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Whiskey With My Book

~ And a cozy spot to enjoy them both.

Whiskey With My Book

Tag Archives: fantasy

Weekend Tales

12 Friday May 2023

Posted by WWMB in Art, On the Bookshelf

≈ 4 Comments

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Art, Beth Cato, currently reading, fantasy, historical, Jojo Moyes, society 6

Today I am sharing the books I am currently reading or listening to. I hope you will share what you are reading by posting in the comments at the end.

Kentucky Sunset by Emily Kenney

Clicking on the book covers below will take you to Amazon. Use of these links supports this blog and is very much appreciated. I also recommended checking with your library (if you want to save some $$$).

On my Kindle, I have A Thousand Recipes for Revenge by Beth Cato. If you are a Prime member, Amazon invites you to select a book each month from a list of books that will be released the following month. This one comes out on June 13th. The fantasy takes place in a world where food is magical and the magicians are chefs. Lots of political intrigue included.

About A Thousand Recipes for Revenge

A world on the brink of war and a mother and daughter on the run, in a thrilling novel of swashbuckling adventure, culinary magic, and just desserts.

Adamantine “Ada” Garland has an empathic connection to food and wine, a magical perception of aromas, flavors, and ingredients. Invaluable property of the royal court, Ada was in service to the Five Gods and to the Gods-ordained rulers of Verdania—until she had enough of injustice and bloodshed and deserted, seeking to chart her own destiny. When mysterious assassins ferret her out after sixteen years in hiding, Ada, now a rogue Chef, and her beloved Grand-mère run for their lives, only to find themselves on a path toward an unexpected ally.

A foreign princess in a strange court, Solenn unknowingly shares more with Ada than an epicurean gift. They share blood. With her newfound magical perception, she becomes aware of a plot to kill her fiancé, the prince. It’s part of a ploy by adversarial forces in the rival country of Albion to sow conflict, and Solenn is set up to take the blame.

As Ada’s and Solenn’s paths converge, a mother and her long-lost daughter reunite toward a common goal, and against a shadowy enemy from Ada’s past who is out for revenge. But what sacrifices must be made? What hope is there when powerful Gods pick sides in a war simmering to eruption?

Well just as I started a new audiobook, my library hold became available, so I switched to The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes. I checked this out for my library’s June book club read. Having previously read The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, I was familiar with the setting and Kentucky’s Pack Horse Library Project which is central to my current book’s story.

About The Giver of Stars

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice’s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.

What happens to them–and to the men they love–becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.

Tell me! What are you reading?

The Blood Gift (The Blood Gift Duology, #2) by N. E. Davenport – Review

02 Tuesday May 2023

Posted by WWMB in Book Review

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4 stars, Book Review, fantasy, N. E. Davenport, scifi, series

Review of The Blood Gift

In The Blood Gift, Ikenna comes into her powers.  Magic.  Basically banned by the Mareenians, her people, the gift may be the only thing that will save them when the Blood Emperor invades Mareen in an attempt to control the world. 

At first Ikenna’s control of her powers is lacking.  She improves through the narrative, but she is a young person whose lack of maturity is an obstacle to using those powers to help her team and Mareen.  Faced with a very powerful foe, her magic alone is not likely to be enough to get the job done.  Ikenna’s team will play a pivotal role in most of the good and bad events of the story.

I’m not sure what compelled me to read this book.  The violence that disturbed me in The Blood Trials, is still present in this second book, although the motive behind it is less arbitrary. I supposed I was invested in Ikenna, the main character and wanted to make sure she found her way in the end.  And if that also involved saving a lot of people, so much the better.

While it is not necessary to read The Blood Trials before The Blood Gift, the background provided there is helpful.  The author does fill in a little.  I found myself wishing there had not been so much time between the two books because it was a challenge to recall some of the details.  And I found certain aspects of the story to be lacking depth without the backstory.  The two biggest items were Ikenna’s relationship with her team (with the exception of Darius) and the betrayal of Mareen’s council.  

The racism that was big in the first book, is toned down in The Blood Gift. Elitism, war, and disregard for life, carry over into this book. Hope, diversity, heritage, and self are also important themes that are woven through the story.  The Blood Gift has a proper ending, but hints that there may be more to the story.

Through Netgalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion.

*****************************

About The Blood Gift by N.E. Davenport

After discovering the depth of betrayal, treachery, and violence perpetrated against her by Mareen’s Tribunal Council and exposing her illegal blood-gift to save her Praetorian squad, Ikenna becomes a fugitive with a colossal bounty on her head.

Yet, somehow, that’s the least of her worries.

Her grandfather’s longtime allies refuse to offer help, and the Blood Emperor’s Warlord is tracking her. She’s also struggling to control the enormous power she was granted by the Goddess of Blood Rites…and come to terms with the promises she made to get such power.

Amidst all of this, the Blood Emperor wages a full-scale invasion against Mareen and leaves a trail of decimated cities, war crimes, and untold death in his wake. As the horrors increase, Ikenna and her team realize they must assassinate the Blood Emperor and quickly end the war. But the price to do so is steep and has planet-shattering consequences.

The price to do nothing, though, is annihilation.

War has erupted. Alliances are fracturing. And Ikenna is torn between her loyalties, her desires for revenge, and the power threatening to consume her. With the world aflame, only one thing is certain: blood will be spilled.

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Weekend Tales

14 Friday Apr 2023

Posted by WWMB in On the Bookshelf

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Angeline Boulley, Art, cat, currently reading, Delemhach, fantasy, magic, mystery, romance, Wren Studio

Today I am sharing the books I am currently reading or listening to. I hope you will share what you are reading by posting in the comments at the end.

Kitchen Witch by WrenStudio

Clicking on the book covers below will take you to Amazon. Use of these links supports this blog and is very much appreciated. I also recommended checking with your library (if you want to save some $$$).

On my Kindle, I have The House Witch by Delemhach. This one is about a witch with domestic powers. Haven’t we all wished for the dishes to be magically washed and put away? Among many other household duties! I borrowed this through Prime Reading. Also, there is a cat!

About The House Witch

When Finlay Ashowan joins the staff of the King and Queen of Daxaria, he’s an enigma. No one knows where he comes from or how he came to be where he is, which suits Fin just fine. He’s satisfied simply serving as the royal cook, keeping nosy passersby out of his kitchen, and concocting some truly uncanny meals.

But Fin’s secret identity doesn’t stay hidden for long. After all, it’s not every day a house witch and his kitten familiar, Kraken, take to meddling in imperial affairs. As his powers are gradually discovered by the court, Fin finds himself involved in a slew of intrigues: going head-to-head with knights with less-than-chivalrous intentions, helping to protect the pregnant queen, fending off the ire of the royal mage, and uncovering a spy in the castle. And that’s only the beginning—because Fin’s past is catching up with him just as his love life is getting complicated . . .

My current audiobook is Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. The book is the All Iowa Reads YA selection for 2023. We are reading it for book club in May. The audiobook is currently on sale for just $3.99 from Chirp.

About Firekeeper’s Daughter

As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in—both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When her family is struck by tragedy, Daunis puts her dreams on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team.

After Daunis witnesses a shocking murder that thrusts her into a criminal investigation, she agrees to go undercover. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home. How far will she go to protect her community if it means tearing apart the only world she’s ever known?

Tell me! What are you reading?

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