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Blog Tour Review - Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill

 Blog Tour Review - Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill Born in fire. Tempered in blood. Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North. In the remote villages of southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving – a test of courage and skill that not all survive. But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war that has been raging for centuries. There is no prophecy. His coming was not foretold. He bleeds like any man, and bleed he will. I loved Of Blood and Fire! It feels like a proper, old school fantasy. There are echoes of Tolkien here, as various races with long-seated antagonism towards each other have to come together to overthrow a great evil....
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Review - The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson

The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson

Magic awaits, all you have to do is believe... When thirteen-year-old Olia steps through a magical doorway, she discovers another land. A land tangled by magic, where hope is lost, and a scheming wizard holds all the power. Soon Olia learns that she is destined to save this land, but with time running out and her new friends and family in danger, she must search for the magic within herself - to save everything and everyone she loves.



 

With The Castle of Tangled Magic, Sophie Anderson has woven Russian folklore together with modern fantasy and a lovely family and created something special and unique. 

It is a superb story about magic, family, bravery and home, and I absolutely adored it.

Unlike Sophie's first two novels, this one is a "portal" story, where Olia, who already lives in a wondrous and probably magical castle, travels through a portal with a household spirit into a land of pure magic. A land where everything is starting to fall apart, where she needs to find allies and find her way and find a solution before everything unravels completely. There's such an overwhelming sense of peril, that kept me absolutely gripped. The fairy tale creatures she meets are fascinating too, drawn from a Russian folklore that I'm really not familiar with, to give the whole thing a sense of being different and intriguing. And as with all the best fairy tales, things are never quite what they first seem. 

It's a story about family too, and the depiction of Olia's family is really nicely done. Unlike some other portal stories, I always felt that she had something to succeed for and someone to go home too, and that increased the tension. She never had the chance to just wander around and explore the land she found herself in because of her family and home calling her back.

It's another magical story from a magical writer at the top of her game.

A definite five moon read!

🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕


The Castle of Tangled Magic is out now, from Usborne. I was given an eproof in return for an honest review.

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