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My Fantasy TBR – Top 5 Tuesday #WyrdandWonder

It’s Tuesday and so it’s time for this week’s Top 5 Tuesday post. Top 5 Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, and it is now being hosted by the lovely Meeghan at Meeghan reads!! For details of all of the prompts for Apr to June, see Meeghan’s post here

All this month, I have been linking my Top 5 Tuesday posts to #WyrdandWonder which is taking place all this month. This week’s prompt is a freebie and as I have managed to get several new fantasy books this week, I thought that I would end my #WyrdandWonder posts by sharing my next 5 fantasy reads with you.

The Endless Song by Joshua Phillip Johnson

I read The Forever Sea during lockdown and loved it but had given up looking out for a sequel so I was really excited to spot this in Waterstones last week.
After setting fire to the Forever Sea and leaving the surface world behind, Kindred Greyreach dives below to find a Seafloor populated by roving bands of scavengers. Among them, Kindred discovers a familiar face working to save the Sea from the continued spread of the Greys and the ravages of the world above. But when Kindred finds herself at odds with them, she and her friends will have to use every power available to them—including their link to the surface world—to forestall disaster.

I might need to go back and reread The Forever Sea first though as my memory of what took place is a bit hazy.

The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

I’ve seen some great reviews for this one and was really pleased that the library had a copy which I collected today.

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general—also known as her tough-as-talons mother—has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.
But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away…because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.
With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter—like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise

The Battle Drum by Saara El-Arifi

I loved The Final Strife last year and although I rarely buy hard back books, I couldn’t resist this when I saw it in the bookshop today.

Murder. Secrets. Sacrifice: Three women seek the truth of the empire’s past. And the truth they find has the power to ignite a war

The three women find their answers, but they’re not the answers they wanted. The drumbeat of change thrums throughout the world.
And it sings a song of war.

The next two are the fantasy novels that are next up to be read on my Net Galley shelf.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

This is the adult fantasy debut by Chloe Gong and like her previous novels, it’s inspired by Shakespeare. This time the inspiration is Antony and Cleopatra.

Every year, thousands flock to San-Er, the dangerously dense capital twin cities of the kingdom of Talin, where the palace hosts a set of deadly games. Those confident in their ability to jump between bodies can enter a fight to the death – for the chance to win unimaginable riches.
Princess Calla Tuoleimi has been in hiding for five years, ever since she murdered her parents to free the people of Talin from her tyrannical family. Only one person stands in her way of finishing the job: her reclusive uncle King Kasa. However, she knows he always greets the victor of the games. If she wins, she will finally get the chance to kill him.

Dark Water Daughter by H M Long

Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection – and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary’s dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.
Samuel Rosser is a disgraced naval officer serving aboard The Hart, an infamous privateer commissioned to bring Lirr to justice. He will stop at nothing to capture Lirr, restore his good name and reclaim the only thing that stands between himself and madness: a talisman stolen by Mary.

These are the next 5 fantasy books that I am hoping to read in June. Have you read any of them or are any of them on your TBR?

Stacking the Shelves 96

It’s the weekend again and we’ve got yet another long weekend as it’s the Spring Bank holiday. This always used to be known as the whit holiday and when I was at school, was always on the Whit weekend or Pentecost. Now it’s fixed on the last weekend in May but this year, it does coincide with Pentecost. The weather forecast is sunny for the next week and more so it looks as if Summer is really on the way.

Saturday means that it’s time for my weekly Stacking the Shelves post. Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Marlene at Reading Reality and details are on her blog. The gorgeous graphic is also used courtesy of the site.

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

As usual, my STS post is all about highlighting my library loans for the week. I’m very aware of how lucky I am and how many people don’t have access to public library service and I hope that maybe, these posts might encourage a couple of people to use their library more.

A great haul this week with 2 of my reservations arriving and a book that I really wanted to read just sitting on the shelf waiting for me.

The Serpent in Heaven by Charlaine Harris
The library ordered me another copy after last week’s mysteriously disappeared. This is the fourth in the Gunnie Rose set in an alternative 1930s USA where the Russian Empire has taken refuge in what we know as California and magic is an outlawed talent. This book isn’t about Gunnie Rose but her younger half sister who is granddaughter to the Tsar. She is treated as somebody of no importance until she is snatched from outside her school. Then her history becomes known and people realise that she is a lot more than first appeared.

Happy Place by Emily Henry
A new Emily Henry is always perfect holiday reading and I was so happy to see this one on the shelf as I walked into the library. A sunny bank holiday weekend feels like the perfect time to read about a group of friends on holiday for the last time on the coast of Maine

Before I Sleep by Cynthia Harrod Eagles
Apparently this is the 24th mystery to be solved by Inspector Bill Slider. I’ ve enjoyed all of the previous and hopefully this won’t be a disappointment in the same way that the Ann Granger was last week.

The Lost Daughter of Venice by Charlotte Betts
I’m on a run of Venetian stories at the moment. This one is set in 1919 when the recently widowed Phoebe Wyndham returns to Venice at the request of her aunt. Phoebe just wants to sell her villa and return home but dark secrets begin to emerge and it begins to look as though her aunt’s death might not have been natural . And there’s romance too so it sounds like a brilliant read.

What have you added to your shelves this week.

Book Blogger Hop – ebooks

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, it was relaunched on February 15, 2013 by Billy @ the Ramblings of a coffee addict. . Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

This weeks question is: Are you reading more ebooks lately? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver’s Reviews)

No! That was an easy one.

I went through a phase a while back when I was reading more ebooks than physical ones. I had begun to feel that I possibly had too many actual books and was running out of places to put them. Also ebooks were cheaper so I any book that I bought was usually an ebook. I still got physical books from the library though.

Then I began to feel that I missed the actual feeling of holding a book and turning real pages. As we’re empty nesters we have some empty room so my husband and I created an actual book space in our house which gave us room for more books.

I also found that if I read too many ebooks especially in the evening, that it affected how well I slept. I’ve noticed on more than one occasion that if I read books on my kindle for too many evenings, it becomes hard to go to sleep and I don’t sleep as well. I’m also beginning to think that I read a book better if it’s an actual book rather then on a screen. I do seem to remember details much more clearly when I’ve read the real book.

Now, the only ebooks that I generally read are my ARCs and everything else is a physical book. Those empty book shelves are filling up fairly quickly. 😍

WWW Wednesday May 24

Happy Wednesday. The sun is shining and it’s warming up. It’s beginning to look as though Summer is on the way. We took advantage of the clear blue skies and drove to the Norfolk coast for the day on Saturday. There’s something very satisfying about walking along a beach by the sea and in Norfolk, you can walk for miles.

As it’s Wednesday again, that means it’s time for WWW Wednesday. This is one of my favourite memes and I love taking part in it and reading everybody else’s posts. I get so many great book recommendations from them! The meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm, and it’s currently hosted by Sam. It can be found on her blog Taking on a world of words which can be found here.

The idea of WWW Wednesday is just to answer three simple questions about what you are reading, have just finished and are about to read so here goes for this week.

What I’m currently reading

Hammer of Fate by G N Gudgion
This is a Net Galley ARC and is an epic fantasy. It’s obviously parted inspired by the Knights Templar and their destruction by Philip of France as there is a religious order which has been disbanded and its members accused of shocking crimes. There is also a young girl in a sort of convent against her will. I’m assuming that these two threads will come together at some point. It’s well written and I’m enjoying it so far.

Across a Waking Land by Roger Morgan Grenville
This is another ARC and it’s one man’s journey up the length of the UK looking for evidence that we are fighting against species loss in the UK. I’m really enjoying it so far although much of what he says about how we are protecting our wildlife and its habitats is very depressing.

What I have recently finished reading

Venetian Gothic by Philip Gwynne Jones

Deadly Company by Ann Granger
I used to love the Mitchell and Markby mysteries and reread many of them during lockdown. This new one after several years was a bit of a disappointment though. There wasn’t really much of Meredith in it at all and it just felt a bit flat.

The Medici Murders by David Hewson
This was very different to the previous novels that I have read by David Hewson. The story was mainly told by a retired archivist, now living in Venice so everything was seen from his point of view which took me a while to get used to as it takes the reader one step further away from the action. There was a lot of historical detail as well as details about places and food in Venice which I loved. The mystery wasn’t that gripping but I did love the resolution.

Beyond by Mercedes Lackey

Feeling in the mood for some fantasy, I reread this prequel to Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series and my review is here

What I am intending to read next

I’m in the mood for something nice and relaxing so hopefully this new book by Catherine Alliott will fit the bill.

What are you reading this week?

Books about Air – Top 5 Tuesday #WyrdandWonder

All this month, I will be linking my Top 5 Tuesday posts to #WyrdandWonder which is taking place all this month. The four elements are perfect for choosing fantasy novels and this is probably my favourite week out of the four especially as Meeghan gave an alternative theme of flight for this week and who doesn’t want to be able to fly?

My immediate thought about this week was that I would make it a dragon week as I love all things dragon connected and obviously they fly. However, I was then reminded of a few different books where flight is a key element so the dragons are only a part of this week’s post.

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
My ultimate dragon book. I love this opening book in the Pern series. It’s a brilliant coming of age story as well as featuring telepathic dragons who can fly you anywhere you want to go. They breathe fire and destroy the thread that fills the air too so doubly fitting for this week.

The Cloud Roads Queen by Martha Wells
Martha Wells’ Murder Bot books get loads of love but I just love her Raksura books. The Raksura are a shape changing people who appear human in one guise but can transform themselves into magnificent winged creatures. The world building in these books is incredible and the Raksura themselves are unforgettable.

The Black Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey
More amazing fantasy from Mercedes Lackey. Set in the land that will eventually see the kingdom of Valdemar, the gryphons are a created race who take a vital role in the war between two powerful mages. Skandranon is a brilliant character, vain and boastful but still charismatic. This is one of her earlier works which are much better than her recent books in my opinion. There is a new gryphon book due out this Summer which I have been told is a return to form so my fingers are crossed.

The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher
Far more famous for The Dresden Files, this fantasy by Jim Butcher was released in 2016 and then no more until now. Apparently the next book in the series is being released this November. It’s steam punk fantasy with powerful families having fleets of airships to travel over their cloud covered world.

Ilse Witch by Terry Brooks
The epic Shannara saga needs no introduction. It spanned 35 books although, as always, I tend to prefer the early novels as they became quite formulaic as they went on. I did enjoy the Jerle Shannara books though which introduced the airships and gave the books a slightly steam punk vibe.

So after thinking this was going to be a dragon based week, I’ve ended up only having one dragon book in my top 5! However, next week is a freebie so the only thing that’s certain is that it will be fantasy based as Wyrd and Wonder month draws to a close.

WWW Wednesday May 17

It’s Wednesday again and that means it’s time for WWW Wednesday. This is one of my favourite memes and I love taking part in it and reading everybody else’s posts. I get so many great book recommendations from them! The meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm, and it’s currently hosted by Sam. It can be found on her blog Taking on a world of words which can be found here.

The idea of WWW Wednesday is just to answer three simple questions about what you are reading, have just finished and are about to read so here goes for this week.

What I’m currently reading

Venetian Gothic by Philip Gwynne Jones

This is the fourth book that I have read in this series. I love the Venetian setting and always end up with at least one place written down for us to go and visit if we ever return to Venice.
This one begins with Nathan, the honorary consul in Venice, taking part in a church service for All Souls day. At the same time work is being done in the English cemetery on San Michele and a coffin is damaged. When they look further, they discover that the coffin is actually empty! It’s certainly a gothic start to a novel and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next.

What I have recently finished reading

The Fury of Kings by R S Moule

Another one for #WyrdandWonder and off my Net Galley shelf. I am gradually getting more up to date with my ARC reading thankfully.

This was a fairly typical epic fantasy. Lots of different POV characters and locations and a medieval type setting. The characters were all interesting and they were all well portrayed as being both good and bad which was nice. There was only one character who really stood out as being a villain. It didn’t really grip me though and I found it easy to put the book down for several days at a time. I’m not sure why but it’s maybe that I’ve read an awful of this type of story before and this one didn’t really add anything new.

Killers of the King by Charles Spencer

I enjoyed this account of how the men responsible for the execution of Charles I were hunted down by the restoration government of Charles II. The beginning was a bit tricky as there were a lot names to try and keep track of but once I got past the first few chapters, it improved.

The Hawkling by Rebecca Zahabi

I enjoyed this sequel to The CollarBound and my review is here

Done to Death by Charles Atkins

This is the third book about Ada and Lil and their life in the retirement community in Conneticut. This time they get involved with making a TV show when the show’s producer is murdered. It was a fun read but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the previous two. I think it was that it all seemed to have got a bit far fetched and their characters were less interesting.

What I am intending to read next

I’m in the mood for a nice cosy mystery and this series was recommended by Carla at Carla Loves to Read so I’m hoping to really enjoy it.

What are you reading this week?

Top 5 books with Fire – Top 5 Tuesday #WyrdandWonder

All this month, I will be linking my Top 5 Tuesday posts to #WyrdandWonder which is taking place all this month. The four elements are perfect for choosing fantasy novels although this week’s topic proved to be quite difficult. That’s mainly because I was trying to stay away from dragons as I’m saving them for next week’s topic of Air or Flight.

There are a lot of fantasy books with fire in the title but quite often, fire as an element doesn’t appear to be that important. These are the five that I eventually came up with where fire is a fairly key element. Meeghan gave an alternative theme of Lightning and a couple of my books use that.

The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso
I love this trilogy by Melissa Caruso. In the Raverran Empire, magic is strictly controlled. Mages are taken as children and ‘tethered’ to a member of the Falcon Corps who control when the mages can use their magic. Zaira is that most dangerous and rare of mages, a warlock who can raise fire with a gesture.

The magic system and world building are brilliant but it’s the characters of Amalia and Zaira that make this trilogy so good. Not to mention the Crow Lord!

Storm Queen by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Darkover novels are definitely Science/Fantasy, a genre label that seems to have disappeared now but was quite common 20 or 30 years ago. StormQueen was the first Darkover book I read about 40 years ago but I loved the whole concept of a planet where mental powers were enhanced by the use of matrix crystals.
The towers have been carrying out breeding programs and marrying couples with the aim of producing more and children with strong powers. Dorilys is the product of one such program and she can connect with and control the weather. She can also tap into storms and bring down the lightning but her powers end up being too powerful for her to control.

Lion of Senet by Jennifer Fallon
Jennifer Fallon is an Australian fantasy author whose work I really enjoy. The Lion of Senet is about a land with two suns whose people endure scorching heat and the dangers of erupting volcanoes.

Pearl of Fire by C Chancy
I really loved this stand alone book. It’s a brilliant combo of fantasy, Science fiction and a detective novel all in one.
Caldera City is built in the heart of a volcano but war is coming and bombs are being laid. Allen Helleson has to find who is responsible before dragons die and the entire city goes up in flames.

In the Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan
This is the only one that I haven’t read in this week’s top 5. It’s right at the top of my TBR but I’m waiting for the paperback to be released. I have no idea how big a part lightning plays in it though.

Next week, we’re onto the element of air and flight. There will be dragons!!!!!!!

Stacking the Shelves 94

It’s the weekend again. The weeks seem to go round so quickly especially this week which has seen me back at work every day helping the school to run the Year 6 Sats tests. Sadly, the weather shows no signs of improving. It’s positively cold today and forecast to stay that way all next week. It would be nice to have some warm sunshine in May. The continuous grey skies are getting a bit monotonous.

Again, this week, I had one reservation arrive and I found a couple of others on the shelves. This week’s books are all crime fiction. My two main reading loves are fantasy and crime fiction. The library service caters for my love of crime brilliantly but is far less useful when it comes to feeding my fantasy addiction. I sometimes think that I’m the only fantasy reader who uses my local library. The new books that I request just sit on the shelves after I return them. That seems such a shame and it does mean that the library service doesn’t invest in many fantasy books as there isn’t much demand for them.

Enough of my grumbling. Onto this week’s library picks.

Sepulchre Street by Martin Edwards
This is the fourth in the 1930s based series featuring Rachel Savernake. In this one, she is invited to a renowned artist’s latest exhibition. During the exhibition, the artist asks Rachel to solve her murder before going on to commit suicide in front of the invited guests.
That’s a fairly dramatic opening chapter to a novel so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Venetian Gothic by Philip Gwynne Jones
I’ve read three other novels in this series and enjoyed them so picked this one up when I spotted it. Nathan Sutherland is a British diplomat stationed in Venice and his position sometimes brings him into contact with crime investigations. I like Nathan’s character and I always love books set in Venice so hopefully this will be as good as the previous books.

The Broken Afternoon by Simon Mason
I saw this on the shelf and was attracted by the cover. It’s set in Oxford and concerns an abducted four year old girl. I’ve never read anything by the author before so have no idea what to expect. That’s one of the beauties about choosing library books!!

That’s my library haul for this week and although it’s a bit less varied than usual, I’m definitely looking forward to reading all of them. I’ve got some interesting books on order that I hope will be arriving at the library soon too.

What have you added to your shelves this week.

WWW Wednesday May 10

It’s Wednesday again and the excitement of the coronation is all behind us. Instead this week, there’s more excitement for every child in Year 6 in the UK as they have the pleasure of their SATs tests. That means that I’m in school every day this week helping out with the test and supporting individual children. In a strange way, I miss being fully involved with the SATs tests. They were stressful and far too much rides on the results but it’s a time when children and staff really come together and in a strange way, is one of the most enjoyable weeks of Year 6.

Wednesday also means that it’s time for WWW Wednesday. This is one of my favourite memes and I love taking part in it and reading everybody else’s posts. I get so many great book recommendations from them! The meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm, and it’s currently hosted by Sam. It can be found on her blog Taking on a world of words which can be found here.

The idea of WWW Wednesday is just to answer three simple questions about what you are reading, have just finished and are about to read so here goes for this week.

What I’m currently reading

The Fury of Kings by R S Moule

Another one for #WyrdandWonder and off my Net Galley shelf. I am quite behind now with reading my ARCs and struggling to read and review all of the books on my shelf before their publication dates. My resolution of not requesting so many books really fell down recently!!!

This is a fairly typical epic fantasy at the moment. We have a king whose heir has just been murdered, an aging hero with three children who all want very different things and a couple of very determined women who are going to control their own destiny. Add in a couple of rebel kingdoms and rumours of strange gods stirring and you’ve got a fairly good mix. It’s a good story so far although we’re still in the process of getting to know the main characters. There are at least 6 different points of view but the author is avoiding fragmenting the story too much at the moment.

I’ve nearly finished this account of Charles II’s government’s attempts to bring the men responsible for killing Charles I to justice. It’s an interesting read and it became easier to keep track of who everyone was as the book has gone on.

What I have recently finished reading

The Daughters of Izdihar by Hardeer Elsbai

I enjoyed this fantasy loosely based on Egyptian history. The two main characters of Nehai and Georgina were both likeable and good foils for each other. I enjoyed the plot which was basically women fighting for their rights in a male dominated society. Think about the Suffragettes and transfer that to a fantasy setting and you won’t be far wrong. It ended very abruptly which I’m never a fan of especially when you have no idea when the second part will be out.

The Sword Defiant by Gareth Hanrahan

I really enjoyed this fantasy novel and my review is here

The Change by Kirsten Miller

This was a gripping read. Three women of a certain age (forty plus) discover that they have strange powers. Nessa hears and sees the dead, Harriett is a witch and and Jo can use her rage in ways that she is only just beginning to explore. They discover the body of a young girl and Nessa is sure that there are more. The police don’t want to know so they begin to investigate for themselves. They discover a group of wealthy, powerful men who prey on young girls and cast them aside once they have finished with them and decide to deal with matters themselves. Their revenge comes in very unique ways although reminded me a bit of Weyward with Harriett’s power over nature.

I loved all three of the women and found the plot sadly believable.

What I am intending to read next

Done to Death by Charles Atkins

This is the third of the books about Ada and Lil and will make a nice change from my recent fantasy fest.

What are you reading this week?

Top 5 Books with earth #WyrdandWonder #Top5Tuesday

All this month, I will be linking my Top 5 Tuesday posts to #WyrdandWonder which is taking place all this month. The four elements are perfect for choosing fantasy novels although earth has proved to be a bit more difficult than last week’s topic of water.

I decided to focus on books where the land itself was an important element in the book. That meant that I could include various quest stories as they generally have a huge focus on the landscape that the characters must travel across. Another idea was books that spend a lot of time underground, in the earth. Here are the five books that I have come up with.

Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein
The earth and the landscape are an incredibly important part of Tolkein’s books. We have Sam Gamgee who is a gardener as one of the main characters as well Tom Bombadil who spends his time caring for the earth. The earth itself plays an important too especially the mines of Moria. Part of the difference between the dark forces and the good is the way they treat the land. Both Saruman and Sauron destroy the land and the living things in their quest for domination.

The Chaos Balance by L E Modesitt jr
The earth is an important part of all of Modesitt’s novels. His mages often have the power to reshape entire continents. In The Chaos Balance, Nylan is a mage who has this power but this is joined with the power of the old forest and the druids who care for living things.

Sabriel by Garth Nix
All of Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom books have a big emphasis on the earth. The magic system, Charter Magic, is maintained by giant stones inscribed with runes that guard the kingdom. Sabriel has to go underground to fulfil her role as Abhorsen and care for the dead.

The Fifth Season (Broken Earth Trilogy) by N K Jemisen
You can’t have a list of fantasy books about earth that don’t include this one surely. The land is dying and food and water are rapidly becoming scarce as the long night approaches. Essun has to travel through this broken landscape as she tries to find her daughter. This is a brilliant trilogy and I thoroughly recommend it if you haven’t read it already.

An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris
Another series where the landscape plays a huge part is the Gunnie Rose series. Set in an alternate USA where part of it is the New Russian Empire, the 17 year old Gunnie Rose hires herself as a gunslinger to those who need protecting. The landscape of Texas and Mexico is definitely one of the stand out features of the world building in this series.

There were so many books that I could have chosen but these are ones where, for me, the earth and landscape really stood out.

Next week, we’re onto the element of fire. There maybe dragons!!!!!!!