Blackstone & Brenwen: Swansong for a Sibling

Blackstone & Brenwen #2

by Andrew D. Mellusco, Andrew James Moore (Editor), Lou Maddison (Editor)

Aladdin was a lad in trouble but now the talented young spy is ready to settle his score with Ahban Nazeer; a man who had torn down his World-Tree… a man who is now fresh out of wishes and needs ambitious Blackstone's trainee and Centaur, Epona Brenwen, to help him unite the five realms of Persia. Meanwhile Epona’s mentor, Elliot Blackstone, journeys to the Faun realm of Panonia to represent a Human accused of Witch-Trickery at the behest of a crown wearing swan. New lovers, Vincent and Fury, also take a dip to Mermadom where the King wants rid of a veritable booty of sunken treasure.From three realms, three questions Firstly, what are the true consequences of Epona rubbing a rusty old lamp? Secondly, why does Elliot’s client have such a preoccupation with weeds? And lastly, what really happened to the twenty-seven ships in the back-seabed of Mermadom’s Royal palace?At the centre of all three cases is a Mermaid who may just hold the key to alleviating the plights of all those involved.Journey once again to Arbor, a World-Tree full of wonders, where jeopardy lurks behind every judgment and mystery beside every mediation. Blackstone & Swan Song for a Sibling, a Fairy Tale Legal Thriller.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery

433 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 29, 2012

About the author

Raised in picturesque Lincoln Andrew spent his infancy watching the jousting at the castle in summer, and his childhood playing kiss chase in the fields behind his house; he always wanted to be a knight... or a rogue... a knightish rogue perhaps?

Having escaped an adjuster's life in London Insurance land, Andrew now teaches English as a foreign language. He has taught in Thailand, Taiwan, Argentina, Spain, and is now teaching in Japan.

He is currently reading fairy tales in preparation for his third Blackstone & Brenwen novel.

Reviews

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book it is as good as the first but if possible even better. The first one I loved and thought what a brilliant read but often with second books they don't live up to the expectations of the first book, let me tell you this one does and then some more. There is just the right amount of law without it getting boring and hard to understand and plenty of fantasy, also I found I was always ready for the next chapter to see what was happening. As for the ending well that was just brilliant and what a way to leave the reader wanting more. Well done Andrew can't wait for book 3. xx

[Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was well-written and original. I got through it pretty fast and that is always a good sign for me. The characters are fun and the story is great. In the beginning I didn't understand much of it all, but that can be because I didn't read the first one (wich I will be doing this week).
It's a good read and I recommend it for fans of the genre. :)

[Heather Boustead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blackstone and Brenwen:
A Swansong for a Sibling
By Andrew D. Mellusco

Elliot Blackstone is back this time he journeys to the faun realm representing a Human accused of “Witch-Trickery.” While he is off doing this his apprentice the Centaur Epona Brenwan is on a mission to help Aladdin, a young spy, unite the five realms of Persia. All the while we also have Fury and her boyfriend, Sandman Vincent, traveling to the depths of Mermadom in their capacity as insurance lawyers to help the King be rid of the twenty seven sunken ships and all of their treasure. From three kingdoms come three amazing intertwining stories.

First off I loved Mermadom, not only because I am a sucker for anything mermaid but because Andrew D. Mellusco creates a absolutely unique under sea world where tourists from land can come and visit as they see fit. How you may ask? Bubbles, Oh yes Bubbles and the way the author plays on these it seems plausible, well if you take into account it is still a fantasy novel. I laughed myself silly with the antics that Fury would pull on Vincent as he was terrified his bubble would burst. And as always we have Elliot who is sure to make you smile if not laugh out loud. The best way I can describe this novel is The Lincoln Lawyer meets The Brothers Grimm. It is fun and unique it the best possible way. As a lot of you may know I listen to most of my books whether it is through audio books or just text to speech, I did that in this instance and my husband whom I didn’t even know was listening as well kept commenting on the book as he too enjoyed some of the absurd situations that people have found themselves in, such as a scene involving three wishes and sausage. I definitely recommend picking up this series or even just this book it is well worth the read!

For More Reviews be sure to visit my blogs at:
http://reflectionsofabookworm.wordpre...
http://bookwormrflects8.blogspot.com/

[SarahSmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this from the author as part of the Shut Up and Read Goodreads group Read it & Reap program in exchange for an honest review. Overall I really liked this book. The pace of this sequel to Blackstone & Brenwen: The Mirror & The Meretrix was much more suited to my taste. The plot was very interesting and original, and the humor was well placed. Just like the first book, however, I would have appreciated a glossary of all of the characters and locations with their descriptions since there is a lot to keep track of.

I can't wait to check out the next in the series. I hope the author keeps on with this series. I am definitely a fan of alternate fairy tales.

[Sunshine✰✰✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really love Mellusco's take on fairy tales in these books. This story was a bit more confusing with the amount of sub-stories and characters to keep track of but still an excellent and fun read.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic sequel to the Mirror and the Meretrix. Once again the author turns familiar fairy tales on their head without losing the familiarity.

There are enough references to the first book to link them nicely without a lot of confusing referring back to scenes you simply don't remember, meaning that the book stands alone even if you have not read the first.

Again I thoroughly enjoyed this book and reached a point where I couldn't put it down, I felt real fear and joy for the now familiar characters and the plot yet again kept me guessing.

A great book from a definite 'author to watch!'.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciate to opportunity to read the book but I wasn't really impressed with it. There is too much jumping around with no explanation of what is happening. The story just doesn't flow. The book also needs editing. The book starts out with the world tree and ring years. No explanation is given to the reader of what either one of these are. It was an easy read.