reviews

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

The Shadow of the Gods (The Bloodsworn Saga 1) by John Gwynne

A century has passed since the gods fought and drove themselves to extinction. Now only their bones remain, promising great power to those brave enough to seek them out.

As whispers of war echo across the land of Vigrið, fate follows in the footsteps of three warriors: a huntress on a dangerous quest, a noblewoman pursuing battle fame, and a thrall seeking vengeance among the mercenaries known as the Bloodsworn.

All three will shape the fate of the world as it once more falls under the shadow of the gods. (publisher)

I was very excited to read this, and I wasn’t disappointed!

We have 3 POVs: Orka, Varg and Elvar. Orka, a former warrior, wants to just live a peaceful life with her family. But that life is disrupted when her husband is killed, and her son stolen. Varg is a former thrall (slave) who wants to avenge his sister’s death and joins Bloodsworn, a warband. Elvar is a daughter of a jarl who joined a warband in search of glory.

I have to say that there is a fair number of characters. And I can already see myself wondering who all these people are when reading the next book. I kept wondering how these 3 main characters will get together.

It took me some time to warm up to Orka but in the in she was the character I was most interested in. I wanted to, and still want to, learn more about her past. At first, she seems very strict and harsh towards her son, and you could tell there’s a story behind that. I found Varg to be the less interesting, many of the other characters in his group were far more interesting. I’m interested to see how the betrayals will affect Elvar in the future and how that storyline evolves.

I liked the world-building and writing. By looking at the cover you would think there are a lot of dragons but that wasn’t the case. Maybe in the next book? This was my first read by Gwynne, even though I’ve had Malice for some time. But I can’t wait to read the next book.

4/5

Published: Orbit (May 6, 2021)
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley

reviews

The Rebel Nun by Marj Charlier

The Rebel Nun by Marj Charlier

Marj Charlierís The Rebel Nun is based on the true story of Clotild, the daughter of a sixth-century king and his concubine, who leads a rebellion of nuns against the rising misogyny and patriarchy of the medieval church.

At that time, women are afforded few choices in life: prostitution, motherhood, or the cloister. Only the latter offers them any kind of independence. By the end of the sixth century, even this is eroding as the church begins to eject women from the clergy and declares them too unclean to touch sacramental objects or even their priest-husbands.

Craving the legitimacy thwarted by her bastard status, Clotild seeks to become the next abbess of the female Monastery of the Holy Cross, the most famous of the womenís cloisters of the early Middle Ages. When the bishop of Poitiers blocks her appointment and seeks to control the nunnery himself, Clotild masterminds an escape, leading a group of nuns on a dangerous pilgrimage to beg her royal relatives to intercede on their behalf. But the bishop refuses to back down, and a bloody battle ensues. Will Clotild and her sisters succeed with their quest, or will they face ex-communication, possibly even death?

In the only historical novel written about the incident, The Rebel Nun is a richly imagined story about a truly remarkable heroine.

Clotild is an illegitimate daughter of Frankish King Charibert. After her father’s death, she is sent to a monastery called Holy Cross in 6th century Poitiers. It’s believed to be the safest place for her. When the previous abbess dies, Clotild is believed to be the next abbess. But instead, bishop Maroveus appoints Lebover to be the next abbess and life under her rule sets out to be a difficult one when she cuts food rationing drastically.

Christianity is still a fairly new thing, and she has learnt about herbs and traditional gods and goddesses from her mother and grandmother. Around this time the church has started removing women from any positions they held in the church. Because women are seen as “unclean”. Clotild has accepted Christianity and her life in the cloister, but little by little she starts to question the churches decisions and how they treat women. Many of the women are at the monastery to avoid unwanted marriage, bloodthirsty relatives or prostitution rather than their devotion to religious life.

6th century France is certainly not a place that is often featured. It was great to read something from Merovingian time. I was a bit hesitant towards the book since it’s set in a monastery, but I didn’t mind it at all. It didn’t feel preachy or boring at all.

The bishops and kings weren’t interested in listening or believing what the nuns were saying. They just assumed Clotild was jealous of Lebover. So not much changed there… Just be more pious and obey men. No matter if you starve because apparently it brings you closer to heaven or something.

My one problem was the romance plot which I thought was unnecessary. But other than that, I really enjoyed the book.

4/5

Published: Blackstone Publishing (March 2, 2021)
Format: eBook
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

About the Author

Marj Charlier began her writing career at daily and mid-size newspapers before joining the Wall Street Journal as a staff reporter. After twenty years in journalism, she pursued her MBA and began a second career in corporate finance. The Rebel Nun is her first historical novel, and her eleventh published novel.

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reviews

The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff

The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff

1942. Sadie Gault is eighteen and living with her parents in the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous tunnels beneath the city. One day Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers.

Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding.

Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds. Inspired by incredible true stories, The Woman with the Blue Star is an unforgettable testament to the power of friendship and the extraordinary strength of the human will to survive. (publisher)

Sadie’s family is living in the Krakow ghetto during WWII. But they manage to leave before the inhabitants are transferred to the concentration camps. With another family, they hide in a sewer beneath the city. At first, they think that they will be there just a while before moving somewhere else, but soon it becomes evident that there is nowhere to go. Ella is from a well-to-do gentile family and living with her stepmother who is throwing parties to Nazis. She catches glimpse of a girl in the sewers, they become friends and Ella helps by bringing some food for them.

The book is largely focused on the people hiding in the sewers, so we don’t see the concentration camps or much about what’s happening in the city. So, in that sense, it’s a bit different book from many other WWII books. We have both Sadie’s and Ella’s POV and for once I liked both just as much.

It was nice to see the growth of both girls during this difficult time. Especially Ella, who was from an affluent family, saw a whole different world when she went to the other side of the city and befriended Sadie.

There were few scenes that I thought were a bit far fetched. Mainly the idea that the girls could converse through a sewer grate in the street multiple times with no one noticing. But overall, it was a well-written book. This was my first book by the author, but I had heard good things about her books. I definitely want to read more from her.

4/5

Published: Park Row (May 4, 2021)
Format: eBook
Pages: 336
Source: Edelweiss

reviews

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

The Bone Shard Daughter (The Drowning Empire 1) by Andrea Stewart

Magic. Revolution. Identity.

The Emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.

Lin is the Emperor’s daughter and she spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people. (publisher)

I was so excited to read this and I had heard so many good things about this but sadly it didn’t live up to that expectation.

Okay, first of all, there’s a lot of POVs. Lin is the emperor’s daughter, Jovis is a smuggler trying to find his wife, Phalue is the governor’s daughter who has a girlfriend named Ranami who sides with the rebels and then Sand, although she only gets about 2 chapters. The only storyline I was interested in was Lin. Well, Sand was interesting, but she had so few chapters that I didn’t really see the point of having them on top of all the others. Phalue was totally pointless and don’t understand what she added to the story.

I just didn’t connect with any of the characters. The chapters were quite short due to the constant POV change, which didn’t help to connect to them. I felt that I didn’t learn to know these characters or the world. There were many little islands, and one of them sunk, but that’s about it.

I liked the concept of the shards and how you can control people through them, but it was just… lacking something. Can’t say what it was exactly but something. Mostly I was just annoyed with the constant POV change. The first part of the books is very slow before the pace picks up.

I was so surprised that Jovis was looking for his wife who went missing like 7 years ago. Because I thought he was a teenager or so. And in all the flashbacks they were kids. I was just confused, and I never got how old they really were, but it was weird.

Everyone else seems to love this so maybe it’s just me.

2,5 stars

Published: Orbit (April 8, 2021)
Format: eBook
Pages: 435
Source: Netgalley

reviews

Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh

Quiet in Her Bones by Nalini Singh

When socialite Nina Rai disappeared without a trace, everyone wrote it off as another trophy wife tired of her wealthy husband. But now her bones have turned up in the shadowed green of the forest that surrounds her elite neighborhood, a haven of privilege and secrets that’s housed the same influential families for decades.

The rich live here, along with those whose job it is to make their lives easier. And somebody knows what happened to Nina one rainy night ten years ago. Her son Aarav heard a chilling scream that night, and he’s determined to uncover the ugly truth that lives beneath the moneyed elegance . . . but no one is ready for the murderous secrets about to crawl out of the dark.

Even the dead aren’t allowed to break the rules in this cul-de-sac. (publisher)

Ten years ago, Aarav Rai’s mother, a socialite, disappeared with the money she took from her husband’s safe. Ishaan was convinced that she was a thief who just took off. But her son isn’t convinced, especially because he remembers a scream from that night. A decade later Aarav is an author, back in his childhood home after an accident, when his mother’s body is found.

I was curious to read this since I’ve loved the Guild Hunter series, but this was my first of her mystery book and the first book I’ve read that’s set in New Zeeland.

Set in Auckland, New Zeeland in a privileged neighbourhood in a cul-de-sac. Aarav isn’t happy to be back living with his controlling father, his new wife and daughter, and there are old family issues. I actually liked Aarav’s relationship with his half-sister Pari and the way he was looking after her. That was a good thing in this dysfunctional family.

Aarav wasn’t always, and I mean often, likeable but he was an interesting character. The victim wasn’t very likeable either, but you could see the love between mother and son, although a very complex one.

There are quite a few characters since we meet a lot of neighbours and many of those were interesting in their own right.

I loved the book, and I couldn’t figure out who did it. A bit different from what I usually read but very enjoyable.

4/5

Published: Atria Books (February 9, 2021)
Format: eBook
Pages: 384
Source: Netgalley