One more month and this year is done and dusted, we had a good amount of books reviewed during November, some new and some older. We had a total of 30 books reviewed this month which is quite wonderful for this category.

Emily at A Keyboard and an open mind reviewed The Antics of Evangeline by Madeleine Deste which is a mix of steampunk and fantasy, it is made up of four novellas which she gave an overall rathing of 4 stars. She says “I recommend picking these up for light-hearted steampunky goodness.”

Also written by Madeleine Deste  was The Flower and the Serpent and was reviewed by Emily at A Keyboard and an open mind and Veronica. Veronica said “This was much more grimdark than the high school YA horror I expected from the title and blurb. And all the better for it. Nothing like a little terror happening to a bunch of teenagers to pass the time!” Whilst Emily said “My reading experience mostly depends on how invested I am in the characters, but the writing and plotting are both very good, and I think the right reader will definitely enjoy this.”

Brenda reviewed The Unforgotten (Safe Harbour Series #3) by Shaune Lafferty Webb and said “I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Rab, Fin, Gift and Cloud again and meeting new characters, while following them on their journey forwards. A great conclusion to the series, I feel it’s one of those that should be read in order of publication to fully appreciate the story. Highly recommended.”

Reviewed by two people was Bruny by Heather Rose, I’ve been hearing a lot about this book and it is definitely one on my TBR list. Marianne reviewed it and says “This novel is topical and relevant, presenting scenarios that are just a whisker from today’s world and, therefore, scarily believable. An utterly fascinating and thought-provoking read.” While Reading Matters had a completely different take “A sharp-eyed and intelligent political satire come thriller (reminiscent of Charlotte Grimshaw’s Soon), the book is fast-paced and written with wit and verve. But as much as I enjoyed reading it, I just didn’t buy the premise — that a massive bridge would be built in this part of the world and that terrorists would take the time to blow it up — and had a hard time taking it seriously. And even though I went to the Perth launch and heard Rose talk about the story in great depth (she was very careful not to give away crucial plot spoilers), I’ve come to the conclusion that the book is simply preposterous — but I’m sure that won’t stop it being shortlisted for awards aplenty.”

Helen reviewed Redemption (Realm of Flame and Shadow#1) by Christina Phillips and said “I really enjoyed this story, but let me say I am not a big reader of paranormal, but this one hit the spot with a beautiful romance, a fallen archangel who had no time for humans, but found himself saving a beautiful, strong and inquisitive human, Aurora, and did they have a very sensual and dangerous journey to a HEA for eternity.”

Changling Exile (Thirteen Realms #1) by Marina Finlayson was reviewed by Carolyn who says, This fun fantasy set in Sydney (and the realms of the fae) was an entertaining, fast paced read with engaging characters, both human and fae.”
Next up is The Lost Stone of SkyCity by HM Waugh, a middle-grade book which was reviewed by Nadia L. King who had many great things to say about this book. “The protagonist is a likeable strong female character, and an excellent role model for kids today. It was beautifully written. The challenges related to the final quest in the book are related to character strengths including strength, courage, resilience, compassion, and fortitude. The author researched the psychological traits which help kids to build resilience and be happy and it is wonderful to see them reflected throughout the story. AND The pacing in the book is sure to keep younger readers hooked until the very last page”

Maternal Instinct by Rebecca Bowyer was reviewed again, this time by Veronica and Handbag Mafia who says it’s a “Must Read”.

To see all the books reviewed in November just click here

Until next time happy reading and please keep linking those books to AWW.

Thanks

Claire Louisa