Month: May 2015

‘The Fire Mages’ FREE today only!

Yes, you can get The Fire Mages completely free, from all Amazons worldwide. This offer is only for today, Sunday 24th June. Click here to buy from your local Amazon. You can still get The Mages of Bennamore for just $0.99 (or equivalent) but only for a couple more days. After that, it will be at its normal price of $3.99 (or equivalent). Readers in the US and UK will also be able to pick up The Plains of Kallanash for just $0.99 or £0.99 from 1st – 7th June. So many special offers! And if you already have the books – thank you, but please tell your friends about these deals.

Posted May 24, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Publishing/marketing, The Fire Mages / 0 Comments

Mystery Review: ‘The House At Sea’s End’ by Elly Griffiths

This is the third in the series of murder mysteries featuring forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway, a somewhat grumpy, overweight, wine-guzzling, cat-loving lady, and one of my favourite characters. Once again, there’s a mysterious set of bones unearthed which our trusty heroine has to help to identify with her scientific skill. This time the bones are war-time era, buried during the dark days when an invasion by Hitler was believed to be imminent. But the coast is being eroded by time and tide, and the bones are exposed to twenty first century science. Now, to be honest, the science part of the investigation is perfunctory, at best. There are some police investigations ongoing, but I never found that aspect of the story compelling, or even particularly interesting. No, it’s the characters that make this book come alive. Ruth, the frumpy almost-middle-aged new mum. Nelson the grumpy cop. Michelle, his perfect […]

Posted May 22, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Regency romance review: ‘The Secret History of the Pink Carnation’ by Lauren Willig

This was recommended by a friend when I lamented the difficulty of finding decent Regency romances these days that have some modicum of connection to the actual era, and don’t play fast and loose with historical details. And it’s true enough that the historical details do feel very realistic. The author has obviously done her research. Unfortunately, while the settings are very credible, the characters simply aren’t. Now, this is partly my problem: I just find it very hard to read about Regency ladies clambering in and out of windows at night, and having almost-sexy-times with rakish blokes in masks and otherwise behaving recklessly, without comparing them with Jane Austen’s much more sedate heroines. Or even Georgette Heyer’s, whose characters were always spirited, but never, ever silly. So your mileage may vary, but for me I had trouble believing any of this. The premise: in an era of Englishmen secretly […]

Posted May 18, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

And it’s launched!

Yes, The Mages of Bennamore is on its way, down the slipway and into the vast ocean that is Amazon. The analogy isn’t so far wrong, since this book, the third of the Brightmoon Annals, is set on the southern coast and ships play a big part in the story. Things got off to a great start, with 34 pre-orders, almost double the number for The Fire Mages in January. Thank you to everyone who pre-ordered! I hope the book arrived safely in your Kindle or device, and that you enjoy the read. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, it’s still at a special introductory price of just $0.99 (or equivalent) for the next week or so. For those who have Kindle Unlimited or Prime, you can download and read absolutely FREE. The paperback will be available soon, priced at $12.99 (or equivalent), and if you buy the […]

Posted May 16, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Publishing/marketing, The Mages of Bennamore / 3 Comments

Fantasy Romance Review: ‘The Coup’ by Erica Dakin

I positively inhaled this book – I just couldn’t read it fast enough. This is the third book in the Theft and Sorcery series. I really enjoyed the first two, but this one is the best of the lot, for me. Although each book can be read independently of the others, there are some characters from the earlier books that turn up here. Big, big warning for those who might find it problematic: there’s a heap of graphic sex in the book, bordering on erotica, and there’s also some robust language. One of the enjoyable aspects of this series is that there’s a time-skip from one book to the next. This opens up the possibilities for interesting social changes. In the first book, half-elves were slaves, the lowest rung on the social ladder (after full-blooded elves, the aristocracy, and humans, effectively the middle classes). In the second book, the enlightened […]

Posted May 14, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Coming soon! More magic, adventure and a little romance

It’s almost time! The Mages of Bennamore, the third book set in the Brightmoon world, will be published on Friday, May 15th. The price will be just $0.99 for a short time; the normal price will be $3.99. You can pre-order at your local Amazon right now and have the book delivered direct to your Kindle or device of choice at midnight. Kindle Unlimited subscribers will be able to download and read for free from Friday onwards. As always, a review after you’ve read the book would be very much appreciated, to help other readers decide whether they would like it. Reviews can be posted to Amazon, Goodreads or your own blog. The story starts just a few months after the events of The Fire Mages, but it’s a stand-alone book, with a completely different location and a new set of characters; you don’t need to have read either The […]

Posted May 10, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Publishing/marketing, The Mages of Bennamore / 3 Comments

Fantasy Review: ‘Dragon’s Debt’ by H L Burke

This is the second in the Dragon and the Scholar quartet, and follows on with the story of Ewan (the dragon) and Shannon (the scholar). The first book ended with the two of them flying off into the sunset, but it was a long way from being a happy ending, what with him being a dragon and all. So naturally, after a pleasant interlude together, things start to go downhill. There’s trouble afoot in the Kingdom of Westshire, which borders our heroes’ own kingdom of Regone. Strange beasties have been snatching young girls from their homes, and Ryan, the heir to the Westshire throne, is set on putting an end to it. Into the midst of this comes Ewan’s brother Edmond, now King of Regone, bent on wooing Ryan’s sister Brighid. Her father, King Riley, isn’t at all happy about it. When things come to a duel, Ewan and Shannon […]

Posted May 6, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 1 Comment

Western Fantasy Review: ‘The Rancher’s Daughter’ by Kyra Halland

The Daughter of the Wildings series is possibly my favourite reading at the moment. This is book 3, and the author’s getting into her stride now. The characters are charming and heroic, the villains are exceedingly villainous (or just plain stupid), the setting is wonderfully detailed with a bit more revealed with every book, and the stories are just out and out good, rollicking fun. The two main characters, Silas and Lainie, are (unusually for fantasy, but not for this author) a married couple. Theirs isn’t a straightforward relationship, which allows for a bit of angsting along the way, but they still get along fine. I’m usually critical of books where the characters fall headlong into stereotypical gender roles, but here it works really well. Silas has a gentlemanly desire to protect Lainie from… well, everything, basically. She still blushes at any mention of sex. Yet they still have total […]

Posted May 3, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Fantasy Review: ‘All The Paths of Shadow’ by Frank Tuttle

This is one of those books that ticks all the right boxes for me. Spunky female lead – check. Detailed world building – check. Interesting magic system – check. Humour – check. A bit of a romance – check. Talking plant – check. Wait, what? A talking plant? OK, whatever. And yet, somehow… it doesn’t quite work. The premise is a good one. The kingdom’s first female royal sorcerer (called a thaumaturge here) is given an unusual challenge by the king: ensure that his speech to the coming Accords (a sort of international summit meeting) is not shadowed by the massive bulk of the centuries-old tower looming nearby. It’s a bit of a tricky one: can Meralda either move the tower (no) or move the sun (no again) or bend light to shift the shadow (possibly…). She sets to work with her calculations and research to come up with a […]

Posted May 1, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments