Summer Reads Blog Tour – Week Ten
A.F.E. Smith

My name is A.F.E. Smith and I can usually be found online in the form of a robin. But I’ve been categorically told that I have to include a picture of my real face for this blog tour, so here it is …

In human form, I work as an editor and also as a parent, and squeeze writing in around the edges. (My son is two and I have a daughter on the way, so the edges are pretty squeezed.) Things I like include snacks, books, complex maths problems, snacks, animated films and snacks.

My debut novel, DARKHAVEN, is coming soon as an ebook from Harper Voyager. It’s a fast-paced fantasy whodunnit featuring love, murder and obsession, carriage chases, duels to the death and a very angry Wyvern, set in a unique city in the throes of industrial revolution. Here’s a little bit more about it:

Myrren Nightshade has been overlord of Darkhaven for less than a day, and already he has a brutal murder to deal with. Not just any murder, either. His father is the victim – and his sister Ayla is the only suspect.

Born without the shapeshifting abilities specific to his bloodline, Myrren has always considered himself inadequate. But now it’s up to him to prove his sister innocent before the law finds her guilty. Aided by a reluctant priestess, and hampered by a Captain of the Helm determined to block him at every turn, Myrren must navigate his way through a maze of secrets and lies to the truth at the centre – even if it could destroy him.

Meanwhile, Ayla Nightshade has problems of her own. Fleeing from the threat of incarceration for a crime she didn’t commit, unable to take refuge in her other form, she is alone and friendless. The only person willing to offer her aid is the man she despises above all others: the man she holds responsible for her mother’s death.

If you’d like to know more about me or my work, here are a few links:

And now for the most important part – my book recommendations! As a fantasy reader/writer, I’ve gone for books that have at least an element of fantasy to them. You may not have come across these books before, but they all deserve more readers. I keep my five-star ratings for books I’ve loved enough to read more than once, but I’m pretty sure all five of the following books will join that number someday …

A.F.E.’s bookshelf: summer-reads-blog-2014

The Traitor Game

by B.R. Collins

This is a super-intense YA novel that explores a serious theme (bullying) in the real world as well as creating a fascinating parallel fantasy world. The two strands are well constructed and cleverly interwoven. Recommended for teens and…

Zero Sum Game

by SL Huang

I kind of wish I had written this book myself, given that it features a female protagonist whose superpower is being really good at maths. It’s also full of action, well written and just plain awesome. Looking forward to the next in the …

Few Are Chosen

by M.T. McGuire

This is comic fantasy, but like all the best comedy, it has a heart. By the end of the book, I defy you not to want to read the other three books in the trilogy (yes, in true Douglas Adams style this is a trilogy of four) to find out wha…

The City’s Son

by Tom Pollock

Urban fantasy in the truest sense of the phrase. The author’s alternate London is consistently imaginative and inventive. Aimed at a YA audience but great for adults too, this book is for anyone who likes to be immersed in the familiar-y…

The Golem and the Jinni

by Helene Wecker

A wonderful and atmospheric book, drawing on the mythology of two different cultures to create something new. It’s a romance and a fantasy and a fairytale, yet at the same time it vividly brings to life the experiences of immigrants in t…

 

Share book reviews and ratings with A.F.E., and even join a book club on Goodreads.

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