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Bells on Her Toes by Diana J. Febry – Review
Title – Bells on Her Toes
Author – Diana J. Febry
Genre – Mystery
Length – 294 pages (Kindle)
Publication – 1st Sept 2014
My Rating – 5/5
Synopsis
DCI Peter Hatherall is called in to investigate a shooting on the Earl of Ditchburn’s country estate. The Earl’s activities have angered animal rights and environmental groups but subsequent deaths suggest Elmsgrove Racehorse Yard is the target. There is more at stake than a horse race and time is running out for Hatherall to solve the case before the culprit kills again.
Review
I was kindly gifted a copy of the book for review. Mysteries aren’t my usual genre so I wasn’t sure what to expect but the story was great. It has twists and turns that make you doubt your own theories and the author kept me engaged throughout the book
The story starts with a body being found in a barn fire. DCI Hatherall and DI Williams are assigned the case.
They have to put a lot of pieces together to solve this mystery and the pressure is amplified when another body turns up.
Now with the genre in question it would be quite hard to talk about the plot without spoiling it so I’d like to concentrate on a few things that stood out about the book instead
The characters, the plot and the setting come together to make a very good rural detective mystery and the development of the characters was plentiful but also subtle.
When I finished the book I couldn’t help feel that the author must have spent quite a while working on the plot in order to make the discoveries/clues/twists happen at the most appropriate time.
The other thing I liked was the relationships within the book. It made the story a bit more believable for me.. I like characters and events that aren’t perfect.. life just isn’t like that.
I really would love to see DCI Hatherall and DI Williams return. I can imagine this being a very good series of detective books.
If I could say more about the story line without giving anything away I would but honestly I really enjoyed it. The twists near the end were prefect. Nothing felt out of place or rushed.
Again I’d like to point out this is not my usual genre what so ever… I’ve definitely got the taste for mysteries now.
I’ll be adding Diana to my author alerts so I don’t miss any new books and I’m already looking into her back catalogue of books looking for my next book to review
I’m trying to think if I would change anything about this book.. and I can’t think of anything that I didn’t enjoy or that I didn’t think worked. I guess my only real comment to the author would be to please write more..
To see more reviews head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Author Spotlight – Robert Southworth
Robert Southworth is the first author on my new “Author Spotlight” blog feature
Rob has released four books so far which are all historical works of fiction, three focus on one of my all-time favourite subjects Spartacus.
Spartacus has always been someone I’ve been very interested in, the slave rebellion is a fascinating subject for me.
The three tales follow Spartacus after the rebellion has been crushed. Many say Spartacus died in the final battle but the body was never recovered. As an author Rob seized on this and has decided to write tales with idea that he survived.
To give you an idea what the first book is like below is a review from another great author Steven A. McKay –
This, Robert Southworth’s debut novel, is billed as an “alternative history” tale. That’s not really a genre I’ve read much of, other than the odd Philip K. Dick or Harry Turtledove novel. However, Spartacus, Talons of an Empire can quite easily be read as a “straight” historical novel so don’t be put off by the “alternative” tag. The idea here is that Spartacus survived his famous rebellion, and is then put to bloody work for the hateful Roman overlords in return for his freedom. It’s a fine premise to base a story on, but to be honest, you can imagine the protagonist as any gladiator and it’ll make no difference to your enjoyment of what is a fine book. What we have is a group of men – almost a “Dirty Dozen” of the Roman-era – taking on a dangerous mission through hostile lands and, ultimately, fighting to the brutal end in the arena. The author sets the scenes well, drawing vivid pictures of each place in the reader’s mind so it’s easy to become drawn into the action as if we were right there. The characters are fairly varied and there are some poignant, gentler moments scattered throughout which serve as an interesting and welcome diversion from the brutal action and let us see the human side of these hard fighting men. There were a few places, though, where I felt the action jumped a little too quickly – it might have been nice for certain scenes to have lasted a bit longer, building the tension before cutting to another part of the story – but in general the pacing is very good. I also struggled somewhat with a couple of characters’ (Cassian and Spartacus) reactions – both at the time and subsequently – to certain deaths. I can’t go into more detail or it would spoil the plot a bit, but I thought, if it had been me witnessing those events I would have felt rather different to Cassian or Spartacus. But that’s down to the individual’s outlook so can’t really be classed as a criticism, just an observation. I picked this up for under a pound on Amazon and I have to say it was well worth the admission price, and, with the next in the series, Spartacus, The Gods Demand Sacrifice just released, I would recommend you take a look at this fine new author.
Steven A. McKay, author of “Wolf’s Head”
I really can’t praise this series of books enough, Rob did something with Spartacus which felt new and fresh and he kept me wanting more and more.
Rob’s other work “Wrath of the Furies” is of a similar high quality and the big twist in the book grabbed me as a reader.. it was brilliant.
Click the picture below to head to Amazon.co.uk to read some reviews….
….. See it’s not just me who thinks these tales are top notch!
My advice today… buy one of his books… buy them all! Rob has a talent for storytelling and these tales deserve to be read.
Lastly, Rob seems like a very genuine and friendly person, get in touch and let him know what you like about his books
Want to connect with Rob? You can do so via Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads or his Amazon author page.
The Siege (Agent of Rome #1) by Nick Brown – Review
Title – The Siege (Agent of Rome #1)
Author – Nick Brown
Genre – Historical Fiction
Length – 390 Pages (Paperback)
Publication – 19th Jan 2012
My Rating – 5/5 Stars
Synopsis
270 AD. Rome has ruled Syria for more than three centuries but now the weakened empire faces a desperate threat. Queen Zenobia of Palmyra has turned her Roman-trained army against her former masters and the once invincible legions have been crushed. Arabia, Palestine, and Egypt have fallen and now Antioch, Syria’s capital, stands exposed. A young intelligence agent fresh from officer training, Cassius Corbulo is the only ranking Roman officer left in the line of the Palmyran advance. He must take command of the fort of Alauran, the last stronghold still in Roman hands, and hold it until reinforcements arrive. What Cassius finds at Alauran would daunt the most seasoned veteran, let alone a 19 year-old with no experience of war. A mere scattering of divided and demoralized legionaries remain, backed up by some fractious Syrian auxiliaries and a drunken Praetorian Guardsman. With the Palmyrans just days away, Cassius must somehow find the discipline, resourcefulness and courage to organize the garrison, save Alauran and secure Rome’s eastern frontier.
Review
I was kindly gifted a copy of the book for review and I can honestly say I’m so pleased I was!
First off.. just look at the artwork on the cover. Without even reading the outline of the story I was already interested in getting to grips with this one.
The book follows Cassius Corbulo. He’s a member of the imperial security service and thinks he will most likely spend his days sitting behind a desk not really getting his hands dirty.. How wrong he is.
Corbulo is the most senior officer out in the Syrian Desert with the rank equivalent to Centurion. His orders are to head to Alauran a strategic position due to the water and food supplies held within.
Immediately he faces trouble. Not only is he fresh from training and a very young man but he’s part of the ISS.. How on earth will he get these men to follow his orders… simple he doesn’t tell them 🙂
These men are a disorganised bunch since their last Centurion died some time ago and letting them know he actually isn’t a Centurion would just make things worse.
Quickly we are introduced to some characters you know will play a big part in the story. I never like to spoil a story so I’ll leave it for you to read but Corbulo has his work cut out for him getting this bunch of soldiers ready and able.
Corbulo knows relief is on its way but he knows the Palmyrans could turn up at any moment and he needs to get the men prepared.
Now the book focuses a lot on the relationships between the men under Corbulo, it really is the meat of the book for me and it was great. You see the men grow to appreciate the order brought by having Corbulo in charge while still seeing the men as individuals rather than mindless drones. While getting to grips with the men we also hear about the Praetorian Guardsman who doesn’t seem like he’ll be helping with the defence of Alauran anytime soon. If only they could sober him up! Corbulo needs every man to fight!
From here the action switches from Corbulo’s point of the view to the Palmyrans. This broke up the book nicely for me but kept me reading as I needed to find out what happened next..
The Palmyrans are now advancing on Alauran. We see them lead attack after attack against our heros. Both sides suffer loss.. I myself was left with my month left open wide with some of the losses.
There is a lengthy build up to the final battle and for me the ending didn’t disappoint. I had high hopes for the ending and It didn’t play out exactly as I thought but the characters involved were there and that was exactly what I wanted to see.
I wouldn’t change a single thing with this book in all honesty; it was a cracking read and has left me wanting more. As it happens my birthday is this month so I’ve hinted to the family I want at least the next two books in the series 🙂
Everything about the book just worked for me, it was well written and Nick kept me reading even when I needed to go to sleep. The story never got dull in my eyes when it so easily could have. The best thing about this book has to be the characters. I hard story to give a bit of depth but it certainly thought they were brilliant and i’m excited for more from Nick.
Nick has just released book 5 in the series so I have some catching up to do but I’m looking forward to it.
To find out more about this book head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Strategos – Born in the Borderlands (Strategos #1) by Gordon Doherty – Review
Title – Strategos – Born in the Borderlands (Strategos #1)
Author – Gordon Doherty
Genre – Historical Fiction
Length – 420 Pages (Kindle)
Publication – 12th December 2011
My Rating – 5/5 Stars
Synopsis
When the falcon has flown, the mountain lion will charge from the east, and all Byzantium will quake. Only one man can save the empire . . . the Haga!
1046 AD. The Byzantine Empire teeters on full-blown war with the Seljuk Sultanate. In the borderlands of Eastern Anatolia, a land riven with bloodshed and doubt, young Apion’s life is shattered in one swift and brutal Seljuk night raid. Only the benevolence of Mansur, a Seljuk farmer, offers him a second chance of happiness.
Yet a hunger for revenge burns in Apion’s soul, and he is drawn down a dark path that leads him right into the heart of a conflict that will echo through the ages.
Review
I’m a fan of Gordon already after reading the first three novels in his other series Legionary so I was very pleased when offered the chance to read the first book in the Strategos series.
This book is split into two parts first being Apion’s early life, we slowly find out how he became a slave and earned his scar which haunts him day after day. We see him rescued from this life by Mansur. We see him learn from Mansur and this gives the characters a lot of depth and you feel like a father yourself seeing Apion coming out of his shell forging friendships with Mansur’s daughter Maria and their neighbouring farmer’s son Nasir. The author definitely put a lot of time into the development of the storyline and it pays off.
You can tell straight away Mansur being a Seljuk living in the lands of the empire won’t go down well with some people and you are introduced to the character Bracchus who I took and instant dislike to with his threats. I could tell there was something behind this character as soon as you were introduced to him but I had no idea things would play out the way they did.
The second part of the book focuses on Apion’s life after he joins the armies of the Empire to fight in the inevitable war with the Seljuk. We see him fight against his own body in order to prove himself. After sometime we see Apion become the man he wanted to be, not the runt he felt as a young boy.
Apion progresses through the ranks of the army forming friendships with Nepos, Procopius, Sha & Blastares. All of these characters are unique and have their own talents. I loved every single one of them.
I don’t like to give away too much but a lot happens here, friendships are tested. Along the way a number of people are lost and we learn a lot more about Apion’s past.
This book really has been one of my favourite reads. This book is full of action and even more development which I think is essential when writing a series of books, without good character development its hard to keep the reader engaged enough to buy the next installment.
Gordon has a talent of keeping the reader interested, you find yourself getting lost in the story and before you know it your hit with and ending that leaves you gasping for more. As a reader I was hooked and will be purchasing the next book in the series soon as there’s no way I can continue without finding out what happens next.
Keep your eyes peeled; in the near future I’ll be adding Gordon to my Author Spotlight page where I’ll give a brief overview of his other series and why he is one of my favourite authors to date
To find out more about this book head to Goodreads or Amazon UK or Amazon.com where you can purchase it currently at the bargain price of £1.99/$3.08
Wolf’s Head (The Forest Lord #1) By Steven A. McKay – Review
Title – Wolf’s Head (The Forest Lord #1)
Author – Steven A. McKay
Genre – Historical Fiction
Length – 329 Pages (Kindle)
Publication – 4th July 2013
My Rating – 5/5 Stars
Synopsis
When a frightened young outlaw joins a gang of violent criminals their names – against a backdrop of death, dishonour, brotherhood, and love – will become legend.
ENGLAND 1321 AD
After viciously assaulting a corrupt but powerful clergyman Robin Hood flees the only home he has ever known in Wakefield, Yorkshire. Becoming a member of a notorious band of outlaws, Hood and his new companions – including John Little and Will Scaflock – hide out in the great forests of Barnsdale, fighting for their very existence as the law hunts them down like animals. When they are betrayed, and their harsh lives become even more unbearable, the band of friends seeks bloody vengeance. Meanwhile, the country is in turmoil, as many of the powerful lords strive to undermine King Edward II’s rule until, inevitably, rebellion becomes a reality and the increasingly deadly yeoman outlaw from Wakefield finds his fate bound up with that of a Hospitaller Knight…
“Wolf’s Head” brings the brutality, injustice and intensity of life in medieval England vividly to life, and marks the beginning of a thrilling new historical fiction series in the style of Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow.
Review
So we’ve all heard of Robin Hood yes? Of course we have. As a boy Robin Hood was always one of my favourite characters. This was one of my reasons for buying this book. It also had great reviews and the cover just screamed at me this would be a great read.. and guess what.. it was!
Steven has decided to revamp the whole Robin Hood tale and has moved location to Yorkshire when England was under the reign of Edward II. This makes the book quite refreshing as it’s moved away from the well know tale set in Nottingham. From the authors notes at the end of the book you can see a lot of thought has went into this book and it shows.
The story tells of Hoods early life and the event that leads him to become an outlaw. We see him climb the ranks to eventually lead this band of outlaws.
Along the way we see him deal will conflict not only with the rich people of Yorkshire but also himself and the outlaws where personalities clearly clash
Wolf’s Head is fast paced from the start and very well written. Add to this a great story and you’ve got yourself a book that you just can’t put down!
Even though the setting has changed we still have the heroes we all know and love, Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet & Much
I’m not one for spoilers but the depth of Will’s character is brilliant and the story behind him plays out to perfection. He’s hot headed but damn you can’t help but like his style.
Chapter after chapter you see the tension grow as Steven takes you from one characters journey to another. I especially liked Sir Richard-at-Lee so I’m excited to read Knight of the Cross which is a novella of Steven’s which I believe has a lot of focus on this character
As the tension grows and grows you can see something is about to happen and the ending of this book won’t disappoint.. If anything you are left screaming for more. The good new there is more 🙂 book 2 is already available and book 3 is on its way.
All in all I can’t fault this book in any way, brilliantly written it engages the reader from the first sentence.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I’m 100% sure you will to!
Find out more here – Goodreads – Amazon UK – Amazon.com
Author Spotlight – New Blog Feature Coming Soon
Credit were credits due.. so far there have been a handful of authors who’ve managed to make me part with not only my time but also my hard earned money.
I think it’s about time i let you all know who these people are so you can enjoy their work just as much as i have.
Keep checking back, I’m planning to try and make this a monthly feature! Will see how that works out 🙂
What i hope to give you is an overview of their works I’ve read. Why I’ve found their works to stand out, links to Goodreads profiles and also any author blogs/websites.
If you’d like to see anything else just comment below with your suggestions
Praetorian: The Great Game by S.J.A. Turney – Review
Title – Praetorian: The Great Game
Author – S.J.A. Turney
Genre – Historical Ficton
Length – 468 Pages (Kindle)
Publication – 12th March 2015
My Rating – 5/5 Stars
Synopsis
Promoted to the elite Praetorian Guard in the thick of battle, a young legionary is thrust into a seedy world of imperial politics and corruption. Tasked with uncovering a plot against the newly-crowned emperor Commodus, his mission takes him from the cold Danubian border all the way to the heart of Rome, the villa of the emperor’s scheming sister, and the great Colosseum.
What seems a straightforward, if terrifying, assignment soon descends into Machiavellian treachery and peril as everything in which young Rufinus trusts and believes is called into question and he faces warring commanders, Sarmatian cannibals, vicious dogs, mercenary killers and even a clandestine Imperial agent. In a race against time to save the Emperor, Rufinus will be introduced, willing or not, to the great game.
Review
I was kindly gifted a copy of this book by the author and i can honestly say I was not disappointed. I’ve read a few books now in the same genre and many start slowly building up as they go along… not this one. Thrust straight into the action with our hero saving the life of a Praetorian prefect.
This starts the whole journey for Rufinus as he is promoted to the Praetorian guard after meeting the emperor. This sudden promotion gains him some new friends but also enemies!
We see Rufinus deal with these enemies the only way he knows how.. his fists! We then see a feud escalate. Not to give away anything I particularly liked the way Rufinus dealt with this situation.
Now Rufinus is chosen to save the emperor from a suspected plot against him. During this we see him struggle with being deceitful whilst also trying to gain favor in order to get closer to those who are suspected to be plotting against the emperor.
There are so many twists and turns along the way that the book kept me gripped and I honestly had no idea if Rufinus would succeed in his task or not.
The ending to the book did not disappoint either; I have no trouble recommending this book to anyone. It was a fantastic read.
The chapters flowed well, the characters relationships grew before your eyes. You could see alliances and friendships forming. The author clearly put a lot of time and effort into this book and it shows
One thing I really loved about this book is that I took an instant dislike to one of the Praetorian prefects, the other I really liked. I found as I went along and Rufinus made discoveries along the way my opinion of the prefects changed. It was amazing to see how easily Simon managed to change my viewpoint as a reader so quickly.
Simon clearly knows his stuff, the book was brilliantly written from my stand point. I couldn’t pick anything I didn’t like or even anything I would have elaborated further on. It was simply a brilliant book and one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of reading.
If you do one thing today make sure it’s to click the picture above and view the book on Goodreads, read the other reviews, check Amazon.. then buy the book. It’s well worth the money
Last comment is directly for Simon.. My next pet will definitely be named Acheron!
The Warlords of Antares (First Contact) by Brian K. Larson – Review
Title – The Warlords of Antares (First Contact)
Author – Brian K. Larson
Genre – Fantasy/Science Fiction
Length – 298 Pages
Publication – 10th April 2015
My Rating – 4/5 Stars
Synopsis
Betelgeuse star went supernova 640 years ago. The explosion opened an unstable wormhole to Earth. It took all those years for the corridor to stabilized. The Warlord’s Emperor sent a scout to investigate the newly discovered life forms, and to bring back specimens for their arena games. Their Antarian blood lust must be quenched…and the Antarian Boreshog beast they must face, has never been defeated.
The benevolent Eridonians’ mission is to prepare the people of Earth for the coming onslaught. Join Navy Captain Jedediah Fitz and USMC Major Race Jennings on their quest to fight Earth’s newest enemy.
Prepare yourselves, the Warlords are coming.
Review
I must admit combining genres like Science Fiction and Fantasy work well for me.
The story is pretty straight forward, good guys & bad guys with added aliens, wormholes, nukes and blood. Pretty good mix if you ask me.
So to start with we learn about two races of aliens the warlord Antarians and the Eridonians. The Eridonians don’t like what the warlords do and want to stop Earth from being invaded.
A wormhole the Eridonians have been monitoring is now stable enough for the warlords to traverse and it leads straight to Earth!
Now the Eridonians have been watching us for some time and now they show themselves to us and enlist the help of the Earths forces to defend the planet from invasion
Things never go to plan and our heroes end up traveling through the wormhole to rescue some crew members who’ve been taken hostage.
We learn a lot more about the alien races at this point and learn about the bloodlust of the Antarians and the games they hold in their arena.
I don’t want to give the whole plot away but there’s an interesting tale being told with the bloodlust and the challenges our heroes face.
I’m a fan of Brian’s work anyway. His books suit adults and young adults as well. I think this is mainly due to his writing style as all his books flow well with a decent chapter length and you don’t get bogged down in too much detail.
The author manages to give the main characters some depth throughout the story and you may find out you like someone you initially thought you wouldn’t.
Now if you want me to be picky I felt the jump sequence used to travel space was a bit long. You hear it used throughout the book so i would have probably shortened it but that’s just me.
I guess my only complaint about the book which really isn’t a complaint is that it left me wondering what happened next.. I felt the ending of the book was good but i wanted more. Am i being greedy??
Overall i really enjoyed the book and i hope you do as well. Do i think the book is worth the money? yes definitely. Keep em coming Brian and i’ll keep buying!
I was never the best reader in the world..
I thought it might be interesting for you to find out how i came to setting up this blog and how I’ve found the authors i have. I would be very interested to hear your own story’s
As a child i struggled with printed format, my eyes would get tired and blurry. Even after getting glasses i still struggled.
Up until a few years ago i basically never read any books other than what i needed to get by in life, instruction manuals etc.
One day i decided to treat myself to a tablet for twitter/emails and so forth. I found the kindle app and decided i might as well give it a go. I travel to work on the bus so have plenty of free time.
Not being a big reader i decided to look at the free books listed on Amazon under the genres i liked. I thought this was a good starting point and it introduced me to authors like David Dalglish and Michael R Hicks. Both authors offered the first book in one of their series for free and i liked the idea of getting into a series on books rather than just a stand alone novel.
Next i found Robert Southworth, I’m a massive fan of Spartacus and he had recently released a story about him and it had me hooked. This then led me to Gordon Doherty and his Legionary series
From there i headed to twitter, followed these authors and all of a sudden other authors were following me. I took the time to look at some of their work and have found some authors who managed to capture my imagination perfectly and surprising quickly.
I plan to do a write up of some of my favorite authors so far so keep and eye out for that 🙂
Now after getting sucked in by these authors i found myself enjoying books for the first time in my life. Because of this i decided to create this blog so i could interact with other readers but also to show these authors that their work is appreciated
I don’t know why it took me so long to get into reading but i’m glad i have
As always i welcome suggestions on books/authors i should acquaint myself with so feel free to drop me a line either by commenting below or send me an email davidsbookblurg@gmail.com
Cheers
David's Book Blurg 