Monthly Archives: December 2017

Webley and the World Machine by Zachary Paul Chopchinski

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Title: Webley and the World Machine
Author: Zachary Paul Chopchinski
Genre: Steampunk
Cover Designer: Deranged Doctor Designs
Publisher: Books & Bow Ties Publishing
Editor: plot2published
Release Date: January 11th, 2018
Blurb: A world beneath our world.
An army of mechanical monsters.
A war to end all wars.
When Adalwolf Stein and Arija Rapp discover a mechanical world hidden deep within the earth, the result is life changing. Webley and the creators of The World Machine work to keep the Earth turning. But when Arija and Adalwolf discover a growing conflict that will destroy the Earth, they find themselves forced to fight.
Will they be able to stop the war in time or will they regret ever having set foot in The World Machine?
Zachary is a bow tie wearing, formal vest rocking, pocket watch using, sarcastic monster of a writer. Currently residing in Orlando, Florida, he spends his days working, writing and procrastinating.
Zach has multiple college degrees, in the fields of criminal justice and criminology…because he wanted to catch ALL the bad guys. Now, coupled with being an author of young adult fiction he spends his days yelling at people for breaking regulatory laws.
Zach is the author of the Gabrielle series, a young adult fantasy with a paranormal-historical-time traveling twist (try saying that five times fast)
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Bookish Ramblings Part 14 – A Bookish Birthday!

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Lots of fun in the Playground house this week.  We started off by putting up our Christmas Tree, I’m keeping a special spot open on it though as I have a Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4 coming my way soon!!

It’s also been my birthday, hooray!  I got lots of goodies to feed my obsessions, starting with 2 awesome additions to my burgeoning Funko collection.  My first is Leeloo Dallas with her Multipass, this one was so hard to find and had to come from the US in the end.  Leeloo is such a special character for us as we’ve named one of our cats after her, she is so cool!  The second is feeding my Twin Peaks fandom with Agent Dale Cooper and his trademark cup of coffee.  We really loved The Return series when it aired earlier this year.  The trouble with Funko’s is that one just leads to another and this has now led to me wanting a log lady too!

I also did well for books in that my children got me the box set of all the Mortal Instruments, these have been books that people have been asking me if I have read for ages, so it’s clear they are going to be right up my street! I also treated myself to the second part of the Six of Crows duology with Crooked Kingdom and I also decided to dip my toe in the Lunar Chronicles water with Cinder.  I have a lot of books to keep me occupied now and I have plenty to get going with when I restart my Goodreads challenge for next year.  Talking of which, I have just 2 more to go to reach my 75 target for this year! (I went through my list and added all the War and Pieces complete series editions – as they weren’t on there!!)

My final bookish buy was a fabulous Harry Potter Hogwarts satchel.  My usual handbag is tiny and I end up carrying around a tote as well to keep my book in, so now I can hopefully combine the two!  I have my fab book sleeve from last months Fairyloot box now so I can happily carry my paperbacks without fear! Speaking of fairyloot, I also have the December box as a birthday present, but that isn’t due to ship until the 15th!

It’s been a lovely week and I have been working on some new posts to bring you soon, focusing on my fave reads from this year and my most anticipated reads for next year.  I also apologise for my awful photography today, it’s late evening so everything is in shadow. I also still have no idea what i’m doing on Twitter though lol. 

If any of you have any Twitter tips, please let me know!!

Mended Cover Reveal with Emily Cyr

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Title: Mended
Author: Emily Cyr
Genre: Adult Fantasy, Fairy Retelling
Cover Designer: Najla Qamber Designs
Blurb: Marin has spent her life inexplicably feeling like a part of her very being was tattered. As a result, she has dedicated her life to restoring antique art and has become the best in her field.
However, a life of repairing broken paintings isn’t enough to fill the void within, and Marin finds herself on her first vacation ever. This was meant to be the trip where she could finally mend the part of herself that’s missing.
Hours after repairing an ancient tapestry at a quaint bed and breakfast, she grows incomprehensibly tired, and wakes up to realize she’s not in her room, with no memory of when or how she left. The strange night isn’t what worries Marin most, though – it’s the fact that she’s woken up as something far from human and has suddenly had her eyes opened to a world she couldn’t see before, one filled with witches, bear-shifters, and hunters.
Now, Marin must choose which life she wants. She can embrace her new self and finally feel whole, but will always be hunted by someone hell-bent on revenge. Or she can go back to the comfortable life she once knew, and be the downfall of an entire race. Only Marin can make the choice, before it’s too late.
Emily Cyr is a stay-at-home mom turned writer. She holds a degree in middle grades education with certification in English and social science. She has always had a love of all things paranormal and fantasy, but it wasn’t until Emily’s husband said the words, “Why not?” that she considered putting her thoughts and ideas into the book, The Lightning Prophecy. This trilogy was just the start for Emily. It seemed to open a creative door that had been locked.
Emily has always been an avid reader. Through reading came her love of writing. The more she read, the more she knew she wanted to create her own world. Many of her first works were fan fiction.
Emily and her family currently reside in Cibolo, Texas. She has an incredibly supportive husband who is also an officer in the United States Air Force. They have three sons, ages 6, 4, and 1. Somehow, even with the demands of being a parent to two little boys, she finds time to escape to her fantasies and write them down.
Author Links:
Instagram: emilycyrauthor
Once Upon a Twisted Time
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Twisted Truths Cover Reveal with Clare Davidson

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Title: Twisted Truths (Hidden Book 4)
Author: Clare Davidson
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Smudged Ink
Editor: Sarah Chorn
Cover Designer: Bramasta Aji
Blurb:
It’s time to take control. It’s time to make a stand.
Since discovering magic is real, Kim has been afraid. Now, she’s sick of reacting to the terrible things the Baneem keep doing to those she loves. With AJ back at her side, she’s determined to stop the Baneem harming humans ever again.
Guilt and grief are tearing AJ apart and Matthew is imprisoned in the golem that Kim created to save him. She needs to find a way to heal them both, so they can stand with her against the Baneem.
Clare Davidson is a self-motivated, character driven fantasy writer, mother, teacher and all-round creative whizz, from the UK. Clare was born in Northampton, but spent her early years living in Malaysia, before coming home and settling with her family in Leeds. After spending time at Lancaster University where she met her husband, Clare has now returned to Leeds with husband, daughter, new baby son, crazy puppy Rukia and Pirate the white cat in tow. In between being a full-time mother, wife and domestic goddess (in theory) and being plagued by various animals, Clare is the author of the fantasy book Trinity and more recently, the urban fantasy series Hidden. Her aim is to drag you into her fantasy worlds and never let you go. She’s evil that way!
Author Links:
Buy Links:
Reaper’s Rhythm: http://amzn.to/2BwLg3K
Broken Bargain: http://amzn.to/2AkUhPb
Shrouded Soul: http://amzn.to/2AEfMep

Bookish Ramblings Part 13 – a catch up!

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Hi all, so after all the excitement of receiving my Fairyloot box I realised that I haven’t posted an update for a while!  Things that have been happening are mainly me reading the books that I got in my box, I finished The Last Namsara on Friday and you can see my review here, I am now onto the ARC of Furyborn by Claire Legrand and I can see why it’s being tipped to be one of the hotly anticipated reads of 2018, I’m 200 pages in and I’ve barely scratched the surface, that it’s an epic fantasy there is no doubt.

I have decided to dabble back into the world of Twitter, I set an account up just for the blog but I only really used it for Thunderclap support, I’m going to make more of an effort with it as it’s all part of my plan for global domination with this blog lol. I’m also going to look to giving the blog background theme an update too as it’s just a bit plain for my liking now.  Because i’m more blog focused than I have ever been, I am trying to make more of an effort to use Netgalley however it seems that requesting a book has become very difficult and many books I have had to add to a wish list and hope for the best! Either way, I am more committed than ever to bringing you book reviews and relevant content 🙂

In book related news I am excited as I have just found out that Legendary, the follow up to Caraval by Stephanie Garber has a release date!  It’s due on the 29th May 2018 which is shaping up to be a busy month, what with the release of A Court of Frost and Starlight also scheduled for May.  I’m glad I’m reading Furyborn now as that also has a May release!  Either way, I think that May will be a good time to take a week off work to get some reading done!

My Fairyloot subscription has renewed and this is hopefully going to be an exciting box as I have 2 reading buddies lined up who are also receiving it!  I may just have to slow my reading down, which is ironic as I am currently 9 books behind on my Goodreads reading challenge – with 3 weeks to go, I think I’m going to have to admit defeat.

Have any of you set up a GR challenge for this year?  Will you meet your target or have you already smashed it??

Deranged Angels & Cannibal Hearts Cover Reveal with Martina McAtee

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Title: Deranged Angels & Cannibal Hearts
Author: Martina McAtee     
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Cover Designer: Molly Phipps at We Got You Covered Book Design

Blurb: Four months ago, Ember Lonergan made a decision that changed everything. She brought back a life, and it cost her a life in return. Only magic kept the pack from suffering the severe consequences of Ember’s rash decision. She thought the secret would stay buried forever. Josephine ensured them the spell would hold and the Grove would never know what they’d done.
But that was before Silas. Silas changed everything. He believes Ember is the only thing standing between him and the love he’s carried for over a century. He’s determined to take everything she loves away from her starting with her pack, and he has plenty of help. He’s got the original coven, he’s got Quinn, and he has a magic that rivals the gods.
The pack can only beat Silas by standing together, but that’s not as easy as it once was. People are keeping secrets, half the pack is crazy, and two of them are currently dead. Despite all of this, Ember still believes she can fix it, that she can save them all, she just needs more time. But just when she’s convinced she’s finally figured it all out, new players enter the game.
Martina McAtee is a USA Today Bestselling Author and the winner of the 2016 Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal for her first book, Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things. She lives in Jupiter, Florida with her teenage daughters, her best friend, two attack Chihuahuas, and two shady looking cats. By day she is a registered nurse, but by night she writes young adult books about reapers, zombies, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. She wrote her first story when she was five with an orange crayon on a legal pad she stole from her mom’s office. She’s been writing ever since.
Her influences include Christopher Pike, R.L. Stine, Joss Whedon, L.J. Smith, and even J.K. Rowling. Living in South Florida provides her with plenty of material for the weird worlds she writes about. When she isn’t working, teaching, or writing, she’s reading or watching shows involving reapers, zombies, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures.
Author Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/MartinaMcAtee1
Buy Links: Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things: http://amzn.to/1Z4L4NHDark Dreams and Dead Things: http://amzn.to/1Z4KVtH

Review of The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

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Where the Namsara brings life the Iskari brings death.  Asha is the Iskari, death bringer and dragon hunter. Cursed with a lifetime of knowing it was her fault that dragons had come to ransack her town when she was a child, she is feared and reviled.  It was her mother telling her the Old Stories of dragons that brought them, a balm to her nightmares with horrendous consequences.  Asha has dedicated her young life to slaying the dragons, although now with them dwindling in numbers she must take drastic action to ensure a successful hunt. Asha must tell the outlawed Old Stories again.


The last Namsara is very much a book of revelations for Asha.  The dragon attack when she was a child left her without a mother and also horrible scarred from the burns she suffered.  Having to not only live with the fact that she is hated she also has to deal with the stares associated with her disfigurement, the armour she wears is both necessary for her hunt and for her emotional wellbeing.  When her secret is out following an accident during a hunt, she is tended to by Torwin, her betrothed’s slave, who seemingly is willing to keep her secret, but at what cost to both of them?  


Through a series of cruel acts she finds herself visited by the first Namsara who starts her on a path that will not only unravel the truth about what happened the day of the dragon attack, but also a much deeper and long running deception. Asha must therefore right the wrongs.


I very much liked Asha as a character, I found that she was written with both strength and vulnerability, she has always been the Iskari and that has given her an opportunity to hide behind a persona.  She is however still a teenager and she has the same hopes and fears as everyone, but her hardened act is thankfully easy to scratch beyond the surface of.  The book was an easy flowing read and I particularly liked how the Old Stories were interwoven into the pages, completing parts of the story and acting almost like a running prologue.  It was a great way of explaining a complicated back story without being an info dump on the reader. I also found that there was a great deal of realism about the aftermaths of events, the fact that laws can’t be changed to suit the sovereign and that one persons change for the better will always be anothers change for the worse.  It didn’t shy away from the ugly side of things and that always gets good marks from me.

That being said, I found the Last Namsara lacked a certain spark.  I enjoyed reading it very much don’t get me wrong,  but it didn’t have my pulse racing and I found it easy to put down of an evening.  I would still recommend this to anyone who is a fan of dragons and kick ass female protagonists as it really does have a lot to like.