Spirits of Vengeance: The Assassin of Araneque/ Andrew John Rainnie Blog Tour/ High Fantasy/Quest Book 2/ LovesBooksTours

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Spirits of Vengeance: The Assassin of Araneque picks up several years after the original book, following the further adventures of  Kamina and Kaedin Elloeth.

The pair of elves are drawn back into the magical mysteries of the vengeance spirits when a deadly assassin starts killing off all those who were associated with Lord Malenek. Along the way, they encounter friends both old and new, with some past allegiances being broken in order to protect the power of the Gods from being abused. 

MY THOUGHTS

This is the sequel to Spirits of Vengeance: The Stone of Spirits . Which I haven’t read. I was left with the feeling that though I liked the book, I would really have enjoyed this book if I had read book one

The premise of book two is simple

After saving the world from the fire god Risaar, tree elf Kamina Elloeth chose to join the legendary Ishkava Rangers. But when a new threat emerges, placing her brother in the crosshairs of an assassin, Kamina is forced to abandon her teachings and turn rogue.Guided by her vengeance spirit Callaghan Tor, Kamina must journey across the lands of Enara to extinguish the threat. When she learns the assassin’s true identity, it triggers a race to restore the balance of magic across the land.Pursued by her fellow rangers, she reunites with old friends to aid her on her quest. Kamina must wrestle her demons and discover her inner strength before she is ready to face off against THE ASSASSIN OF ARANEQUE

The world all these characters inhabit have all the ingredients of Epic or High Fantasy with tropes I have read in other fantasy books, not that I read much, notably Lord Of The Rings. A group of friends on a quest and they come up against shape shifters, dragons, centaurs and of course a magical sword. The world building was good and what you would expect in a good fantasy novel.

The writing and storyline is of the highest quality and made me keep turning the pages and is I said earlier I would have enjoyed it better if I had read book one.

THE AUTHOR BIO:

Andrew John Rainnie is a writer, filmmaker and graphic designer from Renfrew, Scotland. He studied English Literature & Film at the University of Glasgow and later went on to complete a Masters in Screenwriting at Bournemouth University. He has written and directed several short films, music videos and promotions for local charities. He currently lives in Glasgow with his wife Lisa, their two cats, Brando and Niro, and their dog Amber.

BUY LINKS: AMAZON AND INDEPENDENT BOOK STORES

Family by Owen Mullen/ Blog Tour Rachel’sRandomResources Boldwood Books/ Crime Author Family/ London Gangland

Family

Family – might be the death of you…

The Glass family business is crime, and they’re good at what they do. Vengeance took Luke Glass behind bars – but now he’s free and he’s never going back. Luke wants out of the gangster life – all he has to do is convince his family to let him go.

His brother holds the reins of the South London underworld in his brutal hands – nobody tells Danny Glass no and expects to live – not even DCI Oliver Stanford, bent copper and one of the Met’s rising stars. The way Danny sees it, his younger brother and sister Nina owe him everything. The price he demands is loyalty, and a war with their arch enemy gives him the leverage he needs to tie Luke to the family once more.

Luke can’t see a way out, until Danny commits a crime so terrible it can’t be forgiven. Love turns to hate when secrets are unearthed which pit brother against brother. Left with no choice but to choose a side, Nina holds the fate of the family in her hands.

In the Glass family, Owen Mullen has created a crime dynasty to rival the Richardsons and the Krays. Heart-pounding, jaw-dropping with non-stop action, Family is perfect for fans of Martina Cole, Kimberley Chambers and Mandasue Heller.

Purchase Link – https://buff.ly/37rHomR

MY THOUGHTS:

Well when I was offered a place on this tour I jumped at it. I’m not ashamed to say it, I love this author and his books. With Owen you know you are going to get a great story and you are in for a great ride. I first became aware of Owen’s writing with his Charlie Cameron series and apart from that spanning three books he seems to have switched to standalones but this has not affected the quality of his writing, in fact it has improved it! Enough of the bias and let’s get onto the latest adventure.

With Family Owen has ventured in to the murky and treacherous waters of gangland London. Think of the Krays brought up to date. If you like Martina Cole, Mandasue Heller this would be a book for you . In fact I would say that you would love it!

The book starts with a bang, literally when gang boss Danny Glass’s wife and daughter are killed in a car explosion. This sends younger brother Luke off to hunt down who he has been told was responsible. Rival boss Anderson. He catches up with him and pushes him to his death. But because they’re no witnesses Luke is given seven years for manslaughter.

Luke is released from prison but does not turn up for his welcome home party. His intention is to leave the family business and go straight. Easier said than done. Danny finds him and tells him in no uncertain terms that he is part of Team Glass.

Add to the mix younger sister Nina and the gang accountant who have two things in common. Firstly they both like sex and secondly swindling Danny out of money’

Events take place that set brother against brother and Nina must pick a side. Which side will she pick? This is when the story really ramps up and has you turning the pages furiously!

Apart from the usual gangland shenanigans of violence, drugs, vice and bent coppers, Owen has written a book with much more depth than the usual crime book. He explores the reasons behind the violence. THIS IS A PLUNGE INTO THE MIND AND DEPETHS OF A PSYCHOPATH! You better hope you can make it back to the surface. I JUST DID!

Thanks to Owen for the story, Boldwood Books for the ARC and Rachel Gilbey for the tour invite.

Author Bio –

When he was ten years old, Owen Mullen won a primary schools short story competition and didn’t write another word for four decades. One morning he announced he was going to write a book. He did. Since then he has written seven. Owen was born in Coatbridge, a few miles from Glasgow, where the Charlie Cameron stories take place, and where he ran a successful design and marketing business. A late developer, he has a Masters degree from Strathclyde University which he got in his forties. In his earlier life he lived in London and worked as a musician and session singer. People tell him he enjoyed himself and he has no reason to doubt them. The journey from rocker to writer has been a fascinating experience and the similarities between the music and book industries, never cease to amaze him. His passions are travel, food and Arsenal Football Club. A gregarious recluse, he now splits his time between Scotland and the island of Crete, along with his wife, Christine.

Twitter https://twitter.com/OwenMullen6

Facebook https://m.facebook.com/OwenMullenAuthor

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/owenmullen6/

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCirKpr7Dzji0x-0teu2nhqw BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/owen-mullen

There’s Only One Danny Garvey by David F. Ross. Orenda Books Blog Tour@RandomThingsTours Football and Mental Health.

THE BOOK
Danny Garvey was a sixteen-year old footballing prodigy. Professional
clubs clamoured to sign him, and a glittering future beckoned.
And yet, his early promise remained unfulfilled, and Danny is back
home in the tiny village of Barshaw to manage the struggling junior
team he once played for. What’s more, he’s hiding a secret about a
tragic night, thirteen years earlier, that changed the course of several
lives. There’s only one Danny Garvey, they once chanted … and that’s
the problem.
A story of irrational hopes and fevered dreams – of unstoppable passion
and unflinching commitment in the face of defeat – There’s Only One
Danny Garvey is, above all, an unforgettable tale about finding hope
and redemption in the most unexpected of places

MY THOUGHTS:

Danny Garvey was a promising young footballer playing for junior team Barnshaw Bridge somewhere in Ayrshire, who a sixteen found the big time calling when he was signed by Aberdeen. But tragedy strikes when a career ending injury hits him. This effectively ends his career and he finds himself sliding down the football pyramid and coaching the Arbroath youth team. Then an opportunity to manage Barnshaw Bridge comes up and he grabs it. Why? He is getting paid less than he did at Arbroath. Maybe he sees it as a step up and he set out on the road to management. Apart from this it seems a strange choice. He is estranged from his mother Libby, his brother Raymond is in prison for vehicular manslaughter, Nancy his brother’s wife is struggling to bring up an autistic child. And then there’s Higgy, Barnshaw stalwart and possible surrogate father to Danny,

Ross tells this story well. The passion for football shines through. This is a story told primarily in the the first person narrative of Danny who has his memories which seem to be at odds with everyone around him. Each of the four main characters have a chapter named after them but it is Danny’s voice we hear with occasional input from the other characters.

You will find yourself in a dreary, rundown and struggling Ayrshire village; and nothing is struggling more than the local team. But Danny will fix this, starting with the team and everything else will fall into place. The only problem is how does he do this!

The more you inhabit Danny’s mind, the more you realise something is wrong. But with whom? He seems the only one in step and all the others are out of step. Or are they? Read on and find out. This is a story that grips and you find yourself wondering where it is going but you will find out!

This is a novel about football, mental health and toxic masculinity and where do you go when all around you is despair. A book I would recommend and you don’t need to be a football fan.

German Portraiture David F. Ross, architect and book writer from glasgow, scotland. shooting at the lovelace hotel in munich, may 24. 2018.

THE AUTHOR
David F. Ross was born in Glasgow in 1964 and has lived in
Kilmarnock for over 30 years. He is a graduate of the Mackintosh
School of Architecture at Glasgow School of Art, an architect by day,
and a hilarious social media commentator, author and enabler by
night. His debut novel The Last Days of Disco was shortlisted for the
Authors Club Best First Novel Award, and received exceptional
critical acclaim, as did the other two books in the Disco Days
Trilogy: The Rise & Fall of the Miraculous Vespas and The Man Who
Loved Islands. David lives in Ayrshire

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The Art Of Dying by Ambrose Parry Victorian Edinburgh/Historical Fiction/ Blog Tour @RandomThingsTours

A gripping historical novel of medicine & murder from bestselling author
Chris Brookmyre and consultant anaesthetist Dr Marisa Haetzman,
set in nineteenth-century Edinburgh
 
Edinburgh, 1849. Hordes of patients are dying all across the city, with doctors finding their remedies powerless. And a campaign seeks to paint Dr James Simpson, pioneer of medical chloroform, as a murderer.
 
Determined to clear Simpson’s name, his protégé Will Raven and former housemaid Sarah Fisher must plunge into Edinburgh’s deadliest streets and find out who or what is behind the deaths. Soon they discover that the cause of the deaths has evaded detection purely because it is so unthinkable.

‘A rip-roaring tale of murder amid the medical experiments of 19^th-century
Edinburgh . . . brings both city and period to colourful life’
IAN RANKIN

MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW

A book written by the pairing of Chris Brookmyre and his wife Dr. Marisa Haetzman and is the follow up to the previous book The Way Of All Flesh. Both are set in Victorian Edinburgh and as well as starring fictional characters they also have characters that were true to the Edinburgh of this period.

The main protagonists are Will Raven and Sarah Fisher who appeared in the first book. The book really evokes the atmosphere of Victorian Edinburgh,

Dr. James Simpson, pioneer of medical chloroform falls under suspicion of murder and using chloroform as the weapon. Will and Sarah must investigate to clear Dr. Simpson’s name.

But the book starts in Europe where will is involved in a scuffle in which a man dies. Will flees to Edinburgh and takes up a post as Dr. Simpson’s assistant he also has another surprise , the fact that Sarah is now married and is Mrs. Banks. Though reluctant to get involved with Sarah again must if they are to clear Dr. James Simpson of murder.

This is a book that reeks of the medical and social history of the time period. The writing is of a quality that puts you in the streets of Auld Reekie at this time period. You can literally jostle with the people in the crowded street and smell the effluence that runs in the open sewers. A well crafted story, well researched and both Chris and Marisa bring their wealth of expertise to this novel. A superb follow up to The Way Of All Flesh.

THE AUTHORS:

Ambrose Parry is a pseudonym for a collaboration between Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. The couple are married and live in Scotland. Chris Brookmyre is the international bestselling and multi-award-winning author of over twenty novels. Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years’ experience, whose research for her Master’s degree in the History of Medicine uncovered the material upon which this series, which began with The Way of All Flesh, is based. The Way of All Flesh was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year and longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.

• The Art of Dying will appeal to fans of C.J. Sansom, S.J. Parris, Nicci French and historical crime fiction, as well of fans of Brookmyre’s own writing.
• Contains real life characters and events, based on Marisa Haetzman’s research, including:
  • Dr James Simpson, pioneer of chloroform
  • An antagonist inspired by 19th-century nurse and ‘Angel of Death’ Jane Toppan
  • The controversy surrounding chloroform’s introduction to obstetrics practices
  • The growth of the women’s movement, which led to the formation of the
    Edinburgh Seven: the first women to enrol in university in the UK

Winterkill by Ragnar Jonnason Blog Tour/ Scandi Noir RandomThingsTours @Anne Cater

THE BOOK
Easter weekend is approaching, and snow is gently falling in Siglufjörður, the
northernmost town in Iceland, as crowds of tourists arrive to visit the majestic
ski slopes.
Ari Thór Arason is now a police inspector, but he’s separated from his
girlfriend, who lives in Sweden with their three-year-old son. A family reunion is
planned for the holiday, but a violent blizzard is threatening and there is an
unsettling chill in the air.
Three days before Easter, a nineteen-year-old local girl falls to her death from
the balcony of a house on the main street. A perplexing entry in her diary
suggests that this may not be an accident, and when an old man in a local
nursing home writes ‘She was murdered’ again and again on the wall of his
room, there is every suggestion that something more sinister lies at the heart of
her death…
As the extreme weather closes in, cutting the power and access
to Siglufjörður, Ari Thór must piece together the puzzle to reveal a horrible
truth … one that will leave no one unscathed.
Chilling, claustrophobic and disturbing, Winterkill marks the startling conclusion
to the million-copy bestselling Dark Iceland series and cements Ragnar
Jónasson as one of the most exciting authors in crime fiction.

MY THOUGHTS :

A dark, claustrophobic, slow burn of a book, with a satisfying conclusion. Winterkill is a bittersweet book in the Dark Iceland series. This is a book which I read as a stand alone and it worked quite well but I was aware of missing a lot of backstory which may have added to my enjoyment. I will reread this book after reading the previous five.

Winterkill is a sophisticated narrative, it is dealing with relevant issues in today’s society which makes it all the more emotive for the reader. It is very current. In terms of the subject matter Winterkill is quite a sad read. Exploring as it does the subject matter of grief. You identify with the characters and what they are living through in their lives.

There is a great sense of isolation in this book, both in the location and personal isolation, and detachment from their own lives and the lives of others. In fact isolation and detachment figure so large in this book that they may be considered characters in their own right.

Emotional, atmospheric and deeply unsettling, Winterkill is a poignant and engaging book. It is highly engaging read and also highly recommended.

Thanks to Ragnar Jonnason for the story

Orenda books for the ARC

and Anne Cater for the tour invite.

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THE AUTHOR
Icelandic crime writer Ragnar Jónasson was born in Reykjavík, and currently works as
a lawyer, while teacher copyright law at the Reykjavík University Law School. In the
past, he’s worked in TV and radio, including as a news reporter for the Icelandic
National Broadcasting Service. Before embarking on a writing career, Ragnar
translated fourteen Agatha Christie novels into Icelandic, and has had several short
stories published in German, English and Icelandic literary magazines. Ragnar set up
the first overseas chapter of the CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) in Reykjavík, and
is co-founder of the International crime-writing festival Iceland Noir. Ragnar’s debut
thriller, Snowblind became an almost instant bestseller when it was published in
June 2015n with Nightblind (winner of the Dead Good Reads Most Captivating
Crime in Translation Award) and then Blackout, Rupture and Whiteout following
soon after. To date, Ragnar Jónasson has written five novels in the Dark Iceland
series, which has been optioned for TV by On the Corner. He lives in Reykjavík with
his wife and two daughters