Series: Sworn Solider #2
Release date: February 13 2024
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 176
Find it: Goodreads Waterstones
Source: I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis
When Alex Easton travels to Gallacia as a favour to their friend, the excellent Miss Potter, they find their home empty, the caretaker dead, and the grounds blanketed by an uncanny silence. The locals won’t talk about what happened to the caretaker. None of them will set foot on the grounds.
Whispers of an unearthly breath-stealing creature from Gallacian folklore don’t trouble practical Easton. But as strange visions disturb their sleep and odd happenings increase, they are forced to confront the dark shadow that hangs over the house…
Review
T. Kingfisher’s newest release sees us back following Alex Easton as they travel to their old family hunting lodge in Gallacia. When they arrive they find the house abandoned and the caretaker nowhere to be found. The caretaker has passed away and no one in the village will set foot on the grounds or tell them what really happened to him. As their friend Miss Potter arrives, strange things begin happening in the house and Easton begins to have disturbing dreams, will they be able to uncover what lurks in the remote hunting lodge, and will they be able to stop it from claiming another victim?
I really enjoyed T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead so I was really excited to pick up What Feasts at Night. It was lovely to be back with the characters we met in book one and I enjoyed seeing the relationships between Easton and their companions continue to develop. Much like book one, What Feasts at Night is gripping, well crafted, and full of suspense. The book is just under 200 pages but it definitely packs a punch, will plenty of creepy, unsettling moments that will send a shiver down your spine. There are also some humorous moments too which worked really well in the story.
What Feasts at Night is a quick read and one that keeps the reader gripped throughout. The story is well paced and I completely fell in love with Kingfisher’s vivid and atmospheric writing style. The moroi was such a fascinating concept and I loved learning about the folklore in this world. This is a brilliant, unforgettable sequel and if you’re looking for some haunting novellas you won’t want to look away from, I would absolutely recommend this series.
Ally Wilkes’s All the White Spaces was one of my favourite reads of 2022 so Where the Dead Wait was one of my most anticipated releases for 2024. The story follows William Day who is haunted by a failed expedition to the Arctic. Hailed in the papers as a cannibal and murderer, his reputation has never recovered. Thirteen years since the failed expedition, Day’s second in command Jesse Stevens has gone missing on another voyage in the Arctic. Day sees his chance to restore his reputation but will he be able to face the ghosts of his past?
Once a Monster follows the story of mudlarker Nell – an orphan with dreams of becoming a dancer. When Nell discovers a body on the shore she finds it is not what she expected – seven feet tall with horns. The other mudlarkers tell Nell to steal his belongings but as Nell gets closer she realises the body isn’t a corpse and they are much more than they seem.
I heard Laura Lam talk about Dragonfall at Cymera Festival and immediately knew I had to read it. The story follows Arcady, a thief who dreams of a life studying at the University as one of the drakine. To succeed in this goal Arcady steals a seal from the bones of the Plaguebringer – the most hated person in Lumet history. When Arcady casts a spell that drags Everen – the last male dragon – through the Veil, he is told he must convince Arcady to trust him and then kill her in order to bring dragons back to Lumet. Who will succeed and at what cost?
Tori Bovalino’s newest release follows Leah, a young girl who spends much of her time looking after her baby brother Owen. In their small town there is legend about the Lord of the Wood, who steals away babies. One night Leah offers her brother to the Lord, not believing anything will happen – until he disappears. Leah is forced by her town to cross the river into the forest to bring her brother back. What she finds isn’t what she expected and the secrets she uncovers will have her questioning everything she thought she knew about the people of her town.
David Wragg’s The Hunters is a fast paced and addictive story that follows Ree and her twelve year old niece Javani. After many years moving from place to place, they have settled on a farm in a mining community in the middle of nowhere. When a group of killers comes to the town looking for a young girl and an older woman, Ree and Javani are forced to flee across the desert and mountains. A deadly chase occurs, but will Ree be able to keep them both alive and keep her secrets intact?
Empress of All Seasons is a fast paced YA fantasy tale that follows Mari, a young yōkai who has been trained all her life to take part in a deadly competition to choose the next Empress of Honoku. To succeed she must survive all the rooms, however, yōkai are forbidden from entering and so she must hide who she truly is. If she succeeds she can steal the Emperor’s fortune and return to her village a hero. Meanwhile Prince Taro wants nothing to do with the competition that will choose who his wife will be, instead preferring to spend time with his mechanical creations. When he has a chance encounter with Mari things begin to change and Taro begins to fight for what he believes in.
The Judas Blossom is the first installment in an all new series from Stephen Aryan which reimagines the invasion of Persia by the Mongolian Empire. We follow four main characters: Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan, is determined to see his grandfather’s vision of the Mongol Empire come to life, at any cost. Temujin Khan, Hulagu’s youngest son, has always been a disappointment to his father, but when he discovers a power he never imagined possible, he could become his father’s secret weapon. Kokochin is the last of her tribe and is forced into marriage with Hulagu. Determined to find a purpose for herself, she finds a path to power she did not think possible. And finally Kaivon, a Persian rebel whose only thought is revenge for his people. When he saves Hulagu’s life and becomes a General in his army, he knows the best way to destroy the empire is from inside.
The third installment in T L Huchu’s thrilling Edinburgh Nights series follows ghost talker Ropa Moyo as she’s sent to help out at a magic convention at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye. Hoping she’ll get the chance to rub shoulders with the magical elite, Ropa finds herself in the midst of a dark mystery when a magical scroll is stolen and a librarian murdered. Can she uncover who’s behind it all in time to recover the scroll and help her mentor before its too late?
C J Cooke is fast becoming my go-to author for fast paced gothic horror novels you can’t put down. The Ghost Woods tells the story of two women who travel to Lichen Hall, a remote estate in the Scottish Borders where unmarried women can go to give birth. When Pearl arrives in 1965, she soon learns all is not as it seems and there are some strange things going on. There she meets a mother and a young boy who live on the grounds of the estate and together they unravel a mystery darker than they ever imagined.
The Bibliophile Chronicles 