A Book Lover’s Best Christmas Ever is an incredible bookish giveaway with 12 awesome, book-related prizes, one for each month of the year. Jen is putting a new item into the box each month, and at Christmas time she’ll draw a name and post the entire thing to one lucky winner!
Paperback copies of the first three books in Jen’s The Winter Souls Series, A Soul as Cold as Frost, A Heart as Red as Paint, and A Crown as Sharp as Pines
A cute personal library kit
A Booktok tiara
A book-inspired journal (for plotting your own novel!)
A ‘Time-Turner’ necklace (like the one Hermione has in Prisoner of Azkaban!)
Hi friends! There’s just two weeks until my next charity anthology, Enchanted Forests, is released, and today I want to give you a sneak peek at the absolutely beautiful artwork Elena Shelest has created for our stories. Plus, a little summary of each tale to give you a flavour of the anthology.
In this fresh take on the Frog Prince fairytale, two female dwarves on the run from an indentured labour camp at the mines become entangled with an arrogant fae lord.
When Estheryn overhears the royal family’s secrets, it’s her father who pays the price, resulting in a careless murder that propels her to do the unthinkable: disobey the direct order of the Prince of Persianna and enter the forest.
What do you do when a six-headed dragon complains of indigestion after it’s just gobbled up a dark elf? Easy, you tell him to wait in line and go consult your Granny’s magical books.
A lot has happened to the curator of a supernatural treasure trove since she discovered that she can walk through different dimensions, now she’s traveling with Bigfoot.
In this retelling of Erutan’s Celtic song, The Willow Maid, a woodcutter follows a song into the forbidden depths of the forest and finds himself tangled in a deadly conflict between the Willow Daughter and the Forest Father.
One Fair Eve by Lyndsey Hall (that’s me!)
Pip’s desire to escape his impoverished mining town and play piano in the world’s most prestigious concert halls leads to a bargain that could spell his doom. Are three years of fame and fortune worth the price he’ll pay – an eternity as the Goblin King?
And there you have it! If those brief blurbs and the stunning artwork haven’t sold you on Enchanted Forests, then nothing will! Except, maybe, the fact that we’re donating all profits to the Rainforest Foundation to support their work preventing deforestation and working with indigenous communities who rely on the forests for income and resources.
We’ve smashed our preorder goal (and honestly any expectation we ever had is on the floor in tatters, and we couldn’t be prouder!) but we’d still love to raise even more money for this incredible organisation. So if you can spare $2.99 and you love folklore and fairytale inspired fantasy stories, then you can still preorder Enchanted Forests here: https://mybook.to/Enchanted-Forests
Or, you can wait until release day, 1 July, and buy the beautiful paperback!
And get ready for an exciting announcement next week about our next project…
I hope you’re getting into the holiday spirit, and if not, then you’re about to, because the 12 Days of Bookish Christmas Blog Hop is here!
Hosted by YA Sci-fi and Fantasy Addicts, each of the SIXTEEN posts (because we’re generous like that) will include a lovely bookish freebie (scroll to the bottom for mine) and a chance to enter our mega giveaway!
“Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good fright…”
The Quarrel of Sword and Bone was a death sentence for anyone who stepped into the arena with the deranged Queen, whose soul had crisped to frost in an age long since past.
Sixteen-year-old Helen Bell understood tragedy better than most kids growing up. She knew what it was like to wear clothes from donation bins and be mocked by the beautiful girls in high school. She thought those brutal experiences made her ready for anything, but she wasn’t ready for this.
After an eccentric girl opens Helen’s eyes to let her see the realm of Winter—a world with intersects tucked carefully into the cracks of our own, where monarchs have risen and fallen, it’s forbidden to mention the name of The Dead King, and the currency is gold rings—Helen discovers things are far from ordinary in Winter. After trying to deny the existence of a disrupting train horn ringing in her ears for days, Helen receives a mysterious summons from a group who call themselves “The Crimson Court” to enter into The Quarrel of Sword and Bone—a traditional duel performed before one thousand witnesses that leaves only one survivor—and she’s forced to finally pay attention to the handsome boy who’s been following her around with a warning on his tongue.
When the arrival of wicked villains propels Helen into the heart of Winter where there’s no going back, she finds herself being pursued by something else too—a whispered prayer battling on her behalf, and an ancient Truth that breathes living words of wisdom—the very wisdom forgotten by the Rime Folk when their disunity drove them to draw lines in the snow in an age of the past.
Helen must find a way out, or she’ll be dragged into the arena to face the crooked Queen head on before a crowd ready to watch her die.
The Winter Souls Series blends action and warm Christmas traditions, bringing the old forgotten tales of the season to life with new and grittier versions of famous characters out of old holiday legends, folklore, and myths; such as St. Nicholas, the Snow Queen, the Scrooge, and the Nutcracker.
A Soul as Cold as Frost is Jennifer Kropf’s debut novel, ideal for fans of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms by Meredith Rusu and Ashleigh Powell.
Title: A Soul as Cold as Frost (The Winter Souls #1)
If you’re a fan of heart-warming, engaging fantasy books that you can read with your kids or your gran, then can I recommend checking out this series?
Kropf has combined all the best elements of your favourite middle grade books, like The Chronicles of Narnia, and some of the best Christmas stories, such as The Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol, to create a completely unique but familiar and comforting holiday read.
There are elements of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and even Harry Potter, as Helen discovers the magical world lying just beneath the surface of her normal, Canadian city. Speaking of Helen, she’s a totally relatable character, struggling to come to terms with the strange things that seem to keep happening around her, and slowly opening her eyes to the truth. She takes us on a real journey throughout the book, it’s a beautiful coming of age tale with elements of good versus evil, friendship and plenty of exciting action thrown in.
There is a subtle Christian undertone to some of the story, in a very similar vein to Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, so if you’re a fan of Christian fiction you’ll love the added layer, but if you’re not looking for it then you won’t notice it’s there.
My favourite thing about the book is Kropf’s way with words. She really knows how to turn a phrase and the descriptions of the settings, people and everything in between had my imagination running wild as the story played out around me like a movie. Kropf’s style is whimsical and captivating, it was like reading an old classic, but much more fun!
Book two, A Heart as Red as Paint was just released last month, so you’ve got two gorgeously festive fantasies to dive into this Christmas, and the wait for book three, A Crown as Sharp as Pines, is only a few months!
Stocking Fillers
The lovely Jennifer Kropf has a fabulous email newspaper that includes a yummy coffee recipe each week, so I’ve included the latest one for you below! PLUS if you sign up to get her emails, you’ll also be able to download the prequel novella Harmonies, which follows Charlie, a Green Kingdom boy, and Cora, a Red Kingdom girl, as they come together to solve a mystery and uncover the truth about both of their kingdoms.
Ingredients: – Cinnamon – Nutmeg – Brown Sugar – Coffee – Milk – Whipped Cream – Red and Green Sprinkles
Okay, here’s how you do it: 1) Mix a smidgen of cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar in a tiny bowl (you know your own preferences about how much sweetness you like in your coffee, so make your measurements accordingly.) Throw this right into the filter with your scoops of coffee grinds. 2) Brew your coffee (I’m just going to go ahead and assume you know how to do this). 3) Pour your coffee, add your milk, splat a puff of whipped cream on top, and toss a pinch of sprinkles on top of it all.
Just magical. You’re welcome.
Click the image below to enter our mega giveaway!
Some lucky elves will win a bundle of prizes worth over $600, including paperbacks, ebooks, merch and Amazon gift cards! Merry Christmas, indeed!
Lyndsey Hall | Author 