FridayReads | Bloodraven by P.L. Nunn

BloodravenI’m not one to re-read books, normally. So far this year I’ve found myself to re-read quite a few, though. Once I opened my folder with ebooks – I used to read epubs on an e-reader and only switched to using the Kindle app on my iPad when the e-reader broke down, so I have hundreds of books I haven’t even glanced at for a couple of years – I’ve found myself oohing and aahing over books forgotten.

One book that will never be forgotten as far as I’m concerned is Bloodraven by P.L. Nunn. I didn’t mean to read it again, but here we are.

Yhalen is captured by ogres and ogres are not nice creatures.

There is a lot of violence, lots of blood and pain, lots of evil, but there is also a political game, a long journey, and a fight for a better life. In a harsh world where no one will do you any favours your worst enemy might become your friend…and maybe even your lover.

This is not a fluffy romance for the fainthearted, it’s slow torture ending with love. I’m utterly impressed by P.L. Nunn’s ability to keep me interested all the way through the 660+ pages that this book is, so impressed by the way I’m getting invested in the characters and how I love them despite all the heinous things they do.

Hats off.

books2read.com/Bloodraven *


6617506A son of a forest dwelling people, Yhalen knows little of the world outside the ancestral forest, until he is captured by a band of ogres on a slave-taking mission. Only grim tales of the barbaric giants had reached the forest, but Yhalen soon learns that even the darkest fireside story only hinted at the brutality of these Northern warriors. He discovers the meaning of true fear at their hands, and only the awakening of ancient magic saves him from destruction.

Surviving ogre viciousness, he finds himself given to Bloodraven, the half ogre, half human war leader as a slave. Yhalen, refusing to bend, soon pays the price for offending prickly ogre pride.

But Bloodraven is no mindless, violent ogrish beast. Bloodraven has an agenda and Yhalen finds himself drawn in the wake into human and ogre politics, into bloodshed and cruelty and into the forbidden magic that is damnation in the eyes of his own people, but which might mean the difference between death and salvation.


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Friday Reads | The Paranormal Detection Agency by Anne Brooke

ThePNRDetectionAgencyI’m gonna be real quick today because the sauna is getting hot and my girls are getting impatient – every Friday my husband is home we have ourselves a sauna. But first, some reading. This week I’ve read The Paranormal Detection Agency by Anne Brooke.

Jack Atkinson is running an agency where he helps people out with their paranormal problems. Aaron Riley has a paranormal problem…or several, but one really big, he doesn’t really believe in ghosts and stuff but at this point, he’s willing to do anything to get the problem in his kitchen sorted. Sparks fly while Jack is trying to help Aaron.

The Paranormal Detection Agency is a short fun read with a little of a paranormal mystery to it. I really liked Jack and the unusual creatures that showed up in during the story. If you like paranormal stories and want something a little different you should check it out.

books2read.com/DetectionAgency *


51wrcyoh1ol-_sy346_When paranormal investigator Jack Atkinson meets new client Aaron Riley, he doesn’t expect the level of attraction he instantly feels for the man. Neither does he expect the kind of haunting Aaron describes, which Jack is determined to solve.
After their first official client meeting, the two men launch themselves into a passionate encounter, which Jack is keen to continue. Aaron’s attentions, however, are focused on the need to rid himself of the ghosts haunting his new home.
Jack and his trusty assistant and aunt, Miranda, investigate further, and soon discover how family secrets can run deeper than even Jack imagined. Will the truth destroy Jack and Aaron’s budding relationship, or are they strong enough to survive it?


* By clicking the Books2Read link you’ll be taken to an external page. Links to Smashwords, Kobo U.S and Amazon contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Friday Reads | The Gate

The-gateToday I’ve read The Gate by A.L. Lester – a story that’s a little outside my comfort zone…or I don’t know if comfort zones have anything to do with it. But I usually run for the hills when I see something about WW1 or WW2. And I hardly ever read historical, and I don’t really do demons if I can help it (though I’ve read a few good ones) and gates make me think of demons and fae. So why I picked this one up, I don’t really know, but I did. I should perhaps point out that I’m not sorry I did.

Matty comes home from the war to find out his brother is dying. The local doctor thinks it’s cancer, but it’s not. The brother is obsessed with his books and papers, and before he dies he tells Matty to keep the gate shut and burn the books. Matty doesn’t really listen, though, and one night Rob lets him know there is something strange going on.

I liked that we get to see the beginning of a relationship between Matty and Rob while they’re trying to solve the mystery with the books, the gate, and the death of Matty’s brother. The story is short but well written – give it a try!

books2read.com/The-Gate


36949972It’s 1918, and Matty returns home to the family farm from the trenches only to find his brother Arthur dying of an unknown illness. The local doctor thinks it might be cancer, but Matty becomes convinced it’s connected to the mysterious books his brother has left strewn around the house.

Matty confides his suspicions in his friend Rob, a hired hand on the farm and potential lover. Rob has found something that looks like a gate of some kind, something Arthur referenced in his papers which may rest at the heart of his illness. But a gate to where?

This short story introduces the world and characters in A.L. Lester’s novel, Lost in Time.