One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence Blog Tour

Ready Player One meets Stranger Things in this new novel by the bestselling author who George RR Martin describes as "an excellent writer."

In January 1986, fifteen-year-old boy-genius Nick Hayes discovers he's dying. And it isn't even the strangest thing to happen to him that week. 

Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange-yet curiously familiar-man is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn't exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia's in grave danger, though she doesn't know it yet. She needs Nick's help--now.

He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in his way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-weilding maniac and the laws of physics. 

Challenge accepted.

Review

I fell in love with Mark Lawrence's writing after reading Red Sister. The Book of the Ancestor series is one of my favorites! I can't wait to read Holy Sister, which was just released 2 weeks ago!

At first, I didn't think this book could be written by the same author as Red Sister. I was wondering why he would write a book about a kid getting cancer. 

It turned out AWESOME, though! Once come of the other aspects started to fall into place, I started to understand how the same author that wrote The Book of the Ancestor series could write this. 

The character development was amazing! I fell in love with Nick and his friends (esp Mia!)!

I have been reading way less than usual (not by choice), because I have been super busy with school and work and internship for school. This was the first book that I sped through in a while. I read it in like 2 days. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I was sick one day and stuck in bed with nothing else to do but read...

The next book, titled Limited Wish, comes out in a month! I 💓💓💓when authors do that!!! Instead of having to wait at least a year to read the sequel, we can read it on June 6! How awesome is that?!

For now, check out the rest of the blog tour for this book, then pick up your copy so that you can read it in time for Limited Wish to be released in June.

Mark Lawrence is married with four children and lives in Bristol with his family. Before becoming a writer, his day job was as a research scientist focused on various rather intractable problems in the field of artificial intelligence. He has held secret level clearance with both US and UK governments. 

At one point, he was qualified to say 'this isn't rocket science... oh wait, it actually is.'
He is the author of the Broken Empire trilogy (Prince of Thorns, King of Thorns, and Emperor of Thorns) and the Red Queen's War trilogy (Prince of Fools, The Liar's Key, and The Wheel of Osheim) and the Book of the Ancestor series (Red Sister, Grey Sister, and Holy Sister). 

Thank you, Random Things Tours, for giving me a copy of this book and allowing me to be a part of this blog tour!  

Demon Magic & a Martini Book Blitz & Giveaway

Demon Magic and a Martini
Annette Marie
(The Guild Codex: Spellbound #4)
Published by: Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.
Publication date: April 12th 2019
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

When I first landed a bartending job at the local guild, I didn’t know a thing about magic. These days, I’m practically an expert on the different magical classes, but there’s one nobody ever talks about: Demonica.
Turns out they have a good reason for that. My guild is strictly hellion-free, because who wants to risk life and limb to control the biggest bullies on the mythic playground?
Well, some people do, and now a demon has been loosed in the city. My three best friends are determined to slay it, but even badass combat mages are critically out-magicked. And that’s not all. The monster they’re tracking—it’s not hiding. It’s not fleeing. It’s not leaving a trail of corpses everywhere it goes.
The demon is hunting too. And in a city full of mythics, it’s searching for deadlier prey.
If we can’t unravel the demon’s sinister motivations, more innocent people will die, but finding the answers means digging into dark secrets … and learning truths I never wanted to know.
—
Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn’t a reverse harem. It’s 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy.
—
THE GUILD CODEX: SPELLBOUND
Three Mages and a Margarita (#1)
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri (#2)
Two Witches and a Whiskey (#3)
Demon Magic and a Martini (#4)

Goodreads / Amazon

—

EXCERPT:

“Speaking of worry …” Sin’s eyes narrowed. “I heard all about how you went demon hunting with Aaron, Kai, and Ezra. I have to ask … what the hell were any of you thinking?”
“Um, well—”
“You aren’t combat trained, and demons are the fiercest, deadliest opponents out there! Why would Darius even approve it? You’re all idiots.”
I managed a bleak smile. “Thanks, Sin. Appreciate the vote of confidence.”
She sniffed angrily. “You know you aren’t ready for that, and I’d really prefer my friend not get herself killed.”
Couldn’t argue with her there. I’d also prefer not to get killed.
Lifting the tattered book off her lap, she smacked it down on the bar. “We need to look at options.”
“Uh … options for what?”
“Defensive alchemy.” She cast me a flinty stare. “Since you’re all for the dangerous jobs now, you need to be armed with more than a couple of artifacts. I heard you used a smoke screen. What else did you take?”
Bemusedly, I watched her flip the book open. “Just flash-bang potions. What is that thing?”
“My grimoire. All Arcana mythics have one—where we record all the spells or transmutations we’ve learned or invented.” She turned several spotted, liquid-stained pages covered in handwriting and diagrams. “I can make smoke bombs and flash-bangs easily enough, but you need something to stop an opponent. Personally, I don’t like sleep potions. It’s easy to get it on your own skin and then you’re asleep instead of them.”
“Yeah, that’d be bad.”
She skimmed a few more pages. “Enhanced strength is useful, but it doesn’t last long, and unless you’re in excessively good shape, you’ll crash hard
afterward. Let’s see … amnesia, no. Fasting potion, no. Enhanced speed, no.”
“What’s wrong with speed? I’d like to be faster.”
“It’s hopelessly impractical. Your body gets faster, but your reflexes don’t, so it’s difficult to control without training and practice. You’ll spend the potion’s duration tripping over your own feet and running into things.”
“Oh.” Too bad. “What’s a fasting potion?”
“Drink it and you won’t need food, water, or a bathroom for about forty-eight hours. Good for certain situations, but you pay for it afterward.” She perused more recipes. “Enhanced perception, air buffer, true sight, anti-emotionalizer, allure-fume—none of these are useful.”
“Allure-fume?” I repeated. “What’s that?”
She winced. “Uh, it’s a … um … perfume.”
I stared at her pointedly, waiting for an explanation, and her cheeks turned pink.
“A few drops on the skin will make the wearer especially alluring to the opposite sex. Like pheromones.”
“Why do you know a potion like that?”
“I tried it out when I was younger, okay?” she muttered defensively. “Lesson learned. You don’t have to lecture me.”
“What happened?”
“I wore it on a first date with this guy I really liked.” “Did it work?”
“It worked on him, plus every male who got within twenty feet of me. I spent our entire dinner date pushing random men out of our booth. I’ve never been hit on so many times in one evening. Most of the men were twice my age and married.”
Fighting back a snicker, I asked, “Did you go on a second date with your crush?”
“No.” She hung her head over the grimoire. “An early sign that my love life was doomed.”

Author Bio:
Annette Marie is the author of Amazon best-selling YA urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, its prequel trilogy Spell Weaver, and romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter. Her first love is fantasy, but fast-paced adventures and tantalizing forbidden romances are her guilty pleasures. She lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it's not quite that bad) with her husband and their furry minion of darkness—sorry, cat—Caesar. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in one art project or another while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY!
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Through the White Wood by Jessica Leake

Katya's power to freeze anything she touches has made her an outcast in her isolated village. And when she loses control of her ability, accidentally killing several villagers, she is banished to the palace of the terrifying Prince Sasha in Kiev.

At the castle, though, she is surprised to find that Sasha is just like her- with his own strange talent, the ability to summon fire. Instead of punishment, Sasha offers Katya friendship, and the chance to embrace her power rather than fear it. 

But outside the walls of Kiev, Sasha's enemies have organized their own army of people who can control the very earth. Bent on taking over the entire world, they won't stop until they've destroyed everything.

Katya and Sasha are desperate to stop the encroaching army, and together, their powers are a fearsome weapon. But as their enemies draw nearer, leaving destruction in their wake, will fire and frost be enough to save the world? Or will they lose everything they hold dear? 

Review

I didn't know what to think about this book at first, but it turned out to be great!

I first found an interest in Russian fairy tales and folklore in The Bear and the Nightengale and the rest of the Winternight trilogy. So, it was a great surprise that this book was also based on Slavic fairytales and incorporated some of the same elements.

Lol, if I had read the excerpt from the author's website, I would have known that though. It likens this book to "The Bear and the Nightingale meets Frostblood."

The author did a good job at world building and character development. I love the way the main character progressed throughout the book. Although a couple of times I caught myself thinking that she was being a little redundant about something, it really made me think about how that is likely really how the character would think and feel in that situation.

I would love to read more of this story! I'm not sure if there will be a sequel, though. On GoodReads, the author answered a question from a reader, saying it is a standalone. However, the ending definitely leaves room for the author to continue the story. There are so many different ways she can go with it! I so hope she does!

When looking that up, I also just found out that the author wrote another book, called Beyond a Darkened Shore, which tells the story of a couple of the characters that make an appearance in this book, Ciara and Leif.

So, while I really hope that the author writes a sequel, I plan to read Beyond a Darkened Shore while I wait to see if she will. Check out a synopsis of it below!

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

The ancient land of Eirinn is Mired in war. Ciara, Princess of Mide, has never known a time when Eirinn's kingdoms were not battling for power, or Northmen were not plundering their shores.

The people of Mide have thankfully always been safe because of Ciara's unearthly ability to control her enemies minds and actions. But lately, a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Eirinn, but the entire world.

Then the crow leads Ciara to Leif, a young Northman leader. Leif should be Ciara's enemy, but when Ciara discovers that he, too, shares her prophetic visions, she knows he's something more. Leif is mounting an impressive army, and with Ciara's strength in battle, the twy might have a chance to save their world.

With evil rising around them, they'll do what it takes to defend the land they love...even if it means making the greatest sacrifice of all.

I mean, how awesome does that sound?!?!? I'm going to try to get a copy now. You should do the same (after you get your copy of Through the White Wood, of course)!

Prism Cloud (Harbinger #4) by Jeff Wheeler

Friendship is strained to its breaking point in Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jeff Wheeler's fourth Harbinger novel. 

When the emperor is assassinated, Sera Fitzempress is the noble most eligible to inherit the empire. Her upcoming marriage to the prince would cement her position. And as a champion for peace, Sera is the only promise of hope for staving off war between the worlds of Kingfountain and Muirwood. But standing between her and her enemies is just one devastating secret.

Sera's best friend, Cettie, a girl born of a lower class, has made a shattering discovery: her entire existence has been a lie. Now, Cettie must give up the only life she's known and fought for and leave behind the man she loves to stop Sera's wedding. For this discovery could bring the whole Kingfountain to ruin.

As Cettie struggles to determine her true loyalties and loves, her allies fall to wicked plots, and she becomes increasingly alone on her journey to a destiny she never wanted- one that could ignite an unstoppable war.

Review

If you have not read the first books in this series, I recommend starting with my reviews of them. Here are the reviews to the first 3 books:

Review of Book #1: Storm Glass

Review of Book #2: Mirror Gate 

Review of Book #3: Iron Garland

IKLKJLKHOLY BALLS!

I didn't see anything from this book coming!

I don't want to give anything away... I don't even know what to say right now that won't give away any spoilers...

I thought this book was going to be the last book in the series. I didn't realize there was going to be one more book after it, so this may have influenced my expectations. I expected things to end happily in this book, or a least happy-ish.

Everything in the series has been leading up to this book. During the first few books, the author did an excellent job of character development and world building. In this book, he switches everything up and lets us in on some huge secrets as to how everything fits together.

TBH, I loved Cettie in the first 3 books. I'm not really sure how I felt about her in this book... I know I didn't feel the same though (ugh! It's so hard to do this without giving away spoilers!) I have faith that she will redeem herself by the end though.

I do know how I felt about Sara in this book! In the first 3 books, I really liked her, but I feel like she finally blooms in this book.

I will try not to include too many spoilers to this book, besides what is alluded to in the synopsis above from GoodReads.

However, it's like everything turns upside down in this book!

In the last book, things have started settling down a bit for Cettie and Sera, and it seems that way at the beginning of this book, as well. It definitely doesn't stay that way though!

Look at this AWESOME artwork from Jeff Wheeler's website! This link will take you to the page that talks all about the world in this series. Check it out!

I absolutely can't wait for the next book in the series, Broken Veil, to be released. Jeff Wheeler's website says it will be released on June 11, 2019.

I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.