Helloooo!

I’m so sorry for a lack of updates on the blog; while I’ve kept a fair pace on reviews bar the last fortnight my dayjob has been full on and I really needed a bit more rest at the weekend and both Week in Womble and Booktempting needed to be rested. But energy levels feel much better and I’m having thoughts on how to better schedule in 2021 so we should be back to normal - I’ve a nice stack of reviews to come your way and some gorgeous books to report back on. Also on my To Do List some helpful summaries of books by categories in the return of Santa Womble for you to find that book you’re looking for as a gift!

But on Booktempting - how about I first off talk about some books received for 2020 out now and very soon I’ll start warming your TBRs for the start of next year! Now to the tempting. Expect reviews on all over the next few weeks

Nophek Gloss by Essa Hansen

Our Now from Orbit - £8.99 paperback

Caiden's planet is destroyed. His family gone. And, his only hope for survival is a crew of misfit aliens and a mysterious ship that seems to have a soul and a universe of its own. Together they will show him that the universe is much bigger, much more advanced, and much more mysterious than Caiden had ever imagined. But the universe hides dangers as well, and soon Caiden has his own plans.

He vows to do anything it takes to get revenge on the slavers who murdered his people and took away his home. To destroy their regime, he must infiltrate and dismantle them from the inside, or die trying.

Enter a universe of daring space battles and impossible technology, a world where planets can be destroyed in the blink of an eye, and where the galaxy's most valuable substance - nophek gloss - is in the hands of one young man who will tear it all down.

This feels refreshingly action packed and I’ve not had too much space opera for a while. Very keen to read this next week

Infernal by Mark De Jäger

Out now from Rebellion £9.99 paperback

In the war-torn lands of Krandin, a kingdom fighting against the Worm King of the Penullin Empire and his dark magic, a stranger wakes, knowing only that his name is Stratus.

He possesses great strength and magic, but only fractured memories of his past, and a growing certainty that he is not, in fact, human.

As he explores this new world, disoriented, making few friends and many enemies, the battle for his mind will determine the fate of the world.

heard a few good things about this and who doesn’t mind some swashbuckling?

The Book of Malachi by T C Farren

Out Now from Titan Books £8.99 paperback

Malachi, a mute thirty-year-old man, has just received an extraordinary job offer. In exchange for six months as a warden on a top-secret organ-farming project, Raizier Pharmaceuticals will graft Malachi a new tongue. 

So Malachi finds himself on an oilrig among warlords and mass murderers. But are the prisoner-donors as evil as Raizier says? Do they deserve their fate? 

As doubt starts to grow, the stories of the desperate will not be silenced not even his own. Covertly Malachi comes to know them, even the ones he fears, and he must make a choice if he wants to save one, he must save them all. And risk everything, including himself.

Evil experiments and also this is an African SF novel that was nominated for the Nommo awards - interested to see what this does

Downdraught by Gareth L Powell

out now £3.99 paperback

Lee and Kerri are two outcast teenagers in a small Welsh border town. One of them will grow up to be a mass murderer; the other will become something even more terrifying.Growing up as a lonely nerd is never easy, especially when your only friend starts dating the town bully. But when Lee stands up for himself, he’s simply making the first in a chain of catastrophically bad decisions that will lead him to corporate and political success but cost him more than he could ever have imagined.As strange alien entities begin to corrupt our world, Lee will have to face up to the ghosts of his past and try to save his best friend from the consequences of his actions.

Always enjoyed Powell’s work that mixes interesting genre takes with some lovely character arcs. Quite interested to see where this goes.

We Are Wolves edited by Gemma Amor, Laurel Hightower and Cynthia Pelayo

out now £4.46 Kindle eBook

Once upon a time, there was a woman, and she was tired. Tired of pushing. Tired of being pushed. Tired of feeling alone. Tired of so much.


So she gathered together a pack of wolves, a band of mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, partners, friends, lovers, survivors, victors and brilliant, shining things, and she told them to sing.


And sing they did.


The result is WE ARE WOLVES, a chorus of of terrifying, moving and heart-breaking stories from some of horror’s finest contemporary writers including Gemma Amor, Laurel Hightower, Cina Pelayo, Sarah Read, Hailey Piper, V Castro, Sara Tantlinger, Sonora Taylor and many more.


All proceeds from the sale of this charity anthology will go towards helping the survivors of abuse and assault.

I love horror and think helping a good cause is just icing on the cake. Well worth a look