#TuesdayBookBlog #Bookreview Poison Study by Maria V Snyder #YAFantasy

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Poison Study is a brilliant, compelling read. Here’s the blurb…

Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…

My Review

This was my book groups choice and I am so, so happy they chose it!

It is such a compelling book. I took it on holiday and I just couldn’t stop reading it. The beauty of reading an old paperback copy is that you can take it everywhere with you and sneak in a few pages when no one is looking! I had some very late nights with this book as well, and it’s one of those that if you had the next book handy, there’s no way you could resist picking it up and diving straight into the next adventure. I have now brought the next two books – Magic Study and Fire Study and I’m itching to find the time to read them. I have another holiday coming up so I might have to sneak them in the suitcase.

Why I loved this YA Fantasy.

In one word – Yelena. She is a brilliant character to follow and I liked her instantly. The first person viewpoint helps you build a bond with her and her story. At the start she is in prison for a murder that she never denies committing, but you have no idea of the details surrounding it. That’s just a small part of the intrigue that keeps you reading. On the day of her planned execution she is given the chance to escape death by becoming the Commander’s food taster. Of course she accepts but quickly realises this isn’t to be an easy life. Her master, Valek, turns out to be a harsh and sometime cruel master – but he really grows on you. Both Valek and Yelena are my favourite characters and I can’t wait to see what happens in book 2.

I loved the little details in this book, in particular the lessons on poison tasting. I’m informed this is all well researched and that really comes across. I would have liked more focus on this aspect in the plot, just because I love herbs, potions and assassins, but it was still a highly addictive read. Every chapter forced you to read the next. It is a masterclass for authors on how to craft a pager-turner.

There are some darker elements to the story that as adults you will pick up on, but I hope younger YA readers just take what’s on the page and not think too deeply about what’s happened. I am looking forward to my (nearly) 14-year-old son reading these books and I think in a couple of years my daughter will love them too. It is certainly a book I wish I had discovered in my teens, and I don’t say that about many books.

Highly recommended – 5 very big fat stars from me!

Have you read it?

Here’s the Goodreads link if my review has enticed you to find out more. With almost 120K ratings, 10k reviews and an overall star rating of 4.15, you can see this books has been loved by many people!

Book sale! The Lost Sentinel and The Sentinel’s Reign only 99p #fantasy

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

For a limited time in October the Silent Sea Chronicles will be just 99p / 99c. This is a worldwide sale, so please share the news with everyone you know!

The magical island of Kalaya is dying, along with its Sentinel.

The Sentinel’s reign is doomed to failure unless Tei can prevent the Kalayan people from plunging into war.

You can also check the book series page on Goodreads and add them to your bookshelf. I’ll leave you with a few quotes…

Brizzlelass – Epic fantasy at its best.

Pooled Ink Reviews – If you’re a fantasy loving fan seeking a tale filled with adventure and magic then you should really give this series a try.

Jennifer – A line from a book – Yummy is the word that comes to mind when I think about this book. As the second book in the series, my favorite characters are back, Callisa, Tei, Brogan and Mara … I loved revisiting Kalaya and as in previous books the descriptions of the world and of the magic it contains are beautiful.

Susan Hampson – Books from Dusk till Dawn – A super paced story, plenty going off and an ending that makes me hungry for the last installment. This is a cracking epic saga.

Sofii – A Book. A Thought. – I love the writing style, I love when the authors manage to tell a story that seems so complex in a very simple way, I think it’s something unique and it has that power to keep you wanting for more. It’s also very quick to read!
I think that if you like books with multiple characters and you like to follow the story of each one as if you were there with them, you have to give this trilogy a chance.

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WWW Wednesday 26th September #amreading #fantasy

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

It’s Wednesday, so it’s time to take part in the weekly meme by Samantha over on World of Words. To take part in www Wednesday just answer these 3 questions;

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Then link back to Samantha’s post and visit the other sites also taking part.

What are you currently reading?

The Game Bird by Aidan R Walsh

This is a book I picked up because the cover really grabbed me and it’s part of the SPFBO 2018, which I am also entered into. I’m enjoying it so far. I’m only about 10% in but I’m intrigued to find out where it’s going.

The Gilded Cage by Vic (Audiobook)

I’ve heard a lot about this book so thought I’d give it a go. It’s also an audio experiment for me as I wanted to listen to a few fantasy books and see how they compare to reading fantasy. I am hoping to have one of my own books produced as an audio – more details to follow.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Exercise of Vital Powers by Ian Gregorie

Very good read. See my review here.

The Copper Gauntlet (Magisterium bk 2) by Holly Webb and Cassandra Clare

Another really good read. It’s a mid-grade fantasy that can entertain any age.

At last, I finished My Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry

This is probably an audiobook record for me – I’ve been listening to it for over 2 months! It was such a slow book. Well written and it picked up towards the end, but I think it could have been a lot shorter.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I have so many books I want to read that I just don’t know where to start. I really want to support my fellow SPFBO indie authors, so perhaps I will go for one of these;

#Tuesdaybookblog #bookreview The Exercise of Vital Powers Ian Gregoire @lonelyboy1977 #selfpubfantasymonth #fantasy

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Here’s my short review of The Exercise of Vital Powers by Ian Gregoire. But first the all important blurb;

Some Lessons Must Be Learned The Hard Way

Since its inception, The Order has been dedicated to the prevention of the misuse and abuse of magic. For seven decades this mandate has guaranteed peace and stability throughout The Nine Kingdoms. But a potential threat to the peace has emerged, and its source is much closer to home than the leadership of The Order may realise.

Arrogant, manipulative, confrontational and angry. Undesirable qualities in a person at the best of times, but more so in a young woman born with the power to bring kingdoms to their knees. Kayden Jayta, precocious apprentice of The Order, is all these things and more, yet wholly unwilling to acknowledge and rectify her many troubling traits.

Unbeknown to anyone, Kayden’s resolute determination to join the ranks of The Order is born of a secret that puts her priorities at odds with the precepts of the organisation, setting her inexorably on a collision course with the most powerful institution in The Nine Kingdoms.

If Kayden is to be dissuaded from walking the path she has chosen, averting tragic consequences in the process, two unanswered questions must be answered: What is the dark secret guiding Kayden’s actions? And, why has a legendary figure within The Order, with a secret of her own, taken undue interest in Kayden’s future?

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The Exercise of Vital Powers was entered into SPFBO in 2017 and was a semi finalist in it’s group, which is a very big deal in my opinion. Having followed the author for a while (and appearing on his blog last year) I know he made the brave decision to unpublish the book in order to re-edit it and source a professional cover.

It was re-released in July 2018 and I was quick to snap up a copy. If the cover is anything to go by, I’d say Mr Gregoire made the right choice. I adore this cover and having just finished the book I feel it depicts the main character, Kayden, perfectly.

I enjoyed this novel very much. It takes place over a few days in Kayden’s life when so many things change and she learns much about herself. The Order and the magic system are well thought out, and the world brought to life with descriptive writing. I really liked Kayden’s mentors Fay and Ari, and Kayden is pretty cool once you get past her arrogant front. At points I just couldn’t stop reading and stayed up way past bedtime because I had to know what happened next.

I felt there was a little too much information at times, which slowed the story down. However, there was a lot of historical battles and background to get across, and you need these slower passages to understand the current situation in the Nine Kingdoms. I think it also sets up possible ideas of the troubles to come in future books.

I can’t believe the author managed to fit so much in over so little time. I feel this is the start of a great adventure and I am very much looking forward to the second instalment of what I believe will be a 5 part series.

I give this book 4 stars and recommend to those who love detailed world building and love being transported into magical worlds.

Why not check it out for yourself on Goodreads.

SPFBO #Fantasy books to add to your TBR. Free to read with #KindleUnlimited

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Many people in the self publishing world will be aware of the annual ‘Self Published Fantasy Blog Off’ competition set up by Mark Lawrence. 300 hundred books are whittled down to just 1 winner.

A great community has sprung up around this competition. Part of that has been authors coming together to share news of their books, price promos and today I’m sharing the page set up to showcase some SPFBO authors, past and present, whose books are free to read with Kindle Unlimited.

J Elizabeth Vincent has kindly put this together, please take a look here.

Both of my books, Visions of Zarua (entered 2016) and The Lost Sentinel (current entry), are on the list.

Talking of The Lost Sentinel I just found out at the weekend that Lynn, the judge with my book in her group of 30 books has picked The Lost Sentinel as one of her second batch reads this month! That means in a few weeks time I will hopefully know if The Lost Sentinel is still in the running. Check out Lynn’s post about her latest choices over on Lynns book blog.

I have everything crossed, but the competition is very strong. I know I would make a useless judge, but thankfully I only have to read for the pleasure of it and don’t have to pick any winners.

I have purchased a number of titles thanks to this competition. Here is a link to my post about the books I’ve bought and why.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to be back tomorrow with my first book review in a while.

WWW Wednesday 12th Sept #amreading #fantasy #thriller

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

I haven’t posted anything for a while as I’m trying to finish the draft of my latest book. I have however been reading and am joining in the weekly meme WWW Wednesday to share some of those reads with you. Anyone can take part, just answer the questions below and link back to Taking on a World of Words.

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

The Exercise of Vital Powers by Ian Gregoire. I am about 80% through this book and am really enjoying it. It feels like there is a much bigger story to tell, so I’m really looking forward to the sequel already.

I’m also reading The Copper Gauntlet – book 2 in the Magisterium series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. It’s a mid-grade fantasy that can hook any reader of any age. I am enjoying the second instalment almost as much as I did the first book.

What did you recently finish reading?

Over the summer I reading Poison Study for my book group and wow, I loved it. A totally gripping YA fantasy that I wish I’d read when I was a teen. I can’t wait for my children to read the book and I can’t wait to continue with this brilliant series. A full review of the book will follow soon.

I’ve also finally treated myself to reading Rhyming Rings. It is the second to last of David Gemmell’s books that I haven’t read before, so I was excited and nervous to start it. Thankfully I loved it! A review of this will also follow soon.

I am still listening to My Husband’s Wife. It is very slow going. I do want to find out what happens, but I am not compelled to finish it. I think I heard somewhere there will be a TV adaptation of it, so I will finish it to find out why it has been picked more than anything.

What do you think you will read next?

It is Self Published Fantasy Month so I want to continue reading some indie fantasy books. I have a good selection to choose from – see my post here explaining the books I picked up during the SPFBO 2018 book sale in August and why I chose them.

One I have fancy because of the excellent cover is The Game Bird by Aidan R Walsh, so I think this will be my first pick.

I also want to read the How to book – Writing Young Adult Fiction, written by a very successful agent Juliet Mushens. I’m hoping this will give me an insight into the differences of writing YA and Adult fantasy.

I’ve also been lucky enough to win two books over the last two months, so these will be going up high on my TBR list.

Thanks to Dan on Dan’s Book Blog (the site seems to be down at the moment so I can’t add a link) for my copy of Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft – a former SPFBO entrant.

And thank you to Liz at Liz Loves Books for this wonderful signed first edition hardback book of the debut fantasy City of Lies by Sam Hawke. The book looks and sounds amazing! I think this will be a treasured book to take my time over.

That’s about it from me today. Happy reading everyone and don’t forget to visit others taking part today.

#Tuesdaybookblog mini #bookreviews of my favourite #fantasy books in Rainne’s Five on Friday feature

Posted on September 4, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

During my blogging break I shared some mini book reviews of my favourite fantasy books over on Rainne’s Rambles. Please pop over to take a look at the Five on Friday feature and see what books inspired my love of all thing fantasy.

Rainne's Ramblings

5onFriday

Five Books – Five Authors – One Reviewer

Looking for a new fantasy to read this weekend?
Try one of these books, reviewed by Suzanne Rogerson

I finally have space to bring back my Five on Friday feature and I’m kicking off with a guest reviewer:

Suzanne Rogerson is a self-published author of epic and heroic fantasy, who loves reading books almost as much as she love writing them.

“When Rainne asked if I would like to take part in her Five on Friday, I was excited to have a go and share some book love. But after many false starts, I just couldn’t work out which books to showcase. It’s so difficult to pick just five. In the end, I’ve opted for five fantasy books I’ve loved but never reviewed on my blog. Here they are…”

Title: Dream-weaver
Author: Jonathan Wylie

2030986 As civil war threatens the land of Ahrenia…

View original post 1,578 more words

#mondayblog Meet An Indie Author Monday (MAIAM) with Special Guest #indieauthor Suzanne Rogerson #fantasy

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Posted on September 3, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Today I’ve taken a break from writing to share my indie author interview over on Booksbyilcruz. Please stop by and check out this new feature.

via Meet An Indie Author Monday (MAIAM) with Special Guest Suzanne Rogerson

My thoughts on #SPFBO promo sale and my purchases of #indieauthors #fantasy books #tbr

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

The 5 day book promo is over and I couldn’t resist picking up some books at the bargain price whilst also helping to support my fellow indie authors.

I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to read them as I’ve already set myself a reading challenge for the summer, see the post here, but I will read them all and review them when I can.

There will be lots of reviews going up for the 300 books in this year’s SPFBO. You can keep in touch with these by searching #SPFBO on twitter and facebook, and by checking Mark Lawrence’s dedicated SPFBO page where he shares links to the judges reviews, relevant blog posts and has a counter that shows how many books are left in the competition.

I thought it would be fun to share the books that caught my eye during the sale and to say why I bought them. And of course it doesn’t hurt to give these authors a little extra exposure. So here is my list.

Starting with those already purchased

Magic Price – C.L Schneider reviewed here. A 5 star read, I loved the cover the premise and when I read it, I loved the story too!

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Melokai – Rosalyn Kelly

I was interested in this one having followed some of Rosalyn’s blog posts and then reading the prequel The Sand Scuttler which I reviewed here.

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The Exercise of Vital Power – Ian Gregorie (last year’s entry in SPFBO)

I love the revised cover of Ian’s book and was quick to buy it when it went on pre-order.

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New purchases

The Game Bird – Aidan R Walsh

I loved the cover and just had to buy it! Plus it has ships and sea monsters. Who can resist?

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A Wizard’s Forge – A.M Justice

The cover was a semi finalist in my group’s cover competition, and I can see why! From the blurb I think I’m going to enjoy this book. Plus it has some very positive reviews.

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Symphony of the Wind – Steven McKinnon

The cover is a draw for me and I was also impressed by the blurb. I don’t come across many books set in the desert and I haven’t read much steampunk so I’ll look forward to trying this one out.

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We Ride the Storm – Devin Madson

My son spotted this one on the list and said the cover looked really good. I had seen a few reviews on goodreads and thought why not try it out and see what I think.

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Crossfire – Andrea Domanski

Andrea did a lot of hard work setting up the giveaway so of course I was going to support her by buying her book. But the book cover and the blurb also did a good job of selling the book to me. I haven’t read much in the way of Urban fantasy, so this sounds like a great place to see what I think of the genre.

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The Blighted City – Scott Kaelen

I like covers with cities and the blurb sounds intriguing. I’ve also seen reviews for this book and knew I wanted to read it.

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High Barrens – Alice Sabo

This one is in my group of 30. I like the cover and the blurb so I thought why not see what its about. I’m intrigued to find out about Flint and how she can see into souls. This sounds like just my sort of story.

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Fire’s Song – J.E. Mueller

I loved the cover but wasn’t so taken with the blurb at first. But when I checked the book again another day, because I still just loved the cover, I thought actually this sounds pretty good.

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The Shadows Are Stirring – Hannah Sullivan

A one for younger readers, this really caught my attention. I love the idea of talking horses. And the cover is brilliant.

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Kingshold – D.P. Woolliscroft

I like the cover and the blurb, and have seen some good reviews knocking around. So this was an easy purchase.

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Liath Luachra: The Swallowed – Brian O’Sullivan

It sounded like something a bit different and I like the idea of Druids and spectral forests, so I’m hoping to enjoy this one. It does say book 2, but also that it can standalone, so I’ll have to see how that goes.

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Blade and Rose – Miranda Honfleur

I was drawn in by the premise of this book, and I was interested to read a fantasy with more romance at its heart.

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There were so many books that I would like to have bought, but alas I don’t have the money to buy them all. I look forward to reading the above books and reviewing them in the future. I wish everyone in the competition luck and look forward to seeing the judges reviews as they come in.

My thoughts on the SPFBO sale…

The Lost Sentinel didn’t fair as well as I’d hoped throughout the sale, but looking at the competition I can understand why. When faced with so many books, a reader must really be dragged in by the cover, the tag line and the blurb – I know as I looked at most of the books on the list and I probably wouldn’t have bought The Lost Sentinel either. I had to be so selective as my budget is non-existent, and I’m sure this will have been the same for many of those checking through the books for new reads.

Although I still love my cover and won’t consider changing it yet, when I saw it against the others I knew it didn’t have the same instant appeal.

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Book 2 would have stood out better and someone did purchase it during the sale, so that was an added bonus!

The Sentinel's Reign book cover

I’ve been trying to improve the blurb of The Lost Sentinel, and it’s something I want to keep working on. My experience of looking through the list of books showed how a long winded blurb can put off a potential reader rather than entice them to click Buy Now.

So in all I didn’t gain that many sales, but I did gain extra insight into the competition my book is up against for a reader’s attention, and I’ve realised my blurb is in need of work. This experience has also led me to make a decision that I will stop obsessing over the sales and reviews for now and instead focus on book 3. Once the series is complete I can work on my sales tactics, but if I carry on as I am book 3 will never be finished!

Another quick thank you to Andrea Domanski for hosting the sales page and for her tips regarding my blurb.

And thank you to those who purchased The Lost Sentinel, I appreciate every sale.

And finally this is a cheeky reminder that The Lost Sentinel is still only 99p / 99c until the 8th August. I have also reduced the price in Canada (if it has worked) as that is where my Ad with EbookSoda is posted today. Check out the EbookSoda website if you want to place an ad for your future book sales and kindle countdown deals.

Thanks for reading, and good luck to everyone in the SPFBO 4 competition.

#SPFBO promo sale finishes today 120 #fantasy books for 99p / 99c

Posted on August 4, 2018 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

I’ve spent a lovely weekend away visiting Cheddar Gorge and then onto the seaside with my family, but have got back just in time to remind you that many of the SPFBO promo sales end tonight. If you click on this link, you’ll see a list of over 120 fantasy books for just 99p / 99c.

The Lost Sentinel is amongst the above mentioned books, though the kindle countdown deal ends 7th August.

I’ve enjoyed looking through the list and adding to my tbr pile. Why not take a look and stock up on some summer reading and help out a few indie authors at the same time?