Hello and welcome to another reading roundup.  Since my last roundup I have read two pretty good books which I’d like to share with you. [book-info]I received an Advance Reader Copy of The Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliott at BEA.  It’s been on my TBR for a while, but it’s only recently I read it.  The Poisoned Blade is the second book in a planned trilogy (I believe) and continues the story of Jessamy, a young woman caught between two cult...

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The Blood Mirror by Brent Weeks is the fourth in a planned series of five epic fantasy books.  The series has a wonderfully imaginative magic system in which magic users can turn light into a physical substance. luxin.  Each spectrum of light (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) produces luxin with different properties and uses.  If you’ve not yet started this series, I heartily recommend it.  Go start with The Black Prism.  ...

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Empire of Storms is the fifth and penultimate book in Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass in which a former assassin uses her skills and her magic to save her kingdom.  Being the second to last book in the series, it focusses very much on getting our protagonists into the right place for the finale. What I liked The pacing.  Despite the fact that Empire of Storms is primarily focussed on getting the team into place for the final confrontation...

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Court of Fives by Kate Elliott is a YA fantasy book and one that I found myself being sucked into even in the middle of a reading slump. I found the protagonists engaging and loved the world. I found it had a bit more substance than some YA fantasy novels. What I liked Cultural tensions. This is very much a tale of being caught between two cultures.  Our protagonist, Jessamy, is the child of a Saroese father and Efean mother and struggles to fit...

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Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine is the second in The Great Library series and is the sequel to Ink and Bone, which was one of my favourite reads from last year.  I realised I never did a full review of it.  Bad Evelynne.  Paper and Fire was also one of my most anticipated reads for 2016 and it did not disappoint.  For those of you not familiar with this series, it is a contemporary alternate reality/fantasy in which the Great Library of Alexan...

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Julian Fellowes’s Belgravia is a new book/audiobook/app series from the creator of Downton Abbey.  It is set in the Belgravia quarter of London in 1841 with a prequel set in Brussels in 1815.  The lives of two families, the rich, titled Bellasis family and the nouveau riche Trenchards are brought together at the Duchess of Richmond’s ball and the effects are felt down the years.  It is available in ebook format, as an audiobook and as an a...

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The Wheel of Osheim by Mark Lawrence is the third and final book in his Red Queen’s War trilogy.  It continues the story of Jalan Kendeth as he continues to follow the path upon which fate has set him. The Red Queen’s War trilogy is set in the same world as, and dovetails with, Lawrence’s earlier Broken Empire trilogy.  In some ways that is both a blessing and a curse.  It’s a blessing because the world in which the trilogies are set i...

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A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray is a YA sci-fi mystery in which teenager Marguerite Caine must use technology developed by her parents, the Firebird, to chase her father’s murderer across multiple dimensions.  She finds out that things aren’t as they first seemed. I picked this book up partly because of this concept and partly because I’ve enjoyed books (Star Wars) by Claudia Gray.  Thanks to Amazon’s Whispersync for Voice I pi...

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Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is the fourth in the Austen Project of modern retellings of Jane Austen’s novels and attempts to bring her classic Pride and Prejudice into the 21st century.  Having read the other three Austen adaptations, I was intrigued to see how Sittenfeld would update the story of Elizabeth, Darcy, Jane and Bingley.  From experience I know that Austen adaptations, when done well, can be wonderful. (check out The Lizzie Benn...

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Now, pretty much anyone who has an interest in popular culture is aware that the first Star Wars movie since 2005, The Force Awakens, was released on December 18th 2015.  Full disclosure: while I consider myself a fan of Star Wars, I have only dabbled in the Extended Universe/Legends supplementary material.  Like many, though, I was anxious to see what J.J. Abrams would make of Lucas’ legacy and booked my ticket to a showing on release day. Â...

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Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / December 18, 2013

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong is the first in a new YA epic fantasy series.  It tells the story of Ashyn and Moria, twins who are destined from birth to take on the roles of Seeker and Keeper respectively.  In the world of the Sea of Shadows, the dead don’t always rest quietly, and it’s the job of the Keeper and Seeker to keep them under control and to send them to their rest.  Ashyn and Moria are new to the role and are ine...

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / December 18, 2013

Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong is the first in a new YA epic fantasy series.  It tells the story of Ashyn and Moria, twins who are destined from birth to take on the roles of Seeker and Keeper respectively.  In the world of the Sea of Shadows, the dead don’t always rest quietly, and it’s the job of the Keeper and Seeker to keep them under control and to send them to their rest.  Ashyn and Moria are new to the role and are ine...

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug – Review
Book Reviews / December 16, 2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug directed by Peter Jackson Genres: Epic Fantasy Format: Cinema release Starring: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellan Length: 2 hours 49 minutes The Desolation of Smaug is the second in Peter Jackson’s trilogy based on J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit and stars Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Ian McKellen and continues the story of our party of dwarves accompanied by Bilbo the titular ho...

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug – Review
Book Reviews / December 16, 2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug directed by Peter Jackson Genres: Epic Fantasy Format: Cinema release Starring: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ian McKellan Length: 2 hours 49 minutes The Desolation of Smaug is the second in Peter Jackson’s trilogy based on J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit and stars Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Ian McKellen and continues the story of our party of dwarves accompanied by Bilbo the titular ho...

Reading Roundup – Friday 13th December 2013
Reading Roundup / December 13, 2013

One book I added to my library recently was The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith.  This is the book on which the movie Philomena is based; it’s the story of a middle aged Irish woman who is looking for her son having been forced to give him up for adoption as a teenager.  The film stars Judi Dench and Steve Coogan and is excellent.  Indeed, Dench has been nominated for both a Golden Globe and a Screen Actor’s Guild ...

Reading Roundup – Friday 13th December 2013
Reading Roundup / December 13, 2013

One book I added to my library recently was The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith.  This is the book on which the movie Philomena is based; it’s the story of a middle aged Irish woman who is looking for her son having been forced to give him up for adoption as a teenager.  The film stars Judi Dench and Steve Coogan and is excellent.  Indeed, Dench has been nominated for both a Golden Globe and a Screen Actor’s Guild ...

Cinder by Marissa Meyer – Review
Audiobook reviews , Book Reviews / December 11, 2013

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a YA sci-fi novel and is the first in a series of four books based on classic fairytales.  This first one is based on Perrault’s Cinderella.  Many elements of the original are incorporated: the persecuted heroine, the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, Prince Charming, a ball at the palace, the protagonist’s desire to attend thwarted by her stepmother, the pumpkin turned coach, footwear left on the palac...

Cinder by Marissa Meyer – Review
Audiobook reviews , Book Reviews / December 11, 2013

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a YA sci-fi novel and is the first in a series of four books based on classic fairytales.  This first one is based on Perrault’s Cinderella.  Many elements of the original are incorporated: the persecuted heroine, the wicked stepmother and stepsisters, Prince Charming, a ball at the palace, the protagonist’s desire to attend thwarted by her stepmother, the pumpkin turned coach, footwear left on the palac...

Pawn by Aimee Carter – Review
Book Reviews , eBook reviews / December 9, 2013

Pawn by Aimee Carter is a YA dystopian novel that tells the story of Kitty Doe a young woman whose similarity in looks to the niece of the Prime Minister catapults her into a dangerous game of politics.  I absolutely loved this book and breezed through it so quickly. What I liked The setting.  Carter has done a wonderful job in creating the setting for Pawn.  Kitty lives in a society in which every member sits a test on his or her se...