Call of Destiny: Infinite Realms Book One by P R Adams

This book is a bit like a film that you don't want to end, in that you don't want the story to end, yet you need to know what happens next. 

Riyun is the leader of a team of military and technological mercenaries. Openings in the team mean that he has new recruits join them, just as they take on a new job. 

Find a missing daughter - it sounds easy enough. But as with anything that seems really easy, there is always a catch. 

And the catch caught me! I really enjoyed the different slant on military sci-fi that this book introduced. Combining my love of fantasy and sci-fi in a really good engaging read by P R Adams. I cannot wait to read the next book and the ones after that too. 

Definitely a favourite series for my book shelf (on my kindle of course). I am really grateful that the author took this new angle on his writing 

Inhibitor Phase by Alastair Reynolds

Yet another brilliant novel from Alastair Reynolds, but one that for me held a tinge of sad bleakness. Why? Because it's the endgame for the universe (possibly), most of life is gone, wiped out, with just pockets of humanity surviving in hollowed out worlds or similar.

Until danger comes their way in the form of a ship, exposing them to the dangers of discovery by the inhibitors and annihilation. One man goes to ensure that the ship never reaches their world, but things never go as they are planned and his actions have consequences that reach far into his future and beyond.

There is much depth to this story, but I think I may have read the authors mind at some point, because I had such Deja vu with one section of the story, that I was sure I had already read the book. And really I hadn't because I had no idea how the book was going to proceed after that section ended!

The characters are many and varied, some we stay with for a long while, others whom even though we grow to like them as we learn more about them, don't stay so long. But they make an impression and are remembered as the story keeps moving on.

The world building has been going on for years with this series of books and there is so much that readers new to it will want to go back to read, but it won't detract from this story to read it as it stands, if that is what the reader wants. Myself, I think I preferred to have read them all so that I know what went before and can appreciate how far the universe has fallen since the great heights of the previous centuries. And that is where the sadness creeps in, as the darkness of eternity looms cold and empty.

But the book is ace! So go read it, it's extremely well written and very clever.

I hope that there is a next one!

" ‘They’re here,’ she said, taking a step back from her work. ‘They’re here and they want to break in.’ Her tone became quietly accusatory. ‘It means you failed, Miguel. It means you failed and everything here is going to end.’ 

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley. I am delighted to provide a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

5/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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Miguel de Ruyter is a man with a past. Fleeing the 'wolves' - the xenocidal alien machines known as Inhibitors - he has protected his family and community from attack for forty years, sheltering in the caves of an airless, battered world called Michaelmas. The slightest hint of human activity could draw the wolves to their home, to destroy everything ... utterly. Which is how Miguel finds himself on a one-way mission with his own destructive mandate: to eliminate a passing ship, before it can bring unwanted attention down on them. Only something goes wrong. There's a lone survivor. And she knows far more about Miguel than she's letting on . . . Ranging from the depths of space to the deeps of Pattern Juggler waters, from nervous, isolated communities to the ruins of empire, this is a stealthy space opera from an author at the top of his game.  

 

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The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani

Rae is a cripple in everyone's eyes, nothing will ever become of her. At least that is Rae's outlook on everyone else's thoughts. Rae's lifelong goal is to grow old with her sister in their parents home, each looking after the other. Because although Rae's difference is evident, her sister's is not and no-one can know what it is. 

Although she doesn't know it, Rae's life changes that day she goes to the market with her family and that of her very best friend. The day her best friend's sister is snatched. And no-one can find her.

Shortly after, Rae goes to the capital at her cousins request to be her companion. Cousin Melly is a member of the court and needs someone from her family with her. After arriving at the court, Rae is asked to work for a member of the Royal family and though reluctant at first, she seems to grow to like her new employer.

There is danger all around from the infighting within the court and from outside the Palace walls. Rae falls prey to that and is kidnapped. That is when her real adventure begins.

Intisar has put a lot of depth and detail into her book. The characters are realistic and the reader will most likely warm to them (depending on the nature of the character of course - you wouldn't warm to an evil baddy, would you now?). 

I haven't covered half of what goes on in the book, I really don't want to spoil it for anyone. It is an extremely engaging read and although she says that she didn't want to run it over into another book, Intisar has actually written the right amount to make the story work, which means that she is going to have to continue the story in another book. And I will be very happy to read the second in the series when it is published.

Regarding quotes from books, they are a little snippet from within the core, they are not the story. They cannot convey the depth of what is within.

"Back home, everyone calls me Rae.” Her smile is brighter, truer, as she says, “Rae, then. Thank you.”"

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley. I am delighted to provide a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

5/5 Stars (What this means... Star ratings)

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Perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and Sorcery of Thorns, this exhilarating, page-turning fantasy will pull readers into a lush and stunning world where nothing—and no one—can be trusted.

They do not believe this evil is real. They may not care. But I do.

Children have been disappearing from Menaiya for longer than Amraeya ni Ansarim can remember. Snatched from the streets, never to be seen again—or returned with unspeakable trauma. When her friend’s sister is snatched, Rae knows she can’t look away any longer - even if that means seeking answers from the royal court, where her country upbringing and clubfoot will only invite ridicule.

Yet the court holds its share of surprises. There she discovers an ally in the foreign princess, who recruits her as an attendant. Armed with the princess’s support, Rae seeks answers in the dark city streets, finding unexpected help in a rough-around-the-edges street thief with secrets of his own.

But treachery runs deep, and the more Rae uncovers, the more she endangers herself, and even the kingdom itself.

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Ghosted by H. L. Burke

Lazarus visits Harper because he isn't doing well with his assignment. Harper admits that he is struggling,but insists that it is not due to his not trying. Lazarus takes pity on him and sends him away while he takes on the assignment himself.

But Lazarus gets a surprise and learns why Harper was having such a difficult time.

This is a short story and to say any more would be to spoil it. In short, go get it and read it for yourself and take some pleasure in doing so, as it is a really good story.

Although there's only a handful of characters, it has more than enough body to satisfy readers.

"headquarters isn’t happy with your performance. Like I said, they gave you an easy assignment."

I received a free copy of this novel from the author and I'm delighted to offer my fair and honest review.

 

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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Ghosts thrive on fear, but Maisie just isn't delivering. In fact, Lazarus isn't even sure she realizes she's being haunted. When expert haunter, Lazarus Bently, receives a cry for help from a fellow ghost, he rushes to the chaotic cottage of eccentric artist Maisie. If Ghost HQ finds out Lazarus couldn't get a rise out of this little old lady, he'll never live it down. With his professional pride on the line, can Lazarus get through to this unshakable woman? Or will this unbeaten scarer be the one quaking in his boots?  

 

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Elsewhere by Dean Koontz

This book may have started slow for me, but I still took a great deal of pleasure in reading it.

The main characters are Jeffy and his daughter Amity and the biggest issue I had with the book was the 'voice' of Amity, which made me think that this was a child's book to start with. Later I understood it to be the character's voice, with each having a different style and got used to it, but still it irritated me. Never mind though, the story was original and interesting so I got over it.

Ed is a local vagrant, one who keeps himself tidy, who likes to visit on Jeffy and Amity's porch. One day as they return home Ed is waiting for them on the porch. That is the start of their adventure, despite Ed's warnings.

"Snatching the box off his lap and holding it against his chest, Ed declared, “No, no. You must do nothing with it! Nothing! You must not open it. Never!”."

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for approving me to read Elsewhere by Dean Koontz.

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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In ELSEWHERE, master storyteller Dean Koontz, has created a brilliant and terrifying speculative thriller with hat-tips to George Orwell, Ray Bradbury and HG Wells.

In the little South Californian town of Suavidad Beach, Jeff Coltrane is raising his daughter Amity on his own, ever since his wife Michelle went missing seven years ago. He’s doing a pretty good job of it, and though Amity misses her mom she pours her excess love into her pet mouse Snowball: she’s on a promise for her own puppy if she proves she can take good care of the mouse.

Then one day their itinerant friend Ed – known locally as ‘Mr Spooky’ – hands into Jeff’s care a small box containing ‘the key to everything’, with the warning that it’s worth around $76 billion, and that he has a demonic posse on his tail searching for it, and that because it's both so powerful and so valuable, they’ll never give up their quest to get their hands on it. He’ll come back for it in a year: but on no account during that time is Jeff to open the box. Jeff quickly hides it away, which is just as well, since some sinister ‘federal’ agents soon turn up on his doorstep, making threats and looking for Ed.

With his beloved wife missing, having the key to everything in his possession proves to be just too much of a temptation for Jeff, and not long afterwards he opens the box and activates the key.

It seems, to begin with, that nothing has changed; but then he starts to notice subtle differences around the house, and outside, the weather has changed and they appear to have different neighbours. Down in the town, everything is a little more shabby. In the park, Amity kicks over some pebbles, before realising they are bloodied teeth. There’s the smell of burning books on the air. And up on the ridgeline overlooking the town, thirteen large crows are perched like the living totems of a clan of malicious wizards…

The screen of the key reads ELSEWHERE 1.13.

It offers three options: HOME, SELECT or RETURN.

Somewhere out there in the multiverse, Michelle – adored wife and mother – is still alive. But dare Jeff and Amity – and Snowball – use the key to track her down, with the demonic posse after them and unknown terrors in the other versions of their world?   

 

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The Thief on the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas

At one point near the start of this book I thought that it was going to read like a children's book. Thankfully the bit that made me think that (Larkin skipped up the central steps) was a one off and the story continued on a better footing. 

Larkin has crossed to the eyot on which the Kendricks Workshop is placed and where its magical dolls are made; his intention is to become a sorcerer and make such dolls himself. However, Larkin is not the only one with such a desire. In order to gain employment at the Workshop, Larkin must either be a family member or marry into the family. He believes his claim that he is a family member will gain him his employment.

There is a rare doll in the home of the current owner of Kendricks, made by Lucy Kendrick, one of the founders of the doll Workshop, "The Paid Mourner”. It is extremely valuable and, during an annual celebration, it is stolen. This theft is an unlikely event due to the protections surrounding the doll, but nonetheless it is gone. 

As the only people who live on the eyot are family or married into the family, suspicions are spread thin. The twin of the owner is suspected and all family members have police searches to endure.

Plots twist and people turn about as they worm their way to the top. Dolls are made and hexes writ on mannequins to change the fortune of sorcerers. Kendrick's, Jackson's and Botham's wait to discover the whereabouts of 'The Paid Mourner'.

Larkin dances through it all, but Persephone is by his side.

I like the way that the characters were tetchy and behaved as a normal person would. But, the thing that did annoy me was the way that bits were left out in certain areas, bits that will lead to another follow-up book I expect.

"Larkin explored an orchard. The bark of one tree was engraved with the image of a man on a winged horse, and beneath it, a single word: THIEF. Undeterred Larkin scrumped four quince and hid them in his bag."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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A dazzling mixture of crime, romance, magic and myth from the acclaimed author of The Psychology of Time Travel.

The Kendrick family have been making world-famous dolls for over 200 years. But their dolls aren't coveted for the craftmanship alone. Each one has a specific emotion laid on it by its creator. A magic that can make you feel bucolic bliss or consuming paranoia at a single touch. Though founded by sisters, now only men may know the secrets of the workshop.

Persephone Kendrick longs to break tradition and learn the family craft, and when a handsome stranger arrives claiming doll-making talent and a blood tie to the Kendricks, she sees a chance to grasp all she desires. But then, one night, the family's most valuable doll is stolen. Only someone with knowledge of magic could have taken her. Only a Kendrick could have committed this crime...

Reviews for Kate Mascarenhas:

'Witty, inventive and unflashily wise about human hearts; Mascarenhas's future promises to be an exciting one' GUARDIAN. 

'Breathtakingly tender and wryly understated' NEW YORK TIMES. 

'Captivating, delightful and thoroughly original' JENNIE MELAMED.

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Over Burning Sands by P R Adams

Major Gabby Alonso is leading her team away from the Cheyenne Mountain area and as she does she finds herself facing the differing groups of people fighting to hold their piece of land for themselves. Although for some, it is seeking to expand their lands that brings them into contact with the group. 

Each time they come across a new homestead, settlement or city, they have to consider how to approach it. Always on the lookout for treachery and malintent.

Gabby finds herself evaluating her every interaction with her team, is she being fair on them or indeed herself. Or is she overreacting to things they say and do. It is an extremely difficult situation, leading a team in a world that has changed beyond all recognition since you last saw it before hibernation.

Carmen and Harmony Verona are sisters, they are intent on unifying the disparate groups of settlements and tribes to ensure that humanity can continue in an organised manner. It's just that their way of doing things has turned a little barbaric along the way. Many fear them and resist their dominion, often to their own demise once the sisters arrive on the scene.

Eventually, the paths of the Verona's and Gabby's team cross, indirectly. And while the sisters are occupied, the team flees. Though what they flee to, is less comfortable that Gabby had found herself for a time. More hybrids from Arda are in the world than Gabby realised, something she finds out at great personal expense, while scouting for the protection of the team.

Though even the sisters find hardship awaits them.

This book takes us deeper into the new world after the fire and we meet the disparate groups of people who have survived to this point. Some are downright bad folks, but there are the odd few who shine out brightly and help the team.

I cannot say anything bad about this book, it really kept me reading on, wanting to know what happened next, while not wanting to finish the story.

"“I told you: No one is special.” Carmen drew her saber and thrust the blade through the other woman’s chest. Blood spurted from the wound, and the silver-haired woman looked down in disbelief, then she crumpled, gasping."

I received a free copy of this novel from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

5/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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A changed world. A deadly world. 

Major Gabby Alonso woke to violence and an AI bent on killing her. She wasn't ready to die. 

Now she has to lead the last remnants of her team into the world they were supposed to rebuild, to reclaim from centuries-old ruins.

While the world has changed, it's nothing like the training and simulations had taught her to expect. Except, that is, for its lethality.

Petty tyrants, misguided pacifists, bloodthirsty marauders—Alonso can trust no one, racing from one threat to the next, always trying to stay just ahead of death on her way to find the peaceful promise of someone named Reggie Lee.

Grab your copy of this thrilling post-apocalyptic tale now and follow the bloody path that leads Over Burning Sands.

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Inside Burning Sands by P R Adams

Major Gabby Alonso wakes from hibernation sleep many years in the future after humanity has destroyed the earth as it is now. Her hibernation tank is inside a mountain where all the systems are controlled by a computer called Arda (Analysis, Research, Data Assistant).

She is disturbed by the circumstances she is woken into; the chimps enhanced to help the humans that they were frozen alongside appear to have been awake for a while longer and are not acting as they should.

Gabby sets about waking the rest of her team and they look to determining their situation and what next steps should be to ensure their survival.

The chimps meanwhile are hunting for food and will hunt whatever they can to ensure their next meal. The resultant gore and carnage makes the interior of the mountain a challenging place to navigate. 

An arduous and telling journey begins for Gabby, determined as she is to get her team out of the mountain and into the outside world, whatever it may resemble. 

I really like that this book is so extremely well written. I felt 'present in the room' with the way everything was so well described and put down in the page. 

What is didn't like was the totally mean, vicious and nastiness of the struggle through the story. I had barely any relief from the tension of it all. 

'"I have great plans for many, many special people. And you are the most special, Cassius. Would you like to hear my plans?” Cassius leaned forward. “I’m listening.” “I knew you would, Cassius. We are so much alike, you and I.”"

I received a free copy of this novel from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

 
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Major Gabby Alonso was as broken as her world, but she wouldn't let that stop her. Through determination and strength, she rose to lead a team of specialized soldiers and scientists. They trained to reclaim the Earth from ruin three centuries after entering suspended animation.

But something went wrong, and Alonso woke to a world that was nothing like she expected. It's not just a climate disaster trying to kill her but the artificial intelligence meant to assist her.

Now Alonso must find a way out of the Cheyenne Mountain facility designed to protect her team from the world outside before it turns into her tomb.

Pick up your copy of this suspenseful and terrifying post-apocalyptic tale today and get a look Inside Burning Sands.

 

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The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

Magnificent story telling! Twisting and turning throughout. 

May Owens is sentenced to be a Sin Eater for stealing a loaf of bread. Now she is Unseen and Unheard, except when she is either taking a Recitation or Eating Sins

She manages to find the other Sin Eater in town and begins to learn her new 'trade'. Without speaking, without touching. 

A cruel and grim fate for a young girl who was hungry. Slowly she begins to learn to 'eat', and listens and watches as she does. Class is no barrier for the Sin Eater, she attends the destitute and also the highest in the land. The danger is greatest when in the Royal Court, with all its plotting.

Megan Campisi keeps you on your edge as she draws you through the trials of May's life, her scrapes with death and the excitement of her escapades. I found myself looking forward to my next free block of time to read, so that I could find out what was happening next. This book gets a big FOUR stars from me. It is great.

"The sin eater walks among us. Unseen. Unheard,’ she says. ‘But I can see her—’ I hiss. ‘Unseen. Unheard,’ she silences."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

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An old adage says there are really only two stories: a man goes on a voyage, and a stranger arrives in town. 

This is the third: a woman breaks the rules . . . 

Can you uncover the truth when you’re forbidden from speaking it? A Sin Eater’s duty is a necessary evil: she hears the final private confessions of the dying, eats their sins as a funeral rite, and guarantees their souls access to heaven. It is always women who eat sins – a punishment, for it was Eve who first ate the Forbidden Fruit. Stained by the sins they are obliged to consume, the Sin Eater is shunned and silenced, doomed to live in exile at the edge of town. 

Recently orphaned May Owens is just fourteen when she’s arrested for stealing a loaf of bread and sentenced to become a Sin Eater. It’s a devastating sentence, but May’s new invisibility opens new doors. And when first one, then two, of the Queen’s courtiers suddenly grow ill, May hears their deathbed confessions – and begins to investigate a terrible rumour that is only whispered of amid palace corridors. 

Set in a thinly disguised sixteenth-century England, The Sin Eater by Megan Campisi is a gripping story of treason and treachery; of secrets and silence; of women, of power – and, ultimately, of the strange freedom that comes from being an outcast . . . 

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The Illustrated Child by Polly Crosby

 

I'll be honest, this book wasn't for me. I found that it dragged in places and towards the end it felt rushed and a bit sparse. The story focuses on one child called Romiley Kemp whose father creates a series of books as a kind of treasure hunt especially for her. It is published and it seems the whole world wants to be in on the hunt.

Romiley meanwhile is a lonesome child with one friend and a cat to keep her company, besides her father. Her mother is elsewhere, having left when Romiley was four years old.

Now she lives in an old house with a moat around it, in the middle of the countryside. She has some rare adventures, some probably are imaginary, some are real. I won't give the ending away by describing any more.

I have given this book a three, but for those whom this book strikes a chord it would probably be a four or maybe even a five.

"Romilly Kemp in the book stayed young and innocent, a sickly-sweet imposter who wore my dress and suckled at my father’s love, leeching it away until there was barely any left for me at all."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.

       

3/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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'Evocative and enchanting – a future classic and a star in the making' Veronica HenryRomilly lives in a ramshackle house with her eccentric artist father and her cat, Monty. She knows little about her past – but she knows that she is loved. When her father finds fame with a series of children’s books starring her as the main character, everything changes: exotic foods appear on the table, her father appears on TV, and strangers appear at their door, convinced the books contain clues leading to a precious prize.

But as time passes, Romilly’s father becomes increasingly suspicious of the outside world until, before her eyes, he begins to disappear altogether. With no-one else to help, Romilly turns to the secrets her father has hidden in his illustrated books – realising that his treasure hunt doesn’t lead to gold, but to something far more precious… 

The truth. 

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The New Girl by Harriet Walker

The first half of this book is centred mainly around the self centred thoughts and actions of Margot and Maggie. Margot is the outgoing mother and Maggie is the incoming maternity cover of a fashion editor's post in a top notch fashion magazine. Both want to be top of the tree and think and behave like prima Donna's. It's very much about setting up their characters and the back story until Winnie joins the story properly. Then we hear about the history between Margot and Winnie, as well as the historical involvement of a third party called Helen.

At this changing point in the story it actually does start to get interesting and more involving, if you have stuck it out so far. There starts to be tension, intrigue and twists in the story, which started out as a fashion tour of duty. It is definitely a story of two half's and I would have scored it much higher if it had been more of the second and less of the first. It is a good concept, averagely executed.

I received a free copy of this novel from the publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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She's borrowed your life. But what if she decides to keep it?

Glamorous Margot Jones is the fashion editor at glossy women's magazine Haute, and pregnant with her first child. Margot's used to her carefully curated life being the object of other women's envy - who wouldn't want her successful career, loving husband, beautiful house and stylish wardrobe?

Maggie, a freelance journalist, certainly knows she doesn't measure up. So when Margot gets in touch to suggest she apply for her maternity cover at Haute, Maggie seizes the chance at living a better life - even if it's only temporary.

But the simultaneous arrival of Margot's baby and a brutal end to her oldest friendship sends Margot into a spiral of suspicion and paranoia. Are Maggie's motives as innocent as they seem? And what happens at the end of the year when Margot wants her old life back - especially if Maggie decides she doesn't want to leave?

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Q by Christina Dalcher

This book held me right to the end and didn't end as expected. In fact I filled up at the last few paragraphs.

Children have to achieve certain standards or they get demoted to a lower school. The lowest schools are those where the children have to leave the family home and go to a state school somewhere else in the country.

Some unexpected transfers occur in the street where El lives, two girls in the neighbourhood get dropped from Silver to Yellow, unheard of before. And there was no sign of the girls failing before that.

Then El's daughter Freddie is transferred. El cannot stand the idea of Freddie in a yellow state school on her own. She asks her husband Malcolm to intervene, as he is in the top level of the management team for the Fitter Family Programme, but he refuses.

So El deliberately flunks her own teacher assessment to be transferred too.

What she expects and what she gets are so far apart as to be unbelievable.

"Freddie’s in a boarding school, and I’m going to take her out of it. It will be two short days before I realize how absolutely wrong I am."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews.   

3/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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PERFECTION IS EVERYTHING

Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s new elite schools. Her daughters are exactly like her: beautiful, ambitious, and perfect. A good thing, since the recent mandate that’s swept the country is all about perfection.

Now everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any children who don’t measure up are placed into new government schools. Instead, teachers can focus on the gifted.

Elena tells herself it’s not about eugenics, not really, but when one of her daughters scores lower than expected and is taken away, she intentionally fails her own test to go with her.

But what Elena discovers is far more terrifying than she ever imagined…

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Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett

 

I found this book (the second in the series) exciting to read, and liked following the progress of Sancia and her friends since they got together in the first book.

Sancia is always finding herself in awkward situations, she has for as long as she remembers. But at least now she has friends around her as she enters into the next crazy adventure. They are breaking into the Micheal campo in plain sight trying to succeed in the craziest theft ever thought of.

Meanwhile the Dandolo's are working on their own plans to improve their own situation. Plans which the troupe will need to look into and prevent if they want life to continue as it want it to.

Sancia will need to be on high alert as the Dandolo project is very interested in her too. And he is extremely dangerous. She does have help from a 'construct', of ancient design, who in turn wants help from Sancia. The construct 'Valeria' wants Sancia to destroy the Dandolo project, so that it can be free.

I was disappointed when the book came to its end and realised that I would have to wait until the third book is released to find out whether.. I can't tell you that! Sorry!

"Orso had just casually suggested a solution to some of the greatest limitations to scriving."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

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The upstart firm Foundryside is struggling to make it. Orso Igancio and his star employee, former thief Sancia Grado, are accomplishing brilliant things with scriving, the magical art of encoding sentience into everyday objects, but it's not enough. The massive merchant houses of Tevanne won't tolerate competition, and they're willing to do anything to crush Foundryside.

But even the merchant houses of Tevanne might have met their match. An immensely powerful and deadly entity has been resurrected in the shadows of Tevanne, one that's not interested in wealth or trade routes: a hierophant, one of the ancient practitioners of scriving. And he has a great fascination for Foundryside, and its employees - especially Sancia.

Now Sancia and the rest of Foundryside must race to combat this new menace, which means understanding the origins of scriving itself - before the hierophant burns Tevanne to the ground. 

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Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

Sloane Andrews doesn't like being in the public gaze, and some publicists like to rat her out and bitch about her, so it is no wonder really.

Ten years ago, Sloane was a Chosen One, and now she really could do with a private life where she could actually live quietly. Unfortunately she lives a life of being on public display, attending public events and generally being a public possession.

Then Sloane and three of the other Chosen Ones find themselves pulled through to another reality, where they must fight their battles again, to save all worlds, not just their own.

Sloane is a flawed and snarky character, she can't help being off with people. I like that about her, she is content to be herself and doesn't like having to fake being nice.

I was able to guess some of the plot, but wasn't 100% right in any of my guessing. The ending was unexpected and different.

"Sloane was up and panting. Quiet, she told herself. Her toes curled under; the ground was cold here, in the Dark One’s house, and he had taken her boots."

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. NetGalley does not allow for paid reviews. 

I also discovered spanakopita, which I intend to try out sometime soonest. 

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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The mesmerising adult debut from Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Divergent.

They were the Chosen Ones. Saving the world made them heroes. Saving it again might destroy them.

When Sloane Andrews and her friends defeated the Dark One, and saved the world, it nearly cost them everything. Ten years later, they are still struggling to put the battle behind them and reclaim their lives. After all, the rest of the world has moved on . . . so why can't they?

Of the five, Sloane has had the hardest time adjusting. Everyone else blames the PTSD ­­- and her huge attitude problem - but really, she's hiding secrets from them . . . secrets that keep her tied to the past and alienate her from the only four people in the world who understand her.

On the tenth anniversary of the Dark One's defeat, something unthinkable happens: one of the Chosen Ones dies. When the others gather for the funeral, they discover the Dark One's ultimate goal was much bigger than they, the government, or even prophecy could have foretold - bigger than the world itself.

Last time, it took everything she had. This time, it might not be enough.

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Forged in Shadow (The War of the Nine Faerie Realms Book 1) by Megan Haskell

King Othin starts the book with his rage and his need for power, his daughter continues the plot with her approach to moving things forward. Lhéwen follows the princess on her journey to the Shadow realm, the sole handmaiden to accompany her, she feels highly honoured to be included. In the Shadow realm Lhéwen meets Curuthannor for the first time, as Faelilel searches for someone to assist in her plans.

Meanwhile King Othin is gathering other Kings to his cause with a view to becoming King over all realms.

Treachery takes place and betrayal of trust. But some will come forward with honest intent and belief in doing whatever is needed for the best of all the races.

I liked the plot set-out for this book and enjoyed the story a great deal. I didn't like that it read very much like a Young Adult romance book at around about 7% of the way through the book (for a short while) , however it redeemed itself and pulled away from that way of writing, resulting in a very enjoyable read.

"One didn’t thank the fae, not without owing great favor."

I received a free copy of this novel from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully)

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In the chaos of war, not all heroes shine. Some must rise from shadows to claim the light.

As the youngest son of the greatest smith of the fae, Curuthannor should be aspiring to the forge. Instead, he would rather wield a blade than craft one. When the high elf king commissions a powerful enchanted sword requiring iron found only in the subterranean goblin mines of the Shadow Realm, Curuthannor seizes the opportunity to earn a place in the smithy that doesn’t require a hammer. But when dark elf treachery interferes, the lives of his entire family could be at risk...for the high elf king is unmerciful and will not suffer disobedience.

Especially from his own daughter.

As the most trusted handmaiden to the high elf princess, Lhéwen is honored to attend her mistress on what she believes is a diplomatic delegation to the dark elf king. She doesn’t realize it could be a one-way trip. While the princess forges an escape from her father’s ruthless will, Lhéwen is trapped in a foreign land. Betrayed and alone, Lhéwen discovers it is her own quiet power that may free—or doom—them all.

For when the pen fails, the sword will take its place.

Forged in Shadow is the first book in the thrilling new epic fantasy trilogy by award-winning author, Megan Haskell. Set in the same universe as The Sanyare Chronicles, this is the story of the Great War between the nine faerie realms. If you like sweeping vistas, unexpected heroes, and world-shattering stakes, you’ll love this battle between Shadow and Light.

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Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Thorn is a princess known in her own land as Alyrra, but is not valued by her mother or her brother. Since her father's death she is alone. The presence of the king of Menaiya in her land means that she is a prospect for marriage, that she may yet escape her bully of a brother. But, Alyrra needs to reach Menaiya safely in order to be wed. 

This was an engrossing tale of a princess betrayed by her own family, then rescued by a foreign prince. The prince himself is vulnerable and needs her help, but she doesn't know how to give it. Along the way she makes a lot of friends in all stations of life. These give her the will to keep striving for the truth.

I understand that this is a re-telling of an older story, but I haven't heard it before and found it quite engrossing. The author writes very descriptively and it was easy to visualise the world created for the characters. It was very enjoyable for me to read and I read it in a very short space of time, for the length of the book. I would recommend it to those who like a fantasy story based on fables and folk tales.

 

"Do not put yourself in a vulnerable situation. Do not walk alone. Do not remain with anyone you do not trust.”

I received an e-ARC of this novel through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.

4/5 Stars (What this means...five-stars-applied-carefully) 

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For Princess Alyrra, choice is a luxury she’s never had … until she’s betrayed. Princess Alyrra has never enjoyed the security or power of her rank. Between her family’s cruelty and the court’s contempt, she has spent her life in the shadows. Forced to marry a powerful foreign prince, Alyrra embarks on a journey to meet her betrothed with little hope for a better future. But powerful men have powerful enemies—and now, so does Alyrra.

Betrayed during a magical attack, her identity is switched with another woman’s, giving Alyrra the first choice she’s ever had: to start a new life for herself or fight for a prince she’s never met. But Alyrra soon finds that Prince Kestrin is not at all what she expected. While walking away will cost Kestrin his life, returning to the court may cost Alyrra her own.

As Alyrra is coming to realize, sometime the hardest choice means learning to trust herself.

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