#evie manieri

[secretsimpleness]

(pitch voice) Do you like character-driven fantasy with bittersweet romance? Well, then the Shattered Kingdoms trilogy might be something for you! (pitch end) Jachad, Lahlil / The Shattered Kingdoms (c) Evie Manieri

[nevinslibrary]

Weird & Wonderful Wednesday

Oh, this was cool. Lady Trent, Isabella, is a dragon naturalist (gotta love fantasy books!). Before her the study of dragons was just myth, but, she has applied science to their study and made amazing discoveries.

It takes place in an alternate Victorian England, which does have some similarities to ours (for one thing, where science is not appropriate for ladies to study). Ooh, and she is also different from her contemporaries because she is a single mother.

It was a little bit fantasy, a little bit alternate history, and a lot of awesome amazing world building that blew me away. Wanna read only one thing for the rest of the year, well, I mean, that would be cruel to force someone to only read one more thing, but, I would suggest this if forced to.

You may like this book If you Liked: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, Blood's Pride by Evie Manieri, or His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

[lornaslibrary]

Fantasy

Last week I asked you to recommend your favourite fantasy books. These are all the books that were recommended!!

Bold = the books I’ve read * = the books I personally would recommend + = want to read/on my TBR

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1), by Leigh Bardugo *

Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1), by Leigh Bardugo *

King of Scars (The Nikolai Duology #1), by Leigh Bardugo +

Girls Made of Snow and Glass, Melissa Bashardoust +

Range of Ghosts (Eternal Sky #1), by Elizabeth Bear

Chime, by Franny Billingsley

Three Dark Crowns (Three Dark Crowns #1), by Kendare Blake

The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury

Ninth Grade Slays (The Chronicles of Vladimir Todd #1), by Heather Brewer

The Wolf in the Whale, by Jordanna Max Brodsky

Our Bloody Pearl (These Traitorous Tides #1), by D. N. Bryn *

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Spellslinger (Spellslinger #1), by Sebastien de Castell

Traitor’s Blade (Greatcoats #1), by Sebastien de Castell +

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1), S.A. Chakraborty +

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

To Kill a Kingdom, by Alexandra Christo *

The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1), by Rin Chupeco +

The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1), by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper

London Falling (Shadow Police #1), by Paul Cornell

The Fire Within (The Last Dragon Chronicles #1), by Chris D’Lacey

The King’s Bastard (King Rolen’s Kin #1), by Rowena Cory Daniells

Kings of the Wyld (The Band #1), by Nicholas Eames

We Hunt the Flame (Sand of Arawiya #1), by Hafsah Faizal

Bitter Greens, by Kate Forsyth

The Skylark’s Song (The Skylark Saga #1), by J. M. Frey

The Untold Turn (The Accidental Turn #1), by J.M. Frey

Neverwhere (London Below #1), by Neil Gaiman

The Written (Emaneska #1), by Ben Galley

The Sentinel Mage (The Cursed Kingdoms #1), by Emily Gee

The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern #1), by Shannon Hale

Seraphina (Seraphina #1), by Rachel Hartman +

Assassin’s Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy #1), by Robin Hobb

Fool’s Gold (The Dragon Lords #1), by Jon Hollins

The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey

Wintersong (Wintersong #1), by S. Jae-Jones

The Traitor God (Age of Tyranny #1), by Cameron Johnston

Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle #1), by Diana Wynne Jones

The Dark Lord of Derkholm (Derkholm #1), by Diana Wynne Jones

Fires of the Faithful (Eliana’s Song #1), by Naomi Kritzer

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis

Monstress, Vol 1: Awakening (Monstress #1), by Marjorie M. Liu and  Sana Takeda +

Ash, by Malinda Lo *

First Watch (The Fifth Ward #1), by Dale Lucas

Down Among the Stick and Bones (Wayward Children #2), by Seanan McGuire +

Middlegame, by Seanan McGuire +

Chalice, by Robin McKinley

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1), by Sarah J. Maas

Blood’s Pride (Shattered Kingdoms #1), by Evie Manieri

Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles #1), by Melina Marchetta

Wildwood Dancing (Wildwood #1), by Juliet Marillier

Heart’s Blood, by Juliet Marillier

The Summoner (Chronicles of the Necromancer #1), by Gail Z. Martin

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1), by George R.R. Martin

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1), by Jodi Meadows

Veiled Intentions (The Dragon’s Blade #2), by Michael R. Miller

The Philosopher’s Flight, by Tom Miller 

Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees +

Girls of Paper and Fire (Girls of Paper and Fire #1), by Natasha Ngan +

Sabriel (The Old Kingdom #1), by Garth Nix

Uprooted, Naomi Novik 

Here, There Be Dragons (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geograpica #1), by James A. Owen

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1), by Christopher Paolini

East (East #1), by Edith Pattou

The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1), by Mary E. Pearson

Sorcery of Thorns, by Margaret Rogerson

Forging Divinity (The War of Broken Mirrors #1), by Andrew Rowe

Carry On (Simon Snow #1), by Rainbow Rowell

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter #1), by J.K. Rowling *

The Final Empire (Mistborn #1), Brandon Sanderson

A Living Nightmare (Cirque du Freak #1), by Darren Shan *

The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon

Tantalize (Tantalize #1), by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The Chronicles of Ixia, by Maria V Snyder +

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #1), by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1), by Maggie Stiefvater

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1), by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1), by Laini Taylor *

Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt #1), by Adrian Tchaikovsky  

The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien  

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor #1), by Jessica Townsend 

Dragon Weather (The Obsidian Chronicles #1), by Lawrence Watt-Evans

The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1), by Brent Weeks  

The Cloud Roads (Books of the Raksura #1), by Martha Wells

The Happy Prince and Other Tales, by Oscar Wilde

A House of Pomegranates, by Oscar Wilde 

Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicle #1), Patricia C. Wrede

[0-superfastjellyfish-0]

THATS MY GIRL

[atlasandartemis]

Book Review: Blood’s Pride by Evie Manieri

★★★☆☆: A battle for freedom that lasts a little too long...

Blood’s Pride weaves together the stories of two different peoples, the invading Norlanders and the enslaved Shadari. Two decades after the invasion from the sea, rebellion is brewing among the enslaved people of the city, and they hire an infamous mercenary, the Mongrel, to aid them in their efforts to overthrow the Norlander regime. But nothing is as it seems in this city, as ties are shattered, loyalties are tested, and betrayal is a common occurrence, even between friends, and especially between families. No one knows which side the Mongrel will fall on when the fight begins, and whether the ruling family will survive to return order to the city on the brink of civil war.

I found this a really difficult book to get through. I wanted to get to the end to see how the story unfolded, so I did finish the book, but the characters were not endearing, the narration was choppy and the pace was slow. I wasn’t fond of the way the battle scenes played out, as I felt they were not well constructed and were confusing. Although I was able to predict many of them, some of the plot twists were interesting and well timed. Not a book I’ll read again, but the world building was fantastic and I would love to see/read more about the Mongrel character, preferably her adventures before the events of this book took place.

[madaboutyoumatt]

Matt

- Owoce? – spojrzał na Josha, bo pierwszy raz słyszał, że ten akurat chciał owoców. – Do tego ciasta akurat nie ma, ale jak chcesz aby były takie wiesz, do poskubania to musisz pójść po coś do sklepu.

Rozsiedli się w salonie kiedy już byli po przywitaniu i wtedy dało się zauważyć małe oczko obserwujące ich spomiędzy drzwi. Urocze, zabawne a zarazem lekko niewychowane oczko. Powinna przyjść i się chociaż przywitać, ale co się dziwić, ciężko jej było w nowym otoczeniu, z nowymi ludźmi i z całą akcją „musisz zapomnieć jak było kiedyś, bo już tak nie będzie”.

O dziwo pierwszy krok w Evy stronę zrobił sam Josh. Pewnie już powoli irytował się tymi jej podchodami, ale to zawsze było dobre. Nie krzyczał, poszedł po nią i nawet wyciągnął do niej dłoń. A już później w środku Matt umierał z dumy i rozczulenia jak tamten usadził ją obok siebie aby mogła się za nim chować. Prawdziwy ojciec. Jeszcze trochę a będzie odganiał absztyfikantów i nie będzie w ogóle pamiętał, że nie chciał żadnych dzieci.

Cam prawie piszczała widząc Josha z malutką dziewczynkę idącego za rączkę i jak później ta odmawiała przedstawienia się. Ona widziała to samo co Matt – zdjęta skóra z Josha. Jak w ogóle on mógł się wypierać jej?

- Oj tam, pewnie jesteś trochę zdenerwowana, no nie? – Cam zsunęła się na koniec kanapy aby być tak blisko jak tylko może dziewczynki, bo nie było mowy o kucaniu. – Zobacz co dla ciebie przywieźliśmy. – podała jej komplet do jedzenia i lalkę. – Podoba ci się?

Eve pomachała głową, że tak, która dziewczynka nie cieszyłaby się na Frozen?

- I co się mówi? – spojrzał na nią Mały. Można się bać, ale maniery trzeba mieć.

- Dziękuję. – powiedziała wtulając twarz w ramię taty, co sprawiało, że prawie nie dało się tego zrozumieć, ale było na razie wystarczające.

- Matko, jaka ona jest urocza! – Cam nie wytrzymała spoglądając z iskierkami w oczach na Branda. – Dlaczego my musimy mieć pierwszego chłopaka? – dźwignęła się do pełnego siadu spoglądając na męża. Nie było w tym żadnej tajemnicy jakiej płci dziecko będzie. – Wiesz, jestem teraz w ciąży i mam tutaj dzidziusia. – pogładziła się okrężnym ruchem po brzuchu mówiąc do dziewczynki – Będziesz miała niedługo kolegę do zabawy. Tylko najpierw będzie trochę musiał podrosnąć.

- Chcesz kawałek ciastka? – Matt wstał i spojrzał się na Eve. – Na nowym talerzyku? Jeżeli tak to muszę najpierw go wymyć.

I po chwili wszyscy mieli nałożone spore kawałki ciastka, tylko dziewczynka miała mniejszy, ale aż podrygiwała na niego nóżką siedząc na kanapie, którą nie sięgała jeszcze do ziemi, bo jadła z tak pięknego talerzyka, jej talerzyka.

[reincarnatedasacupcake]

Art by Simini Blocker

August was a blur, wasn't it? I blinked and it was over. Somehow I managed to actually get a few books read while it all rushed by. Here are the books that I read this month:

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5)

by Sarah J. Maas

704 Pages (25:23 Hours)

The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?

I went into this book thinking that it was the last one in the series. Boy was I surprised when it left off on a bit of a cliff hanger. I then discovered that there will be at least 2 more books in this series with the next one coming out in a few more days! Woohoo! I really like this series and I want to know what's going to happen next.

The Black Prism (Lightbringer #1)

by Brent Weeks

661 Pages

Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live.

When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.

This was my RBA book of the month and I really enjoyed it. It was really refreshing to have a cast made up almost entirely of POC characters. I wish more writers would do this. I also really enjoy the style of magic, which is based on colours. I think colour magic might be my favorite type of magic (other than baking magic, of course). I really enjoyed the characters and the plots of this book and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

331 Pages (11:00 Hours)

The Handmaid's Tale is not only a radical and brilliant departure for Margaret Atwood, it is a novel of such power that the reader will be unable to forget its images and its forecast. Set in the near future, it describes life in what was once the United States, now called the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by reverting to, and going beyond, the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. The regime takes the Book of Genesis absolutely at its word, with bizarre consequences for the women and men of its population.

The story is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids under the new social order. In condensed but eloquent prose, by turns cool-eyed, tender, despairing, passionate, and wry, she reveals to us the dark corners behind the establishment's calm facade, as certain tendencies now in existence are carried to their logical conclusions. The Handmaid's Tale is funny, unexpected, horrifying, and altogether convincing. It is at once scathing satire, dire warning, and tour de force. It is Margaret Atwood at her best.

Everyone is abuzz with  The Handmaid's Tale TV series, and I'll admit I was intrigued by all the talk. I don't have cable, so I can't watch the show, so I decided to listen to it instead. That and I like to have the book under my belt before seeing a recreation of it. 

The story, although simplistic on the surface, has a deep undercurrent as you delve into what happened through Ofglen's memories. Even though this was written in the '80s, it still feels very current, as if this could happen at any time. Sometimes the best dystopian novels are the simplest ones. I'll let you know if the book was better.

Thistle & Thorne

by Ann Aguirre

103 Pages (3:08 Hours)

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses - self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside - in the Red Zone - is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good.

Speaking of dystopian novels, this story falls more into the fantastical side of it. It wasn't chilling or thought provoking like The Handmaid's Tale was, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Ann Aguirre never dissapoints and I always enjoy picking up her stories. In 3 hours, she can still give you in-depth characters to love and a underdog fight to cheer for.

Gather the Daughters

by Jennie Melamed

341 Pages (10:09 Hours)

NEVER LET ME GO meets THE GIVER in this haunting debut about a cult on an isolated island, where nothing is as it seems.Years ago, just before the country was incinerated to wasteland, ten men and their families colonized an island off the coast. They built a radical society of ancestor worship, controlled breeding, and the strict rationing of knowledge and history. Only the Wanderers--chosen male descendants of the original ten--are allowed to cross to the wastelands, where they scavenge for detritus among the still-smoldering fires.The daughters of these men are wives-in-training. At the first sign of puberty, they face their Summer of Fruition, a ritualistic season that drags them from adolescence to matrimony. They have children, who have children, and when they are no longer useful, they take their final draught and die. But in the summer, the younger children reign supreme. With the adults indoors and the pubescent in Fruition, the children live wildly--they fight over food and shelter, free of their fathers' hands and their mothers' despair. And it is at the end of one summer that little Caitlin Jacob sees something so horrifying, so contradictory to the laws of the island, that she must share it with the others.Born leader Janey Solomon steps up to seek the truth. At seventeen years old, Janey is so unwilling to become a woman, she is slowly starving herself to death. Trying urgently now to unravel the mysteries of the island and what lies beyond, before her own demise, she attempts to lead an uprising of the girls that may be their undoing.GATHER THE DAUGHTERS is a smoldering debut; dark and energetic, compulsively readable, Melamed's novel announces her as an unforgettable new voice in fiction.

I guess I really wanted dystopian audiobooks this month. This book straddles the line between not real and too real. It was thoroughly disturbing while also being whimsical and innocent, which I think might make it more disturbing. The terrible things that happen are never spoken aloud or even put into words, so it took me a little while to understand what they were referring to. There were many parts that made me want to cry or to stop listening, but the story of these girls begs to be listened to and acknowledged. 

Blood's Pride (Shattered Kingdoms #1)

by Evie Manieri

435 Pages

Evie Manieri's Blood's Pride is the first book of The Shattered Kingdoms, an engaging, action-packed, and "highly imaginative" (Kirkus Reviews) series of fantasy novels with epic scope and "the perfect mix of romance, family ties, betrayals, and agonizing dilemmas" (RT Book Reviews).

Rising from their sea-torn ships like vengeful, pale phantoms, the Norlanders laid waste to the Shadar under cover of darkness. They forced the once-peaceful fisher folk into slavery and forged an alliance with their former trading partners, the desert-dwelling Nomas tribe, cutting off any hope of salvation.

Now, two decades after the invasion, a rebellion gathers strength in the dark corridors of the city. A small faction of Shadari have hired the Mongrel, an infamous mercenary, to aid their fledgling uprising—but with her own shadowy ties to the region, she is a frighteningly volatile ally. Has she really come to lead a revolution, or for a more sinister purpose all her own?

I really wanted this book to be good. I mean, just look at that cover! It's not often that you see a badassed chick covered in that many scars. I wanted to know her story.... I still want to know her story.... This book had so many plots that it was hard to get into any of them. I feel like this one book could've been stretched into at least 3 books and I would've read them all. There was major character development, but you knew so little about the characters that it didn't really make any difference to how I felt about them. In fact, I didn't care about any of them at all. Too bad. It makes me not want to read any more of the series. 

Books that I am currently reading

Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow #2)

by Anthony Ryan

425 of 602 Pages (17:03 of 24:39 Hours)

A Fine Balance

by Rohinton Mistry

65 of 603 Pages

Ascent of Women by Sally Armstrong 70 of 320 Pages

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame 102 of 228 Pages

Rhapsody: Child of Blood (Symphony of Ages #1)

by Elizabeth Haydon

197 of 656 Pages (9:46 of 30:08 Hours)

The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronson (Butterfly Effect #1)

by Jon Ronson

20 of 200 Pages (0:26 of 3:27 Hours)

Ashes of Honor (October Daye #6)

by Seanan McGuire 

78 of 353 Pages

[geekynerfherder]

Cover art by Tommy Arnold for 'Strife's Bane', book 3 of the 'Shattered Kingdoms' series by Evie Manieri.

[torpublishinggroup]

Once a month, we’re spotlighting a Tor book that will soon become available in paperback. Today, we’re featuring Fortune’s Blight by Evie Manieri, to be released October 6.

Fortune’s Blight, the second in Manieri’s Shattered Kingdoms novels, continues the conflict begun in Blood’s Pride. King Daryan struggles not only to maintain peace for the Shadari people, but bring to a halt an unknown murderer killing anyone with magical powers. The foundations of Shadari and Norland begin to crack, all while a mysterious figure watches from Rivindal Castle, knowing that her years of patience will soon be rewarded. Please enjoy this excerpt.

[thereareinkspotsonmypage]

90% of the post I receive involves a book (or 12) so mail time is a bit like Blue’s Clues, especially when there are beautiful books like this involved!

[shadowhawksshade]

NANP: Naming Swords, Defining Themselves

Really excited to welcome today’s guest Evie Manieri for Names: A New Perspective, author of Blood’…

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[tfrohock]

Shadari Divining Elixir at BookSworn ...

Evie Manieri speaks of elixirs and the dangers of knowing the future inside her story, Blood's Pride:

Would you want to see the future, if you knew you couldn’t change it? That’s the question put forth by the priceless Shadari divining elixir sloshing around in Jachad’s little bottle; priceless, because when the Shadari priests threw themselves from the cliffs at the height of the Norlander invasion, they took the secret to making it down into the deep with them. Not that Jachad won’t put a price on it. He’s a merchant-king, and he’d much rather have a sack of imperial Eagles rattling around in his treasure chest than a curiosity most of his customers could never afford. [Click here to read more ...]

[torpublishinggroup]

Happy Release Day! Here's what went on sale today >>

[torpublishinggroup]

Victory for the Shadari rebels has come at a terrible price. Read an excerpt from Fortune’s Blight, by Evie Manieri.

[torpublishinggroup]

Get Evie Manieri’s Blood’s Pride ebook for just $2.99!