REVIEW: THE LAST WISH by Andrzej Sapkowski

Title: The Last Wish
Author: Andrzej Sapkowski
Series: Witcher #1
Genres: Fantasy, Short stories
Publisher: Orbit
Release: 2008
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 388

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BLURB:
Geralt de Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin. And a cold-blooded killer. His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good... and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth. The international hit that inspired the video game: The Witcher.

REVIEW: THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss

Title: The Name of The Wind

Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Series: The Kingkiller Chronicles #1
Genres: High Fantasy, Adventure
Publisher: Penguin Group
Source: Physical book
Pages: 662

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BLURB: Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

REVIEW: ALEXANDRIA REBORN by Mark Wallace Maquire

Title: Alexandria Reborn
Author: Mark Wallace Maquire
Series: Alexandria Rising Chronicles #2
Genres: Fiction, History, Adventure
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Release: August 2nd, 2017
Source: Paperback
Pages: 237

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BLURB:

He can't go home. He's dead in the real world. Everything has changed. Forever. In, 'Alexandria Reborn,' the anticipated sequel to 'Alexandria Rising' Rand O'Neal rises from the ashes to join an elite team in an effort to shift the power struggle set in motion by control of the alchemistic Slendoc Meridian. As this fast paced adventure continues, Rand will discover the answer to many of this questions, but will he lost Hope in the process? 

REVIEW: THIS MORTAL COIL by Emily Suvada

REVIEW: THE GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE OF VICE AND VIRTUE by Mackenzi Less

REVIEW: SABRIEL by Garth Nix

Title: Sabriel
Author: Garth Nix
Series: Abhorsen #1
Genres: High fantasy, Adventure, YA
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release: 1996
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 491

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BLURB:
Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him.

With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.

REVIEW: WRITER'S RETWEET by Piers Anthony

Title: Writer's Retweet

Author: Piers Anthony

Series: -

Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure

Publisher: Dreaming Big Publications

Release: August 13th 2016

Source: Ebook

Pages: 94

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BLURB:
Horrifying illusions. Classified government operations.
Heavily guarded secrets.
Cryptic rumors. Dangerous prisoners.
Irresistible passion. Demonic magic.

Piers Anthony weaves this and more into Writer’s Retweet, a collection of five short stories abounding in the adventure, magic, and naughtiness that fans have come to know and love from this author.

In “Experiment,” “Discovery,” and “Mission,” painfully average Bigelow Bilge and Paula Plaintiff are thrust unwillingly into a world fraught with terrifying, victim-specific illusions. Who—or what—is the source of these horrifying encounters? Why have Bigelow and Paula been targeted?

A newspaper reporter in “Dull Street Incident” gets wind of a delicious scandal rumored to have punctuated a stale suburban street. Menacing prisoners, conniving teenage girls, and one well-kept secret leads this reporter to the story of a lifetime. But who will believe it?

In “Forbidden Fruit,” dowdy, middle-aged Edith happens upon a mysterious fruit that completely alters her life—and the life of Kent, an attractive, young neighbor. Seduced by her newfound magical abilities and rediscovered sex appeal, Edith plunges into a world filled with demons, pleasure, and unthinkable risk.

REVIEW: ALEXANDRIA RISING by Mark Wallace Maquire

Title: Alexandria Rising
Author: Mark Wallace Maquire
Series: Alexandria Rising Chronicles #1
Genres: Thriller, Mystery
Publisher: Speckled Leaf Press
Release: October 15th, 2016
Source: Paperback
Pages: 376

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BLURB:

For fans of The Bourne Identity and The Da Vinci Code, comes a new edge of your seat adventure. Rand O'Neal, an ambition-less newspaper reporter, is given a single task upon the death of his grandfather: Destroy a mysterious map. What should be a simple errand thrusts Rand into a journey across three countries chased by unknown pursuers and leads him into a world he never could have imagined existed. This book is labelled an action adventure, but contains elements of science fiction, suspense and mystery. It is also the first in a trilogy and a series of prequels. It is also linked to a multi-media website which allows readers to engage with the experience in video, images and interactive appendices

REVIEW: CHRISTMAS DAYS by Jeanette Winterson

Title: Christmas Days
Author: Jeanette Winterson
Series: -
Genres: Short Stories, Christmas
Publisher: Grove Press
Release: 2016
Source: Hardback
Pages: 293

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BLURB:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? comes an enchanting collection of stories for the holiday season.

For years Jeanette Winterson has loved writing a new story at Christmas time and here she brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold tales. For the Twelve Days of Christmas—a time of celebration, sharing, and giving—she offers these twelve plus one: a personal story of her own Christmas memories. These tales give the reader a portal into the spirit of the season, where time slows down and magic starts to happen. From jovial spirits to a donkey with a golden nose, a haunted house to a SnowMama, Winterson’s innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas. Perfect for reading by the fire with loved ones, or while traveling home for the holidays. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic courtesy of one of our most fearless and accomplished writers.

REVIEW: ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE by Gail Carriger

Title: Etiquette & Espionage
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Finishing School #1
Genres: YA, Steampunk, Adventure
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Release: 2013
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 307

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BLURB:
It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but they also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

REVIEW: DIABOLIC by S.J. Kincaid

REVIEW: HEIR OF NOVRON by Michael J. Sullivan

Title: Heir of Novron

Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Series: The Riyria Revelations #5-6
Genres: High Fantasy, Adventure
Publisher: Orbit
Source: Library physical book
Pages: 932


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BLURB:
A FORCED WEDDING. A DOUBLE EXECUTION. TWO THIEVES HAVE OTHER PLANS.

The New Empire intends to celebrate its victory over the Nationalists with a day that will never be forgotten. On the high holiday of Wintertide, they plan to execute two traitors (Degan Gaunt and the Witch of Melengar) as well as force the Empress into a marriage of their own design. But they didn’t account for Royce and Hadrian finally locating the Heir of Novron—or the pair’s desire to wreak havoc on the New Empire’s carefully crafted scheme.

REVIEW: RISE OF EMPIRE by Michael J. Sullivan

Title: Rise of Empire

Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Series: The Riyria Revelations #3-4
Genres: High Fantasy, Adventure
Publisher: Orbit
Source: Library physical book
Pages: 786


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BLURB:
A PUPPET IS CROWNED. THE TRUE HEIR REMAINS HIDDEN. A ROGUE'S SECRET COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.

War has come to Melengar and once more Royce and Hadrian are hired to make a desperate gamble and form an alliance with the Nationalists whom are fighting the Imperialists in the south. As the power of the Nyphron Empire grows, so does Royce's suspicion that the wizard Esrahaddon is using the thieves as pawns in his own grab for power. To find the truth, he must unravel the secret of Hadrian's past--what he discovers may end their friendship and break Riyria in two.

REVIEW: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen

Title: Water for Elephants

Author: Sara Gruen
Series: -
Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
Source: Paperback
Pages: 335


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BLURB:

Orphaned, penniless, Jacob Jankowski jumps a freight train in the dark, and in that instant, transforms his future.By morning, he's landed a job with the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. By nightfall, he's in love.In an America made colourless by prohibition and the Depression, the circus is a refuge of sequins and sensuality. But behind the glamour lies a darker world, where both animals and men are dispensable. Where falling in love is the most dangerous act of all... 

Martyna's Autumn Book Haul

 

Happy Friday fellow readers!

Today I ask you to join me in discussing books I received this Autumn. I say Autumn, but honestly, I think I got all these books during October.

Nevertheless, I am really exited about all these books, I am happy to have them, read them and discussing them with all of you! So without any further ado, let's see what bookish adventures awaits!

REVIEW: ANGELS & DEMONS by Dan Brown

Title: Angels & Demons

Author: Dan Brown
Series: Robert Langdon #1
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Detective
Publisher: Pocket Books
Source: Hardcover
Pages: 713


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BLURB:
When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol—seared into the chest of a murdered physicist—he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati ... the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth. The Illuminati has now surfaced to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy—the Catholic Church.

Langdon’s worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces they have hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.

Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair ... a clandestine location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

REVIEW: THEFT OF SWORDS by Michael. J. Sullivan

Title: Theft of Swords

Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Series: The Riyria Revelations #1-2
Genres: High Fantasy, Adventure
Publisher: Orbit
Source: Library physical book
Pages: 681


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BLURB:
There's no ancient evil to defeat or orphan destined for greatness, just unlikely heroes and classic adventure. Royce Melborn, a skilled thief, and his mercenary partner, Hadrian Blackwater, are two enterprising rogues who end up running for their lives when they're framed for the murder of the king. Trapped in a conspiracy that goes beyond the overthrow of a tiny kingdom, their only hope is unraveling an ancient mystery before it's too late.

REVIEW: SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: Six of Crows #1
Genres: YA, Adventure, Fantasy
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Source: Physical copy / Kindle Edition
Pages: 462

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SYNOPSIS: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.