The Drowned Tomb by James Fahy

The Drowned Tomb by James Fahy

Published 2016 by Venture Press (It has already been published)

The summer heat is sweltering, and the young changeling, Robin Fellows, awaits further training. He has gained much skill in the Shard of Air, but what is coming next? 

After his previous tutor was revealed to be an agent of the mortal enemy of all Fae, Lady Eris, Robin is assigned a new mentor to continue his magical learning. 

Enter Calypso, a water nymph and member of the race of Panthea that also inhabit the mysterious, enchanted Netherworlde. Her job: to instruct Robin in the Shard of Water, a powerful magic with which the user can cast huge bolts of ice and command entire oceans to bear down his or her will. 

But all is not well at Erlking Hall, and war is fast approaching the Netherworlde. 

More agents of Lady Eris are in pursuit of young Robin, the Scion of the Arcania and last Changeling in the world. 

They’re out for the Shard of Water as well. 

And they’ll stop at nothing to find it, no matter who gets in their way… 

After reading the first book within this series, it was obvious that I had to read the second one. Like with the first book, I have really mixed feelings about this book, but, as a whole, I did really enjoy it! Again, I am going to do a list format for this review because I think it will be easier!

Likes:

• The description and the world building – whether it was the human world or in the netherworlde. I felt like I could have been standing next to Robin throughout this whole book. The world building is full of rich descriptions… it makes you want to visit!!
• The characters! Again, all of the characters kept their own voices, despite there being so many of them. Even with the introduction of new characters, they were unique and well thought out! A lot of the core values of the characters from the first book were the same, but they had also changed in a way that came from what they went through in the first book. Although, Karya’s character is still bugging me.
• Woad. He is a character, but he is my favourite character! I adore him! Can I adopt him, like he did Inky (the kraken)? … Can I adopt a Kraken?
• The second half of the book kept me on the edge of my seat and I was desperate to know what happened next! There was so much action and so many problems to solve, I had to keep reading!
• The book didn’t end like I expected it to. I was expecting something similar to what we got in the first book. Whilst it was a tad similar, there was also one major twist that I wasn’t expecting and I am looking forward to see how this impacts with the next book in the series!

Dislikes:

• The first half of the book felt a little slow. I understand that Robin has to learn a new Tower etc. but I felt like it could have been spruced up a little bit? Even the face off with the Kraken felt a little anti climatic with the way it went!
• At the beginning of the book, it almost felt like we had the Ron, Harry, Hermione trope. Even their personalities felt pretty similar! It took a while for this to change and for them to have their own voices.
• Awesome – sauce. I understand that the book is set in modern day England when they are in the human world, but did they really have to use the term awesome sauce?!? Seriously?? I felt like the language changed a lot depending on who was talking and where they were and it was a little confusing. I didn’t like the use of the term Awesome Sauce.
• I also think that insulting someone by calling them a Nazgul isn’t really an insult. Instead, I was thinking about Lord of the Rings and the Nazgul…

All in all I really enjoyed this book and I am definitely looking forward to seeing where this series goes. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

Have you read this series? Did you enjoy it? Feel free to leave comments and I will check them all out! 

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Isle of Winds by James Fahy

Isle of Winds by James Fahy

Published: December 23rd 2015 by Venture Press

Robin Fellows lives with his grandmother and lives what appears to be a rather ordinary life for a normal twelve year old boy.

But when Robin’s Gran dies, quite suddenly and a bit mysteriously, his world is turned upside down. A long lost relative comes out of the woodwork and whisks him away to a mysterious new home, Erlking Hall, a quiet estate in the solitary countryside of Lancashire.

Suddenly Robin must adjust to his new reality. But reality is no longer what he thought it was…

Erlking has many secrets – as do his newly found Great-Aunt Irene and her servants. After a strange encounter on the train and meeting a cold, eerie man on the platform, Robin begins to notice odd happenings at Erlking.

There is more than meets the eye to this old, rambling mansion.
Little does he know that there is more than meets the eye to himself.

Robin is the world’s last Changeling. He is descended from a mystic race of Fae-people, whose homeland, the Netherworlde, is caught in the throes of a terrible civil war.

Not only this, but in this new world there is a magical force that has infiltrated the human realm.

Before he can wrench power from the malevolent hands of the Netherworlde’s fearsome tyrant leader, Lady Eris, he must first search for the truth about himself and the ethereal Towers of Arcania.

Note: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. This in no way influences my opinion. 

Silly old me accidentally requested the second book in the series without actually realising that it was the second book in a series. Obviously when I realised my mistake, I had to request a review copy of the first one!! Note to self: check before requesting!! Although, having said that, I can’t say that I went all too wrong by requesting this series. I actually relatively enjoyed the book and I have already started the second book. Talk about binge reading!! I think I am going to format this review in the form of a list, so that it is more coherent and I can get all my thoughts down! So, without further ado:

Likes:

• The REALLY weird beginning. The beginning was really weird and it had me hooked! I wanted to know what on earth was going on purely because it was odd. It kept me turning the pages and turning the pages some more to find out what was happening. I don’t think I have read a beginning like that in a long time!
• All of the characters. I actually like all of the characters, even the bad ones, because they were fleshed out so well. I felt like I could have been wherever they were when they were talking and I could have taken part in the conversation. Some of the characters were a bit naive and others not so much! Each and every character had their own voice, so they were never in any danger of blurring into one another!
• The description of the setting itself. I was there. I swear I was there. Well, considering it doesn’t exist, I obviously wasn’t there…. but I was there through James’ writing! It was amazing!! I had all of these images in my head like a movie and I just want to be in the Netherworlde right now!!
• The twist! I was not expecting what happened. I don’t want to give too much away because it would give some of the rest away, but I LOVED the twist! Give me more please!
• Also, the ending. I was really satisfied with the ending. I think it left enough questions that need to be answered, without it hanging too much onto a cliffhanger. I guess a cliffhanger wouldn’t have mattered too much to me because I already have the second book in my claws … well, my kindle’s claws. Who’s counting?

Dislikes:

• I feel like it peaked a little bit in the middle? It fell into a bit of a lull, so when I had to put the book down, I wasn’t all that bothered about it. I hate it when a book does that, but I think the beginning and the ending made up for it!
• I think I have been on instagram too much recently, because, for a while, I was actually reading this book in the voice from the author!! I mean, obviously this isn’t his fault, it really is my brain’s, but it was still really distracting! For anyone who has heard the author speak, he sounds as English as English gets and that is coming from an English gal! Like I said, this wasn’t really his fault, it was mine, but it distracted a little from the beginning of the book! The characters began to find there own voices a little while through!
• I didn’t feel the pull to know what was happening. I wanted to know what was going to happen, but I also want to know who won season 7 of Hell’s Kitchen. I didn’t have a problem putting the book down to catch on on a fest of “YOU DONKEY”s and “GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN”s. Which was a shame.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and I am intrigued to see where the plot goes, but it missed that wow factor. I think the writing was really great though, which also contributed to this book getting a 4/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Did you like it?

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Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

Hey guys! It is time for another STS! I say to myself every single week that I am not going to request any more review books or ARC’s because I already have a ton of books to read. Do I listen to myself? Of course not! So, without further ado, here are the books I acquired this week:

 Isle of Winds by James Fahy – I accidentally requested the second book in this series from Netgalley without actually realising it was the second book in a series!! When I realised the mistake, I contacted the publisher who kindly gave me a copy of this book!!

 The Drowned Tomb by James Fahy – Second book in said series!! I mean, who wouldn’t be drawn in by this cover!!

 Finding Me by Dawn Brazil – I requested a review copy of this book from the author – who then kindly sent me a physical copy!! Not the biggest fan of the cover, but I have high hopes for the premise!

 Taking the Reins by Katrina Abott – This was a freebie this week on Amazon (which I found on one of the sites I subscribe to for bargains etc.), I decided to download a copy and give it a whirl!

That’s it from me!! I seriously need to consider listening to my brain sometimes… I think I now have so many books to read, I’m buried!! Time to stop binge watching Hell’s Kitchen!

What have you guys added to your shelves? Feel free to leave links and comments and I will check them all out!