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David McK (3600 KP) rated Invictus in Books

Jan 30, 2019

Invictus

Simon Scarrow | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

It's hard to believe this is now book number 15 in [a:Simon Scarrow|60636|Simon Scarrow|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1240832197p2/60636.jpg]'s now-so-called 'Eagles of the Empire' series: a series that, originally, was set during the Roman invasion of Brittania (in [b:Under the Eagle|578428|Under the Eagle (Eagle, #1)|Simon Scarrow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1315349321s/578428.jpg|565359]) and that had Carto as being junior to Macro - a situatuion that, by this point in their ongoing adventures, has reversed itself with Cato now the more senior of the two.

As this starts, Macro and Cato are on their way back to Rome (after the events of [b:Britannia|25028364|Britannia (Eagle, #14)|Simon Scarrow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439580823s/25028364.jpg|44703249]: a novel in which, at the end, Cato received some unfortunate news. Distressibng news that, as the plot develops, becomes more and more only the tip of the iceberg (and that leads me to wonder if the author was letting his real-life experiences influence him when he was writing this? Or am I just reading too much into it? (as he has not been shy about sharing certain aspects on social media)), with this plot leading Cato and Macro to join a compny of the Praetorian Guard on an extended campaign, in which they have to defend a slave mine from a local uprising in Spain - an uprising that, to be fair, has a pretty valid reason behind it.

Once again, a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Kudos

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Favian's Law (The Truth Teller Series #3) in Books

Nov 13, 2019

Favian's Law (The Truth Teller Series #3)

Kurt Chambers | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

This is the third of the fantasy series for young adults involving Charlotte who, with the help of a magic pendant, is able to travel to another realm populated by elves and dwarves. In this land she is known as the Truth Teller, an almost mythical being.

But Charlotte is not the only one who travels to the other world; Favian, a theatre performer, also makes the trip and Charlotte soon discovers that things are very different as a result. With big changes both in the fantasy world and when she returns to ours Charlotte must face her fears to put everything right.

The first two books were fairly straighforward fantasy; this takes on a darker tone as Favian's meddling has caused a lot of changes none of which are for the better. Here we see a very different world from the first two books. Despite being reunited with Elderfield there seems to be nothing they can do to avoid a terrible fate.

This change in tone works well with our heroes in real peril. But where the book really shines is when Charlotte returns to our world. Things have changed here too and everything really does seem hopeless.

Chambers handles the narrative with verve, putting Charlotte through the wringer but always with an eye on the sympathies of the reader. As before the reader is encouraged to care about all of the characters. Unusually there is no ultimate villain here and that makes for a interesting read as the various plot threads work their way to their conclusion.

Kudos

Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Everlasting Circle (Everlast #3) in Books

Jan 23, 2020

<b><i>I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
Well, its about bleeping time okay, that probably sounds a tad bit rude (my language was totally in check).

Anyways, its been two two! years since the second book came out, and Im kind of over the top excited to return to the world Juliana Haygert built several years ago.

The greatest thing Haygert provides at the very beginning of bringing us back to the world of Everlast is a recap of the first two books up to the point of preparing for war with Imha and Omi (among others). Theres also a lot of tension between Micah and Nadine from the second book carrying over to the final book, and I have to say I dont really mind the tension. After Micah got his own novella back in the Cup of Life, I kind of have a fondness for him and it was an absolute delight to take some peeks into Micahs mind in The Everlasting Circle.

The last book in the Everlast trilogy brings a nice close to the entire series with a HEA and many, if not all, questions from the prior books answered.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/mini-reviews-part-1-emily-skrutskie-marie-lu-and-others/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>