Blog Tour: Blood Metal Bone by Lindsay Cummings

 So today I have a blog tour post for you all! Blood Metal Bone just sounded so interesting that I thought I would take part, and so my review is below. Don't forget to check out some other stops on the tour too.

Here's the blurb:

Her destiny was death. The shadows brought her back.

Wrongly accused of her brother’s murder, Sonara’s destiny was to die, sentenced to execution by her own mother. Punished and left for dead, the shadows have cursed her with a second life as a Shadowblood, cast out and hunted by society for her demon-like powers.

Now known as the Devil of the Deadlands, Sonara survives as a thief on the edge of society, fighting for survival on a quest to uncover what really happened to her brother and whether he is even dead at all…

I mean, after a blurb like that how could you resist reading it? I sure couldn't, especially as it was described as something fans on Throne of Glass would like, and that is one of my favourite series. It definitely didn't disappoint - I found this a fascinating book. It's a standalone, which I am grateful for because I don't think I'd have been able to wait to see what happens, so it's definitely good if you're looking for a quick fantasy fix. But, on top of that it was quite original because it was a mix of both fantasy and Sci-Fi - something I was not expecting at all.

A fantasy book, in the form of Sonara and her Shadowblood, and a Sci-Fi book, in the form of a MC Karr being a space smuggler. And, if you really want to be picky you can also add a hint of a Western theme thrown in too! It may sound like a bit much, but I found it all blended in perfectly to create a unique plotline that was something I never even knew I needed in a book.

It did take me a little while to get used to the shock that it was a mix, as I went in expecting a total fantasy book (my mistake for not looking at the tags!), but once you get used to it you end up getting into the flow of things and really enjoying the mystery of what is happening and figuring out where, exactly, the book is going.

I will say this though, as you got towards the very ending of the book the writing was just spectacular, and as the MC Sonara was finding her way some of the snippets of her thoughts just stuck with me, her thought process was just beautifully written and, as I've mentioned many a time before, I absolutely adore when we see a MC come into themselves and really become a powerful character. Mix these powerful main characters in with all the information coming together towards the end and you have an absolutely gripping novel that you will want to read again and again.

Overall, I give this book: 4.5 cats!

Blood Metal Bone was released on the 7th January, so make sure to go and pick up a copy, I guarantee you will not regret it!

Review: The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

 Many of you may know by now, Garth Nix is one of my favourite authors. So, as soon as I saw this available on Netgalley I just knew I would be requesting it, and I also have the Waterstones special edition now too (sprayed edges and an extra story!!)

And, as I expected, Garth Nix has written yet another fantastic and action packed book, one that I will definitely be going back to read again and again.  

Here it is:

In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.

Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops.

Susan's search for her father begins with her mother's possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.

Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan's. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.

Can I just say I absolutely love how Garth Nix writes characters? I've never found a character that I hated in his books and this is the same for this book too - I absolutely adore Merlin, and Susan is just as good too (but Merlin is definitely my favourite) and throughout the whole story you just feel as if you are actually running around with the characters yourself.  Even his creatures in this book were written incredibly, but I expected that as in my opinion Garth is always good at writing such unique characters that you can really visualise and put your own spin on in your mind.

I admit though I was delightfully confused through most of this book, just wondering what was happening as he jumps right into the action, it was both a puzzling and fast-paced storyline, and one that definitely keeps you hooked.

The thing that I enjoyed the most in this book was the way that Garth has interwoven the real with dark legends and folklore like goblins, giant wolves and lake creatures, it really made me want to look up these legends and just see where he got the inspiration from and I love when that happens in a book I read.

All in all I am obsessed with this world of Left and Right Handed Booksellers now, so I will definitely dive back in with happiness if Garth decides to come back to writing in this particular story.

Overall I give this book: 5 cats!

Have you read this book yet? If so comment below, I'd love to hear some other opinions on it!

Review: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

So, I will be one to say I was exited when I learnt that Christopher Paolini was writing a new book, as I do love the Eragon series. When I found out it was a sci-fi book I was definitely intrigued, I've recently found I like space themed books, but I have never really tried to read a whopper like this. I absolutely adored it though, and definitely recommend it. Here it is: 

Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds 

Now she’s awakened a nightmare 

During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she’s delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move. 

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn’t at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. 

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity’s greatest and final hope . . .

Can I just say, I was absolutely lost for words when I finished this book, it was that amazing. It was everything I expected when I first heard about it, and so much more. I was a bit intimidated when I first went into the book, not having read much sci-fi and also with how long this book is - over 800 pages! However, once you start you get sucked straight in. Even with the more scientific references you are still able to keep up with the book, and the plot really draws you in.

When you really get into the story you get hooked so easily as there's so much action and really big twists that you would never expect, but I suppose that's what's best about this book. In fact, the plot to this book was just mind-blowing, so much so that it kept me on edge wondering what was going to happen and the last 20% blew me away, it was so full of emotions and I even teared up at one point it was written so beautifully. 

I got my finished copy not long before publication (thanks to Tor for my review copy) and I just had to take a look through at the diagrams in the book - I love diagrams! They will definitely come in handy when I have a re-read, and I think a re-read is definitely in order just to see if I missed anything.

Overall, I loved this book and it's just proven that Christopher Paolini is an amazing writer, and one I will always read. I definitely recommend picking up a copy of this beast of a book.

I give this: 5 cats!

Have you read this yet? Comment below if so to tell me what you thought!

Blog Tour: Extract of Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

 Hi All, something a bit different today - I have an extract for you! Jennifer Donnelly also wrote one of my favourite books of 2019 (Stepsister) and so as soon as I was asked if I wanted to be on the blog tour for her new book Poisoned, another retelling, I knew I had to take part!

Here's the book in case you were wondering what it's about:

Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen's huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman took out his knife . . . and took Sophie's heart.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule -- a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she'd heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong . . .

With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can't extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.

So, without further ado, here's the extract:

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

ONE

The day before . . .

“Tally ho!” shouted the queen, spurring her fierce courser on.The hounds had flushed their quarry. A gray wolf broke from the cover of a blackbriar patch and ran for the deep woods.The pack swept after it, baying for blood.

The bravest members of the hunting party followed the queen, galloping hard to keep up with her, but the princess, riding a swift nimble palfrey, boldly streaked past her. She chased the wolf at breakneck speed, weaving in and out of trees, her skirts billowing behind her. She jumped a stone wall, a stream, a tangle of brush so high, there was no telling what lay beyond it. Her hat came off; her black hair unfurled like ribbons of night.

The queen couldn’t catch her. Nor could the princes, Haakon and Rodrigo. I saw them flashing through the woods, the queen in white, her nobles in rich hues of russet, moss, and ochre. I saw a baron crouched low over his horse’s neck, his hands high up in the animal’s mane. He narrowed the distance between himself and the queen, but just as he was about to pass her, his horse stumbled. The baron lost his balance. There was a cry, then a sickening crack as he hit the ground.

“Leave him, huntsman!” the queen shouted. “Leave anyone who falls!”

The man lay crumpled under a tree, his eyes closed, his head bloodied. I thundered past him; the rest of the riders did, too. Only the princess cast a look back.

We trailed the hounds, navigating by their cries, swerving through the woods as they changed direction. I lost sight of the queen as she rode through a pocket of mist, then found her again, some moments later, with the pack. And the princess.

The hounds had surrounded the wolf. The creature was huge and fearsome. It had killed two dogs already. Their broken bodies lay nearby.

And him? Oh, yes. He was there, too.

He was always close by. Watching. Waiting.

I heard him in the wolf’s low growl. Felt him in the nervous stamping of the horses. I saw him rise from the depths of the princess’s eyes, like a corpse bobbing up in a river.

And then, without warning, the wolf charged the horses, snarling. The palfrey whinnied and reared, but the princess kept her seat. The courser’s nostrils flared, he flattened his ears, but he stood his ground as the queen jumped down from her saddle.

Circling the fray, she shouted at the hounds, exhorting them to attack. They did, barking and slavering, snapping at their prey’s haunches. The wolf rounded on them, but it was one against many. The hounds knew it and grew bolder, but one, small and slight, hung back from the pack.

The queen saw it; her eyes darkened. “Fight, you coward!” she shouted.

The hound tucked its tail and retreated. Furious, the queen snatched a whip out of a groom’s hands and started after the dog.

“Your Grace! The wolf is escaping!”

It was Prince Haakon. He’d just caught up to the pack. The queen threw the whip down and ran to her horse, but by the time she’d swung back into her saddle, the pack—and the princess—was already gone, in hot pursuit once more.

For a long and treacherous mile, the princess pursued the wolf, until a ravine brought them up short. She stopped her horse a few yards from the edge, but the wolf ran right to it. When it saw the sheer drop, it tried to backtrack, but the hounds closed in from the left. A tangle of blackbriar, a good ten feet high, ran from the woods to the edge of the ravine creating a wall on the right. The frantic animal paced back and forth, tensed itself to jump across the chasm, but saw that it was hopeless. Shoulders high, head low, it turned and readied itself for its last fight.

The princess had moved closer. She could see the scruff of white at the animal’s throat now, the ragged edge of one ear. The wolf looked up at her, and she saw the fear in its silvery eyes. In a heartbeat, she was out of her saddle. Striding among the frenzied hounds, she drove them back, yelling at them, stamping them away, until she’d created an opening for the wolf.

“Go! Get out of here!” she shouted at the creature.

The wolf spied a small opening at the bottom of the blackbriar. The thorns were curved and cruel; they carved stripes in the desperate creature’s snout and tore at its ears, but it pushed under the dense vines and disappeared. The hounds rushed after it, but their snouts were tender, their hides thin; they could not break through.

The princess thought she was alone; she thought that no one saw this, but I did. I’d caught up to her but stayed hidden. I hunted many things for the queen, not all of them wolves.

I saw the princess lean her head into her horse’s lathered neck. I saw a deep weariness settle on her shoulders like a shroud. I saw her press a hand to her chest, as if to soothe a fierce ache under her ribs.

How it cost her, this charade. How it would cost us all.

Hoofbeats sounded in the distance. Shouts echoed. By the time the queen drew up, with Haakon and a few other riders, the princess’s back was straight again, her weariness buried.

“I’m afraid our sport is over, Stepmother,” she said with feigned regret, nodding at the ravine. “The wolf chose a quicker death.”

The queen rode to the edge and looked over it, frowning.

“What a pity,” she said, “that we are robbed of our kill.”

Her eyes traveled to the hounds, then to the blackbriar. Her gaze sharpened. The princess did not see what had caught the queen’s attention, for she was climbing back into her saddle, but I did. Snagged in the thorns was a tuft of fur. Gray fur. Wolf’s fur.

The queen’s frown hardened. “Blow for home, huntsman!” she commanded.

I sounded my trumpet, and the hounds set off, noses skimming the ground. The small, frightened one, her tail still between her legs, skittered along at the edge of the pack. The riders followed, chatting and laughing.

As the hoofbeats faded from the clearing, there was a dry, rustling sound, like the whispering of silk skirts. I looked up and saw a crow, blueblack and shrewd, drop down from the high branch where he’d perched.

He let out a shrill caw, then flew off into the Darkwood. I hear his call still, echoing down the centuries.

It sounded like a warning.

It sounded like a death knell.

It sounded, most of all, like laughter.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*

Poisoned is out now, and available to order, so if you liked the extract and want more, go off and buy a copy! Hopefully you will soon be seeing a review on this book too.

Also, don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour! 

Blog Tour: Queen of Volts by Amanda Foody

 So, I have been on the tours for all of the books in this series and I knew that when I saw that HQ were asking for people to join in with the third and final book, I had to be a part of it. My review for this stop on the blog tour is below!

If you are interested, you can find the previous book reviews HERE (Book 1)  and HERE (Book 2).

And, here's the book:

Return to the City of Sin, where the final game is about to begin…and winning will demand the ultimate sacrifice.

Only days after a corrupt election and brutal street war, one last bloodthirsty game has begun. The players? The twenty-two most powerful, notorious people in New Reynes.

After realizing they have no choice but to play, Enne Scordata and Levi Glaisyer are desperate to forge new alliances and bargain for their safety. But while Levi offers false smiles and an even falser peace to the city’s politicians, Enne must face a world where her true Mizer identity has been revealed…and any misstep could turn deadly.

Meanwhile, a far more dangerous opponent has appeared on the board, one plucked right from the most gruesome legends of New Reynes. As the game takes its final, vicious turn, Levi and Enne must decide once and for all whether to be partners or enemies.

Because in a game for survival, there are only losers…

And monsters.

Guys, I cannot get over this book, it was packed with action from the very beginning and it was just the best final book in the series. In this book you get to see even more POVs - Levi and Enne like usual, but also Sophia, Lola and Harvey as an added extra, it was great to get into the minds of even more characters and see what they were thinking during the whole process. I never thought I'd like a series where more and more POVs were added in each book, but for this series it works and totally changed my mind - it really helps you to see all the different points to the plot as the new game begins.

I mentioned in the King of Fools review that different points were slowly coming together, and in this book you finally see all of these drips of information morph into one big spectacular plot, with so many crucial points in previous books all making sense. Whilst reading this I had multiple 'lightbulb' moments, when I finally saw just what Amanda Foody had been planning and hinting at - it all came together and made this into the perfect finale to a series.

I won't spend too much time on talking about Enne and Levi,  but I will say I adored them in this book, the relationship between them is so beautiful, and their journey together throughout the series, although tumultuous, is so intense and in this book it all finally comes together and they make such an amazing team. I admit, I squealed at times in this book with the dynamic between these two, I just love it and I love their coupling.

The final moments of this book were sheer brilliance, and I think that Amanda gave us the best ending to the series there could have been, I won't spoil anything, but for me it was amazing and just what I wanted when I finished this series - I hope you all agree when you read it.

Overall, I give this book 5 cats! (as well as the series overall)

Make sure to check out the other stops that were on the tour as seen below!