Category: Fantasy

Recent Reads: Raising Hell by Bryony Pearce

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Raising Hell by Bryony Pearce is set in a world where a rift has been opened which allows black magic to happen.  Ivy works as a school security guard in a high school as teenagers are the ones who can work magic.

But Ivy is hiding a secret – she was there when the rift was opened, along with her friends.

This is a YA urban fantasy novel, which is entertaining, and a good introduction to urban fantasy.  I enjoyed the way the story was woven together, and was cheering on Ivy and the others.

Raising Hell was published on 3rd June 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Bryony Pearce on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to UCLan Publishing.

Recent Reads: The Ming Storm by Yan Leisheng

Posted on by Pam

My review:???

The Ming Storm by Yan Leisheng is a book in the Assassin’s Creed universe. 

I’m a fan of the Assassin’s Creed games, and so I was looking forward to this book, but as I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, and I’m not up to date on games, so I felt lost when there were references to what had happened before this book.

There’s lots of action as you would expect from a story in the Assassin’s Creed world!  There’s references to other assassin’s that you will have come across in this world.

The Ming Storm was published on 1st June 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

I’m afraid I couldn’t find where you could follow Yan Leisheng.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Aconyte Books.

Recent Reads: Turn Coat by Jim Butcher (Dresden Files 11)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Dresden is back again, and this time, Morgan, the warden who dogged Dresden for years, now comes to him for help.  He’s been set up to look like the killer of someone in the White Council headquarters in Edinburgh, and Dresden is the only person he can think of to go to that wouldn’t be suspected of harbouring Morgan.

Dresden has to investigate who could get into the headquarters without being seen, or was it an inside job?  Harry’s apprentice, Molly is around, and Morgan doesn’t trust her at all, which leads to some situations.  

Seeing Dresden helping someone he would never think he would help is interesting, and learning a little more about the White Council is good.  The Dresden File books never disappoint, and you’ll enjoy the story being unveiled for you.

Turn Coat was published on 7th April 2009, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Jim Butcher on his website, Twitter and Facebook.

My reviews for previous Dresden Files books are below:

Storm Front (book 1)

Fool Moon (book 2)

Grave Peril (book 3)

Summer Knight (book 4)

Death Masks (book 5)

Blood Rites (book 6)

Dead Beat (book 7)

Proven Guilty (book 8)

White Night (book 9)

Small Favor (book 10)

Recent Reads: The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Lights of Prague by Nicole Jarvis is a fantasy novel, set in Prague, where there are creatures such as pijavice (vampires), will o’ the wisps, and other things that go bump in the night.  Domek is one of the lamplighters, those who protect humanity from these creatures.

His friend, Lady Ora Fischerová, also has things that go bump on the brain, and witnesses a pijovice go into the daylight, surely an act of suicide, but there’s rumours of a cure.

This was a good story, set in the 19th Century, with secrets being unearthed.  I would be very happy to read more of these characters.  It made me think of Gail Carriger’s Parasole Protectorate series, but without the steampunk!

The Lights of Prague was published on 25th May 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Nicole Jarvis on Twitter and on her website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Titan Books.

Recent Reads: The Dawn Chorus by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season 3.5)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Dawn Chorus by Samantha Shannon is a novella, setting up the story for book 4 when Paige and Arcturus will be taking on their next challenge, in France.

Paige was tortured in the last book, and had things said to her that have taken root, and she has to come to turns with the results of this, and her feelings for Arturus.

This is very much a book written about mental health, and you can see Paige struggling in many ways.  It is sad and you are moved for Paige.  You are taken on her journey as she tries to move past the way things like water were used in her torture, and her struggles with using water to get clean, for instance.

The Dawn Chorus was published on 9th July 2020 and is available from Amazon.

You can follow Samantha Shannon on Twitter and her blog.

You can read my review of the other books in the series below:

The Bone Season (book 1)

The Pale Dreamer (novella 0.5)

The Mime Order (book 2)

The Song Rising (book 3)

Recent Reads: The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season 3)

Posted on by Pam

 My review:????

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon (The Bone Season 3) has Paige newly crowned Underqueen, is changing the way things are done, but there’s a new threat.  Scion is bringing in a new technology that can detect voyants of the first 3 levels as defined by Jaxom, and people keep disappearing.

There’s rumour that Sheol II is going to be opened in France, and another that this technology is small enough that someone could hold it, and so Paige has to investigate.  Paige and Warden are still wanting to be together, but can’t because of the other Rephaim.

There’s lots of energy in these books, and you are taken on adventures. I enjoyed the story, and seeing what would happen next.  

The Song Rising was published on 7th March 2017, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Samantha Shannon on Twitter and her blog.

You can read my review of the other books in the series below:

The Bone Season (book 1)

The Pale Dreamer (novella 0.5)

The Mime Order (book 2)

Recent Reads: The Transylvania Twist by Angie Fox (Monster M*A*S*H 2)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Transylvania Twist by Angie Fox (Monster M*A*S*H 2) has Petra still on the front  lines, but with the truce between the old gods and the new gods, they have less urgent things to do, and can start doing the day to day care that people need.  Like Medusa, who finds out she’s pregnant!

Galen tells Petra that he has to go, and breaks up with her. She’s left heart broken, and then events happen so that she finds her ex from the old days.

This is a fun, fast paced read, with fantastical creatures, oracular declarations, and friends who collect odd things.  

I classify these books as cosy fantasy, as it has lots of events that happen, but you know your heroine is going to be safe at the end of the book.

The Transylvania Twist was published on 26th January 2021, and is available from Amazon and Waterstones.

You can follow Angie Fox on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and her website.

You can read my review for Monster M*A*S*H 1 here.

I’ve read a number of Angie Fox’s books, from the Southern Spirits series

Southern Spirits, A Ghostly Gift and The Skeleton in the Closet – book 1, 1.5 and 2

Pecan Pies and Dead Guys – book 7 

The Mint Julep Murders – book 8

The Ghost of Christmas Past – book 8.5

Southern Bred and Dead – book 9

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Author Collective 20.

Recent Reads: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses 3)

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas has Feyre back in the Spring Court, and if she has to be there, then she’ll get the revenge she wants, and find out exactly what Tamlin has agreed to with the King of Hybern.

This series are all large books – this one is about 700 pages long, but I find they fly by.  The story goes at a good rate, and I didn’t know where it was going to go, which is often a good thing!  This is fantasy romance, so there are sex scenes, but there are also political machinations, the threat of war, and family dynamics.  I enjoy this series, and look forward to the next book!

A Court of Wings and Ruin was published on 2 May 2017, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Sarah J Maas on her website or on Instagram.

You can read my reviews for the previous books in the series here:

A Court of Thorns and Roses (book 1)

A Court of Mist and Fury (book 2)

Recent Reads: Burn by Patrick Ness

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

Burn by Patrick Ness is set in a world where it’s 1957, and dragons are real.  Some humans worship them, and the rest of humanity is unsure, but happy with the truce that is between the dragons and the humans.

Sarah Dewhurst lives with her father on their farm.  They’re struggling to make ends meet, and so when her father hires a dragon to clear some fields, she doesn’t know how to feel.  She’s fascinated by the dragon, but also being warned away by her father.

Meanwhile, a teenage boy is on a mission, sent by the head priestess of the dragon worshippers.  He knows his actions are going to prevent a war, and he has been trained to fight.  But he has 2 FBI agents on his tail.

This was a fast paced YA fantasy book, with dragons that act mysterious, teenagers discovering more about themselves, and the threat of war looming.

Burn was published on 6th May 2021 and is available from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Patrick Ness on Instagram or his website.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Walker Books.

Recent Reads: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Posted on by Pam

My review:????

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a fantasy story, set in a period setting, where The Beautiful Ones are those who are high society.  Nina is having her debut, and her cousin, and his wife, are the ones who are launching her.  But her cousin’s wife is not interested in Nina so much as what her actions reflect on her.

Nina has the power of telekinesis, and when she meets the popular entertainer, Hector, who performs for audiences around the world, she’s smitten. To be fair, she was smitten before she met him, when she only read about him.

But Hector sees her as a way of getting access to a woman he used to be involved with, and still loves.  The question is, how long can he string Nina along before she gets hurt?

I found this to be entertaining, and felt quite like a regency romance book, except the setting isn’t precisely described in a timeline. It’s an enjoyable book with light fantasy added in.

The Beautiful Ones was published on 27th April 2021, and is available to buy from Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Silvia Moreno-Garcia on her website and Twitter.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley and to Quercus Books.