Luke Harkness, Author at Luke’s Blog

14Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I think if you’re a fan of YA fantasy, you’ll likely have heard of Laini Taylor and the Daughter of Smoke & Bone book. - I certainly had. So when I saw the incredible deal to get all three books in the series on Amazon for £5, I jumped at the opportunity and picked them up. [caption id="attachment_1404" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Daughter of Smoke & Bone is the first book in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series which focuses on Karou and her exploration of where she came from and how truly important she is to stop a war that’s lasted thousands of years between two mythical factions in another world. Plot – 5/5 Karou fills her days drawing in her sketchbook everything around her,…

13Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

Orphan X is the first book in the Orphan X series featuring Evan Smoak, also known as the Nowhere Man. It’s an action thriller featuring a man spoken only in whispers with a very high-level set of skills called upon by those in the most desperate circumstances looking for his help. Cool premise huh? [caption id="attachment_1400" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that the article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase Orphan X via one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my final opinion of the product. In my attempt to try out all the different notable entries in the action/thriller genre, Orphan X was a…

12Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Behind The Scenes of a Blogger’s Book Reviews

Features, Tips and Tricks

I try to upload at least two book reviews a week to my blog. This doesn't necessarily mean I read that many a week so how do I go about getting eight books reviewed a week? Read on below to find out! [caption id="attachment_1389" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any of the services or products within this article, I will receive a small commission or gain at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Every single day I do something that relates to books - whether it's popping on Bookstagram, listening to an audiobook, reading an article about the latest…

10Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book Review: The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

Book reviews, Fantasy

The Dragon Republic is the second book in The Poppy War series written by R.F. Kuang. The first book was a huge success in the fantasy community with the Asian-inspired fantasy setting really drawing fans into some unique and fun. But does the sequel live up to the original? [caption id="attachment_1380" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that the article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase The Dragon Republic via one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my final opinion of the product. I’ll start out by suggesting you go and read my review of The Poppy War before starting my review of The Dragon Republic…

08Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Four Easy Ways to Earn Money by Blogging

Features, How to, Tips and Tricks

You love writing about what you do - that's why you blog right? You either enjoy teaching people about finance, reviewing books (c'est moi), giving people advice on blogging based on your experience (that's me also), talking about tech, talking about investing, talking about fitness, or whatever else it may be you like writing about. [caption id="attachment_1375" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] But what if I told you you could make money from it? And what if I told you there are some blogs out there that actually make quite a significant amount of money from blogging? "Brilliant! But how?" I hear you say. Well, if you're still here and haven't scrolled down to the first number in the list then you can now scroll down a bit to…

04Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Blogger Spotlight: Everything Handheld

Blogger Spotlights, Features

In today's Blogger Spotlight, we're shining a light on a blog I can really get behind. Everything Handheld run by Aaron is a blog all about books and gaming - two of my personal favourite hobbies. He features book and game reviews as well as other articles highlighting his two favourite hobbies. [caption id="attachment_1370" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] What made you get into blogging? I have been reading fantasy and Sci-fi for over a decade after a dear family friend (who has now passed away) recommended the David Gemmel book 'Legend'. In a matter of months, I have polished off a large selection of David Gemmel's novels and was slowly falling down the rabbit hole of reading. Over the years, my thirst for reading has continued to grow…

02Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

My 5 Most Successful Blog Posts from October

Features, Monthly Round Ups

At the start of each month, I highlight the best performing posts throughout the previous month. I only include articles I actually posted throughout that month and they're written in order. I don't do this to brag, it is to highlight what posts work well and which possibly don't for those prospective bloggers. Here are the most successful blog posts from the month of October. [caption id="attachment_1363" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] October has been a great month for the blog. I've brought back the Blogger Spotlights to highlight some of the fantastic blogs out there who want a larger audience, I've read and reviewed some truly fantastic books, and I've picked up some older books I read a long time ago and gave my verdict on them. Please…

01Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Seven Spectacular Books I Read in October

Features, Monthly Round Ups

In October I read a wide array of books including thrillers, mysteries, a crime novel and the first book I've been sent directly by the author. This month featured three five-star reviews, three four-star reviews and one three-star review. It was a great month of reading filled with a wide range of genres and quality of books. I also hit my 50-book reading goal towards the end of the month which I didn't think I'd hit, let alone with a couple of months of the year left! [caption id="attachment_1356" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below to support the blog, I will receive a small commission at no extra…

01Nov 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Book review: Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

Book reviews, Crime, Mystery

Along Came a Spider is the first crime/action thriller in the critically and commercially acclaimed Alex Cross series. If you’re a fan of crime fiction or action books, you’ve likely heard of James Patterson and you’ve also likely heard of Alex Cross. [caption id="attachment_1339" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] Please note that the article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase Along Came a Spider via one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you to support the blog. These links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Along Came a Spider focuses on the story of the kidnapping of two high-powered individuals’ children. There are some focuses on race and equality, there is an interesting storyline…

31Oct 2021 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Blogger Spotlight: Benjamin X. Wretlind

Blogger Spotlights, Features

In today's Blogger Spotlight, we're shining a light on Benjamin X Wretlind who writes books, does art and photography but also has a blog. His blog features short stories, articles on Kindle Vella, a regular newsletter and much more! [caption id="attachment_1331" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Pin me to Pinterest![/caption] What made you get into blogging? I've always been a daily writer, and blogging seemed like a natural extension of that effort (at first, anyway). I'm also a learning and development consultant in my "day job," which means I love to teach and build course material that helps others learn. My first blog was in the old LiveJournal, which I started back in 2003 or 2004. The current iteration of my blog was started in 2012 to coincide with building a following for…

Author: Luke Harkness