Hey there guys!
Happy Friday! I work night shift tonight, and again on Sunday so my weekend won't be exactly free, but at least I hope to have some time to read at work!
For this week's Friday Reads I have a prequel on a NA fantasy series that I'm quite in love with! If you haven't heard of Teresa Yea or Love in a Time of Monsters, do yourself a favour and check them out!
This book is also part of my Diverse December list and so far I'm not doing too shabby with it!
Empire of Sand by Teresa Yea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I discovered the previous book in this series (and debut book from the author) thanks to my friend Jenny from Supernatural Snark because she designed the amazing cover. I loved it since it was one of those very rare NA fantasy, so when I heard that a prequel was coming out, and saw this very gorgeous cover, I knew I needed it!
Empire of Sand is from Liam's POV, first person and it was done so very well! Teresa doesn't shy away from showing us some of Liam's past and how he came to work for Hyde, as well as see how twisted he is by the hunt and his love for it.
You don't really need to have read Love in a Time of Monsters to read this one, since it's a prequel, but I feel that it will add a lil bit something extra. But if you read this one, do read LiaToM afterwards!
Liam is not an easy character to like but also not as easy to hate as you might think. He's a bit of an arsehole more often than not, but I suspect there's something that has been seriously twisted within him for a long time and his love for the hunt for the sake of it is how it manifests (for the most part). There's a lot of self loathing about himself, his sexuality and his lust for the hunt and being in his head is quite the trip!
Meeting Cat/Kitty as a character in need of growth compared to the one we had met in LiaToM was quite an experience and even more since this provides a lot of backstory to the history that was hinted at before, between her and Liam. Cat is already messed up, trying to become a hunter and getting even more messed up.
There's plenty of blood, hunting, monsters and messed up relationships with sex and without it between the characters. None of them are the nicest of people and in extreme circumstances it really shows.
The world building and descriptions were perfectly visual to make us feel like we were there, in the desert, crunching sand between our teeth and scared shitless about a monster that felt a mix of an Egyptian God and a Stargate alien!
LiaToM made me fall in love with Teresa's writing and this world she had created, as well as her very flawed and very complex characters, Empire of Sand has just reinforced that and now I'm left waiting and hoping for the next book to come, because I need more!
If you like fantasy, give this series a try! Very much deserved 4 stars!
View all my reviews
Happy Friday! I work night shift tonight, and again on Sunday so my weekend won't be exactly free, but at least I hope to have some time to read at work!
For this week's Friday Reads I have a prequel on a NA fantasy series that I'm quite in love with! If you haven't heard of Teresa Yea or Love in a Time of Monsters, do yourself a favour and check them out!
This book is also part of my Diverse December list and so far I'm not doing too shabby with it!
Empire of Sand by Teresa YeaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I discovered the previous book in this series (and debut book from the author) thanks to my friend Jenny from Supernatural Snark because she designed the amazing cover. I loved it since it was one of those very rare NA fantasy, so when I heard that a prequel was coming out, and saw this very gorgeous cover, I knew I needed it!
Empire of Sand is from Liam's POV, first person and it was done so very well! Teresa doesn't shy away from showing us some of Liam's past and how he came to work for Hyde, as well as see how twisted he is by the hunt and his love for it.
You don't really need to have read Love in a Time of Monsters to read this one, since it's a prequel, but I feel that it will add a lil bit something extra. But if you read this one, do read LiaToM afterwards!
Liam is not an easy character to like but also not as easy to hate as you might think. He's a bit of an arsehole more often than not, but I suspect there's something that has been seriously twisted within him for a long time and his love for the hunt for the sake of it is how it manifests (for the most part). There's a lot of self loathing about himself, his sexuality and his lust for the hunt and being in his head is quite the trip!
Meeting Cat/Kitty as a character in need of growth compared to the one we had met in LiaToM was quite an experience and even more since this provides a lot of backstory to the history that was hinted at before, between her and Liam. Cat is already messed up, trying to become a hunter and getting even more messed up.
There's plenty of blood, hunting, monsters and messed up relationships with sex and without it between the characters. None of them are the nicest of people and in extreme circumstances it really shows.
The world building and descriptions were perfectly visual to make us feel like we were there, in the desert, crunching sand between our teeth and scared shitless about a monster that felt a mix of an Egyptian God and a Stargate alien!
LiaToM made me fall in love with Teresa's writing and this world she had created, as well as her very flawed and very complex characters, Empire of Sand has just reinforced that and now I'm left waiting and hoping for the next book to come, because I need more!
If you like fantasy, give this series a try! Very much deserved 4 stars!
View all my reviews
WOO HOO!!!! So glad you're loving this series Pili! Teresa does flawed characters so well doesn't she? I'm ready for her to get to book 2 already so we can do another cover:)
ReplyDeleteRight now I don't know what I'm more excited about... the book or the coverrr!!
DeleteYay for enjoying this one :D Stunning review Pili. <3 You are making me curious about it :) And aw, I'm sorry about work weekend :\ but hope it will go fast :D And hope you'll have time to read too. <3
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll check these books out sweetie! I got some reading time at work tonight but not much! *big hugs* I hope your weekend will be good!
DeleteThe cover for this is absolutely beautiful, I'm so glad you enjoyed it Pili! I'm not too sure whether I'd get along with Liam though, I tend to hate the stereotypical asshole characters in NA. The world building sounds phenomenal though, with the Egyptian stuff and the Alien! Whatt!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it? I love the covers for this series so much! Liam is not your stereotypical asshole character, he's quite different from you can expect, trust me!
DeleteI did get in a diverse read, even though it was 2.5 stars for me. Sentimental Bulks#*t was about mental illness. The first half of the book was fab, but then it fell apart. Too bad because it was a realistic portrayal and we need more of those.
ReplyDeleteBummer that your diverse read didn't end up as well as it started... =/
DeleteNA fantasy, hmmm. I'm not an NA person, but I DO like fantasy. And oooo, told from the male's POV, that makes it appealing. Any romance?
ReplyDeleteLovely review, Pili!
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
There's a lot of complicated threads in this one but not one definite romance, there IS romance in the other book though Love in a Time of Monsters, that I highly recommend! ;)
DeleteI don't think I've ever read an NA fantasy so this sounds super intriguing! I might check out this prequel first before jumping into the series, just to see if I'll like it :) Thanks for the rec!
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll check it out, Jenna!
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