Category: Book Reviews

This book was more than worth the wait! Holy Sister, the third and final book of the Ancestor series is one of war and death, but it is also one of love and life. It’s an amazing roller coaster ride that everyone she experience even just once. Again we follow Nona Grey as she plays her role in saving Abeth. It is the subtle changes in Nona’s character that can be easily missed that really make the story. We learn in this final book just how much Nona has grown and how much she has come to learn in this final novel and it is quite amazing what faith can really do if one believes.

Throughout the book we find ourselves travelling back and forth from the escape of the previous book and the present which has the war almost pounding at the gates. Each scene is explosive and action packed and impossible to put down. I have barely been able to the book down!

I don’t want to give anything away with this book so I won’t go into detail of my favourite parts. Just know that this is a MUST READ series that is incredibly written and has a storyline that will keep any reader completely hooked from the first page.

Much praise to Mark Lawrence on the creation of the Ancestor series. I implore anyone who enjoys fabulously written characters in a fantasy storyline that is utterly amazing then these are the books for you. I give this book a rating 10/10 stars.

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I have been so thrilled to finally read the recently published Grey Sister, the second novel of the Ancestor Series authored by Mark Lawrence. After reading it’s predecessor Red Sister, I have been curious to see what would happen next with Nona and her friends, and this latest addition has certainly been worth the wait. The book recommences with Nona and her friends continuing their studies at Sweet Mercy, still grieving the loss of Novices Hessa and Clera for two completely separate reasons.

The storyline itself is written with all the fundamentals that are uniquely Mark Lawrence, providing much needed humour in some serious situations that these brilliantly portrayed characters find themselves in. Nona herself goes through a rainbow of emotions as she follows the ups and downs of life at the convent and then deals with having everything suddenly snatched away, finding herself alone in a cruel world. The author writes each wonderful character into a dramatically woven web of suspense and utter surprise with twists and turns which made me want to go back and reread several scenes, especially when Nona and Ara perform some amazing feats using the Path. Each scene written in a way making each character and their stories real for readers with even minimal imagination.

This novel is one that continues to grow on the reader long after the book is finished. So many questions left unanswered! What is next for Glass and Kettle? Will they return to their positions and posts at Sweet Mercy? Will Nona and friends join them? Where else could they go? Is Sherzal telling some truth in her claims at trial? Will everyone survive to answer any of these questions? And then there is Zole. Naïve Zole who has no idea that she is in all kinds of trouble now she has come into the possession of an ancient relic.

Overall I have extremely enjoyed Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence and would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy. It really has been an adventurous read and my favourite so far this year. Thank you Mark Lawrence for delivering fans another unbelievable addition to the fantasy genre. I give Grey Sister a rating of 10/10 stars.

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There was a reason I couldn’t wait to read this book and as soon as I began I realised why! Mark Lawrence has out done himself with his latest creation – Red Sister. An amazing book, making it impossible to put down, Red Sister begins with story of Nona, and how she finds herself caged in the clutches of a child-taker after being given away by her village. Mark Lawrence spins an amazing tale for this character and builds her into a person the reader barracks for throughout the novel. 

Of course Nona is not the only character of the book, and she is eventually joined by others when she reaches her destination. She finds herself housed by nuns and befriended by girls she had only dreamt of meeting. Friendship being of utmost importance to Nona, and she shows this numerous times throughout the novel. 

With her sisters, Nona finds herself in a variety of predicaments and adventures. Some of them adding to her learning as a Red Sister, others adding to the bonds of friendship. The most strongest friendships being forged with Clera, Ara and Hessa. Together they learn their trades of magics and fighting with and without weaponry. Each girl showing their own special talent. 

The novel is full of thrilling adventure, love and death. Each page holds the answers to the questions of the pages before and all together form a wonderous story that has the reader glued throughout. Mark Lawrence has revealed his Own form of magic in creating this novel, producing words that create a tale to be remembered long after the last page has been turned. 

I have loved every chapter and every page of this book. From chapter one I have been engrossed in the world the author has created for some amazing characters that can easily be seen in the minds eye, they are written so real. I recommend this book to anyone interested in fantasy of the age of young adult onwards. I have given the book a rating of 10/10 stars. Thank you Mark Lawrence for giving us the most exceptional novel I have read so far this year. 

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This is already on my #mustread list. Another fabulous novel by amazing Mark Lawrence 📚 👏 💯 🔥 👍

Time travel…. Definitely worth checking out 🤗

Book Synopsis

In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy-genius Nick Hayes discovers he’s dying. And it isn’t even the strangest thing to happen to him that week.

Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange—yet curiously familiar—man is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help—now.

He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in his way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-wielding maniac and the laws of physics.

Challenge accepted.

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This is the final novel to the Troy Game saga authored by Sara Douglass. Druid’s Sword brings an ending to a somewhat repetitive story that if I am to be truly honest wasn’t quite what I had expected. I’m not entirely sure if its because of the repetition of events from past lives especially those which have been repeated in previous novels, or because of the storyline itself. The introduction of an adolescent Grace and Catling really tip the scales into the realm of the new, but all in all I felt as though I was rereading books already read.

Although disappointed, I did continue to the end of the novel and I did enjoy what was new and different. There is obviously something even more mysterious and dangerous coming. But will it heal or destroy this precious land they all seem to say they care about so much? I am at the point where I wish they would just “throw away the ring already”!!!

Overall I would recommend this tittle to those that love mythological fantasy that have patience for reputation in the attempt to find the storyline birdied beneath. I give this book a rating of 7/10 stars

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Darkwitch Rising is the third book to the Troy Game series, and is a complete “game changer” no-pun intended. With the birth of Jane and Wayland as brother and sister (Genvissa and Asterion reborn), and the others spread out over England, and still across the seas in Normandy, the game has had to act out of its own volition to ensure things continue to go as has been planned.

In this book we find that all of the characters are fully aware of their last lives, unlike this books predecessor, there are no characters still struggling to figure out what is really set out around them. They are all born fully aware of where they must go and what they must do, and work they way across land and sea to see it done.

My liking for Noah/Caela/Cornelia has definitely diminished, I think more likely due to the characters obvious change and growth that takes away most that I had admired. To take that place is strangely Asterion. The character when learn much about in this book than at any other time, gives the reader a sense that perhaps he really isn’t as bad as they had first thought. I feel that the growth of this character and the changes in beliefs has obviously occurred. So much so that I actually tend to feel sorry for him at different areas of the book.

Overall I did enjoy this book of historical mythology mixed just so as to tell the tale of a likely few that have been caught up in a game and won’t be renounced until after the game is completed. I recommend this book to all who are interested in fantasy fiction, as well as the historical mythology genre. I give this book a rating of 8/10 stars.

War and danger in a fantasy setting. Absolutely fantastic. Definitely something to check out 👍 👌 👀 🤔 📚

Book Synopsis

Merciless. Murderer. Monster. He has been called many names in his time.

Built for war and nothing else, he has witnessed every shade of violence humans know, and he has wrought his own masterpieces with their colours. He cared once, perhaps, but far too long ago. He is bound to his task, dead to the chaos he wreaks for his masters.

Now, he has a new master to serve and a new war to endure. In the far reaches of the Realm, Hartlund tears itself in two over coin and crown. This time he will fight for a boy king and a general bent on victory.

Beneath it all he longs for change. For something to surprise him. For an end to this cycle of warfare.

Every fighter has a last fight. Even one made of stone.

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