Tag: #Religion

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 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.

The Reanimator’s Heart by Kara Jorgensen

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

Blurb

A reluctant necromancer, a man killed before his time, and the crime that brings them together.

Felipe Galvan’s life as an investigator for the Paranormal Society has been spent running into danger. Returning home from his latest case, Felipe struggles with the sudden quiet of his life until a mysterious death puts him in the path of the enigmatic Oliver Barlow.

Oliver has two secrets. One, he has been in love with the charming Felipe Galvan for years. Two, he is a necromancer, but to keep the sensible life he’s built as a medical examiner, he must hide his powers. That is until Oliver finds Felipe murdered and accidentally brings him back from the dead.

But Felipe refuses to die again until he and Oliver catch his killer. Together, Felipe and Oliver embark on an investigation to uncover a plot centuries in the making. As they close in on his killer, one thing is certain: if they don’t stop them, Felipe won’t be the last to die.

Review

I really enjoyed this historical, steampunk fantasy story told from two points of view: Oliver, an autistic necromancer working as a pathologist, trying to hide his magic so as not to be harshly judged by others and Felipe, a healer and paranormal investigator, who Oliver accidentally brings back from the dead when he is murdered.

What unfolds is a murder mystery involving organised religion, paranormal investigation, magical relics and the beginnings of a tentative love story between Oliver and Felipe, if only they would talk properly with each other.

The murder is important because of the consequences, the mystery behind it is not the main thing. It does set the backdrop for the relationship between Oliver and Felipe to develop beyond both of them admiring each other from afar but neither being confident enough to let the other one know.

Kara Jorgensen has created believable, well developed characters. The supporting characters are quirky and interesting and each brings their own foibles and personalities to the unfolding story.

This story achieved a very well deserved 3rd place in the BBNYA 2023 awards. Thanks to @The_WriteReads for the eARC to review for this tour.

Faith of Their Fathers by Samuel M. Sargeant

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

Blurb

False God.

At the dawn of the 10th Century in a small Icelandic settlement, these words, daubed in blood, herald the arrival of a killer. 

Soon, a spate of murders threatens the fragile peace between pagans and a growing Christian minority. Arinbjorn, a young pagan farmer resolves to track down the killer before the community is permanently torn apart. His investigations will draw in Freya, an isolated housewife whose secrets could either condemn or free her.

Meanwhile in Norway, King Olaf Tryggvason has his own designs upon Iceland and its people. War is rife in Scandinavia, and a Christian Iceland would bolster his control over the region.

Only one thing is certain: these murders will change Icelandic society forever.

Review

Considering that I love historical sagas and devour television series like Vikings and The Last Kingdom, I rarely read them. Faith of their Fathers piqued my interest and has very much tempted me to right this wrong and read more of them.

Unlike the sagas mentioned above, Faith of their Fathers focusses not on violent invasions or raids, but on the farming and trading population in a small settlement in Iceland, whilst still encompassing the desire for rulers to expand their power bases.

The King of Norway’s priest has been sent to convert the Icelanders to Christianity, but he is not converting as many as the King wants/needs. How can he speed up the conversion rate and also keep the peace between the newly baptised Christians and the majority who still worship the Old Gods? How will the murder of a Christian family impact on his work?

The author, using historical events to centre the story, describes life for these Icelanders clearly and the characters are fully formed and believable. There are explicitly violent scenes, as was the way of things at that time, with religion being used as an excuse for violence to convince one side or the other that their way is the right way way, their god is the right god. However, they do not take away from what is a well crafted, character led story.

As was also the way at that time, it is mostly the men who feature in this story, although the women who do, Freya, Bera and Tyra, are strong and perceptive, making the most of their circumstances and opportunities to influence the actions of the men they love and care for. Freya is particularly strong willed and influential.

Thanks to Neem Tree Press and @The_WriteReads for the ARC to review for this blog tour.