In this latest reimagining of Dickens as an amateur sleuth, Charles is tossed into Newgate Prison on a murder charge, and his fiancée Kate Hogarth must clear his name . . .
London, January 1836: Just weeks before the release of his first book, Charles is intrigued by an invitation to join the exclusive Lightning Club. But his initiation in a basement maze takes a wicked turn when he stumbles upon the corpse of Samuel Pickwick, the club’s president. With the victim’s blood literally on his hands, Charles is locked away in notorious Newgate Prison.
Now it’s up to Kate to keep her framed fiancé from the hangman’s noose. To solve this labyrinthine mystery, she is forced to puzzle her way through a fiendish series of baffling riddles sent to her in anonymous poison pen letters. With the help of family and friends, she must keep her wits about her to corner the real killer—before time runs out and Charles Dickens meets a dead end . . .
REVIEW
From the desk of Gwendalyn Anderson
This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Set in 1836 in London The Pickwick Murders is the fourth Charles Dickens Mystery Series. This time it’s up to Miss Kate Hogarth, to unravel the pieces to an intriguing puzzle to save her Fiancé.
Charles Dickens, an up coming journalist for the Morning Chronicle. He seems to be making strides in his life. Just weeks before his book is to be release and his impending to marriage to his fiancée Miss Kate Hogarth. Things take a tragic turn for the worst. Feeling elated from receiving an invitation to join the exclusive Lightning Club Charles arrives at the place and time that invite states. Only his initiation is not what he had hoped it would be. Charles finds himself in the dreadful Newgate Prison, framed. Patiently waiting for his fiancé and family to do what they can to prove his innocence, Charles endures the horrific day to day life along with those others imprisoned in Newgate.
The author has once again written a captivating cozy historical mystery. I had no trouble reading this book from start to finish without stopping.
I enjoyed the author rich historical imagery and the writing was solid. The light mystery was perfectly executed. The author did a wonderful job creating engaging characters that were entertaining to read about.
AUTHOR
Heather Redmond is an author of commercial fiction and also writes as Heather Hiestand. First published in mystery, she took a long detour through romance before returning. Though her last British-born ancestor departed London in the 1920s, she is a committed anglophile, Dickens devotee, and lover of all things nineteenth century.
She has lived in Illinois, California, and Texas, and now resides in a small town in Washington State with her husband and son. The author of many novels, novellas, and short stories, she has achieved best-seller status at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Her 2018 Heather Redmond debut, A Tale of Two Murders, was a multi-week Barnes & Noble Hardcover Mystery Bestseller.
Her two current mystery series are “A Dickens of a Crime” and “the Journaling mysteries.” She writes for Kensington and Severn House.
She is the current president of the Columbia River Chapter of Sisters in Crime (SinC).
The new audio book of Widdershins is narrated brilliantly by talented actor, Christine Mackie, from Downton Abbey, Coronation Street, Wire in the Blood, and so on.
The first part of a two-part series, Widdershins is inspired by the Newcastle witch trials, where 16 people were hanged. Despite being the largest mass execution of witches on a single day in England, these trials are not widely known about. In August 1650, 15 women and one man were hanged as witches after a Scottish witchfinder found them guilty of consorting with the devil. This notorious man was hired by the Puritan authorities in response to a petition from the Newcastle townsfolk who wanted to be rid of their witches.
Widdershins is told through the eyes of Jane Chandler, a young woman accused of witchcraft, and John Sharpe, the witchfinder who condemns her to death. Jane Chandler is an apprentice healer. From childhood, she and her mother have used herbs to cure the sick. But Jane soon learns that her sheltered life in a small village is not safe from the troubles of the wider world. From his father’s beatings to his uncle’s raging sermons, John Sharpe is beset by bad fortune. Fighting through personal tragedy, he finds his purpose: to become a witchfinder and save innocents from the scourge of witchcraft.
Praise for Widdershins:
The Historical Novel Society said of Widdershins: “Impeccably written, full of herbal lore and the clash of ignorance and prejudice against common sense, as well as the abounding beauty of nature, it made for a great read. There are plenty of books, both fact and fiction, available about the witch-trial era, but not only did I not know about such trials in Newcastle, I have not read a novel that so painstakingly and vividly evokes both the fear and joy of living at that time.”
Dr Helen Steadman is a historical novelist. Her first novel, Widdershins and its sequel, Sunwise were inspired by the Newcastle witch trials. Her third novel, The Running Wolf was inspired by a group of Lutheran swordmakers who defected from Germany to England in 1687.
Despite the Newcastle witch trials being the largest mass execution of witches on a single day in England, they are not widely known about. Helen is particularly interested in revealing hidden histories and she is a thorough researcher who goes to great lengths in pursuit of historical accuracy. To get under the skin of the cunning women in Widdershins and Sunwise, Helen trained in herbalism and learned how to identify, grow and harvest plants and then made herbal medicines from bark, seeds, flowers and berries.
The Running Wolf is the story of a group of master swordmakers who left Solingen, Germany and moved to Shotley Bridge, England in 1687. As well as carrying out in-depth archive research and visiting forges in Solingen to bring her story to life, Helen also undertook blacksmith training, which culminated in making her own sword. During her archive research, Helen uncovered a lot of new material and she published her findings in the Northern History journal.
Christine Mackie has worked extensively in TV over the last thirty years in well-known TV series such as Downton Abbey, Wire in the Blood, Coronation Street, French & Saunders and The Grand. Theatre work includes numerous productions in new writing as well as classics, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Comedy of Errors, Richard III, An Inspector Calls, and the Railway Children. In a recent all women version of Whisky Galore, Christine played three men, three women and a Red Setter dog!
Today I’m delighted to be sharing an excerpt from Cryssa Bazos’s novel Traitor’s Knot as part of a blog tour hosted byThe Coffee Pot Book Club.
Traitor’s Knot is the first book in Cryssa’s Quest for Three Kingdoms series.
Traitor’s Knot
(Quest for Three Kingdoms)
By Cryssa Bazos
October 18th – October 22nd 2021
Publication Date: 1st October 2021
Publisher: W.M. Jackson Publishing
Page Length: 450 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Historical Romance
England 1650: Civil War has given way to an uneasy peace . . .
Royalist officer James Hart refuses to accept the tyranny of the new government after the execution of King Charles I, and to raise funds for the restoration of the king’s son, he takes to the road as a highwayman.
Elizabeth Seton has long been shunned for being a traitor’s daughter. In the midst of the new order, she risks her life by sheltering fugitives from Parliament in a garrison town. But her attempts to rebuild her life are threatened, first by her own sense of injustice, then by falling in love with an outlaw.
The lovers’ loyalty is tested through war, defeat and separation. James must fight his way back to the woman he loves, while Elizabeth will do anything to save him, even if it means sacrificing herself.
Elizabeth Seton couldn’t understand the greed of seagulls. The two birds beat their wings and fought over a scrap of offal while ignoring the endless sea. She had a desire to pick up her skirts and, so running, scatter them to the sky. But from behind her, a rock was thrown at the birds. It bounced off the cobbles a foot away from them. Gulls took flight, and Elizabeth whirled around, equally startled. A soot-faced urchin winked and scampered off.
Elizabeth smiled in the direction of the retreating boy and continued down the quayside towards the market. The wind off the bay freshened, whipping her dark hair and skirts. She tucked an errant lock back into her coif and snuggled deeper into her blue woollen cloak. No time to tarry. She had business to attend.
When she neared the market, her stomach gave a nervous flutter. Positive thoughts breed true. She adjusted the basket that rode in the crook of her arm and pressed on.
Elizabeth wended her way through the market stalls, not stopping at the rows of long whitefish laid out silvery across wooden boards. Their fresh scent of the sea beckoned for a closer inspection, but her business was with the oystercatcher’s wife. If it went well, she’d return for one of the smaller ones.
Elizabeth’s boots tapped against the stone cobbles, and she practised under her breath, “I hear, Fishwife Midden, that Margery has left your employ.” Annoyed with herself, she shook her head. The woman would think she was a gossip, and no one trusted a loose tongue. Elizabeth needed to impress her. The Middens preferred their help young enough to be trained to their ways, but at twenty-two, Elizabeth found herself at a disadvantage.
There was a time when Elizabeth didn’t need to worry about finding employment. Before the war, her father, Thomas Seton, had once been a respected shipwright, his trade crucial in a seaside town, while her mother, Mary, was a healer and the first to be fetched for matters regarding childbirth and sickness. Elizabeth had expected to follow her mother’s calling.
She passed a row of empty stalls and for a moment considered selling their ointments, but she knew better. A gift for a gift, never coin—her grandmother’s mantra. No matter how reduced their circumstances, Mary Seton would never accept payment for physic. It didn’t matter. None would purchase in public what they now avoided in private.
When Elizabeth spied a knot of women at the cheesemonger’s, she slowed down. Here was the elite of Weymouth—officers’ wives and those closely connected to the Parliamentary governor. They were particular friends of her older sister, Kate Hallet, though none of hers. Elizabeth considered skirting their position, but instead she lifted her chin, held her breath and stayed true. As she passed, one said, “There’s Seton’s girl. Shame about that business.”
Elizabeth flinched, but she forced herself to ignore them.
Though the war had ended a year earlier with the King’s execution, the divisions had never been repaired. Even Kate, who had married a Parliament garrison soldier, kept a resolute distance from Elizabeth and their mother. Only a handful of Royalist families still concerned themselves with her family’s welfare.
Up ahead, the oystercatcher’s stall thronged with customers. Elizabeth took heart and made her way to the front.
“There you are, mistress.” Fishwife Midden greeted her with a smile. Her nose was tipped pink, and her hands were gnarled from working in the cold seawater. “You’ve picked a good day. The oysters are plump and juicy. Six or eight?”
Elizabeth hesitated. “Four, if you please.”
“Only that?” The woman’s brow’s puckered. She bent over a barrel and scooped out the oysters, placing them in Elizabeth’s basket. “How’s your mother doing? I heard she ain’t well.”
“Better, thank you,” Elizabeth replied, handing over two of her remaining coins. “I’m certain she’s taken a good turn.”
“God save her,” the fishwife said. “We’ve missed her these past few months.”
Elizabeth watched the old woman edge away, her eyes darting to the next customer. This was her chance. “I was wondering . . .”
“Aye, deary?”
“I ran into Margery the other day—”
“Did you now? Stopped to chat, did she?” Fishwife Midden rested her hands on her round hips.
“I had a thought—since my mother is doing better, she’ll need less of my attention,” Elizabeth said. “You’ll need help now that Margery is gone. I can attend behind the counter or sort out the catch.”
Fishwife Midden’s expression softened. “I’m afraid not, deary.” She started to turn away, and Elizabeth laid her hand on the woman’s arm.
“You can pay me half of what you paid Margery. I’ll still bless you for it.”
“You’re worth more than that, sweetling,” she replied, “but I can’t take you on.”
“Please.” Elizabeth hated to beg but swallowed her pride. “For the regard you and your husband once bore my father, for all the repairs he made on your fishing boats without a shilling . . .”
“Mistress Seton,” she said with the slightest emphasis on her last name, “it’s impossible.” She glanced past her shoulder and nodded to someone. Elizabeth turned and found the officers’ wives flanked behind her.
“Are you done, Fishwife?” their leader asked. “If I’m delayed in this manner, I’ll press on to another stall.”
“Apologies, mistress,” Fishwife Midden said. “Did you want your usual quarter barrel?”
The flow of the market passed over Elizabeth, rendering her invisible. It always came down to that. Not many in Weymouth dared doff their caps to the memory of those, like her father, who had taken a stand for the King.
The rest of the town still called them traitors.
AUTHOR
Cryssa Bazos
Cryssa Bazos is an award-winning historical fiction author and a seventeenth century enthusiast. Her debut novel, Traitor’s Knot is the Medalist winner of the 2017 New Apple Award for Historical Fiction, a finalist for the 2018 EPIC eBook Awards for Historical Romance. Her second novel, Severed Knot, is a B.R.A.G Medallion Honoree and a finalist for the 2019 Chaucer Award. A forthcoming third book in the standalone series, Rebel’s Knot, was published November 2021.
18-year-old thief Neva Roberts has been living on the run since absconding with the Eye, piece of the greatest weapon ever created. But she’s running from more than a cold-hearted ruler. She has exiled herself to a barren land, trying to forget the pain she caused.
When Trinizhi’s squad of assassins catches up with Neva, her life on the run comes to an abrupt end, and the ultimate betrayal is unveiled. Only one person — Astiand — knew where she was hiding.
With the help of Emiliand and a new Djinn friend, Neva will return to her homeland for the job of a lifetime. If she can overcome dragon wardens, escape a prison island, and double-cross Trinizhi, Neva might just start forgiving herself…
Christina Davis was raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains and is a California girl at heart. She spent much of her childhood in and out of hospitals and embraced reading as an escape. After being home-schooled through high school, she graduated summa cum laude from San Jose State University and attended NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute before embarking on a decade-long career in journalism. She enjoys chocolate, cosplay, coffee, and board games, but not necessarily in that order. She now lives in beautiful Monterey County with her husband and daughter.
By night, the Ankou is a legendary, permanently young mercenary. By day, a witch’s curse leaves him no more than bones. Caught in an unending cycle of death and resurrection, the Ankou wants only to find the death that has been prophesied for him, especially once he begins to rot while he’s still alive….
After the kingdom of Kaer-Ise is sacked, Flora, loyal handmaiden to the princess, is assaulted and left for dead. As the sole survivor of the massacre, Flora wants desperately to find the princess she served. When the Ankou agrees to help her find the princess, and to train her in exchange for her help in breaking his curse, she accepts. But how can she kill an immortal? Especially one whom she is slowly growing to understand—and maybe even to love?
Together, they will solve mysteries, battle monsters, break curses, and race not only against time, but against fate itself.
REVIEW
From the desk of Gwendalyn Anderson
This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Damn This Book Was Good♥︎
Are you ready for an incredible stunning fantasy?
Filled with mysterious immortal monster hunter, with a kickAss Heroine♥︎ Add mythical creatures and a creepy ancient curse!!
Ankou, known as Lazarus has been cursed for 300 years of a deathless death. A paid mercenary he hunts down monsters within the Five Lands, and destroys them. Florelle {Flora} Tanett is handmaiden to Princess Betheara Ilurosa. When her quite world comes crashing down and everything she has known is completely destroyed.
An horrific event leaves her leaves for dead, if not for the intervention of an all blacked clothed stranger. A friendship sparks as the two set out on an epic quest. Ankou seeks to end his unrelenting curse that causes him to be become a skeleton that travel the inbetween of life and death. Flora seeks to find her best friend and future Queen, Princess Betheara Ilurosa. Their journey is joined by another intriguing character Atonais. I just adored him, and he added some great comic dialogue.
This fantasy that packs a punch! Yes it’s dark, and riveting, but it also tackles some thought provoking themes. To me I found it to be darkishly delightful! The YA world building and writing is not to demanding so it makes it a fast read.
The characters are well developed and three dimensional. The narration was seamless and I thought the slow burn romance was perfect and well depicted. The author intricately plots a character driven fantasy adventure.
This one book that you don’t book pass up!
Kate Pentecost is one author to look out for, and the book That Dark Infinity a sealed place in my library.
Please be advised readers to look into content warnings on this book.
AUTHOR
Kate Pentecost was born and raised on the Texas/Louisiana border, where ghosts and rural legends lurk in the pines and nothing is completely as it seems. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She was recently nominated for a Rhysling award for her poem “Small Town Witches.” Her debut novel, Elysium Girls, is forthcoming from Disney Hyperion in 2020 in print and audio formats. She is obsessed with the Romantic Poets and can be identified by the enormous tattoo of Percy Bysshe Shelley on her arm. She lives in Houston.
Welcome readers to my stop on the Book Blog Tour for
Windswept By Annabelle McCormack
Windswept by Annabelle McCormack
Publication Date: September 21, 2021
Paperback & eBook; 438 pages
Series: The Windswept Saga, Book OneGenre: Historical Fiction
A British nurse in WWI Egypt races to deliver explosive intelligence that could change the course of the war in this novel of suspense, adventure, and love.
May, 1917. Ginger Whitman left a life of wealth and privilege in England to train as a battlefield nurse and serve in the Great War. Working on the brutal frontlines in Palestine, she finds a wounded soldier hiding in her camp. The soldier claims to carry intelligence unmasking a secret plot against the British—and that traitors within British intelligence are searching for him. Desperate and dying, the soldier entrusts a coded message to her care.
Ginger is hurled into an unfamiliar world of intrigue and murder amidst the war-ravaged Arabian desert. She’s determined to help her country but trusting the wrong person could cost her life. Then the arrival of mysterious and handsome British intelligence officer Major Noah Benson offers a chance of help. But Noah may be as dangerous as he is charming. As she’s swept away by stolen moments on the desert sands, Ginger realizes her heart may also be at risk.
Hunted by a shadowy enemy spy, Ginger must decide if she can trust Noah. But as she grapples with her decision, Ginger makes a shocking discovery: a sinister secret that threatens to shatter the world she thought she knew.
“Chock-full of secrets and spies, love and betrayal, danger and adventure, all of which is set against the devastating backdrop of WWI, Windswept by Annabelle McCormack is a sumptuous, fast-paced, and riveting read that’ll have you cheering for the heroine until the very end.” -Hannah Mary McKinnon, internationally bestselling author of Sister Dear and You Will Remember Me
“A neophyte nurse becomes an accidental but effective spy in this gripping adventure.” -Kirkus Reviews
“Windswept is a whirlwind of an adventure. From the edge-of-your seat suspense, to the passionate romance…you won’t be able to put this book down!” -Lisa Boyle, author of Signed, A Paddy
“Windswept is a delightful, ripsnorting adventure with a feisty heroine, a breathless pace, and endless adventure, intrigue, and romance. You will smile from cover to cover. This will remind you how enjoyable a good book can be.” –William Bernhardt, bestselling author of the Ben Kincaid series
“Suspenseful, sexy, and moving, Windswept is a great choice for those looking for strong female leads in their historical fiction. Ginger will inspire you; the story will enthrall you, and the passionate romance will win you over.” -Samantha Hui, Independent Book Review
Giveaway
Enter to win a paperback copy of Windswept by Annabelle McCormack!
The giveaway is open to US addresses only and ends on October 22nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
“Death made equals of cowards and heroes, friend or foe.”
-Windswept, Annabelle McCormack –
Windswept by the debut author Annabelle McCormack is a riveting book.
Full of suspense and intrigue that occurred in the Middle Eastern campaign of WWI,
Strong willed Lady Virginia Whitman otherwise know as Ginger, is a red-haired war nurse. Ginger is far from her once privileged life in Britain, now she finds herself in the front lines, stationed at a field hospital for wounded soldiers in Gaza Palestin.
When Ginger finds a severely wounded Turkish soldier who reveals he is a spy for British intelligence, and who is in fact in possession of crucial information that would have devastating consequences should it fall into the wrong hands. Throwing caution to the wind Ginger decision to help him places her in a dangerous game of espionage.
This was fast paced propulsive storyline, offering both drama and a smoldering romance. Spies and secrets, the reader will find themselves captivating with the spitfire heroine. The atmospheric imagery along with crucial details place you the reader front line and center.
This is one book that I highly recommend to my friends and family who enjoy superb historical fiction.
I have to say this might be my favorite WW1 book of all time
About the Author
Annabelle McCormack writes historical women’s fiction with epic settings, adventure, and romance. Her debut book Windswept, a novel about a British WWI nurse in the Middle East caught in a dangerous web of intrigue and romance, will be published September 2021.
She was born in San Jose, Costa Rica to a Costa Rican mother and American father. She moved to the US at the age of 4, but remains fully bilingual in English and Spanish. She studied at the Johns Hopkins University, where she obtained a Master of Arts in Fiction in 2010. Afterward, she dedicated herself to her photography business, while continuing to work on her writing as a long-term goal. In 2018, she received the award for Best Novel at the 2018 Red Sneaker’s Writer Conference (now Writer-Con). She lives in Maryland with her husband and five children and writes as a staff blogger for Inkitt Writer’s Blog.
Hello and welcome to my stop on the highly anticipated book by the fabulous author Barbara Davis.
About The Book:
An enchanting novel about fate, second chances, and hope, lost and found, by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Last of the Moon Girls.
Soline Roussel is well schooled in the business of happy endings. For generations her family has kept an exclusive bridal salon in Paris, where magic is worked with needles and thread. It’s said that the bride who wears a Roussel gown is guaranteed a lifetime of joy. But devastating losses during World War II leave Soline’s world and heart in ruins and her faith in love shaken. She boxes up her memories, stowing them away, along with her broken dreams, determined to forget.
Decades later, while coping with her own tragic loss, aspiring gallery owner Rory Grant leases Soline’s old property and discovers a box containing letters and a vintage wedding dress, never worn. When Rory returns the mementos, an unlikely friendship develops, and eerie parallels in Rory’s and Soline’s lives begin to surface. It’s clear that they were destined to meet—and that Rory may hold the key to righting a forty-year wrong and opening the door to shared healing and, perhaps, a little magic.
About The Author:
Barbara Davis is the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Last of the Moon Girls, When Never Comes, Summer at Hideaway Key, The Wishing Tide, The Secrets She Carried, and Love, Alice. She spent more than a decade as an executive in the jewelry business before leaving the corporate world to pursue her lifelong passion for writing. A Jersey girl raised in the South, Barbara now lives in Rochester, New Hampshire, with her husband, Tom. She’s currently working on her next book. Visit her at www.barbaradavis-author.com.
From beloved fantasy author Mercedes Lackey comes a fresh and feminist reinterpretation of Sleeping Beauty.
Miriam may be the daughter of Queen Alethia of Tirendell, but she’s not a princess. She’s the child of Alethia and her previous husband, the King’s Champion, who died fighting for the king, and she has no ambitions to rule. When her new baby sister Aurora, heir to the throne, is born, she’s ecstatic. She adores the baby, who seems perfect in every way. But on the day of Aurora’s christening, an uninvited Dark Fae arrives, prepared to curse her, and Miriam discovers she possesses impossible power.
Soon, Miriam is charged with being trained in both magic and combat to act as chief protector to her sister. But shadowy threats are moving closer and closer to their kingdom, and Miriam’s dark power may not be enough to save everyone she loves, let alone herself.
REVIEW
From the desk of Gwendalyn Anderson
This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thorns Are No Match For Sleeping Beauty’s Sister
-Briarheart Mercedes Lackey –
A vivid younger YA retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
In this light hearted fantasy Princess Aurora is a baby, and the main character is her half-sister Miriam. Miriam will do everything in her power to protect her baby sister.
In a series of events at Aurora’s christening fifteen year Miriam doesn’t think twice when a dark Fae moves to cast a curse on the baby, Miriam blocks it. In doing so she discovers some very intriguing things about herself.
This time Lackey gives her audience a delightful, feminist perspective on an age old fairytale. She has created a wonderful slightly younger fantasy tale.
A quick read, that I enjoyed reading from start to finish
AUTHOR
Mercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70’s she worked as an artist’s model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
High above the sea, floats the pristine city of the Heliana. Home to winged-lion shapeshifters―the Leonodai―and protected from the world of humans by an elite group of warriors, the Heliana has only known peace.
After years of brutal training, seventeen-year-old Rowan is ready to prove her loyalty to the city and her people to become one of the Leonodai warriors. But before Rowan can take the oath, a deadly disease strikes the city’s children. Soon the warriors―including two of Rowan’s closest friends―are sent on a dangerous mission to find a fabled panacea deep within enemy lands.
Left behind, Rowan learns a devastating truth that could compromise the mission and the fate of the Heliana itself. She must make a decision: stay with the city and become a warrior like she always dreamed, or risk her future in an attempt to save everyone she loves. Whatever Rowan decides, she has to do it fast, because time is running out, and peace can only last so long…
REVIEW
From the desk of Gwendalyn Anderson
This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
If you are looking for a binge-able unique fantasy book, The Endless Skies by Shannon Price might be for you.
An action packed YA fantasy, that gives readers an adventurous plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Vivid fantastic world building, where a floating city known as the Heliana is protected by Leonodai, winged lion shape-shifters.
When a mysterious disease starts killing the Leonodai children and the only known cure lays in the hands of humans, who refuse collaboration. This inventive tale is told in multiple POV’s, with a creative magical system and a friends to lovers triangle. The author does a great job with some unexpected plot twists that made for an enjoyable storyline. At the books core the moral message is about sacrifice, duty and loyalty.
READ THIS IF YOU LIKE :
-unique fantasy world
-action adventure
– shapeshifters
-friends to lovers
– love triangle
-multiple pov’s
AUTHOR
SHANNON PRICE believes in good bread, good wine,
and good books. She lives in California where she dreams of one day living in a house by the sea.
My sister’s heart broke on the river—and the river took it and bore it away.
In the ancient kingdom of Dumnonia, there is old magic to be found in the whisper of the wind, the roots of the trees, and the curl of the grass. King Cador knew this once, but now the land has turned from him, calling instead to his three children. Riva can cure others, but can’t seem to heal her own deep scars. Keyne battles to be accepted for who he truly is—the king’s son. And Sinne dreams of seeing the world, of finding adventure.
All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold, their people’s last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. However, change comes on the day ash falls from the sky. It brings with it Myrdhin, meddler and magician. And Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear them apart.
Riva, Keyne and Sinne—three siblings entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, who must fight to forge their own paths.
Their story will shape the destiny of Britain.
ADVANCEDPRAISE
A beautiful reimagining of an old British folklore ballad, Sistersong weaves a captivating spell of myth and magic around the reader.” —Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne
“A beautiful reimagining of an old British folklore ballad, Sistersongweaves a captivating spell of myth and magic around the reader.”
—Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne
“Sistersong truly reads like a ballad—beautiful and mournful, a melody that sticks in your head. An absolutely stunning book.”
—Hannah Whitten, author of For the Wolf
“I was utterly captivated from the beginning to the tragic, bittersweet end.”
—Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch’s Heart
“Magical, beautiful and heartbreaking.”
—Greer Macallister, author of Scorpica and The Magician’s Lie
This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
A lush reimagined historical fantasy of the old ballad “Twa Sisters”.
Lucy Holland’s Sistersong is a magical phenomenal tale, that interweaves folklore and magical realism.
Set in sixth century Dumnonia Britain, the storyline takes off after Rome has abandoned the Isles of Britannia. The continuous threat of the encroaching Saxons, as they bombard the coastlines. King of Cador realm is losing its ties with the lands as the old religion is being ever so slowly pushed out by the One god and his followers. This breaking away from the long held traditional ways of the gods and goddesses is having dire consequences.
Cardor use to be connected with land and it’s magic, but now that same magic is calling his three children instead. Riva the oldest, Keyne, and Sinne, each giving the reader their own narrative voice. This is a mesmerizing story of family ties, love, betrayal and magic.
Lucy Holland’s Sistersong catapults you into the six century Dumnonia, Britannia. Her captivating atmospheric imagery and details, along with her seamless narration is to be applauded. Expertly weaving each chapter to create a captivating tapestry of a storyline. The authors meticulously research, along with her own inventive storytelling really shines through. The LGBT and non-binary representative is well depicted and adds so much to this story.
Lucy Holland’s Sistersong is one book that needs to be on your Tbr list.
This is one author who you should be on the lookout for.
From the Bram Stoker-nominated author of The Luminous Dead comes a gothic fantasy horror–The Death of Jane Lawrence.
“Intense and amazing! It’s like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell meets Mexican Gothic meets Crimson Peak.” —BookRiot
Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town.
Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man—one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him. By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to.
Set in a dark-mirror version of post-war England, Caitlin Starling crafts a new kind of gothic horror from the bones of the beloved canon. This Crimson Peak-inspired story assembles, then upends, every expectation set in place by Shirley Jackson and Rebecca, and will leave readers shaken, desperate to begin again as soon as they are finished.
“Don’t read this one alone at night; Caitlin Starling has done it again. Unsettling, atmospheric, and downright brutal at times, The Death of Jane Lawrence will continue to haunt you long after you leave Lindridge Hall…if the house lets you leave, that is.” —Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch’s Heart
Review
From the desk of Gwendalyn Anderson
This is a non spoiler review, because you as reader need to read this book. Also, I feel sometimes I have in the past gave away to much of the plot line. This has diminished the pleasure for would be readers.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling, is an exceptional book!
Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling family manor outside of town.
Yet on their wedding night, an accident strands her at his door in a pitch-black rainstorm, and she finds him changed. Gone is the bold, courageous surgeon, and in his place is a terrified, paranoid man—one who cannot tell reality from nightmare, and fears Jane is an apparition, come to haunt him. By morning, Augustine is himself again, but Jane knows something is deeply wrong at Lindridge Hall, and with the man she has so hastily bound her safety to.
Set in a dark-mirror version of post-war England, Caitlin Starling crafts a new kind of gothic horror from the bones of the beloved canon. This Crimson Peak-inspired story assembles, then upends, every expectation set in place by Shirley Jackson and Rebecca, and will leave readers shaken, desperate to begin again as soon as they are finished.
Gwendalyn’s Books 