New review: Everless by Sara Holland

Title: Everless
Author: Sara Holand
Blurb:In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.
No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.
But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.

Let me honest, at first I thought this was going to be the same old, same old young adult fantasy inspired book. However, I'm pleased to say that it wasn't exactly the case and that Everless, definitely surprised me.

At first (as in: the first 3/4 chapters) I was a bit confused by the huge info dump full of strange terminology I had some problems to understand (like blood irons and such), but it got easier in time and, sure enough, I was soon hooked.

I found the concept of time-bleeding quite creepy but interesting, ad of course in this peculiar world Sara Holland has built the rich have it much easier than the poor.
Anyway, I found Jules an okay character, can't say I loved her so much but at least I didn't hate her! Strangely (knowing myself) I didn't dislike the romantic twist, I really didn't mind and in truth I sort of look forward to see what happens in the next book.

The pacing of the book wasn't exactly fast but the plot keeps the reader well entertained and wanting to know more. Besides Sara Holland's writing style is pleasant enough and makes it for an easy read. I really loved how that the plot thickened as the book progressed with lots of twist and turns, some of them were very original (I really loved the Alchemist & the Sorceress "backstory").
It was the plot more than the characters that drove me to read (quite frenetically) page after page and then BOOM---- cliffhanger! OUCH! I now really, really need book two! LOL

Jokes aside, I really recommend reading Everless, especially if you like fantasy and are looking for something not too heavy to read but still very entertaining.

Rating: 4 blossoms

*A really big thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc!*

Audio-book alert: The Midnight Sea (The Fourth Element #1) by Kat Ross

Audio-book alert: The Midnight Sea (The Fourth Element #1) by Kat Ross

 

Buy it on: Audible.com

Blurb: Nazafareen lives for revenge. A girl of the isolated Four-Legs Clan, all she knows about the King's elite Water Dogs is that they leash wicked creatures called daevas to protect the empire from the Undead. But when scouts arrive to recruit young people with the gift, she leaps at the chance to join their ranks. To hunt the monsters that killed her sister.
Scarred by grief, she's willing to pay any price, even if it requires linking with a daeva named Darius. Human in body, he's possessed of a terrifying power, one that Nazafareen controls. But the golden cuffs that join them have an unwanted side effect. Each experiences the other's emotions, and human and daeva start to grow dangerously close.
As they pursue a deadly foe across the arid waste of the Great Salt Plain to the glittering capital of Persepolae, unearthing the secrets of Darius's past along the way, Nazafareen is forced to question his slavery—and her own loyalty to the empire. But with an ancient evil stirring in the north, and a young conqueror sweeping in from the west, the fate of an entire civilization may be at stake…

I totally loved this book as you can see from my review over here

Spotlight On: Repercussions Abound (The Sapphire Chronicles Book 4) by RIval Gates + Excerpt

Spotlight on...

Repercussions Abound 

(The Sapphire Chronicles Book 4)

by Rival Gates

Linvin’s uncle Anvar is the closest person to him in the world and Anvar’s life is in the great half-elf’s hands. There’s just one problem. Linvin doesn’t remember him! Anvar is being held hostage by Linvin’s twisted nemesis, Lord Mandrean.

Linvin has until the first frost to surrender to him and take his uncle’s place in the gallows. Sadly, after a crack on the skull Linvin has forgotten his old life and taken up a new one. With time passing quickly and still a long way to travel, Linvin must regain his memory soon and leave his new life and wife behind if there is to be any chance of reaching Anvar in time

. Even if he gets there, can he really save Anvar and hold out any hope for himself in this custom made trap?

                          

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Author's Blog  & Website



EXCERPT

The general in Linvin took center stage as he viewed the scene and quickly devised a strategy. He grinned as he thought about it and looked closely at his landing spot. 

I love the plan, Master. Just remember your footing and to protect your feet. These things are close to the ground and love to attack low. And do not worry about putting enough force behind your blows. Between your strength and my might the most delicate slash will cause a most fatal effect. 

Linvin had not moved his eyes. There are too many Trogos standing there with nothing to do. Wait for it. As if on cue the alpha let out a growling howl and two wolves ran around each side of the barn toward the northern entrance. Once they were well gone, Linvin smiled and the image of white flames appeared on Falconfeather. Old Friend, it is time to slaughter this scum. 

Linvin leapt off the roof and headed for the edge of the wagon closest to the fire. The two Trogos on the wagon were on their hind legs scratching with their front claws. As Linvin descended he stabbed Falconfeather into the side of the nearest Trogo right behind the neck and let his momentum slice deep into the creature all the way to its hindquarters. Linvin landed on the edge of the wagon and pulled his sword back from the barn. The dying beast fell upon his comrades who were stunned by the turn of events. Clinging to the element of surprise, Linvin stabbed completely through the mid-section of the other Trogo on the wagon. Again he discarded the carcass on the crowd below. 

By that point the other Trogoandras were enraged and urged on by the alpha. They jumped at Linvin’s feet and attempted to pull him down into the mass of wolves. Linvin slashed at them as they made their modest jumps, but knew his time on the wagon was short lived. His plan was to jump to the clear zone between the barn and the fire and make his stand there. As he prepared to jump, a Trogo leaning on the wagon reached up and wrapped its teeth around Linvin’s left calf.

Stab it in the chest. Stab it in the chest, Falconfeather quickly called. Linvin did as ordered and the Trogo released its grip as it was mortally wounded in the heart and fell back. 

Wasting no time, Linvin jumped to the open spot by the fire. A Trogo immediately attacked him. Linvin fended him off with his shield and used the beast’s momentum to raise it up. The action exposed the belly of the beast and Linvin did not think twice about slashing deep into its underbelly and dropping it for good. Another Trogo was right there to take its place as the fighting continued.

It’s only a matter of time until they come ‘round the fire and attack from two sides, Falconfeather warned. 

I expect as much, Linvin thought between attacks. Even so, with every kill the odds swing more in our favor, Old Friend.

 

The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (Night Angel #1)

Title: The Way of Shadows”
Author: Brent Weeks

Pages: 645

Price: 8.83£ (paperback)

Where to get it: Amazon.co.uk, BookDepository

Plot: For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist.
For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.
But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

“To be a perfect killer, he has to wear the perfect skin for each kill”

 

 

Did I love this book? Oh-hell-yeah! 

I don’t know how I managed to not know this series, at least until now. Have I been living under a rock during these past years? Apparently so. 

Anyway, what made pick “The Way of Shadows” in the first place was the cover followed by the plot. I love Assassin’s, I’d take any book on Assassins any time. Too bad I always find difficult to find really good ones at that. 

At first I feared that this book was going to be a bit like Throne of Glass, lots of talk about Assassins (with lots of stuff taken from Assassin’s Creed *coughs*) but with almost no killings/assassinations (what a pity!).  Fortunately, I can say that this wasn’t the case.

“You know, Blint, you’d be a better wetboy if you didn’t know you were the best. You are—but you still take your orders from me.”

"The Way of Shadows" is rich of real badass Assassin’s (here called wetboys or stone killers—I guess the author played with word whetstone?) they’re so good that “comparing a wetboy to an assassin is like comparing a tiger to a kitten” (I really couldn’t explain it any better). There is stabbing, disembowelling, lots of blood, poisonings and lots of action. This is not all! The book is also full of intrigues and plot twists (some of them really left me stunned). 

Not only this book has Assassins (done right) but also elements of epic fantasy (some very peculiar), plus political plotting, treachery and intrigues. The whole ka’kari thing was interesting (and definitely cool), same thing for the flashbacks to the distant past and the story of the six guardians of the light and a guardian that stands watch in the night (The Night Angel).

The book is told in 3rd person, which I usually prefer due to the fact that you get to be in more than one character’s head and get to see an infinitely bigger picture. Truth to be told, with a book so full of intrigue and various threads and twists, a reader wouldn’t have understood half of it had it been told only in Kylar’s POV. The reader follow Kylar mostly, but Durzo too has a good page-time (His character was my favorite, bad, gritty, and smug but still with a grain of goodness under it all), followed by the prophet Dorian, Momma K and Roth. In fact, the author managed to intertwine about five POVs without getting the reader confused, which I see as a feat in itself. 

 

“The hall lantern behind Durzo swaddled darkness’s favorite child in shadow, casting his form over Kylar and making his face invisible. Silhouetted, black blood dripped from the tip of Retribution”.

I found the characters well defined but what I liked the most about them is that, the majority of them walk a fine line between good and bad. There aren’t either black or white but definitely on the grey side. Thing that made them feel more, realistic and  human. 

Another thing I really appreciated was how we start with eleven years old Kylar (named Azoth at the time) then gradually find him fourteen and on his first solo-kill, then sixteen, eighteen and - at last- twenty. I loved how it takes him years and lots of training (and some messy kills) before becoming a perfect wetboy and not days like it happens in other books.  

In weaving his twists and turns Brent Weeks does not spare anyone and he is not afraid to kill or maim his characters (which is fair, given the situation...). He doesn’t spare anyone. For example, you have two people loving each other in secrets, ending up betraying each other to protect a common friend---the result? One of them dies and the surviving one later discover – too late – that her love was reciprocated after all (Argh! I felt really sorry for them).

“Assassination is an art, milord, and I’m the city’s most accomplished artist”

I would have given the book five stars if not for some action scenes that I found great but a bit blurry/confusing a times. Luckily, my brain has a good array of action images and assassination’s scenes curtesy of Assassin’s Creed---so, it was fine...really.   

I'm now looking forward to read "Shadow's Edge" the second book in the series.

Rating:

4.5 blossoms