Expert reviews of the latest and the best in Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction and Crime Fiction from an Australian reviewer.
Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 16 December 2021.
Reviews of Cytonic and The Spy’s Wife were done by me, while reviews for Dolphin Junction, Outback Secrets and Game On were done by my colleague Jeffrey over at Murder, Mayhem and Long Dogs.
Make sure to check out my extended reviews for Cytonic and The Spy’s Wife.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
So, let’s get to it.
Resistance by Mara Timon (Trade Paperback)
Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey (Audiobook)
The Spy’s Wife by Fiona McIntosh
Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson
The Noise by James Patterson & J. D. Barker
That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
So, let’s get to it.
The Spy’s Wife by Fiona McIntosh (Trade Paperback)
Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson (Audiobook)
All Of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman
Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey
That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
So, let’s get to it.
All of us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman (Trade Paperback)
I just started reading the cool young adult fantasy novel, All of us Villains, by the writing team of Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman. All of us Villains is an intriguing novel that follows seven magical teens as they engage in a murderous tournament to gain absolute power for their families. I love a good battle royale tournament, especially one loaded with magic and troubled teenagers, and I cannot wait to see how this fantastic novel turns out.
Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson (Audiobook)
I also just started listening to the latest Brandon Sanderson novel, Cytonic. Cytonic, which is one of my most anticipated reads of 2021, is the third novel in Sanderson’s epic Skyward young adult science fiction series. This series, which has already featured the outstanding Skyward and Starsight, follows a teenage fighter pilot as she attempts to save her planet from attacking aliens. I have deeply enjoyed the first two novels in this series, and I cannot wait to see what happens in this third amazing entry.
It Ends in Fire by Andrew Shvarts (Hardcover)
Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn (Audiobook)
Mind Bullet by Jeremy Robinson (Audiobook)
The Spy’s Wife by Fiona McIntosh (Trade Paperback)
That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.
It has been a while since I have done a Book Haul post, but seeing that I received several interesting books recently, I thought I would quickly do one to highlight some of the best books I have gotten in the last few weeks. Each of the below books sound extremely cool and captivating, and I cannot wait to see how they all turn out.
I was very happy to receive a copy of Aurora’s End by Australian authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This awesome novel is the third and final book in the impressive Aurora Cycle trilogy, which has so far consisted of Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning. This has been an excellent young adult science fiction series and I am really eager to see how it all comes to a close. I am actually about halfway through it at the moment, and I am enjoying it’s intense story, especially as it utilising some cool and complex time-travel antics.
I was also very excited to received a copy of Star Wars: Ronin by Emma Mieko Candon, which ties into an episode from the recent Star Wars: Visions anime series, The Duel. Ronin serves as a prequel to The Duel and tells the full story of the wandering protagonist in this alternate universe story. I am deeply curious about this novel and I cannot wait to see what crazy story it contains. I loved The Duel and I look forward to seeing more of the unique alternate universe, especially with its blend of Star Wars and feudal Japanese imagery. If this incredible cover is anything to go by, this is going to be an outstanding read.
One of the more intriguing novels I recently received was Kill Your Brother by Australian author Jack Heath, author of the gruesome Timothy Blake series, which follows a cannibal turned FBI consultant. I had a lot of fun last year reading the last book in this series, Hideout, and I am looking forward to reading more from this talented thriller author, especially as Kill Your Brother sounds like a fantastic and intense read. An adaptation of the Audible Original of the same name, this novel asks the simple, if distressing, question, would you kill your brother to save your own life?
Australian author Fiona McIntosh is at it again with another historical drama, The Spy’s Wife. I have rather enjoyed some of McIntosh’s latest novels, including The Pearl Thief, The Diamond Hunter and The Champagne War, and I look forward to reading this next book, especially as it focuses on espionage during World War II.
The next book I have received is the exciting thriller novel, State of Terror. Written by the curious team of experienced author Louise Penny and the Hillary Clinton, State of Terror follows a Secretary of State who attempts to stop an international terrorist attack while also trying to revitalise America’s diplomatic reputation after a controversial President. As you can imagine, this book is considered a little divisive and controversial in America, and I am kind of curious to find out what sort of story it contains.
The final book I have received is the rather interesting sounding young adult fantasy novel, The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker. This awesome sounding novel combines Western and Japanese mythologies and religions to tell the story of a half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami girl who is given a task to kill three demons. I really love the sound of this amazing novel, and I cannot wait to see what unique story it contains.
Well that’s the end of this latest Book Haul post. As you can see I have quite a bit of reading to do at the moment thanks to all these awesome books that have come in. Let me know which of the above you are most interested in and make sure to check back in a few weeks to see my reviews of them.
Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 5 November 2020.
The review can also be found on the Canberra Weekly website.
Make sure to also check out my extended reviews for Hidden in Plain Sight and The Evening and the Morning.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
So, let’s get to it.
The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett (Hardcover)
I only just started reading the latest epic piece of historical fiction from bestselling author Ken Follett a couple of hours ago but I am already 100 pages into it and I only stopped so I could put this post up. The Evening and the Morning is an impressive and well-written novel that serves as a prequel to Follett’s iconic The Pillars of the Earth. I am deeply enjoying this excellent novel and I don’t think it is going to take me too long to get through all 800+ pages.
Assault by Fire by Lt. Col. H. Ripley Rawlings IV. USMC (Audiobook)
I finally got around to listening to Assault by Fire, the action packed solo debut novel from H. Ripley Rawlings IV, who previously cowrote last year’s awesome action thriller, Red Metal. This is an exciting and fast-paced military thriller that is set around a Russian invasion of the United States. I have made substantial progress on this book and should finish it off in the next day or so.
Map’s Edge by David Hair (Trade Paperback)
Battle Ground by Jim Butcher (Audiobook)
Battle Ground was a heck of a read and easily one of the best books of 2020. Review to follow soon.
Hidden in Plain Sight by Jeffrey Archer (Trade Paperback)
The Champagne War by Fiona McIntosh (Trade Paperback)
The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly (Trade Paperback)
Originally published in the Canberra Weekly on 7 November 2019.
Make sure to check out my extended review of The Queen’s Tiger.
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words, where bloggers share the books that they’ve recently finished, what they are currently reading and what books they are planning to read next. Essentially you have to answer three questions (the Three Ws):
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
So, let’s get to it.
The Wailing Woman by Maria Lewis (Trade Paperback)
This is a great piece of urban fantasy that I am really enjoying at the moment. Australian author Maria Lewis has come up with an amazing story and I am glad I received a copy of this book.
Lethal Agent by Kyle Mills (based on the series by Vince Flynn) (Audiobook)
I only just started listening to this audiobook about half an hour ago, but so far it is a pretty decent thriller. I quite liked the previous book in this series, Red War, last year so I am sure I will power through this book rather quickly.
What did you recently finish reading?
Star Wars: Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse (Trade Paperback)
Boundless by R. A. Salvatore (Audiobook)
The Diamond Hunter by Fiona McIntosh (Trade Paperback)
The Night Fire by Michael Connelly (Audiobook)
What do you think you’ll read next?
Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton (Trade Paperback)
That’s it for this week, check back in next Wednesday to see what progress I’ve made on my reading and what books I’ll be looking at next.
In the last couple of weeks I have been lucky enough to receive copies of several amazing new releases, and figured it was time for another Book Haul post. This Book Haul features a range of really interesting and diverse books, all of which I am very excited for.
Let us start this post off with the book I was probably most eager to receive, Star Wars: Resistance Reborn. Resistance Reborn is set to be the main tie-in novel to the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker movie, and I have already featured this book in a Waiting on Wednesday post and my Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases for July-December 2019 list. Needless to say after receiving it last week, I have already read it, and will hopefully get a review up in the next few days.
Another book that I received recently and have already read. The Diamond Hunter was a really good historical drama written by Australian author Fiona McIntosh. A short review of this book is going to run in the Canberra Weekly in a couple of days, and I am hoping to get a longer review done up as well. In the meantime, make sure to check out my review of McIntosh’s last book, The Pearl Thief.
This is a really intriguing piece of urban fantasy about banshees from Australian author Maria Lewis. I am actually in the process of reading this book at the moment, and so far it is pretty good.
This is an interesting sounding retelling of the classic tale of Mulan. I have heard some promising things about this book from other reviewers and I am looking forward to checking it out.
This is an interesting sounding book that is set to be released next year. I really like the sound of a murder mystery set in 1920’s Bombay, and it should prove to be a fantastic read.
Now, I have to admit that Danielle Steel is not usually the sort of author I would read. However, this sounds like quite a compelling historical thriller, and I did rather like one of Steel’s other 2019 releases, Turning Point, so I think I will check this book out.
The final book on this post is an exciting and massive fantasy debut I just received today. I have actually had my eye on this book for a little while now, and this book is quite high on my reading list at the moment.
I am very happy with the above books, and I am extremely confident that I am going to enjoy all of them. Let me know which of these books interests you the most.
The Unseen Library 