Belvedor and the Four Corners by Ashleigh Bello

 

In the Four Corners, in the land of Olleb-Yelfra everyone is born a slave. The only way out is to enter Free Fall Day when you reach the age of 18. This is exactly what Arianna Belvedor plans to do. She's an accomplished fighter but, as you would expect, fate throws a massive spanner in the works. The only option is for Ari and her new found friends (one from each of the other three corners) to escape... 

There is a lot good with this story. World building and character development both work well for a YA novel. The idea that magic has been banished from the land and that Ari and co. will be the ones to bring it back has been done many times before but the story telling is enough to make it feel fresh. I guess the idea of Free Fall day will make it reminiscent of Hunger Games (never read those though so I could be wrong) but hey, give the people what they want. 

As book 1in a series BatFC did enough to make me feel I will be picking up the next volume when it comes out

3.8/5*

Thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto this tour and please, if you can, have a look at the blog posts from the other reviewers below

 

Thoughts on animal cruelty in fiction

 So, I finished reading a book last night and while I enjoyed it for the most part there was also a point where I almost walked away from it (it was only just over 200 pages so I stuck it out).

The issue I had with it was the harm done to two dogs. One was a loyal dog who was trying to protect his owner - this one was smashed in the snout with a crowbar (but had no sign of injury the next morning) and also had it's tail hacked off for no real reason other than to prove the villain of the piece was a sadistic bastard. The other was an old dog encountered again by the villain in an otherwise empty house - this one had it's throat slit and the body dumped in the front garden.

And this got me thinking, why is it that characters go through all kinds of misery, harm, pain and torturous death in fiction all the time and it doesn't bother me one little but as soon as animals start getting hurt I find a problem with it. 

Anything goes in fiction but leave the animals alone

The Greatest Beer Run Ever by John "Chick" Donohue and JT Molloy

The tag-line for this biographical tale reads 'A Crazy Adventure In A Crazy War'. Trust me, Crazy doesn't even come close! 

One night in a bar in Inwood, NYC ex marine John "Chick" Donohue is chatting with the bartender while the beer is flowing. They get onto how good it would be to deliver a beer to friends. The only problem is that the friends are in Vietnam... and there's a war on! 

Obviously Chick thinks 'what a great idea' and agrees to the 'mission'. The bartender gives him a list of names and with a backpack full of beer he is off. 

There are many scrapes and adventures as Chick works his way to 'Nam and there is a good amount of humour in his escapades but that is well balanced by the serious side and questions of why the troops were there anyway. 

I'll admit that I don't know much about the Vietnam War so this was kinda like a history book too and, as someone who loves history, this added an extra element to the story. 

Chick's indomitable spirit and Scallywag ways make for a great read. I would recommend this

 3.9/5*and a raised glass

Thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto this tour and to Monoray for providing the review copy. Please, if you can find time, have a look at the reviews by the other bloggers on this tour (above) 

The Lockdown Diary of Tom Cooper by Spencer Brown

 

Well now, this was a bit of a surprise. I wasn't sure how I would feel about a book about Lockdown having spent 4 months at home myself but it turns out it was just the book I needed. 

Tom Cooper is a single father of two who, due to the Corona virus Lockdown has to work from school, home educate his children and generally cope with all life has to throw at him. The zoom meeting fiascos alone will resonate with many but when you chuck in competitive NHS supporting with the neighbours, getting accused of stockpiling while shopping when he is only trying to help others and, well, the list goes on... the author has produced a book that should be on all book shelves. 

At times cringe worthy and hilariously uncomfortable this also has it's sweet moments. 

A winner all the way and the book you didn't know you needed. 

4.7/5*

Thanks, as always, to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the Blogtour for this book and please, if you can, have a look at the posts by the other bloggers who have taken part. 

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson - early thoughts

 It doesn't seem like 10 years since I got my grubby claws on an arc copy of Way of Kings, the first in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archives but I guess it must be. And now the much anticipated 4th enormous volume, Rhythm of War, is out. I was fortunate enough to be offered a sample of the first 100 or so pages last week for review so, obviously, I snapped it up.

 So, here we go. RoW starts, as all volumes have so far, with the prologue which gives another point of view telling of the events that kicked this whole thing off. This time it is Navani we follow on the night of Gavilar's murder... and a very interesting POV it is too! Nope, no spoilers here, sorry. 

 Then we move on to the story proper. Unlike previous volumes which carried straight on from the last (more or less) RoW kicks off around a year after the events of Oathbringer but there's not a lot of time for catching up. Straight from the off we are into the action with Kaladin and his Windrunners battling a host of Fused. I would say this is what Sanderson does best, the big epic battle scenes but to be honest that's only a part of it. His world building is off the chart, his character development up there with the best of the best. And it's not just the big part characters - even lesser players in this tale feel like they deserve to be there. 

And then... The SkyBarge. Just WOW!! That's all I can say really (y'know, the whole 'no spoilers here' thing). 

 I know the majority of Sanderson's work ties into his Cosmere and there were moments here that reminded me of his Mistborn series. It's going to be interesting to see see how the whole thing develops over the years. 

 But anyway, back to the book. The sample I recieved is only a small part of RoW but there is so much there that when I get home tomorrow and start on the book proper I'm going to start right from page 1 and experience all this awesomeness again. 

 Once again Mr Sanderson you have knocked it out of the park - and then some

Thank you to Gollancz and Will O'Mullane for the sample chapters and the invitation to join this Blogtour. Please visit the other bloggers (below) to see what they thought

 

The Beach Party Mystery by Peter Bartram

 

It's the Swinging Sixties and Brighton is getting ready for a massive beach party with one of the biggest names in rock set to headline. Our intrepid hero, newspaper hack Colin Crampton is covering the story as putting one too many noses out of joint has seen him moved to the paper's Entertainment section. 

Before too long though he's up to his ears in trouble and mystery solving - and a cracking story unfolds. 

I will admit here and now that my taste in crime fiction is usually a bit more 'modern day' than this but something about this book intrigued me. The feel of the story was spot on, the 60s vibe resonating through the pages and the lack of tech really made a refreshing change. There was a good level of humour alongside the action and the sleuthing and although it did seem a tad silly at times I enjoyed it. I will certainly be looking out for more in this series. 

3.8/5* A good read

Thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto this tour and please, if you can, have a look at the other posts by the bloggers below

Bury Them Deep by James Oswald

 

There's something big going down in Edinburgh, it's 'need to know' and, as if that's not enough, a civilian member of staff at the Edinburgh nick has gone missing.

Obviously Tony McLean is, as usual, up to his neck in it, getting a strip torn off him by his superiors and, well... just being Tony really. 

As usual for this series there is a weird vibe to the story but not as supernatural as some and it did catch me out a few times which is always appreciated. 

So, yeah, I enjoyed this as much as I have all the McLean series. Oswald has built up a good set and I will be looking out for the next when it comes out next year. 

Highly recommended 4.3/5*

 During the early part of this year, as you know, the country went into Lockdown due to this bloody virus and because of this I had to Shield for just over 4 months due to health issues. During this time I got through a lot of books (and I mean A LOT! - well, I was stuck at home the sun was shining and I had a lawn chair - What's a Wyrm to do 😉). It was in the early days of Shielding I discovered the Tony McLean books and James Oswald's other crime fiction and I have devoured them all. Books have the power to take you away from the day to day world and even if the places you visit in books are grim at times that escape is sometimes just what you need to get by. Oswald's books (among others) were what I needed when I needed them so James, if you're reading this, I tip my hat to you Sir and say thank you