Below I have included my affiliate link where you can buy these books from Bookshop.org and support local high street bookshops.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas
This Poison Heart by Kaylnn Bayron
Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning
Red Wolf by Rachel Vincent
The Stories Stars Tell by C L
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I loved this book. Jude has made a deal with the Fae king, to reign for a year and a day under her command. This still is not without danger and conflict.
The new king is not welcomed by all. The political alliances and lines drawn create all sorts of challenges. Even those within their own court have questionable loyalties. Secrets are uncovered in the Tower of the Forgotten.
The King has plenty of interest from potential Fae wives. The love hate passion between Jude and Cardan amps up. Is he just playing with her, or is there more to it.
In this book Jude is betrayed, she is kidnapped , she is tortured. She is finally returned and commanded to kill, but Jude of her own free will kills another.
There was this moment between the lovers when everything seemed so perfect – I had my HEA. Then Holly Black whipped it out of my feet in the last few pages and left me gasping for book 3!
Read it for enemies to lovers, fans of Fae, and if you love a smart strong spirited female lead.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You can buy this book from:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Fgbh9c
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If you enjoyed this, check out this:
[Kofi]
Posted to YouTube on 5 Feb 2023.
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Initially I gave this book five stars but then when I came to write my review it dropped to 4 stars, but it is almost 5 stars.
I loved the set up of this book, and the world building. All the characters are well thought out with their own desires and intentions, making them interesting and realistic.
The majority of the story is set in fairy land. The Fae are cruel to humans, especially Prince Cardan. This makes fairy school hard for Jude and her twin sisters who are mortal. With no magical abilities like their half Fae sister, they are constantly trying to prove their worth.
Jude is clever and ambitious. She is determined to get the Fae kind to see she’s not powerless and trains for the tournament to become a knight. But when a battle for the crown starts up, she sees her opportunity to turn the tables.
The plot, motives, and descriptions were amazing. For some reason I thought there would be romance. There is some romance that adds to the plot, but it was too brief for my tastes.
Read it for sisters and blended family, fans of Fae, and if you love a smart strong spirited female lead.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You can buy this book from:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UNQel8
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[Kofi]
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This book is told like a beautiful full length fairytale. Three children are adopted and believed to have been found in a shell, under an Apple tree, and delivered by a stork. The MC is Clara, the child delivered by a stork.
Her sister, Maren loves the water, and slowly begins to turn into a mermaid. Just a few scales at first, but once her legs begin to fuse together she needs to be kept in water. They realise they must return her to the sea.
Due to old magic and curses, the only ones able to take on this quest is Clara and O’Neil. On their journey the pair are tested and run into danger slowing their progress. The clock is ticking for Maren to survive.
Clara and Maren both call O’Neil their brother but grew up more like cousins that see each other for holidays. Maren is a beautiful mermaid that can bewitch men to love her without trying. O’Neil wants to bargain with the Sea King to return Maren to her human form. Clara loves her sister but it’s painful to see her flirting with O’Neil when she craves him for herself.
This story was filled with magic and a slow burning romance. I really enjoyed it and need to thank my sister for gifting this book to me.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
[kofi]
If you enjoyed this, you will like:
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I loved this book. I was slow reading it because I started again with my son. Then I started again on my own. But, every time , I started over, I loved it more.
Essie is a godling, with gifts of fire & nature. I love how she is described with her leafy hair, and how she can shift into a bird.
The gods live in the land above, and worlds have been created for the spirits. Not all the gods are good and kind, and certainly not towards spirits. Essie has a special bond with spirit Wilf, and this has made her loving and protective of them.
Without giving too much away, this little godling will find herself in a position where she has to take on the gods for the spirits, with the threat of a fate worse than death.
Considering the world is entirely fictional, Katelyn brought it to life in vivid colour. The characters were so real, even those that were not human. This book is brilliant and should be checked out by everyone!
Grab a copy for yourself from Amazon:
A Choice of Essence by Katelyn Uhrich on Amazon
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The story is told as if Gabriel is being interviewed, but in a way that is fully immersive. Gabriel De Leon is the MC, raised by his human mother but once he’s a teen he discovers he’s half vampire. He’s taken by the Holy Order to train to kill the vampires.
I liked Gabriel and pictured him as the Witcher. He is a very dark and broody character. This book was a hefty 800 page novel, but every chapter progressed the story and didn’t feel like filler.
There is plenty of action, blood spilling, and a touch of romance. I loved the thought put into the history of the world, and different vampires. Let’s not forget the stunning art lwork throughout.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Here are the books we are reading over the winter holidays.
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This book was gifted to me by my cousin. My personal goal is to read it in December, but it’s a big book and I’m a slow reader.
The book is really special as it has art work every couple of pages.
This book makes me fantasy about a life where I could read all day. It’s the sort of book you are sad to put down. It reminds me of interview of a vampire, except it’s the vampire interviewing a vampire Hunter to record his tales before ultimately dying (I’m guessing the end).
I saw how incredible this book looked on Instagram, and decided to buy it for my son’s Christmas Eve box. I like to give them PJs and a new book the night before Christmas so they are excited to go to bed. ?
The book is extra special as it is signed by the author. The book’s edges are decorated with crows, and their is art work and velum pages inside.
The first chapter was sad as the child’s mother has died. However, my son was fascinated about the idea of someone living in a lighthouse and is excited to get to the “shark” bit. I actually don’t know if there is any sharks in the story but we’ll read & find out.
As a child I loved Roald Dahl. My son borrowed George’s Marvellous Medicine from schools for we were really enjoying it, but ran out of tile before it had to be swapped.
So, I bought this set for him for Christmas so we could relive mummy’s childhood reading together. This pack of six cost £14.99 from Scholastic.
Christmas Day he started The Twits and read three chapters together. He enjoyed it so much that he’s continued reading more on his own. This is great, as books are competing with computer games, and he is a gamer.
I chose this book because my daughter has red hair and is into dinosaurs at the moment.
The story is about a little girl that digs up dinosaur bones at the beach. The beach looks a lot like Felixstowe – awesome. She then wishes that the dinosaur would come to life. Then, with magic, the dinosaur comes to life and they go on an adventure.
I love stories about imagination. I think imagination is underrated but without it many cool things would never have been created.
This was a gift from my family to my daughter. My son already has Perfectly Norman. It’s part of Big Bright Feelings series.
The story is about a little girl (with red hair) that feels her world has turned upside down and doesn’t want to play with the other children. She then stops trying at everything. Then she watches a upside down ladybug right itself, and it inspires her to start trying again. Finally she is confident enough to try playing with the other children.
It was a nice read with a good message . My daughter is crazy confident but I was a very shy little girl. This book would have been amazing for me, and if my daughter ever loses her confidence, it’s nice we have this book on her shelf.
Getting a book token is an incredible gift.
National Book Token: My kids were fortunate enough to get a book token for Christmas so we are planning an outing to a local bookshop so they can choose their own book. Book Tokens can also be spent online at Bookshop.org.
Amazon Voucher: My online book friends clubbed together and treated me for my birthday. I waited until after Christmas to spend it incase I got books as gifts. Now, I get to spend it. ?
Smashwords: Smashwords sell eBooks that can be read on any device or app, and are saved in the readers library. They have the option to gift eBooks which is a cool option to consider. Just pick the book you want and choose to gift, and the book will be sent to your recipient.
The cold weather is a perfect excuse to curl up with a new book. I hope you are reading something you love, and I’d love to hear what it is.
[kofi]
Thank you so much for agreeing to an interview about your debut fantasy novel.
Tell me about your beautiful book cover?
The beautiful artwork was illustrated by Yu-Hsuan Tseng who I happened to find online. I came across her wonderful art from a graphic design website and fell in love with the colours and imagery that she used. The style felt the right vibe for what I was imagining for The Waterfall Warrior. I got in touch with her and she was very happy to create my front cover. I was hugely honoured as it can be hard to find the right image for your work that captures what was originally in your mind, but not in this case. Yu-Hsuan Tseng listened to my ideas and with her talent and unique style she made the most perfect artwork I could ask for.
The Waterfall Warrior is book 1 in the Wilcroft Chronicles, how many books do you anticipate in the series?
I plan to do two more. When I came to write the first one I always had a trilogy in mind. It’s exciting because now the first book is out there, people can find out about this world and these characters I have created. I have lots of ideas for what’s to come. I know how it all ends, but there’s a lot of exciting things to happen before that.
Can you introduce the main characters, Hannah and Callum:
Hannah Barrington is a twenty-five year old woman who works at a hotel. She roams Epping Forest whenever she is feeling depressed. It brings comfort to her as she has fond memories of staying there with her grandparents and siblings when she was little. One day she comes across a waterfall which seems out of place; she walks through and finds a portal that transports her to a different world called Therrhain. Hannah befriends a Warrior there called Fay. To get Hannah back they must go to Wilcroft University to meet a woman named Carol Wells, but first Hannah and Fay must unveil the secret of the ancient prophecy before Therrhain is destroyed.
Callum Barrington is Hannah’s youngest sibling. He’s currently a student at university in Manchester. He also deals with mental illness. There’s a young man named Elliott Heartwood that he can see through his mirror, and in the early chapters Callum isn’t quite sure if he’s real or if his mind is playing tricks on him.
Is the Epping Forest in your book based on the real Epping Forest? Why did you choose this location for your fantasy book?
Yes and no. It’s real in the sense that in the story Hannah is walking through the actual Epping Forest, but I have added things that aren’t there in real life, such as the house that her grandparents lived in. I chose this location because I needed a forest that was out in the middle of nowhere but also close enough you could travel there from London, and also because Hannah needed somewhere to go that gave off a childlike and magical atmosphere.
The book includes your main characters facing mental health issues. Is mental health something that’s important to you?
Most definitely. Over the last few years I have been very open about myself having mental health problems. I also used to be a care worker before I became a writer, so I have worked with a lot of people who also have had mental health issues. I think it’s an important theme to put into stories, especially when it’s not the main plot device; the character just so happens to have these issues, but they also are shown to still live a life and have other qualities to them.
What advice do you have for anyone that may be struggling with similar issues to your main characters.
I’m not sure I am the right person to give advice, but I guess all I would suggest is to talk, and not be ashamed of the difficult emotions you are facing. From personal experience when I talked about it I felt better for it.
Can you share a short snippet from The Waterfall Warrior?
Walking through the forest brought back so many memories. It seemed smaller than it had when I was a child. I remembered the time I had fallen over a branch, the one that was still sticking out menacingly between the trees. It had made me fall and cut my knee. I had cried for hours. I used to play there with Chloe, Laura and Callum. They were my only friends back then. It was a time in my life before I realised you could have friends that were not part of your family. We used to use sticks as swords and playfight with each other. We even made dens with blankets. There was a house there that looked as though it was about to collapse. It used to belong to my grandparents, Grumbles and Numbles I called them for some strange reason. Back then I used to think this forest was their garden. When I passed this area, I could almost smell the cooked dinner that my grandmother used to make. It had always tasted as good as it smelt. My mouth was watering. The memory cheered me up but not for long. I was now further into the forest. I wasn’t very familiar with this part. We were told to never cross this point when we were kids, or we would be in “very serious trouble”. It was hard to believe it now, as this part of the woods felt very innocent and peaceful compared with the rest. The ground was flatter, there were no stones to graze your knees if you fell, and no hills to climb and fall down. I came across the stump of a tree. It was right in the middle, all by itself. Lines of trees standing tall on either side of it, squashed together like sardines. I went and sat down on the stump. Without even a thought I broke down and cried for about ten minutes. I didn’t understand why I suddenly felt so upset. I was feeling low, but I didn’t think I was as bad as all that. Then something startled me. The strangest, but most beautiful sound. Someone was singing.
Where can readers connect with you and discover more about your books?
The best place to do that would be at my book launch. It’s being held at Bristol’s Waterstones on September 28th at 7pm. I will be talking about the book, and there will be readings by two actors who narrated the audiobook edition of The Waterfall Warrior, which is also out soon. I will be signing copies of the book. It’s a free event but you still need to claim a ticket by visiting Waterstones website and going to the event section.
[kofi]
If you enjoyed this you will like:
Behind the Book: Chasing Sunrise by Emily Mah
Behind the Book: Garden in the Sands by Ellie Mitten
The challenge was set by World Indie Warriors on Instagram. They created three #WIWBingo boards; YA, Romance, and Fantasy.
The aim is to read and review the books on Instagram and tag @worldindiewarriors
The goal is to get three in a line, and help indie books get seen.
I’m doing the challenge. I’ve already read some of the books on the board so I’ll be reposting them this month, and I’m hoping to read some new one too.
Here is my post of my old review for Crown of Conspiracy by Kara S. Weaver. I shortened it for social media.
[kofi]
If you enjoyed this you will like:
Behind the Book: Crown of Conspiracy by Kara S. Weaver
Book Review: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Behind the Book: Gem of Meruna by Elexis Bell
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