I have finished two books this week and am about half way through a third. Fantasy seems to be my main genre at the moment. I think that our local Library has been buying in quite a lot in this area and I always check the new books stand first! They have been getting some fantastic books in recent months.

Mageborn by Stephen Aryan

My first book was Mageborn by Stephen Aryan, #01 in his Age of Dread trilogy. This is the blurb:

It’s been ten years since the battlemage war, where thousands died as mages sundered the earth and split the sky.
Habreel believes eradicating magic is the only way to ensure a lasting peace. He will do anything to achieve his goal, even if it means murdering every child born with the ability.
As deaths involving magic increase and the seat of magical learning – the Red Tower – falls under suspicion, two students and one lawbringer must do everything they can to combat Habreel and his followers, before magic disappears from the world for good.

This was a pretty good read, but I quickly realised that I should have read his earlier trilogy, Age of Darkness, first as it is set in the same world with some of the same characters. When, however, I checked our library service’s online catalogue, I found out that they haven’t purchased this earlier series, which is rather annoying. Anyway, I have reserved the next book in the Age of Dread series and will ask if they will buy the earlier set as well. It makes sense, after all!

Here is my three star review:

As I began to read this book, it became clear pretty quickly that I should have read the first trilogy beforehand! The book keeps alluding to previous events that are clearly very important to the plot and characters of this second series. Yes, I did manage to work out what was happening, but I did find it rather irritating at first.

The characters are really interesting and intriguing, although the rapid switching between points of view meant that I found the story hard to follow at some points. The plot, however, was good and I look forward to reading book #02. Now, if I can just persuade the library to buy the Age of Darkness trilogy!

The First Order by Jeff Abbott

I had a change from Fantasy with my second book of the week. The First Order by Jeff Abbott, Sam Capra #05, is an exciting and gripping thriller, but once again it would have been a better experience if I had read previous books in the series first. Here is the blurb:

THE FIRST ORDER

Two brothers. One dead, executed by extremists on a grainy video. The other forged into a top undercover agent. But now, Sam Capra has reason to believe that his brother, Danny, may be alive. And if Danny has been living a secret life these past years, where has he been–and what has he become?

Sam’s desperate search for his brother leads him into a modern heart of darkness: the Russian elite inner circle, a group of ruthless ex-KGB billionaires who owe fealty to Russia’s corrupt president, Morozov. One of these men wants Morozov dead. And Danny will be the one to kill him–on American soil.

To save his brother–and to save the world from certain war–Sam, along with his mysterious partner, Mila, must stop Danny from killing Morozov. The mission will take Sam from the slums of Pakistan to the hipster galleries of Brooklyn to the Caribbean playgrounds of the superrich. And as Sam untangles the secret past locked in his brother’s heart, he may be forced to make a choice between his brother–and the greater good…

And this is my short review on Goodreads, for three stars:

I think this may be another instance where my enjoyment of this book would have been enhanced if I had already read previous instalments. Nevertheless, the characters were interesting and in some cases likeable (Sam) and the plot flowed well with plenty of excitement and twists. I will almost certainly try more by this author, if our local library has the books in stock, but I will choose books from earlier in the series first!

The Poppy War by R F Kuang

When I have finished writing this post, I will return to my latest book: The Poppy War by R F Kuang. I will enjoy telling you about this book next week as it is proving to be very different from my usual tastes.

Happy Reading to you all!

Best wishes,

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