Visions of Zarua Blog Tour | Review & Interview

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

On day 4 of the blog tour, I’m pleased to share Faith’s brilliant review of Visions of Zarua and my interview.

Happy Thursday everyone 🙂

Hope everyone’s been having a wonderful week! Today, it is my privilege and honour to host Suzanne Rogerson on Day 4 of her Visions of Zarua blog tour!

Today, I have an interview with Suzanne as well as a review of her novel to share! So sit back and enjoy!

First, let me introduce Suzanne to you all:

2015 author photo 2015.jpg Suzanne lives in Middlesex, England with her hugely encouraging husband and two children.

She wrote her first novel at the age of twelve. She discovered the fantasy genre in her late teens and has never looked back. Giving up work to raise a family gave her the impetus to take her attempts at novel writing beyond the first draft, and she is lucky enough to have a husband who supports her dream – even if he does occasionally hint that she might think about getting a proper job…

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Day 2: VISIONS OF ZARUA by Suzanne Rogerson #Fantasy #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

On day 2 I’m delighted to share the first review of my blog tour over on Rosie Amber’s blog.

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Visions of Zarua by Suzanne Rogerson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Visions of Zarua is a fantasy tale in a medieval style setting with wizards and a quest to end a war which began 350 years ago. In the l…

Source: VISIONS OF ZARUA by Suzanne Rogerson @rogersonsm #Fantasy #TuesdayBookBlog

#Tuesdaybookblog #Audio #Bookreview The House on Cold Hill – Peter James #Suspense

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

The House on Cold Hill by Peter James

Audiobook Length 9 hours

Genre Suspense

Narrated by Nicholas Boulton

Blurb

Moving from the heart of Brighton and Hove to the Sussex countryside is a big undertaking for Ollie and Caro Harcourt and their twelve-year-old daughter Jade. But when they view Cold Hill House – a huge, dilapidated Georgian mansion – Ollie is filled with excitement. Despite the financial strain of the move, he has dreamed of living in the country since he was a child, and he sees Cold Hill House as a paradise for his animal-loving daughter, the perfect base for his web-design business and a terrific long-term investment. Caro is less certain, and Jade is grumpy about being separated from her friends.

Within days of moving in, it becomes apparent that the Harcourt family aren’t the only residents of the house. A friend of Jade’s is the first to see the spectral woman, standing behind her as the girls talk on FaceTime. Then there are more sightings, as well as increasingly disturbing occurrences in the house. As the haunting becomes more malevolent and the house itself begins to turn on the Harcourts, the terrified family discover Cold Hill House’s dark history, and the horrible truth of what it could mean for them . . .

My review

I loved Peter James’ suspense thrillers as a teenager and was delighted to see this book featured on a recent blog post by Shani Struthers along with an interview with the great man himself, Peter James. I’d been looking for a book to listen to on audio and thought, why not. My only concern was that I might be more of a wimp now than my teenage self was.

Apart from the rather gruesome start, the book wasn’t too terrifying. It had the right amount of tension and confusion to keep me hooked.

I listened to this book over the course of 2 days. I couldn’t stop myself, and I think I would have been the same if I had been reading the book. The short chapters make for a suspenseful read/listen.

My only faults with the book were that I didn’t feel particularly close to any of the characters and I guessed the end too soon. But that didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the book.

I recommend The House on Cold Hill to any ghost / horror / suspense readers out there, even if you are a bit of a coward like me!

I rate it 4 stars.

#Tuesdaybookblog #Bookreview Thief’s Magic – Trudi Canavan #Fantasy

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Title – Thief’s Magic Book One of Millennium’s Rule

Author – Trudi Canavan

Genre – Fantasy

Length – 553

I featured this as my Fridaybookshare a couple of weeks ago.

Blurb

Sometimes magic lies within…

When the young student Tyen unearths an ancient book, it opens the door to a realm of mystery and danger. For it holds a clue to a disaster facing the world.

Elsewhere, in a land ruled by priests, Rielle has been taught that to use magic is to steal from the Angels. Yet she has a talent for it, and desperate times may force her to risk the Angels’s wrath.

But not everything is as Tyen and Rielle have been raised to believe. Not the nature of magic – and not even the people they trust.

First Thoughts

I loved the start of this book, a young wizard archaeologist discovering an ancient book that was forged from a living person. I couldn’t wait to read on.

Characters

Tyen – young wizard trying to do the right thing but caught up in events and used as a scapegoat. He is forced to flee everything he knows. Because of this, I felt he was too trusting of others he met along his journey.

Riselle – she is fated to be married off with little say. When she takes matters into her own hands, well more stumbles along into situations, she makes her plight worse. There was a lot of self reflection on her part, but in all I preferred reading her story and wanted things to turn out better for her.

Style

At first I was annoyed that we had followed one character for so long and then switched to a new VP. But I was instantly drawn into Riselle’s world and had the same annoyance when the story switched from her back to Tyen.

Summary

I really enjoyed the first half of the book, but the rest didn’t live up to the start. It was not the book I was hoping it would be. It’s hard to say why without spoilers.

Final thoughts

I can’t help feeling disappointed by this book. At the start I had such high hopes for a fast, actioned packed read, which is was in the beginning. Somewhere around 300 pages, I can’t pinpoint a particular place, my attention fizzled out and it was a struggle to finish the rest of the book. I think part of that rests with the problem that I came to dislike reading Tyen’s scenes – I couldn’t picture the magic flying carts, nor the magic battles he was involved in. The magic of his world is well thought out, but for me lacking something… I’m not sure that I want to carry on with the rest of this series.

Recommend to

I believe fans of Trudi Canavan will like this book.

Rate 3 out of 5 stars.

#Audio #Bookreview The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins #thriller

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

This is my second attempt at audio books and I’m happy to say that I did enjoy this experience a lot more. Now the book is finished I find myself missing the times I would put it on whilst cooking the dinner, loading the dishwasher etc.

Title – The Girl on the Train

Author – Paula Hawkins

Book Type – Audio

Genre – Psychological thriller

Length – 11 hours

Narrated by Clare Corbett, India Fisher, Louise Brealey.

Blurb

Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.
Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.
Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…

First Thoughts

At first it felt to me as if the story was told in diary form and I wasn’t sure I would get into it. However, I soon found the first person narrative compelled me to keep listening.

Characters

The three narrators voices were well suited to the characters and brought them to life. I soon began to understand that each of the characters were unreliable. They’ve all done things that make they hard to like, yet I still found myself enjoying the story and wanting to unravel the mess these women had gotten into.

Style

It is told in first person from the three different characters points of view. It also switches back in time to a year before this book starts – but the timeline and character VP are always explained at the start of each new section so you don’t feel lost at any point. Switching VP’s made for a compelling read / listen.

Final Thoughts

I had not listened to the hype around this book, nor did I know what it was about when I started listening to it. I did guess the outcome quite early on, but there were plenty of red herrings to keep me wondering if I had made the right guess. I was glad to be proved right and I didn’t feel cheated by the conclusion.

I really miss listening to the story – I think I have the audio book bug!

Recommend to those who enjoy psychological thrillers.

My rating – 4 stars

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What do you think of the book and all the hype?

Are you looking forward to the film coming out later this year? I am. I think Emily Blunt will make the perfect Rachel Watson. I don’t know why it had to be relocated to America though.

Visions of Zarua Blog Tour Schedule #WWWblogs #fantasy

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Last week I put out a call for help to set up my own blog tour. I’m overwhelmed with the support I received and couldn’t be happier to announce that I’ve drawn up a schedule of sites I will be visiting during the 2 week tour.

Here are the dates and links to the sites if you want to check out the lovely bloggers who’ve agreed to get involved.

Visions of Zarua Blog Tour

Monday 27th June – betweenthelinesbookblog Promo Post

Tuesday 28th June – rosieamber Review

Wednesday 29th June – bookwraiths Indie Wednesday feature, guest post & giveaway

Thursday 30th June – aliasfaithrivens Review & Interview

Friday 1st July – TheTattoedBookGeek Novel extract & guest post

Saturday 2nd July – teripolen Promo post

Sunday 3rd July – alinefromabook Review

Monday 4th July – barbedwords Review & Q&A session

Tuesday 5th July – baubtaub Review, interview and giveaway

Wednesday 6th July – shelleywilson Promo post

Thursday 7th July – jenanita01 Review

Friday 8th July – TBC spookymrsgreen Guest post/promo

Saturday 9th July – thehappymeerkatreviews review/post

Sunday 10th July – To celebrate the last day of the tour I hope to have two posts going out;

– color me in Cyanide and Cherry Review/post

– Luccigray – TBC

(Helen Jones journeytoambeth hopes to post a review at some point during this two week tour.)

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Exciting isn’t it! Please feel free to join in and comment, and if you want to post your own review during the blog tour, I’d be very pleased to have you involved.

Note – This is the starting line up and things may change, but I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for agreeing to help me. It has been a really uplifting experience and I look forward to starting my tour in a few weeks time.

#Tuesdaybookblog #Bookreview The Sapphire Legend by E.L.Tenenbaum #YA #RBRT

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Title – The Sapphire Legend Part 1

Author – E.L Tenenbaum

Genre – YA Fantasy

I received a free copy from the author in exchange of an honest review – via Rose Amber’s Book Review team.

Blurb

Sapere has always been different. In her tribe, select families are blessed with a gift that is passed through the generations from father to son. But something went wrong when Sapere was born, because she has her family’s gift and she shouldn’t.

When Saphere’s village is attacked the night of her wedding, the survivors flee to the Wild in hopes of finding refuge in a dangerous place stalked by deadly predators. There they struggle to protect what little remains of their tribe and their traditions, many of which don’t seem to fit into their new life. Out here, Sapere feels like an outsider on the precipice of two worlds unable to fit into the old way, unaccepted by the new, and terrified of being shunned by both.

Through the survivors’ fight for survival, Sapere learns that she can be a victim of circumstances or master of fate. Can she rise above the nature of her birth and mold her own future? Can she be herself and earn the villagers’ respect? Or will she forever be shackled by the anomaly that makes her different?

First Thoughts

I loved the cover of the book and the title was intriguing. I also felt like trying something a bit different to the standard fantasy format. This world of tribal life was just what I was looking for.

Summary

The first few chapters are read with anticaption as you know from the blurb that something terrible is about to happen. But the author allows you to get to know the main character, Sapere and understand her situation before throwing her life into turmoil. I like how the tribal world and their beliefs are put across. There is no info dump, you learn as you go along.

Characters

Sapere was a good main character in a difficult situation. At points I did find her a little naïve with regards to the other characters feelings, but overall I really liked her. I liked the supporting cast of Reo and Venatore and wanted them all to find happiness after everything they had been through.

Writing Style

It is very unusual for me to read a book in first person present tense. It worked well for this story and I really enjoyed the change of style.

Issues with the book

The only fault I could point out with this book would be the description of some of the animals in the Wild. They sounded suspiciously like snakes and elephants. I understand that the characters may not have known the animal names, but it seemed unlikely and pulled me out of the story. As I read these passages, I was reminded of a famous piece of writing advice, though I’ve no idea who said it. ‘If it looks and sounds like a rabbit, call it a rabbit.’ Or something along those lines.

Final Thoughts

Although at points I thought the story might be a bit too small and insular, I really came to love the world the author created. I couldn’t believe the story ended where it did and was desperate to find out more. I’ve already bought the second book and look forward to reading and reviewing it in the future.

Recommend to

I would happily recommend this to those who enjoy YA Fantasy and fantasy in general.

Rating: 5 stars (for a while it was a 4 star book, but it certainly grew on me and by the end it was definitely a 5 star read).

To buy links Amazon UK Amazon com

#Audiobook #bookreview The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss #tuesdaybookblog

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Note – This is my first audio book review.

Author: Patrick Rothfuss

Title: Name of the Wind – Book 1 Kingkiller Chronicles

Genre: Fantasy

Type: Audio

Length: TOO LONG! 28 hours

Narrator: Rupert Degas

Blurb:

Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

First Impressions:

I chose The Name of the Wind as my first audio book as I really wanted to read it, but couldn’t face a book of that magnitude for the few hours I have set aside for reading.

My husband dubbed the book ‘Long of the Wind’ this should have been an indication of what was to come.

Narration style:

For me it was hard listening to a man doing a woman’s voice, though so far there has only been one woman in the book – Kvothe’s mother. Rupert Degas softens his voice for this role, and also to make his voice sound younger for Kvothe as a child. It sort of worked, but as the story dragged on, I became annoyed listening to it.

Summary:

It is a very long book… but nothing happens. It is brilliantly written with lots of details, but I want a book to go somewhere and this did not. I guess Patrick Rothfuss’s slow writing style is not for me.

Final Thoughts:

I did not listen to the whole book, though I really tried. I stopped at chapter 19. It was so boring I kept leaving the room forgetting I was listening to it. I have no inclination to pick up the book to find out what happened. I’m sorry to say that I just didn’t care for the main character or what happened in his past.

Recommend to: Insomniacs and readers who enjoy slow building epics.

Rating: 2 stars.

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I really wanted to give audio books a try, maybe starting with this one was a mistake. Or maybe audio books are just not for me and I am being unfair to the author. I shall be listening to ‘Girl on a Train’ next and will post a review on that soon.

Has anyone got any suggestions for a good audio book?

#Bookreview Joe Abercrombie – Shattered Sea Trilogy #YA #Fantasy #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Author: Joe Abercrombie

Title: Shattered Sea trilogy

Genre: YA Fantasy

Note: It is hard for me to review this trilogy without spoilers. I cannot make all the points I want to, so please forgive the vague nature of this review.

Blurb Book 1: Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain his throne. First he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea. And he must do it with only his good hand.

First Impressions: First of all, I love the book covers. Stunning, aren’t they.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Joe Abercrombie’s YA trilogy as his adult books are quite dark. I wasn’t disappointed, rather I fell for Half a King and couldn’t put it down. The minute I finished reading it, I ordered the next book.

Each book has different viewpoint characters

Book 1 – Yarvi

Book 2 – Brand & Thorn

Book 3 – Skara, Raith & Koll

I enjoyed all the viewpoints and felt for each character in their own respective stories. However, switching the viewpoints gave you distance from the characters you previously liked and rooted for, so it was hard to adapt to each book in that sense.

Loved: The enthralling pace and the intrigue running through each book.

Annoyed by: The constant reference to ‘deep cunning’ and a bit too much gritty talk of farting and snot. I did not like the plot direction in the last book and felt let down by it.

Final thoughts: I loved this as a Viking Trilogy, why did it have to become something else?

For me the end was unsatisfying. There was a great battle, which changed everything, but after that it all seemed too rushed and underwhelming. There is a lot I would like to say here, but don’t want to spoil the read for you.

I still think the Shattered Sea is a brilliant trilogy and really enjoyed reading it.

Recommend: To anyone who reads YA fantasy and fantasy in general.

Star Rating:

Book 1 – Half a King 5 star

Book 2 – Half a World 5 Stars

Book 3 – Half a War 4 stars

Overall trilogy rating 4 stars. I really wanted to give it a 5, but the ending just didn’t satisfy me.

Have you read the trilogy, what did you think?

#BookReview Gertrude Jekyll Dreams – Helen Thomas #Poetry

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Title: Gertrude Jekyll Dreams

Author: Helen Thomas

Self published 2014.

Length: This is a short book of poetry, 32 pages with 27 poems.

Blurb: Gertrude Jekyll Dreams is the first full collection of poems by Helen Thomas. These personal, funny and moving poems are based on her 48 years of life, love, inspiration, flowers, travels, family and memory.

First Impressions: This was a step outside of my comfort zone as I don’t usually read poetry. Some of poems maybe too personal to the author for me to understand, some were hard to pinpoint, but others really resonated with me, and I wanted to read them again straight away and enjoy them a second time. I particularly liked My Parent’s Garden and Further Adventures In Art And Being.

Style: This is a neat little book, which is lovely to hold and read. The poems are set out one per page. There was space inside the author could have provided a little more details of herself (though there is a bio on the back cover.) She is an artist and I would have liked to have known more about her and if she drew the cover art and what the significance of it was.

Summary: Poems range from abstract, enjoyable to touching. It can be devoured in one sitting, or read at a slower pace. You find you want to go back and revisit those poems that touched you.

Recommend to: This would make a lovely gift for someone who enjoys poetry.

Rating: I don’t feel at all qualified to rate this book, I don’t even know the names of the different forms of poetry. However, I feel this is a good collection of poems that people can enjoy, and everyone should find something that resonates with them personally.

Check out the book on Amazon UK