Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

I enjoyed Trail of lightning and when I saw all the hype around Black Sun I purposely stayed away from reviews to avoid spoiling it for myself. I went in blind so to speak.

BEST DESCISION EVER

What an absolute delight. Reading Black Sun is an absolute experience. It has popped straight to the list of books I wish I could read again for the very first time.

The characters, the lore, the way the multiple pov’s weave in around each other. Each and every aspect of Black Sun is a masterclass on how to do epic fantasy.

Synopsis –

A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun

Stacking The Shelves

A weekly post where I can brag about my new books? Yes please. Granted I definitely won’t have something to post every week, I’ll just do it as required. I will be including everything from my purchases, to NetGalley, gifts and books from authors. For more information head over to Tynga’s reviews.

I finished The Night Prince series. And if you have read any of my stacking the shelves updates you would know I was on a buying ban and couldn’t buy any new physical books until I had finished the series. I was so excited, I knew which book or five I wanted. There have been some amazing new releases out already this year, I wanted them all. I wanted all the pretty new books for my shelves. So you can imagine my utter despair when I discovered that I couldn’t get any of the books I wanted in paperback. I’m a tight ass, I don’t pay hardback price. DEVASTATED. First world problems I know. I decided to get a different book (great decision) and get the kindle version (I’ll get it in paperback later), and that led me to the other horror book I found.

Ebooks:

The Gulp by Alan Baxter – I may have a slight obsession with Alan Baxter’s books. This one was an absolute winner and my review can be found HERE.

We Are Wolves: A Horror Anthology by some incredibly talented authors and edited by Gemma Amor, Laurel Hightower and Cynthia Paleyo – This is one that I wasn’t searching for, it found me and boy am I glad. Feminist dark fantasy and horror. From the forward to the very last page, I was completely enamoured.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse – I’ve had my eye on this since it was first released. I don’t know what the deal is at the moment, but I couldn’t get this in paperback either.

From blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout – There is so much hype around this one. I’m hoping for dark and sexy fantasy.

That’s it from me this week. Have you read any of these? Do you have a favourite?

WWW Wednesday

Today I have a super simple post to let the world know what I’m reading. Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, you answer 3 questions and hey presto, you are all done.

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently reading –

We Are Wolves: A Horror Anthology – Including authors like Gemma Amor, Jessica Guess, Sadie Hartmann and many more, this book isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s powerful, emotional, empowering and dark.

Throwback Thursday

Every Thursday I’m going to focus on a book that I’ve read and enjoyed, but for whatever reason I haven’t written a review for it. I would say I only review a third or so of what I read, so I’m glad I’ve finally organised a place to rave about the books I missed and maybe twist someone’s arm into finding their next favourite book.

The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker by Lauren James

Amari and The Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

This past month has been a time of silence on the review front which means I missed my slot on this blog tour, ran by Dave from Write Reads Tours. My lack of review is not a negative reflection of this book, in fact it’s the opposite.. I wanted to write this review when I had some time to put it together, not while rushing around trying to do 100 things. I wanted to attempt to give this book the review it deserves.

Girl on Fire by Gemma Amor

I first came across Girl on Fire when someone was talking about the author on Twitter. I can’t remember who, but if it was you, thank you. The cover stole my attention and the synopsis made sure I pre-ordered it. 

What an absolute ride. It starts as it intends to finish; brutal, powerful and jarring. Girl on Fire gripped me tight and pulled me along. I had no choice, I had to keep turning the pages. It is intense and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“Ruby stood, fire flowing from her like water, her face set and stony, her head cocked to one side. I realised that she was not new to killing, she had done it before, and would do it again. I knew what I was looking at: anger, fresh and unfettered, and I knew there was an endless well of it inside of her, I just knew.”

Ruby is an intense character. She is pure rage and considering her experiences you can see why. Raped by her Daddy, believed by no one, what is left for her to do but escape. Only she crashes her car and is burnt up in the inferno. When the flames die down she is reborn, ready to take out the trash.

I can’t emphasize enough just how perfect the writing style is for this book. The sentences bring Ruby, her pain and her anger, to life. They pack a punch, they have purpose and deliver the story in style.

I’m actually not sure how to review this one, it’s such a powerful, emotional read. I want to do it justice, do Ruby justice. Ruby isn’t a character you will love, she is a broken monster, but I empathise with her and how she got to the point where her only option is to set fire to the world. And that’s exactly what she does, she harnesses her anger, her rage, her hate and she lets loose on the world that failed her.

Gemma Amor is an author that isn’t afraid to take the story where it needs to go, and I will be hunting down her books and diving into the stories within.

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Goodreads  –  Amazon

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Kickass books I haven’t reviewed…

I don’t review every book I read, I would be so burnt out if I tried. Sometimes if a book is outside of my comfort zone and very good, I don’t feel qualified to review it. Like nothing I say would be good enough. When I love a book and can’t pull a review together I sometimes talk about it on Twitter a couple of times and move on. But it’s time to change that. It’s time to highlight kickass books that for whatever reason I haven’t reviewed.

Author recommendation – Alan Baxter

I’m pretty much the worst reviewer ever this year. I’m struggling to review everything I read and it has meant some truly brilliant books have slipped through the gaps. So I thought this would be a good way to alleviate my guilt while shoving my love of an author and his books straight into your eyeballs.

Alan Baxter is an English/Australian author, who writes dark, gritty, often brutal urban fantasy and horror, so I figured October would be the perfect time to showcase some of his work.

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I want all the books

I was placing an order on Amazon the other night and after a solid hour of wishful thinking book stalking, I was led to a kindle unlimited ad. I’ve avoided kindle unlimited so far because I didn’t think it would be worth the cost, but it was a two month free trial. How could I actually pass that by… It would be crazy of me not to use this opportunity to see what it has to offer.

Apparently my ever growing piles of books and backlog of NetGalley arcs weren’t enough to make me pause, I dove in with a level of excitement I usually reserve for cake and cats.

WWW Wednesday

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, you answer 3 questions and hey presto, you are all done.

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

I'm taking part in the Olympic Games Readathon this month so I have paused a book and am starting fresh. 

Currently reading –

The Book Of Koli by M.R Carey