Update: February 2019
Another month has come and gone. February was a month of contradictions: we had a full week of weather that felt close to summer here in the UK. This felt like such a relief after some dreary and cold weeks, but it’s also incredibly scary in the context of global warming. Personally, it has also been a month full of ups and downs for me. I applied for a job (which was a long shot to be honest) and didn’t get it. My research has been slightly disappointing and my shop is still not online (though it’s close now!). On the other hand I have been enjoying creating and designing…
Spellslinger – Spellslinger #1 – Sebastien de Castell
There are three things that earn you a man’s name among the Jan’Tep. The first is to demonstrate the strength to defend your family. The second is to prove you can perform the high magic that defines our people. The third is simply to reach the age of sixteen. I was a few weeks shy of my birthday when I learned that I wouldn’t be doing any of those things. Magic is a con game. Kellen is moments away from facing his first mage’s duel and the start of four trials that will make him a spellcaster. There’s just one problem: his magic is gone. As his sixteenth birthday approaches, Kellen…
Spotlight: Seraphina’s Lament – Sarah Chorn
About the book: There are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens. The world is dying. The Sunset Lands are broken, torn apart by a war of ideology paid for with the lives of the peasants. Drought holds the east as famine ravages the farmlands. In the west, borders slam shut in the face of waves of refugees, dooming all of those trying to flee to slow starvation, or a future in forced labor camps. There is no salvation. In the city of Lord’s Reach, Seraphina, a slave with unique talents, sets in motion a series of events that will change everything. In a fight for the soul…
Cross Stitch Project #2: The Grey Bastards
It’s finally finished! I’m so happy with the result but damn, this one took a LONG time. Colours: 35 Thread: DMC Fabric: 25ct Lugana Evenweave (white) Book: The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French Publisher: Orbit Original Artwork by Larry Rostant and Duncan Spilling
The Last Sun – The Tarot Sequence #1 – K.D. Edwards
Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment’s missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home. With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam’s relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune’s Court. In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family’s death and the torments of his past? Review This book had been on…
Update: January 2019
We’re almost through the last day of January over here in the UK. I can hear a collective “ALREADY?” from everyone coming to the same realisation. Most of the people who made New Years Resolutions will have already kind of forgotten about them and Christmas is already a full month closer again. Personally this January has been pretty good for me. I moved to a flat on my own, started seriously working on the handmade business I want to start (soon!) and I made some decisions about my future with thesis submission looming on the horizon. All in all, I’ve been feeling quite confident and happy about my life choices.…
Spotlight: The Ruin of Kings – Jenn Lyons
About the book: There are the old stories. And then there’s what actually happens. Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn’t what the storybooks promised. Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family’s power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things things, too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins. Then again,…
Guest Post: The View From Halfway by The Little Red Reviewer
I am writing this guest post from the halfway point. The kickstarter for The Best of Little Red Reviewer runs for 30 days, from Jan 2nd through Jan 31st, and I am writing this guest post from day 15. I thought all the hard work would be before the kickstarter launched, and then afterwards if it funded. Prior to launch, I had to figure out what exactly The Best of Little Red Reviewer would consist of, how kickstarter even worked (Thank you to my friends who answered my ten thousand questions!), identify editors and book designers, hire a graphic designer to create the cover art, film a the kickstarter video,…
Our Child of the Stars – Stephen Cox
A lost child, the family who try to protect him and the secret that refuses to stay hidden . . . Molly and Gene Myers were happy, until tragedy blighted their hopes of children. During the years of darkness and despair, they each put their marriage in jeopardy, but now they are starting to rebuild their fragile bond. This is the year of Woodstock and the moon landings; war is raging in Vietnam and the superpowers are threatening each other with annihilation. Then the Meteor crashes into Amber Grove, devastating the small New England town – and changing their lives for ever. Molly, a nurse, caught up in the thick…
Girls of Paper and Fire – Girls of Paper and Fire #1 – Natasha Ngan
Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honor they could hope for…and the most cruel. But this year, there’s a ninth girl. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire. In this lush fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most oppressed class in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards still haunts her. Now, the guards are back, and this time it’s Lei they’re after–the girl whose golden eyes have piqued the king’s interest. Over weeks of training in…
