This is in response to a few tweets I have seen of late. I have seen a lot of people in a reading slump and that is just damn tragic! Lord knows, we have all been in a reading slump and they suck, you don’t feel like you can start anything and nothing really appeals to you.

A slump can come from so many things! Be it a bit of a book hangover, where the last book you read was so amazing you just cant quite move on or that cliffhanger just broke it. Whatever your reasons here are seven books that have either previously got me out of a slump or are just generally great books I’m sure could help you!

TO THE BOOKS…

Servant of the Crown by Brian McClellan

I thought I would start off this list with a SHORT. Short’s are such a great way to pull yourself out of a slump and set you off on good footing for the rest of your reading year. you can read them in no time at all and get that little joy after finishing a book.

Plus, if you have read the Powder Mage trilogy, I promise returning to this world and the character you love always helps with a slump.

Captain Tamas is an ambitious young officer in the Adran army. As a commoner, he is one of very few without noble blood to hold a rank. When he challenges the son of a duke over an insult, the subsequent duel lands him in hot water with the nobility and the royal cabal of Privileged sorcerers. Tamas is soon drawn into a conflict that goes to the very highest office in the land, and his only ally is the most unlikely of people; a young noblewoman named Erika, who needs Tamas to teach her how to wield her powers as a powder mage.

Occurs about 35 years before the events in Promise of Blood.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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RACE THE SANDS BY SARAH BETH DURST

This is an utterly thrilling and entertaining fantasy standalone.

It is one of those books that just leaves you so satisfied on finishing it. It has so many cool concepts and is a brilliantly built book, and by that I mean the stakes just keep getting higher. Plus, Durst in a brilliant writer.

In this epic standalone fantasy, the acclaimed author of the Queens of Renthia series introduces an imaginative new world in which a pair of strong and determined women risk their lives battling injustice, corruption, and deadly enemies in their quest to become monster racing champions.

Life, death, and rebirth — in Becar, everyone knows that who you are in this life will determine what you are in your next life. The augurs can read your fate in your aura: hawk, heron, tortoise, jackal, human. Armed with that knowledge, you can change your destiny with the choices you make, both in this life and your next. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and you will always be a kehok for the rest of time.

Unless you can win the Races.

As a professional trainer, Tamra was an elite kehok rider. Then a tragic accident on the track shattered her confidence, damaged her career, and left her nearly broke. Now Tamra needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from taking her daughter away from her, and that means she must once again find a winning kehok . . . and a rider willing to trust her.

Raia is desperate to get away from her domineering family and cruel fiancé. As a kehok rider, she could earn enough to buy her freedom. But she can’t become good enough to compete without a first-rate trainer.

Impressed by the inexperienced young woman’s determination, Tamra hires Raia and pairs her with a strange new kehok with the potential to win — if he can be tamed.

But in this sport, if you forget you’re riding on the back of a monster, you die. Tamra and Raia will work harder than they ever thought possible to win the deadly Becaran Races — and in the process, discover what makes this particular kehok so special. 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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CARAVAL BY STEPHANIE GARBER

Now, I read this at the beginning of last year an I remember really enjoying it. I think this is a good ‘pull you out of a slump’ book because it is just fun and mysterious.

It is YA but the elusive and fantastical nature of this book make it a joy to read and it is whimsical and light hearted enough to just pick you up and give you a good start to your reading year.

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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THE STONE KNIFE BY ANNA STEPHENS

This book very recently pulled me out of a reading slump! It is a new book and the first instalment of the Songs of the Drowned trilogy and it is such a REFRESHING read. It is so easy to read as Stephens writing is fabulous and it isn’t set in your usual fantasy world so you cant help but want to keep reading and learn more!

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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SAGA VOL. 1 BY BRIAN K. VAUGHAN

I couldn’t help but put a graphic novel in this list. Graphics are awesome, and are a perfect way to start your reading year! They are also great for the slumps because they are such light reading, they have great illustrations and you can fit them in when you don’t have much time free!

From New York Times bestselling writer BRIAN K.VAUGHAN (Y: THE LAST MAN, EX MACHINA) and critically acclaimed artist FIONA STAPLES (MYSTERY SOCIETY, NORTH 40), SAGA is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in a sexy, subversive drama for adults. This specially priced volume collects the first arc of the smash hit series The Onion A.V. Club calls “the emotional epic Hollywood wishes it could make.” 

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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PROMISE OF BLOOD BY BRIAN MCCLELLAN

This series is just plain incredible, I have reread this so many times and now with the news of it being a TV show I feel like I need to reread it again! I think a good way to start the year on a comfortable note is to sometimes start with a reread of one of your favourite books, it is also one of the ways I get out of a slump!

The Age of Kings is dead . . . and I have killed it. 

It’s a bloody business overthrowing a king…
Field Marshal Tamas’ coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas’s supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces.

Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.

But when gods are involved…
Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should…

In a rich, distinctive world that mixes magic with technology, who could stand against mages that control gunpowder and bullets?

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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NEVERNIGHT BY JAY KRISTOFF

If you haven’t read this book then I really hope you do! Nevernight is an incredible book and so a brilliant book to start your year off with a bang!

It is a wonderfully executed revenge plot with so much more to behold when reading it, it has a little romance, a lot of action and oh so much intrigue.

Destined to destroy empires Mia Covere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death. 

Six years later, the child raised in the shadows takes her first steps towards keeping the promise she made on the day that she lost everything. 

But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, so if she is to have her revenge, Mia must become a weapon without equal. She must prove herself against the deadliest of friends and enemies, and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and demons at the heart of a murder cult. 

The Red Church is no Hogwarts, but Mia is no ordinary student. The shadows loves her. And they drink her fear

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

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There you have it my fellow bookish folk, seven books that are a great way to start your year off and ones that will hopefully pull you out of a reading slump too as they have me in the past!

Thanks for reading.

SUNDAYS SEVEN | 7 BOOKS TO HELP YOU REACH YOUR GOODREADS READING GOAL…

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Happy Sunday Bookish Folk!

I hope you are all well and dandy on this fine Sunday evening. I am dandy now that I have finished work and I am off for the next two days. I have been on the late shift all week and I always feel like I miss so much on these weeks, on Twitter, on Instagram and in the general book community.

Though thankfully, I will be on the early shift next week and can be as active as I like to be again. Yay!

I keep seeing lots of folk sharing their Goodreads Reading Challenge progress over the last few weeks and it got me checking mine out. I am currently sat pretty on 127 books, my goal is 150! Goodreads keeps yapping at me and telling me I am 15 books behind schedule! I mean the cheek of it, right?!

In attempt to maybe achieve this goal I have searched for some Fantasy or Science Fiction shorts to read! While I am not overly fussed for reaching this target, it would be nice. I’m still seriously impressed with what I have read already but, as many of us did, I set a goal and it is always nice when you meet a goal, right?!

This week in Sundays Seven I am thus going to share with you seven books that may help me and you reach your Goodreads goal.

THE ONES WHO WALK AWAY FROM OMELAS: A STORY BY URSULA K. LE GUIN

BOOK LENGTH: 32 PAGES

So, this book is one of those books that Goodreads doesn’t really give you a straight forward blurb! From what I can gather this is an elegantly written short about a utopian city in which all who reside there are filled with happiness and overflowing delight but with at what cost?

This sounds like quite a captivating concept, and it is also actually a great choice for me personally as I haven’t read any of Le Guin’s work and so it would be a nice taster to her work to see if I can read her other works.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

RING SHOUT BY DJELI CLARK

BOOK LENGTH: 176 PAGES

This book caught my attention when it as making the rounds on Twitter. It is written by a multi award winning author and he has returned with a pretty fantastic sounding book, one I can’t wait to read. I pre-ordered this I was that excited after reading about it. Set in prohibition era Georgia and a fantasy twist on the KKK what’s not to like?!

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

BINTI BY NNEDI OKORAFOR

BOOK LENGTH: 96 PAGES

I picked this up a few months back when I was looking into reading more science fiction books. It is about Binti she is offered a place at a university, one of the finest but at what cost? The elite institution trope, wars, costly decisions and more…it sounds bloody great.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

EVERY HEART A DOORWAY BY SEANAN MCGUIRE

BOOK LENGTH: 173 PAGES

I added this to my TBR late January, and still haven’t read it yet and I don’t know why because its short and sounds really cool. It is an Urban Fantasy read which revolves around miracle children, magical lands and a wayward home for them which in stricken by a tragedy…I should really get to reading it!

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

ALL SYSTEMS RED BY MARTHA WELLS

BOOK LENGTH: 144 PAGES

This is a book series that I have heard a great deal about, and one I would love to start reading. The only think that has really stopped me is the fact that these are quite costly books! But should a deal come along I would definitely pick them up or maybe I will check out the audio.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

THE FACE IN THE WINDOW BY BRIAN MCCLELLAN

BOOK LENGTH: 50 PAGES

Some of you may know I absolutely LOVED Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage trilogy it was just bloody brilliant. Yet saying that I haven’t read any of the shorts, now Im not one to really read shorts in the same world because they aren’t usually about the same character but at least two of McClellans shorts are! This and Ghosts of the Tristan Basin are about Taniel’s time spent in Fatrasta prior to the events of the Powder Mage books! I cant believe I haven’t read them yet to be honest. Shame on me.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

A PILGRIMAGE OF SWORDS BY Anthony Ryan

BOOK LENGTH: 128 PAGES

If the fact that Anthony Ryan wrote this and its beautiful cover don’t make you want to read this then I’m not sure what to say to you! Other than this story involves the destruction of a city by a mad god, a fabled blade and treachery…

I love Ryan’s writing, and have throughly enjoyed every book of his I have read sooo i’m going to read this. you should too!

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS!

There you have it, seven books that are not to long and may just help you move a little closer to achieving your Goodreads Goal! If I read all of these then I have reduced my ‘behind schedule’ number by half’ish and it wouldn’t even take that long. Short stories and novellas still count, as do graphic novels so why not get a few in before the year is up?! I know I will!

Thanks for reading.