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South African books to add to your reading list this festive season - part 1

Hiya book lovers With Christmas being just around the corner, I thought I’d highlight some South African reads that should go on your TBR pile. We have so many phenomenal SA authors that deserve to be celebrated , and because this list will be an extensive one, I am splitting this post and making it a series. I know it won’t be possible to include every single South African author, but I am going to try to  highlight books from every genre and make it as diverse as possible (so, with respect, please don’t ask me why so and so isn’t on the list – there’s more to come).  First up:  1. Sing Down the Stars by Nerine Dorman A book I recently received for review ( thanks you NB publishers ) and am super excited about diving into is Sing Down the Stars. I was first introduced to Nerine’s writing years ago, when I read one of her first books, What Sweet Music They Make (Would 100% still love to see more of that). Over the years, I ’ve come to know Nerine as well and she’s not ...

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Mini book review: Banished by Liz de Jager

Welcome to another mini book reviews edition of my blog.

In today’s mini reviews feature, I share my brief thoughts on Liz de Jager’s Banished. 

Summary from Goodreads (published by TorUK in 2014) 
Kit is proud to be a Blackhart, now she’s encountered her unorthodox cousins and their strange lives.

And her home-schooling now includes spells, fighting enemy fae and using ancient weapons. But it’s not until she rescues a rather handsome fae prince, fighting for his life on the edge of Blackhart Manor, that her training really kicks in.

With her family away on various missions, Kit must protect Prince Thorn, rely on new friends and use her own unfamiliar magic to stay ahead of Thorn’s enemies.

As things go from bad to apocalyptic, fae battle fae in a war that threatens to spill into the human world. Then Kit pits herself against the Elder Gods themselves – it’s that or lose everyone she’s learnt to love.

You can purchase a copy of the book on Raru.co.za


My thoughts:

What a fun, jam-packed with action little read. I've always been a fan of fairy books and Banished, despite its flaws (I feel as if this needed more of an edit as some sentences were rather clumsily constructed), proved to be right up my alley.

Kit Blackheart is probably one of the most phenomenal and butt-kicking female characters I've come across in urban fantasy - I often had to ask myself how this little daredevil was still alive, given all the unwise risks that she took.

There were quite a number of surprises in this book, and I particularly loved how Liz cleverly diverted my attention from figuring out who else was involved in the plot.

From the start Liz gives us an inkling of an attempted coup being plotted, but there is a twist that I admittedly didn't see coming (although, with hindsight, it's one that I probably should have seen).

The cast of supporting characters were certainly interesting in their own way, although Kit is definitely the one that stood out most for me.

Not quite sure how to feel about the romance between Kit and Prince Thorn, the fae prince she rescues (and mostly keeps having to rescue, although Thorn is definitely no shrinking violet), but it would be interesting to see how things develop in the second book and beyond.

The world building in this book is pretty incredible as well. There are all manner of fae creatures and Liz liberally peppers her book with information and history of said otherworldly beings at the beginning of almost every chapter.

My copy of Vowed, the second book in the Blackheart Legacy series is sitting on my desk waiting to be read, and I really hope it will follow the format that is employed in Banished.

All in all, Liz de Jager’s Banished is a book that's a) worth checking out, and b) worth continuing onto the next book.

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