Ultimate Book Tours Archives - Proud Book Reviews

February 21, 2022February 21, 2022

Shadow of a Dead God – Patrick Samphire

This book contains:

Attempted murder, multiple times
Mass murder
Psychological manipulation
Corruption.

Mennik (Nik) Thorn is our main mage. Given he’s the main character one would think that he’s a mega powerful mage, but nope. He’s an average to below average mage of dubious origins who can’t seem to do anything right. And he’s meant to be the hero?

Nik is sitting his butt up doing a shitty job he hates but he desperately needs to help him pay the bills. Then his best friend, also of dubious origins, drags him back into the underworld where from there, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.

As the story got deeper and deeper into the shit, it got better and better. Every time something seemed to get worse for Nik, it got more interesting, and more and more questions got raised. I mean, how many times can you change who you think the bad guy is in a single book?!

Not to mention the interplay between Nik, Sereh, Benny, Mica and Meroi was classic. The way their various personalities, loyalties, humour, knowledge and skills made for such an interesting story.

Then of course there’s the magical element that underpins the whole story. How are some mages so powerful and some not? How do ghosts exist? How do dead gods work? How do gods even die?

And then there’s the ending!

It’s got me wanting the next book so bad!

Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

I received this book to read and review as part of the 2021 BBNYA competition and the BBNYA tours organised by the TWR Tour team. All opinions are my own, unbiased and honest.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where Book Bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website www.bbnya.com or twitter @bbnya_official.

The sign-ups will soon be open for the 2022 BBNYA competition, be it for authors to enter their books, or for bloggers wanting to be part of the new panel, so keep your eyes peeled!!

Author Bio

Patrick Samphire is the author of the adult fantasy novel SHADOW OF A DEAD GOD, as well as the middle grade novels SECRETS OF THE DRAGON TOMB and THE EMPEROR OF MARS. He has also published around twenty short stories and novellas.

Patrick has been writing stories since he was fourteen years old and thought it would be a good way of avoiding having to sit through English lessons at school. He was absolutely convinced that he would be famous by the time he was eighteen, but sadly, even infamy has eluded him.

He lives in Wales, surrounded by mountains, with his wife, their sons, and their cat. When he’s not writing, he designs websites and ebooks.

April 12, 2021April 5, 2021

The Lore of Prometheus – Graham Austin-King

This book contains:

PTSD from serving in Afghanistan
descriptions of the destruction of war, including injury to women and children
experimentation on humans
torture of humans

The book is broken up into three parts of which the first and last parts are from John’s point of view, with sporadic inclusions of Mackenzie’s point of view. The middle part however is from Mackenzie’s point of view with some sporadic inclusions of John’s point of view.

John has previously served in the UK army in Afghanistan and as a result has severe PTSD. It’s something that’s ruined his life, ended his relationship and as a result driven him back there.

Mackenzie, however, is an Australian nurse volunteering in Afghanistan when she’s kidnapped by her driver on the way home from work.

The general gist of this story is an Afghan warlord is kidnapping people who have magical powers with the intent of learning how to wield them himself. Anything more than that would kinda ruin it for you! And it’s too good to ruin!

I absolutely loved this story and I’m so glad it won the Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award 2020!

Given most of the other books that made it to the finals we aimed at a younger audience and/or were of a lighter theme, I wasn’t sure how this darker story would hold up. I loved the mix of emotional development, different points of view, psychological changes, an amazing villain and the determination and fortitude of John and Mackenzie.

Every time I thought I’d hit the limit of Graham’s mastery, I discovered I was wrong!

Who would have thought such a mix of fantasy, technology and a Middle Eastern war could result in such genius?!

Author Bio

Graham Austin-King was born in the south of England and weaned on broken swords and half-forgotten spells.

A shortage of these forced him to consume fantasy novels at an ever-increasing rate, turning computers and tabletop gaming between meals.

He experimented with writing at the beginning of an education that meandered through journalism, international relations, and law. To this day he is committed to never allowing those first efforts to reach public eyes.

After spending a decade in Canada learning what ‘cold’ really means, and being horrified by poutine, he settled once again in the UK with a seemingly endless horde of children.

To date he is the author of five novels, drawing on a foundation of literary influences ranging from David Eddings to Clive Barker.

Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA)

I received this book to read and review as part of the BBNYA 2020 competition. All opinions expressed are my own. This tour has been organised by The Write Reads tours team.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the 2021 BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website or our Twitter account. If you would like to sign-up and enter your book, you can find the BBNYA 2021 AUTHOR SIGN UP FORM HERE. Please make sure to carefully read our terms and conditions before entering.

If you are a book blogger or reviewer, you can apply to be part of BBNYA 2021 by filling out this form (also remember to read the terms and conditions before signing up)!

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.

April 4, 2021March 29, 2021

Fid’s Crusade – David H. Reiss

Dr Fid is an evil genius set to show the world how fake and unworthy of the title “hero” the superheros were. He’s also the alias of one genius scientist out to save the world through medicine and other philanthropy work.

It’s a simple storyline of Dr Fid and his crusade against the hero’s who killed his brother. He’s out to destroy their reputations and show the world how unworthy they are of the title hero. In this, the first book, Dr Fid begins to execute his plan to destroy the hero’s, and in the meantime gets involved in a war to save the world.

I was actually quite disappointed in this story. The writing was amazing, it draws you in and you’ll find yourself almost through the book in no time after practically inhaling the story.

My problem was that ever time I did stop, I realised I was basically reading Avengers End Game. But where Iron Man is a supervillain.

Everything from the tech Iron Man uses, his assistant Jarvis, his fight to not have to join with others, his wit and humor, the way the aliens come to Earth and the ultimate showdown is so eerily similar to this story that it really ruined it for me. I would’ve loved to have experienced this quality of writing in a story that was unique.

Or at least, did a better job of taking an existing well-loved story and making it new and exciting.

If you love Iron Man, The Avengers etc and don’t mind reading a story that’s almost the same as one you already love. Then you’ll love this!

I enjoyed the experience of reading the story, I’m just not one to enjoy reading something I’ve already watched while it’s pretending to be new.

Author Bio

While growing up, David was that weird kid with his nose in a book and his head in the clouds. He was the table-top role-playing game geek, the comic-book nerd, the story-teller and dreamer.

Fortunately, he hasn’t changed much.

David is a software engineer by trade and a long-time sci-fi and fantasy devotee by passion, and he lives in Silicon Valley with his partner of twenty-eight years. Until recently, he also shared his life with a disturbingly spoiled cat named Freya.

(Farewell, little huntress. You were loved. You are missed.)

Fear not…Two new kittens have since crept into the household and are working tirelessly to repair the hole left in the author’s heart.

David’s first trilogy, the Chronicles of Fid, has just recently been completed; these were his first novel-length projects, but they certainly won’t be his last—he’s having far too much fun!

I received this book to read and review as part of the BBNYA 2020 competition and/or the BBNYA tours organised by the @The_WriteReads tours team. All opinions are my own, unbiased and honest (or insert your own standard version of the same).

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors.

If you are an author and wish to learn more about the 2021 BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website (https://www.bbnya.com/) or our Twitter account, @BBNYA_Official. If you would like to sign-up and enter your book, you can find the BBNYA 2021 AUTHOR SIGN UP FORM HERE. Please make sure to carefully read our terms and conditions before entering.

If you are a book blogger or reviewer, you can apply to be part of BBNYA 2021 by filling out this form (also remember to read the terms and conditions before signing up)!

BBNYA is brought to you in association with the Folio Society (If you love beautiful books you NEED to check out their website!) And the book blogger support group TheWriteReads.

March 24, 2021March 9, 2021

Stay Mad, Sweetheart – Heleen Kist

This book contains:

suicide
bullying and harassment (both online and in real life),
revenge.

Throughout the book we follow Laura, Suki and Claire as they deal with the aftermath of Emily’s suicide. Emily is Laura’s best friend and she worked with Claire. Her suicide affected each of them deeply and we see that play out in their actions throughout the book.

Laura is a socially awkward computer programmer. She’s already managing Emily’s social media use to make sure her mental health stays as strong as possible when the story begins. Since before the book begins, her male business partner has been managing the sale of their business so she can focus on the code and out of the politics of selling a business.

Claire is given Emily’s event planning portfolio after her suicide, and now has to work with Laura who she briefly spoke to just before Emily’s body was discovered. It’s a portfolio she doesn’t want, while her boss has given the one she wanted to a male colleague with less experience, and one he knew she wanted.

Suki isn’t introduced to us until after Emily’s death, yet she’s also been impacted by a male-controlled field. Her job is to understand Laura’s work to ensure the value is appropriately evaluated for the sale of the business.

All three women are impacted by Emily’s suicide in different ways. Laura is emotionally distraught; Emily is overworked and underappreciated while Suki is left trying to get Laura to focus. During this process they realise they have a common ground of wanting justice for wrongs that men have enforced on them.

Over the course of the book, they work together to process their grief and move forwards professionally, regardless of what barriers the men in their industries have put in their way. The challenges they go through to achieve this is something they do together, as a new friendship group bonded out of their shared experiences.

Overall, I didn’t like this book. The writing was great. The engagement was great. It was captivating. All the key areas you score a book in, it did really well.

It was those intangible things like the message it sends that really got to me. It sent the message that just because men have rigged the workplace system so much, it’s ok for women to commit crimes and ruin their lives to get ahead.

Up until the revenge plan was hatched, I was loving the book AND its message. Once that plan was hatched?

I literally only finished it because it was a BBNYA book, not because I was enjoying where it was going.

As a woman who looks younger than her years, is more mature than my years and is often in a position where I’m telling men twice my age how things should be done. I understand where they’re coming from. And I don’t agree with their decisions. I don’t believe that’s the best way to handle those issues and I wish Heleen had taken a better route than this.

Revenge really wasn’t necessary.

October 18, 2020January 12, 2021

Legends Rise – Devri Walls

Welcome back everyone, we’re finally back with the V e nators! It’s been a while.

We pick up where we left off, just like the last book. And end somewhere very interesting with some interesting facts shared with us!

As with Promises Forged we get heaps of character development. Some fairly standard, while some took us to a whole new level!

Some of the things we learned about Grey and Beltran really changed my opinion of them. In Beltran’s case, I have no idea what my opinion is anymore. I feel like I only have a part of the puzzle with no image to use to put it together. Even Zio seems to be getting more and more interesting with a few pieces leaning towards one answer, but that answer doesn’t make sense based on other information we have.

Every piece we get makes things that little bit different, interesting and so much more complex!

I am definitely wanting to know more, but I did feel like some pieces didn’t add up which is why it didn’t get 5 stars. Although I’m not sure if they didn’t add up because they aren’t meant to or because it’s so complex Devri has forgotten pieces.

It gives me a feeling of Game of Thrones, which I loved (like everyone, I think once they reached the end of the books the show went downhill) so I can definitely see this becoming an epic! When’s the next one coming out?

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review, next week I will be reviewing Mine to Five by Tara September. Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

July 18, 2020July 18, 2020

Author Interview: Shami Stovall

Hi Shami,

Thank you for taking the time to do a Q&A with me. I was a little upset I’d already committed to as many reviews as I could handle when Dave told me about your book, Knightmare Arcanist, coming on tour. It sounds fascinating so I wanted to get in the tour in any way I could.

I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say, so I’ll kick off my questions now!

You’ve released the first 4 books since June 2019, how long was this story in your head
- First off, thank you for having me!
- It’s a pleasure to be here! In terms of books? The series is set for 7 books and one spin-off of short stories from the viewpoint of other characters.
What was the inspiration for these characters?
- Each character is a little part of me, but it’s actually a bunch of archetypes I just love to see. Volke is filled with determination, and clashes with the haughty Zaxis. Illia is resourceful, and helps Volke whenever she can—the dynamics are what I love best!
How did you come up with such a unique take on magic and mythical creatures?
- I really love magical creatures, I have Pokemon to blame! Anything to do with creature companions as well. These are my jam. As for the magic system, I just thought it would be interesting to have magics based on the creatures themselves. Finding the biggest and best creature—the adventure of growing alongside them. So many possibilities!
Which character is your favourite and why?
- Volke and Zelfree are tied for me. Volke because of his personality. I adore it. And Zelfree because he gets lost in his own failings sometimes—very relatable, at least to me!
Does this series have a finite number of books, or could it go on forever?
- The series is planned for 7 (plus 1) but I’ve given thought to a sequel series already. Maybe it could go on forever?
Have you got plans for more books in the series?
- I’m currently writing the fifth book, World Serpent Arcanist. So, yes! Plenty more!
If you could pick any actor to play Volke, who would it be and why?
- I would probably go with Alex Landi—but maybe someone younger? I think he might be too old now.
Does the cover artwork represent something significant in each book?
- Yes, definitely! The cover of Knightmare Arcanist has the phoenix and Volke’s black sword!
What are you currently reading? What do you think of it so far?
- I’m currently reading A Daughter of Blood by Anne Bishop. I love it! This is the third time I’m reading through it.
If you could sum up this book in one sentence to make people read it, what would that sentence be?
- Probably: a coming-of-age fantasy filled with pirates, mythical creatures, and a plague most foul!

Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions! I hope you had as much fun as I did. And I’m looking forward to reading your books in the future.

Anthea – Proud Book Reviews

June 15, 2020January 17, 2021

Crossing in Time – D.L. Orton

Welcome back everyone, Dave over at The Write Reads knows how to find me good fantasy and sci-fi books. And this isn’t any different, how does he keep finding books that leave me wanting more?

I’m a fan of time travel, especially when it’s about finding your lost love. It just screams amazing, epic, love story. What other kind of story can give you all the feels and leave you wanting more?

Based on the blurb, I thought more time would be spent in the past. I thought the way time travel would work would be different.

One of the great things about time travel is that every author can make it their own thing. I’ve seen quite a few different types of time travel of the years and explored the laws surrounding it. And still I was totally surprised about how this works!

Before I talk about the ending, I want to say one thing. The prologue doesn’t seem to fit with the story and when it occurs. The information in it felt conflicting once I got to the part of the story it sat in. I’m not sure if this was just something small that got overlooked, but a couple of sentences really made it feel weird to me. And it’s something that can be easily fixed so I wanted to call it out.

Ok. The ending.

What an ending!

Of all the twists and turns we’d already experienced in the story that ending was NOT one I saw coming!

I got to the end and all I could think was “But…but…wait…no…what? What just happened?” Obviously, that means I need the next book. I need to know what happens next. I need to understand which of the theories going through my head might be right!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review; on Friday I’ll be starting my reviews of the Boys of Jackson Harbour series by Lexi Ryan with Straight up Love. Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

Author Bio

DL ORTON, THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR of the BETWEEN TWO EVILS series, lives in the foothills of the Rockies where she and her husband are raising three boys, a golden retriever, two Siberian cats, and an extremely long-lived Triops.‍

In her spare time, she’s building a time machine so that someone can go back and do the laundry.

June 10, 2020January 12, 2021

Promises Forged – Devri Walls

Welcome back everyone, I read the first book in this series a few months ago and I’ve just found out the third book is coming out soon. After reading this review, I’m sure you’ll understand why I can’t wait for that one!

I wasn’t sure where this one would pick up, or how fast paced it would be. The first book spanned barely 2 days, this one ended up covering almost a week. A little bit longer, but in a way just as fast paced as the first.

I learnt more about Beltran. Although I now have more theories and questions about him, his past, his motives and so many other things about him. The same goes for Tate.

What surprised me was how focussed the book was on Feena, while still having time to show us about Ryker and the general politics of the Council. Some of Susan’s comments (or repeated, exclamations) about how you “don’t mess with the fae!” make total sense. Like I already knew that, but this puts it to a whole new level!

Secrets, dark magic, illegal nefarious activities, plotting, missing families, stretching/twisting of the truth and yet romance still finds its way into the story in a way that just felt right. What all of our characters go through in this book is a prime example of a great emotional roller coaster.

I mean, even some characters that I thought might be just “side” characters are slowly having their own development. Which could even put them in line to be a main character as the series continues. I BELIEVE we might be having the tour for the third book in September, so make sure you come back then to find out what I think of the next one!

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review; on Monday I’ll be reviewing Crossing in Time by D.L. Orton. Continue to read further down to find out about the.

Author Bio

Devri Walls is a US and international bestselling author. Having released five novels to date, she specialises in all things fantasy and paranormal. She is best known for her uncanny world-building skills and her intricate stroylines, and her ability to present this all in an easy-to-digest voice.

Now gearing up for her first national release, Devri is excited to introduce her sixth novel, book one in the Venators series. She loves to engage with her loyal following through social media and online sessions she organises for her readers.

Devri lives in Meridian, Idaho with her husband and two kids. When not writing she can be found teaching voice lessons, reading, cooking or binge watching whatever show catches her fancy.

March 9, 2020January 12, 2021

Magic Unleashed – Devri Walls

Welcome back everyone, from a fantasy romance heavily steeped in Greek mythology we’re moving on to a review that is entirely fantasy. Including a whole new world.

This is the first book in a series (there are only 2 books?) about a world that is parallel to our own. There are doorways that connect the two, except these have been cursed to open at random times and there’s no set time the door will be open for. This makes it super hard for anyone to move between the two worlds.

Given all the fantasy creatures like werewolves, dragons, vampires, elves, faeries etc are all in this alternate world and many of them aren’t that friendly that’s probably a good thing! Except the only people capable to enforcing laws in this world are Venators. Bred from humans and modified to be especially invulnerable to the supernatural (for example, a werewolf bite won’t turn them).

Due to their bloodlust and hatred of all things supernatural they got banished from Eon back to Earth. I think, a few hundred years later we get to follow the first two Venators to enter Eon and their struggles as they come to grips with their new lives, roles, powers and their own moral conscience.

Reading the blurb and checking it out on Goodreads I was a little unsure about this because it sounded like it would be a YA novel. After chatting to Dave, he assured me it was closer to a New Adult read than YA, so I agreed to read it. And I’m glad I did.

Contrary to what Goodreads suggests, the writing style to me screams New Adult. The focus is on the world building, one’s conscience, politics and espionage. Those silly niggly things I don’t like about YA novels wasn’t evident in this book at all. The two Venators (both 19) are aware that they don’t know everything, they seek advice and they learn from their mistakes. Something most YA seem to miss out on.

The first couple of chapters were a little boring, but they are necessary to set the scene and the Venators personalities. Once Tate join’s them though, everything changes. It becomes full of action, so full that the whole 416 pages only spans like 3 days. There’s so much depth to each character, the locations, the sights and the politics that it’s impossible to be bored.

By the time you get towards the end you feel like you’re exhausted from all the adrenaline pumping through your body. Every description had me on edge and feeling like I was there right with the characters, experiencing both physically and emotionally what they were going through.

And then I was suckered in by people’s motives so much that when the book ended on a short chapter from one of the side characters where you get a hint of those motives. All I could think was “No! Why is he thinking that? What does that mean? What is he? What’s he mean to this world? Why did you have to end like THAT?!”

Suffice it to say, I’m going to need to get the second book to find out what happens coz I need more.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review; on Friday I’ll be reviewing Cold Fire by Tamora Pierce. Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

Author Bio

Devri lives in Meridian, Idaho with her husband and two kids. When not writing she can be found teaching voice lessons, reading, cooking or binge watching whatever show catches her fancy.