The Reading Goal for 2023 is hopefully going to be 100 books. My reviews will be starting in April and I look forward to showing you some of amazing books I’ve had the honour to read.
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A big thank you to Alex for having me on his cover reveal team and arc team.
The release date is June / July. ARCs will be available from early April. The sign up link will be at the bottom of this page.
Blurb:
There are good dragons and bad dragons. And then there are mad dragonsβ¦The Raoke Gang goes on a wild dragon chase. A horde of dragons crushes the Raoke Gangβs plans to rob a space cruise liner. In the heat of the battle between humans and dragons, the Raoke Gang vouches for the losing side: the dragons.
They end up crashing on a desertic planet ruled by a dragon lord named Ezemiel. In their attempt to escape the planet, the Raoke Gang soon finds out that an army of wizards has chained Ezemiel, and are using its blood to craft incredible spells. With the dragon under their control, the wizards are pillaging and destroying every town in sight.
The Raoke Gang has one last dragon to save before they can leave this planet.
Death of a Mad Dragon is a stand alone in the Raoke Gang series.
Author Bio:
Alex Valdiers is a French indie Space Western Fantasy author of Laotian descent who currently lives in the South of England. The lack of a suitable platform and market for French Fantasy prompted Valdiers to move to the UK in 2012. After years of practice, his debut novella The Choice of Weapons, the first Raoke Gang novella, was released in August 2023 and reached the SFINCS Semi-Finals.His debut novel, A Wolf in Space, the first Raoke Gang novel, was released on January 23rd 2024.
Links:
Goodreads link:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/208907881-death-of-a-mad-dragon
ARC sign up link:https://forms.gle/UkGQzE19Qgg8r4vLA
Link Tree:https://linktr.ee/valdiers
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A huge thank you to Nikki Griffiths and Melville House for my copy and spot on the tour. Such an interesting book.
The Blurb:
Jacqueline Alnes was a Division One runner during her freshman year of college, but her season was cut short by a series of inexplicable neurological symptoms.
What started with a cough, escalated to Alnes collapsing on the track and experiencing months of unremembered episodes that stole her ability to walk and speak.
Two years after quitting the team to heal, Alnesβs symptoms returned with a severity that left her using a wheelchair for a period of months. She was admitted to an epilepsy center but doctors could not figure out the root cause of her symptoms.
Desperate for answers, she turned to an online community centered around a strict, all-fruit diet which its adherents claimed could cure conditions like depression, eating disorders, addiction, anxiety, and vision problems. Alnes wasnβt alone.
From all over the world, people in pain, doubted or dismissed by medical authorities, or seeking a miracle diet that would relieve them of white, Western expectations placed on their figures, turned to fruit in hopes of releasing themselves from the perceived failings of their bodies.
In The Fruit Cure, Jacqueline Alnes takes readers on a spellbinding and unforgettable journey through the world of fruitarianism, interweaving her own powerful narrative with the popularity and problematic history of fruit-based, raw food lifestyles. For readers plagued by mysterious symptoms, inundated by messages from media about how to attain βthe perfect body,β or caught in the grips of a fast-paced culture of capitalism.
The Fruit Cure offers a powerful critique of the failures of our healthcare system and an inquiry into the sinister strains of wellness culture that prey on peopleβs vulnerabilities through schemes, scams, and diets masquerading as hope.
My thoughts:
The Fruit Cure is an intriguing mix of memoir and what feels like a highly researched university paper. At times this jarred with the flow of Jacqueline’s story (the memoir part) but did let you know about other people who had got pulled into the con of Fruitarianism and the history of how it all came about. I was surprised to find out how much seemed to be linked to religion.
The memoir broke my heart in places for Jacqueline and what she’s been through. Her college roommates and running team in particular hit a nerve with me.
Once again I’m not going to put a star rating on someone’s life but I will say that it’s an in depth look at just what people will do to look for answers. I’d recommend picking up a copy.
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A big thank you to LiterallyPR for my copy and blog spot. This was a very powerful book. All views my own.
Blurb:
A shockingly honest memoir of love, obsession and torture.
Elizabethβs drives and desires have always been unusual.
Beginning in early childhood, her need for love and suffering took her from the prim surroundings of a Norfolk girlsβ school to the secret, latex-clad, rope-bound, whip-lashed delights of the Tokyo BDSM scene.
For Elizabeth, torture was not about sexual gratification β it was about love. In this frank and open memoir, she tells the story of a remarkable personal journey.
Attracted to other girls from an early age, Elizabeth struggled to come to terms with her sexuality. As a schoolgirl, her fantasies of torture β always for the benefit of whichever girl she was in love with β were rooted in her own inability to accept herself as a lesbian or reconcile her desires with her Christian beliefs.
Before finally realising that connection, Elizabeth would go through years of emotional and physical pain.Having experimented with bondage at university, Elizabeth discovered S&M when her career as a high-flying headhunter took her to Tokyo.
There she was inducted into the BDSM scene and learnt what real S&M was all about. When she fell in love with a gorgeous Japanese dominatrix called Tomo and became her slave, she began a descent into hell.
Tomo proved to be an irredeemable sadist who took torture far beyond the accepted limits of S&M. Elizabeth went to the brink of destruction for Tomo.
Not for the faint-hearted, this gripping memoir describes what she experienced there and how she found her way back.
My thoughts:
Exodai is definitely one of the darker and grittier books I’ve read in the last few years, but it’s also a very hopeful book at the end. You go on the journey with Elizabeth as she learns to truly love herself for who she is and how she feels about others. Very powerful. I’m glad she is safer now.
Tomo I could not stand and she certainly needed to learn some lessons in aftercare and safety. The dubious consent is high here and the torture scenes are certainly not for the faint hearted.
I certainly learnt a lot about Japan and bdsm culture.
It doesn’t feel right to give this a star rating as it’s the authors life but I will say that it was a book worth reading.
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A huge thank you to the author Alex Valdiers for having me on your tour.
I am reviewing the book for free and all thoughts are my own.
Blurb:
Gunslinger. Skyhorse rider. Lone Wolf. Malvius is a veteran gunslinger in Larragon, a six-planet solar system with two rivers: two train lines linking each planet together.
The two rivers are a beehive for opportunistic merchants and feisty gunslingers.All you need to survive in Larragon is a skyhorse to roam the open space and a gunblaster to protect your hide and earn your keep.
Wild moons and saloons are aplenty, money is easily made and lost, but life for Malvius isnβt about money, it is about helping who needs helping, shooting who needs shooting.
Along comes the Raoke Gang, shattered, their leader wounded, half of the gang incarcerated. Malvius feels compelled to help. Little did he know that simply relaying a message from their leader to the survivors of the Raoke Gang will send him on a wild course of events that will see him facing off a space wizard, assisting a space train heist, and become Larragonβs most wanted man.
My thoughts:
This is probably the first space western I’ve ever read and I certainly would try the genre again, especially the next set of books in the trilogy.
A Wolf in Space was a fun adventurous read that really did feel like watching a western did on a chilled out Sunday afternoon. The world building was superb and really painted a picture of Larragon and the many moons that Malvius spent time on.
I love the idea of having a skyhorse π and riding into battle as well as using them as transport.
Malvius is a well rounded main character who has a leaders feel about him if that makes sense lol. The narrator in the book is Malvius himself which I was okay with but might not be everyones cup of tea.
The only issue I had was that the words read a little clunky at times but didn’t pull me away from the main story much.
This is getting 4 stars from me and I am looking forward to further books by this author.
About the author:
Alex Valdiers is a French indie Space Western Fantasy author of Laotian descent who currently lives in the South of England. The lack of a suitable platform and market for French Fantasy prompted Valdiers to move to the UK in 2012.
After years of practice, his debut novella The Choice of Weapons, the first Raoke Gang novella, was released in August 2023 and reached the SFINCS Semi-Finals.
His debut novel, A Wolf in Space, the first Raoke Gang novel, comes out on January 23rd. Valdiers has over 40 novels planned for the Raoke Gang series.
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A huge thank you to LiterallyPR and Gillian Young for my copy of The Legend of Childers Forest and my spot on the tour.
This is the first time I’ve read a book by Gillian Young and it won’t be the last. It brought back a lovely nostalgia. Also we are Worcestershire based so that made me smile and has given me some ideas for walking routes in the future when it’s a little less damp. And I will be giving the book to my daughter to read too.
The Blurb:
Poppy the golden retriever returns with her younger sister, Devon, in another crazy cream adventure.
When a family of rabbits are driven from their home, Poppy and Devon make it their mission to help.
Their quest takes them to Childers Forest, the site of ancient and mysterious events. But when the safety of their human brother, Jack, is also threatened, Poppy and Devon call on the famous Legend of Childers Forest for help.
My thoughts:
I have loved reading this book. It gives Animals of Farthing Wood and Watership Down vibes. The characters of Poppy and her cheeky sister Devon are so loveable.
The levels of peril are just right and enough to get little hearts racing. The historical side of the story has obviously been well researched too and I think would highly appeal to older (teen) Readers too.
The short chapters are perfect for bed time stories for younger ones to be read to and for more independent Readers to give a go tackling themselves.
A πππππ read in this house and the illustrations are great too.
About the author:
Gillian Young grew up in Worcestershire, UK and still lives there with her family. She worked as a graphic artist, receptionist and office administrator before living the dream and becoming an author.
The Legend of Childers Forest is her fourth novel.
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Thank you so much to LiterallyPR for my copy of this book and my spot on the tour for an honest review.
Blurb:
On December 31st 1999, history changed. Precisely at midnight David Becker was born into abuse and left home young. Rescued by Deborah Glasscock, a natural born leader from three generations of extraordinary women, they married in 1998. With the first tick of Saturday January 1st, 2000 the course of their lives was forever altered and time-travelling consequences began to manifest.
The peculiar lives of their predecessors, the epigenetics of a war torn, alcohol soaked ancestry, and entangled events from previous life changing Saturdays somehow connect through cause and effect to an ominous diagnosis hanging over their now young family. Rational explanations fail leading Dave into a mirrored funhouse of consciousness, beliefs and free will.
Fearing an inescapable destiny as his family is daily ravaged, Dave encounters his own personal Fate, a being he is convinced is real.
Witty, quirky, surreal and tender Evren retells the Greek myth of the Fates as an if only story of regret and redemption, sex and power, the old animus of science and religion, the endurance of suffering and the resilience of family.
My thoughts:
For a debut novel this tried to tackle a lot of interesting things in a book under 300 pages, an ambitious first novel indeed. Also it’s interesting that parts of the story are based on true events from the authors life.
I enjoyed finding out more about the family histories of both Dave and Deborah going back to the days of the colonialists, both world wars and then onto present day Canada. An area not well known to me so it was fun to learn of some new places.
Their is a section of the book that is done in Diary format from the perspective of Dave’s wife which came across as emotional, dark humoured and you could really feel the torment she was going through from the time of diagnosis to when she left the family home. Very powerful and is one of my favourite parts of the book that I wish had been explored more.
Now onto some of the parts I didn’t enjoy, though I do wonder if that’s because I’m possibly not the intended audience for the book.
I found David’s character quite hard to like after a few morally grey decisions and his reactions to some of the events in the book (for example when being told no one time when sex was involved) he came across as selfish and whiny at times. Though his actions are explained by his upbringing it still grated.
Also the sheer amount of times a penis is mentioned π€£π€£ Yep we get it Dave. Though this may just be a bug bear of mine.
A πππ from me. I’d have preferred it to have been a touch longer with more of Deborah’s point of view.
About the author:
A Body of Fates is Kenneth Evrens first novel. A fictional tale inspired by a personal real life tragedy. Using bits and pieces of lived experience, he has fashioned a gorgeous, intriguing and inspiring metaphysical mosaic of one families multi generational history. Ken lives in Vancouver B.C with his family. He enjoys the ineffable in story, music science and love. Find him on Goodreads, Reedsy, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok or at http://www.kenevren.com
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A huge thank you to The Write Reads and Silver Thorn Press for my copy and extra goodies of the Haunting Scent of Poppies by Victoria Williamson.
This is her first adult novella. Previous MG and YA books by her that I’ve enjoyed have been Norahs Ark, War of the Wind and Whistlers in the Dark. Anything she writes is golden.
The Blurb:
The war is over but for petty criminal Charlie his darkest days are only just beginning.
Charlie Briggs is never off duty, even when a botched job means he’s forced to lie low in a sleepy Hampshire town for the holiday season. Always searching for his next unwitting victim, or a shiny trinket he can pilfer, he can’t believe his luck when he happens upon a rare book so valuable it will set him up for life.
All he needs to do is sit tight until Boxing Day. But there’s a desperate story that bleeds beyond the pages. Something far more dangerous than London’s mobsters is lurking in the shadows….
Could the book be cursed? Why is he haunted by the horrors of war? Can he put things right before he’s suffocated by his own greed?
I read the book while I had the opium incense burning. Definitely brought a whole new interactive aspect to the story. To be able to smell what Charlie does when he’s being haunted. A brilliant touch.
The cover is simply gorgeous. Now onto the tale it’s self. At 96 pages it is easily read in an evening, if you don’t mind giving yourself the spooks before bed. It packs an awful lot of emotion in. I really enjoyed how well linked the characters were to the book that Charlie stole.
The Haunting Scent of Poppies has obviously been well researched and this comes across well in the descriptions of what happened in world war one (it is set just after ww1 had finished and folk were getting settled back into civilian life)
It felt like reading an old classic ghost story. Loved it and it’s getting 5 πππππ from me. This is definitely one you’ll want to read this Christmas.
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A huge thank you to Literally PR, David and Silverwood Books for my tour spot and physical copy of this book. So excellent to find out about new authors and books I wouldn’t necessarily read.
Blurb:
If women are so much trouble Ray, why do you always want more than one?
Ray Roden is a Fenland schoolboy in trouble with teachers and friends as well as women after his boys’ grammar school merges with the girls’ high. He has already met Tina: that girl would give me some of the best moments of my life. And the worst.
Ray Roden is an insurance executive travelling the Caribbean in trouble with his job, his wife (one of those Roper girls) , his children and still women: these last ten days I’ve been kicked out of their beds- my wife, my girlfriend and a… Another one. And then there is Hurricane Martin storm of the century heading straight for his home in Puerto Rico.
This story is told in parallel storylines upto Rays school reunion. Will he emerge from his school reunion with more than one, the one or no woman at all.
My thoughts :
I will start off by saying there are some triggers in the story that David has mentioned on the back of the book and as an authors note inside so I hope I’m not giving away spoilers.
*Adultery, alcohol abuse, physical and sexual assault, language considered unacceptable these days*
They didn’t trigger me personally but I am aware it might turn some people away from this contemporary fiction.
Now on to what I thought. David I think you write very well and your words do pull on the emotions. Otherwise I possibly wouldn’t have continued Ray’s journey as the character himself and that of Dan really did grate on a nerve and I wanted to give them a good shake for some of their behaviours and attitudes.
I really enjoyed the dual narratives and the difference in word/number for each chapter. Made it much easier to follow Ray and his friends/women from teen perspective to an adult one. Also how there are characters from his previous no
Shown here:
A ππππ from me. Not my usual read but give it a go folks. I enjoy finding gems like this with it’s dark humor.
About the author:
David G Bailey was born in Lincolnshire and mainly schooled in the Isle of Ely, also studying in the Fens and the Black Forest. He has lived in the USA, Caribbean and South America as well as the UK. Currently based in the Midlands, he travels to write reports on insurance market’s around the world.
After his debut as a published author in 2021 with an adventure fantasy story aimed at young adults, he wrote Them Roper Girls in 2022 to a world more recognisable as our own.
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A huge thank you to The Write Reads and Elyse Hoffman for my spot and ebook copy of this powerful book.
I’ve not read much ww2 fiction (still a little close for me) but I really took a lot from reading this series. My review of The Vengeance of Samuel Val will be up shortly. Also by the same author.
The Blurb:
A deadly mission to hunt down the resistance’s top soldier will make SS Officer Jonas Amsel question everything he kills for…
Jonas Amsel and Avalina Keller, devoted Nazis and best friends, have a bright future in Hitlerβs Third Reich. Ava, a talented gymnast, wants to serve Germany in the Olympics, and Jonas, who has loved Ava since they were children, wants nothing more than to marry her and start a family. When he is about to propose, however, Ava and her entire family vanish without a trace.
Jonas blames the Jews for Avaβs disappearance and throws himself into a career in the Nazi Party. He serves the Reich under the ruthless Chief of the Gestapo, Reinhard Heydrich. Jonas becomes particularly good at capturing members of the Black Foxes, an anti-Nazi resistance group, earning Heydrichβs respect and the moniker of βthe Fox Hunter.β
Impressed by Jonasβ skills, Heydrich gives him his most difficult task yet: capture the elusive Black Fox One, the Black Foxesβ most deadly and mysterious operative. No Nazi who has pursued Black Fox One has returned alive, but Jonas is determined and confident. Capturing Black Fox One might bring him one step closer to finding Ava.
But while he is hunting Black Fox One, Jonas makes a shocking discovery, forcing him to make an agonizing decision. He must choose between his love for the Reich and his heart, torn between the lies he has been taught all his life and the new truth before him.
Black Fox One is a thrilling World War II story of lost love, bravery, and the hard road to redemption.
My thoughts:
A novel from the pov of Nazis. Though yes some do redeem themselves (other characters less so and they are in my eyes just evil) and you do get the Jewish pov too but certainly not a book I thought I’d be reading and enjoying, had me feeling uncomfortable in places but I think that showed how well the practices at the time had been researched.
The character arcs of Ava and Jonas were very interesting. Jonas’s especially as we see him change his whole belief system and how dangerous the propaganda and lies of Nazi Germany was for every day people.
I enjoyed Avaβs sparky personality and a few lines of hers had me chuckling. She’s definitely a fiesty one.
An emotional and powerful novella that I’ll be giving ππππ stars to.
About the author:
Elyse Hoffman is a best-selling author who strives to tell historical tales with new twists. Having studied WWII since the age of thirteen and with interests in fantasy and Jewish folklore, she loves to combine them in her writing.
Elyse started writing novels at fourteen and finished her first historical fiction work at fifteen. She studied English, History, and Law at George Mason University. In her spare time, she loves to read, work on pretty keyboards, and hang out with her co-authors – her Goldendoodle Ari and her ex-feral cat, Echo.
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A big thank you to Maverick Books and Louise Forshaw for my copy of the trilogy and a spot on this blog tour. Please check out my fellow bloggers.
Me and the children have really enjoyed these fun, spooky chapter books. They have been the perfect bedtime stories for the Halloween season.
Book 1 is “Don’t Eat the Soup”
Book 2 is “Don’t Feed the Glob”
Book 3 is “Don’t Open the Box”
The Blurb:
Join Seb, Victor and Tabby on their spooky adventures at Grim Falls Academy a school for monsters.
My thoughts:
Firstly I want to say how much I enjoyed Louise Forshaw’s illustrations. The attention to detail and little jokes are perfect. Especially the Name Game played by Seb (a werewolf) and Victor (a vampire) had me chuckling along with the children.
A sneaky peek at one of the scenes from Don’t Eat the Soup to show the amazing illustrations.
The books at just over 120 pages are a brilliant length for confident readers and the illustrations make it more inticing for more reluctant readers.
I loved the friendship between Seb, Victor and new girl Tabby ; learning about loyalty, how to be brave, handling your emotions and finding out who you. All very important lessons.
And I’m very excited to read the next installments. A πππππ from me.
About the Author
Louise Forshaw is an illustrator and now author from the North East of England. She lives just outside Newcastle upon Tyne with her fiancΓ© and 3 naughty Jack Russell Terriers.
Her childhood was spent drawing pictures and reading books. As an adult that hasn’t changed! After illustrating over 80 children’s books, she decided to have a go at writing one. The Grim Falls Academy series is her debut as an author-illustrator.
When not reading lot’s of books or being barked at by her dogs, she loves binge watching TV shows about the supernatural. Louise went to a human school and has never met a werewolf or a vampire (that she knows) but believes there is still time.
Louise is on Twitter as @Munkey_Pants