Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb – First Impressions NO SPOILERS
Book Reviews / April 30, 2017

Those of you who follow my blog will know that Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings series is one of my all time favourite fantasy series and that the relationship between Fitz and the Fool is one of my most invested in fictional relationships.  Further, you will know that May 9th marks the release of Assassin’s Fate, the final book in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy, and the apparent conclusion of the 16 book Realm of the Elderlings series.   Assassin’s Fate is one of my most anticipated and yet dreaded releases of this year, so you can imagine my pure delight when yesterday I received an email advising me that I’d been approved for an early e-galley of said book and that I could download my copy now.  Thank you so much Random House!  I immediately put everything else on hold and have sped read through it already and am here to give you my first impressions, spoiler free.  I intend to do a more spoilery review once I have reread it. The first question I had going into this book was, would Hobb provide an ending worthy of Fitz and the Fool, and I can say without…

Upcoming releases for May
Reading Roundup / April 30, 2017

Hello, I’m back again with a roundup of all the new releases in May about which I’m most excited.  May is often a busy month in terms of new releases and this one is no exception, so let’s get on with it, shall we? One of my favourite middle grade authors, Rick Riordan, has two books coming out next month.  The first of these is The Dark Prophecy, the second book in his Trials of Apollo series.  This set of books follows the god Apollo, who has been stripped of his powers and sent to Earth in the form of a gawky teenage boy.  As with all Rick Riordan books, I fully expect this one to combine Greek mythology, adventure and humour in a wonderful blend.  The Dark Prophecy is released on May 2nd. Tying in with this release is Riordan’s second book of the month, Percy Jackson: Camp Half-Blood Confidential.  This is a pamphlet written as if by Percy Jackson explaining how things work at Camp Half Blood for new demigods.  I expect it to be a fun, quick read.  It is also released on May 2nd. Also on May 2nd we have the next in Sarah J. Maas’s fantasy…

Reading roundup. Yes, I am still here…
Reading Roundup / April 1, 2017

Hello, and yes I am still here.  It’s been two months since my last post.  It’s been a challenging couple of months both at work and at home, and so my blogging has very much suffered.  Things aren’t going to quieten down in the foreseeable future, so I’ll blog when I can, making no promises.  I sincerely apologise to the publishers who have been kind enough to send me ARCs – I suspect that I will not be able to meet my commitments to review these books, but my responsibilities to my employer who pays our bills and family must come first.  At this point in time, reading needs to remain an escape without pressure to review. So onto the books I’ve read in the last couple of months. [book-info]One of the pure joys of my reading/listening time recently has been the audiobook of J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them narrated by Newt Scamander himself, Eddie Redmayne.  This was a wonderful surprise – I really wasn’t expecting it to be as entertaining as it was.  This is a “revised edition” film tie-in, to include an additional footnote by Scamander commenting on the events of the film and…