The Priory is an epic fantasy with a remarkable storyline, legendary characters and magical trees

The Priory of The Orange Tree ,Samantha Shannon review — Cover (Bloomsbury Publishing)

The Priory of the Orange Tree Goodreads cover — Cover ( Goodreads)

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The Priory of The Orange Tree summary — Background image : Bloomsbury Publishing; Synopsis: Goodreads

WHY SHOULD YOU ABSOLUTELY (without any question) PICK UP “THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE” NOW?

First impressions: “OMG, this is almost 900 pages. How am I going to read it and then write a coherent review of it? ” *Also wonders* “This’ll make a really good weight, my arms need a workout.” “This’ll make a good weapon too”

The Priory of The Orange Tree has been on mine and many other book lovers’ list of anticipated releases of 2019. I went in with zero expectations as I do when books are overhyped but I was so wrong… This BOOK IS BLOODY BRILLIANT !

THE PRIORY is about a divided world, a Queendom without an heir and an ancient enemy whose awakening may just bring about the destruction of the world. The story begins like the calm before a storm, a man walking out of the water. Nobody will realize-not even the woman who rescues the man- that the storm has almost arrived.

“The stranger came out of the sea like a water ghost, barefoot and wearing the scars of his journey.
The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon

Okay, I use the word ” storm” hypothetically . Just to be clear .

The story follows four narrators – Ead, Tané, Loth, and Niclays – each of whom has different beliefs defined by where they live. The EAST and the WEST are divided over their religious opinions. While the EAST reveres dragons as Gods, the WEST abhors and fears dragons due to their past history involving mayhem caused by The Nameless One, an evil dragon.

A wyrm. A monstrous, four-legged wyrm, close to two hundred feet long from its snout to the tip of its tail.

This evil dragon -the VOLDEMORT- of this world a.k.a. The Nameless One has been locked away in the Abyss for thousand years now and it is said that as long as the Berethnet matriarchy lives on, the dragon will not rise.

What is below must be balanced by what is above, and in this is the precision of the universe.
Fire ascends from the earth, light descends from the sky. Two much of one doth inflame the other, and in this is the extinction of the universe.

I know what you’re thinking now. Of course, “that thing” will happen and that disastrous but momentous event is the trigger that will send our characters on missions that require them to deal with pirates, mythical beasts, magical trees, deadly assassins. This book has everything from lots of action, beautiful and malicious dragons, female/female romance and friendships to court politics. This fantasy celebrates women; you’ll see instances of where powerful women are wronged, erased off of history but they take back their power again. The Priory is brimming with excellent dialogue, spectacular worldbuilding, and a plot that will keep you guessing till the end.

I didn’t want to leave the world of Priory even though it kept me up all night. Some stories never leave your thoughts and The Priory of the Orange Tree is just one of those few for me.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Verdict: 5 out of 5 glowing stars.

Author: Connect with Author Samantha Shannon here .

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: 26 Jan 2019
Paperback: 896 Pages

Have you read The Priory of the Orange Tree yet ? If you haven’t, do you think you’ll buy it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Unboxing The Willoughby Book Club box

Book Subscription boxes : Do you hate them, love them, love them but hate you can’t afford ’em all? Let me know your thoughts!

I, however, fall in the third category. I love Book boxes with special edition books and merches but looking at shipping costs gives me a headache.

Back to the point of this post. Today, I am going to show and tell you why you should subscribe to The Willoughby Book Club.

The Willoughby Book Club was founded by Adam & Chloe Pollard in 2012 in the small, south Leicestershire village of Willoughby Waterleys. Today, the growing team send books to thousands of subscribers in almost 40 countries across the world. The Willoughby Book Club is an award-winning, independent business and they pride themselves on offering a personalized, unique and memorable book subscription box service.

That’s correct ! Personalised book subscription box. They will ask your favorite authors, books, genres, and your Goodreads profile (to be even more specific) in order to choose the perfect book for you !

They offer a range of book subscription box gifts for a variety of ages and interests – from picture books for babies and children to books for young adults, fiction lovers, budding chefs, and even couples – all available in 3, 6 or 12 month packages.

The Willoughby Book Club Children's — Children Book Subscription box

The Willoughby Book Club Cookbooks — Get out your Skillets, pots and pans .Let’s get cookin’

The Willoughby Book Club Other — Featuring some of my favourite books and genres

The Willoughby Book Club Classics — Classics ! Look at these beauties !!

One of the best things about TWBC: For every book subscription box sold, they donate one new book to Book Aid International. These donations will support the vital education and literacy development work that the charity performs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

If you like what you see, then you can get 10% OFF on any Willoughby Book Club subscription by following this link: BOOK RAMBLER. I’ll get a little commission if you use my referral link and for that, I’ll be eternally grateful to you!

They ship internationally and all international packages are shipped using priority delivery, which takes between 3-7 days to arrive.

If you want to glimpse a few unboxing pictures, then you can head over to my Instagram account(link on the sidebar) and don’t forget to use the link BOOK RAMBLER to get 10% discount.

Newcomer by Keigo Higashino is a brilliant book if you’re new to Japanese mystery/thriller genre

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Synopsis: Detective Kyochiro Kaga of the Tokyo Police Department has just been transferred to a new precinct in the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo. Newly arrived, but with a great deal of experience, Kaga is promptly assigned to the team investigating the murder of a woman. But the more he investigates, the greater number of potential suspects emerges. It isn’t long before it seems nearly all the people living and working in the business district of Nihonbashi have a motive for murder. To prevent the murderer from eluding justice, Kaga must unravel all the secrets surrounding a complicated life. Buried somewhere in the woman’s past, in her family history, and the last few days of her life is the clue that will lead to the murderer.

REVIEW | WHY SHOULD YOU READ NEWCOMER ?

The only translated novel I’ve read this year -before Newcomer– was The Flowers over the Inferno by Illaria Tuti. You should check it out, btw. It is superbly written .

Newcomer is a translate Japanese murder mystery set in the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo. It is the 8th book in the Detective Kaga series but you need not read the first seven books in order to read Newcomer.

The protagonist is Sergeant Kyoichiro Kaga, who has been newly transferred to a new precinct and is assigned to investigate the murder of a divorced woman. Since the woman has ties to the Nihonbashi business district, Kaga has to investigate everyone working in the neighborhood and maybe even their relatives. During the investigation, Kaga finds that everyone – from The Girl at the Rice Cracker Shop to A Detective of Nihonbashi- all have secrets, some of which may be a motive to commit murder.

I had some difficulties with the format -especially keeping track of all the characters and their stories but it didn’t take long to find my footing and to immerse myself deep into the story.

Kyoichiri Kaga just became one of my favourite fictional detectives. We didn’t get a deep insight into how he is a person but as a detective, he is brilliant. He is clever, has incredible observation and communication skills. It’s a bit difficult to put him in a neat little box, a little difficult to familiarise with him but he is a likeable and brilliantly created character.

Overall, this is a mystery novel to cozy up with on weekends and to add it your reading list if you want to read more translated and/or Japanese fiction. I enjoyed this book immensely and it was in a travel-friendly sized which I loved. I would definitely watch out for more of Keigo Higashino’s books.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars

Author: Connect with Author Keigo Higashino here .

Publisher(Translated in English): Hachette India
Publication Date: 10 Jan 2019
Paperback: 416 Pages

Have you read Newcomer by Keigo Higashino? Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know all your thoughts about it?

Also,I’m happy to note that this is also my second review for the Year of The Asian Challenge 2019! If you’ve read any translated fiction ,then let me know your recommendations in the comments below .

Review | Cold and Deadly (Cold Justice: Crossfire #1)

SYNOPSIS: Hostage Negotiators can talk themselves out of anything—except falling in love.FBI Supervisory Special Agent Dominic Sheridan is an accomplished expert in the Crisis
Negotiation Unit. Practiced, professional, used to dealing with high-stake situations under tense conditions, Dominic is a master at manipulating people. Everyone, that is, but the headstrong rookie agent bent on destroying her fledgling career. As a child, Ava Kanas put her life on the line when the mob executed her father. Now someone has killed her mentor, the man who inspired her to become an FBI agent—and she’s the only one who recognizes it was anything but a tragic accident.
When another agent is murdered and Dominic nearly dies, it becomes obvious a serial killer is targeting the FBI. Together Dominic and Ava search for clues in the investigation, all the while fighting a forbidden attraction that will complicate everything, especially when the predator sets their sights on Ava.

Amazon | B & N | Apple Books | Kobo | Goodreads

Review | Why Should you read Cold & Deadly ?

Cold & Deadly is the first book in the spin-off series of her Cold Justice books. Being a big fan of Toni Anderson’s books, I was delighted to review this book in advance( Well, obviously this review is not in advance per se but read on).

C & D starts off with a funeral. We see SSA Dominic Sheridan attending the funeral of a close colleague who had committed suicide or did he? Because rookie agent Ava Kanas think otherwise. Her suspicion is ignored by her superiors but soon the funeral is targeted by a shooter and an FBI agent dies in the shoot-out.

This is where Dominic begins to trust Ava’s intuition about his dead colleague’s death and what follows are a series of events that will leave you speechless and terrified at the same time.

What I liked about Cold & Deadly :

Plot: I mean it was marvelously written
Characters: Flawed characters. Ava and Dominic are both flawed in their own ways, though Ava is the better character out of the two. Also, we get to see some of the characters from the Cold Justice series.
Style of writing: Always loved Toni Anderson’s writing, so it wasn’t any surprise. She writes three POVs – the killer’s, Ava and Dominic’s
The show of Inequality in the bureau: I could have included this point in the Style of Writing paragraph but this deserves a one of its own. Cold & Deadly shows just how unfair the bureau(and most of the workspace) can be towards women. This is just my opinion. Ava was constantly targeted, since the beginning of the book and if she was a man, she would have been reprimanded and her faults forgotten. Ava -being a woman and a rookie- had to work twice as hard to gain her seniors’ trust and i loved that Toni Anderson wrote about that

What I didn’t :

I didn’t like Dominic. He may be a good Hostage negotiator but he was a cold character who had a “poor rich boy” persona and hated commitments. Even though he made a name for himself in the FBI despite having influential connections, some of his actions made me want to punch him. There was a point where Ava’s career was on the line and he was willing to use his friends’ connections but not his own -hypocritical much, Dom?
I didn’t like the romance. It didn’t somehow fit with the story.

Overall, If you’re a fan of her Cold Justice series, then I’d recommend that you pick this up. If you aren’t ,then I suggest reading the first book from her Cold Justice series and then decide for yourself.

Verdict: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Author:Toni Anderson is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, RITA® nominee, science nerd, professional tourist, dog lover, gardener, mom. Originally from a small town in England, Toni studied Marine Biology at University of Liverpool (B.Sc.) and University of St. Andrews (Ph.D.) with the intention she’d never be far from the ocean. Well, that plan backfired and she ended up in the Canadian prairies with her biology professor husband, two kids, a rescue dog, and two laid-back leopard geckos. Toni started writing while pregnant with her first child and never stopped. Her greatest achievements are mastering the Tokyo subway, climbing Ben Lomond, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, and surviving fourteen Winnipeg winters (fingers crossed). She loves to travel for research purposes and was lucky enough to visit the Strategic Information and Operations Center inside FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 2016, and she also got to shove another car off the road during pursuit training at the Writer’s Police Academy in Wisconsin. Watch out world!

Toni’s books have hit #1 in Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and the Top 10 on Amazon, Kobo, and iBooks. Her novels have won many awards.

Website: http://www.toniandersonauthor.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/@toniannanderson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toniannanderson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toni_anderson_author/

Publication Date: 12th February 2019
ebook(ARC): 400 Pages

Cold & Deadly by Toni Anderson | Cover Reveal

Romantic Suspense lovers – the first book in Toni Anderson’s Cold Justice: Crossfire series releases February 12th – but you can get a look at a sneak peek from COLD & DEADLY below!

About COLD & DEADLY

Available February 12th

Hostage Negotiators can talk themselves out of anything—except falling in love.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Dominic Sheridan is an accomplished expert in the Crisis Negotiation Unit. Practiced, professional, used to dealing with high-stake situations under tense conditions, Dominic is a master at manipulating people. Everyone, that is, but the headstrong rookie agent bent on destroying her fledgling career.

As a child, Ava Kanas put her life on the line when the mob executed her father. Now someone has killed her mentor, the man who inspired her to become an FBI agent—and she’s the only one who recognizes it was anything but a tragic accident.

When another agent is murdered and Dominic nearly dies, it becomes obvious a serial killer is targeting the FBI. Together Dominic and Ava search for clues in the investigation, all the while fighting a forbidden attraction that will complicate everything, especially when the predator sets their sights on Ava.

Add COLD & DEADLY to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2IIJoYs

COLD & DEADLY releases February 12th – preorder your copy of COLD & DEADLY now!

✦Amazon https://amzn.to/2MPXxq2
✦Apple Books https://apple.co/2MPDAj0
✦Barnes and Noble http://bit.ly/2MOEjkF
✦Kobo http://bit.ly/2MQ8QhV
✦Google Play http://bit.ly/2MPhcWT

Read an excerpt of COLD & DEADLY:

He checked his watch. “I need to get back to Quantico.”

“What?” Kanas stopped and faced him, incredulous. “We need to go talk to the medical examiner. See if they took swabs for DNA. We need to trace Van’s movements the day he died. We might be able to place him with someone—”

“We’re not actively assigned to this investigation, remember?” Although he had an excuse as Aldrich had asked him to look at the files. Kanas didn’t. “You need to get back to the office before your boss notices you’re AWOL. I’ll contact the ME and the lab and—”

“No. No way.” She put her hands on her hips, her t-shirt stretching tight across her full breasts. He had to force himself not to let his gaze get distracted. Ava Kanas had the sort of body that could make a man break every rule in the book, and Dominic was not a rule breaker.

“You are not sidelining me on this,” she insisted.

And the sort of mouth that could drive a man insane. Not in a good way.

“Sidelining you?” Was she serious? “Taking the lead on something is not sidelining. Ever heard of teamwork? Cooperation? Or plain old saving your ass?”

“Saving my ass?” Gold flecks sparked in the depths of her eyes. “You wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me.”

Dominic strove for his natural calm, the one that usually came so easily to him. “I’m trying to protect your FBI career from the kamikaze spin you seem determined to put it into.”

Her lips parted and her chest rose and fell rapidly as she clearly tried to hold on to her temper.

“There are rules and procedures for this. We have no solid evidence. We have no witnesses. All we have is a man who claims he adjusted the clothing of what is most likely a suicide victim.” He reined in the temper that was starting to fray. Ironic that he found it easier to deal with bank robbers and terrorists than Ava Kanas. “I’ll check the files and see what evidence was collected at the scene and ask the ME what samples they took during the postmortem.” The funeral had been postponed but, given the embalming process, Dominic couldn’t be sure what evidence might still be present. At least he was in a position where he could get them to check without losing his job.

She swallowed tightly. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Just do your job until we have more answers.” He pulled his tie from his pocket and slid it along his collar.

Her eyes followed every movement of his fingers. “I’m not letting this drop just because my ‘superiors’ are telling me to. That’s not what Van taught me about conducting investigations. Question everything. Don’t let anyone tell you to ignore your gut. Trust your instincts.”

God, she was infuriating. “You’re deliberately missing the point. I’m not letting you fuck up your career because you’re torn up with grief.”

“You’re not letting me?” A muscle flexed in her jaw.

“That’s right, Ava.” He got in her face. It would have been a hundred times easier to stare her down if he hadn’t wanted to crush her against him and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. Fuck. “I’m not letting you. That’s what Van taught me—how not to fuck up a career.”

She stilled at his vehemence. After a long beat of silence, she finally said, “Fine.” But it sounded more like “fuck you.”

She brushed past him, her stride long and confident and pissed. “Let me know if I can do anything else to assist you, sir.”

He shook his head. God she was stubborn, but pissing off her superiors was not a great way of keeping her position. No way in hell would Ava Kanas let this go. The question was, how far would he be willing to go to protect her?

About Toni Anderson

Toni Anderson is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, RITA® nominee, science nerd, professional tourist, dog lover, gardener, mom. Originally from a small town in England, Toni studied Marine Biology at University of Liverpool (B.Sc.) and University of St. Andrews (Ph.D.) with the intention she’d never be far from the ocean. Well, that plan backfired and she ended up in the Canadian prairies with her biology professor husband, two kids, a rescue dog, and two laid-back leopard geckos. Toni started writing while pregnant with her first child and never stopped. Her greatest achievements are mastering the Tokyo subway, climbing Ben Lomond, snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, and surviving fourteen Winnipeg winters (fingers crossed). She loves to travel for research purposes and was lucky enough to visit the Strategic Information and Operations Center inside FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 2016, and she also got to shove another car off the road during pursuit training at the Writer’s Police Academy in Wisconsin. Watch out world!

Toni’s books have hit #1 in Barnes & Noble’s Nook store, and the Top 10 on Amazon, Kobo, and iBooks. Her novels have won many awards.

If you want to know when Toni’s next book will be out, visit her website (http://www.toniandersonauthor.com) and sign up for her newsletter. If you want to read other fascinating stories about life in a city that, during winter, is sometimes colder than Mars, friend her on Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/toniannanderson).