Book Review: Tempests and Slaughter

Title: Tempests and Slaughter (The Numair Chronicles #1)

Author: Tamora Pierce

Genre: Adult fantasy

Format: Kindle e-book

Published: By Harper Voyager on September 20th, 2018

ISBN13: 9780008304331

Grade: Exceeds expectations

Note: I received a free digital ARC of the book via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review

In the ancient halls of the Imperial University of Carthak, a young man has begun his journey to becoming one of most powerful mages the realm has ever known. Arram Draper is the youngest student in his class and has the Gift of unlimited potential for greatness . . . and of attracting danger.

At his side are his two best friends: clever Varice, a girl with too often-overlooked, and Ozorne, the leftover prince’ with secret ambitions. Together, these three forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms.

But as Ozorne inches closer to the throne and Varice grows closer to Arram’s heart, Arram realizes that one day soon he will have to decide where his loyalties truly lie.

5 Books to Read If You Loved The Lord of the Rings

Talking about your favourite book is hard because it’s difficult to articulate the attachment you have with what seems to non-readers like just words on the page. I can’t believe I managed to do it for four posts this month, the last one being this of course! I really hope you enjoyed this series and whether you’re as big a Tolkien nerd as me or not, you took away something valuable from this. While The Lord of the Rings will remain my eternal favourite series, I’ve been searching far and wide for books that evoke the same feeling or have similar themes to it. Also, I recognise that it may not be the best book for every kind of reader, even if you’ve loved the movies. Here is my attempt to recommend 5 books that fans like me would enjoy and also for those who may not have liked the books but want something similar. Please be considerate of the fact that reading is a very personal experience, so it’s quite possible to respectfully disagree with my choices.

Book Review: The Wrath and the Dawn

Title: The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1)

Author: Renée Ahdieh

Genre: Young adult fantasy

Format: Audiobook

Published: By G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers on May 12th, 2015

ISBN13: 9780399171611 (US Hardcover edition)

Grade: Exceeds expectations

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend. She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

Book Review: The Smoke Thieves

Title: The Smoke Thieves (The Smoke Thieves #1)

Author: Sally Green

Genre: Young adult fantasy

Format: Kindle e-book

Published: By Penguin Random House on May 3rd, 2018

ISBN13: 9780141375397

Grade: Exceeds expectations

Note: I received a free e-copy of the book via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review

A princess, a traitor, a hunter and a thief. Four teenagers with the fate of the world in their hands. Four nations destined for conflict.

In Brigant, Princess Catherine prepares for a loveless political marriage arranged by her brutal and ambitious father. In Calidor, downtrodden servant March seeks revenge on the prince who betrayed his people. In Pitoria, feckless Edyon steals cheap baubles for cheaper thrills as he drifts from town to town. And in the barren northern territories, thirteen-year-old Tash is running for her life as she plays bait for the gruff demon hunter Gravell.

As alliances shift and shatter, and old certainties are overturned, our four heroes find their past lives transformed and their futures inextricably linked by the unpredictable tides of magic and war. Who will rise and who will fall? And who will claim the ultimate prize?

Book Review: The City of Brass

Title: The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1)

Author: S. A. Chakraborty

Genre: Adult fantasy

Format: E-book

Published: By Harper Voyager on November 14th, 2017

ISBN13: 9780062678126

Grade: Outstanding

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary City of Brass – a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

Book Review – Deathknight

Title: Deathknight

Author: Andrew J. Offutt

Genre: Adult fantasy

Published: By Venture Press on December 21st, 2016 (first published February 1st, 1990)

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

(adapted from Goodreads)

Falc of Risskor is feared, respected and obeyed throughout the land. Known as Deathknight, he is an infamous member of the Sons of Ashah – honour-sworn men who preserve the peace had protect the citystates of Sij. When knights of the Order start being killed, Falc must bring justice and seek revenge on the brutal murderer. With an unlikely companion and a loyal darg, Falc ventures across the land to seek vengeance, and avoid being killed himself. On the way, he will have to encounter those who know him, those who hate him, and those who want to kill him. His task is a difficult one, but will Falc uncover the truth and protect the Order?

Book Review – SeQuence

Title: SeQuence (The Heart of the Ocean #1)

Author: Lorraine M. L. M.

Genre: Young adult fantasy

Published: By Lorraine M.L.M on November 2nd, 2016

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

(adapted from Goodreads)

Alessia Appleton is desperate to silence the voices inside her head, but being committed to an island asylum has only made them worse. Water is the one thing that blocks Alessia from hearing the thoughts of those around her. So, when she gets the chance to escape her wardens and the voices, Alessia takes it. She dives into the sea and a giant wave drags her under. When she comes to, one thing is clear–either Alessia’s completely lost her mind, or she’s not on Earth anymore. In Zeneshia sequence takes precedence over chance, and Alessia’s arrival has set off the Foretold Sequence of Hearts, shifting the future to a dire series of choices between Life, Love, and Death.

Book Review – A Crown of Wishes

Title: A Crown of Wishes (The Star-Touched Queen #2)

Author: Roshani Chokshi

Genre: Fantasy

Published: By St. Martin’s Griffin on March 28th, 2017

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Summary

(adapted from Goodreads)

She is the princess of Bharata—captured by her kingdom’s enemies, a prisoner of war. Now that she faces a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. But should she trust Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land? Together they can team up and win the Tournament of Wishes, a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. It seems like a foolproof plan—until Gauri and Vikram arrive at the tournament and find that danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans, mischievous story birds, a feast of fears, and twisted fairy revels. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire.

Book Review – Roar

Title: Roar (Stormheart #1)

Author: Cora Carmack

Genre: YA fantasy

Published: By Tor Teen on June 13th, 2017

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary

(adapted from Goodreads)

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.

Book Review – The Dark Prophecy

Title: The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2)

Author: Rick Riordan

Genre: Fantasy (Middle Grade)

Published: By Disney Hyperion on May 2nd, 2017

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary

(adapted from Goodreads)

Zeus has punished his son Apollo—god of the sun, music, archery, poetry, and more—by casting him down to earth in the form of a gawky, acne-covered sixteen-year-old mortal named Lester. The only way Apollo can reclaim his rightful place on Mount Olympus is by restoring several Oracles that have gone dark. Apollo must now leave the relative safety of the demigod training ground and embark on a hair-raising journey across North America. Fortunately, what he lacks in godly graces he’s gaining in new friendships—with heroes who will be very familiar to fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus series.