#40 Uprooted by Naomi Novik

This book is not set in Novik’s other writing universe instead this is a fantasy setting with no historical overtones.  Every ten years the wizard in the tower takes a girl from the local village that has been born in a certain time frame and she lives with him and then after her term is served she is released from the tower with a large dowry and tends to move away instead of staying in the village. This is in payment to keep the evil Wood at bay. The Wood is evil will corrupt and kill everything that wanders in it. The Wood is malevolent and has slowly been trying to take over the kingdom.  He normally chooses what everyone thinks of as the loveliest girl of the ones born that year. Agnieszka is not that girl; the daughter of a local woodcutter is loved by her family but  can’t keep tidy or chaos seems to follow in her wake.  But at the choosing Kasia isn’t taken but Agnieszka is and it quickly we find out she is taken because she has some magical talent.  The path to knowledge isn’t smooth and of course then things go horribly wrong as the Wood decides to attack while the wizard is away and Agnieszka tries to help.

The story is fast paced and there are never good and easy answers to fighting the Wood. I really enjoyed this story and with the ending gives the reader a good sense of closure. Yes, there is more that could be written in this story setting but you are not on pins and needles waiting for the next book.  I can’t wait to see what she writes next.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

#41 The Shadow Revolution by Clay Griffith, Susan Griffith

The first book in this trilogy that is coming out in a very short time frame is set in an alternate London with magic. There are several types of magic but the book doesn’t get into much detail.  With the fall of the Bastille during the French Revolution several powerful magical creatures were set loose on the world.   Simon Archer is drawn into hunting down a werewolf after it kills an old lover and this sets the entire plot moving along. Simon is a scribe magic user learning the trade from another magician Nick even if Nick doesn’t’ have the same power set. At a party on the hunt for the Lord they believe is the werewolf they cross paths with the alchemist Kate and handily kill the werewolf.  Of course this is only the tip of the iceberg since there is more than one werewolf running around London. With the help of Malcolm, the son of a man Simon believes that killed his father the join purposes to hunt down the monsters.

This is very much a first book with introducing everyone that will be important to the series.  The group doesn’t work for anyone in the government and they need to hide from the police as much as the bad guys.  An entertaining read and with books two and three coming out in quick succession there will be not much wait.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

#42 The Hanged Man by P.N. Elrod

I read the first four chapters on NetGalley not knowing it was a sample and was a bit miffed that it was only a sample when I got to the end since the setup was very good. The publisher then set me the complete book and I have to say I really liked it. This is set in Victorian London with a few historical differences to who Victoria married.  Alex is a forensic psychic reader in employ of the government. She assists the police in criminal investigations.  The story starts with her on a call on Christmas Eve to read the scene of a suicide. Things go into overdrive when she finds out the man in question is her father that she hasn’t spoken to in ten years and she and the head of the Her Majesty’s Psychic  Service are attacked by men using air rifles.  The entire plot is moves very quickly with almost no time to breath and Alex running down a clue she has without notifying her superiors.  They quickly catch up with her and compare notes and then continue to dash along until the conclusion of the story.  Even with the fast pace the final chapter is the most heartbreaking for the heroine and not in the usual sense of these types of stories.

I really enjoyed this one and will certainly be on the lookout for the next book in the series.

Review copy of the book was provided by the publisher.