Tag Archives: book reviews

announcement, book release, fantasy, novel

Immortal’s Death has Arrived

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I’ve now been informed that Immortal’s Death is available on multiple platforms. The links are below.

UNIVERSAL BOOK LINK: https://books2read.com/u/b6AYN0

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G33NG9GJ

APPLE BOOKS: https://books.apple.com/us/book/immortals-death/id6755531622

BARNES & NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/immortals-death-vm-sang/1148784243?ean=2940182385084

GOOGLE BOOKS: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=I_uZEQAAQBAJ

RAKUTEN KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/ebook/immortal-s-death

A royal wedding. A missing duke. An empire on the brink of war.

Carthinal and his companions gather to celebrate Princess Randa’s wedding to Prince Almoro—until news arrives that Duke Larrin of Sendolina and his wife are missing, and their lands have fallen to enemy forces. With tension rising between Grosmer and Erian, the king dispatches a dragonet to uncover the truth.

As the Wolf mercenaries set out on a dangerous rescue mission, they are blown off course and forced into battles on land and sea. Meanwhile, rebellion brews in Hambara, and young Thadora—noble by blood but raised in the shadows—must uncover Erian’s next move.

Soon, loyalties will be tested, lives lost, and Carthinal will have to face a betrayal from someone he trusted the most.

A richly detailed epic fantasy adventure, IMMORTAL’S DEATH is the fourth book in the Wolves of Vimar series by V.M. Sang.

The first 3 books are available as a Collection. It says ‘The Complete Series’, but that was before Book 4 was published.

The Wolves of Vimar Collection: The Complete Series

The Wolves of Vimar Collection: The Complete Series

by V.M. Sang  | 18 Dec 2023

Kindle Edition £3.99

Paperback £21.99

Hardcover £37 54

All three books in V.M. Sang’s ‘The Wolves Of Vimar’ series of fantasy novels, now available in one volume!

The Wolf Pack: Carthinal is ready for his rite of passage to become a mage. What he doesn’t expect is ending up on a quest to find the long-lost sword of the legendary King Sauvern. Followed by Randa, the daughter of the Duke of Hambara, and the young thief Thad, Carthinal will need all the help he can get in order to complete his quest.

The Never-Dying Man: After straying into Erian, Carthinal and his friends find preparations for war. Carthinal will need to face unpleasant truths about himself; Is his desire to further his magical career more important than his friends, and his country?

Wolf Moon: An invasion is planned to Grosmer. As the heroes make their escape, they accidentally stumble upon an old Dwarven city. Facing enemies on all sides, the five must find where their loyalties lie, But can they save their homeland from certain destruction?

Although it is better to read the whole series, I believe that each book can be read on its own. There are some things that hang over, as it’s a series, but most things are settled in each book. There is an overarching quest of finding and killing the Never-Dying Man to save the land of Grosmer.

If you choose to read any or all of the books, I would be more than grateful for an honest review, and if you would like a free review copy of Immortal’s Death (or any of the other books), please let me know in the comments.

There is no obligation to review, but I would be greatly appreciative.

book reviews, fantasy, novel, stories

Review of The Reviled. Book 1 of The Dark Fey by Cynthia Morgan

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OVERVIEW 

An original and intriguing story.

BLURB

From a young age, Ayla has learned about the mortal enemy of all Fey of the Light: The cruel Reviled Fey.

Gairynzvl is a Fey of the Light who was abducted by the Reviled when he was young. Now, he is one of them.

Lurking in the shadows, he lingers near Ayla and secretly whispers to her. The mystery he presents is irresistible, although she knows the Reviled Fey are menacing and devious.

Learning what he wants is only the beginning.

Should she trust him? Or will he tear her world apart?

STORY

Ayla is a fey of the Light. She has unusual gifts. She can distinguish truth from lies, and her empathy is so great that she can take on the pain of others and relieve their suffering.

She is a retiring person, but when her best friend, Nayina, suggests she go to a festival with a young fey of Nayina’s acquaintance, she is at first reluctant. However, the pair are attracted to each other and soon form a bond.

But Ayla has a secret she’s kept from everyone, including Nayina. She has sensed a male presence that seems to be watching her. He hides in the shadows and doesn’t reveal himself.

Could he be one of the Dark Fey, known as the Reviled? These creatures steal young fey and, by means of torture and harsh treatment, turn them to evil?

Eventually, Ayla tells Nayina who urges her to tell the Elders, but, strangely, Ayla doesn’t want to. At least not until she has more idea who the stranger is.

Is this person one of the Reviled? He seems reluctant to leave the shadows, as a Reviled would be. The Light actually hurts and injures them, eventually leading to their death. And what does he want with her? 

CHARACTERS.

Ayla is a gentle soul who likes her own company. She is employed to look after the children, along with Nayina. 

Her encounter with the mysterious stranger makes her plumb depths she never knew she had.

Nayina is not so developed but she isn’t a major character.

Ayla’s ‘boyfriend’, Mardan, is another character who develops through the story. He is a likeable person, and cares deeply for Ayla. He does change throughout the story.

As does the mysterious figure, when we finally meet him.

I don’t want to say much more as the development of the characters is such that to discuss it more would be a spoiler.

WRITING

Cynthia Morgan gives a good description of the Fey and we can picture these wonderful people quite clearly. Maybe a little more description of the setting might make it easier to visualise it, but I did not find it detracted from my enjoyment of the story.

There are few typos and grammar errors.

One thing that did stand out to me, though, was that occasionally the author swapped the point of view character in the middle of a scene. On one occasion this was in the middle of a paragraph. I didn’t find it much of a problem–more an irritation. I think this is because the pronoun changed, from Ayla to Mardan (I think).

I enjoyed the story very much and am looking forward to reading the next part.

I give it 4*

My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

Have you read any of the other Dark Fey books? Let us know what you thought of them in the comments.

book reviews, novel

Heart-Wrenching Story of Family Betrayal

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I think this was a recommendation by Sally Cronin. Thanks, Sally. An amazing book. I finished it a couple of days ago, but it’s still resonating.

I think I’ve just found my new favourite author.

OVERVIEW 

A heart wrenching story told with sympathy and understanding. Set in the 1960s, some of the treatment of the children seems harsh and wrong to us now, but in those days, people thought they were doing the right thing.

STORY

Charlie and Chloe are twins. When we first meet them they are eight years old and their mother died three years previously. They are living happily with their father, Graham, although they miss their mother, of course. 

Then one day Graham brings home a woman whom he says he is going to marry. She is the nurse who cared for their mother in her final days.

But she isn’t the kind, understanding woman that she makes everyone believe. 

Charlie sees through her right from the start, and their world gradually turns upside down.

The book takes us through many years as the children become adults.

I don’t want to say more as anything else would be a spoiler.

BLURB

A gripping ‘cuckoo in the nest’ domestic thriller

After the death of their mum, twins Chloe and Charlie are shocked when their dad introduces Lynne as their ‘new mummy’. Lynne, a district nurse, is trusted in the community, but the twins can see her kind smile doesn’t meet her eyes. In the months that follow they suffer the torment Lynne brings to their house as she stops at nothing in her need to be in control.

Betrayed, separated and alone, the twins struggle to build new lives as adults, but will they find happiness or repeat past mistakes? Will they discover Lynne’s secret plans for their father? Will they find each other in time?

The Stranger in My House is a gripping ‘cuckoo in the nest’ domestic thriller, exploring how coercive control can tear a family apart. Set in Yorkshire and Cardiff, from the 60s to the winter of discontent, The Stranger in My House dramatises both the cruelty and the love families hide behind closed doors.

CHARACTERS

The people in this story are well-rounded. No one is perfect.

Charlie is a perceptive little boy. But he lets his resentment eat away at him as he grows up. Not surprisingly, really, given what he has to go through. He is also stubborn in refusing to try to get on with Lynne, his new stepmother.

Chloe is more malleable. She wants to get on with Lynne, and tries to persuade Charlie he’s wrong about her.

Graham is a lovely father; kind and supportive until he becomes more and more under Lynne’s influence. He believes her over his children.

Lynne is shown as a manipulative woman who is willing to wait for years for what she wants. She says she has been in an abusive relationship, but managed to escape.

Lynne has two children of her own, Evie and Saul, both older than Charlie and Chloe.

Evie is lovely, and knows exactly what her mother is like and she helps the twins whenever she can, even if only lending an ear.

Saul, on the other hand, is a bully. He bullies Charlie, but if Charlie says anything, Lynne takes Saul’s side and convinces Graham that Charlie is making it up.

WRITING.

Excellent writing. I felt sympathy for the children and got angry with the adults, just as I would in real life.

The characters are believable written in a sympathetic way, except, of course, Lynne and Saul, whom I was anxious to see get their just deserts.

There were no grammatical errors or typos.

I would fully recommend this book. I couldn’t put it down.

I give it 5*

My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

Have you read anything by Judith Barrow? I definitely intend to read more of her books.

book reviews, novel

Review of The Mystery at Folly’s End by Jaye Marie

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I don’t usually post two reviews in consecutive weeks, but this time I’m going to do so.

OVERVIEW

A well written mystery.

STORY

Charlie is surprised and shocked when her sister, Angie, rings her to ask for help. The two have been estranged for years after Angie married the love of Charlie’s life.

Angie says Tom is dead, and that she has lost all memory of the last few months. She can’t cope.

Against her better judgement, Charlie goes to help her sister, only to find chaos. There is no body and no money. What has happened to Tom?

Tom and his partner, Stuart, had been renovating a hotel, the Folly’s End of the title, so there should be money. But when a body is found in the cellar, everything turns upside down.

BLURB

Two estranged sisters, a dead husband, a mysterious hotel and a ghost?

Charlie’s sister Angela is not her favourite person after deliberately stealing the love of her life.

Years later, Angel’s husband dies mysteriously, leaving her with two children and no money. She begs her big sister to help her.

Can Charlie find it in her heart to forgive her sister, or will old feelings destroy any chance of a reunion?

Can they work together to solve their problems, or would that be asking for the impossible?

CHARACTERS

Jaye Marie has created a cast of wonderfully complex characters from the sensible Charlie to the unpredictable Angie.

We see Charlie’s growing confusion as the mystery of Tom’s disappearance escalates, and at her growing feelings for Stuart, Tom’s partner.

We watch Angie as her moods swing from anger, to sarcasm to happiness seemingly at random.

Angie has two young daughters who are confused and frightened by a situation they can’t understand.And Stuart, as well as Angie, is hiding secrets.

WRITING

I cannot fault the writing. Jaye Marie writes clearly and well. I found no typos, spelling or grammatical errors.The scenes are set well and I could easily visualise the hotel, although I would have liked a little more description of Bognor Regis and Angie’s home.

If there was a downside to this story it was that I guessed what was really going on fairly early. Also, we didn’t learn what exactly happened to Tom, Stuart, and Angie before the mystery, nor why.

I gave it 4*

In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU. HAVE YU READ ANY OTHER OF JAYE MARIE’S BOOKS?

If you want to purchase any of my books, simply click on the cover in the sidebar and it will take you to where you can purchase from your favourite online store.

book reviews, fantasy, novel

RJ’s Dragon Saga: Engaging Fantasy Adventure with Surprising Twists

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Blurb

Jaiden’s simple act of freeing Skye, the blue dragon, along with her family became a movement to free all dragons. And that escalated to a rebellion. Now, all-out war seems to be the only solution.

Jaiden and friends Tristram, Wyetta, Gorn, and Aleena represent the surge of humanity who joined the fight for Dragon Freedom. Skirmishes, ambushes, intense battles and undercover operations transform everyday reality. Uncertainty surrounding the strength and weaponry of the Dear Leader’s human army adds to the tension.

 Mysteries, surprises, unexpected revelations and shocking outcomes mark the Final Dragon War.

Story

This is a story aimed at teenagers, but it is equally enjoyable for adults who enjoy the fantasy genre.

Jaiden has joined with the dragons to try to end their enslavement once and for all. But the only way to do this is by all out war. He discovered in the previous books that he could hear dragon speech via the means of telepathy. This ability he uses to interpret the dragons’ orders to the people who have come to help.

Many people believe the dragons to be simply dumb beasts, and despise those who go to help them.

I don’t want to reveal any more here, except to say that there are a number of twists that genuinely had me saying ‘I didn’t see that coming.’

Characters

Jaiden is the main protagonist. We see the action through his eyes as it’s written in 1st person. He has already developed in the first two books into a young man with more confidence than he had at the beginning of the series, although he still has doubts about his abilities.

During this adventure, he becomes much more confident.

The dragons. Skye is the main dragon protagonist in this book, although Trigger and Dog play as big a part. Skye is a blue dragon, the biggest and cleverest of the dragons. Trigger is a silver, and Dog a gold. The gold are the smallest and least clever.

I liked these last two dragons. Dog is small enough to get into places others can’t go, and he plays a big part in rescuing Jaiden when he’s been captured.

Skye is a compassionate dragon who understands Jaidon’s lack of confidence, and she helps him with advice and an ear when he needs it.

Aleena is girl who had annoyed Jaiden in earlier years, always hanging around him. In this book, she grows from an annoying brat into a confident young woman.

There are many other characters I could talk about, but it would make this review too long. You’ll have to read the book(s) to find out about them.

Writing

While there are a few typos in the book, there were not enough to annoy me into giving up on it. The story kept me reading.

RJ has built his world well. I could visualise the characters and the landscape, including Big Hill and its caves, where Jaiden was held prisoner. And the cliffs where the dragons had their caves, too.

The descriptions of the action scenes were well told, keeping the tension going.

There is the possibility of further adventures. I hope RJ writes them.

I give this book 4*

My ranking of books. In order to get a particular number of stars, it is not necessary to meet all the criteria. This is a guide only.

5* Exceptional. Wonderful story. Setting well drawn, and characters believable–not perfect, but with flaws. Will keep you up all night. No typos or grammatical errors.

4* A thoroughly enjoyable read. Great and original story. Believable setting and characters. Very few grammatical errors or typos.

3* I enjoyed it. Good story. Characters need some development. Some typos or grammatical errors.

2* Not for me. Story not very strong. Unbelievable and flat characters. Setting not clearly defined. Many typos or grammatical errors.

1* I hated it. Story almost non-existent. Setting poor. Possibly couldn’t finish it.

book reviews

Book Reviews: Why They Matter SO Much

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I recently read this post from Kristen Lamb about leaving book reviews. Please read it fully. It is very important to authors.

book, open book, book reviews

If you are a reader, no matter HOW you read a book, try to leave a review of some sort. It doesn’t matter if you checked it out from a library, borrowed from a friend, or “stole” it from the Urgent Care waiting room while they held you hostage.

Go to Amazon, ideally. Whether anyone likes it or not that is where most REGULAR PEOPLE look for books/book reviews and try to leave a review.

Yes, feel free to leave a book review at Goodreads. But I will say that, as I have mentioned far too many times before, regular people (*code for readers) have no idea what Goodreads even is. AVID readers do. Readers who are also writers or who aspire to be authors do.

Normal folk? Not so much.

Read the complete post

Do you leave reviews for books you read? If not, why not? It doesn’t need to be an essay, a simple comment is sufficient.

And you don’t have to have bought it from Amazon to leave a review there.