Category: Fantasy

Recent Reads: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal is about a group of people who are thrown together in the search for a book.  

Zafira, a young woman who dsiguises herself as a man in order to hunt for the food so desperately needed by her village.  Deen, Zafira’s best friend, and also in love with her. Nasir, the prince who is also an assassin, and who doesn’t care about his own life.  Altair, who forever teases Nasir about his decisions.  

We Hunt the Flame is a fantasy book, set in another world, where magic has disappeared, and this book is meant to return magic.

It’s a YA fantasy novel, which does mean that you get a lot of introspection, but this didn’t take away from the book for me.  I enjoyed the journey and the characters, and as this is the first book in the series, I look forward to the next one.

We Hunt the Flame was published on 8th August 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones.  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Hafsah Faizal on Twitter, or through her website.

If you’re interested in fantasy book, then here’s some others I’ve reviewed:

The End of the Line ???
Brotherhood of Shades ???
Once Upon a River ?????
The Bear and the Nightingale and the Girl in the Tower ?????
Spinning Silver ?????
Ragnarok Unwound ????
The Salt Roads ????
Midnight Crossroad ????
California Bones ?????

And there’s more reviews if you click Fantasy in the labels!


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Pan Macmillan (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The End of the Line by Gray Williams

Posted on by Pam

My review: ???

The End of the Line by Gray Williams is a fantasy thriller, with a small group of people trapped by doing a job, transporting a demon to Siberia in the hopes of sending it back to where it came from.

The story jumps between present day and the past, telling the story of how they got into this situation, and some background for the characters.

This was one of those books where I found I didn’t actually like some of the characters, and you’re not meant to, but I was still rooting for them.

To me, The End of the Line is an original spin on thriller concept.  I haven’t read a book that looks at the same topics, and to have the countdown happening at the top of every chapter in the present does give it that edge of the seat feeling.

If you enjoy thrillers, then give this a go!  

The End of the Line was published on 8th July 2019,  and is available to buy on Amazon  and on Waterstones (audio CD only for Waterstones!).  I’ve found a link to where you can search for local bookshops, including independent!

You can follow Gray Williams on Twitter, or through his website.


I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Canelo (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Extract of The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Posted on by Pam
Only an excerpt, but ?????

I got my hands on an extract of The Priory of the Orange Tree, and was really pleased I did!  It’s a fantasy with dragon’s, wyrms (a different type of dragon, but one that doesn’t like humans), kingdoms that don’t understand each other, and an assassin from The Priory of the Orange Tree, looking after the Queen.

The whole book is 848 pages long in total, but the bit I read was really engaging, and I wanted to know more about the characters, and who gets to be a dragon rider!
The Priory of the Orange Tree was published on 26th February this year, and is available on Amazon and Waterstones to pre-order, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Bloomsbury Publishing (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: Brotherhood of Shades by Dawn Finch

Posted on by Pam

My review: ???

Brotherhood of Shades is a YA fantasy book by Dawn Finch, for whom this is her debut novel.  She has also written a number of non-fiction books on historical sites, and I can see her love of history in Brotherhood of Shades.

Adam is a teenager, who dies at the beginning of the book, but whose shade is important to a secret organisation called The Brotherhood of Shades, whose purpose is to deal with poltergeists and other unhappy spirits.

This is a book that is set in present day, with some trips down memory lane to 1666 for example, where we experience the Great Fire of London.

I don’t read many YA books, and so found it to be slow in places and giving a little too much explanation, and I’m not sure if that was due to it being YA or not!

Brotherhood of Shades is to be published on 22nd April this year, and will be available on Amazon and Waterstones to pre-order, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Stirling Publishing and Stone Cold Fox Press (the publishers) for this book.
Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

Posted on by Pam

My review: ?????

Once Upon a River is set on the River Thames, and starts with a stormy winter solstice night, and a young girl being rescued from the river, and thought to be drowned, except she wakes up.

Three different people claim her to be their own, but she doesn’t say anything, or act as though she recognises anyone.  A couple whose daughter was kidnapped two years ago, a grandfather who hasn’t ever seen his granddaughter, and a woman in her forties who recognises the girl as her sister.  But who is she?

All of this, and the stories of Quietly, the ferryman who rescues people, whilst never stopping for rest himself.

This was such a thematic read, with the river ever present, that you could practically feel the dampness everyone spoke about in the book.  I thought the characters were well filled, and the stories being told in the book were very good.

This has a bit of a fantastical, and that works in this setting.  

It’s a lovely read, and will sweep you along with it.


Once Upon a River is out on 17th January 2019, and will be available on Amazon, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!

Recent Reads: The Bear and the Nightingale and The Girl in the Tower, by Katherine Arden

Posted on by Pam
The Winternight trilogy is going to consist of The Bear and the Nightingale, The Girl in the Tower, both available now, and The Winter of the Witch which is due out on 10th January 2019.


Like Spinning Silver (you can read my review here), this has a basis in Russian fairy tales, which adds newness and snow to the story.

Vasya is a young girl, who can see and talk to the Chyerti, who are the supernatural creatures that protect the homes, the stables, and the bath houses, and the supernatural creatures out in the world.  An example is the domovoi, who lives in the oven, eats crusts of bread, and is loyal to their family.

Vasya is quite wild, and so her father decides that since her mother died giving birth to her, she needs a new mother, Anna, who can also see these spirits, but she rejects them as ungodly creatures.

The church leader in Moscow has a problem priest, one is who is getting too much attention, and so is sent to this same little village, to be their priest, but he likes to make people scared of all their old ways, telling them they are making God angry.  And something seems to be happening in the village, making fires burn faster and people scared.

My review: ?????


Vasya continues her adventures, but the reality of a young woman travelling isn’t ever far from us. But, with her other options being marriage or a convent, travelling seems the best thing, and if she’s dressed as a boy, then everything will be fine, right?


We meet Vasya’s brother and sister, Sasha and Olga, and see how life has treated them in the ten years since they left home, one to marry, the other to become a monk.


These two books make up a fantastical story, set in snowy Russia, with a heroine that you cheer on. Katherine Arden really breathes life into the setting and the characters, and it makes it such an enjoyable read, and I can’t wait to read the third book!







Vasya’s story continues, and with the Crown Prince unhappy with her, and spring arrived, I wonder what fresh trouble she can get herself in!

The Winter of the Witch is due out on 10th January 2019.

Recent Reads: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Posted on by Pam
My review: ?????
Ah, Naomi Novik does a wonderful job of taking fairy tales for inspiration, and changing all the things you know, but still with a fairy tale hint.


Spinning Silver has a hint of Rumplestiltskin, the Snow Queen and others I don’t want to spoil, all wrapt up in a Russian style setting, with cherries in tea, Russian sounding terms of endearment and so much snow.

Miryem and Irina do the best for their families, one the daughter of an unsuccessful money lender, and the other the daughter of a duke. They have a lot of danger, sacrifice, worry, flame and snow to overcome.

I really enjoyed this book, and it feels in the same realm as Uprooted because they are both books with fairy tale basis with twists.

This is currently in the GoodReads Choice Awards for 2018, and it’s up for best in fantasy! If nothing else, the awards are good for having a look through for new ideas on what to read!

Personally, I feel conflicted about the GoodReads Choice Awards. They are great, but having looked through them, I’ve read only a couple of books that are up for awards, and I feel like it’s a popularity contest at that point, as if choosing to vote for the book that I’ve read is saying it’s the best, when I’ve not read the competition.


Spinning Silver is out now, and available wherever you can find books!  Here’s the Amazon link, since I tend to give that.  I borrowed my copy from my local library

Recent Reads: The Strange Casebook by Syd Moore

Posted on by Pam

My review: ????


The Strange Casebook is an enjoyable collection of six paranormal and fantastical short stories, with the stories all short enough to read one in a sitting quite easily.

This is from the same world as the Essex Witch Museum Mystery series, none of which I’ve read, but I could still like the short stories, although I’m sure I will have missed the background of the characters in the stories, so if you have read the series, I’m sure you’ll really get a kick out of them.

The Strange Casebook by Syd Moore is due to be published on 31st October, which is very appropriate, as these are quite spooky!  Here’s the pre-order link from Amazon!
I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and OneWorld Publications (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile for more reviews.

Recent Reads: Ragnarok Unwound by Kristin Jacques

Posted on by Pam



I recently joined NetGalley, where you can receive books for free if you review them, which  sounds like heaven to me!  This is the first book that I’ve received, I read it pretty quickly, and so here is my review!


On the day of her 18th birthday, Ikepela Ives gained the power to unwind the fates of gods, goddesses, and other demi beings, and lost the woman who could have taught her how to use the power, her mother. It’s been three years since then, and she has only used her powers once since then, and resisted every other attempt to get her to use them.
But now, Ragnarok has begun, and Ives is called on to help stop it.  And so begins a mission to save the world, with Ives gaining allies as she goes.
This was an enjoyable fantasy story, with good pacing throughout the book, a good plot, with twists and turns, and Norse mythology liberally sprinkled throughout, and I do enjoy mythology!

I’ve given this book 4 out of 5 stars for it’s readability, and how it draws you in (I read this in a day).  

Ragnarok Unwound is due to be published on 8th January 2019, and I would really recommend you have a read!
If you’d like to read more of my reviews, you can either have a look at the label of Book Reviews on here, or look at my GoodReads profile!

Recent Reads: Day Shift

Posted on by Pam

Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I do enjoy Charlaine Harris’ books! This was a good, quick read, because I didn’t want to put it down!

Barry Bellhop (from the Sookie books) makes a showing here, and we see Quinn (also from the Sookie books, a weretiger). I like the way Charlaine Harris has different streams of story going on at the same time, with some resolved quickly, and others you know you might not see the resolution in this book, or the next, but she will get there, and it’ll be worth the journey!

Happily, I have the next book, so I’m going to be starting that today!