Review: The Jaguar Path, by Anna Stephens

Second chunky new fantasy in two days, I’m spoiling you all!


THE JAGUAR PATH
│16 FEBRUARY 2023│
HB │ EB │EA
Anna Stephens

Book Two of the new epic fantasy trilogy by the acclaimed author of GODBLIND.

The Empire of Songs reigns supreme. Across all the lands of Ixachipan, its hypnotic, magical music sounds. Those who battled against the Empire have been enslaved and dispersed, taken far from their friends and their homes.

In the Singing City, Xessa must fight for the entertainment of her captors. Lilla and thousands of warriors are trained to serve as weapons for their enemies. And Tayan is trapped at the heart of the Empire’s power and magic, where the ruthless Enet’s ambition is ever growing.

Each of them harbours a secret hope, waiting for a chance to strike at the Empire from within.

But first they must overcome their own desires. Power can seduce as well as crush. And, in exchange for their loyalty, the Empire promises much.

Continue reading “Review: The Jaguar Path, by Anna Stephens”

Review: Song of Silver, Flame like Night, by Amelie Wen Zhao

2 FEBRUARY 2023
HB│EB│EA
Amélie Wen Zhao

Blurb

Once, Lan had a different name. Now, she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people’s magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak’gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and spends her days
scavenging for remnants of the past. For anything that might help her understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother, in her last act before she died.

No one can see the mysterious mark, an untranslatable Hin character, except Lan. Until the night a boy appears at the teahouse and saves her life.

Zen is a practitioner – one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom, whose abilities were rumoured to be drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Magic to be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. And both hold the power to destroy the world.

Continue reading “Review: Song of Silver, Flame like Night, by Amelie Wen Zhao”

Audiobook Review: The Dying Season, by Rachel Amphlett

The Dying Season(Detective Kay Hunter crime thriller series Book 12)
 
Imprint:                      Saxon Publishing
Publication date:       12 February 2023
Availability:               Worldwide
ISBN eBook:             978-1915231-12-3
ISBN paperback:      978-1915231-10-9
ISBN large print:       978-1915231-11-6
ISBN audiobook:       978-1915231-13-0

When a man is shot at point blank range outside an isolated country pub, Kay Hunter is thrust into one of the most dangerous cases of her career.

As personal and political disputes threaten to undermine her efforts to track down the killer, Kay’s investigation is complicated further when her superiors elect to coordinate the subsequent manhunt themselves.

Uncovering a covert trade in outlawed weapons and faced with witnesses too scared to talk, Kay will have to do everything in her power to stop the killer and prevent another tragedy.

Except this time, one of her team is in the direct line of fire…

The Dying Season is the 12th book in the Detective Kay Hunter series by USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett, and perfect for readers who love fast-paced crime thrillers.

Continue reading “Audiobook Review: The Dying Season, by Rachel Amphlett”

Review: Out Of The Blue, by Robert Tregoning and Stef Murphy

Information about the Book
Title: Out of the Blue
Author: Robert Tregoning
Illustrator: Stef Murphy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Release Date: 2nd February 2023
Genre: Picture Book

Blurb

ONLY BLUE ALLOWED, by Blue government demand. Anything that isn’t blue, by colour law, is banned.

In a very blue house on a very blue street, sits a little boy who feels as blue as the world around him. For this little boy has a BIG secret: he loves the colour yellow.

In a world where only one colour is allowed, will he be brave enough to tell his dad? And will they be able to defy the rules and create a world where EVERY colour is welcome?

One boy and his dad are about to come OUT OF THE BLUE and into life in technicolour!

A stunning celebration of being yourself and living in ALL the colours of the rainbow, from debut author Robert Tregoning and rising star illustrator Stef Murphy. Championing difference, diversity and pride, this gloriously illustrated picture book is perfect for fans of Perfectly NormanGrandad’s Camper and Julian Is a Mermaid.

Continue reading “Review: Out Of The Blue, by Robert Tregoning and Stef Murphy”

Review: Trouble, by Katja Ivar

  • PUB DATE: January 19, 2023
  • MARKET: Nordic Noir
  • BINDING: Paperback B-Format
  • PRICE: £9.99
  • EXTENT: 224 pages
  • ISBN: 9781913394-776

The third in the series featuring Hella Mauzer, to follow on the success of Evil Things and Deep as Death.
A Nordic Noir of the first-order set in Helsinki in 1953. A dark political thriller at the heart of the Cold War; a novel about ruthless ambition and betrayal, but also about the challenges of being a single professional woman in post-war Europe.

Helsinki, June 1953, at the heart of the Cold War. Hella, now a reluctant private investigator, has been asked by her former boss at the Helsinki murder squad to do a background check on a member of the Finnish secret services. Not the type of job Hella was hoping for, but she accepts it on the
condition that she is given access to the files concerning the roadside death of her father in 1942, at a time when Finland joined forces with Nazi Germany in its attack against the Soviet Union. German troops were sent to Finland, the Gestapo arrived in Helsinki and German influence on local
government was strong, including demands for the deportation of local Jews.

Colonel Mauzer, his wife and other family members were killed by a truck in a hit and run incident. An accident, file closed, they said. But not for Hella, whose unwelcome investigation leads to some who would prefer to see her stopped dead in her tracks.

Continue reading “Review: Trouble, by Katja Ivar”