The Hollow Gods Review

Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret.

For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: occasionally, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead.

When Kai wakes up next to the lifeless body of a recently missing girl, his memory blank, he struggles to clear his already threadbare conscience.

Miya, a floundering university student, experiences signs that she may be the Dreamwalker’s next victim. Can she trust Kai as their paths collide, or does he herald her demise?

And after losing a young patient, crestfallen oncologist, Mason, embarks on a quest to debunk the town’s superstitions, only to find his sanity tested.

A maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas, and deadly secrets loom in the foggy forests of Black Hollow. Can three unlikely heroes put aside their fears and unite to confront a centuries-old evil? Will they uncover the truth behind the fable, or will the cycle repeat?

This debut novel is filled to the brim with folklore and analysis of the characters is masterfully subtle yet effective in that the reader believes they are reading a story about a crazed and demonic woman that is terrorizing a town but in actuality it is an examination of anxiety, grief, loss, identity crisis and everything else you go through in fantasy realms.

The writing is beautiful and the author develops a beautiful visual scene in an extraordinary way. She has developed scenes that are so real it is almost overwhelming and can almost play with your emotions and mind.

The narrative is the point of view of three different characters and each one had a different tone/voice which really gave the impression of different characters talking and was an aspect that I love but is often rare in fantasy books.

As well as the characterisation and the narrative I also like the romance aspect. It was only a small aspect of the novel but an important part because it allowed the reader a moment of desire and a break from the darkness.

Overall, I loved the book and would give it a solid 4 stars due to the pace at the beginning being a bit slow for me.

Fae Away Review

This is an amazing read and I couldn’t put it down so I devoured it in just over a day.

A ROYAL HEIR

A FORBIDDEN LOVE

A DEADLY PALACE SECRET

Celyse is a princess of Faevenly, born into the most powerful house in the faerie realm. Yet even they must abide by the highest law in the land—the law that prohibits tampering with the portals to the forbidden human realm.

Bored with duty and longing for adventure, Celyse dreams of life in the mysterious realm. And when she happens upon a lost portal that promises a private viewing, she seizes the opportunity and finds herself face to face with a gorgeous human. Mesmerized by him in every way, she sneaks away to visit him nightly, forming a relationship with her would-be enemy. But when her official courting season approaches, she is forced to leave her idle fancy behind.

Until her life is threatened by a suitor who accuses her of misdeeds with the portals.

Julio is a normal guy . . . who can see ghosts. With apparitions flitting in and out of his life, he thinks seeing an ethereal girl with silver hair is another part of the supernatural weirdness that just happens to him. But when the very real girl shows up in his room, the pull he feels toward her is undeniable. She claims that her faerie realm and his human realm are in danger, and he can help her.

Julio’s head blares a warning against this deadly path, but his heart urges him to do anything to save her. Including risk his own life.

I loved the character development and the amazing history of the world they are inserted, as well as the mystery and forbidden love itself. I loved every second with it and just could not put the book down. Can´t wait to read the second one and see what happens to my beloved Celyse, who I strongly identified with.

This is an amazing story with twists and turns, action, and romance. The story kept me on my toes. I recommend this story highly, it’s a must read. Well done Rose Garcia.

Goddess of the North Review

Detective Inspector Sara Nayar is a goddess. Literally. A Hindu goddess accidentally brought to England during Queen Victoria’s reign. Working now as a police detective, Sara survives on humanity’s innate faith in law and order.

Sheffield is a city of many gods, however, and when Sara witnesses a murder, she knows the perpetrator is divine. As a goddess of order, she must solve the crime before the god can kill again, but thousands of years living as a human has left her spiritually weak.

Vulnerable in ways she hasn’t felt since leaving India, Sara fights to balance her mortal and immortal lives as the murders around her escalate. And with tensions amongst her fellow divinity on the rise, Sara is running out of time. If she can’t restore order, find balance in the chaos, the city itself might pay the price.

This is a novel that is really about two stories. On the one hand, it’s a police procedural taking place in the British city of Sheffield, with murder, suspects, and investigations worthy of some of the best tv detectives. On the other hand, it’s about gods living among humans, and one of them, just happens to be a crime busting superstar.

This was an enjoyable read and as a lover of crime fiction and fantasy it had everything I want and more. As well as having a great plot and great characters I learnt a lot about Sheffield and Hinduism too which was another aspect that I loved. 5 stars. 

Son of the Storm Review

I was provided Son of the Storm by Suyi Davies Okungbowa as an ARC through NetGalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and thanks is extended to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to do so.

In the ancient city of Bassa, Danso is a clever scholar on the cusp of achieving greatness—only he doesn’t want it. Instead, he prefers to chase forbidden stories about what lies outside the city walls. The Bassai elite claim there is nothing of interest. The city’s immigrants are sworn to secrecy.

But when Danso stumbles across a warrior wielding magic that shouldn’t exist, he’s put on a collision course with Bassa’s darkest secrets. Drawn into the city’s hidden history, he sets out on a journey beyond its borders. And the chaos left in the wake of his discovery threatens to destroy the empire.

First off, I want to give props to whoever designed the cover for this book – I mean dammnnnnn- it is simply stunning.

The Son of the Storm is an intensely compelling fantasy tale with incredible world building and a wonderfully diverse character base all living out an extremely addictive narrative. I simply couldn’t put this book down and practically devoured it in one sitting.

The author delivered such an engaging and vibrant piece of storytelling that infused the cultural, social and political background of the world perfectly and I totally enjoyed being along for the ride in this incredible good vs evil tale.

I was so disappointed when this book ended as I could have kept on reading and reading. I look forward to instalment number two. A totally deserved 5 star read.

Black Water Sister Review

I was provided Black Water Sister by Zen Cho as an ARC through NetGalley in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and thanks is extended to the author, publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to do so.

Jessamyn Teoh is closeted, broke and moving back to Malaysia, a country she left when she was a toddler. So, when Jess starts hearing voices, she chalks it up to stress. But there’s only one voice in her head, and it claims to be the ghost of her estranged grandmother, Ah Ma. In life Ah Ma was a spirit medium, the avatar of a mysterious deity called the Black Water Sister. Now she’s determined to settle a score against a gang boss who has offended the god–and she’s decided Jess is going to help her do it.

Drawn into a world of gods, ghosts, and family secrets, Jess finds that making deals with capricious spirits is a dangerous business. As Jess fights for retribution for Ah Ma, she’ll also need to regain control of her body and destiny. If she fails, the Black Water Sister may finish her off for good.

I adored this Contemporary Fantasy set in Malaysia that deals with some hard-hitting themes such as abuse, homophobia, racism and rape. I found the characterisation amazing and fell in love with Jessamyn, the narrative was the perfect pace and kept me engaged throughout. There was also a great level of world building which allowed me to perfectly imagine the world and see myself in it.

All in all a great read and I will be searching out more of Zen Cho’s works. A well deserved 4 stars.

Sankofa: Born Equal Only (Book One) Review

I received Sankofa by Ben Tekle Mel as an ARC through NetGalley and I am so glad that I did, so thanks are extended to the author, the publishers and to NetGalley also for allowing me to review this book.

Before I continue let me first say this book contains misogyny, sexual violence and abuse, extreme war and violence with high body counts and an absolutely soul-destroying cliff-hanger ending, but even with all this I absolutely loved it. It is important to say that I was intrigued by the blurb but in my opinion that did not do the book justice.

Sankofa: Born Equal Only is an Afrofuturism adventure that takes on gender injustice from the perspective of rival fraternal twins, Toomi and Ras, born to be the Guardians of Maat, the first Queen to rise to the throne in the kingdom of Axindar in a post-apocalyptic medieval Africa, where the future of our technology shapes the past of our time.

This book is definitely not for the faint hearted or those that get upset easily.  It has a clear underscore of the representation of atrocities carried out in the name of warfare throughout Africa and the rest of the world and creatively and vividly prehends the mistreatment and injustice suffered by so many people throughout history and in the present. There are also elements of gender domination and violence culture that are disturbing to read but also very significant in current times.

One of the things that stood out for me whilst reading this novel was that it is not like other fantasy novels but more like you are listening to an elder telling the tale through spoken word and I loved that aspect.

Another thing that stood out for me was how well the author had constructed the world and getting that other to the reader it really allowed me to jump inside the story and imagine the world for myself and I genuinely think that anyone who reads it could imagine their own little world and still get the same qualities out of the novel. It was a fantastic mix of fantasy and magical, historical, and science fiction.

Overall, this novel impressed me a lot more than I expected. As someone who has majored in English Literature and History, I appreciate the historical aspects explored in the novel such as on slavery, on sexual violence against those deemed worthless. The writer is able to pull on periods of dark history throughout time and really use that to his advantage in this work.

There is definitely a market for this book especially for those that like their reading on the darker side of the spectrum but I would highly recommend for anyone who wanted to try something or new in genre or a new series. This a 4 star read for sure and I cannot wait to read Book Two.

They Fly Silent Review

I received They Fly Silent by Barb Lanell through NetGalley and I am so glad that I did, so thanks are extended to the author, the publishers and to NetGalley also for allowing me to review this book.

They Fly Silent is a novel that follows the recovery of protagonist Cass Collard, a 25-year-old woman with amnesia, trauma and a repressed childhood.

First off it is important to say that this book contains the following which may be a trigger for some readers – mental illness, sexual assault, trauma, grief and animal.

They Fly Silent is a southern gothic story detailing a dysfunctional family. Growing up Cassandra listened to stories her great grandmother Maw Sue would talk about concerning mystical and cursed bloodlines, about the Seventh Tribe, spiritual beliefs, and the power of magic, and “seekers”.  Now twenty-five-year-old Cassandra’s life is currently full of madness and chaos. Divorced and accused of starting a mysterious fire that she doesn’t remember setting, she is having to face memories during therapy sessions with a psychiatrist.

The book itself, though it portrays as a mystery, has definite elements of psychological fiction as well as fantasy fiction and the elements of these three that were in the novel made it very interesting to read, the characters seemed to have real depth and I found myself drawn to them and likeable, the author certainly is able to create a world where it reflects everyday life even though it is fantastical at the same time.

As the book progressed the reader was introduced to more of the layers of the protagonist and her personality couple with the life she has lived are revealed. I found myself continually guessing whether she really did possess magical qualities and abilities or whether she needs to work through some very deep-seated psychological issues. The author also does a great job of setting the scene throughout the novel which allows the reader to see the sights, feel the heat and even smell the collard greens burning.

This book is by no means a gentle heart warming read but it is definitely a read that will stay with you for a while and will allow you imagination to run wild. It is a strong 4 star read.