A Hint of Hope (Towers of the Earth Prequel) by Nita Round – Review

Tags

5 stars, airship, Book Review, fantasy, lgbtq, Nita Round, paranormal, pirates, prequel, series, Steampunk

About A Hint of Hope by Nita Round

Friends. Pirates. Slavers. Who can they trust? Their lives will depend upon it.

A notorious slaver has acquired the latest in airship design, an Imperial Condor Class transporter. This is a ship designed to change the world and if the slaver transforms it into a warship then no one will be safe. Anywhere.

Magda and Ascara have travelled the world as pirates. An attempt on their lives brings into question who can be trusted. Who is a friend? And who are their foes? With only themselves to rely upon they set out on a daring mission. They join forces with the pirates to stop the largest sale of slaves and gifted ones.

Can they rescue the slaves? Will they stop the creation of a super warship? And will their friendship be enough to survive against the odds?

This is the second prequel in the Towers of the Earth Fantasy series. It brings together many of the characters who are a part of the Towers series and fills in the details of how they come together.

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Review of A Hint of Hope

A Hint of Hope continues the adventures of Magda and Ascara.  As of the end of A Pinch of Salt, they had hooked up with some unusual pirates.  In this new prequel, they’ve been with the pirates for a while.  “Pirates” may not be the best term to use, since they really do all aim for a greater good…..though their method of doing so may be a bit piratical.

The story starts with betrayal and quickly moves to a critical mission to save and free slaves and prevent a war.  The relationship of Magda and Ascara is strengthened and we learn more about both of them.  And the flirting continues.  But most importantly, we learn about the origin of that fabulous airship that graces the pages of the Raven, Fire and Ice, book 1 in this series (to be re-released in March as A Touch of Truth).  I love airships in my steampunk and this ship is one of the best!

A Hint of Hope is a prequel novella that is a complete story that stands on its own, but is even better as a part of the entire series.

The novella was a freebie for the subscribers of Nita Round’s newsletters.  I love this series, so I was thrilled to download this story and share my unbiased review.

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Skycircus (The Cogheart Adventures, #3) by Peter Bunzl – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, childrens, circus, clockwork, middle grade, Peter Bunzl, series, Steampunk

Note: Animated cover downloaded from Peter Bunzl’s author website.

About Skycircus by Peter Bunzl

When a travelling skycircus arrives in Brackenbridge, Lily and Robert can’t wait to step aboard… But there’s something sinister about the hybrid children who appear as part of the act. And before Lily and Robert can do anything, they’re captured by shadowy figures and whisked off in the mysterious flying circus to somewhere far, far away…

Treachery, tight-ropes and trickery combine in this incredible third Cogheart adventure.

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Review of Skycircus

The third installment in the Cogheart series is even more adventurous that the first two.  In Skycircus, Lily is mysteriously presented with a ticket for her and her friends to get into the exciting travelling Skycircus and maybe even meet Miss Angelique, the girl with wings.  Now, any adult would have been suspicious.  But on her birthday, Lily was feeling neglected, so off she went with Robert and Malkin.  They were sure they could make it home before Papa even missed them.

Of course, the Skycircus is a trap set especially for Lily.  And this is where things get a little dark.  The main circus attractions are hybrid children.  Children who have been used as experimentation subjects and then sold to the circus.  Most notably is the headliner, Angelique, the flying girl.  But they want Lily to become the new main attraction.

Shall I state the obvious?  The circus owners are evil!  Lily, Robert and Malkin are not going to make it home before Papa misses them.

As I said, Skycircus is a bit dark, more so that the first two books in the series.  We are talking about human experimentation, kidnapping and imprisonment of innocent children.  But our adventurers never give up, so you know things are going to be okay in the end.  The bad guys will be brought to justice. I can’t say this was my favorite in the series, but I still enjoyed it very much.  This adventure, written for middle grade ages, also entertains adults.

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

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The Shadow Palace (The Viper and the Urchin, #6) by Celine Jeanjean – Review

Tags

5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, Celine Jeanjean, fantasy, series, Steampunk

About The Shadow Palace by Celine Jeanjean

They made it into the palace…
…But will they be able to escape from it?

In the shadowy world of the Airnian court, nothing is more important than knowing who to trust. And nothing is harder to determine.

Rory and the gang need to make alliances if they’re to succeed in their mission, but their attempts are met with intrigue and betrayal. And all the while, the White Hornet is watching, waiting for an opportunity to make them disappear.

Longinus, meanwhile, continues with his quest to discover what happened to his family. His search for answers will take him deep within the palace, and deep within its secrets, until he is faced with a horrific choice.

Can Rory and the gang save him from a fate worse than death?

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Review of The Shadow Palace

The Shadow Palace takes up precisely where The White Hornet left off.  You may recall, that last story ended on a cliffhanger, which I tolerated only because a) I knew it was going to be a cliffhanger and b) I also knew the next installment would be coming soon.  It was a mere three month wait – well worth biding my time.

The Shadow Palace takes Rory, Longinus and crew to a place full of danger, mystery, dark passages, mysterious inhabitants and secrets. The mission, to find out which allies are loyal to Damsport and which allies have turned, has taken the crew to the Airnian Shadow Palace.  A place that is just as hard to get out of as it is to get into.

Their one “ally” is Simeon.  He is the abdicated prince who wastes his life on gambling and other sordid activities.  But for some reason, he has taken an interest in the “southerners”.  He is not to be trusted.  Rory knows it.  Rafe knows it.  They all know it.  Simeon freely admits he withholds the truth.  The very odd alliance constantly evolves and at any one point, you do not know where it will end up – until the end of the book.  I will venture that Simeon is much more than he seems.

Longinus and Rafe are the characters whose past will rise to haunt them.  We already know something about the family of Longinus.  Rafe’s family history has only been touched on briefly.  Both will deal with their past in one way or another, good or bad, giving even more depth to both of these characters.

The whole gang is constantly in some kind of danger.  Any minute their cover might be blown.  The White Hornet is after them, for some unknown reason.  They are constantly slinking about the hallways, basements, and dark passages, looking for information and a way out.  The constant peril makes the story seem much darker than previous books in the series.  I even began to long for a simpler time when it troubles were minor (in comparison) and it was just Rory and Longinus.

But if that were true, I suspect there would be fewer stories to tell.  More stories is better!

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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