Tag: tor books

Blog Tour: The Thousand Eyes – A K Larkwood

Blog Tour: The Thousand Eyes – A K Larkwood

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Series: The Serpent Gates #2
Release Date: 15th February 2022
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 400
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones. 
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review

Synopsis

Two years ago, Csorwe and Shuthmili defied the wizard Belthandros Sethennai and stole his gauntlets. The gauntlets have made Shuthmili extraordinarily powerful, but they’re beginning to take a sinister toll on her. She and Csorwe travel to a distant world to discover how to use the gauntlets safely, but when an old enemy arrives on the scene, Shuthmili finds herself torn between clinging to her humanity and embracing eldritch power.

Meanwhile, Tal Charossa returns to Tlaanthothe to find that Sethennai has gone missing. As well as being a wizard of unimaginable power, Sethennai is Tal’s old boss and former lover, and Tal wants nothing to do with him. When a magical catastrophe befalls the city, Tal tries to run rather than face his past, but soon learns that something even worse may lurk in the future. Throughout the worlds of the Echo Maze, fragments of an undead goddess begin to awaken, and not all confrontations can be put off forever…

Thoughts

The Unspoken Name was one of my favourite reads of 2020 and The Thousand Eyes is without a doubt one of my most anticipated releases of 2022. The cover is absolutely stunning and I am so excited to return to this incredible world. I am currently reading The Thousand Eyes and while I’m only about halfway through, I already know this is going to be a five-star read. It’s wonderful being back with the characters we grew to love in The Unspoken Name and the see where their adventures will take them. We pick up two years after the events of book one and it was so fun to see the characters back out creating mayhem.

I love Larkwood’s writing style and just like book one, the story has been action-packed and had me on the edge of my seat. I have no idea where the story is going to go but I’m so excited to see where Larkwood takes us next. The worldbuilding in this series is exceptional and if you’re looking for a fantasy series with fantastic characters and a fast-paced plot, this is absolutely a must-read.

A massive thank you to Black Crow PR for having me on the blog tour – check back soon for a full review!

Book Review: Across the Green Grass Fields – Seanan McGuire

Book Review: Across the Green Grass Fields – Seanan McGuire

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Series: Wayward Children #6
Release Date: January 12th 2021
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 174
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I listened to the Audiobook on Scribd
Rating: 3.25/5 stars

Synopsis

A young girl discovers a portal to a land filled with centaurs and unicorns in Seanan McGuire’s Across the Green Grass Fields, a standalone tale in the Hugo and Nebula Award-wining Wayward Children series.

“Welcome to the Hooflands. We’re happy to have you, even if you being here means something’s coming.”

Regan loves, and is loved, though her school-friend situation has become complicated, of late.

When she suddenly finds herself thrust through a doorway that asks her to “Be Sure” before swallowing her whole, Regan must learn to live in a world filled with centaurs, kelpies, and other magical equines―a world that expects its human visitors to step up and be heroes.

But after embracing her time with the herd, Regan discovers that not all forms of heroism are equal, and not all quests are as they seem…

Review

Across the Green Grass Fields is the sixth instalment in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. Each instalment follows a child who has gone to a magical land (think Narnia). When the children return to the real world they end up at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children, a place for them to live while they try to find their doors. In this instalment we follow Regan as she enters the hooflands and must venture on a quest to save the herd that takes her in.

I absolutely love this series and each of the books has been really engrossing with fascinating worlds. I’m always really impressed with the amount of world building and character develop McGuire manages to pack into such a small page count and Across the Green Grass Fields is not different. The world Regan enters is full of horse type creatures and on her journey Regan meets centaurs, kelpies and other mythological creatures.

Like the previous books I really enjoyed the story and learning about the world Regan has entered, but for some reason I didn’t love this one as much as the others. I was excited to see all the different creatures but the kelpies don’t really enter the story until near the ending. I think because I wasn’t as interested in the world I wasn’t as invested in Regan’s story. I think perhaps because none of the characters from previous books featured in this story I also wasn’t as desperate to read on.

Despite not being completely hooked, I still really enjoyed this story. It was a solid three star read and I really love the overarching plot and themes of this series. McGuire has created a really spectacular series in Wayward Children and I can’t wait to see where she takes things next. I know they’ve already had two books already but I’d love to return to Jack and Jill sometime soon!

Book Review: The Doors of Eden – Adrian Tchaikovsky

Book Review: The Doors of Eden – Adrian Tchaikovsky

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 0 Leave a Comment


Release Date: August 20th 2020
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 608
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Synopsis

They thought we were safe. They were wrong.

Four years ago, two girls went looking for monsters on Bodmin Moor. Only one came back.

Lee thought she’d lost Mal, but now she’s miraculously returned. But what happened that day on the moors? And where has she been all this time? Mal’s reappearance hasn’t gone unnoticed by MI5 officers either, and Lee isn’t the only one with questions.

Julian Sabreur is investigating an attack on top physicist Kay Amal Khan. This leads Julian to clash with agents of an unknown power – and they may or may not be human. His only clue is grainy footage, showing a woman who supposedly died on Bodmin Moor.

Dr Khan’s research was theoretical; then she found cracks between our world and parallel Earths. Now these cracks are widening, revealing extraordinary creatures. And as the doors crash open, anything could come through.

Review

The Doors of Eden is the clever and compelling tale of two girls who looking for monsters on a remote moor. While there something strange happens and only one comes back. Reeling from the loss of her friend, Lee is shocked when she discovers that Mal has returned from where she disappeared too. Whilst Lee is attempting to understand what’s really going on, MI5 agent Julian Sabreur is working on discovering who is behind an attack on physicist Kay Amal Khan. He has very little clues except that whoever is behind it might not be human. As Julian begins to learn more about Khan’s research into parallel Earths, they soon learn that their Earth might not survive much longer.

This is my first time reading a full length novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky – I’ve read his novella Firewalkers and some of his short stories – and it was such a wild ride of a tale. This is a fast paced and complex tale, full of incredibly creatures and mind bending science. Tchaikovsky has such a brilliant writing style and the story is packed to the brim with action, adventure and humour – the story grips you from the very first chapter and doesn’t let you go till the very last page.

The story is told from the points of view of several different characters and each one was well developed. I really liked Lee and Mal, it was really interesting seeing them attempt to reconnect after all these years as well as deal with everything going on around them. My favourite character was definitely Kay Amal Khan though – she’s a brilliant scientist but she’s also an incredibly sarcastic and kick ass character.

The world building is well executed in this story and despite there being multiple threads to the story Tchaikovsky weaves them together seamlessly. There is quite a lot of science involved but it’s also really accessible for those that don’t read too much science fiction. The Doors of Eden is a gripping read and one that takes the reader on an adventure though many worlds, encountering many brilliant creatures. If you’ve been curious about this one I’d definitely recommend picking it up.

Book Review: A Conjuring of Assassins – Cate Glass

Book Review: A Conjuring of Assassins – Cate Glass

by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 2 Comments

Header (2)
Series: Chimera #2 (See my review of book one here!)
Release Date: February 7th 2020
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 455
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository.
Source: I bought a copy of this from BookDepository.
Rating: 4.25/5 stars

Synopsis

A Conjuring of Assassins is Cate Glass’s second adventure with the Chimera team, a ragtag crew who use their forbidden magic for the good of the kingdom.

Romy and her three partners in crime—a sword master, a silversmith, and her thieving brother—have embraced their roles as the Shadow Lord’s agents, using their forbidden magic to accomplish tasks his other spies cannot.

Now, the Shadow Lord needs them to infiltrate the home of the Mercediaran Ambassador and prevent him from obtaining information that would lead to all-out war with Cantagna’s most dangerous enemy.

To succeed, they will have to resurrect long-buried secrets, partner with old enemies, and once again rely on the very magics that could get them sentenced to death.

Review

Copy of book cover (2)A Conjuring of Assassins is the second instalment in Cate Glass’s Chimera Series, featuring Romy and her rag tag band of magic users. Magic is forbidden in Cantagna, so when Romy and the gang become entangled in a secret plot to incite revolution, they must use all their whits and schemes to foil the plot and stop their magic being discovered.

An Illusion of Thieves was one of my favourite books of 2019. I loved the world building and the heist aspects of the story, so I was incredibly eager to pick up this second instalment. The story dives in pretty much straight where An Illusion of Thieves leaves off, dropping the reader straight into the action. The story is a fast paced one, full of magic, action and scheming, it’s the perfect read if you’re a fan of heist novels.

One of things I love most about this series are the magnificent characters – Romy, the Shadow Lord’s dismissed mistress turned scribe, Neri her rebellious younger brother, Dumond the blacksmith who does whatever he can to protect his family and Placidio the wise and mysterious duellist. They’re all fascinating each with a complex back story and I loved seeing the characters continue to grow through this second instalment. We are also introduced to a new character – the mysterious Teo who I have so many questions about – making me all the most desperate to get my hands on book three.

A Conjuring of Assassin’s is a clever tale, full of mystery and intrigue. It will have you hooked from the very beginning and this is definitely a book I found hard to put down. As a sequel it definitely did not disappoint and I am so looking forward to finding out what the gang get up to next. If you haven’t had the chance to pick up An Illusion of Thieves yet, now is definitely the time – the beautiful writing, fascinating world building and brilliant characters will make you completely fall in love with this series.
4 Stars