Tag: fantasy horror

Review: Assassin’s Noon: Ageless Mysteries – Book 4 by Vanessa Nelson

Rating: 5⭐️

Assassin’s Noon is such a remarkable book. The plot is outstanding, the characters show great depth and development and it’s not too close to the end, that I’m mourning the finish of this fantastic series. Which I will btw. 

We have a locked room murder mystery worthy of the our best iconic mystery authors, and then the next moment, the entirety of the investigation turns darker when the murder motive and ongoing political conspiracy seems to be intertwined. 

That aspect of the story is excellent . And alongside this, Nelson is detailing the new tentative relationship between Thea and her father, and her quiet growing bond with Mage Niath.  Beautifully crafted and layered in among the storylines and scenes that they have together. 

Thea’s mother, Ware, the others of the Watch and all the characters like the science officer that we’ve come to love continuously grow better as the demands of the thriller get darker and more intense.

No spoilers but the story arc is so suspense filled as well as magically satisfying action battle scenes. Thrilling and intense. 

This is one of my favorite dark fantasy series. Not a romance.

Ageless Mysteries (6 book series):

 Deadly Night #1

False Dawn #2

Morning Trap #3

Assassin’s Noon #4

Flightless Afternoon #5

Ascension Day #6

Buy link 

 Book 4 of 6: Ageless Mysteries 

Blurb 

One dead man. A fortified house full of innocent people.

One of the city’s wealthiest and most powerful residents is found dead in his own home. Murder is suspected, but the house was supposed to be absolutely secure against any intruder. Thea is faced with a hostile group of household servants inside the house and demands for swift justice outside its walls.

Working with Mage Niath, it doesn’t take long to realise that it’s not a straightforward death and the dead man has ties to opponents they have faced before.

Can Thea uncover the truth of the death before the tensions in the city spill over and more deaths occur?

Assassin’s Noon is the fourth book in the Ageless Mysteries series, and continues Thea’s story which started in Deadly Night.

If you like your fantasy with mystery and magic, you will love Thea’s story. Get your copy of Assassin’s Noon today to continue Thea’s story.

Publication date

February 25, 2022

Edition

2nd

Language

‎English

Print length

248 pages

Book 4 of 6

Ageless Mysteries

Review: Morning Trap (Book 3) by Vanessa Nelson

Rating: 4.75⭐️

 “Can she serve justice in an unjust world?”

Absolutely riveting. Book by book, Nelson is pulling us into a larger magical world where there’s a dark conspiracy building against anyone not human as well as the Ageless. 

Using the Watch, with their own abilities to move around the countryside and nearby villages as well as the small group of law enforcement, mages and Thea who are working towards making the city safe, it’s an extraordinary story that balances out all the needs of the plots and keeps us heavily involved with them at at the same time.

The danger posed by the Archon, the threats to the city and community, the plight of the non humans, and Thea’s struggles with her family, it’s everything. 

Beautifully written, amazing characters, and a developing story that won’t let you go. 

Highly recommended. 

Ageless Mysteries (6 book series):

 Deadly Night #1

False Dawn #2

Morning Trap #3

Assassin’s Noon #4

Flightless Afternoon #5

Ascension Day #6

Buy link 

        Morning Trap: Ageless Mysteries – Book 3

    

Blurb 

Beneath the unrelenting sun of Accanter’s summer, an ugly conspiracy is underway.

A desperate mother asks Watch Officer Thea March for help. Her daughter has gone missing. No one else at Thea’s Watch Station will help the mother.

More bad news follows when a body is found. A young man who had gone missing some time before and whose death her superior officer wants to write off as natural causes. Thea realises that there is something else going on. Something dark and ugly and far more wide-spread than she could have imagined. There is corruption at the heart of the Watch.

Thea is determined to find the truth, but not sure who she can trust. And it looks like someone wants her and Mage Niath dead.

With their lives in danger, and more bodies found, Thea and Niath must work together once more to stop the ugly conspiracy before more people die.

Morning Trap is the third book in the Ageless Mysteries series, and continues Thea’s story which started in Deadly Night.

If you like fantasy with magic and mystery, you will love Thea’s story. Get your copy of Morning Trap today to continue Thea’s story.

Review: False Dawn: Ageless Mysteries – Book 2 by Vanessa Nelson

Rating: 4.75⭐️

I just can’t help myself, this series and main characters call to me. Every single time I try to read something else, I find myself back in the Ageless world with Watch Officer Thea March,still trying to figure out how to remain true to her oaths as a watch officer while under the command of a Captain who’s determined to see her punished for being assigned to his location, and the odd things that seem to happen there. 

There’s also Mage Niath, the coroner’s office, and just some outstanding characters that pull together to form a group of beings that make a reader feel so part of their world and the struggles that they face. 

And they are many. From the power inequities that are present due to the societal structures that have the Ageless with their centuries of existence perspective at the top of everything, and everyone else at the bottom, with no real choice or chance of resistance, then a “weapon less “ town Watch is constantly trying to make their lives as safe as possible.

False Dawn is the beginning of a terrifying series storyline, one that will be further developed and expanded as new books come.  But here it begins with a threat of counterfeit Ageless coins showing up in the marketplaces outside the gates of The Citadel.

If the thieves and counterfeit coins aren’t found, there’s a good chance that Ageless warriors will come out to the towns in anger to find them themselves. Or worse.

There’s murder, many intriguing mysteries, complicated investigations, and incredible escalating dangers for Thea and Niath and the plots go deeper than expected. 

Another early morning ending.  Honestly my dog is so over me. She’s exhausted. 

But I’m just getting started. I’ll get her a doggy sleep mask. 

But this is fantastic. Beautifully written, the world building is incredible, and the characters are believable and so alive that they all are beings you can relate to. 

Amazing work by Nelson. 

Ageless Mysteries (6 book series):

 Deadly Night #1

False Dawn #2

Morning Trap #3

Assassin’s Noon #4

Flightless Afternoon #5

Ascension Day #6

Buy link 

        False Dawn: Ageless Mysteries – Book 2

    

Blurb 

In the city of Accanter, forgeries can cost lives.

Someone is faking the ruler’s currency in her home city. And unless Thea can find out who is doing it, no one will be safe from the Archon’s and the Ageless’ wrath.

Thea just wants to do her job. Catch the criminals. Keep the people safe.

If only life was that simple.

Assigned to a new investigation, she has barely started her enquiry when Mage Niath appears, wanting her help at the one place in the city she does not want to go. The Citadel.

She wants to say no, but fake coins have been turning up and unless Thea can prove they had nothing to do with it, innocent people will be killed in the Ageless’ quest for revenge.

False Dawn is the second book in the Ageless Mysteries series by Vanessa Nelson, which started with Deadly Night.

If you like your fantasy with mystery and magic, then you’ll love this series. Get your copy of False Dawn today to continue Thea’s story.

July 28, 2021

Edition

2nd

Language

‎English

Print length

263 pages

Book 2 of 6

Ageless Mysteries

Review: Deadly Night (Ageless Mysteries Book 1) by Vanessa Nelson

Rating: 4.75⭐️

 “Can she serve justice in an unjust world?”

Vanessa Nelson, a prolific writer, was an unknown author to me before this book.  But by the time I was done, at 3:33 am this morning, after reading through nonstop, she’s now gone directly to the front of my list of TBR authors.

What an incredible story and woman character Nelson serves up in Deadly Night, the first book in her Ageless Mysteries.

It’s been described as fantasy horror, or perhaps dark fantasy mystery, and it’s all that.  

From page one, the writer drops us into a magical world of swords, carriages, and a very stratified society  where a group of beings, the magical, flighted Ageless, rule over the world with the same sort of perception of a god looking upon lesser creatures.  Then there’s the Ageless born, who have mixed human-Ageless heritage, who live in fear of being discovered and brought to The Citadel, the Ageless city, where they will be conscripted by the Ageless Society for whatever reason they want. 

Then there’s the rest of the population, the humans and the other species, considered oddities by the Ageless.  Most of the people leave their lives in abject poverty or in survival conditions. 

Each small village has a Town Watch , a weapon-less law enforcement branch, to help police the community.  Watch Officer Thea March has been newly promoted and sent to a new location and given a murder mystery to solve. The brutal slaughter of a young woman. 

Nelson is laying down all her foundation while subtly building up her the world for her series, as Thea and her group of colleagues investigate the murder and move around the countryside and surrounding towns. We travel by carriage, move by foot to the docks, as each person does solid research into each case and their investigation.  And while we are throughly invested in this aspect of the story, and we are because it’s suspense filled, tension laden, and compelling, there’s so much more happening. 

Tiny personal moments and deep mysteries are appearing, mostly focused on Thea, but not all. And they look like tragic scenes and traumatic moments from her family’s past. This thread is likely one that will be continued throughout the series. 

There’s no romance or hint of one. At least not in this novel. Too many other storylines and elements to introduce (and extremely well) and areas to explore. Even Thea’s difficulties with her bullying boss in her new job, how she manages to handle it realistically without making her feel weak but turning it into a positive experience for her job feels believable and very true. 

It was extremely hard for me not to start on the second book right after this one. Even as an adult, I had to tell myself to wait for a couple of hours of sleep. Sigh. 

Yes, it’s incredible. Yes, I’m absolutely recommending this. And best of all? It’s completely finished.  You know I’m already binging it. My shelves are groaning.

Ageless Mysteries (6 book series):

 Deadly Night #1

False Dawn #2

Morning Trap #3

Assassin’s Noon #4

Flightless Afternoon #5

Ascension Day #6

Buy link 

 Book 1 of 6: Ageless Mysteries 

Blurb 

Can she serve justice in an unjust world?

Newly-promoted Watch Officer Thea March is assigned her very first death investigation. Someone has brutally killed a young woman and dumped her body in an empty warehouse. The only real clue left at the scene points to one of the elite – the Ageless – as being involved.

The Watch might ignore one anonymous woman’s death, but when more bodies appear, killed in the same way, the deaths attract the attention of the ruling elite, and Mage Niath is assigned to work with Thea to hunt down the killer.

Having spent most of her life trying to avoid attracting the attention of the elite, the last thing that Thea wants is a prominent mage shadowing her every move.

But they will have to depend on each other, and all the skills at their disposal, to hunt down and stop the killer.

Deadly Night is the first book in the now-complete Ageless Mysteries series by Vanessa Nelson.

If you like your fantasy full of mystery and magic, then you will love this series. Get your copy now to start Thea’s story.

May 13, 2021

Edition

2nd

Language

‎English

Print length

271 pages

Book 1 of 6

Ageless Mysteries

Review:  Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher 

Rating: 4.5⭐️

Selena ,with her dog, Copper, has fled an abusive relationship after the death of her mother. Broken and desperate with dollars to her name, she’s bought a train ticket and traveled days to a small desert town of Quartz Creek in search of an aunt she barely knows. 

Kingfisher’s novel pulls us immediately into the character of Selena, as it’s her voice that’s telling her story.  Quietly contained, tense, and worried as we watch through her eyes, her journey to a town so dry , so small that there’s nothing to see when she’s deposited at her final destination with her few belongings and gentle old lab, Copper. 

We’ve no idea exactly how broken Selena is or how horrific a relationship and past she’s fled. That is slowly revealed throughout the narrative as she starts to find her own way and new foundation in this quirky community. 

Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher is a richly woven, beautifully written tale of a broken woman who finds in small dusty desert town full of secrets, small Gods both frightening and dangerous and some benign a refuge and home, along with a found family. People who are ready to support her, give her comfort and the space she needs to recover and develop her own strengths. 

It’s a remarkable journey. Full of humor, compassion, joy and yes, horror.  

All the characters are remarkable in their design and detail, human and otherwise.  The mythology and mystical elements are incredible. 

And I appreciate that even in the “horror “ aspect of this tale, there is a grey area attached to the “villain” here. Yes, its actions now are wrong but all the characters can see their origin came from a very different place.  I really like having a broader perspective on subjects like this. Nothing is ever black and white. 

T. Kingfisher  or author Ursula Vernon is a writer whose work is quietly thoughtful and insightful. Her love for this desert and its beauty is apparent here, it flows through the landscape of the narrative in every sentence. 

As does her approach to life and wildlife. Roadrunners are indeed far more than the cartoon characters would have you believe. Authors notes are a delight. Check them out. 

Highly recommended. Both author and book. 

Exquisite cover that carries major themes of the story.

Cover design by Logan Matthews Cover illustration by Tristan Elwell

Buy link

Amazon.comhttps://www.amazon.comSnake-Eater: Kingfisher, T.: 9781662525094

Blurb 

From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award–winning author T. Kingfisher comes an enthralling contemporary fantasy seeped in horror about a woman trying to escape her past by moving to the remote US desert—only to find herself beholden to the wrath of a vengeful god.

With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind.

Because in Quartz Creek, there’s a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena’s ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena’s house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn’t ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can’t begin to imagine. And when Selena’s search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new home: It’s the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as “Snake-Eater,” who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled.

Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he’s hell-bent on collecting everything he’s owed.