Author: Absidity Art

January Reading Round up

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Reads this month: Rocky to the Rescue, Ninja Kid 1, The Cursed Key, Marie Claire, Nils: The Tree of Life, Ghost Revelations, Chosen by the Alpha, Ninja Kid 2, Frankie, Enshrine.

Challenge Reads:

#AusYABloggers New Beginnings Prompt:  #LoveOzMG book, Ninja Kid #1 (from nerd to ninja) by Anh Do. Ninja Kid gives as; a boy with new Ninja powers, a forest full of deadly giant spiders, and a school trip no one will forget. It’s a fun and exciting read, with the underlying message of believing in yourself, practice makes perfect and that anything is possible – all valuable messages for both young and old.

#TBRtrim20 New: Why yes I am doubling up, bite me, I’m a busy mum with two little boys who works full time, I gotta catch a break somewhere. And it was a Christmas purchase so it totally counts. Ninja Kid #1 (from nerd to ninja) by Anh Do.

#TBRtrim20 Old: I originally planned to read Shadows of the realm because it is the oldest book on my Goodreads TBR. But as I’ve got all three books sitting on the shelf, I knew if I read it and loved it, i’d want to head straight into the next two. So, It will have to wait until I have the time to dedicate to all of the books in the trilogy.

So, to pick another old read I was browsing the early end of my TBR Goodreads shelves, just focusing on books I owned and see if any of them grabbed my attention and I couldn’t for the life of me remember how I came to have a copy of Chosen by the Alpha (The Shadow Pack Rules #1) by Michele Bardsley. I figured that was a good enough reason to read it.

Reviews written:

★ 4/5 | NA, Romance, Urban Fantasy | The Cursed Key (The Cursed Key Trilogy #1) by Miranda Brock & Rebecca Hamilton | VIEW.
★ 4/5 | Adult, Reverse Harem, Urban Fantasy | Ghost Revelations (Ghost Dud #1) by Aspen Black | VIEW.
★ 2/5 | Graphic Novel, Fantasy | The Tree of Life by Jérôme Hamon | VIEW.
★ 4/5 | YA, Fantasy, Romance | Enshrine by Kay Bennson | VIEW.

There is still plenty of time to jump on board with the challenges I’m doing this year > > >

Reading Challenge One: If you are after a easy, fun, social and super chill reading challenge for next year, then take a look at the #AusYABloggers 2020 Reading Challenge There are prizes up for grabs and you only have to read a book a month, that fits that months theme to qualify.

Reading Challenge Two: If you want to slash your TBR and are an Instagram user then #TBRtrim20 could be for you. This one also has prizes up for grabs and you can totally do both challenges at the same time, I will be! Even doing both you are only committing yourself to reading a minimum of three books a month – obviously you can read MORE if you are able/want to.

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

Enshrine: YA Review

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35378501. sx318 Enshrine by Kay Bennson
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance
Publication: June 4th, 2017
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Source: Review copy from YA Bound Book Tours – Thank You
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Rating: ✵✵✵✵

When Sage Wolfe is accidentally mistaken for a peace offering, her world turns upside down. Dayton, the young, handsome, and insane King of Rosementh whisks her away to his castle to be his bride with the promise that he can give her the world and anything she desires. These offers becoming tainted as Dayton’s true colors show themselves; he is cruel and violent and Sage vows to run away or die trying.

Just when Sage thinks she is hitting rock bottom, a hooded stranger named Jonathan Kreider comes to the castle. He doesn’t say much but his actions speak for themselves. Not only can he wield a sword or shoot an arrow better than most of Dayton’s men, but he always seems to be a step behind Sage, and though it should terrify her, for the first time Sage finds herself filling with hope.

Sage is faced with a choice. Should she run away from the wicked king who took her away from her family? Or should she stay to learn more about the man who lurks in the shadows, the man that makes her heart race and almost makes suffering Dayton’s wrath worthwhile? Sage is about to discover that nothing is as it seems and everyone has secrets; Dayton, the man that calls himself Jonathan Kreider, and even herself.

Kay Bennson Links: Twitter | Website | Goodreads | Instagram 

I love it when a book pleasantly surprises me. I signed up to read Enshrine when I saw it in YA Bound’s review call out email late last year. At the time I was in a bit of a mood and thought, I could go for a good old basic love triangle fantasy. That’s not what this ended up being, but back to that a little later. I received the ecopy and then realised it was a 2017 release. It didn’t fill me with hope that the author was still trying to build up reviews a few years down the track. In the end I went into reading this one a little apprehensive, but ended up really enjoying it!! Love it when a book not only beats my expectations, but blows them out of the water.

Firstly, there is no love triangle. Secondly, this book got me hooked and so much more invested in Sage’s life then I expected AND that epilogue! If Kay ever writes a sequel, i’ll be reading it. Thirdly, Sage’s true love interest. Not the piece of crap boy king, but the sexy man muffin warrior that was Jonty (Jonathan). Jonty was a good dude. Okay a little messed up thanks to his daddy and mummy, but a good dude, and fortunately an excellent fighter. He always treated Sage like she was his equal and taught her how to fight and survive on the run. In the end they both ended up saving each other a few times over and fell in love and lived happily ever after.

Now to the piece of crap boy king Dayton, that tried as hard as he could, and almost succeeded in ruining that happily ever after. Dayton was a Ramsay/Joffrey type, so umm… trigger warnings for domestic violence. Thankfully you never saw the darker stuff, it was just hinted at.

All in all this was an extremely enjoyable YA fantasy romance romp. Our heroine goes from being the lowly poor eldest daughter of a war widow, who’s prospects for the future are low and sad in the little village she calls home – to a well traveled sassy ass kicking adventure seeking young woman. And she picks up some arm candy along the way. Way to go Sage!!

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

Nils The Tree of Life: Review

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48933442Nils: The Tree of Life by Jérôme Hamon
Publication: February 11th, 2020
Publisher: Magnetic Press
Source: Review copy from NetGalley – Thank You
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A dystopic Nordic fantasy world, where spirits of light are the key to life, but seemingly have abandoned the world. Young Nils and his father set out to discover why the ground has grown infertile, heading north where the drought seems worse to find the cause.

Far along the way, they find signs of fresh and vibrant life, caretaken by these little light spirits. But before they know it, a large metal creature arrives and attacks the creatures, apparently hunting and gathering them.

From out of the woods, a woman attacks the creature, bringing it to its knees… apparently the plant was bait for the spirits, which in turn were bait for the metal creature, which serves the high-tech Cyan Nation.

This huntress, named Alba, takes Nils and his father into their tribe, where the battle between the shamanistic people and the Cyan Nation is paramount, a battle over the protection vs exploitation of the light spirits power…

Meanwhile, three goddesses watch these events, lamenting the fact that man had abandoned all belief in their power long ago. They watch but do not intervene, despite the fact that the spirits are being harvested en masse by the Cyan Nation, wreaking ruin on the world outside their city.

Realizing that this conflict will in one way or another change the very fabric of this world, they slowly begin to intervene…
As they continue their travels, Nils has a dream (seeded by one of the goddesses) about the World Tree, Yggdrasil, which is being consumed by a metal plague.

He knows he must now find and save the tree, and in the process, save the world. But the high council of the Cyan Nation would have otherwise…

Having been separated in their quest, Nils’s father finds himself a guest of the Cyan Prince, where he learns that they do indeed understand the power of the spirits, which they call Ethernum, serving as the power source for their technological advancement.

More sinister than that, however, is the fact that they’ve used the Ethernum as a means of near-eternal longevity, having wiped out all competitors to their power and resource long ago. And now, they believe they have unlocked the secrets for using the Ethernum to revive the dead…

And for the goddesses, that is a step too far. They intervene, but in the process find one of themselves surprisingly captured by the Cyan royalty… and then killed.

The remaining two goddesses are torn by this affront. One vows to wipe mankind off the planet for good, while the other goes to help Nils save the Life Tree.

High fantasy adventure combining science-fiction with pseudo-spiritual magic, posing dramatic examinations of man vs nature, life vs death, fact vs faith, and man’s desire to play god.

After an extremely detailed synopsis like that I’m not sure what’s left to say. The only part of the story the synopsis doesn’t delve into is the ending and the outcome of Nil’s journey – and I’m not going to spoil that, so I’ll talk about how the story made me feel.
The darker cover art with the wolves and tree in the background drew me in when I saw it in the Diamonds email catalog. It made me want to know more and head to Netgalley so I could read the graphic novel.

The dark and rather ominous art keeps up for a large part of the story. I found the art to be deeply emotive. The story, although on some other world in some other time, really captures the way the wealthy and the greedy are striping this world bare for their own gain, with no care as to the irreversible damage they are doing.

The highlight of the story for me was the forest dwelling tribe ruled by women of color, who were living in harmony with nature – I wish they could have had a larger part in saving the day. But Nil’s goes off trying to try save nature and put right what the damage the ruling old white asshats of CYAN have brought upon the world. All this hit home for me living in a country which is run by a bunch a useless greedy men, who refuse to seek guidance from the traditional owners of the land even as it all burns to the ground around them – that’s Strailya for ya mate! Maybe I’m putting too much of my own feelings into this read. But as I read this book, my state of NSW, and most of the east coast, was burning to the ground.

I wasn’t keen on the books ending. It didn’t give me the closure and hope I was needing/hoping for, but again maybe I’m putting too much of my own feelings into it.

I’m not sure what else I can say. This was a read I’ve struggled for over a week, closer to two, to write a review for. The art was beautiful though and I think would be best appreciated in printed form rather than an eComic.

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

Boys on the Brink: Freebie

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Today I gave a little guest post and Promo for you from Author Jamie Deacon. I read and reviewed Jamie’s novella Defensive Play from her Boys on the Brink series at the start of 2019 and loved it!  Now I’ll hand the post over.

Thank you so much for allowing me to stop by today to share a little about my new Boys on the Brink short story, available FREE AND EXCLUSIVE to everyone who signs up to my newsletter! Off Course is a sweet YA LGBT+ romance centred on Jason and Taz, rivals on their county cross country team, and can be downloaded by subscribing here.

I hope you have as much fun reading my story as I had writing it, and I look forward to welcoming you to my quarterly newsletter, where I share reading recommendations, updates on my writing, and anything else I think might be of interest to my readers, including the occasional cute dog photo!

About the Story

Blurb

OffCourse

Available free and exclusive to newsletter subscribers.

He should never have gone running that afternoon—not with the roads so treacherous, and certainly not without checking his phone was charged. Then again, if there’s one thing seventeen-year-old Jason Connor is famous for, besides being the star of his cross country team, it’s his impulsiveness. So, when an injured ankle leaves him stranded in the woods with no means of calling for aid, it isn’t the first time a rash decision has led him into trouble.

As dusk approaches, Jason believes his situation can’t get any worse…until rescue arrives in the form of Tarek Bahrani—beautiful, infuriating, and the very last person Jason would choose to find him sprawled in the mud. The two have been enemies since clashing at the Brookshire County Championships, but while Taz is a constant reminder of Jason’s biggest mistake, he might just be the only one who can help him put things right.

Sign up here to get your free copy!

Teaser

My head snaps up and I strain my ears to listen. Footsteps. Not the hurried, uneven footsteps of someone fleeing a pursuer, but the measured pace of a serious jogger. My heart high-jumps into my throat, then drops in an ungainly tumble to my stomach. God, not him. Please let it be anyone else but him.

Even as the prayer forms in my mind, I know it’s hopeless. I grind my teeth, frustrated at my own impotence, and watch for the figure to come into view. There’s only one person around here dedicated enough to be out running with the clouds about to burst, and it also happens to be the last person in the world I’d choose to find me on my backside in the mud.

Catching sight of me, he slows to a halt a few paces away. He brushes the dark curls off his sweaty forehead and raises an eyebrow. “Jason Connor. Fancy meeting you here.”

I glare up at him, summoning all the venom I can muster whilst in a crumpled heap on the ground. Christ, of all the residents of Oakmere who might have stumbled across me, why did it have to be him? Tarek Bloody Bahrani. Beautiful, infuriating Taz. My nemesis. The one boy who has seen me at my worst.

About Jamie Deacon

Author Bio

JamieDeacon

Born in 1982, Jamie Deacon lives close to the River Thames in Berkshire, England, and is a full-time author of young adult fiction featuring characters across the gender and sexuality spectrums. When not writing, Jamie loves to read, play board games, and solve cryptic crosswords.

Jamie’s debut novel, Caught Inside, was published by Beaten Track in 2016 to much acclaim, including two Rainbow Awards. It was also nominated for a Lambda Literary (Lammy) Award, a Bisexual Book Award, and a Next Generation Indie Book Award.

Connect with Jamie

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

If you’re interested in reading my review of Jamie’s novella Defensive Play that I mentioned before, click HERE.
It was a warm and fuzzy five star read for me.

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

The Ghost Revelations: Review

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Ghost Revelations (Ghost Dud #1) by Aspen Black
Genre: Reverse Harem, Urban Fantasy, Romance
Publication: October 25, 2019
Print Length: 181 pages
Source: Review copy via Silver Dagger Tours
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Rating: ✵✵✵✵

I was always told growing up in my family, surrounded by magic, that I was a dud. I had no power except the ability to talk to ghosts. It never bothered me because I enjoyed my job as a bartender at my Uncle’s bar that caters to the supernatural community. I spend my nights working and getting to flirt with my crush.

Then one night, my life turned upside down. Someone was murdered right around the corner and suddenly a hot wizard detective with a perfect bubble butt from MEPA, The Magical Entity Protection Agency, swooped in and asked for my help with the victims’ ghosts. Working with the detective soon leads to a race to stop a killer who is bent on exposing the supernatural community to humans with more deaths.

Join Victoria on her journey as she works to stop an evil being with the help from her crush Akira the werewolf, Lucian the wizard, and her ex-boyfriend Shax.

This is a reverse harem medium to fast burn book or a why choose novel.
F/M/M/M. This does include M/M heavy elements.

**WARNING** Sex, sex and more sex! BUUUUUT the non sex stuff was damn good too!

Ghost Revelations it is an Erotic Paranormal Reverse Harem book, so I knew I was in for sex, but this one also boasted a lot of story around it. I think even if you skipped over the graphically depicted sex scenes there would still be enough of the find-the-killer who-done-it action and drama to keep you entertained.

The POV Victoria is easily likable. She grew up in the paranormal world feeling rather powerless and like a failure to her extremely powerful and magical family. Okay, take out the paranormal and that’s totally relate-able.

The sex in the story mainly focuses around a Polyamorous Trio of two males and one female, Victoria. I found that I really enjoyed the chemistry the trio had in and out of the bedroom. The two males’ personalities bounced off each other really well and they both cared for and believed in Victoria, giving her confidence and the push she needed to realise she was powerful and special, regardless of what she grew up hearing her mother say.

Obviously, Victoria gets to use her powers to help catch the baddie, she gets to kick some butt and they get the killer. But I’m not going to go into that in detail – no spoilers here.

Maybe skip this one if you aren’t into graphic depictions of sex. But if your game, give it ago. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

About the Author: Aspen Black is often described as kooky by her friends. She writes the stories that have floated continuously in her imagination since she was a child. She’s a lemonade addict that really shouldn’t be allowed near lemons.
Being an introvert, she spends most of her time writing and reading her favorite books.
Please join her on her facebook and twitter feeds for up to date information on current and in-progress books.
She is a lover of all animals, having a small zoo at home.
Author Links: Facebook * Facebook Readers Group * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Giveaway: Google Home Mini, $10 Amazon, $5 Amazon – 1 winner each!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

The Cursed Key: Review

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The Cursed Key (The Cursed Key Trilogy #1) by Miranda Brock & Rebecca Hamilton
Published by: Evershade Publishing
Publication date: January 14th 2020
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Urban Fantasy

A forgotten past, a dark mage, and an unyielding curse.

Another team beat free-spirited archaeologist Olivia Perez to the dig of a lifetime, and now she’s left with the choice to wait for scraps or brave a dangerous, dusty tomb in hopes of finding other priceless artifacts. Her reward? A mysterious key she has no idea is cursed. Soon, Olivia realizes she’s brought home more than just an ancient rarity.

Malevolent visions begin to plague her. Unnerved by what they reveal, she casts away the key…unknowingly placing it into the waiting hands of a dark mage bent on destruction. Only when a shifter agent from the Paranormal Intelligence and Tracking Organization arrives searching for the key does Olivia realize what a huge mistake she’s made.

Forced to team up with the ill-tempered shifter, her journey to reclaim the cursed key leads down a twisting path of dark histories, dangerous magic, and deadly obstacles. But Olivia’s efforts to take back the ancient relic before the dark mage can destroy the lives of humans, shifters, witches, and fae alike are thwarted by her own dark past…and a price steeper than what she’s willing to pay.

Fans of Tomb Raider and Ilona Andrews will love the blend of urban fantasy, magical adventure, and paranormal romance in THE CURSED KEY from Miranda Brock and New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Hamilton!

Add to Goodreads | Follow the tour

Purchase Links: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Google Play

With a synopsis like that how could I not sign up for this tour! I read the opening sentence “I had come to a dangerous place, eagerly and with abandon fully latched to my soul.” And I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

We meet the POV character, Archaeologist Olivia Perez, as she arrives at her next big dig site. Olivia came across as an adventurous and intelligent woman. Although we are never told her age, to me she felt like late twenties to early thirties in age – Mature and confident in herself, but still a ways off from middle age.

Olivia gets more than she bargained for when an artifact she retrieves unlocks dormant magic inside her and fills her mind with horrific and déjà-vu-feeling visions. Cue the appearance of a Jaguar Shifter named Kael and she knows she’s made a terrible mistake removing the artifact from its resting place.

The story has beautiful settings with lush descriptions. It takes us from the jungles of the Amazon to the hills of Scotland and more.

This book is listed as a romance, but the romance was minimal and didn’t overshadow the action and adventure. The Cursed Key was action packed, fast passed and one of the cleanest paranormal romances I’ve ever read (and I mean that as a positive). But I expect the romance to grow in the next book of the trilogy and become a bigger part of the overall story.

All in all, The Cursed Key is a great first book. I found it exciting and entertaining and am looking forward to seeing where the next book will take Olivia and Kael.

AUTHOR BIO:
New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Hamilton writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance for Harlequin, Baste Lübbe, and Evershade. A book addict, registered bone marrow donor, and indian food enthusiast, she often takes to fictional worlds to see what perilous situations her characters will find themselves in next.

Represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA, Rebecca has been published internationally, in three languages: English, German, and Hungarian.

Author links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

AUTHOR BIO:
From an early age Miranda Brock has always loved fantasy and adventure everything. Since she doesn’t live in a world of enchanting powers, mythical beasts, and things unbelievable she has decided to write about them. (Although, if you happen to see a dragon flying around, do tell her.) Born in southern Illinois, where she still resides with her husband and two children, she grew up running through the woods, playing in creeks, and riding horses. What started out as writing poetry grew into short stories and eventually led to her first novel, Souls Discovered. Miranda lives in the country where she finds inspiration in the simplicity and beauty around her. With the help of a ridiculous amount of coffee and some good music she writes whenever she gets a chance.

Author links: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

The Coven Queen: Excerpt

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Become the witch you were born to be.
Harley Sinclair has had more than her share of heartbreak, and now she’s all alone once again, trying to hold her life together and move on from the tragedies and the losses of both the dead and the living.
However, she cannot indulge in grief over heartbreak nor death.
Bodies are being found all over London, and then one turns up in the Coven’s confines. Someone is hunting witches and wizards, and with the Coven leaderless, they are more vulnerable than ever.
In order to escape the memories haunting her, she agrees to fly to Chicago to find the source of the murders before everyone she knows is killed.
Discover the magic, mystery, and mischief in the final installment of the #1 bestselling Coven Series!

*** PLUS *** books 1-4 are 99c each!
EXCERPT:

The man yanked Harley up from her seat, still keeping the gun on her, and pulled her across the hall, kicking open the door where Caelum was being held.

He was being held still by two men, while the one woman held a silver blade to his throat. The third man had a gun pulled on him from the corner of the room. His wrists were bright red, as was the area of his neck where the blade touched. The silver was burning him. They had figured out he was a shapeshifter.

“What are you waiting for? Kill him!” the man holding her commanded.

Everything after seemed to happen in slow motion. The woman dug the tip of the blade into his throat and moved it downward, obviously to stab his heart and kill him. Caelum gasped and closed his eyes, absolutely helpless. He looked ready to swoon from the pain.

Harley’s body began to tingle from head to toe as her magic blossomed within her, hot and angry and ready to strike as though it was a living thing.

The man holding her let go abruptly, as her magic burnt him, eyes wide as he stared at her.

She paid him no mind, however. Her eyes, and her heart, were on Caelum.

“No!” she cried, and at her word, as though it was a command, her magic seemed to break free, uncontrolled and harsh. The cuffs holding her snapped apart and fell to the ground with multiple clinks while her green magic flew out, attacking every single human in the room. As if it were a wave, it dispersed, knocking all six humans into the walls. Now not held up by anyone, Caelum fell in a heap to the ground, blood slowly dripping from his wounds.

No longer shaking and filled with brimming magic, Harley rushed forward, not checking on a single human. She kicked the knife out of the way and felt for a pulse on Caelum. It was there, they hadn’t reached his heart yet when her magic had stopped them.

“Caelum,” she whispered, feeling her hand tremble as she held her palm over his wounds. “Plaga reparo,” she cast over and over, until he was no longer leaking blood. Without saying a word, her magic went out on its own once more and shattered the handcuffs so that he was no longer burning. Gingerly, she took his hands in hers and healed the round burn marks on his wrists.

People clattered behind her and she leapt up, ready to defend them both if need be. But to her surprise, she saw Director Mancini and three other agents from the PID. Judging by the Dark energy, two of those agents were vampires.

“What happened here?” Mancini asked, looking around.

“We found the hunters’ lair,” Harley replied. “I will fill you in later; Caelum needs help. He fainted as they were trying to stab him with a silver blade.”

Mancini went down by Caelum and said, “I believe he’s simply unconscious now, but we will take him back to the PID and get a Medic to look at him. Are you all right?”

“Yes, sir,” Harley said.

“How the Hell did you knock them all out?” one of the other agents asked, nudging one of the hunters with her boot.

“I–” She wasn’t sure what to say. To admit that she didn’t have full control of her magic to the paranormal police was a bad idea.

“Never mind. Are they all alive?” Mancini asked.

“Not this one.” The other vampire agent pointed to the woman who had held the knife to Caelum’s throat. “Her skull’s been shattered.”

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

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Where has this year gone!! I read a lot of good books this year, partook in lots of book tours, both as a participant and helping run them with the #AusYABloggers. But I also had a lot of moments where I just wanted to give up on this review blog gig. My reading goals for next year, in an attempt to make my way out of this funk and save myself from burn out, is to read less review copies and focus on the books that I’ve purchased over the years because I wanted to read them and then never got the time to.

I accomplished some of the things I had intended to in 2019, but there were three major things I never got to.  1) Lose weight. I’m currently on prescribed pain meds, anti-inflammatory meds and anti-depressants, all as a way to try and help me live with my Arthritis. I would like to get down to as low of a weight as is healthy for my height-age ratio, to try and help ease the strain on my joints. But lets be real, I’ve been trying to lose weight my entire life. So don’t hold your breath for me.  2) Creating a back catalog of my reviews. Currently if you go into the review catalog of this blog I only have this years listed – argh so many old reviews to go through.  3) I never got around to re-editing and submitting a manuscript I had been working on in previous years. So those are my first priority (after my kids and the Camp Quality FunX4) for me in 2020. I will be helping to run (and take part in) two reading challenges, which I believe will help me accomplish my reading goals for next year.

Reading Challenge One: If you are after a easy, fun, social and super chill reading challenge for next year, then take a look at the #AusYABloggers 2020 Reading Challenge There are prizes up for grabs and you only have to read a book a month, that fits that months theme to qualify.

The themes are:
January – New Beginnings
February – Fun in the sun
March – Lost and Found
April – Spookalicious
May – After Dark
June – Coming Out
July – Indigenous Voices
August – Tropes-ahoy
September – Awesome Anthologies
October – Mental Health
November – Glorious Graphics
December – Happy Holidays

Find out more HERE

Reading Challenge Two: If you want to slash your TBR and are an Instagram user then #TBRtrim20 could be for you. This one also has prizes up for grabs and you can totally do both challenges at the same time, I will be! Even doing both you are only committing yourself to reading a minimum of three books a month – obviously you can read MORE if you are able/want to.

I’m really not sure how to wrap this post up – I hope you all have a fantastic festive season and happy new year. I’ve still got one or two more reviews to put up before the 31st. This isn’t suppose to be goodbye from me for the year (hehehe we’ll see). I’m just doing this post now, in case I get too busy with the silly season to do it later.

XOXO Sarah 🙂

Thanks for visiting sarahfairbairn.com 🙂
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂

Daughter of Rage and Beauty: Review

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Daughter of Rage and Beauty
Berserker Academy Book 1
by Amy Pennza
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance

The sagas claim you can’t fight fate. I’m determined to prove them wrong. They say your twenties are supposed to be the best years of your life.
Clearly, they don’t know what they’re talking about.
Because right now, my life is in shambles. As the daughter of one of the most powerful berserkers in the world, I should be taking my place among the noble guild of berserker assassins. By now, I should have mastered my emotions and conquered my rage—all the better to use it as a weapon when called upon to kill.
But I’m not just Harald Berregaard’s daughter. My mother was a nymph, which makes me a magical mutt. When I was born, my father thought I might possess the best traits from both races.
He was wrong.
Now he’s shipping me off to the Berserker Academy, where the unofficial motto is “graduate or die.”
Nice, huh?
With the stakes this high, I can’t afford to get distracted. Too bad the academy’s headmaster keeps showing up at the most inconvenient moments, reminding me how much I suck at magic. And fighting. And basic conversation.
It doesn’t matter that he does it with a smile. Or that his eyes fire silver when he’s amused . . . or aroused. Hauk Sigridsson has his own problems. He’s not going to be one of mine.
On the other hand, he’s offered me a way to accelerate my studies and make it out of the academy alive. I just have to help him steal a priceless rock and defeat one of the most powerful immortals to have ever lived.
No big deal.
I’m in way over my head, but I’m determined to survive. They say you can’t fight fate. I’m going to show fate exactly what I’m made of.

The story opens with Elin approaching BjØrneskalle Castle, home to the Berserker Academy (think of it as an assassin’s university), in a car with her father. The tension in the story builds as they get nearer and nearer – A fantastic hook in! It had me. I needed to find out what was going to happen and what this Berserker Academy was all about.

Elin is our POV character: She comes across as sweet, yet powerful and was easily likeable. Elin mother was a nymph, so she’s half Fae – She soon finds that this is disliked by some of the other students. For the first half of this book I felt Elin was younger than her 21 years. She had lived a life away from most of the berserkers, being home schooled up until the start of the book. Elin had spent her whole life being put down by her unsupportive hatful father, Harald, and being at the Academy was the first time she was able to live out from under his thumb. But early on I kept thinking she felt younger, and I’ve put this down to the Vampire Academy mixed with Norse mythology vibe that was going on – FYI I was loving that vibe, it just felt more high school than university.

Hauk our love interest: Hauk Sigridsson, the headmaster of BjØrneskalle. I never really got a gage on how old Hauk was. As the reader we surmise that he came into his high position at the Berserker Academy due to his superior fighting skills and his legendary Mother’s supreme warrior reputation, not his age. It is only remarked that age is hard to determine with Mythicals, and that the eyes are the only way to tell. It is said he had young eyes.

Hauk trains one on one with Elin, at first seemly to help her catch up and adjust to academy life. This storyline changes as Haul asks Elin to accompany him on a dangerous quest. A quest that involves traveling into dangerous lands, dealing with deadly Fae, fighting desire and recovering the prized immorality stone.

I must say that I did love that gender did not factor into how good of a warrior you were. The girls and the guys were equally kick ass.

There were events near the end of the book that I didn’t see coming. I actually said Oh Shit out loud at one point. A book hasn’t blindsided me like that in ages – cheers to you Amy Pennza.

The classification: This book is listed as Adult Urban Fantasy Romance. I assumed there would be graphic sex coming at some point and that’s why this was classed as an adult book, rather than New Adult. The sex doesn’t come to later in the book and it is primal, it’s hot and heavy and at one point I stopped and thought – Yes, I can see why she’s made Elin 21 or the whole thing Hauk wouldn’t have worked, and I don’t think I’d have been comfortable reading those scene knowing the character as any younger. I don’t think you necessarily need to be an adult to read this story. 17-year-old me would have loooooved this book. I mean come on, kids these days are watching worse stuff on the internet, at least Hauk and Elin care about each other and aren’t some pool boy and horny housewife combo – that’s all I’m saying.

All in all, I did enjoy this book. The writing flowed well and the fast, yet steady pacing made for a quick and entertaining read. I would happy read more works by Amy Pennza.

About the author: Amy Pennza has been a lawyer, a soldier, and a copywriter. She’s worn combat boots and high heels in the same 24-hour period–and she definitely prefers flip flops. Actually, she prefers going barefoot while writing steamy romances about strong women and alpha men with hearts of gold. After years in Tornado Alley, she now makes her home in the Great Lakes region with her husband, kids, and more baskets than any one person should own. (You can never have enough.)

Find her at her: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads

Thank you to Silver Dagger Book Tours for my review copy.

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