The Iron Knight (The Iron Fey, #4)
8.9
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My name - my True Name - is Ashallayn’ darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen...
Vow of Silence
10.0
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A killer is hiding in Plain sight… The hunt for a serial killer leads Homicide Detective Josiah...
Adult Romance Suspense
ClareR (5716 KP) rated A Day of Fallen Night in Books
Feb 28, 2023
To say this book is wide-sweeping would be an understatement. Set 500 years before The Priory of the Orange Tree, A Day of Fallen Night encompasses a whole world, with different religions, traditions and cultures. The complexity of this book! And then there’s the fact that I didn’t for one moment feel confused. The style of writing in each Kingdom was so distinct, that I knew immediately where I was (no reading ahead and then back again to figure out where I was!).
Matriarchal societies, societies where homosexuality is accepted (and in fact is nothing extraordinary), dragons, magic, did I say dragons? Yes, OK, I did, but I cannot stress enough how much I loved the dragons.
There’s over 800 pages of action, fighting, adventure, romance, politics, love, betrayal, religion, dragons (have I mentioned the dragons?), magic, strong women, noble men. Ah, I could go on - I won’t.
If fantasy is your thing, you’ll love this. If you’ve read and enjoyed Priory, you’ll love this. I don’t think it matters which order you read the two books in, they’ve been written as standalones in the same world. And, if rumours are true, there will be more - AND I CAN’T WAIT!!!
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for my ebook copy. And you’d better bet your life that I’ve bought a hardback copy. I mean, look at that cover! It’s glorious - beautiful!!
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2196 KP) rated Murder on the Home Front in Books
May 4, 2023
It was great to be back in summer 1940 with Billie and Peter. While most of the book is written from Billie’s third person point of view, we get some scenes from Peter’s, and they help flesh out the characters and plot wonderfully. I was hooked the entire way through the story, although I did wonder where it was going a bit at first. Once the body turned up, things were full speed ahead until we reached the end. There is a strong sub-plot that is unfortunately too real and should not have been acceptable then or now. I appreciated how it was handled. The overall mystery is something that could only be told in England during World War II, and it helped bring details of that time in history to life for me. If you enjoy historical mysteries, you need to pick it up.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Assassins Gambit ( Hearts and Thrones book 1) in Books
Mar 17, 2023
Assassins Gambit (Hearts and Thrones book 1)
By Amy Raby
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Vitala Salonius, champion of the warlike game of Caturanga, is as deadly as she is beautiful. She's a trained assassin for the resistance, and her true play is for ultimate power. Using her charm and wit, she plans to seduce her way into the emperor's bed and deal him one final, fatal blow, sparking a battle of succession that could change the face of the empire.
As the ruler of a country on the brink of war and the son of a deposed emperor, Lucien must constantly be wary of an attempt on his life. But he's drawn to the stunning Caturanga player visiting the palace. Vitala may be able to distract him from his woes for a while - and fulfill other needs, as well.
Lucien's quick mind and considerable skills awaken unexpected desires in Vitala, weakening her resolve to finish her mission. An assassin cannot fall for her prey, but Vitala's gut is telling her to protect this sexy, sensitive man. Now she must decide where her heart and loyalties lie and navigate the dangerous war of politics before her gambit causes her to lose both Lucien and her heart for good....
I enjoyed it for the most part the start was a bit ropey and definitely had trigger warnings for rape and abuse but after the first quarter it became an easy likeable read. Characters were likeable and unlikeable in their own rights and the ending was pretty decent!
Christmas Dessert Murder
8.0
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The perfect stocking stuffer for fans of culinary capers, this holiday omnibus from New York Times...
The Midwife of Auschwitz
8.0
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Auschwitz, 1943: As I held the tiny baby in my arms, my fingers traced the black tattoo etched...
The Prisoner of Paradise (The Paradise Series #1)
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The world’s largest oil painting. A 400-year-old murder. A disembodied whisper: “Amore mio.”...
Commercial Thriller Historical Fiction Magical Realism
David McK (3414 KP) rated Cold Days (The Dresden Files, #14) in Books
Jan 30, 2019 (Updated Jan 16, 2022)
Setting the bar pretty high already for the title of best-book-I've-read-this-year
[original 2013 review]
I heard (or read) somewhere a while back that the Dresden Files series was meant to run for about 20 books, with Jim Butcher having the general gist of the series as a whole already in mind. If that's true, then we must be on - or approaching - the home stretch, with this as book number 14 in the series.
And what a book it is, too.
By far one of the best books I've read this year, this starts with the previously-thought-to-be-dead Harry Dresden returned to health (of a sort) and life by Mab, the faerie Winter Queen, who is holding him to his promise to be her Winter Knight (which is also the reason why he was 'killed' (note the inverted commas) at the end of <i>Changes</i>, 2 books ago).
The Faerie play a larger role in this than in any book since, perhaps, <i>Summer Knight</i>, with characters from that earlier entry returning. Indeed, there's so much back-story here I wouldn't recommend picking this one up without reading any of the previous: normally, I'd count that against a novel, but not in this case. This one also leaves a couple of plot threads left hanging for the next entry, which I'm already looking forward to.
Let's hope it's not another year before I get reading it!
