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Whiskey With My Book

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Monthly Archives: August 2019

The Harp of Kings (Warrior Bards, #1) by Juliet Marillier

29 Thursday Aug 2019

Posted by WWMB in Book Review

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

5 stars x 2, Book Review, fantasy, favorite, Ireland, Juliet Marillier, magic, Mélanie Delon, music, series


About The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier

Eighteen-year-old Liobhan is a powerful singer and an expert whistle player. Her brother has a voice to melt the hardest heart, and a rare talent on the harp. But Liobhan’s burning ambition is to join the elite warrior band on Swan Island. She and her brother train there to compete for places, and find themselves joining a mission while still candidates. Their unusual blend of skills makes them ideal for this particular job, which requires going undercover as traveling minstrels. For Swan Island trains both warriors and spies.

Their mission: to find and retrieve a precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone mysteriously missing. If the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the candidate will not be accepted and the people could revolt. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. When ambition clashes with conscience, Liobhan must make a bold decision and is faced with a heartbreaking choice…

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Review of The Harp of Kings

I absolutely loved The Harp of Kings. If you have read any of Juliet Marillier’s books, you know that she is natural storyteller.

Tears are shed and heartstrings are pulled as you read the story told from the alternating veiwpoints of of Liobhan, Brocc and Dau while they take on their first and hopefully not last mission for Swan Island. In each character’s narration, they reveal the hopes and fears that magically transfer from the character to the reader. All three are young, but family and experience have given them wisdom beyond their years.

Although the story takes place in a different part of Erin than Marillier’s Blackthorn and Grim series, the atmosphere is the same. References to people and places of that series will delight fans. A wisewoman, a ruler that needs help, a bit of mysticism and people becoming friends are also familiar themes.

As the book blurb describes, the Crown Prince is a boor. Nobody believes he will make a good ruler, but there is no alternative. And our three heroes are tasked with finding the harp so the coronation can occur. Up until the very end, I was not sure how that part of the story would play out, but I was happy with the rightful ending.

Details of various character’s lives, especially Dau, Brocc and the child Aislinn are revealed throughout the book. Surprisingly, Liobhan’s background is the sparsest, even though she is the strongest character. The lovely cover by Mélanie Delon does a nice job of depicting Liobhan.  This lack of detail may be deliberate, but in the meantime, I was drawn to Dau, who’s tragic background had me cheering for him all the way! As an animal lover, he gets extra points too!

After finishing the story, I did a little research and read that the harp is significant in Irish history and mythology. So it is no wonder that it now inspires such a magical story. While the instrument itself may be just a plain harp, the effects of the music that springs are mystical. Take that as you like, but when Brocc plays his plain bard’s harp, listeners can’t help but dance or laugh or weep. Does the Harp of Kings have such magic? The myth surrounding it would have you believe so. And reading the book proves that magic does exist!

I am so in love with this story that I needed more than 5 stars to rate it. Full of dreams, youth, wisdom, and music, The Harp of Kings is heartbreaking, beautiful, hopeful and magical.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Links

Add The Harp of Kings to your Goodreads shelf:

Pre-order The Harp of Kings (releases September 3rd):

 

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The Blacksmith Queen (Scarred Earth Saga, #1) by G.A. Aiken

21 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by WWMB in Book Review

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, fantasy, G.A. Aiken, humor, romance, series


About The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken

When a prophesy brings war to the Land of the Black Hills, Keeley Smythe must join forces with a clan of mountain warriors who are really centaurs in a thrilling new fantasy romance series from New York Times bestselling author G.A. Aiken.

The Old King Is Dead

With the demise of the Old King, there’s a prophesy that a queen will ascend to the throne of the Black Hills. Bad news for the king’s sons, who are prepared to defend their birthright against all comers. But for blacksmith Keeley Smythe, war is great for business. Until it looks like the chosen queen will be Beatrix, her younger sister. Now it’s all Keeley can do to protect her family from the enraged royals.

Luckily, Keeley doesn’t have to fight alone. Because thundering to her aid comes a clan of kilt-wearing mountain warriors called the Amichai. Not the most socially adept group, but soldiers have never bothered Keeley, and rough, gruff Caid, actually seems to respect her. A good thing because the fierce warrior will be by her side for a much longer ride than any prophesy ever envisioned …

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Review of The Blacksmith Queen

I have been looking forward to this book for too long! Reading the blurb, I knew this would much like the author’s Dragon Kin series. Larger than life good guys, small minded bad guys, lots of violence, and tons of humor and the perfect amount of kissing.

I was not disappointed!

Keeley Smythe comes from a long line of blacksmiths. Her mother was a blacksmith and it looks like there will be at least one younger sister to follow in Keeley’s footsteps. Keeley can swing a hammer – a really big hammer. She is also friend to all, especially animals, including the misunderstood demon wolves. And for Keeley, family is all. Don’t mess with Keeley’s family. You won’t like the results. How can you not like this heroine?

Caid is a low-key hero. Gruff, fierce, strong, quiet and, let’s face it, anti-social. Caid, his sister and other members of their tribe are there to make sure the future queen is kept safe. Keeley, will not let her sister go without her, so she joins the protectors. Together, they make an able group of warriors who are in for a surprise or two.

Future queen Beatrix reminds me of Dagmar Rheinholdt, the Beast of the Northlands (What a Dragon Should Know). Studious, calculating, smarter than everyone in the room. Except with Beatrix, her ambition makes her a little less smart.

In addition to blacksmiths, there are witches, elves, dwarves, centaurs, demon wolves, and humans. I love the heroic additions to the story: a quest to find gold, castles to battle over, pheasants to save, armor to wear, and enemies to defeat. There are several references to the world readers might remember from Aiken’s Dragon Kin series, but there is only one dragon in the story. Will there be more ties to that world? I hope so.

My favorite part of this book is the humor. Aiken is a genius with the dry conversational humor that just makes me laugh out loud! I dare you not to do the same. 😊

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Links

Add The Blacksmith Queen to your Goodreads shelf:

Pre-order The Blacksmith Queen (releases August 27th):

 

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Secrets of the Greek Revival (Mystery House, #1) by Eva Pohler – Audiobook Review

20 Tuesday Aug 2019

Posted by WWMB in Book Review

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

5 stars, audiobook, Book Review, Eva Pohler, haunted house, mystery, series


About Secrets of the Greek Revival by Eva Pohler

Ellen and her two best friends share a mid-life crisis by hatching a plan to renovate an 1860’s Greek revival in the nearby historic district of San Antonio. Although Ellen isn’t one to believe in ghosts, she comes face to face with something inexplicable in the attic. Her ghost-enthusiast friends convince her that they must help the spirit find closure, and as they dig deeper into the past, they uncover a shocking history that someone in the neighborhood doesn’t want exposed. But Ellen and her friends don’t give up easily. They realize they’ve been called to give voice to the invisible women who suffered behind the walls of the house for decades.

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Audiobook Review of Secrets of the Greek Revival

Ellen, Sue and Tanya are a middle age trio looking for something interesting to do. They start out with a seemingly innocent interest in flipping an old house. But in the house they have their eyes on, there are ghost girls, ghost cats, unexplained noises and nosy neighbors. There is much more to the story than that, but with that beginning, I was hooked.

The history of the house, uncovered by the dauntless trio, adds the haunting aspect to the house. When a third party purchases the house out from underneath Ellen, Sue and Tanya, the girls are pretty sure something is up. And not just a supposedly haunted house.

Narrated by the author, the story is told from the viewpoint of all three ladies.  Each voice is nicely differentiated to help the listener know who is who.  Author narrations are tricky.  The author knows the story better than anyone, but may not have the acting skills required to draw in the listener.  Ms. Pohler has done a great job with her story.  In fact, I did not even realize she was the narrator until I started writing this review!

I did enjoy the middle-aged heroines. I am not going to say the author is of an age with her characters. I do not know her age. But she understands the personal issues the 50-something crowd deals with such as the empty nest and aging parents. When such characters are also the solvers of a haunted house mystery, the combination is hard to resist. This is my first Mystery House book, but it will not be my last.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author through her newsletter giveaway. My review is my honest opinion.

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Links

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Purchase Secrets of the Greek Revival:

 

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