Required Reading

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Saturday, May 3, 2025

Echoes of Betrayal by Elizabeth Moon



Echoes of Betrayal

Paladin's Legacy Hardcover 
February 21, 2012
by Elizabeth Moon 






4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,088)

4.2 on Goodreads

3,355 ratings

Book 3 of 5: Paladin's Legacy

Editors' pickBest Science Fiction & Fantasy

Available in Hardcover, Paper and Kindle


Buy It Here


I will admit it, I am a fan of this series.  In fact, I haven't read an Elizabeth Moon book I haven't truly enjoyed.  She keeps you alert and awake as you read.   This third book in the series leaves you hanging on the cliff.  The beauty of reading a series that is this old is that you don't have to wait years for the results of the cliff hanger.  You just buy the entire series and can sate your fantasy appetite in one beautiful orgy of consumption.  The books are that good. 

The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon’s celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind.

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. A finger of suspicion has been pointed toward his grandmother, the queen of the Ladysforest elves, and that suspicion has only intensified with time and the Lady’s inexplicable behavior. Clearly, she is hiding something. But what? And why?

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides: Dorrin, once one of Kieri’s most trusted captains. When renegade Verrakaien attack two of Dorrin’s squires, suspicion and prejudice combine to place Dorrin’s life at risk—and the king’s claim to the throne in peril.

But even greater danger is looming. The wild offspring of a dragon are on the loose, sowing death and destruction and upsetting the ancient balance of power between dragonkind, humans, elves, and gnomes. A collision seems inevitable. Yet when it comes, it will be utterly unexpected—and all the more devastating for it.


If reviewing a product, it may have been received free of charge. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarnedThis book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned


Tuesday, April 22, 2025

The Warbler by Sarah Beth Durst

The Warbler by Sarah Beth Durst

The core tale is the story of a cursed family driven to travel. It diverts some from the original curse, but that is the core. I found the flashback viewpoints somewhat confusing. I got used to them, but initially, I was annoyed.  I think the main protagonist’s name is Elisa, but with all the name changes, I’m not sure.

Durst always does a good job on character development.  She creates real , and believable personalities for the characters. The story was interesting and got mor so as it wrapped up.   Little hints along the way led to the big ending revile. 

I enjoyed the book and recommend it. 




This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

The Price of Freedom by Michael C. Bland

The Price of Freedom by Michael C. Bland

I started this trilogy in 2020. In my opinion, this current book didn’t have enough of a backstory.  Admittedly, I prefer to wait until an entire trilogy is out and then read them all in order.  With that said, a high-tech hijack of the United States is occurring.  Dray, his family and friends are out to stop the coup.

The author does a good job of extrapolating the future of hologram, nanotechnology, and robotics.   Sadly, he shows that ethics don’t evolve at the same pace as technology.  

This book has a wealth of action and a modicum of sorrow and portrays a potential future dominated by the wealthy.   In some ways, it is a concerning mirror to current events but since it takes several years for Bland to get a book out, I doubt that it intends to portray current events.

I enjoyed the book.

Buy it Here

 


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie


The plot centers around a long-lost princess returning to her kingdom.  Alex is a street urchin whisked away from the Holy City of Carthage to Troy where she is to be installed as the Empress.   The trip is fraught with peril.

Alex’s entourage is comprised of a werewolf, an undying warrior, a vampire, a jack-of-all-trades, and a necromancer.  The entourage is a special task force of the Church of the Circle, and they are tasked by the Pope to see Alex is crowned.

This is a superb quest tale with tons of action, perfidy, treachery, and vast disappointment.

I really enjoyed it and recommend it highly.


 Buy It Here


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Beguilement (The Sharing Knife, Book 1) by Lois McMaster Bujold

An oldie but a goodie! Bujold always entertains and makes you postulate your own solutions!


3.8 on Goodreads
 
13,212 ratings


“Bujold builds a better fantasy romance with compelling characters and the fascinating clash between their cultures, she a farmer’s daughter, he an adventurer on the trail of a deadly demon.”—Locus

One of the most respected writers in the field of speculative fiction, Lois McMaster Bujold has won numerous accolades and awards, including the Nebula and Locus Awards as well as the fantasy and science fiction genre’s most prestigious honor, the Hugo Award for Best Novel, four times (most recently for Paladin of Souls). With The Sharing Knife series, Bujold creates a brand new world fraught with peril, and spins an extraordinary romance between a young farm girl and the brave sorcerer-soldier entrusted with the defense of the land against a plague of vicious, malevolent beings. Meet Fawn Bluefield and Dag Redwing Hickory in Beguilement, the first book in Bujold’s unforgettable four-volume fantasy saga, and witness the birth of their dangerous romance—a love threatened by prejudice and perilous magic, and by Dag’s sworn duty as Lakewalker patroller and necromancer.


Buy it here!

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Testing Amazon Links

Amazon Link to Hot SciFi  & Fantasy titlees.


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned

Friday, March 7, 2025

OMG, I'm Pregnant FREE Kindle Version March 8-March 12, 2025 on Amazon


This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a purchasing link below.#CommissionsEarned