tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71932963795728859092024-03-18T03:02:11.256+00:00BookWormHoleA place for books and the occasional dragon in a dungeon.Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.comBlogger339125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-87571147366162549372024-02-20T00:07:00.002+00:002024-02-20T00:07:21.649+00:00Blog Tour Review - To Cage A God by Elizabeth May<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - To Cage A God by Elizabeth May</h2><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpIEV5tSQtiHuvZa4aVWqPgaB4VSk3t-UKYcp6DP3xoN0_XvzFx_PcX3SYjeinuPPkeL1tIZjwfX92D2xUFI5pwOv0bLRKqgYwRpvqlJz75wofaPd1t6gZPwW74loBWBAmxJIybMXMsorTbYulWXKctdC0w3hA73PAn54cBnXYJTAebx7GuyZePSn5zYD/s2846/ToCageAGod_Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2846" data-original-width="1890" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpIEV5tSQtiHuvZa4aVWqPgaB4VSk3t-UKYcp6DP3xoN0_XvzFx_PcX3SYjeinuPPkeL1tIZjwfX92D2xUFI5pwOv0bLRKqgYwRpvqlJz75wofaPd1t6gZPwW74loBWBAmxJIybMXMsorTbYulWXKctdC0w3hA73PAn54cBnXYJTAebx7GuyZePSn5zYD/w426-h640/ToCageAGod_Cover.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>To cage a god is divine.</i></p><p><i>To be divine is to rule.</i></p><p><i>To rule is to destroy.</i></p><p><i>Using ancient secrets, Galina and Seraβs mother grafted gods into their bones. Bound to brutal deities and granted forbidden power no commoner has held in a millennia, the sisters have grown up to become living weapons. Raised to overthrow an empireβno matter the cost.</i></p><p><i>With their mother gone and their country on the brink of war, it falls to the sisters to take the helm of the rebellion and end the cruel reign of a royal family possessed by destructive gods. Because when the ruling alurea invade, they conquer with fire and blood. And when they clash, common folk burn.</i></p><p><i>While Sera reunites with her estranged lover turned violent rebel leader, Galina infiltrates the palace. In this world of deception and danger, her only refuge is an isolated princess, whose whip-smart tongue and sharp gaze threaten to uncover Galinaβs secret. Torn between desire and duty, Galina must make a choice: work together to expose the lies of the empireβor bring it all down.</i></p><p>This is a stunning new fantasy epic! It's an idea I've never seen before, people with god-like dragons caged within their very bones, a symbiotic relationship between a human and something incredibly powerful but as fickle as a cat. </p><p>Most of the people with this power are nobles, with the exception of the two heroines, Galina and Sera, who have the power as a result of dangerous and painful experiments done on them by their mother when they were young. And at its heart, To Cage A God is a story about inequality and revolution. The empress is both incredibly powerful and incredibly evil, a true villain to be despised and hated, and definitely feared. When Galina infiltrates her world, her court, the sense of danger is wonderful. It's a world where people are horribly killed because the empress is in a bad mood, so Galina and those around her always felt in peril. </p><p>This is a book filled with peril, excitement, danger and action. There's intrigue, but the politics is pretty clear and it's more spy action than political manoeuvring. There are people with conflicting ideologies and methodologies forced to work together, there's suspicion and betrayal, but because most of the main players are point-of-view characters, as a reader I knew who I could trust and who I couldn't. There are compromises, but not a lot of exploration of morally grey areas. </p><p>What there is, instead, is some scintillating romance! Any fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope is going to love this book! There are sexy, dangerous assassins with witty one-liners and sharp cheekbones to fall in love with. There's the princess of an evil empire, a member of the ruling elite, to fall in love with. There are two sisters caught in the middle of a conflict who find themselves drawn to people they've been fighting against. Old flames rekindle while new flames burst into life in captivity. As I was reading it I decided it wasn't so much about love, though I think that comes in by the end. It's about need. It's about seeing someone and having to have them, to possess them, to conquer them, to love them with a desperate need, even though every instinct is screaming at you that it is a bad idea. Every instinct maybe, but not the ancient, god-like dragon bound within your very bones who also feels that need and draw. And as this is adult fantasy, it goes beyond just yearning need and there's a bit more action there too.</p><p>I loved how the dominance of the ruling nobles was portrayed. One of the really clever things this book does is show how they asserted themselves through the destruction of the university, the banning of the language of the common people, and the control of the press. It's subtle and clever, and echoes reality really well. The battle is for the hearts and minds and although there are nobles who can destroy whole towns with godfire, the destruction of knowledge and tradition is just as important for them. In fact, the book does clever things with language throughout, with different tongues differentiating between status and being linked to the godpower. </p><p>And finally, I loved how effectively it portrayed chronic illness, something rarely seen in fantasy where magic is thrown around almost carelessly. There's one character suffering from chronic pain, and there's a really sensitive depiction of it, from the attitude of her mother towards her condition, to the treatments she takes, to the price she has to pay to do things, the time each public appearance takes her to recover from, the pain that follows. It never defines her, but is an immutable part of her and her daily life.</p><p>Caged dragons, an evil empire and lots of enemies to lovers spiciness. I loved To Cage a God and can't wait for the next instalment in the series!</p><p>π₯π₯π₯π₯π₯</p><p><i>To Cage a God by Elizabeth May is out on 20th February 2024 from Daphne Press.</i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-39389667098348846952024-02-13T22:10:00.001+00:002024-02-13T22:10:08.975+00:00Blog Tour Review - Sorrow's Forest by Kaitlin Corvus<h2 style="height: 0px; text-align: left;">Blog Tour Review - Sorrow's Forest by Kaitlin Corvus</h2><h2 style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXRF4aTpYAcyUCUVr-cVpHX_tY0D4jRGuL9JYuK_vA_4TmJNs5w6o9Td4Z4qdTFMg4dOpezSZ0ObmjaHFMVu_ZGbGbUAasHrMP3xQmPJ_kOk8FS2UkMBbyQdr2RR4vAL8Nc5WfqyUtjZeXqaStcuWu5KY7ZmmUw1iNDeOZ7E5MlrHlXngE6zBtXzU3lLn/s1600/ea8ebcc2-aa36-11ed-b7d0-d930e9e5ce0d_media-manager_1707581760236-BBNYA%20Sorrow's%20Forest%20banner.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXRF4aTpYAcyUCUVr-cVpHX_tY0D4jRGuL9JYuK_vA_4TmJNs5w6o9Td4Z4qdTFMg4dOpezSZ0ObmjaHFMVu_ZGbGbUAasHrMP3xQmPJ_kOk8FS2UkMBbyQdr2RR4vAL8Nc5WfqyUtjZeXqaStcuWu5KY7ZmmUw1iNDeOZ7E5MlrHlXngE6zBtXzU3lLn/w640-h360/ea8ebcc2-aa36-11ed-b7d0-d930e9e5ce0d_media-manager_1707581760236-BBNYA%20Sorrow's%20Forest%20banner.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banner design by Noly</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>Sorrowβs Forest teems with beasts, some ugly, some beautiful, all unnatural. A ban restricts travel beneath her branches, existing for as long as Lakeview Township has, and most who disobey do not return.</i></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i><br /></i></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>To win a bet, twelve-year-old Mackie King enters the forest, and in its depths, he discovers a boy-like devil. Then he steals him from the trees.</i></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></i></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">In as little as an hour, the devil names himself Blue and fits seamlessly into the Kingsβ life. No one seems to remember he wasnβt always there. Only Mackie knows the truth.</i></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;"><br /></i><i style="font-size: 12pt; white-space-collapse: preserve;">Now, Mackie and Blue are grown, Queen Sorrow has awakened, and she wants her devil back. Sheβs willing to tear the town apart to reclaim him. Mackie has always been resourceful, but it will take every bit of ingenuity he and Blue possess to thwart Queen Sorrow and her minions, save the town, and free themselves from the shadow of the bittering forest.</i></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">I read Sorrow's Forest as part of the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Awards, the BBNYA. This meant that I read the first few pages of it in the first round, scored it, got it to read again in the second round, a chapter or so this time, and finally got to read the whole book in the final round. It was the first time I'd approached a book that way, and I think this is the only one I read in all three stages.</p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">From those first few pages, this book really intrigued me. It created such a richness of atmosphere, a sense of eerie foreboding almost immediately and left me eager to read more. This township felt strange, the forest was creepy and there was this peculiar boy who'd been plucked from its shadowy depths.</p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">The slightly longer extract had moved forward in time quite a way, and both boys were now fully grown young men at college, but there was still a lot of mystery and intrigue there, strange things were happening and I still wanted to know more.</p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">Then I finally got to read the full book when it made it through to the finals. It was exciting learning more about Lakeview Township and the forest that surrounds it. The story has a wonderful way of revealing some of the mystery without explaining too much away. This kind of folk horror fantasy needs that edge, those pieces left unexplained, to work, and it hits that sweet spot. </p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">There's so much to explore in this story. Who Blue really is, where he came from, and why. How Lakeview Township has developed this tradition of not going into the forest and seemingly not seeing anything that comes out of it. What is changing and how can it be stopped before things get too much worse. There's definitely an escalation in the attacks and strange goings on, and this is in a town that apparently has a tradition of people going missing and turning up just as bones. This is a very macabre, spooky story with a palpable sense of tension and unease from the beginning that only increases as the story goes on. It weaves in lots of classic folk horror tropes, particularly around the idea of sacrifice and the ancient bounds between the forest and the people living near by it, but it also adds a fresh perspective to it, its own unique take.</p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">It's hard to get a sense of just who Mackie is at times. Although he's our main point of view character, it felt like even by the end of the story I didn't really know him. In some ways that was frustrating, but in others it felt like it fitted the tone of the story, the mystery and unknowability of it all. Blue was deliberately quite hard to read, but at the same time was a wonderful character, so full of life and love and excitement and I loved the fluidity of his character.</p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">Mysterious, exciting and at times quite gory, Sorrow's Forest was a macabre treat to read.</p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><i>Sorrow's Forest by Kaitlin Corvus is out now.</i></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy to read as part of the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Awards. This blog tour is produced by The Write Reads.</i></p></div><p style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-88685747629421117062024-02-06T22:32:00.004+00:002024-02-06T22:39:03.230+00:00Blog Tour Review - Bridget Vanderpuff and the Great Airship Robbery by Martin Stewart<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - Bridget Vanderpuff and the Great Airship Robbery by Martin Stewart</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Someone has stolen Mr Vanderpuff's golden whisk!</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>If Bridget and her new friend Stacy don't find it by midnight, the world's best baker will never mix again.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>And β as the girls chase a chain of impossible puzzles through the secrets and shadows of Paris β Tom and Pascal find skulduggery afoot in Belle-on-Seaβ¦</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Can Bridget and her friends crack the case and save the bake shop in time?</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfO1NdQ1sKBhW8jugRgKVbDNZJ-LOOL4RVOwWfHS7C1_6undrLZrsGS7rT5cP4cptrQa81fE3dmBlev8h2Wr7qQB1_p1_wsB7VwMjDc3tKqR3f2PmT8XW4Wdl1kuZHa5CxMmf_RHIdsxDRlEh5sGSFEMneCIhyKPTr_VP90ecZmCzeX1zqVK3Y6M9VL3j/s1080/Bridget%20Vanderpuff%20Blog%20Tour%20Banner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcfO1NdQ1sKBhW8jugRgKVbDNZJ-LOOL4RVOwWfHS7C1_6undrLZrsGS7rT5cP4cptrQa81fE3dmBlev8h2Wr7qQB1_p1_wsB7VwMjDc3tKqR3f2PmT8XW4Wdl1kuZHa5CxMmf_RHIdsxDRlEh5sGSFEMneCIhyKPTr_VP90ecZmCzeX1zqVK3Y6M9VL3j/w640-h640/Bridget%20Vanderpuff%20Blog%20Tour%20Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>This is another fun, whimsical adventure for the wonderful Bridget and her friends.</p><p>This time she's off on her travels with Mr Vanderpuff, heading to Paris for a renowned baking competition, leaving Tom and Pascal behind to look after the bakery. Along the way she meets the lovely Clementine, and learns that family and acceptance can appear at surprising times. I absolutely loved a phrase in there about how Clem had a space in her heart waiting for Bridget to fill it, and it's so lovely seeing her go from the despair of the orphanage to developing this strong sense of family.</p><p>Of course, it's not all smooth sailing. Book two introduced a sinister society, the Meanies, and this book really shows us a lot more of these horrible people trying to eradicate fun and happiness. There are plenty of nefarious deeds, both home and abroad, and both Bridget and Tom are kept busy trying to foil them.</p><p>Bridget continues to be a joy, with her optimism and cleverness and her wonderful gadgets. It's a lot of fun watching her exploring Paris and seeing her with her new friend Stacy. And back in Belle-on-Sea it's great seeing Tom grow from the role of sidekick to having to stop a Meanie attack with Pascal.</p><p>Throughout the book we're also treated to descriptions of the most amazing bakes, though this has been slightly toned down to make way for more mystery and adventure as Bridget uses her inventions and cleverness to race around Paris saving the day from the Meanies.</p><p>The illustrations by David Habben continue to be gorgeous additions to the story and felt a lot less repetitive this time. In book two I was getting frustrated at seeing the same illustrations again and again, resized and cropped. I didn't really notice it in book three, I'm pleased to say.</p><p>With the addition of another secret society and further travels into Europe, Bridget Vanderpuff looks set to continue for some time. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes!</p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>Bridget Vanderpuff and the Great Airship Robbery by Martin Stewart is out now, published by Zephyr Books.</i><i> </i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in return for an honest review and participation in this ed_pr blog tour.</i></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-75026573919732980762024-02-04T22:53:00.002+00:002024-02-04T22:53:55.438+00:00Blog Tour Review - Heartsong by TJ Klune<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - Heartsong by TJ Klune</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82omK4v9U-V20fbCr0QFeYkB6PuMfpSSzBDVo2w3RX5gm2bIdW5x3YLrnwwmxdq0SGU3ed4H7I3JwGyDUfewNTJrNQ8VgH-ewAfSjpSsoqlQRKUZNsKIJ88S2nu0BPEBZYSHhz8oyH4F0pwHXcF0ffxO6retVQ1owgyAcw6Zl_TvFmUVxhguPrhlHv1Rw/s1080/HEARTSONG%20Blog%20Tour%20Banner.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82omK4v9U-V20fbCr0QFeYkB6PuMfpSSzBDVo2w3RX5gm2bIdW5x3YLrnwwmxdq0SGU3ed4H7I3JwGyDUfewNTJrNQ8VgH-ewAfSjpSsoqlQRKUZNsKIJ88S2nu0BPEBZYSHhz8oyH4F0pwHXcF0ffxO6retVQ1owgyAcw6Zl_TvFmUVxhguPrhlHv1Rw/w640-h640/HEARTSONG%20Blog%20Tour%20Banner.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div><i>All Robbie Fontaine ever wanted was a place to belong. After the death of his mother, he bounces around from pack to pack, forming temporary bonds to keep from turning feral. It's enough - until he receives a summons from the wolf stronghold in Caswell, Maine.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Life as the trusted second to Michelle Hughes - the Alpha of all - and the cherished friend of a gentle old witch teaches Robbie what it means to be pack, to have a home. But when a mission from Michelle sends Robbie into the field, he finds himself questioning where he belongs and everything he's been told. Whispers of traitorous wolves and wild magic abound - but who are the traitors and who the betrayed?</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>More than anything, Robbie hungers for answers, because one of those alleged traitors is Kelly Bennett - the wolf who may be his mate. The truth has a way of coming out. And when it does, everything will shatter.</i></div></div><p style="text-align: left;">The gayest werewolf pack in the world are back in the third instalment in this gorgeous, weird and mesmerising series!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Following on from the attack on Green Creek in book two, <a href="https://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2023/08/blog-tour-review-ravensong-by-t-j-klune.html" target="_blank">Ravensong</a>, it's time for all out war between rival werewolf packs! There's been manoeuvring, dirty tricks, infiltrations, and things are really coming to a head now. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And it's this that makes the style of this book so surprising, so unexpected and so surreally gorgeous. You see, most of it isn't the kind of supernaturals at war narrative you'd expect if you were a fan of, say, Underworld. Or maybe Twilight, to be honest I haven't read Twilight and only have vague memories of the one film I fell asleep during. But I'm pretty sure they had supernatural creatures going to war and it was visceral and bloody and action packed.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Most of Heartsong isn't like that, it isn't like that at all. What we get instead is an intense and emotional psychological exploration of what it means to have an utter bastard of a witch get inside your head and fuck with your memories. From the start it's clear that there's something off. Robbie loses track of what he's been doing, where he's been, who he's met, even what day it is. It's quickly clear that something is off, but the true horror of it takes a little while to fully sink in. You see, this isn't the kind of villainy that does obvious, evil-laugh style nasties. This is the kind of villainy that convinces you that it loves you, that it needs you, that it's the only one there for you and those people out there, they don't love you, they don't need you, they weren't there for you. It's Mother Gothel, rather than the Wicked Stepmother. And it's all the more convincing and all the more evil for it. Honestly, this is the kind of nasty I absolutely love reading about, the mind manipulating, gas-lighting motherfuckers are just so bloody terrifying because you don't hate them and you can totally empathise with poor Robbie and see just how horribly he's being manipulated.</p><p style="text-align: left;">What follows is an exploration of what it's like trying to break that spell, and it's difficult and it's emotional and it's heart breaking at times, with little glimmers of hope thrown in. It's a tough road we walk with Robbie and it's a journey travelling it. And one of the beautiful things about this series is that each book features a different point of view character. I didn't care for Robbie much when I read Ravensong (and true confession time, I still haven't read Wolfsong though I went out and bought it after I blog toured Ravensong) but seeing his world through his eyes has definitely changed that. This series is so gorgeously written that it's hard not to love the main characters, however unlovable they may seem from the outside. I'm already looking forward to the fourth book, which spotlights Carter, a character I don't currently care much for, because I just know that will change and I am here for it!</p><p style="text-align: left;">Along with all the psychological trauma, there's a lot of romance, and it's almost all queer romance. I love how at one point the characters themselves joke about this and call themselves the most gay wolfpack in the world, to which Ox just says something like "I'm okay with that." It's something they embrace and it's a joy to see. There's this beautiful blend of family and pack and brotherhood and love and it all just seems to come together in everyone getting naked and piling together with pillows and blankets and it's gorgeous. There's also something particularly gorgeous about watching two people who already fell in love falling in love all over again. It's enough to crack my old, cynical heart. Robbie hurt a lot of people, and he's been so badly hurt himself. The healing is slow, and it is hard, but it gives one hope.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One thing I picked up on in my Ravensong review that is also very present here is the absolutely gorgeous use of scent and emotion and packpackpack mental links throughout the story. Werewolves communicate in ways that are incomprehensible to (most) humans and somehow this comes across really clearly in the text. It's strained more here, becuase of Robbie's broken links, and that's reflected cleverly throughout the novel. It's there but it's not the same, it's never fully explained because it's never fully explainable. It's part of the mystery and wonder and beauty. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The action does come too. There's a war brewing and everything erupts in grand style. And when it came, I don't think I was quite ready for how horrifying it would be. This is a series that bypasses typical horror tropes and finds new and quite horrible ways to get under your skin. And I mean that with utter praise and respect. It's brilliant, really, just how horrifying it manages to be without ever resorting to cheap shots and jump scares. It's psychological horror at its finest. As soon as I realised what was coming, I knew it would be hard to read and brilliant, and I was right on both counts.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Heartsong, it's surreal and it's beautiful and it's horrifying and I loved it!</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">πΊπΊπΊπΊπΊ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Heartsong by T J Klune is out now from Tor Publishing. I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-79258443453507321212023-12-18T22:06:00.003+00:002023-12-18T22:12:18.277+00:00Blog Tour Review - Clytemnestra's Bind by Susan C Wilson<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - Clytemnestra's Bind by Susan C Wilson</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxJWM42D72CMveyFI_GUCfBPjuR5lusIUTVvAaIoHSHI_PGiefDswWgVty61wHVBi7iDWiq1e9-C3n8IXYo3CzhkPuPZW_S13abYXiAAUut8mW1CsMsdKkYCbM3SIgLip0dR6Jp1HdK45MOuajXSSbaypmnjQpAMrCZPyI3Njhed6Rrymp0M5fVPEul7j/s1600/unnamed.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcxJWM42D72CMveyFI_GUCfBPjuR5lusIUTVvAaIoHSHI_PGiefDswWgVty61wHVBi7iDWiq1e9-C3n8IXYo3CzhkPuPZW_S13abYXiAAUut8mW1CsMsdKkYCbM3SIgLip0dR6Jp1HdK45MOuajXSSbaypmnjQpAMrCZPyI3Njhed6Rrymp0M5fVPEul7j/w640-h360/unnamed.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The House of Atreus is spiralling into self-destructionβa woman must find a way to break the family curse.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Queen Clytemnestra's world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself. Tormented by her loss, she vows to do all she can to protect the children born from her unhappy marriage to Agamemnon. But when her husband casts his ruthless gaze towards the wealthy citadel of Troy, his ambitions threaten to once more destroy the family Clytemnestra loves.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>From one of Greek mythology's most reviled charactersβa woman who challenged the absolute power of menβcomes this fiery tale of power, family rivalry and a mother's burning love.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">This story is brutal and hard hitting, so much so that at times it can be hard to read. It's a book that shocks and disturbs the reader from the very beginning. There are scenes of horror and brutality and particularly violence against children, but it never felt gratuitous. It felt like it was there for a reason, and not just because it came from the Greek mythology that Clytemnestra's Bind draws upon, but because the actions of the characters have to be seen in the light of that brutality. What we're watching throughout this story is the lasting damage done by that violence. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There are a few powerful themes running throughout the narrative. One is vengeance. So much of the action and the story are driven by the characters' need for revenge. What I found fascinating about this was the way it was presented for Clytemnestra. For most of the characters, revenge is something they're obliged to seek to please the gods. The gods demand blood for blood, and there is an obligation on surviving family members to avenge their dead kin. It's different for Clytemnestra though. For her, the revenge she seeks isn't to satisfy the gods but to satisfy herself. Then as her circumstances change, so does her outlook, as protecting her new family becomes more important than avenging her old family. These competing priorities are fascinating to watch play out in her, as she feels the push and pull of different pressures, but always motivated by her family, and not the gods.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The gods do make their presence felt throughout the story too. Different characters feel them in different ways, but they're always powerful, unknowable forces that have to be appeased, but can be bargained with in different ways. I thought the Greek theology came across really well throughout. The gods are scary and fickle, but how much of that is people using them to justify their cruelty is left up to the reader to decide.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There are themes there too of motherhood, and of the different expectations and obligations placed upon a woman than a man. For all of her skill in negotiation and politics, Clytemnestra is expected to have no involvement in ruling with Agamemnon, and he is very clear that her place is raising their daughters. This is in sharp contrast to some of the other men in her life. And her ideas about motherhood, often in sharp contrast to Agamemnon's, are a powerful driving force for her. As well as the gender divide, there are also divides explored between rich and poor, and how much this impacts on the different genders. A poor woman is seen repeatedly, seeking help, and her powerlessness in some ways reflects that of Clytemnestra's, but in other ways she serves to show how much more power the queen has in comparison to a peasant. Clytemnestra sees similarities between them, however different their relative positions are. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The story ends at a very exciting point. Students of Greek mythology may know what is coming next, and it feels like there's potential for a lot more in this series.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Clytemnestra's Bind is a powerful, thoughtful and harrowing depiction of a really intriguing figure from Greek mythology, helping us to see her motivations and see her in something of a sympathetic light. It is brutal, heart breaking at times, but all the better for that.</p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Clytemnestra's Bind by Susan C Wilson is out now, from Neem Tree Press.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for this honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-62231781248621492402023-12-08T16:07:00.003+00:002023-12-08T16:07:56.049+00:00Blog Tour Review - The Lost War by Justin Lee Anderson<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - The Lost War by Justin Lee Anderson</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>The war is over, but something is rotten in the state of Eidyn.</i></p><p><i>With a ragged peace in place, demons burn farmlands, violent Reivers roam the wilds and plague has spread beyond the Black Meadows. The country is on its knees.</i></p><p><i>In a society that fears and shuns him, Aranok is the first magically-skilled draoidh to be named King's Envoy.</i></p><p><i>Now, charged with restoring an exiled foreign queen to her throne, he leads a group of strangers across the ravaged country. But at every step, a new mystery complicates their mission.</i></p><p><i>As bodies drop around them, new threats emerge and lies are revealed, can Aranok bring his companions together and uncover the conspiracy that threatens the kingdom?</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrqM2fmLLfZTFRep-x30XxSWtjVEmr-zo7bVyEvsyMabRpo6TS2SfZ_i9WTNYrZ4aJuPc2VHfED28Qalug-akdDi_2gRtYdeTP1qdgP1rrn2_YZRWyoaag9vdXdSBo9x9bi35UB2McCAtmV-OI7JZ0yg4JDZR6ZaVndwdhCrCLcc3ajtPe08NQXQbCL13/s1080/THE%20EIDYN%20SAGA%20BLOG%20TOUR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXrqM2fmLLfZTFRep-x30XxSWtjVEmr-zo7bVyEvsyMabRpo6TS2SfZ_i9WTNYrZ4aJuPc2VHfED28Qalug-akdDi_2gRtYdeTP1qdgP1rrn2_YZRWyoaag9vdXdSBo9x9bi35UB2McCAtmV-OI7JZ0yg4JDZR6ZaVndwdhCrCLcc3ajtPe08NQXQbCL13/w640-h640/THE%20EIDYN%20SAGA%20BLOG%20TOUR.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p>The Lost War is a stunning new fantasy novel, and an exceptional start to a new epic series.</p><p>I love the core concept here. The action starts after a great war, dealing with what happens after a great and evil spellcaster has been defeated. Where many series would wrap up, the Eidyn Saga begins, and it's a really clever idea that works so well. Everything is not right in the kingdom. There are still demons and undead on the loose, a very nasty plague sweeping the countryside, an exiled queen to install, plenty to do for our group of heroes as they head out on their quest.</p><p>The heroes themselves are really interesting. Aranok is a cool main character. He's powerful and influential, but not particularly loved, being from a feared and distrusted caste of spellcasters. His personality certainly felt flawed in some interesting ways, from his lack of trust in some of his companions to his insistence of taking responsibility for everything. They were never frustrating or irritating flaws, just enough to make him an interesting character and give him some depth. The conflict between the members of the group, likewise, was enough to create an interesting amount of tension, while they were still able to come together when needed. </p><p>The setting felt different and new too. There were some familiar fantasy themes there, but presented in new ways that kept it interesting. I really liked the order of holy knights, and how attitudes to them differed so much from the resistance and hostility the draoidhs faced, and Samily was a fantastic character. It's great to see such positive asexual representation in a genre that can often use sex to titillate and attract readers. There is some sex here too, but it's generally kept off the page. It happens, we know it happens, but it's not in our faces. It's actually presented in quite a matter of fact way, rather than being used to spice up the narrative. </p><p>The mystery elements of the story work brilliantly! There are so many things that are just wrong when the characters explore them, people who aren't what they're expecting, places that aren't as they've been reported to be. It builds up a real sense of unease in the reader as well as the characters, and all comes to a stunning conclusion. </p><p>Book two is out now, The Bitter Crown. I finished The Lost War today, and I'm really pleased I can go straight on with the story in the second volume in the Eidyn Saga.</p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>The Lost War and The Bitter Crown, both by Justin Lee Anderson, are out now from Orbit Books.</i></p><p><i>I was given review copies in exchange for an honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-31066401290107734542023-12-05T20:49:00.001+00:002023-12-05T20:49:16.171+00:00Blog Tour Review - The Haunting Scent of Poppies by Victoria Williamson<h2 style="text-align: center;"> Blog Tour Review - The Haunting Scent of Poppies </h2><h2 style="text-align: center;">by Victoria Williamson</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i><i>The War is over, but for petty criminal Charlie his darkest days are only just beginning.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Charlie Briggs is never off-duty, even when a botched job means he's forced to lay low in a sleepy</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Hampshire town for the holiday season. Always searching for his next unwitting victim, or a shiny trinket he can pilfer, he can't believe his luck when he happens upon a rare book so valuable it will set him up for life. All he needs to do is sit tight until Boxing Day. But there's a desperate story that bleeds beyond the pages; something far more dangerous than London's mobsters is lurking in the shadows.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Could the book be cursed? Why is he haunted by the horrors of war? Can he put things right before he's suffocated by his own greed?</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBInPdW-rOLsp8cuumTqWzrkMcZy45jB6daiVlE6Cqxafv9sBKw_U_-XdSEyvfmjYyYYPda_GvMMAfTGkt3Y9izFbvoUXi5QCO1gYwVQn8D6sbqaBYtCCUbyvHiYfWW1ZmGSErJyycTi9yNq1Y3ZoRO1CKbU4PhBGhTi5zKA2YzbkMxTHYrT2qt3xM-5K/s1600/unnamed.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBInPdW-rOLsp8cuumTqWzrkMcZy45jB6daiVlE6Cqxafv9sBKw_U_-XdSEyvfmjYyYYPda_GvMMAfTGkt3Y9izFbvoUXi5QCO1gYwVQn8D6sbqaBYtCCUbyvHiYfWW1ZmGSErJyycTi9yNq1Y3ZoRO1CKbU4PhBGhTi5zKA2YzbkMxTHYrT2qt3xM-5K/w640-h360/unnamed.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br />This is such a spooky, haunting little tale! It's only a little book, a short story in a small format paperback, which absolutely suits it. I always think the short story format really suits a horror or ghost story perfectly, and this is an excellent example of the form. I think this is because a really good horror story doesn't need a long build up, and often doesn't benefit from a tidy resolution, but is at its very best when it drops us into the middle of the action and then leaves us wondering.</p><p style="text-align: left;">In The Haunting Scent of Poppies Charlie is on the run after a daring string of burglaries in London. Hiding out in a small town until the heat dies down, he takes a chance to steal a priceless book, a French translation of The Art of War.</p><div style="text-align: left;">This is just the start of his troubles! Along with his latest acquisition he gets visions and nightmares that spill over into his waking life. Trapped in this quiet town over Christmas, he has no way to get away from the ghosts that follow him everywhere he goes, getting closer and closer as time goes on.</div><p style="text-align: left;">The setting is perfect, a small town at Christmas, just a year after the end of World War One. The horrors of the trenches are very much a living memory, and the town itself feels haunted by its dead, by the sons who never came home, the ones who came home forever forever scarred by their experiences and the ones who came home all too briefly. And then there's Charlie, who never went to war but stayed at home and profited in the chaos. He's far from a sympathetic character, a thief and rascal of the highest order, someone who sees others only as a source of profit, with no empathy, no kindness. It's almost a pleasure to see him get what he deserves.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Almost.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Because what he gets is horrendous. It's all of the horrors of the trenches delivered upon him, over the course of a few short days. It's inescapable, it's everywhere he turns, everywhere he runs, and it's pervasive. The scents, the sounds, the colours, all leap off the page straight into the imagination, building a creeping, lingering horror that lasts long after this short book is finished.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's the little touches too. From the start there are subtleties, a name on a grave stone seen again in other circumstances, little links and connections that help to slowly build the narrative. And like all good horror stories, we're left questioning how much of it is real and how much exists only in the mind of the protagonist.</p><p style="text-align: left;">But for me, the overwhelming strength of this story is in the sensory depictions, the stench of the gas, and the haunting scent of poppies. It's a ghost story to be remembered.</p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The Haunting Scent of Poppies by Victoria Williamson is out now, published by Silver Thistle Press.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour.<br /></i><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><div><div><br /></div></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-58353162295394718642023-11-24T10:21:00.004+00:002023-11-24T10:21:55.046+00:00Blog Tour Review - A Power Unbound by Freya Marske<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - A Power Unbound by Freya Marske</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>Secrets! Magic! Enemies to. . .something more?</i></p><p><i>Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, heβs drawn reluctantly back into that world.</i></p><p><i>Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross.</i></p><p><i>Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. The aristocratic Lord Hawthorn, with all his unearned power, is everything that Alan hates. And unfortunately, Alan happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package.</i></p><p><i>When a plot to seize unimaginable power comes to a head at Cheetham HallβJackβs ancestral family estate, a land so old and bound in oaths that itβs grown a personality as prickly as its ownerβJack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice . . . and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end.</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQjo80hQQtA_S4f_9DXPlop5ifC2B288Y3EwrmX7wQ9NrboGiLfAQbS1WH6QCPA2J60JXNHMqTxYpH8pNuoHZR6yBhA9fU2i1AlZ4qdwOVp5QaBsFZ_vwiWsGosVw7GsUR41OpmhyQpqMI2j6aGQJ0wAgCFkwDoliOz6b2FauEaaDa9YOd6I7FyWR2kRZ/s1080/APU%20Blog%20tour%20Asset.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQjo80hQQtA_S4f_9DXPlop5ifC2B288Y3EwrmX7wQ9NrboGiLfAQbS1WH6QCPA2J60JXNHMqTxYpH8pNuoHZR6yBhA9fU2i1AlZ4qdwOVp5QaBsFZ_vwiWsGosVw7GsUR41OpmhyQpqMI2j6aGQJ0wAgCFkwDoliOz6b2FauEaaDa9YOd6I7FyWR2kRZ/w640-h640/APU%20Blog%20tour%20Asset.png" width="640" /></a></div><br />An amazing finale to one of the best trilogies I've read in years! I've adored The Last Binding series, and this is a spectacular end to it.<p></p><p>The series started with <a href="https://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2022/11/review-marvellous-light-by-freya-marske.html" target="_blank">A Marvellous Light</a>, continued with <a href="https://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2022/11/blog-tour-review-restless-truth-by.html" target="_blank">A Restless Truth</a>, and ends here with A Power Unbound. For those unfamiliar with it, it's a very sexy, spicy alternative history magical story. The setting is the early 20th Century, the Edwardian period. Magic is a secret, held and used mostly by certain aristocratic families and their servants but generally kept away from the rest of the population. There's murder, there's mystery and there's romance.</p><p>All three elements are definitely present here. But in different ways to the earlier books. There's no retreading of old, familiar ground here. Where A Marvellous Light was very much a mystery introducing the world and its players, and A Restless Truth was a murder mystery treasure hunt set on an ocean liner, A Power Unbound is probably a lot more straightforward. There's one of the three treasures remaining to be found, but the hunt for it only occupies the first half of the book. After that it's a race to stop the villains from enacting their evil plan, which involves strategy, teamwork, magical secrets and an understanding of magical theory. All of the pieces have been very cleverly put in place in the earlier books, and this is really all about them coming together to save the day. </p><p>Each of the stories in the series has two different point-of-view characters, and that tradition is continued here too. This time it's two already established characters, Jack Hawthorn, the lord with the terrible reputation seen in both the earlier two books, and Alan Ross, the journalist, thief and pornography peddler introduced in A Restless Truth. All four of the previous point-of-view characters are here playing major parts too, and it's fascinating seeing them from new perspectives. Character development has been really well done across the series and that really pays off here.</p><p>World building has been another strong element too. This book again builds on the groundwork done by its forerunners. We learn more about how magic functions in this world, really as the characters themselves learn and adapt their own knowledge. It can be fairly complex but never seems to bog the narrative down in too much detail, and when it does it's usually poking fun at Edwin's love of bogging down conversations with too much detail. There's enough in there to follow the action without ever feeling like a treatise or essay on magical theory. </p><p>Appropriately, given the name, this is at heart a story about power. This is reflected in different ways. There's magical power, a recurring theme but here taken to dramatic extremes as the villains try to seize more of it for themselves. There's political power too, and politics plays more of a lead role here as Hawthorn is something of a political beast and Alan is something of a political commentator. The structures, dictates and forces within both the magical and the mundane political establishments all play a part and it's interesting seeing them being explored more. There's also a lot about inequalities in power. Exploring this through the medium of Alan and Jack is fascinating. On the surface Jack has all the power. He's got his wealth, his status, his standing, his magical friends and acquaintances. He's also big and strong, a man of physical power as well as political power. This definitely creates tension between the two, but it's really interesting seeing how it plays out, how it's explored and how it makes them both feel.</p><p>It's also fascinating exploring Jack's past too, and I loved how the story slowly let the truth of what happened in his youth unfold and be revealed. It was subtle and emotional and very well done.</p><p>Then there's the sex. Oh boy, is there the sex! If A Marvellous Light was all about a slow building tension, a love that dare not speak its name, with yearning glances and longing hearts, and A Restless Truth was about an enthusiastic education in corruption, A Power Unbound is about a very different kind of sex. This is enemies to lovers, it's fantasies about power inequality and force, about taking and being taken, and about two men who know what they're doing trying to figure out just what they want. It's very hot, very sexy, but what I particularly loved was that for all of this, there was a discussion about consent, about limits and safe words, albeit in a way that felt more in fitting with the Edwardian landscape rather than forcing modern terms and values in there in an artificial way. It was very clever, very thoughtful and very appreciated. It also fitted in perfectly with the novel's core ideas about the importance of power and consent. </p><p>A Power Unbound is a wonderful end to a magical series. I loved it.</p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>A Power Unbound by Freya Marske is published by Tor Books and is out now. </i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour.</i></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-8103659337576567512023-11-21T19:49:00.002+00:002023-11-21T19:49:49.255+00:00Blog Tour Review - The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard</h2><div><br /></div><p><i>Winnie Wednesday has gotten everything she thought she wanted. She passed the deadly hunter trials, her family has been welcomed back into the Luminaries, and overnight, she has become a local celebrity.</i></p><p><i>The Girl Who Jumped. The Girl Who Got Bitten.</i></p><p><i>Unfortunately, it all feels wrong. For one, nobody will believe her about the new nightmare called the Whisperer thatβs killing hunters each night. Everyone blames the werewolf, even though Winnie is certain the wolf is innocent.</i></p><p><i>On top of that, following her dadβs convoluted clues about the Dianas, their magic, and what happened in Hemlock Falls four years ago is leaving her with more questions than answers.</i></p><p><i>Then to complicate it all, there is still only one person who can help her: Jay Friday, the boy with plenty of problems all his own.</i></p><p><i>As bodies and secrets pile up around town, Winnie finds herself questioning what it means to be a true Wednesday and a true Luminaryβand also where her fierce-hearted loyalties might ultimately have to lie.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdfaHz-7Av-hucB-AVLDGZiALPoKfD8Q-XICMfoKmZAtWEVagfwiHzPCL1ymeiJiCqEYFhQIrp2xahS2QjYvnEakyjK4bBeB1R_MCtArKPz3K12M0etkCw3BA1BMPNifyGYJemztWYjJ-6VKyoIthxXBIihaebQ17TAy4NIM_HepHgCl612psxlApt0RH/s1080/THE%20HUNTING%20MOON%20Blog%20Tour.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdfaHz-7Av-hucB-AVLDGZiALPoKfD8Q-XICMfoKmZAtWEVagfwiHzPCL1ymeiJiCqEYFhQIrp2xahS2QjYvnEakyjK4bBeB1R_MCtArKPz3K12M0etkCw3BA1BMPNifyGYJemztWYjJ-6VKyoIthxXBIihaebQ17TAy4NIM_HepHgCl612psxlApt0RH/w640-h640/THE%20HUNTING%20MOON%20Blog%20Tour.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">After really enjoying The Luminaries, I was really looking forward to The Hunting Moon. Susan Dennard has created quite a fascinating world, this little town tucked far away from anywhere completely devoted to a nightly ritual of hunting and killing monsters and a morning ritual of tidying up the bodies. </p><p style="text-align: left;">With the heavy lifting for the world building already having been done in book one, book two is able to get straight into the underlying mystery behind this new monster Winnie saw, the Whisperer. The one no one believes is real. Most of the town are focused on hunting a werewolf, and ignoring her pleas to look elsewhere. There is also the ongoing mystery of Winnie's father and the potential presence of witches, or Dianas, in Hemlock Falls. </p><p style="text-align: left;">These two mysteries unfold really well. There are hints and clues given out, and we, along with Winnie, get to learn more about this strange, magical world, particularly with the witches. I like the treasure hunt element, and it's really cool seeing new and different takes on mythological creatures in the forest. There were some pretty blatant clues I totally missed on my first read through too!</p><p style="text-align: left;">One of the strengths of this series is the non-monster hunting parts, the normal, every day life of someone who is absolutely not living a normal, every day life! This was really good in The Hunting Moon, as there is a lot in there about Winnie's friendships and her attitude towards the different relationships in her life. I loved seeing her learn to rely on her friends after four years of isolation, and how that isolation has affected the older friendships she had. Her family's status within the structure was a nice little note of domestic drama too.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The Hunting Moon is another really satisfying and fun monster hunter YA novel. There's mystery, intrigue, friendship and possibly a bit of romance. It's not too deep or too heavy, but what it does, it does really well.</p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard is published by Daphne Press and is out now.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour.<br /></i><br /><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div><br /></div></div></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-38943860391969938492023-11-11T17:32:00.007+00:002023-11-11T17:36:38.356+00:00Blog Tour Review - Starling House by Alix E Harrow<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - Starling House by Alix E Harrow</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>Step into Starling House - if you dare...</i></p><p><i>Nobody in Eden remembers when Starling House was built. But the town agrees it's best to let this ill-omened mansion - and its last lonely heir - go to hell. Stories of the house's bad luck, like good china, have been passed down the generations.</i></p><p><i>Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses, or brooding men. But when an opportunity to work there arises, the money might get her brother out of Eden. Starling House is uncanny and full of secrets - just like Arthur, its heir. It also feels strangely, dangerously, like something she's never had: a home. Yet Opal isn't the only one interested in the horrors and the wonders that lie buried beneath it.</i></p><p><i>Sinister forces converge on Eden - and Opal realizes that if she wants a home, she'll have to fight for it. Even if it involves digging up her family's ugly past to achieve a better future. She'll have to go down, deep down beneath Starling House, to claw her way back to the light...</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8uPPfc1bAT1Poncd3vIK3ltDzAvVqv_sZCDIdflECVgW3rYQsEW0hbVfSN2yc0Oyimaji4Dv6EUoiERKPMh6t0847jQUVMk2r5QPCwneNmmQZFcmsoeOPPNteE_5D3CL7B2NVDkiUCJ3kaRZpNpOGB5zzICCYJo6VRkY2kKxMn60-iqJ__Em4CkDGo8Q/s1080/A+%20SQ%204%20(1080%20Hardback).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8uPPfc1bAT1Poncd3vIK3ltDzAvVqv_sZCDIdflECVgW3rYQsEW0hbVfSN2yc0Oyimaji4Dv6EUoiERKPMh6t0847jQUVMk2r5QPCwneNmmQZFcmsoeOPPNteE_5D3CL7B2NVDkiUCJ3kaRZpNpOGB5zzICCYJo6VRkY2kKxMn60-iqJ__Em4CkDGo8Q/w640-h640/A+%20SQ%204%20(1080%20Hardback).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p>I adored reading Starling House. It's a stunning modern gothic novel. </p><p>It unfolds at a really lovely pace. Things start fairly slowly, with a mysterious house lurking on the edge of a cursed town. Opal is curious about the house, and that curiosity transfers to the reader too. And with Opal, we slowly begin to explore the mysteries of the place and its connections to the town, its history and its mythology and where the two combine and collide. </p><p>One of the key concepts of a gothic novel is that the building itself is a character in the story, and I don't think that's ever been achieved so accurately as in Starling House. The house has a weird, unsettling but beautiful sentience to it. It's subtle, at least to begin with, but as the novel progresses, as things get weirder and weirder, it is accentuated and becomes much more pronounced. There's so much mystery there and I love how there is just enough explanation to give your imagination a sense of direction as it wanders off down corridors of wonder.</p><p>Opal is a brilliant character. She's strong and determined, but also fundamentally flawed. She fits the story so well, and it's great watching her collide with the different forces trying to influence her, and finding her own way. The relationship between her and her brother is complex and realistic, and really fun to watch, and I loved the slow building of the relationship between her and Arthur. She really is the heart of the story, though she's not the only POV character. I think this is brilliantly put across by the simple technique of having her sections told in first person and Arthur's told in third person. It's like we're seeing half of the story through Opal's eyes, and the other half through watching over Arthur's shoulder, a literary trick that works so well and gives us one character we can really relate to, understand, empathise with and root for, and another character who is able to retain so much of his mystery and fundamental unknowableness. It's very clever.</p><p>Another literary element I thought worked brilliantly was the telling of stories within the novel. This happens various times, and always with a break in the text, a title, and a telling of the tale. But they retain the narrative voice of whoever is telling the story, which I really liked. Those stories really give a sense that what we're seeing is a mythology unfolding. It's the place where historical accounts meet fairy tales, a combination that captures so much of what Starling House is trying to do, and succeeds in doing. </p><p>There's so much complexity to Starling House, but it never feels confusing. It's mysterious, for sure, but as the characters peel back the layers of that mystery it always feels like the pieces are dropping into place. But like all of the best fairy tales, much of it is left open to interpretation. It's beautiful in its mysteriousness.</p><p>There are real world issues combined too. Opal's life is not an easy one, and its clear how much she is struggling with the burdens laid upon her that she is unwilling to give up. The balance works, the reality and the mystery and the links woven between the two are compelling and engaging.</p><p>It's beautifully written too. The imagery used is, at times, simply stunning. I particularly loved the sensitive and insightful consideration of the difference between wants and likes. It feels so simple, but when it is applied to Opal, who has to struggle for everything, it is drastically different to when it is applied to her mother, or to other characters around her and it is used to both tell a fundamental truth and to illustrate the difference between different characters, their privilege, their personality, and their outlook on life.</p><p>Starling House is deep, mysterious and beautiful. A fantastic addition to the gothic litany.</p><p>πππππ</p><p><br /></p><p><i>Starling House by Alix E Harrow is out now, published by Tor Books.</i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-64126590364089255032023-10-27T11:14:00.001+00:002023-10-27T11:14:24.330+00:00Blog Tour Review - Pax and the Missing Head by David Barker<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - Pax and the Missing Head by David Barker</h2><p><i>In a country beset by civil war, New London defends itself behind a giant wall. Inside the city, children are forced to work from an early age, except for the lucky few who train to be leaders in the re-purposed Palace of Westminster. 12-year-old orphaned Pax is brilliant at recycling old tech. He enjoys working on the verti-farms and just wants a bit of peace and quiet. But when that is taken away from him, his only hope is to pass a near-impossible exam and join the other students in Scholastic Parliament. There heβll make new friends and new enemies. Heβll get tested like never before. And heβll discover that not everything is quite what it seems under the mayorβs harsh leadership</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQeO_dX9569iNkLNvx_o_xfdRKMH5PfMVQyXqjREAnJVPBjr3nNMVzP4BRVdMZwdkpECMzIREjRQPN5-Z2d_wo1u7ufiDt-oVRCZaAm1grN6Z10mqUAn4qKXaEg50gwuf7a125z2ZzBAh-XSNDlm9JfAioBK37XNWKHe_G4uKrvL6NlKePhFLkGLQdxNj/s1600/ea8ebcc2-aa36-11ed-b7d0-d930e9e5ce0d_1697726939795-Pax+banner+(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQeO_dX9569iNkLNvx_o_xfdRKMH5PfMVQyXqjREAnJVPBjr3nNMVzP4BRVdMZwdkpECMzIREjRQPN5-Z2d_wo1u7ufiDt-oVRCZaAm1grN6Z10mqUAn4qKXaEg50gwuf7a125z2ZzBAh-XSNDlm9JfAioBK37XNWKHe_G4uKrvL6NlKePhFLkGLQdxNj/w640-h360/ea8ebcc2-aa36-11ed-b7d0-d930e9e5ce0d_1697726939795-Pax+banner+(1).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">I really enjoyed Pax and the Missing Head.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It does something really clever that I can't remember seeing before. It combines the scary, militaristic, dystopian society with the classic starting a new school narrative. </p><p style="text-align: left;">So how well does it handle each element?</p><p style="text-align: left;">The school side first, is really quite compelling. Pax is a wonderful main character, a seedling, or child genetically "grown" without any family. He starts out in a horrible and fairly brutal orphanage and earning a school place is his ticket out of there. Once in school there's an interesting mix of subjects he has no experience in and areas where he's already ahead of his peers. There's discrimination around his origins, and a number of wonderfully horrible depictions of privilege. It's clear that it's not a level playing field when rich bullies get bought all the best things and end up with an often unassailable advantage, but such is life. Pax is far from passive though, taking some huge risks and breaking rules to do what he feels has to be done. There are fierce competitions, and the class point system feels like it really matters, there are beautiful friendships forming and hints of romance. The newly invented games are interesting without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail, and it feels like a really cool depiction of a futuristic school, particularly with the robot teachers and high tech equipment. </p><p style="text-align: left;">What about the dystopian elements? These largely form a backdrop to the school side, but they are fascinating. It's a fractured Britain, divided between the cities and the rural areas, the young and the old, the rich and the poor. It feels rather extreme, a little exaggerated perhaps, but those divides can readily be seen in our own society so there is some grounding there. We're introduced to the harshness of this society right from the beginning in the orphanage, and we soon realise that the school isn't as ideal as it may first appear. Trips to the Wall reveal the ongoing state of the nation and it is pretty bleak!</p><p style="text-align: left;">The story really comes into its own when the two elements collide and the influences of a militaristic society with a leader who is afraid of being seen as weak are felt in the classrooms. It's scary, and exciting, thrilling and worrying to watch events unfold.</p><p style="text-align: left;">And now I can't wait to see what happens next!</p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Pax and the Missing Head by David Barker is out now from Tiny Tree.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for this honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour. </i></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-54703130777969858532023-10-20T22:49:00.002+00:002023-10-20T22:49:30.999+00:00Blog Tour Review - The Nameless by Stuart White<h2 style="text-align: left;">Blog Tour Review - Nameless by Stuart White</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>IN A NAMELESS WORLD, ONE HERO RISES BY DISCOVERING THEIR IDENTITY.</i></p><p><i>In a dystopian world dominated by genetic perfection and numbered gene pools, sixteen-year-old E820927, known as Seven, yearns for an identity beyond his assigned number.</i></p><p><i>To escape a life as a Nameless Exile, and become a citizen of the Realm, he must pass a loyalty test to prove his allegiance to the totalitarian AutokratΕr.</i></p><p><i>With the world's fate hanging in the balance, Seven's journey sparks rebellion, hope, and the reclamation of individuality.</i></p><p><i>But as the truth unfolds, Seven faces a difficult choice between revenge and love.</i></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQttGB_0JO9JVnMtumGi4TjVijW0aUxSUJjNLj_RgG5a6W5ZEFPWbi0t0YJLDoL_TGlb6UV6DNzS3oNSH5tFK7cJRcVk2R6kqu6SDSh-ekr0nis9VkLQ0vnyBgiOk8xENc49bzKo2EqgQvnlXnT3geP10JaztCzCTZi-J9feGEBt2Hrxthcpi-G8J7DsSb/s1600/unnamed%20(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQttGB_0JO9JVnMtumGi4TjVijW0aUxSUJjNLj_RgG5a6W5ZEFPWbi0t0YJLDoL_TGlb6UV6DNzS3oNSH5tFK7cJRcVk2R6kqu6SDSh-ekr0nis9VkLQ0vnyBgiOk8xENc49bzKo2EqgQvnlXnT3geP10JaztCzCTZi-J9feGEBt2Hrxthcpi-G8J7DsSb/w640-h360/unnamed%20(2).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">The Nameless throws us into a really interesting dystopian world. There's an emphasis on genetic perfection, and gene manipulation that goes right from the animal kingdom (lots of references to blended creatures) to creating perfect soldiers. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The first batch of characters we are introduced to are, like the title, nameless. Instead they have numbers, and our main character is E820927, who goes by the name Seven. He's a teenager in a camp about to go through the final tests he needs to pass to gain a name and a role in society, either in the military or as an academic. If he fails he'll become a nameless exile. With him in his class are other, numbered, students, including Six, who he quite fancies, Twelve, the class bully, and Three, the class failure. A lot of the detail and processes are left shrouded in mystery. According to the book blurb they are numbered gene pools, which is never made clear in the book, and the actual structure of the society is never really explained either, beyond the military and the academics it can be assumed that the exiles do most of the rest of the work necessary to keep society running.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The tests themselves, and the guards who administer them, are harsh and cruel and it abundantly clear that this isn't a kind, just or particularly nice society they're being indoctrinated into. Thankfully it's not long before they're being broken out and go on the run with a motley band of rebels. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Seven soon falls into the role of the <i>Chosen One</i>, the person who has been picked out to lead an army of thousands of rebels and overthrow the tyrannical, evil government. Seven himself never seems particularly suited for this task, to be honest. It's quite possible that the high number of times he gets hit on the head is to blame for the really bad decisions he keeps making, but there is also the almost obligatory love triangle he has to contend with while trying to become a leader without ever actually telling people why it is he's been chosen to be their destined leader. Unfortunately the only person who knows dies before telling anyone else, after many chapters of "I'm going to tell you why you're so important, but not now, soon." to keep both Seven and the reader hanging on for the crucial detail. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There are a few niggling inconsistencies too. There's a really heartfelt monologue where Seven examines his own actions, and crucially the times where he didn't act to save people. He comes to the conclusion that no exile would stand by and watch someone die when they could jump in and save people, and that this is what distinguishes the exiles from the people of the realm. This is despite the fact that the exiles repeatedly tell him that their way is to leave people to be captured if rushing in puts others at risk and the bit where an exile was standing next to him encouraging him to not take any action during the sequence he's actually considering the failure in his inaction.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There was another part where, during an urgent mission in a stolen van, one of the characters manages to get captured when she gets out of the van to check on something and then wanders hundreds of feet away from it to pick berries in the woods. It staggers belief that experienced rebels in a dangerous area would be so careless, though it does lead to one of the book's more gruesome and tension filled sequences.</p><p style="text-align: left;">A sudden change in POV for a chapter or two towards the end of the book felt quite jarring. Though it was an interesting POV, it kind of came out of nowhere and I felt like it disrupted the flow more than it contributed anything. This probably wasn't helped by one of the characters in that section changing gender from chapter to chapter. I thought the chapter heading inserts from the second POV much more effective than the full chapter changes, though it would have been better if we'd actually known where they had come from rather than them being presented in a rather cryptic way.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It felt like there was a well-thought out world behind The Nameless, but a lot of the detail just didn't come across in the novel, which rushes us straight into a fairly typical chosen one narrative, a slave uprising and a slightly forced love triangle. Where there is exposition, it doesn't flow naturally, and the exposition around the blended animals felt particularly forced. </p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The Nameless by Stuart White is out now, published by Penobi Press.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour.</i></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-24030753543685133732023-10-11T20:28:00.004+00:002023-10-11T20:28:59.939+00:00Blog Tour Review - Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>The Earth's ecosystems have collapsed and only ashes remain. Is one girl's courage enough to keep hope alive in the wastelands?</i></p><p><i>It's the year 2123, and sixteen-year-old Adina has just accidentally killed fourteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six people. Raised in the eco-bubble of Eden Five, Adina has always believed that the Amonston Corporation's giant greenhouse would keep her safe forever. But when her own careless mistake leads to an explosion that incinerates Eden Five, she and a small group of survivors must brave the barren wastelands outside the ruined Dome to reach the Sanctuary before their biofilters give out and their DNA threatens to mutate in the toxic air.</i></p><p><i>They soon discover that the outside isn't as deserted as they were made to believe, and the truth is unearthed on their dangerous expedition. As time runs out, Adina must tackle her guilty conscience and find the courage to get everyone to safety. Will she make it alive, or will the Nomalies get to her first?</i></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8dFdVwlioRYOLUPjrfkgjZGG-RMacFw6eweGe0wW4gJySd0m1lQSMi6w5FDACEmj2y6t4dszq1ciVlKCt-0plXO6p7bTzyW0VDnp0Oz5VMhCnIIqu5YAQQPdqHac8Uy5hwc_upj4Az2oS-Pawu8LfI4SeuAhwDfyVNMs2rdspdzhrug8J_PZU_nADewA/s1080/unnamed%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8dFdVwlioRYOLUPjrfkgjZGG-RMacFw6eweGe0wW4gJySd0m1lQSMi6w5FDACEmj2y6t4dszq1ciVlKCt-0plXO6p7bTzyW0VDnp0Oz5VMhCnIIqu5YAQQPdqHac8Uy5hwc_upj4Az2oS-Pawu8LfI4SeuAhwDfyVNMs2rdspdzhrug8J_PZU_nADewA/w640-h640/unnamed%20(1).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;">I've been a huge fan of Victoria Williamson's middle grade fiction for years now, so I've been really anticipating seeing what her YA debut novel is like. It feels very different to what I've read of her middle grade, but it's very good.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There are several very notable things about this novel. Firstly, there is a lot of foreshadowing! Right from the very start we're told about a disaster that we then spend the next one hundred pages slowly building up to. The whole of the first part of the novel is a countdown to a catastrophic incident, with each chapter heading giving a day and hour count. Then the second part is counting up days, with an inbuilt deadline to it. This really worked for me. I loved the anticipation, and the teases, little hints of what could have caused the problem, suggestions of things that could have been done to prevent it going ignored. There's an inevitability to it all, as we creep closer to the end, and I loved that. At times, however, it is a little strong even for me, or maybe that's not the right word, forced maybe? When you're told how many people are going to die you can get too distracted into guessing who they'll be, which of the dangers will carry off someone and which are red herrings. It worked as a general structure for me, I could just have done with a little less of it at times.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The other very notable thing about Feast of Ashes is how unlikeable the main character, Adina, is. She's the sole point-of-view character for the whole thing, and there are times when she's just awful. It's actually a fascinating character study. She's so consumed by bitterness and jealousy at some points of the story, and for much of it is dealing with massive amounts of guilt and grief. It's really quite believable why she's so horrible to some of the people around her. There's a lot to be said about how guilt makes us put up walls, that just make everything worse. When we suspect someone else knows our guilty secrets we distance ourselves from them, avoiding conversations or time together out of fear when perhaps we should be reaching across that distance instead. And Feast of Ashes says a lot about it, addressing it in a bold, unsympathetic and honest way. It's not afraid to have a main character who is a sympathetic character also have some terrible traits, and that's refreshing. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This is a dystopian sci-fi novel, that starts out in an enclosed community in Africa, people surviving after a complete climate collapse in a bunker of sorts, though one with a large garden dome. As the story progresses we get little hints and then more and more information slowly and naturally being presented as to just how the world got to where it is. There's a lot there that's really surprising and shocking, and, like all of the best dystopian sci-fi, scarily believable. It's a story about big corporations and their grip on politics, law and policy, and their disregard for the environment and the people within it. It's a story about GM foods and super farms and all the risks that come from this tampering with the genetic structures of our most basic necessities. It's dark and it's powerful and I hope it makes people think.</p><p style="text-align: left;">There's also a love triangle in there, and again it's presented in a really interesting way. It soon gets so caught up with Adina's guilt, that instead of which boy she likes the most it becomes about the fact that Otienno makes her feel, while Dejen makes her think. It makes what would otherwise be a fairly mundane love triangle feel like an important part of Adina's emotional and mental stability, and ties back into the points raised earlier about raising walls around us and pushing people away.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Feast of Ashes is a dark and complex YA debut from a highly skilled writer. </p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Feast of Ashes by Victoria Williamson is out now, published by Neem Tree Press.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-22097778120135751602023-09-28T10:25:00.004+00:002023-09-28T10:44:49.981+00:00Review - The Silver Road by SinΓ©ad OβHart<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Review - The Silver Road by SinΓ©ad OβHart</h2><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The seandraiocht - the Old Magic - isn't remembered like it once was. Its power is fading...</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>When Rose is entrusted with a powerful stone by a Frost Giant, she is swept into an adventure full of danger. The stone can be used for great good or great evil, depending on its keeper. It leads Rose to discover the magic that runs through all of Ireland. A magic that is threaded together beneath the land: the Silver Road. But the Silver Road is under threat.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Now Rose must keep the stone from falling into the wrong hands and embark on a quest to find its rightful owner and keep the magic alive . . .</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhke-k2z1bnMID3Amrihclh29DA_mgoZ2HrZpqqbEgGye4q-fi1dd2wvzse_t5H-Hm2gBpXvwmEcy_QVJqiFjyOGcHlvurIMevv_qEd1iErhXZ7qZrMUzN-MGHwOg0WTq5ZYDe8aTqLWuZFPjQmMsEGlnewVsFdVsjBOWuenrs9gr8tlYUQZsv5tDMnkS/s1080/the-silver-road-cover-graphic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhke-k2z1bnMID3Amrihclh29DA_mgoZ2HrZpqqbEgGye4q-fi1dd2wvzse_t5H-Hm2gBpXvwmEcy_QVJqiFjyOGcHlvurIMevv_qEd1iErhXZ7qZrMUzN-MGHwOg0WTq5ZYDe8aTqLWuZFPjQmMsEGlnewVsFdVsjBOWuenrs9gr8tlYUQZsv5tDMnkS/w640-h640/the-silver-road-cover-graphic.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This stunning cover was designed by Dominica Clements with art by Manuel Ε umberac</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Well, it's finally happened. The Eye of the North has been replaced as my favourite book.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">I always knew it would take something really quite special to win that place in my heart, and The Silver Road is the one. It's an extraordinary story full of magic and wonder and heart.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Now, before we continue, I'd like to take a moment to clear up some debate that was on <strike>Twitter </strike>X this morning. It doesn't matter what <a href="https://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/search?q=rachel+delahaye" target="_blank">Rachel Delahaye</a> says, I'm SinΓ©ad's biggest fan. And as soon as I heard about The Silver Road, there was something about it that just sounded special, but my high expectations were still absolutely blown away by what I read when I got a review copy.</p><p style="text-align: left;">So what makes it so special? This story has the feel of a story that has been waiting for the right time for it to be told, by the right storyteller. Yes, I absolutely adore SinΓ©ad's debut novel, The Eye of the North, but this isn't a story that a debut novelist could have told. There's such richness, complexity and depth here that it needed to wait until SinΓ©ad had a few novels under her belt, it had to wait while she learnt her craft, developing magical worlds with The Eye of the North and The Star-Spun Web, weaving in comtemporary settings with The Time Tider, and then bringing all of that experience together to create The Silver Road. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I can feel so many of the influences SinΓ©ad has talked about on her <a href="https://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2022/10/review-storyshaped-podcast.html" target="_blank">Storyshaped Podcast</a>. (If you haven't heard her waxing lyrical about Alan Garner's Elidor, please go check that episode out, and then all of the others!) Alan Garner's influence runs deep here, as, like Elidor, The Silver Road is a story about magic from another world seeping into ours. It's not really a portal to another, magical world story so much as a Garneresque barriers breaking down story. Pat O'Shea, who's The Hounds of the Morrigan was a blend of the domestic and the ancient Celtic magic, feels like another significant building block. </p><p style="text-align: left;">This isn't to say that it isn't original, because it is, there's a new, powerful story in here, but one that knows and loves the older tales. Because that's the magic of stories. We take what came before and we look at it in new ways and we tell the tales of old in our own voices. And that's exactly what The Silver Road does. It even adds new Celtic heroes into the mix, with the Mac Tire fitting in perfectly alongside longer established figures like Cethlenn and Balor. And that's the thing about the oral tradition, that's what it was, people shaping stories, realigning them, adding new parts that fit and taking parts out that no longer worked. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a quintessentially Irish book too. It's a book about old Ireland and it's a book about new Ireland, and it's a book about how they can sometimes clash, how they can have their differences, but also about how intricately woven together the two still are. Ireland is a land where the magic and the mythology is still just below the surface, never forgotten though occasionally built over. Alan Garner couldn't have written this. SinΓ©ad OβHart did, and I'm glad. it's so uniquely hers, so steeped in the magic of Ireland, and the charm of its people and its language and its mythology.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's full of magic and mythology, but one of the things I loved most about The Silver Road were actually the more grounded, domestic scenes. There's one where Rose, the central character, this young girl who chooses to be a chosen one, is sitting at the dinner table. She's in trouble with her mam and waiting for her dad to get home. Her twin brothers are grizzling away and she's anxiously waiting for this telling off that she knows has been coming for days. It really captures the real life struggles that Rose is going through and contrasts them beautifully with the wonder and awe of the magic now entering her life. </p><p style="text-align: left;">And there's Gracie and Nellie, the mysterious, comforting heart of the story. Their kitchen is one of those places I just wish was real, and that I could sit there for an hour and listen to them. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The Silver Road. It's exceptional. A masterpiece. It feels like this is the story SinΓ©ad has been waiting I don't know how long to tell. It feels like a story only she could tell. It feels like my new favourite story.</p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The Silver Road by SinΓ©ad O'Hart is out now from Piccadilly Press. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in return for an honest review.</i></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-29259067130052742572023-09-19T11:37:00.001+00:002023-09-19T11:37:11.249+00:00Blog Tour Review - The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson<p></p><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />Blog Tour Review</h2><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson</h2><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Scotland, 158 AD, is a divided country.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>On one side of the Antonine Wall, thirteen-year-old Felix is trying to become a good Roman soldier like his father. On the other, twelve-year old Jinny is vowing revenge on the βmetal menβ who have invaded her Damnonii tribeβs homeland. At the Damnoniiβs sacred circle of standing stones, her planned attack on Felix goes badly wrong, awakening a legend that threatens to bring fire and destruction down on them all.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Can Jinny and Felix overcome their differences and soothe the stones back to sleep before itβs too late?</i></div><div><br /></div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapF1Qf-g0Yddxq1gCfUMt9D3wISYADTaNIAU1zmdXzvLjO7pqeEH8tYwvZqpYZbBqEb68l9f9Vx8LiZANYc1D3U_-fwApW-wRHfryfrOV_ahVe7tFtC4znIyBr37ryzo2l4Fb3bp8VH5S-761427l997SMJkyPzy3Tezk0mPX6_CVMqdkxfBmeOGF50aJ/s1600/unnamed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapF1Qf-g0Yddxq1gCfUMt9D3wISYADTaNIAU1zmdXzvLjO7pqeEH8tYwvZqpYZbBqEb68l9f9Vx8LiZANYc1D3U_-fwApW-wRHfryfrOV_ahVe7tFtC4znIyBr37ryzo2l4Fb3bp8VH5S-761427l997SMJkyPzy3Tezk0mPX6_CVMqdkxfBmeOGF50aJ/w640-h360/unnamed.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>I've been a fan of Victoria Williamson's writing for years now, since I first read the gorgeous Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, but right now she is absolutely on fire, in the best possible way, and it is great to see! In the last few months this is the third new book by her I've been given to review, with <a href="http://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2023/05/blog-tour-review-pawnshop-of-stolen.html" target="_blank">The Pawnshop of Broken Dreams</a> in June and <a href="http://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2023/08/blog-tour-review-norahs-ark-by-victoria.html" target="_blank">Norah's Ark</a> in August. I've just received a copy of her YA debut, Feast of Ashes, and here is The Whistlers in the Dark. It's an incredible set of releases, and I am so here for it all.</p><p>The Whistlers in the Dark is the first historical novel I've read from her. The setting is 158AD Scotland, up on the Antonine Wall, which stressed from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth. Unlike Hadrian's Wall, which runs past my own house, the Antonine Wall was a wall of turf and ditches, less permanent but still a strong symbol of the most northerly extent of the Roman Empire. The main characters are two children, one from either side of that wall. Jinny is a girl in the Scottish tribe there, the Damnonii people, and is well versed in their traditions and beliefs. Felix is a fascinating character. Raised in the Roman fort, his mother was from one of the local villages and his father, a high ranking soldier in the army there, is absent. Felix is in a really difficult position. He's seen as too Roman by the tribes, and not properly Roman enough for the people currently running the fort in the absence of his father and the Legate. He's dismissed as a tribe boy by one side and distrusted as a Roman boy by the other. And through the course of the story his beliefs, his values and his place in the world is challenged repeatedly and in a really interesting way.</p><p>I love how this story opened. It's in the wake of a major incident, several months after a terrible accident. Both Jinny and Felix have a complicated mix of emotions, mostly around guilt and blame and revenge. It takes a little while to understand exactly what happened, as we see it through their very biased eyes, and it takes even longer for them to accept themselves what happened and who should bear responsibility.</p><p>A major theme of this story is revenge and how hard it is to let it go. We see how it can eat people up, take over their lives and drive them towards destructive actions, and we see what can happen when people are finally able to let go of that anger. It's powerful and it is emotional and it is very well written.</p><p>Another major theme is the effects of the Roman occupation. By the point our story is set, they've been there a fairly long time, about fifteen years I think, so we see a kind of day to day acceptance of things, with underlying gripes and stresses, but we also see how quickly things can change and get out of control. </p><p>Finally, there are the supernatural elements. I absolutely loved these. It hit that sweet spot where it was impossible to tell whether they were actually there or not. Things could be explained away without supernatural intervention, mostly, but there is always the possibility that the stones were awakened and I love that ambiguity. There's no "magic is real here" and no "there's no such thing as magic." It is left to the reader to make their mind up. </p><p>The Whistlers in the Dark is a wonderful novel about two civilisations trying to live next to each other, with complex, well drawn characters and a delicious supernatural element.</p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>The Whistlers in the Dark by Victoria Williamson is out on 21st September 2023 from Scotland Street Press.</i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this The Write Reads tour.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-77628078119063526572023-09-07T15:57:00.003+00:002023-09-07T15:57:23.941+00:00Blog Tour Review - Scareground by Angela Kecojevic<h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /> Blog Tour Review - Scareground by Angela Kecojevic</h2><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Roll up, roll up, the Scareground is in town!</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Twelve-year-old Nancy Crumpet lives above a bakery and her life is a delightful mix of flour, salt, and love. Yet her mind is brimming with questions no one can answer: Why did her birth parents disappear? Why can she speak with the sky? And why must she keep her mysterious birthmark hidden?</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Everything is about to change when the Scareground returns to Greenwich. Nancy is convinced it holds the answers to her parentsβ disappearance. Nancy and her best friend Arthur Green meet the fairβs spooky owner, Skelter, and discover a world full of dark magic and mystery. Nancy must confront her greatest fears to get to the truth. But is she ready for all the secrets the Scareground will reveal?</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDbkjWFYn3R8NCO0Fv0Jw1hb_DLgxVWHf8aUFSpFYnHpEaS24WyjXqkBUHK5sVvRTec4wx1CAK-RkHdOGGKIzU2-OIhWj-gor6as7ALWNGL0iDb6H16OxXE6k6ZA1FyRROPrjfuoCWhzAN6R1tWdBn38oq5hnGsUpd--sShAZn1GZyFmi938RHKapOCGo/s1080/unnamed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGDbkjWFYn3R8NCO0Fv0Jw1hb_DLgxVWHf8aUFSpFYnHpEaS24WyjXqkBUHK5sVvRTec4wx1CAK-RkHdOGGKIzU2-OIhWj-gor6as7ALWNGL0iDb6H16OxXE6k6ZA1FyRROPrjfuoCWhzAN6R1tWdBn38oq5hnGsUpd--sShAZn1GZyFmi938RHKapOCGo/w400-h400/unnamed.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Scareground is dark and spooky and utterly enthralling!</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a story about a young girl trying to find her place in the world. Nancy Crumpet feels like there should be more to her life than being a baker, but just what that is, she doesn't know.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a story about unusual families and friendships. Nancy has a loving home and family, but still feels like she needs to know more about her birth family. And although she has a good friend, it's clear that friendships are something she has always struggled with. Her anxieties around her friendship with Arthur is fascinating to watch unfold, as she learns to trust in that friendship more. That longing for companionship intertwined with the fear of being rejected is so moving and well depicted. Even more fascinating is her friendship with the sky. It's clever, imaginative and magical in all of its mystery.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's a story about fairgrounds, and our desire to experience the kind of thrills that scare us, and the powerful attraction fear has on our souls.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But more than any of this, it is a story about darkness. It is a story about what happens when we walk into the darkness, and how some people embrace it and some people fight it. It is a story about the powerful allure of the forbidden, the scary and the dangerous and how dark deals can twist and distort good intentions into something not very good at all. </p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It is a powerful and creepy story that cast a spell over me and held me in its grip until I'd finished reading, leaving me wanting more.</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Scareground by Angela Kecojevic is out now, published by Neem Tree Press.</i></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour.</i></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Please check out the rest of this fantastic tour!</i></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaBH_Ojcn7xYKbcROePZ5IbhwJAK5N7RwDN6pWTEYcngnQzA2e2GzWnG5hE3SJd9_9ik2AA_XAT-wEHJchUdW1DmlvXxI7WVRzLfwfa_Ng9MwWlkW6hPUvTly9_QZQpZxzkB0oOAx26Vb3E9PeK_DlNsKVjfeJNtwL9W41Jnu-yEasVjTemdvjHFXiBfF/s1080/unnamed%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEaBH_Ojcn7xYKbcROePZ5IbhwJAK5N7RwDN6pWTEYcngnQzA2e2GzWnG5hE3SJd9_9ik2AA_XAT-wEHJchUdW1DmlvXxI7WVRzLfwfa_Ng9MwWlkW6hPUvTly9_QZQpZxzkB0oOAx26Vb3E9PeK_DlNsKVjfeJNtwL9W41Jnu-yEasVjTemdvjHFXiBfF/w400-h400/unnamed%20(1).png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-68890427472257555952023-09-03T19:16:00.001+00:002023-09-03T19:16:17.327+00:00Blog Tour Review - Bridget Vanderpuff and the Ghost Train by Martin Stewart<h2 style="text-align: center;"> Blog Tour Review - Bridget Vanderpuff and the Ghost Train </h2><h2 style="text-align: center;">by Martin Stewart</h2><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>Belle-on-Sea is getting ready for the Night of the Hungry Ghosts, the spookiest time of the year. Mr Vanderpuff's bake will be the centrepiece of the whole parade, but he needs a new creation and he's totally stumped. To make matters worse, salty old seadog, Captain Lufty, and his Hat Rat, Barry, have warned that something is coming to Belle-on-Sea. Something terrible.</i></p><p><i>When a ghost train is seen rattling into town, and people start to go missing - first the librarian, then the Mayor - Bridget and Tom begin tracking the train's tracks, delighted to be in the thick of another mystery.</i></p><p><i>Then the unthinkable happens: the ghost train takes Mr Vanderpuff! Someone - or something - is out to destroy Belle-on-Sea. But they've forgotten one important detail. This is Bridget's town.</i></p><p><i>Bridget must save the missing people from their perilous prisons, rescue the parade, and come up with an idea for Mr Vanderpuff's Hungry Ghosts bake, before it's too late.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAjp6OFSQX8g1BDu6tFsuG-hmRaHYeiELpYKkk_omK16qZoMSJpxbqIPrJLdehMtfU-PFsYJyLRnONDa00FuKagqZWLmhrFUW5BTJkerRNegNQIfc6cCn97v5dAvbgf3YoiyjBb22oQXvxU219Fja3jVDdQLTUvdRpcM5BT_xEcrsXqGqT8W9Ri6DBeUI/s1080/Bridget%20Vanderpuff%20and%20the%20Ghost%20Train%20Blog%20Tour%20Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXAjp6OFSQX8g1BDu6tFsuG-hmRaHYeiELpYKkk_omK16qZoMSJpxbqIPrJLdehMtfU-PFsYJyLRnONDa00FuKagqZWLmhrFUW5BTJkerRNegNQIfc6cCn97v5dAvbgf3YoiyjBb22oQXvxU219Fja3jVDdQLTUvdRpcM5BT_xEcrsXqGqT8W9Ri6DBeUI/w640-h640/Bridget%20Vanderpuff%20and%20the%20Ghost%20Train%20Blog%20Tour%20Banner.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>I really enjoyed the first Bridget Vanderpuff book, for which you can find my review <a href="https://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2023/06/blog-tour-review-bridget-vanderpuff-and.html" target="_blank">here.</a> So I was very eager to read the second one.<p></p><p>It's a fantastic sequel. It hits so many of the themes and points that made the first book such a joy, while being fresh and different at the same time. Bridget is now safely out of the horrible orphanage, and living happily with Mr Vanderpuff. It's really so lovely seeing them bonding as a little family, with Pasqual the elf making three. Bridget feels very settled and secure and I really appreciate that that sense of security isn't what is directly threatened, though it is still something of an undercurrent. Bridget deserves a family and it's great seeing her as a happy part of one.</p><p>Several of the elements from the first book are still there. Bridget's inventions are as inventive as ever and her baking attempts are as catastrophic as they were previously, but they're not as much of a major focus as they were in the first story. Instead the focus is firmly on her mystery solving abilities and the baking and the inventions fall in line quite naturally with her adventures. </p><p>The key mystery is, of course, the ghost train. It's a terrifying spectacle that gets scarier as the story goes on, but for a long time Bridget has a hard time convincing anyone that it is real. There's also the creepy old sailor and the charming new lord of the manor and hide and seek champion, two wonderful new characters absolutely full of, well, character. It's great to see more of the town of Belle-on-Sea too, with different townsfolk, particularly those working in the library, playing a much larger role and really helping to flesh out the strange little town. </p><p>One of the things I love about this book is how sensory it is. It's filled with baking and delicious treats that really come to life in the descriptions. You can practically smell them as you read, and the sights and sounds and scents of the bakery are depicted so vividly it's just frustrating I couldn't actually pop into Vanderpuff's Bakery when I'd finished reading. </p><p>Another thing I loved was how much of the story was about love and family, and how firmly that was intertwined with the baking. Given Bridget's background, that really felt so important and it's so clear throughout the story how much love there is. It really is beautiful.</p><p>There's also a very mean villain, and while I figured out who it was fairly early on it was still incredibly entertaining following what was going on, and there were a few twists that really open up a world of possibilities for future books, and that I really didn't see coming.</p><p>My only complaint would be the illustrations. While the illustrations by David Habben are very pretty, the same ones get used again and again throughout the book. There are a small number of scene-specific ones, but character art and incidental art gets repeated, but flipped or rotated or positioned off the side of the page so that it's slightly less obvious that we're seeing the same picture of, say, the mayor that we've seen six times already. It just got a little repetitive and took away from what really are quite lovely illustrations.</p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>Bridget Vanderpuff and the Ghost Train by Martin Stewart is out now, published by Zephyr.</i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for this honest review and participation in this ed.pr blog tour.</i></p><p><i>Be sure to check out the rest of the tour!</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><i><br /></i></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-89590943268253310302023-08-22T18:58:00.000+00:002023-08-22T18:58:01.479+00:00Blog Tour Review - Masters of Death by Olivie Blake<p> </p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Blog Tour Review - Masters of Death by Olivie Blake</h2><p><br /></p><p><i>This book is about an estate agent. Only she's a vampire, the house on sale is haunted, and its ghost was murdered.</i></p><p><i>When Viola Marek hires Fox D'Mora to deal with her ghost-infested mansion, she expects a competent medium. But unbeknownst to Viola, Fox is a fraud - despite being the godson of Death.</i></p><p><i>As the mystery unfolds, Viola and Fox are drawn into a quest that neither wants nor expects. And they'll need the help of a demonic personal trainer, a sharp-voiced angel and a love-stricken reaper. And it transpires that the difference between a mysterious lost love and a dead body isn't nearly as distinct as you'd hope.</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkCq11GdMsqgfXFQd79Qav-HEIYaW6J9Yx2Gn01fAE7QgZQU13QHjqR_WXrU_oPcqXoJ7TFdT_o2BrnYXh0tEjvbtiCBnXdJYHoZN9_j_7U25q1ucviR8W3QnzSGCy4lS63LFZxO1Zob7EoZmM9ohgG5rymdWsYIv9DCFXxvXxlcfcYOnJEKUDJ6LNRmH/s1080/IMG_3347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkCq11GdMsqgfXFQd79Qav-HEIYaW6J9Yx2Gn01fAE7QgZQU13QHjqR_WXrU_oPcqXoJ7TFdT_o2BrnYXh0tEjvbtiCBnXdJYHoZN9_j_7U25q1ucviR8W3QnzSGCy4lS63LFZxO1Zob7EoZmM9ohgG5rymdWsYIv9DCFXxvXxlcfcYOnJEKUDJ6LNRmH/w640-h640/IMG_3347.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>Masters of Death is a stunning and complex novel. </p><p>It's like an intricate puzzle box. </p><p>We can see several characters, each of them presented fairly openly and honestly. These are the pieces of our puzzle. Then it's as if they move around a central mechanism, like a clockwork work of art. </p><p>Images are shown that make very little sense when we first see them but our pieces keep moving, rotating at different speeds and in different directions and slowly, slowly, we see those images again but they're revealed to us in a different way, the positions of the players are different, we've seen more of the mechanisms perhaps or we just have a new understanding about how each piece fits together and those random, confusing scenes we saw the first time we moved through them now make more sense. Not perfect sense, because our perception is always at least slightly flawed, but enough to understand what is unfolding, and what has already unfolded, and those pieces keep moving in their little dance, more scenes that were previously hidden come into play and they help us understand the ones we've already seen, and they help us understand more about the players, the pieces, the characters. We begin to see them in a different light as they twist and turn, showing new sides of themselves and as their relationships to each other shift and change.</p><p>But the heart of this mechanism is still unknowable, the game at the heart of the puzzle box is something we know about from the way everyone moves around it, but we don't see it, we don't understand it, we can't possibly know it, until, towards the end of our drama more things move into new positions, mechanisms unfold, unseen panels can now be seen and everything clicks into place to show us the heart of the puzzle, the central mystery, and with it the prize, a collection of truths. Truths about what it means to be alive and what it's like to live forever, truths about desire and secrets, and, beneath all of these, truths about love. It's extraordinary and it is beautiful.</p><p>And that was what it was like reading Masters of Death. </p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>Masters of Death by Olivie Blake is out now from Tor. <br /></i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for his honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour.</i></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-7022945861126792862023-08-22T08:59:00.001+00:002023-08-22T08:59:17.672+00:00Blog Tour Review - Grim Falls Academy by Louise Forshaw<p></p><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Blog Tour Review - Grim Falls Academy by Louise Forshaw</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIbkIKF1G_zT3MpBvE_82PBCPX8P1Lv50fyq9Bt5cqvGE8GxxHY8XZEHDofCofv32xG17a_rstwTs_X50T54iLsXp8ddLAeQJ5McirFsy9YGxeGSS4-v5H6uMo_QCDEk_fStHb-lQgB6P598ENaUtMDt69OYX_VxuRMOWUlKF2FH-DsJqeIhT-wanxZ9l/s1680/Screenshot%202023-08-02%20at%2012.09.37.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="942" data-original-width="1680" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrIbkIKF1G_zT3MpBvE_82PBCPX8P1Lv50fyq9Bt5cqvGE8GxxHY8XZEHDofCofv32xG17a_rstwTs_X50T54iLsXp8ddLAeQJ5McirFsy9YGxeGSS4-v5H6uMo_QCDEk_fStHb-lQgB6P598ENaUtMDt69OYX_VxuRMOWUlKF2FH-DsJqeIhT-wanxZ9l/w640-h358/Screenshot%202023-08-02%20at%2012.09.37.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /> Today I'll be reviewing not one, not two but three books! The first three books in this really fun younger-middle grade series are all being released together, and I got a full set from Maverick Publishing to review. I also got a second set to give away to one lucky winner, so go check the competition on my Twitter feed <a href="https://twitter.com/notsotweets/status/1692190171364463070?s=20" target="_blank">here</a> before Thursday 24th August.<p></p><p>Louise Forshaw is a skilled illustrator with a huge number of book credits to her name. I came across her work last year when she illustrated the lovely <a href="http://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2022/05/review-major-and-mynah-by-karen-owen.html" target="_blank">Major and Mynah</a>, written by Karen Owen. Grim Falls Academy is her author debut, as well as being illustrated by her.</p><p>Each book is fairly short and packed with gorgeous illustrations. They'd suit young readers who are building confidence and moving between chapter books and middle grade. They're set in a school for monsters and supernatural beings, focusing on Seb, a young werewolf, and his friends Victor, a vampire, and Tabby, who appears at first to be a normal human. Other students we see in these three stories include Francine, a Frankenstein's Monster type person who was reanimated by the science teacher, and Khamun, an Egyptian mummy and prince. Various teachers appear in different stories, as does the headmaster and a hilarious pair of guard suits of animated armour.</p><p>There's some focus on interpersonal relationships. Khamun is a bit of a bully, and fairly privileged, and there are friendships and rivalries we see. There's also quite a bit of humour and a fair bit of mild peril. With no one ever being permanently injured, the school is threatened by mysterious forces in each story, and our heroes have to rise to the challenge and save the other pupils, teachers and the school itself by working together and being resourceful. There's a nice emphasis on the different approaches they each take. Victor is very cautious and careful while Seb has a tendency to charge in headlong. There's also a very interesting subplot running through them all about Seb having to control his temper to avoid going "full wolf" and the role anger can play in our lives. While each story is self contained and can be read alone, they're best read as a series, particularly as the ongoing mystery around Tabby slowly begins to unfold. It's clear from quite early on that she's not quite the normal human she's presented as.</p><p>Most of the horror here is body-horror. People grow tentacles or turn to goo, or get trapped in pods. I would say that it's written well with its target audience in mind, but it's definitely something to be aware of for more sensitive readers. </p><p>The art throughout is lovely, and it's all really well presented, with large, readable text on off-white paper that makes them really easy to read. </p><p>Grim Falls Academy is a lovely, slightly creepy and very fun new series for younger readers.</p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>Grim Falls Academy books 1-3 by Louise Forshaw are out on 28th August 2023 from Maverick Publishing. </i></p><p><i>I was given a set for review in exchange for an honest review and participation in this blog tour. </i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-82075006389839206202023-08-21T13:24:00.001+00:002023-08-21T13:24:11.693+00:00Blog Tour Review - Norah's Ark by Victoria Williamson<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - Norah's Ark by Victoria Williamson</h2><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Norah Day lives in temporary accommodation, relies on foodbanks for dinner, and doesnβt have a mum. But sheβs happy enough, as she has a dad and a mini zoo of rescued wildlife to care for.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Adam Sinclair lives with his parents in a nice house with a private tutor and everything he could ever want. But his life isnβt perfect β far from it. Heβs stuck at home recovering from cancer with an overprotective mum and no friends.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>When a nest of baby birds brings them together as an animal rescue team, Adam and Norah discover theyβre not so different after all. Can they solve the mystery of Norahβs missing mother together? And can their teamwork save their zoo of rescued animals from the rising flood?</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Zvul8MJZzOWS8uVQHPAJD2HL_iTZkyXFa5ipCrVSZCtFRuZOqnHIzjIqOoICpIpUlNGrUP1YDeAGinrgcHko24O4yo5IJORLDFl75Z-9LWNJ6MNp4fD_bTQifc70G4kAXDzjHnrADg5VJAVJHo4gFY1w5EZ5llEALrs7r4ljvVQ48OPObynwZyh7p8CW/s1454/unnamed%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="1450" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Zvul8MJZzOWS8uVQHPAJD2HL_iTZkyXFa5ipCrVSZCtFRuZOqnHIzjIqOoICpIpUlNGrUP1YDeAGinrgcHko24O4yo5IJORLDFl75Z-9LWNJ6MNp4fD_bTQifc70G4kAXDzjHnrADg5VJAVJHo4gFY1w5EZ5llEALrs7r4ljvVQ48OPObynwZyh7p8CW/w638-h640/unnamed%20(1).png" width="638" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">Norah's Ark is a very hard book to read. It's beautiful and it's very accessible, so it's not that. It just deals with some very difficult subject matters that make it an incredibly moving, powerful story. Like all of Victoria's work, it's filled with empathy and everything is dealt with in a caring, sympathetic way and I highly, highly recommend it. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I think what made it so powerful for me is that one of the central themes of the story is helplessness. The world is a scary, often overwhelming place and at times it can really feel like we're helpless to change what is happening to us. </p><p style="text-align: left;">For Norah, she feels helpless with her living situation, forced to move on from temporary accommodation to temporary accommodation without ever really having anywhere to call home. She feels helpless at school, struggling to keep up in lessons and at the mercy (or lack thereof) of the local bullies. She feels helpless with her dad, very aware of many of the problems he is facing but not able to do anything to alleviate them other than struggling along with him, and hiding her own problems from him, lying about the bullies, pretending she's not hungry when there's not enough food to go around, and doing her best to smile through the bad times they share.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Adam is in a very different situation to Norah. He has food and a nice home and both parents around, but he too feels helpless. He's recovering from cancer and his mother is keeping him trapped in the house for his own safety. He's being kept away from school and from friends, from swimming and from the park and although he keeps trying, he feels like there's nothing he can do to change his mother's mind. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It extends beyond this though. The adults in the story also experience similar feelings of helplessness. Norah's dad keeps trying his best, but the world is not set up to help people like him. Jobs are zero-hours and don't last long, housing is basic and temporary, and the benefits people seem to be constantly sabotaging his best efforts and giving him less money than he expects and needs. I really felt so deeply for him and for Norah, trapped in an uncaring system they just can't get out of. It was truly heartbreaking to see. And throughout it all there's this threat of social services coming to separate them, something neither of them could accept, something they both fear. </p><p style="text-align: left;">For Adam's parents, the circumstances acting against them don't come from the government, but it's just as painful to watch a parent terrified of losing their child, to read about them sitting by his bedside when he is in hospital, powerless to do anything to intervene, and then to have him him, seemingly cured but to still be beset by these fears that something else can come along and take him away. Adam's mother comes across at times as overly fearful or as controlling, but it's clear to see how strongly she's driven by love and fear.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It sounds really bleak, but it's also a book driven by hope and optimism. I loved Norah and Adam both making lists of what they want in life, and how simple, how basic those wishes were in both cases, and despite their very different circumstances, how similar their lists were. Everything seems to work against them, but they never give up, and that's really lovely.</p><p style="text-align: left;">One strong message to come out of the book is that the answer to feeling utterly helpless in our own lives is to help others. The story is initially driven by both Adam and Norah trying to help some abandoned robin chicks, and as it progresses we see how much joy and comfort they can find in doing what they can to help people and creatures who need them, no matter how much they themselves need helping.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Norah's Ark is emotional and heartbreaking at times, but ultimately a gorgeously optimistic book.</p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Norah's Ark by Victoria Williamson is out on 29th August 2023 from Neem Tree Press.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in return for an honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour!</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvp4vVkz0m_mywhHHOs_gP30Fweo9vRKtFx38HRaqOf6mpKVVt5fqgwcetkRr7W1ZhRh74ns3jEqdMgBuBrs-G869D-xdhmB8ZxW_gWV318751WJVK00VHmw5RiBnTtB-zH2Fy7B1Q7E_ChZHkm6YYfEfUduJnVmch8_nvWRWIH6p0su-AjBeE8WF9T50J/s1452/unnamed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1452" data-original-width="1446" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvp4vVkz0m_mywhHHOs_gP30Fweo9vRKtFx38HRaqOf6mpKVVt5fqgwcetkRr7W1ZhRh74ns3jEqdMgBuBrs-G869D-xdhmB8ZxW_gWV318751WJVK00VHmw5RiBnTtB-zH2Fy7B1Q7E_ChZHkm6YYfEfUduJnVmch8_nvWRWIH6p0su-AjBeE8WF9T50J/w638-h640/unnamed.png" width="638" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EQwHRJVIoBWrfTblzIEbELlcM_Iti-eUPCj_3UYoPXESpZ4BQwsjsPsC6EmRroG_g4eXGse1Jnb_h5wtXvGozJrmliQmteO1jDXejQge9LmF7GoLw_iXWWghDkolMu0VGOPXXCGFFLthUezTfVbQjZ0ICvVQWOcRnYmu3hqMOAMteWpQo4YLFccMiREr/s1460/unnamed%20(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1460" data-original-width="1452" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7EQwHRJVIoBWrfTblzIEbELlcM_Iti-eUPCj_3UYoPXESpZ4BQwsjsPsC6EmRroG_g4eXGse1Jnb_h5wtXvGozJrmliQmteO1jDXejQge9LmF7GoLw_iXWWghDkolMu0VGOPXXCGFFLthUezTfVbQjZ0ICvVQWOcRnYmu3hqMOAMteWpQo4YLFccMiREr/w636-h640/unnamed%20(2).png" width="636" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-9285264755886507642023-08-17T09:36:00.001+00:002023-08-17T09:36:24.508+00:00Blog Tour Review - The Sun and The Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz<h2 style="text-align: center;"> Blog Tour Review - The Sun and The Void </h2><h2 style="text-align: center;">by Gabriela Romero Lacruz</h2><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjBNO_vIAJxH-vxtdpX4GeHtip1Gm1MSNSBYO3EezH-uZICXDsj6AC7RgVJlj5YeDM0jWHJGvCWY13a06ctd3HK9OTPbrUydqJtfIO6OSJ0A8GIVMb_RkYna088QhGffEy4PGiq315eUoN4Iy8OuIz8LHNdxeRWFYPAry7D-udPX5pNCdq_W1wYgxrb5j/s1080/TSATV%20Blog%20Tour%20Tile.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihjBNO_vIAJxH-vxtdpX4GeHtip1Gm1MSNSBYO3EezH-uZICXDsj6AC7RgVJlj5YeDM0jWHJGvCWY13a06ctd3HK9OTPbrUydqJtfIO6OSJ0A8GIVMb_RkYna088QhGffEy4PGiq315eUoN4Iy8OuIz8LHNdxeRWFYPAry7D-udPX5pNCdq_W1wYgxrb5j/w640-h640/TSATV%20Blog%20Tour%20Tile.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>In a lush world inspired by the history and folklore of South America, a sweeping epic fantasy of colonialism, ancient magic, and two young women's quest for belonging unfolds.</i></p><p><i>Reina is desperate.</i></p><p><i>Stuck living on the edges of society, her only salvation lies in an invitation from a grandmother she's never known. But the journey is dangerous, and prayer can't always avert disaster.</i></p><p><i>Attacked by creatures that stalk the region, Reina is on the verge of death until her grandmother, a dark sorceress, intervenes. Now dependent on the DoΓ±a's magic for her life, Reina will do anything to earn--and keep--her favor. Even the bidding of an ancient god who whispers to her at night.</i></p><p><i>Eva Kesare is unwanted.</i></p><p><i>Illegitimate and of mixed heritage, Eva is her family's shame. She tries her best to be perfect and to hide her oddities. But Eva is hiding a secret: magic calls to her.</i></p><p><i>Eva knows she should fight the temptation. Magic is the sign of the dark god, and using it is punishable by death. Yet, it's hard to deny power when it has always been denied to you. Eva is walking a dangerous path, one that gets stranger every day. And, in the end, she'll become something she never imagined.</i></p><p>What a fantastic, fresh fantasy novel! I really enjoyed The Sun and the Void a lot.</p><p>The setting is very South American in feel, which really makes it stand out from the Western European and Far Eastern settings so often seen in fantasy. It's a post-colonial world, that has recently fought for and established its independence from an overseas power, and while it's easy to see some of the influences at work, it's imaginative and innovative and not a direct parallel. The cultural influences are embedded throughout though, in food, music, language and beliefs. </p><p>Although the political circumstances can be felt throughout the novel, it's not a book about political manoeuvring. There are hints and suggestions about what happened and how things stand at the statecraft levels, a few explanations of the war and its key figures, and several of the characters are major political players, but that's not the focus of the novel. Rather it focuses on the smaller players, those not seen as great movers and shakers, or figures of destiny, but who can have a very important and surprising role to play.</p><p>One of the core themes of The Sun and the Void is the price of power. This plays out in each of the different character arcs in different ways, and really pulls together the narratives and the characters. What are we prepared to do to get what we want, and what is it we actually want? There's a real complexity to it reflected here. No one wants power just for the sake of it. They want to belong. They want to be loved. They want to be healthy again. They want lost loves returned to them. They want to be respected. The motivations for each character were very skilfully presented, as was the price to be paid. It would be easy to see this as a book with very few good characters, but the truth is more complex than that. People are seduced into doing very dark deeds through various means, and the road into darkness is one that can be very hard to see when you're on it. The slow descent into some very dark places is really captivating. At times it was easy to see what they could not, and at times the reader was also kept guessing, as the novel slowly and steadily moves each piece into position for an exciting climax. </p><p>I loved the magical system and its links with theology too. One particular favourite was the different views people can have of their own religion, best seen in the way Maior's understanding of her religion is so vastly different to that Eva experienced in her home town. As a practicing Catholic with very progressive views myself I really appreciated her take on it over the "Burn the witch!" philosophy of the archbishop.</p><p>I also loved the romantic elements, which were also complex and understated. There are a lot of feelings packed into this novel, and the characters themselves seem to struggle to fully understand them for quite a lot of it, which makes for a fascinating spectacle. </p><p>There's a feeling of fate or destiny as people are slowly brought together and what unfolds is thrilling, dynamic and powerful, with a satisfying conclusion to the novel and a few tantalising hints at what might yet unfold.</p><p>A bold and visionary new fantasy novel I highly recommend!</p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero Lacruz is out now, published by Daphne Press.</i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in exchange for an honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-79087888162960352542023-08-15T18:06:00.005+00:002023-08-15T18:13:42.414+00:00Pax Cover Reveal and Excerpt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pax Cover Reveal and Excerpt</h2><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hi folks,</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Today I've got something very exciting to share with you. I'm thrilled to be asked to do the cover reveal for Pax and the Missing Head, the first book in the exciting new London Falling series of sci-fi upper middle grade books by David Barker. It's illustrated by Bruna Oliveira Marini and looks fab!</p><p style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But there's more! Want to read the opening page too? Well, you can find it below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWkunP_lfrPM7iy663BgP3gmtndYlh6X9qHBisSCfkoBYmrT6pm1u_CUFdWQHrutLYmM-ZHMphuQlhKjbTfDy0ueO-sH57BGrTM-TnxXUOfr8e43AeiH39T0rznOgF1E_dBienwHyMSe1JTDQW-f6uvAitTXSWkx4eDsE89PXgoqZfTenQIWJuteIvfC8/s2625/9781913230357.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2625" data-original-width="1685" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCWkunP_lfrPM7iy663BgP3gmtndYlh6X9qHBisSCfkoBYmrT6pm1u_CUFdWQHrutLYmM-ZHMphuQlhKjbTfDy0ueO-sH57BGrTM-TnxXUOfr8e43AeiH39T0rznOgF1E_dBienwHyMSe1JTDQW-f6uvAitTXSWkx4eDsE89PXgoqZfTenQIWJuteIvfC8/w410-h640/9781913230357.png" width="410" /></a></div><br /><p>And I'll have more to share on this book later in the year, when the blog tour comes around, so keep watching! Pax and the Missing Head is out on 19th October.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqamAACDVZIQQCaQCFNutroqgVVTjd-0vnzvQSO3_SsAsHOHOOK7YeKobN5_P7i4pH_WmPSjUWlBwSGvDxIYe5wQuWeGJHfBxqpRoWkhrLt5-SC-MyJz19SdAS3sG3yR2KuNU-EdMPX3neK9HSZlomyL-HDpzj0m9KeP9J3zgJs0eQYq9GCyJBrBKTgrzl/s1169/Pax%20Excerpt.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="827" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqamAACDVZIQQCaQCFNutroqgVVTjd-0vnzvQSO3_SsAsHOHOOK7YeKobN5_P7i4pH_WmPSjUWlBwSGvDxIYe5wQuWeGJHfBxqpRoWkhrLt5-SC-MyJz19SdAS3sG3yR2KuNU-EdMPX3neK9HSZlomyL-HDpzj0m9KeP9J3zgJs0eQYq9GCyJBrBKTgrzl/w452-h640/Pax%20Excerpt.png" width="452" /></a></div><br /><p>Those pre-order links are: <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/pax-and-the-missing-head-david-barker/7521945?ean=9781913230357" target="_blank">Bookshop.org</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pax-Missing-Head-London-Falling/dp/191323035X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NR7C8F4MWRMV&keywords=pax+and+the+missing+head&qid=1691669877&sprefix=pax+and+the+missing+ehad%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pax-Missing-Head-London-Falling/dp/191323035X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1NR7C8F4MWRMV&keywords=pax+and+the+missing+head&qid=1691669877&sprefix=pax+and+the+missing+ehad%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon US</a>, <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/pax-and-the-missing-head/david-barker/bruna-oliveira-marini/9781913230357" target="_blank">Waterstones</a></p><br /><p></p>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-6641096664543507662023-08-02T09:08:00.001+00:002023-08-02T09:08:14.287+00:00Blog Tour Review - Ravensong by T J Klune<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - Ravensong by T J Klune</h2><div><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Gordo Livingstone never forgot the lessons carved into his skin. Hardened by the betrayal of a pack who left him behind, he sought solace in the garage in his tiny mountain town, vowing never again to involve himself in the affairs of wolves. It should have been enough.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>And it was, until the wolves came back, and with them, Mark Bennett. In the end, they faced the beast together as a pack... and won. Now, a year later, Gordo has found himself once again the witch of the Bennett pack. Green Creek has settled after the death of Richard Collins, and Gordo constantly struggles to ignore Mark and the song that howls between them.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>But time is running out. Something is coming. And this time, it's crawling from within. Some bonds, no matter how strong, were made to be broken</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWH4CFdCnYYCfc-61id51bmR6ZD9UnQRqRqlrG769pUk2slUppTDx_Zg-sC7bqc0SXDozhaCL2ps8T_IE5cNGdSb_t3xuX71WydMUPkpaEj8OVCr9SUaNBRKtecqvDGl6S5T6l_P05icddLvBBF6oTLIEC132pQzBj9njxmIEpjd_4Ggl2WBZzyWsOOpDD/s1080/Ravensong%20Blog%20tour%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWH4CFdCnYYCfc-61id51bmR6ZD9UnQRqRqlrG769pUk2slUppTDx_Zg-sC7bqc0SXDozhaCL2ps8T_IE5cNGdSb_t3xuX71WydMUPkpaEj8OVCr9SUaNBRKtecqvDGl6S5T6l_P05icddLvBBF6oTLIEC132pQzBj9njxmIEpjd_4Ggl2WBZzyWsOOpDD/w640-h640/Ravensong%20Blog%20tour%20(1).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>pack pack pack love book late review pack love</i></p><p style="text-align: left;">Hey folks, this is my (slightly delayed) blog tour review for Ravensong, brought to you with the awesome people at Black Crow PR.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I never read Wolfsong, though I did read and review <a href="http://www.bookwormhole.co.uk/2023/05/blog-tour-review-in-lives-of-puppets-by.html" target="_blank">In the Lives of Puppets</a> a few months ago, and really enjoyed that, so I decided to give this one a go too. In retrospect, I really should have read Wolfsong first, because Ravensong clearly picks up a lot of threads from the first book. I'd been hoping for a copy with my review copy of Ravensong, but I'll definitely be picking up a copy because I really enjoyed Ravensong a lot!</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's very much a book of two distinct halves. From what I can tell, the first part of the story intertwines through the story of Wolfsong. We see things that happened in the first book through the eyes of different characters, I think. It jumps around in time, as we see Gordo's life in snippets and cut scenes, and there's a long road trip with Gordo and three of the Bennett brothers which really doesn't seem to get anywhere. There's no real sense of destination or achievement while they're on the road, and then when they get back home there's this feeling that everything has kinda happened there while they were away, before the book jumps forward in time. This utterly confused me before I realised just how big the overlap with Wolfsong must be and that the other events of this particular time period happen elsewhere. </p><p style="text-align: left;">So yeah, this first section of the book, and it's a fairly chunky section, is mostly just four people driving around and getting nowhere, mixed in with flashbacks. And yet, somehow, it isn't boring or frustrating. Far from it, in fact. Despite my confusion at certain points, I really loved it. It had this strange and beautiful dreamlike quality, as paragraphs skipped back and forth in time with no real breaks, no indications, no time stamps, we're with Gordo in a roadside motel, and then we're with him as a teenage boy sneaking into a garage for the first time, and then we're with him in pack meetings as a young man, and then we're back in the car. It's trance like and a little unsettling but in the best way, like we're just on multiple journeys with him and time and space aren't restricting us any more. There's extensive use of foreshadowing, as events are depicted a certain amount of time before other, major events, that are skirted around through several sections before we suddenly realise they're unfolding before us. There's a real power to this kind of storytelling, when it is done well, and T J Klune does it very well!</p><p style="text-align: left;">The next part of the book is more traditional storytelling, as we follow a single narrative to its conclusion, but this dreamlike quality seeps through it still, with occasional sequences drawing us back into that unsettling and beautiful state. Gordo's new pack is under threat from several sources, an infection, another pack, hunters and witches. They have to come together to identify the threats and deal with them as the stakes steadily raise and the peril mounts. It's tense and exciting with some incredible dramatic moments. I love Gordo, and his grumpy ass, and his confidence, this human standing up to werewolves knowing, or believing, that he is more than a match for any of them. You really have to hand it to him. (Sorry!)</p><p style="text-align: left;">This is a book with a strong narrative, but it is such a sensual book too! I think it's the wolves, but it really is a treat for all of the senses. There's music threaded throughout it, from the sing-a-longs on the road trip to the way familiar songs can evoke memories of our parents in everyday situations. Colour is used to communicate feelings through the shared threads between the pack, along with thoughts that are expressed as single words packed with meaning. Scent is used to identify people and how we think of them, how we remember them, and there's an extraordinary tactile sense too, the pack constantly using small touches to build familiarity and express love and affection, and I've never seen it expressed so well before. There's also a very explicit sex scene here too! I wasn't quite expecting it, but it was hot as hell!</p><p style="text-align: left;">More than anything though, this is a book with some very strong and difficult emotions. Families and trust are built up and broken, neither are easy. And it is a book about love, about hearts breaking, about abandonment and all of the hurt, anger and resentment left behind and what it can do to us. It's about losing people and finding people, and for all of the bitterness, it's a story about hope. A beautiful, powerful tale.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I loved Ravensong, and highly recommend it. I just wish I'd read Wolfsong first.</p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Ravensong by T J Klune is out on 3rd August 2023 by Tor Books.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in return for an honest review and participation in this Black Crow PR blog tour. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>Check out the rest of the tour!</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-18328982431229974232023-08-01T09:17:00.001+00:002023-08-01T09:17:02.870+00:00Blog Tour Review - The Exiled by Sarah Daniels<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - The Exiled by Sarah Daniels</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>It is six months since the Arcadia set sail for the first time in forty years. But this wasn't the freedom the inhabitants were hoping for. Esther Crossland did what she had to do, but it has left a trail of destruction in her wake. Now the wrecked ship is abandoned. Its inhabitants are in exile, trapped in sprawling make-shift shelters made up of warehouse, tents, shipping containers.</i></p><p><i>Esther and Nik, architects of the rebellion, are on the run. Esther is in hiding, desperate to do something to help her people, and Nik seems to have abandoned all hope, on a journey taking him further and further from home. And neither of them want to face up to their true feelings about one another . . .</i></p><p><i>Not only that, there is a new villain in town. With the fall of Commander Hadley, it's left to the ruthless Admiral Janek to deal with the traitors, and her own past is beginning to catch-up with her.</i></p><p><i>Then the shaky ceasefire negotiated by General Lall, Nik's mum, falls apart. Nik and Esther find themselves in a world of betrayals and double crossings - a game of power, with no one to trust but themselves.</i></p><p><i>It's time for the final showdown.</i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWY_JA5nR2duzIRbn9TifT8g9BN8PW3LdPIBCWG254e4NbJF7zXjZahSP38skdfkkUtCwowOr8QbleqogNx_8GYaFtlkhgD8R0woLn_CDOwBgMDwErqL-JQBCCyxZYXw5x54EoRXSTo5ZFq5zU_BxzG9tHoEC5lnNPsHTngOx5WGhe6YjsO9r3eb-X5fq_/s1600/unnamed%20(1).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWY_JA5nR2duzIRbn9TifT8g9BN8PW3LdPIBCWG254e4NbJF7zXjZahSP38skdfkkUtCwowOr8QbleqogNx_8GYaFtlkhgD8R0woLn_CDOwBgMDwErqL-JQBCCyxZYXw5x54EoRXSTo5ZFq5zU_BxzG9tHoEC5lnNPsHTngOx5WGhe6YjsO9r3eb-X5fq_/w640-h360/unnamed%20(1).png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p>The Exiled is the sequel to The Stranded, forming the second part of a duology, and it's another fantastic read!</p><p>The Stranded is really unusual for a novel all about forming and executing an elaborate plan, in that things really don't go to plan. Without too many spoilers (though I'm afraid some spoilers for book one may be unavoidable here, so consider this your fair warning!) the ship that's meant to be sailing out to sea to freedom ends up going in the other direction completely, and while the passengers get off the cruise ship, they don't find freedom on dry land.</p><p>Like The Stranded, The Exiled is told from multiple points of view, including from the point of view of one of the story's villains, and others who are somewhat morally dubious. It's fascinating seeing things unfold from so many different perspectives, with the characters here starting off separated by distance rather than just deck and class. The threads are all woven together very skilfully, and their stories intertwine a lot so you're never left with that frustration of wanting to get back and see what's happening with the other characters, or at least very rarely. There's only really one section that jumps away from a bit of a cliffhanger to focus on somewhere else completely but before long everything comes back together as the story starts to build towards a series of epic climaxes.</p><p>One of the things I really love about this duology, that's really brought out clearly in The Exiled is the moral grey areas. The passengers are now trapped in the camp and there are different ideas about what's best to do, different ways of handling things, and a few big decisions facing our protagonists that really aren't clear cut. It's hard, at times, to see what the best course of action would be and we're right there in the dilemma with the characters. It helps to keep everything tense and dramatic throughout.</p><p>There's a lot more politicking going on here, as the focus moves outwards from the cruise ship to a wider view of the Federated States, and of course it is dirty politics. The depiction of corruption and downright nastiness stretching right up to the highest office of the land is scary but feels all too realistic, and is even scarier for that! The discussions happening here about presidents not being prosecutable would have been science fiction a decade or more ago but feel a little too close to comfort these days. </p><p>And in the absence of Hadley, Admiral Janek steps up to show us just how horrifying an unstable psychopath can be when they have both political and military power at their fingertips. She's a memorable and horribly brilliant villain for the piece.</p><p>As with The Stranded, there's a lot here about refugees and how they get treated that feels firmly rooted in our own world. This time it's in a refugee camp, where conditions are bad and getting worse. Food is scarce, diseases run amok and people are forced to live behind fences when all they want is the opportunity to start a new life. Politicians demonise them on the media, hiding behind clever phrasing and twisted statistics to produce soundbites for the populace and instead of people trying to live their lives the refugees are seen as a political problem, one to get rid of without too much of an outcry. The fact that the refugees are European is an interesting one too, easier to sympathise with for many readers, no doubt. </p><p>We also see the potential evolution of the American prison conglomerates, big businesses using a literally captive workforce to produce munitions, with politicians on the payroll and an unholy amount of influence over the president, and we see hints of environmental disaster and the resulting clean up companies. There's a lot in this world I'd love to see explored more, a fascinating dystopia with the potential for a lot more stories beyond this duology.</p><p>The Exiled is a fast paced, exciting conclusion to the duology, with some powerful elements that will hopefully make a lot of readers wonder where we're heading.</p><p>πππππ</p><p><i>The Exiled by Sarah Daniels is out now, published by Penguin.</i></p><p><i>I was given a review copy in return for this honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7193296379572885909.post-45904975661658029792023-07-27T22:25:00.003+00:002023-07-27T22:25:58.070+00:00Blog Tour Review - The Stranded by Sarah Daniels<h2 style="text-align: left;"> Blog Tour Review - The Stranded by Sarah Daniels</h2><div style="text-align: left;"><p><i>Welcome to the Arcadia.</i></p><p><i>Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now it floats near the coastline of the Federated States - a leftover piece of a fractured USA.</i></p><p><i>For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs and make-shift shelters.</i></p><p><i>Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all.</i></p><p><i>When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever . . .</i></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUYUnNpoNQlivAeOwEBZw--ukfZi6xVAvjl3WotzqhbfTF8v7u_uUToQIj-FnWCuO9cgcws8cEDGBOtzzShw2_oXXZbfC-DkUdCrhb_olXKe6mNQBLy8tMf9YLAW161PGng6-2XCcO9p4rEN3ned4sW1Y9-Lsk6seUuIN0d5zX-1U-eHH8SQL7_GVPNGB/s1600/Stranded.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwUYUnNpoNQlivAeOwEBZw--ukfZi6xVAvjl3WotzqhbfTF8v7u_uUToQIj-FnWCuO9cgcws8cEDGBOtzzShw2_oXXZbfC-DkUdCrhb_olXKe6mNQBLy8tMf9YLAW161PGng6-2XCcO9p4rEN3ned4sW1Y9-Lsk6seUuIN0d5zX-1U-eHH8SQL7_GVPNGB/w640-h360/Stranded.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">The Stranded is a completely gripping thriller, from start to finish!</p><p style="text-align: left;">There's so much going on here, so many important themes, and they're all wrapped up in exciting action and espionage, as it cleverly shifts between slow building tension and perilous fights and chases at breakneck pace.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a dystopian adventure with sci-fi elements, set in the not too distant future but with limited amounts of sophisticated technology. The setting is a massive, and very old cruise ship, and almost the entire novel is set on board the ship. After a terrible war in Europe that saw biological weapons make most of the continent uninhabitable, the only survivors we know of were passengers on board cruise ships and those fortunate few who managed to get aboard them in time. Now, for generations, they and their descendants have been living on these ships, floating off the coast of a divided former United States, where the government is doing just enough to support them without ever welcoming them. They are a refugee problem used as a political football while people live and die on the ships. </p><p style="text-align: left;">There are so many eerily familiar elements at play here. There's the devastating virus and constant testing and monitoring looking for outbreaks, signs of contamination or carriers. There are obviously the refugees trapped on board a ship, unwelcome in the country they can see from the decks, fed a bare minimum, housed in cramped conditions, seen by some as a plague, a threat, a problem, and by others as a worthy cause to help. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The droid cameras watching everywhere, the threat of hidden surveillance, and the creepy, black-clad guards patrolling and dispensing justice really amp up the threat level. It feels like a place where no one is safe, where anyone can get pulled up for the smallest misdemeanor, or just the appearance of wrongdoing. Wrong place, wrong time is enough to bring the law down on you. This gives the book such a tense feel and the peril facing our characters is very real. At the heart of it is Hadley, truly a horrifying villain, the embodiment of totalitarian authority and how easily it diverges from any true sense of justice. He is the creepiest of creeps and a fantastic foil for our rebels.<br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">And where you have the jackboot brigade, you also have the black market and the below deck gangs. I loved this element of the story, the gangs felt powerful yet vulnerable, helpful yet a constant danger, a known unknown that could be a useful ally but always at a price, or an indefatigable foe if insulted. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The central characters were generally very endearing, even when they were clearly at odds with each other I couldn't help but root for all of them. Esther is sweet, a little naive, hard working and worries a lot. Nik is a lot more street-wise, but still prone to making rash decisions, usually because of his emotions leading him into trouble. They're a wonderful pair to watch, at odds and forced to work together, not trusting or liking each other, but finding common ground. It was all really effective. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The action is brutal, often horrifying, always enthralling. I love a story like this that isn't afraid to kill off important characters, but always gives their deaths meaning and impact. It made me care about people and mourn their loss. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The Stranded is a wonderful post-apocalyptic thriller, and I'm really looking forward to book two, The Exiled, which I will be reviewing here at the weekend.</p><p style="text-align: left;">πππππ</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>The Stranded by Sarah Daniels is out now, published by Penguin.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I was given a review copy in return for an honest review and participation in this The Write Reads blog tour. I was also gifted a copy at the Penguin YA Summer Party last year. </i></p><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Liam Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08430756043798767589noreply@blogger.com0