Pawn’s Gambit by Rob J. Hayes

Some days I need to be careful where I check my email, because occasionally I get an email that causes me to emit a shrieking “hell yeah” followed by a fist pump in the air, a silly grin and a little dance. That is exactly what occurred the day I opened my email and discovered an arc of Pawn’s Gambit sitting there waiting for me. It was the ultimate early Christmas present. 

Pawn’s Gambit is book 2 in the Mortal Techniques series and while it is definitely an advantage to have read book 1, Never Die, they aren’t tied together so they can be read separately. Although I will say you would be doing yourself a massive disservice as there are little nods to book one throughout and its an absolute treat.

Stacking The Shelves: Self-Published Edition

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 thought I would focus on some of the amazing self-published fantasy that has made its way onto my kindle recently.

Snowed In by Navessa Allen

When Ben walks into Ella’s life she turns on the charm and tries to bring him out of his shell. But Ben isn’t just an ordinary guy, he is a man who had his world turned upside down when his brother died suddenly from a brain injury. Ben has left his football career and is now an advocate, with many secrets. He has retreated to this corner of Maine to take some time for himself and the last thing he expected was to meet someone like Ella. A woman who faces life with humour, who is passionate and loves dogs a crazy amount. Just as the walls are coming down, life throws them both a curveball that they may not be able to make it past.

Wyrd and Wonder – TBR

How did I forget about this? I should hand my fantasy lover card back. A whole month dedicated to fantasy and I’m not prepared. Ok I can do this… I can rave about fantasy for a whole month.

A big thanks to Imyrl, Lisa and Jorie for hosting. You can find all the info HERE.

This month I’m hoping to catch up on some arcs as I got approved for more than expected. I may have picked up a whole heap of fantasy lately and I’ve got more coming, so I’ll show those off in the coming days and fingers crossed I will get a couple of reviews up. I’m way behind.

February Fun Times

Here we are, the kids go back to school this week, work has quietened down after the Christmas craziness and I have to do adult things like get my car serviced and all the after school activities are back on. I love having my kids home but little Sir spent more time playing Fortnite than he should have and as much as the family did lots of awesome things, I didn’t get to participate in all of it. I did get to see Dolittle today which I thought was brilliant. I laughed louder and more than anyone else in the cinema.

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My reading plans

Mini Review Series #1

Recently I’ve been in an almighty reading slump and as a result a reviewing slump. I haven’t even attempted a review in over six weeks. I have such a backlog of books that I loved and wanted to review that I think the only way to get through them is mini reviews. Using this method I’m hoping to clear out the backlog by the end of the year, which will help me alleviate the guilt I’m carrying about it.
To clarify, just because I haven’t given a book an in-depth review, it doesn’t mean I didn’t love it. It’s purely a reflection of my mental state combined with laziness. The memory fog has been real.

It Takes a Thief to Catch a Sunrise by Rob J. Hayes

Jacques Revou and Isabel de Rosier are at the height of their careers. Of course those careers are as professional charlatans, thieves without peer. With the completion of their final heist, they decide it’s time to retire and settle down. But they have not escaped unnoticed.
The king’s spymaster, Renard Daron, has a job for the thieves, one only they can perform, and he does not take no for an answer. With the threat of destitution and death hanging over their heads, Jaques and Isabel must take on their greatest roles yet, the Baron and Baroness Bonvillain.
Can they ferret out the treasonous elements within the government? Can they escape the clutches of the nefarious Seigneur Daron? Can they regain the fortune so unfairly taken from them?
And, can they finally complete their one last job?

– From Amazon

Jacques and Isabel are fantastic characters. Their devotion to each other is a joy to read, they know each other so well that half the time it feels like we are intruding on their personal jokes. They are completely in tune with one another and it’s so nice to have this pure relationship (I use that term loosely, they are thieves after all) against a backdrop of blackmail, scandal and political intrigue. They have each others back and love each other deeply. They are talented in the art of deceiving those around them and can play just about any role. Jacques is the more playful of the two, he enjoys stealing for the sake of it. It’s not just about getting rich, it’s about planning the job and figuring out how to get around all of the barriers in their way. Isabel is the true actor, she is mesmerising.

“Politics is like a fist fight only without the rules and good etiquette.”

I enjoyed the setting. The world was going through a time of change, while those on the outer fringes still used lanterns, in the city electric lights were in fashion. It had a steampunk vibe with airships and automatons. It takes a thief to catch a sunrise is an absolute pleasure to read. It is full of adventure, intrigue and thieving. It’s fast paced and will surprise you through out. I was absolutely convinced that I knew what was happening and how it would, I was 100% wrong.

Also Shawn King did the cover design for this, and if  I’m not mistaken a lot of Rob’s other books, and as always he absolutely nailed it.

You can get your own copy from  –  AMAZON

Title – It Takes a Thief to Catch a Sunrise

Author – Rob J. Hayes
Released – March 2015
Published – Self-published

Top 5 Wednesday

 Of course when I decide I’m going to join a start posting Top 5 Wednesdays on occasion, I pick the time it goes on hiatus for the summer (June, July, August). While there may be no new prompts, it means I get to explore some of the ones I have missed. For all the info you need to join, checkout the Goodreads group HERE.

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.

Shards – A Story of The Realm by Ben Galley

HELL YES

I loved The Heart Of Stone, it’s a heart-wrenching book that just punches you in the face with brutality and feels, plus world building and characters that suck you right in. The hardest part about finishing THOS was the devastation of leaving Lesky and Task. I’m pretty sure in my review, which you can find HERE, I said that I hoped at some point Galley would write more in this world. There was such a treasure trove of characters and history that he could have gone forward or backwards in time and come up with something brilliant.
Well it turns out he already had, I just hadn’t found it yet.

Touch Of Iron by Timandra Whitecastle

‘She grinned in the dark and clutched her knife. The knife was always there. Touch of iron. Touch of home.’

I read a lot of fantasy. A LOT of fantasy. I like my fantasy dark. Give me a bleak world, give me a broken down government, give me heroes who are total badasses, who have a little psychopath in them. I like the morally grey. It takes a lot to shock me. Well Touch of Iron shocked the shit out of me. I had to put the book down and take a breather. It is violent, it’s bleak, it’s brutal. It’s fucking wonderful.