The Wolf Of Oren-Yaro Review

Author: K.S. Villoso
Series: Annals of the Bitch Queen (Book One)
Publisher: Liam’s Vigil
Publication Date:  January 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Pages: 417

Let me start by saying I’m a bad, bad book blogger and should be punished for how bad I am. I read The Wolf of Oren-Yaro in September as part of Self-Published Fantasy Month here on Off The TBR. SEPTEMBER. The book had already been out four 9 months. It’s been five more months. The book has now been out over a year. Book two has already been published and has been out for ten months. And I’m just now getting around to posting this review. It’s been so long I will miss important details and points because I didn’t take notes and the review won’t be up to my usual standard. This book is good and deserving of a detailed review. Really good in fact. I suck.

Now that I’ve got some self-flagellation out of the way let me tell you something about this beautiful book. Because of what I mentioned above this review won’t follow my usual format and may not be as detailed as usual. (Some of you will like that).

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Kingshold Review

Author: D. P. Woolliscroft
Series: Wildfire Cycle Book One
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date:  April 2018
Format: Paperback
Pages: 506

Regicide, politics, assassinations, pirates, magic, demons, and giant draco-turtles are just taste of what’s in store for you in this solid and entertaining self-published debut from D. P. Woolliscroft. Kingshold made it to the semi-finalist round in this year’s Self-Published Fantasy Blogg Off (#SPFBO) hosted by author Mark Lawrence and it’s easy to understand why. Offering a fresh take on revolution and dynastic change in fantasy literature this first book in the Wildfire Cycle sets the stage for an imaginative and rousing new series.

I read Kingshold back in September as part of Self-Published Fantasy Month here on the blog but didn’t get a chance to write up my review. It made my list of favorite reads for 2018 though and I’ve been wanting to be sure to review it even if the review came late. Given that it’s been about four months this review may not be as good and detailed as I’d prefer. That’s nobody’s fault but mine.

Self-Pub Fantasy Month In Review (And A Pause)

Well September has come to a close and with it so has Self-Published Fantasy Month. It seems like it started with a bang and then finished with a whisper. That’s on me for some poor planning.

I only managed one review this month for The Great Restoration: A Tale of The Verin Empire by William Ray. I also posted my first ever author interview which you can read at Author Interview: William Ray.

Waiting On Wednesday: The Family Blood

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and continued now by Tressa at Wishful Endings under the heading “Can’t Wait Wednesday” where readers and bloggers share and discuss books they are excited about reading and which have generally not yet been released. I’m sticking with “Waiting On Wednesday” just because I like the way it rolls off the tongue.

Fans of the blog will know how much I loved Quenby Olson’s supernatural/horror novel The Half Killed. If you’re not a regular follower check out my review in the link in the previous sentence. Here’s the blurb from the back cover of that one:

“Dorothea Hawes has no wish to renew contact with what lies beyond the veil. After an attempt to take her own life, she has retired into seclusion, but as the wounds on her body heal, she is drawn into a world she wants nothing more than to avoid.

She is sought out by Julian Chissick, a former man of God who wants her help in discovering who is behind the gruesome murder of a young woman. But the manner of death is all too familiar to Dorothea, and she begins to fear that something even more terrible is about to unleash itself on London.

And so Dorothea risks her life and her sanity in order to save people who are oblivious to the threat that hovers over them. It is a task that forces her into a confrontation with her own lurid past, and tests her ability to shape events frighteningly beyond her control.”

As I said in my review, it’s story that will seduce you. I absolutely love Olson’s dark, intimate, and immersive writing style and the Victorian setting. It was a five star read for me, and I’ve been waiting on a follow-up novel for months. Unfortunately this isn’t a Waiting On Wednesday post about book two in the series. From what I understand Olson is working on that story, but it isn’t ready yet. She did write a short story though…and that’s what this post is about

Author Interview: William Ray

Today marks the first ever Author Interview on Off The TBR! William Ray graciously accepted my interview request and I want to take a moment to thank him.

Ray is the self-published author of the Tales Of The Verin Empire series which at this point consists of two full length novels, Gedlund and The Great Restoration and a short story, A Case of Eager Heirs . You can read my reviews of those novels by clicking on the links in the titles above.

The Great Restoration: A Tale of The Verin Empire Review

Author: William Ray
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date:  2017
Format: Paperback
Pages: 483
(I received a copy of his book from the author in exchange for an honest review)

Gaslight, elves, goblins, secret societies, kidnapping, detectives, and black-powder fantasy. All of these come together as William Ray continues his Tales Of The Verin Empire series with The Great Restoration. Where Gedlund, the first book in the series was a mix of black powder fantasy mixed with sword and sorcery while on military campaigns at the boundaries of the empire, for this installment Ray took a different approach. In fact he kinda went with a slightly different sub-genre. The Great Restoration is a detective-mystery story set within both the heart of the empire and one if its recently acquired territories.

Self-Pub Fantasy Month!

Self-Published Fantasy Month is here!

If you haven’t been following along lately, September is Self-Pub Fantasy Month here on Off The TBR, and you’re invited to join in on the fun. This is a month where we’re going to celebrate and discuss all things self-pub fantasy. Some context behind the motivation for this month devoted to self-pub fantasy can be found in my post The 2018 #SPFBO (And Maybe A Self-Pub Fantasy Month).

So what can you expect to see here on the blog this month? Well, I’m still new to this so things won’t get too crazy. But you should expect to see the following:

• Self-Pub Book Reviews: I mean that’s a given right? All of the reviews this month will be for self-pub fantasy. I’m working on one that I should have up this weekend.
• Author Interviews: I hope to have at least a couple (maybe more) author interviews posted before the month is out.
• Follow Fridays: I’ve got a few special Self-Pub Fantasy themed Follow Friday posts in mind.
• Waiting On Wednesdays: I’d like to post some self-pub Waiting On Wednesday posts of upcoming books but I need to get some more information on these (if you know of any let me know!)
• Updates from #SPFBO: Though what we’re doing for Self-Published Fantasy Month isn’t related to, coordinated with, or in any way a part of #SPFBO I may try to post updates from those reviews and reviewers who are part of Mark Lawrence’s great endeavor.
• Other Stuff: I don’t know what goes here, but I’m leaving the door open for any new idea that I hadn’t thought of.

Self-Pub Fantasy Month: Less Than A Week Away!

I’m starting to have a little freak-out. I took a look at the calendar and realized September and Self-Pub Fantasy Month is less than a week away. It isn’t a huge deal – I’ve known for a while the basics of what I’m gonna do, but I’m now feeling the pressure of getting all my reading and blogging in. Thankfully I’ve already started the reading. Hopefully I’ll get that first review up on September 1 or 2 (if I can force myself to do some writing during the week).

Waiting On Self-Pub Fantasy Month: A Look At Some Ratings…

In my post Announcing Self-Published Fantasy Month I mentioned that I’d come to realize there’s some really great self-published fantasy out there. This after always believing  (and being told) that if a book was any good it would be picked up by a publishing house. My realization over the course of this year that I was so very wrong about self-published fantasy inspired me to celebrate it by devoting a whole upcoming month to it on the blog.

Well, I was reviewing some things on the blog last weekend and something made me take a closer look at the books I’ve reviewed this year and their scores. I was a little surprised and delighted by what I found because it fits perfectly with what I’ve been saying lately. Here’s what I discovered…

Announcing Self-Published Fantasy Month

I’ve been hinting at this for about a month and I’m finally ready to take the plunge and announce that September will be Self-Published Fantasy Month here on Off The TBR! This is something I’ve been debating doing for the past couple of months even if I haven’t said much until recently. I’m pretty excited about it and I hope you will be too. I’m sure you have questions so let me answer a few…