For me A Kingdom of Lies had a slow start, there was a bit of time where I was wondering if I should just put it down, but I persisted and I’m happy to say I really enjoyed the second half of the book. Once the plot got out of ‘what do we do next’ and people were no longer trapped in places I found that I was quite enjoying myself.
About Paige
Review: Four Ruined Realms (The Broken Blades #2) by Mai Corland
I’ve started off 2025 with what may stay as one of my favourite books of the year. I loved Five Broken Blades and I think Corland has upped her game with this one! There is no second book syndrome to be found here. Four Ruined Realms keeps up the break-neck pace and builds on the relationships from the previous book.
Review: Acceptance (Southern Reach #3) by Jeff Vandermeer
This is the final book in the original trilogy and I think my second favourite after the first book. Acceptance doesn’t give answers but does give a little bit more context to the possible creation of Area X and a bit more of a look at Area X in the present day.
Review: A Betrayal of Storms (Realm of Fey #1) by Ben Alderson
This book (and I suspect the series) is fun, if you want a Fae Court fantasy with bodyguard romance this one is for you. You’re not going to find anything brand new, but sometimes you just want to curl up with a book that feels like a comfort read before you even begun.
Review: The Courting of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats #1) by Mary E. Pearson
By the end I was really enjoying myself. This is romantasy where it’s light on the fantasy plot and heavier on the romance. The Courting of Bristol Keats’ main fantasy plot is ‘there’s a portal open and we need to close it using a rare power’, by all means not a bad fantasy plot, this is really just the intro book to it where Bristol is learning to use her power and learning about faerieland as a whole. The romance I got quite swept up in by the end of the book.
Review: Authority (Southern Reach #2) by Jeff Vandermeer
One of the reasons I’ve always wanted to read the Southern Reach series is because it inspired my favourite game ever, ‘Control’. This is the book where I went ‘oh I can see exactly where they took inspiration and this is awesome’. Pretty much the entirety of Authority is set within the Southern Reach agency building, as we follow John aka ‘Control’ as he joins the Southern Reach and tries to unravel the mysteries. It also features a character from the first book and it was nice to have that link back to the book I’d just finished.
Review: The Songbird & the Heart of Stone (Crowns of Nyaxia #3) by Carissa Broadbent
This was my first Carissa Broadbent book and I can tell you for a fact it will not be my last. This is technically the third in the Crowns of Nyaxia series but first in its own duology. So no need to have read the first two books to start this one, it follows what I believe is a side character in the first two books, and all of the important history and context is revealed throughout the book. At no point did I feel like I was missing any context by not having read the other books. TLDR; you can start with this book and be fine.
Review: Sorcery and Small Magics (The Wildersongs Trilogy #1) by Maiga Doocy
I feel like this was originally described to me as ‘cosy’ but I’m not sure that fits. If you ignore the romance this is a story about an accidental curse and two students’ journey into a dangerous magical forest to find a cure. They hear rumours of a sorcerer who might be able to undo the curse that Grimm accidentally uses on Leo, and I really enjoyed the portion of the book where they ventured into the forest and braved the monsters within. That in itself made for a great story, but add in a very slow-burn romance and I found myself really enjoying Sorcery and Small Magics.
Review: Annihilation (Southern Reach #1) by Jeff Vandermeer
This book is a wild ride. Did I know what was going on? No. Was I have a great time anyway? Yes. This edition comes with a great introduction by Karen Joy Fowler which sets you up for the weird and wonderful ride you’re about to have. It’s an introduction I’m going to revisit once I finished the series (as I likely will with all the intros for these editions) just so I can see how my understanding has changed.
Review: Sinophagia by Xueting C. Ni
This is an utterly incredible collection of Chinese Horror. Xueting has done a truly incredible job of curating and translating collection, it’s got a stunning variety of stories, in length, content and horror type. It has ghost stories, it has locked-room horror, it has horror with a twist at the end and every single one deserves it’s place in Sinophagia.
Review: A Stitch Between Worlds by Frasier Armitage
I’ve made no secret of my love for Frasier’s writing. He writes these incredible sci-fi books that always have me reeling by the end when he reveals something that just blows my mind. A Stitch Between Worlds is no different. I won’t spoil why because I think you should experience it yourself, but it’s truly masterful.
Review: Influencer by Adam Cesare
If you’re looking for a book with a narrator you will not like this is for you. It’s partially told from the perspective of Aaron aka ‘The Speaker’, and he is a complete psychopath. The vast majority of the book is following Aaron as he joins a new school and begins to use his influence to bring out the worst in some of the kids he meets. This is a YA horror so it is centred around high school kids, but it can stand up pretty well against some adult thriller/horrors.