Author: @f33lthesun

Retired and reading.

Silverbirds by Rocky Magaña

On By @f33lthesunIn Adult2 Comments

Blurb

In a land ravaged by war and haunted by fire-breathing silverbirds, Kosha is the last thread in a bloodline unraveled by violence. His father was a man who believed in wisdom over weapons, his mother a woman who fought for a future that would never come, and his brother a boy who disappeared into the mountains, chasing a cause that would devour him whole. Now, Kosha walks alone, armed with nothing but a bow and the impossible weight of revenge pressing against his ribs.

As Kosha crosses the wasteland toward the land of the silverbirds, he carries more than his grief—he carries the ghosts of his father’s wisdom, his mother’s defiance, and his brother’s sins. He carries the weight of every choice that led him to this moment. And with each step, he must decide: Is he the last survivor of his family’s story, or its final casualty?

A harrowing, lyrical journey through war, loss, and the brutal choices that shape a legacy, this novel asks what it means to inherit a fight—and whether a boy with nothing left to lose can change the course of his own history.

Review

Right from the start, we are aware of the war and violence that eight year old Kosha and his family hide from. They moved away from the city into the mountains to farm sheep but even there, war finds them.

Although the main thread of story is about Kosha, how he ends up alone and on a journey of vengeance, other chapters also provide back story to his parents, Ara and Kamal – family influences, how they grew up, met and married. Throughout all this there has always been violence and abuse. How they deal with it makes them who they are. It also makes Kosha who he is.

This well told story is a devastatingly detailed observation of what war does to individuals, families and communities; it turns people on each other, gives some a “reason” to justify their actions and causes death and destruction that echoes through generations.

The mix of narrative and verse (old myths and tales) works well, as does the style. There is a lyrical feel to the text, which should jar with the theme, but it doesn’t, the author makes it work.

Be aware there are some graphic scenes: one describing bodies after a bomb hits and a caesarian being performed. There is also a sexual assault.

Thank you to @The_WriteReads and the author for a copy of the book to read and review for this tour.

About the book

Genre: Literary Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Dystopian Fiction

Age Category: Adult 

Number of Pages: 356 pages

Publication Date: January 29, 2025

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/224227006-silverbirds 

StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/a3fe8ca4-ffa4-4e03-8148-b81fbb9ce528 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/fmlwysi (Canada) https://a.co/d/9jPRou2 (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/fWDX7eQ (UK)

The Lights of Shantinager by Nidhi Arora

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

Blurb

The Lights of Shantinagar is a warm and lively portrait of family life set in modern India where new philosophies are reshaping old traditions and one woman’s astute observations can change everything.

Aspiring quantum physicist Sumi is newly married and has moved into her husband’s family home. Here she observes that the beguilingly tranquil middle-class town of Shantinagar is not very different from her beloved quantum world: the happenings in one house are cryptically entangled with things next door, objects mysteriously disappear and unexpected interactions reveal surprising truths.

As the line between right and wrong begins to blur, new discoveries force the residents of Shantinagar to reflect on what they truly know about themselves and the ones they love. Meanwhile, Sumi must blend logic with love to make sense of her new circumstances.

Review

Although not my usual genre, I was intrigued by the blurb. The links Sumi finds between quantum physics and the lives of the close knit families from three neighbouring houses is interesting and thought provoking. Can the surety and definites of science be compared to the idiosyncrasies and indefinites of human lives and emotions?

For me this is a story about people assuming they know everything about their friends and family but not really knowing them. So much of how we view others is our own perception of them and their behaviours. Some of the characters were sure they knew certain things but later discover it was merely their own projections of emotion and certainty, things becoming much clearer once the truth is uncovered.

It is a human trait go through life believing certain things and only hindsight, along with some honesty from others (and sometimes yourself), shows how wrong you were. We don’t always ask awkward questions or confront others when maybe we should. We don’t tell others things that we think may hurt them, when doing so would stop a different hurt.

Thanks to @The_WriteReads for the eARC for me to review for this blog tour.

About the Book

Genre: Contemporary, Family Saga

Age Category: Adult

Publisher: Unbound 

Number of Pages: 272 Pages

Publication Date: June 5, 2025

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223593898-the-lights-of-shantinagar 

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/b6f80ce5-c583-4b3b-8768-7f11b4399002 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/h4RwcMz (Canada) https://a.co/d/gufZ2NA (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/hb8CN9s (UK)

Thirst by Darren Simpson

On By @f33lthesunIn #YALeave a comment
Cover Art by Natalie Smillie

I was delighted that Pushkin Press sent me a proof copy of Thirst to read and review as I am a big Darren Simpson fan. I loved the originality of The Memory Thieves and reviewed it here. The author’s world building and story telling are first rate so expectations were high. I was not disappointed.

I would also like to give Natalie Smillie a shout out for her outstanding cover illustration.

Blurb

Nobody talks about the strange happenings in Maimsbury. No one speaks of the hooded figures glimpsed in the woods, nor the children’s game that went so horribly wrong. But most of all, nobody dares whisper their doubts about the river they have worshipped for centuries.

Like everyone in Maimsbury, Gorse is used to the sacrifices made every spring to the River Yeelde. The life of a farm animal – in return for a year of plenty – seems a fair trade. That is, until a tragedy leads Gorse to a blood-curdling discovery.

Because this year is a Brim Year, and after giving so much, the river needs more than an animal’s life to sate its thirst…

Review

I have just finished reading Thirst and I was swept along by the story, not by the Yeelde River, thank goodness. The author has written a mesmerisingly disturbing, dark story steeped in folklore, with fairy tale references (some subtle, some not so subtle) scattered throughout. The use of children’s rhymes builds the authenticity of the tale and, as is common, they have dark undercurrents and are based on some truth from the past, chronicling the dark history whilst also hiding it in plain sight.

This reminded me that stories (lore, myth and fairy especially) are traditionally spoken, passed down and they shape shift slightly with each retelling, which is how the people of Maimsbury are aware of the village’s history. Most choose not to acknowledge the darker side, they just go about their business, reaping the rewards of a disturbing sacrificial pact made once upon a time, long, long ago, that has ongoing consequences even now.

However, as we all know, things ignored or left to a select few to deal with usually come back to bite us. Such is the case in Maimsbury.

Some of my favourite stories include the setting as a main character. Alan Garner and Susan Cooper are two examples that spring to mind. With the river and, to a slightly lesser extent, the woods in Thirst, the author has achieved this exceptionally well. As I said in the introduction, Darren Simpson’s world building is superb and Gorse’s Maimsbury is no exception.

It struck me immediately that the characters from the village are named for plants – trees, flowers, fruit. In folklore, naming is important, a binding, powerful force and clearly signifies a link to family and/or, more importantly in this story, place, to the village as a whole which, considering the pact, is an important factor. Just by their given name, anyone from outside the village stands out. This clearly identifies them as people not to discuss the sacrificial pact with.

I realise I have not said much about the storyline here, but it would be difficult to do without spoilers. I just wanted to tease out a few details to help you decide if it is for you or not. I highly recommend you read this book. It is dark, chilling and gruesome. It is storytelling at its very best.

Thank you to Pushkin Press and Darren Simpson for the proof copy to read. Thirst will be published on 11th September 2025.

The Magdalenes by Jeanne Skartsiaris

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment
Cover design by Erin Dameron-Hill

Blurb

The Magdalenes is a story of redemption and reinvention.

Jude Madigan is a successful plaintiff’s attorney who lived out a nightmare and spent years keeping it hidden. After being raped and impregnated by a Catholic priest when she was fourteen, she has spent years creating a new life, now driven to get justice for her clients.

She buries her past, and her emotions, under a solid veneer of ambition, but just as she’s about to bring her biggest litigation case to trial, a strange assignment is forced upon her. Her law firm is given a huge commission to handle the estate of a recently deceased woman, with the catch that Jude, and no one else, must act as trustee. The terms require her to oversee the construction and finances of a Catholic halfway house for prostitutes.

Jude fights against this agreement since she turned her back on the church years ago and intends to keep it that way. Her boss insists she complies, not knowing about her past-or the pain of having her daughter taken from her arms minutes after the birth by a nun.

Damaged and patched together with anger and shame, Jude is reluctant, but becomes involved with a group of nuns and the prostitutes they’re trying to help.

But the mystery remains as to why the stranger specified her, a litigation attorney, not an estate attorney, to handle the case. Though Jude struggles both personally and professionally, she discovers that what she feared most was what she needed to heal. Every belief is tested, and a lost dream is realized.

Review

Although not my usual genre, the first 10k extract pulled me in and I just had to read the whole thing.

There is a lot to unpack in this story. There are trigger warnings for rape, forced adoption and coercive manipulation. However, the overall feel is of hope and love.

Jude believes she is coping and is managing her emotions linked to her childhood, but she has told no one about her past. She keeps it bottled up and forges ahead, making a successful career in law.

However a coercive ex and a mysterious will case bring everything to the boil, so that Jude is faced with personal and professional conflicts. Who will she confide in? Will they abandon her as others have done in the past?

This thoroughly deserved its place in the final selection of the BBNYA 2024 awards.

Thank you to BBNYA and The Write Reads for allowing me to be on the judging panel and providing me with a copy of the book to review.

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.


If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.

Skylark in the Fog by Helyna L Clove

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

During the BBNYA2024 competition, I read the 2k and 10k extracts and really wanted to read the whole story, so was happy to sign up for this tour. It thoroughly deserves its place as the 9th place finalist.

Blurb

So when the universe falls to pieces, it doesn’t mean your life has to, right? That comes later.

Jeane Blake, captain of the spaceship Skylark, makes her living by looting dead worlds, planets fallen prey to naturally occurring wormhole-like rifts plaguing the cosmos. She survives the only way she knows how: avoiding commitment and arguing with her dead foster father’s ghost. But when her crew stumbles upon an alien device that could collapse the wormhole network and wipe out all sentient life, they catch the hungry eyes of the Union, a tyrannical empire hunting the sinister tech.

As she flees the Union’s brainwashed agents, Jeane is forced to take on a shady mission and gets stuck assisting the runaway monarch of a technocrat planet. Queen Maura Tholis is seeking the aid of an interstellar resistance to reclaim her war-torn world, with another trouble-magnet device as her bargaining chip: a glove that allows her to command AI systems. Jeane couldn’t care less about the whole deal, but things become personal when the Union annexes the place she calls home. And it might be her fault.

Reluctant to become weapons in the hands of power-hungry militants and desperate rebels, smuggler and queen join forces. But to save their homes, they must redefine themselves, work with the enemy, and face personal traumas they’d buried long ago-and only stars know which challenge might break them in the end.

Review

As the story starts to unfold, we have two seemingly unconnected and polar opposite storylines. One of a lanehunter, Jeane, and her crew, scraping to make ends meet by “aquiring” junk (looting) and selling it on, hopping about space in an attempt to steer clear of the Union and its dictator forces. She is also trying to outrun her grief and emotions.

The other is of Maura, a princess, soon to be Queen, of the solar system of Miyoza, which is currently in a long, drawn out war with the Gaerrians. Although giving the appearance of fighting for freedoms and liberty, the King, along with the AI system that jointly rules, is just as much a dictatorship as The Union.

As the two storylines come together, pushing Jeane and Maura into an uneasy alliance, we begin to see how they are completely different but also similar, both fighting inner gremlins, but determined to make a difference.

As the story progresses, themes of power, greed, control and manipulation emerge strongly, alongside those of grit, determination, sacrifice, friendship and grief.

In the background, but very much strong forces in their own right, are two AI systems that have been corrupted by human influence, but it is the masses who suffer. Who thought it would be a good idea to have a human royal and AI jointly run a kingdom? Both the king and the leaders of the Union strongly stamp their will on their respective systems and … there are consequences!

You will just have to read the book to find out what those consequences are.

About the Book

Length: 524 Pages

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Age Category: New Adult

Date Published: September 6, 2022

Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/5DXM2cC (Canada) https://a.co/d/jaFAuuQ (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/60gePiC (UK)

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61262158-skylark-in-the-fog 

The Story Graph Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/b47418a6-e276-4d6d-9da5-1f6c6534dcbf

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers mfrom all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads. 

Hive:Madders of Time ~ Book 1 by D.L. Orton

On By @f33lthesunIn Adult2 Comments

Blurb

What if saving the future meant rewriting the past?

In a dying world overrun by microdrones, humanity’s last survivors cling to life inside the Eden-17 biodome. Isabelle Sanborn knows her time is running out, but one desperate plan might give humanity a second chance. With the help of Madders, an enigmatic AI built from the memories of a brilliant physicist, Isabelle sends Diego Nadales—the love of her life—35 years into the past. His mission? To change the course of history and prevent their world’s collapse. 

When Diego arrives in the vibrant yet fragile Main Timeline, he’s forced to confront ghosts of the past, including a younger, ambitious version of Isabelle. As he battles to shape a better future, Diego must navigate a delicate web of relationships and events without destroying the very fabric of time. 

Brimming with suspense, heart-pounding action, and a poignant love story that transcends time, Madders of Time – Book One is a breathtaking science fiction adventure. Award-winning author DL Orton weaves a tale that explores sacrifice, resilience, and the timeless power of love. 

Fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Dark Matter will find themselves captivated by this unforgettable journey through parallel worlds and intertwining destinies. 

The clock is ticking. Can love survive the collapse of time itself?

Review

Before reviewing the book, I would like to take a moment to appreciate the fabulous cover art and, even more so, the #UnderTheDustJacket illustration by the author.

Now to the story…

Set in two universes, not too far apart time wise and told from multiple perspectives, this first instalment of the series starts in the future. It is almost the end of the world, a world destroyed as a consequence of the actions of a narcissistic, rich, tech bro. The two remaining humans, Isabelle and Diego, make a decision to send one of them back in time to try to alter events. The rest of the story follows what happens when Diego makes his future changing actions.

Will what he does be enough to change the fate of the world? Could he have done more?

His actions change fate for Isabelle and Diego almost immediately, but what about Dave Kirkland (Isabelle’s ex husband, and previously referenced narcissistic, rich, tech bro) and his mutant killer bee bots? You will just have to read this engrossing, dystopian sci-fi to find out.

The story leads us to think morally and philosophically about time travel and altering history. It also makes you ponder the age old question of how some people (either greedy, power hungry or despotic) can turn anything that is created/invented for the good of the human race and life on Earth into money making ventures, with the potential to harm when misused or adapted. Again, looking at you, Dave!

I enjoyed the cultural references to time travel (flux capacitors anyone?) and passwords, as well as the humour between Matt and Sam when they are held against their will in a military compound to work the science, their way of coping with the stress and lack of information.

I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in this story and cannot wait to read the next part…what a place to pause!

Thank you to D.L. Orton and @The_WriteReads for a physical copy of the book to read and review. Please look out for other review blogs on this blog tour.

About the Book

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Category: Adult

Number of Pages: 350 Pages

Publication Date: May 6, 2025

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/222567665-hive 

StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/92ec58c7-fbb5-45cf-b7ab-23c42ea9f4e9 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/bnN8PN1 (Canada) https://a.co/d/7AiywJA (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/1P5EFIe (UK)

The Thief of Farrowfell by Ravena Guron

On By @f33lthesunIn Upper KS2+Leave a comment

Blurb

Welcome to a fantasy world where edible magic is the hottest commodity, traded between those who can pay or – in the case of Jude Ripon, the youngest thief in Farrowfell – those who can steal it!

Twelve-year-old Jude Ripon has never been taken seriously by her family of magic-stealing masterminds. To them, she’s just the youngest, only good for keeping watch while they carry out daring heists.

Desperate to prove her worth, Jude decides to steal valuable magic from the fanciest house in town . . .

But Jude’s stolen prize was protected by a curse which threatens to wreak havoc on the family business.

While attempting to untangle the mess she’s made (and wondering why anyone would want to curse an honest thief trying to earn a living), Jude discovers just how far her family will go to stay at the top of the criminal world.

Suddenly, her quest to become a true Ripon isn’t straightforward any more . . .

Review

What a magical, adventurous start to the Farrowfell trilogy.

Jude is fed up being ignored and is out to prove herself to her very demanding family, who run their own criminal enterprise, acquiring and selling illegal magic. She is very much a “go big or go home” girl, so she steals a piece of rare magic from a mansion heavily fortified by spells. She realises too late that the magic is cursed and she needs to lift the curse before bragging to her family.

So begins a sequence of events that very quickly get out of control.

Having overheard snippets of family meetings, Jude is convinced her family have no faith in her and see here as a mere inconvenience. But are they hiding something? Something big?

Just shows great determination to prove herself. However, she makes a lot of assumptions about those around her and their motives for their actions.

As the story unfolds, we discover information about the family and their criminal enterprise in bits, as Jude does. We also see Jude believing something to be true with no evidence except her emotions. She is being told things by people she trusts, not knowing the whole story so fitting what she knows and discovers into her experience and world view, believing she is responsible for some things because she is sure she did something wrong and feels guilty … but she does not know everything, so gets more wrong. She is only human!

A strong sense of selflessness versus selfishness permeates the whole story and that ultimately is what counts.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. The best bit is they are already out, so no waiting. Well, Book 3 is out on May 8th so time to read one and two!

Thanks to The Write Reads and Faber & Faber for a copy of the book to read and review for this blog tour. Please look out for the other blogs in the tour (see banner below).

About the Book

Genre: Fantasy

Age Category: Middle Grade

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Number of Pages: 320 Pages

Publication Date: May 2, 2023

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62018486-the-thief-of-farrowfell 

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/05b998c4-6ac9-41a8-a423-f92f6ad48be6 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/akN8Evl (Canada) https://a.co/d/cBViD8E (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/eyqvgyQ (UK)

Or my preferred option – buy from your local independent bookshop.

The Thief of Farrowfell is Book 1 in the Thief of Farrowfell series. 

Book 2, The Beast of Farrowfell, and Book 3, The Battle of Farrowfell, are also available.

Star Quest Academy: Above and Beyond by Adrian Lynch

On By @f33lthesunIn Upper KS2+Leave a comment

Blurb

For centuries, trillions of life forms throughout space have allowed humanity to believe we’re alone in the Universe. Any alien who dared to befriend us has met an unfortunate end: eaten, squashed, sent to a zoo, or even planted in a garden pot. But our advances in space exploration now threaten every civilisation across the Cosmos.

Amelia, a savvy, street-smart orphan, is one of four exceptional children selected from around the globe to represent humanity in the Human Inclusion Programme at the intergalactic Star Quest Academy. Here, they’ll unravel the Universe’s wonders, explore strange new worlds, and encounter magical creatures. Earth’s safety from invasion hinges on their success as cadets, but if any of them fail, Earth will be invaded by ruthless warlords.

When a series of sinister incidents jeopardise their mission, it becomes clear that someone – or something – wants them to fail. To save their world, the cadets must overcome their differences and combine their unique skills.

Review

I am always happy to see more sci-fi for 9+ being written and published and Star Quest Academy doesn’t disappoint.

It is a fast paced adventure that starts off on Earth and ends up in space, with Earth being threatened with alien invasion because to all other species, humans are seen destructive. This is a #NotAllHumans moment.

Although the tempo and adventure are fast moving, we still get to know Amelia and her fellow human candidates well and their strengths, when pooled together, enable the team to meet their foes head on.

The themes of solitude, lost family, friendship, human behaviours and interconnectedness are handled well. There are also some gross moments (looking at you, vomit bubbles) that manage to temporarily take your mind off the tension that builds throughout the story.

The ending hints that this is the first of a series and I hope the next one is just as exciting.

About the Book

Genre: Science Fiction

Age Category: Middle-Grade 

Number of Pages: 280 Pages

Publication Date: February 13, 2025

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223726420-star-quest-academy 

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/79fe4e6c-7911-4343-b8ed-c0290ed1cf8d 

Amazon: https://a.co/d/6jjdGea (Canada) https://a.co/d/fZhLPiZ (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/fQelUs8 (UK) 

Or purchase from your local independent bookshop.

Eerie Exhibits: Five Macabre Museum Tales by Victoria Williamson

On By @f33lthesunIn Adult1 Comment

Blurb

Five unnerving tales of the weird and uncanny from award-winning author Victoria Williamson.

A room full of screaming butterflies.

An unsettling smile on the face of a carved sarcophagus.

A painting that draws its viewer into the disturbing past.

A stuffed bear that growls in the dead of night.

And a shell that whispers more sinister sounds than the sigh of the sea…

Dare you cross the threshold of the old Museum and view its eerie exhibits?

Review

Like individual exhibits found in the same collection, these five stories each have their own defining aspects but share an overarching link. In this case, they are all set in the same museum. However each story is individual in its focus and creepiness factor, as well as having different main characters.

As I read the stories, I could feel a couple of common themes emerging but then the author changes it up to keep readers on their toes. There are bo overarching themes, although class/money division does come up in a couple, as well as overbearing, controlling men.

For me, the most unsettling one was The Shape of the Beast, but having said that, all of the stories succeed in giving me the heebie-jeebies. The karma in Et In Arcadia Ego is *chef’s kiss*.

What I liked most was that the author does not go into minute detail and leaves so much to the imagination, especially with a couple of the endings, so much so that you need to spend time thinking about each story, not just move immediately to read the next one.

Look out for more blogs on Eerie Exhibts over the coming days.

Thanks to Silver Thistle Press and @The_WriteReads for the ebook copy to read and review for this tour.

About the Book

Genre: Supernatural Fiction

Age Category: Adult

Publisher: Silver Thistle Press

Number of Pages: 221

Publication Date: March 6, 2025

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223285412-eerie-exhibits—five-macabre-museum-tales 

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/726acd31-6da8-449d-9f89-97b79db1f222 

Amazon: https://amzn.eu/d/1zD6rAT (UK) https://a.co/d/i8bjaBI (USA) https://a.co/d/cBSc7vE (Canada)

Or buy from your local independent bookshop.

The Half-Life Empire by Shami Stovall

On By @f33lthesunIn Adult1 Comment

Blurb

Hacker Kita Yamasaki would do anything to escape the post-apocalyptic landscape that was the result of the Forever Winter. But for a normal person, the only options are the war-hungry nation-state of Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California. Fortunately, Kita is anything but normal.

When she finds a faded brochure for the BC Oasis—an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter million people—she jumps at the opportunity, even going so far as to steal a fission battery the oasis requires to operate at full capacity. There’s just one problem . . . The battery belongs to the ruthless judges of Ex Cathedra.

Now Kita finds herself the target of a deadly chase. In her race to safety, she picks up three fellow travellers: Dallas; his mute daughter, Crouton; and Bishop, a junk hunter. But will they betray her and take the battery for themselves? Is one of them a member of the cultist Iron-Blooded who worship the few remaining alien invaders scattered across Earth’s wasteland?

Faced with certain death if they’re caught by the judges’ power-armored soldiers, Kita must put aside her suspicions and make a headlong dash for sanctuary—and the promise of a new life.

Review

Having read and loved a few of Shami’s other books, I was full of anticipation to read this first book in the series. I was not disappointed and it really deserves its place as a BBNYA 2024 finalist spot, coming 11th.

“I had been shot, beaten, attacked by aliens, and once left for dead … yet this was the second most stressful day of my life.” This is the opening line…what a start.

The world building in this post alien invasion, post apocalyptic dystopia is so well crafted, as are the well developed characters. The action is fast paced and there is hardly time to catch your breath before Kita throws us into the next scheme she has come up with to achieve her end goal. She likes to be in control and needs a plan before taking any action.

I really liked that as readers we are given scant detail and a few hints about Kita’s next moves and we learn the full extent of her plans as she executes them…or not in some cases.

The development of the relationships Kita has with the other people she meets is handled well and become an important part of her story. Kita likes to be in control, but cannot always be in control as her injuries sometimes let her down. She navigates meeting and learning whether or not to trust people with difficulty, having been mostly in hiding and surviving on her own for a couple of years.

I am looking forward to continuing Kita’s journey in the second book of the series.

About the book

Length: 372 Pages

Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction

Age Category: Adult

Date Published: October 2, 2023

Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/i9zntEM (Canada) https://a.co/d/8WXpAWd (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/8cCr1rX (UK)

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199968167-the-half-life-empire 

The Story Graph Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/42971cc8-6951-4b22-aa91-ed12da67d885

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists (16 in 2024) and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.