Author: PaulineMRoss

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

Review: ‘On Canaan’s Side’ by Sebastian Barry

This is one of those deeply worthy books where you can see exactly what the author was hoping to achieve, and it almost works, but in the end there’s just too much unlikely contrivance and too little characterisation to be effective. Lilly is an Irish girl betrothed to Tadg when the troubles intervene. Both are put under a death sentence, and escape to America to try to make a new life away from the troubles. Of course, things don’t work out smoothly and Lilly’s life becomes a catalogue of difficulties punctuated or inflicted by major events of the twentieth century: the issue of colour, Vietnam, Martin Luther King, the Gulf War and so on. And very depressing it all is. A lot of people die or disappear. The story is told by Lilly herself, in a long-winded rambling style that is wonderfully evocative and poetic, but becomes wearing when stretched […]

Posted April 24, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments

Archive review: ‘Ravenmarked’ by Amy Rose Davis

I first read and reviewed this in 2012, and it was one of the first I’d come across that successfully married epic fantasy with a credible romance, that wasn’t just bolted on as an afterthought, or where the female was more than the Arwen-reward for the Aragorn-hero. I enjoyed this so much that I waited impatiently for book 2 to arrive. And waited… Seemingly, real life got in the way, and the book was unpublished for a while. But the author is now working on the sequel again, so one day I shall find out how it all ends. Even without the rest of the series, it’s a great read. I’ve been enjoying the author’s articles for Fantasy Faction for some time now [Edit: they’re probably still in the archives there], but never thought to check her own website. Lo and behold, here’s the first part of a traditional-style epic […]

Posted April 18, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Archive, Review / 0 Comments

Out visiting

I’m out visiting today: guest posting over at Anela’s blog, Amid The Imaginary, on the subject of what makes for a compelling read. It’s an interesting question, which will have a different answer for everyone. You can read my answer here. Have a wander round the blog while you’re there. Anela is a great reviewer, and she focuses solely on self-published fantasy and sci-fi.

Posted April 17, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in General / 0 Comments

YA horror review: ‘Sleepless’ by Michael Omer

This is one of those books that I would never, ever have read if I hadn’t bumped into the author online in an author’s forum and got to know him. YA? Horror? Eek! No way… and blow me down, if it wasn’t a whole heap of fun. Who’d a thunk it? Here’s the premise: Amy is fourteen when her parents uproot her from LA and move to dull, small-town Narrowdale. She thinks her worst problem is going to be boredom. Ha! Not a chance. Because first there are the strange dreams, where she’s being followed and there’s this odd whistling. And then… well, let’s just say that it gets a whole lot weirder after that. Amy herself is a big part of the fun, because she’s your actual spunky heroine. Strange noises at night? Should I sneak out of the house and wander around deserted streets on my own to […]

Posted April 16, 2015 by PaulineMRoss in Review / 0 Comments