#FitReaders Check-In: April 14, 2017

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The Guns of Empire - Django Wexler

As the roar of the guns subsides and the smoke of battle clears, the country of Vordan is offered a fragile peace…

After their shattering defeats at the hands of brilliant general Janus bet Vhalnich, the opposing powers have called all sides to the negotiating table, in hopes of securing an end to the war. Queen Raesinia of Vordan is anxious to see the return of peace, but Janus insists that any peace with the implacable Sworn Church of Elysium is doomed to fail. For their Priests of the Black, there can be no truce with heretics and demons they seek to destroy, and the war is to the death.

Soldiers Marcus d’Ivoire and Winter Ihernglass find themselves caught between their general and their queen. Now, each must decide which leader truly commands their loyalty—and what price they might pay for final victory.

And in the depths of Elysium, a malign force is rising—and defeating it might mean making sacrifices beyond anything they have ever imagined. 

My thoughts:
I do like military fantasy and Wexler does it so well. You do have to like battles to precipitate this series. Because they are on the move the entire time, fighting, marching, trying to survive.

Janus is, oh I do not know about him, his end goal and why. But he will keep on marching to destroy the church. I get that he wants to keep his country and queen safe. He is the mystery in the book.

Marcus follows his general and will think nothing about him. And I do like Marcus, he is a great general, his men loves him. But he does follow blindly.

And then is Winter. The woman pretending to be a man, and who now is a general. She has risen to be sure. She is a great leader too and then there is the fact that she has a demon inside of her.

Oh yes the demons. I get it more now. Not everything is black and white, there is a lot of grey, and yes I did not like the church to begin with. They are blind zealots who use demons to gain power. He sure keeps it interesting.

Conclusion:
A great story that has me wanting more. I can't wait to read the next book in this series

Cover
ok

Paperback, 480 pages
Published April 6th 2017 by Head of Zeus (first published August 9th 2016)
The Shadow Campaigns #4
Fantasy (military)
Own

The Awakening - Amanda Stevens

Shush…lest she awaken… 

My name is Amelia Gray, a cemetery restorer who lives with the dead. An anonymous donor has hired me to restore Woodbine Cemetery, a place where the rich and powerful bury their secrets. Forty years ago, a child disappeared without a trace and now her ghost has awakened, demanding that I find out the truth about her death. Only I know that she was murdered. Only I can bring her killer to justice. But the clues that I follow—a haunting melody and an unnamed baby's grave—lead me to a series of disturbing suspects. 

For generations, The Devlins have been members of Charleston's elite. John Devlin once turned his back on the traditions and expectations that came with his birthright, but now he has seemingly accepted his rightful place. His family's secrets make him a questionable ally. When my investigation brings me to the gates of his family's palatial home, I have to wonder if he is about to become my mortal enemy. 

My thoughts:

I am sad to see this series end, but at the same time I am happy that it ended well and did not drag out like some were you just start to feel meh about the whole thing. I will also miss the whole vibe of the series. Southern Gothic mystery, it's spooky, without being scary.

Amelia still misses Devlin, and so do I. They were good together, but he was in deep with...other things.  But this new case she is on takes her back to him and his world. Something was buried in that graveyard, something is haunting it. And she must find out what happened because the ghost will not let go of her.

Ghosts who want answers, bad omens and creepy graveyards. This is such a great world she created. I can feel I was there in then heat, dirt and strange things happening.

Conclusion:
I was happy how it all ended. A good series that I am sad to see end.

Cover
I guess it works

Paperback, 416 pages
Published March 28th 2017 by Mira
Graveyard Queen #6
Mystery /fiction /paranormal
Own

Nine folds make a paper swan - Ruth Gilligan

At the start of the twentieth century, a young girl and her family emigrate from Lithuania in search of a better life in America, only to land on the Emerald Isle instead. In 1958, a mute Jewish boy locked away in a mental institution outside of Dublin forms an unlikely friendship with a man consumed by the story of the love he lost nearly two decades earlier. And in present-day London, an Irish journalist is forced to confront her conflicting notions of identity and family when her Jewish boyfriend asks her to make a true leap of faith. These three arcs, which span generations and intertwine in revelatory ways, come together to tell the haunting story of Ireland’s all-but-forgotten Jewish community. Ruth Gilligan’s beautiful and heartbreaking Nine Folds Make a Paper Swan explores the question of just how far we will go to understand who we really are, and to feel at home in the world. 

My thoughts:
There are 3 POVs in this book. Ruth's family was on their way to America, escaping Lithuania, but ended up in Ireland. She grows up there, makes a life there. I would have wished more of her story, Ireland changing and all that, instead it moved pretty past and we got tidbits here and there.

The second POV was my least fav, a boy in a mental institution, he has stopped talking and well, he just there.

The third POV was my favorite. Ashling loves her boyfriend but he wants to marry a Jewish girl, and she is wondering if she should convert.

But honestly, I wish the book had been longer, or one narrator could have been skipped so the other stories could have gotten more time. I wanted more flesh on the bones. I wanted to get to know them more. It made it confusing at time too when a new chapter started, but whose was it? Someone just started talking. It could have done with some header or something.

Why am I thinking of Joyce now...it was not like that, but they all did think a lot. We did not really see things around them. Things that were happening, it really was a character novel instead and we were in their heads.

Conclusion:
Jewish lives in Ireland. Different generations and interwoven stories.

Paperback, 336 pages
Expected publication: April 6th 2017 by Atlantic Books
Historical fiction / Fiction
For review