2024 COVERS

2024 covers

Welcome to the Dark Side!

We are writers mainly from Australia and New Zealand who write speculative fiction with romantic elements. Be it fantasy, paranormal, dark urban fantasy, futuristic and everything in between.

Friday 20 December 2013

What We Are Reading

Welcome to What We Are Reading for December! This month it's all about the best book we read in in 2013. So many of those lists that come out now are really only about the best sellers, but there are always hidden gems that don't get the same coverage.

Here's what some of the darksider's thought were awesome:

Eleni Konstantine
As always there’s nothing like reading the work of your writing buddies. The DarkSiders are dear to me so I try to make an effort to read as much as I can.  We have wonderful writers here and it’s a joy to see the good news from this group week after week. Here’s a taste of what I read.

Harbinger by Peta Crake
Wow, this book was such fun to read (despite some of the heavier scenes). Very well written and great take on Greek and other mythologies. A lot going on, which I liked as it kept me intrigued and questioning with our heroine. Phi is a no-nonsense character who has what appears on the surface to be a normal job - a messenger. But she's a messenger for the gods and that ups the ante. LOVED her interaction with Cerberus. It's exactly what would have liked a character to do and finally someone has written it.

Archangel of Mercy by Christina Aschroft
Thoroughly loved this book and not only because I had an acknowledgement at the front of it. Aurora Robinson is determined to step through dimensions to the one her mother came from. But colliding into her in the astral plane is the arrogant archangel Gabriel. Ancient forces go after Aurora and Gabriel grudgingly decides to protect her. Fantastic world building and absorbing characters. Ashcroft has a wonderful style that is compelling, and let's not forget her erotic scenes.


Janni Nell
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Runaway-Novel-Tracy-Chevalier/dp/014218036X/The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier. This is an exquisitely detailed historical. Like all of Tracy Chevalier's books it's beautifully written and a little bit different from the run of the mill. Fabulous characters, a great story and quilts. What more could you wish for.







Jenny Schwartz
It has to be Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett. Steampunk and the Discworld. For this Pratchett fan, it doesn't get any better.




Nicola E Sheridan
I've fallen in love with Cecilia Grant's beautiful historical - A Lady Awakened. If you want to read a very fine historical with all the real bells and whistles without any modernisations - this is the book for you. The language, the setting, the romance was superb and totally unhurried. I can't wait to read her other books.


As I'm a huge fan of George R. R. Martin and his 'Song of Ice and Fire' series, I read Tuf Voyaging which was one of Martin's early sci-fi's. It was a very clever and interesting read. You can definitely see the beginnings of an amazing author in this early book - and it's well worth the read if you like Martin's style of writing.



Shona Husk

I listened to 47 Echo as an audio book and it was wonderful. There were some laugh out loud moments but it was dark humour as they were getting shot at most of the time. It's a military sci-fi set not far in the future.







Assassins in Love is Mr and Mrs Smith in space. I'm not sure I need to say anything more.

2 comments:

  1. Love 'Lady Awakened', was a great read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Totally! My Amazon order of her other books just arrived today. I am itching to settle down with a cup of tea and read...read...read!

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