The Book Bandit's Library

Wednesday 25 September 2024

Look who is in the SPOTLIGHT!!! Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book #1) by Linnea Tanner, narrated by Kristin James

Apollo’s Raven

(Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book #1)

By Linnea Tanner

Narrated by Kristin James

Publication Date: January 20, 2020 (3nd Edition). Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC. Pages: 394 pages. Genre: Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Myth & Legend

A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people.

AWARD-WINNING APOLLO’S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren’s former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him. The king’s daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break the curse, but she is torn between her forbidden love for her father’s enemy, Marcellus, and loyalty to her people. She must summon the magic of the Ancient Druids to alter the dark prophecy that threatens the fates of everyone in her kingdom.

Will Catrin overcome and eradicate the ancient curse? Will she be able to embrace her forbidden love for Marcellus? Will she cease the war between Blood Wolf and King Amren and save her kingdom?

Praise

What AMAZON reviewers say about Apollo’s Raven

“If you mingled the history and romance of Philippa Gregory with the magical fantasy of George R.R. Martin, the result just might be the fascinating Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 1) by Linnea Tanner. Get ready for a journey filled with the desires of star-crossed lovers, the horror of a son polishing his own mother’s skull and the fantasy of humans becoming creatures as a tool to save their very humanity.”

“Sorcery? Mythology? Forbidden love? An ancient curse? Yes, please! I fully enjoyed this epic tale of intrigue, deception, and love. The characters are developed well, while the plot leaves the reader wanting more.”

“What a story! I am a huge fan of "Game of Thrones," and this book grabbed me in much the same way. The author took me inside the world of ancient Romans and Celts. The imagery was compelling. I could see the characters, the weapons, the countryside, the lairs, and the castle. She stayed true to the times.”

“A love story full of intrigue, power struggles, choosing one’s fate and a doomed love, this story reminds me somewhat of an old book called “The Silver Land” by Nancy Harding or even “The Forest House” by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The undercurrents are the same as they are set in similar times, but the finer details are different enough that it only feels the same while still being uniquely its own.”

Book Trailer

Apollo’s Raven will be free on Kindle on September 26th – 30th, 2024!

Amazon

All four books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series are available on Kindle Unlimited.

Linnea Tanner

Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. She is particularly interested in the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.

Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3), and Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4). She has also released the historical fiction short story Two Faces of Janus.

A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.

Social Media Links:

Thursday 19 September 2024

Look who is in the SPOTLIGHT!!! Ships of War — Murky Waters by Bradley John

Ships of War — Murky Waters
By Bradley John

1791 — England's cannon remain ever silent as her shipping is ruthlessly preyed upon, a detestable state of affairs, though soon to be remedied...

England is ill prepared, Europe is in turmoil and the French Revolution is readying to sweep across the continent. A tedious uneasy peace poises on a knife's edge. Brittana rules the waves, yet as more and more ships mysteriously vanish, it is rightly thought an act of war. However, England needs more time, or all could be lost.

With war looming, Lieutenant Hayden Reginald Cooper, Royal Navy, awaits in Portsmouth braving a bitter cold winter with half pay, beached in a constant state of penury. With little prospects, little "interest" and no chance of promotion or advancement, he is the perfect choice for the Admiralty: unknown, unimportant and wholly dispensable.

As so it begins, a turbulent action-packed naval adventure within the murky waters preceding war, the French piracy soon to discover the grit of a lowly Lieutenant, one who has very little to lose…

Excerpt

Stormy seas awaited Agamemnon at Ushant, murky waters spawned within a darkened sky. It was no less a chilling reminder of what was yet to come. The sun had risen. But still there remained a bleak silhouette ever gracing the eastern horizon, a dull dome serving to surround the last remnants of the Channel. With Brittany looming, the Iroise Sea now beckoned and with Ushant behind them, there was definitely no turning back. It was with some gratification that Cooper accepted the conditions. The Iroise Sea was well known for her violence, all told beholding a temperament more befitting a maddened wild beast. In the offing, high seas threatened, a cold outlook promised. Nonetheless did Eagle manage to maintain an unrestricted view to the horizon, the regular call of "all's well" constantly reassuring the ship. Upon rounding Ushant the great ship spread her wings, sailing large, the wind swirling about her back til she bore directly south.

'Captain, it seems the seas have built even more since we rounded Ushant,' Blane nervously vexed. 'Could they become any more monstrous?'

'I assure you Doctor, with some degree of exactness, these seas can form even monstrously bigger, given leave to do so.'

'Egad. But is not the ship already shuddering somewhat horribly at the stern? Is there no cause for concern? The quarterdeck is as calm as Brading Tavern on Sunday, almost as if I had prescribed them a tincture of my finest laudanum?'

'But it is just Agamemnon pooping, Doctor,' reassured Cooper.

'Pooping? Well, yes that makes sense, but I very much rather it is I who is in danger of pooping, such is my distress.'

'What? Oh? Indeed, ha, ha!'

'I could be wrong of course, just a simple doctor, but is not the ship shuddering perhaps to the point she soon might break up?'

'It grieves me to inform you, sir, that you are indeed wrong, on both counts.'

'Both counts?'

'Aye, come now sir. Firstly, you are no simple doctor and I think you know this. And secondly, that shudder you discern is merely the resultant shock from the prosecution of high and heavy seas, the hull scudding and trembling as the ship is belted somewhat upon its quarter. It is most common for her to scud before the wind within such a tempest. And good sir, it is called pooping.'

'Oh? Well, yes of course, that pooping.'

Amazon

Bradley John

Bradley John Tatnell (aka "Bradley John") is an Australian novelist whose ancestry can be traced back to the Norman Conquest in England. His forbears lived mostly in Kent, Hertfordshire and the Isle of Thanet. Some were mariners and some were even of the aristocracy. His direct ancestors arrived in Australia soon after its colonisation in the late 1700's, most of which were proud country folk. James Squire, a notable character in history, who arrived on the first fleet in 1788, was his (sixth) great grandfather.

Bradley John graduated from the Church of England Grammar School at age 16 and the Queensland University of Technology at age 19. His early life was spent mainly in the arena of law.

Bradley John has a love of all things ancient and historical, including golf, to which he plays with ye old hickory shafted clubs including the original heads from pre-1935. He also studies the ancient art of Korean sword, having attained master level. His love of language, in all its forms, now extends to the pursuit of conquering Hangul, the language of the Korean people.

Bradley John has been privately writing novels since 2003. "Ships of War — Murky Waters", his first publication, births a series of naval adventure fiction intended to span the length of the French Revolutionary Wars. This of course is the much loved genre which includes the thundering Hornblower series by C.S. Forester, the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian and the popular "Master and Commander" blockbuster by Peter Weir. Owing to Bradley John's English heritage, no guesses are needed to determine which side the book's heroes will sail upon…

Social Media Links:

Monday 16 September 2024

Look who is in the SPOTLIGHT!!! Bandy by Craig R. Hipkins

Bandy
By Craig R. Hipkins

Publication Date: February 15, 2024. Publisher: Hipkins Twins. Pages: 337. Genre: Historical Fiction / Young Adult

Isaac’s only friend is a passenger pigeon named Bandy. He deludes himself in believing the bird talks to him. Bullied, he is resigned to a life of being the misunderstood bookworm by neighboring boys until a disastrous fire kills his parents and little sisters, sparing only his younger brother, Thomas. He and Thomas are taken in by their Uncle Raymond, an abolitionist, who plans to send Isaac to Virginia to buy Joy, a young slave with debilitating health, from her slave owner, Wil Jericho. Shortly after arriving in Virginia, Isaac learns the ugly truth. The butler who accompanied him on the journey killed his uncle before leaving and plans to do the same to Isaac to steal Raymond’s estate.

Isaac, with Joy, escape into the backwoods of Virginia. Discovering passages of the Underground Railroad, stowing away in carriages, hiding in churches, and outwitting the mercenaries hired by Jericho, the two teens fight tooth and nail to make it to Boston before they’re caught. Will Joy be taken from this life by sickness before she’s found freedom? On their journey, they learn a lot about each other. Isaac promises to bring Joy to Bandy's pond, a heavenly place where peace and serenity reign.

Excerpt

They walked in silence for a while, each one wrapped in their own thoughts. Joy felt like crying. Jericho Plantation was all she had ever known. She would miss Moses and even Mother Etta, who treated her kindly. However, she knew in the back of her mind that this day would eventually come. It was as if she had a premonition.

At Jericho Plantation she would always be a slave, at the subjective whim of whoever was master of the house. Now, at last, she was free, finally unencumbered by the tight yoke around her neck. She knew her time was probably limited, but if she could spend her remaining days with her sister, living free, it would be worth it. Also, there was always the chance of this doctor in Boston.

What if he could do something for her?

And then there was this mysterious boy who seemed to have arrived out of nowhere. She had only known him for a day but felt like she had known him for a lifetime. He was brave and had rescued her against all odds from a tyrant that might have beaten her to death. He was walking a few steps ahead of her, his long hair sticking out from around his soft wool cap. She had never met anyone like him.

Isaac interrupted her train of thought. He stopped and held up his hand. “I think that I hear something.”

She heard it, too— a soft but penetrating ring. There was a train coming!

He took her hand, and they hurried down the embankment and crawled into the switchgrass, making sure to keep low. After a few minutes the low ringing turned into a loud rumble and the unmistakable sound of train wheels as the flanges pushed against the rail.

Isaac looked up and could see a plume of heavy dark smoke towering into the sky as the engine rumbled by, trailed by its heavy load. It was a freight. Isaac had an idea but quickly dismissed it. Attempting to board a moving box car was tempting but extremely risky. He would be able to do it, but in her weakened condition, Joy would not. There was also the chance someone might see them and then the game would be up.

No, they would have to make the journey on foot.

When he deemed it was safe, they climbed back up the embankment and started again. He tried to remember landmarks from his train ride the day before. He wished that he had paid more attention. He didn’t remember any large towns they’d traveled through, though there were houses and farms and places where the track snaked its way through a forest. There was no way they would make it to Norfolk today. It was almost noon, and at some point, they would have to find a place where they could conceal themselves for the night. That would take time.

He prayed that the rain would hold off, but the sun had once again hidden itself behind an overcast sky. To the northeast, the dark clouds looked ominous. They walked for what he determined to be about three miles into an area where there was forest on both sides of them.

Then the rain came.

Amazon

Craig R. Hipkins

Craig R. Hipkins grew up in Hubbardston Massachusetts. He is the author of medieval and gothic fiction. His novel Adalbert is the sequel to Astrolabe written by his late twin brother Jay S. Hipkins (1968-2018) He is an avid long distance runner and enjoys astronomy in his spare time.

Social Media Links:

Website

Bluesky

Thursday 12 September 2024

Look who is in the SPOTLIGHT!!! Devin’s Dreams by D. C. Wilkinson

Devin’s Dreams
By D. C. Wilkinson
Audiobook Narrator: John York

Publication Date: February 26, 2024. Publisher: Ingram Spark. Pages: 360 (print version). Genre: Historical Fiction

Devin Sharp, a gentle-natured boy, has trouble sleeping. Recurring visions of strangers moving among shadows in his bedroom keep waking him at night. He swears that what he sees and hears is real. To no avail. No one believes him. An older sibling taunts him. “Silly dreams,” she says. But are they?

Coming of age as a gay teen in the seventies, Devin’s sleep issues are just one more secret safely locked up in his closet. But not for long. Freshman year in college brings a measure of freedom and a chance to explore well beyond the boundaries of stifling social molds.

Experimenting with a powerful drug, Devin’s quirky visions resurface. This time, however, something is different. A rabbit hole materializes out of nowhere. Thrust into it by a mysterious force, Devin is hurled into another world centuries before his own. There, awaiting, a host of strangers appear to know him…

Amazon

D. C. Wilkinson

D. C. Wilkinson’s passion for historical fiction, portal fantasies and cappuccinos inspired him to write “Devin’s Dreams,” his debut novel. A lifelong voyager of inner and outer realms, he began his career in the Midwest as a student of Language Arts and the Humanities before relocating to the East Coast in his early twenties. A graduate of Columbia University and former New York City public school teacher, he now calls Connecticut his home, where he resides with his spouse and their beloved beagle.

Social Media Links:

Wednesday 7 August 2024

Look who is in the SPOTLIGHT!!! Return to the Eyrie by Katerina Dunne

Return to the Eyrie
By Katerina Dunne

Publication Date: 30 April 2024. Publisher: Historium Press. Page Length: 404. Genre: Historical Fiction (Medieval) / Historical Romance

Honour, revenge, and the quest for justice.

Belgrade, Kingdom of Hungary, 1470:

Raised in exile, adolescent noblewoman Margit Szilágyi dreams of returning to her homeland of Transylvania to avenge her father's murder and reclaim her stolen legacy. To achieve this, she must break the constraints of her gender and social status and secretly train in combat.

When the king offers her a chance at justice, she seizes it—even if it means disguising herself as a man to infiltrate the vultures' nest that now occupies her ancestral ‘eyrie’.

Plagued by childhood trauma and torn between two passionate loves, Margit faces brutal battles, her murderous kin's traps and inner demons on her quest for vengeance. Only by confronting the past can she reclaim her honour—if she can survive long enough to see it through.

Return to the Eyrie is an epic coming-of-age tale of a young woman's unwavering pursuit of justice and destiny in 15th century Hungary.

Amazon

Katerina Dunne

Katerina Dunne is the pen-name of Katerina Vavoulidou. Originally from Athens, Greece, Katerina has been living in Ireland since 1999. She has a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Athens, an MA in Film Studies from University College Dublin and an MPhil in Medieval History from Trinity College Dublin.

Katerina is passionate about history, especially medieval history, and her main area of interest is 13th to 15th century Hungary. Although the main characters of her stories are fictional, Katerina uses real events and personalities as part of her narrative in order to bring to life the fascinating history of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, a location and time period not so well-known to English-speaking readers.

Return to the Eyrie (published April 2024) is the second book in the Medieval Hungary series, a sequel to Lord of the Eyrie (published in February 2022).

Social Media Links:

Monday 5 August 2024

Look who is in the SPOTLIGHT!!! Downriver by Jennifer M. Lane

Downriver
By Jennifer M. Lane

Publication Date: May 28, 2024. Publisher: Pen & Key Publishing. Pages: 344. Genre: Historical

A sulfur sky poisoned her family and her heart. Now revenge tastes sweeter than justice.

It’s 1900. In a Pennsylvania coal town tainted by corruption and pollution, Charlotte's world collapses when her parents meet a tragic end. Sent to a foster family in a Maryland fishing village, she’s fueled by grief and embarks on a relentless quest for justice against the ruthless coal boss, Nels Pritchard.

But Charlotte is no ordinary girl. She shares the fiery spirit of her father, whose powerful speeches inspired worker riots. With a burning desire for vengeance, she sets out to uncover the truth behind Pritchard's crimes, unearthing a shocking connection between the town's toxic air and the lifeless fish washing up on the shore of her Chesapeake Bay foster town.

To expose the truth, Charlotte builds a network of unexpected allies. There are gutsy suffragists, a literary society of teenage girls willing to print the truth… and Weylan. The captivating young man lost his own family to Pritchard’s poison. He offers support, but Charlotte questions his true motives when he lures her to break the law. Could she be falling into a dangerous trap, leading her to a fate worse than poison?

With her unwavering spirit and determination, Charlotte must forge alliances and navigate a web of treachery before Pritchard seeks his own ruthless revenge.

The newest book by award-winning author Jennifer M. Lane is perfect for fans of Jeannette Walls’ Hang the Moon and the fiery protagonist in The Hunger Games. Join Charlotte in this small town, coming-of-age dystopian historical saga as she finds resilience, courage, and triumph in her search for identity, independence, and her true home.

Amazon

Jennifer M. Lane

A Maryland native and Pennsylvanian at heart, Jennifer M. Lane holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Barton College and a master’s in liberal arts with a focus on museum studies from the University of Delaware, where she wrote her thesis on the material culture of roadside memorials.

Jennifer is a member of the Authors Guild and the Historical Novel Society. Her first book, Of Metal and Earth, won the 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Award for First Novel and was a Finalist in the 2018 IAN Book of the Year Awards in the category of Literary / General Fiction. She is also the author of Stick Figures from Rockport, and the six book series, The Collected Stories of Ramsbolt.

Social Media Links:

Twitter

BookBub

Wednesday 31 July 2024

Look who is in the SPOTLIGHT!!! Fortune’s Wheel, The First Meonbridge Chronicle by Carolyn Hughes

Fortune’s Wheel, The First Meonbridge Chronicle
By Carolyn Hughes
Audiobook Narrator: Alex Lee

Publication Date: 22/4/24 (Audiobook). Publisher: Carolyn Hughes. Listening Length: 11 hours and 54 minutes. Genre: Historical Fiction

How do you recover from the havoc wrought by history's cruellest plague?

It's June 1349. In Meonbridge, a Hampshire manor, many have lost their lives to the Black Death, among them Alice atte Wode’s beloved husband and Eleanor Titherige’s widowed father. Even the family of the manor’s lord and his wife, Margaret de Bohun, has not entirely escaped.

But, now the plague has passed, the people of Meonbridge must work together to rebuild their lives. However, tensions mount between the de Bohuns and their tenants, as the workers realise their new scarceness means they can demand higher wages and dictate their own lives.

When the tensions deepen into violence and disorder, and the men – lord and villagers alike – seem unable to find any resolution, the women – Alice, Eleanor and Margaret – must step forward to find a way out of the conflict that is tearing Meonbridge apart.

Audio excerpt

Amazon

Carolyn Hughes

Carolyn Hughes has lived much of her life in Hampshire. With a first degree in Classics and English, she started working life as a computer programmer, then a very new profession. But it was technical authoring that later proved her vocation, word-smithing for many different clients, including banks, an international hotel group and medical instruments manufacturers.

Although she wrote creatively on and off for most of her adult life, it was not until her children flew the nest that writing historical fiction took centre stage. But why historical fiction? Serendipity!

Seeking inspiration for what to write for her Creative Writing Masters, she discovered the handwritten draft, begun in her twenties, of a novel, set in 14th century rural England… Intrigued by the period and setting, she realised that, by writing a novel set in the period, she could learn more about the medieval past and interpret it, which seemed like a thrilling thing to do. A few days later, the first Meonbridge Chronicle, Fortune’s Wheel, was under way.

Six published books later (with more to come), Carolyn does now think of herself as an Historical Novelist. And she wouldn’t have it any other way…

Social Media Links:

Bluesky