Cover art by Bastien Lecouffe Deharme

I’m in the market for a quick read this President’s Day weekend. Something light, with fun characters, a great setting, and a lot of action. I found a copy of Jon Skovron’s Blood and Tempest in the bookstore last weekend and, even though it’s clearly the third book in a series, it seemed exactly what I was looking for, and I happily brought it home. The first two, Hope and Red (2016) and Bane and Shadow (2017), are still in print, and I added them to my Amazon cart.

For light action fare, these books have collected a lot of praise. The Sun labeled the first one “A great swashbuckling adventure,” and in a starred review Publishers Weekly called it “Exceptional… A compelling coming-of-age yarn.” And Sarah Beth Durst (The Queen of Blood) said

Hope and Red is my favorite book of the year. Full of nonstop, irresistible adventure, it captures that wonderful classic epic fantasy feel, while introducing a fantastic pair of memorable new heroes.

Together the three books compose The Empire of Storms trilogy, about a warrior and a thief who go up against the forces of Empire. Here’s the description for the opening book.

[Click the images for Empire-sized versions.]

In the first book of this fun, action-packed fantasy trilogy, a warrior and a thief must come together to stop the forces that threaten their people.

Hope’s old life ended the night her entire village was massacred by the emperor’s forces. Now, trained in secret by a master warrior, her new life is centered on only one goal: vengeance.

Red lives by the skin of his teeth and sharpness of his wit. An expert thief and a brilliant con artist, he cares for only one thing: a good time. But when the empire’s soldiers start to encroach on his territory, taking down his friends with it, he may have to re-prioritize.

Together, they will take down an empire.

All three books were published by Orbit. Here’s the complete details.

Hope and Red (544 pages, $9.99 paperback/$4.99 digital, June 28, 2016)
Bane and Shadow (544 pages, $9.99 paperback/$9.99 digital, February 28, 2017)
Blood and Tempest (439 pages, $9.99 paperback/$9.99 digital, November 28, 2017)

The covers for all three are by Bastien Lecouffe Deharme. Read an excerpt from Hope and Red at the Orbit website. My copy of Blood and Tempest also has a free excerpt (Chapter One) of Melissa Caruso’s The Tethered Mage.

Jon Skovron is also the author of Man Made Boy, which we covered right here back in 2013.

See all our recent coverage of the best fantasy series here.