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This book is absolutely bonkers. Arthurian-like quest/pilgrimage set in plague-ridden France in the Middle Ages but with the religious and supernatural themes cranked up to 100. An orphan, an excommunicated knight and a shamed priest are traveling south to Avignon to what you know will be an apocalyptic event. The horror is Lovecraftian and the humour is dark which compliments the grim and grimy setting. Top notch.

This is solid if you like adventure stories with themes of religion, redemption, and some other words I won‘t articulate. I knew nothing about this book before I started reading it and it hit the mark.

“Forgiveness, then, was possible even for the worst.”

“I feared you, but now I pity your suffering. Good night.”
Savage.

This story is amazing. It features some of the best imagery I have read. It is frightening, dark, and thrilling, yet charismatic, witty, and touching. I had checked this book out from my local library and had to return it before finishing it, so I then had to check it out again. Christopher Buehlman might just be my favorite author. I read this after reading Those Across the River and cannot wait to read the rest of his books.

I don't know if this was just never on my radar or if I skipped over it because the cover is boring but a work bestie recommended it. He always picks things with happy endings but there's always a chance he might try to get payback for The Count of Monte Cristo. I thought this was great. France in the dark ages is suffering a plague. That's your scene setup.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Solid, action packed but also kinda confusing. My least fave Buehlman so far…pretty good and ominous tho, if you‘re into holy war typa stories (like the actual 1300s ones, not a modern metaphor)

I‘m not very religious but this book was absolutely incredible. Beautifully written and done so in a way that kept you constantly enraptured and not wanting to stop reading.

“…but I can suffer. God wants suffering now.”

This was truly epic. It‘s a hybrid of fantasy mixed with historical fiction with elements of horror. Buehlman creates a very dark world with plenty of brutality and dark humor with small pinches of hope. The character development is fantastic…the main characters remain seemingly authentic as their motivations gradually shift over time. The ending is largely satisfying. I may have a question or two for the author, but overall this was solid! 4.5/5

Never going to love an ideology where anger is only the domain of devils, but I enjoyed quite of bit of this medieval horror road trip.

🎧 Heavy on religion. Set during the Black Death in the late 1300‘s it‘s a little bit horror/supernatural, a little bit historical fantasy. A bit of a mystery. A lot of dream sequences.

Who is orphaned Delphenia & Thomas the disgraced knight who becomes her knight in shining armor. There‘s drama at the heart of the mystery.

Well written & great narration. A near 4 star book. Worthy of a read especially if you enjoy the Middle Ages.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-

BETWEEN TWO FIRES | Christopher Buehlman

A disgraced knight, a saintly young girl, and a drunken priest traverse the French countryside in 1348, during the plague. They encounter brigands, pirates, devils, and monsters—all in their quest to follow the young girls angelic, holy visions.

A grand, epic journey, this story is wicked and brutal. Yet love and goodness carry on even in the darkest of times, and hope never truly dies. What a book.🔥📖🔥

I picked this up on a whim based on a brief description TikTok of all places and I was not disappointed. Buehlmans tale of a disgraced knight, an alcoholic priest and a strange young girls trek across France as the Black Death decimates city and countryside alike manages to be both grim and captivating. A must read for fans of dark historical fantasy or religious horror.

Thank you for the tag @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #two4tuesday !

1. This is so tough because I like to stick with middle-paced reads, but if I had to pick, I‘d take fast-paced over slow-paced but the author‘s writing style can make or break either one.

2. I‘ve read some great plots lately, but the first one that came to mind was Between Two Fires. It made me NEED more medieval horror, and it was delightfully unique and well structured.

“How like him, to defy his pain by doing something to make it worse.”
#fiftytwointwentytwentytwo

Never want to leave this place

This booknerd is traveling on a plane for the first time since 2019. This is surreal.

My reading view Friday. The joy of being reunited with lifelong friends after being forced apart 2+ years is indescribable. Watching the boys who I lived with through college (I was the first girl in the crew of 9 incredible guy friends) grow as humans has been a true adventure. What an honor to see love grow and bloom for a few of the best human beings on this planet… and enjoy a book while I do it. #thedream #extrathankful

Jack is living his best life

The writing is simple but there is sooooo much story. An excommunicated brigand is come upon by a small girl whose father has died of the plague in the year 1348. At the behest of an angel she will ask for his help and that is how the tale begins. So much going on in here. Battles between angels and demons, the plague, river monsters, cities that only exist during the dark, faith, and more. This was good throughout and ended up being great. Pick!

Do you want a book about a badass knight who fights gigantic demon monsters, and slays the minions of hell all while protecting a little girl? Then do I have the tale for you. This book rocked in every aspect, it has action, history, fantasy, and horror all wrapped up in a single tale. Move over chivalry this book is here to kick some ass.

I have the greatest Mom and Sister, why because August the 15th was my birthday and unfortunately they both had to work. So today they give me my birthday gifts new books, a top , birthday cake and a card.

20-something pages in. It actually seemed like it could be very interesting, but I couldnt handle the level of darkness. Right now, I need to read things not full of death. The world's too dark right now as it is - and the books particular brand of darkness wasn't enlightening to me. Too many books, too little time.

I loved the necromancers house, so lets see how i feel about this one. It seems like a stretch from his other stuff

A friend needed a reading buddy so now I'm back to reading too many books at once. It's compelling though. I was running through to see pages and chapters because I have to catch up to someone and I saw a brief section on a stone statue move in a way that seemed very Angel-like.