Oh. My. God. I LOVED this. I’ve already practically thrown the book at multiple people, although basically shouting ‘it’s about the goblin markets’ probably isn’t the best approach I could’ve gone for. Not Good for Maidens does contain a fair amount of body horror and is definitely horror rather than a YA horror (although it does have a 17-year-old protagonist). But that being said, if you like your horror gory, and creepy, and heart-pounding, this is the book for you.
Book Review: Leech by Hiron Ennes
I was completely blown away by Leech. From the very first page I was completely drawn in, and by page 60 I was hooked and loath to put the book down.
Leech is an atmospheric, gothic horror of the best kind. The atmosphere is just perfect and the setting of a remote castle in the far north just added an extra layer of dark & creepy to the story. Nothing is ever quite as it seems and Hiron Ennes really embraces that in this book.
Review: Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah
Filled with terrifying oceanic beasts and a world that is begging to be explored further Berwah has well and truly written a stunning debut. I can’t wait to pick up the next one and see where it’s all going!
Review: Monster of the Dark (Mirrors in the Dark #1) by K.T. Belt
Monster of the Dark is one of the 2021-22 SPSFC Finalists! I read it as part of the judging process.
Review: Duckett & Dyer: Dicks for Hire (Duckett & Dyer #1) by G.M. Nair
Duckett & Dyer is a SPSFC Finalist for the 2021-22 batch! I read it as part of the judging process.
I’ll admit right off the bat that I don’t tend to pick up comedies, so I wasn’t sure how I would get on with this one. But, thanks to the SPSFC, I gave it a go and found that actually I quite enjoyed it! Nair knows how to write comedy and kept throwing unexpected surprises at me through every turn.
Review: Iron Truth (Primaterre #1) by S.A. Tholin
Iron Truth is in the finals of the first ever SPSFC. I read it as part of the judging process.
Wow, just… wow. I knew Iron Truth was a chonker going in but I didn’t expect to get such an incredible, epic story. Where Iron Truth starts and where it ends are two very different places plot-wise. This isn’t a slow paced book, instead you get through into a story of epic hollywood cinema proportions that will hurtle you along. Not only that but the story itself is addictive and unputdownable so you won’t mind in the slightest.
Review: Steel Guardian (Rusted Wasteland #1) by Cameron Coral
Steel Guardian is a finalist in the first ever SPSFC! I read it as part of the judging process.
Well, when I started this book I didn’t expect it to be as wholesome as it was. It was also a completely addictive read!
Review: Captain Wu (Starship Nameless #1) by Patrice Fitzgerald and Jack Lyster
I read this as part of the SPSFC Finals! This review reflects my thoughts and not my team as a whole.
Ooooookay this was fun. I absolutely flew through Captain Wu at quite the pace and it kept me hooked the whole time. Space pirates, found family, a mysterious package are all mixed into this space opera and it created a great story!
Review: Glass Rhapsody (Songs of Sefate #3) by Sarah Chorn
Sarah’s writing is stunning, it’s beautiful and poetic and she manages to convey such painful, heart-wrenching moments with such tenderness and emotion. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a writer who can do quite what she does with words. The emotion she can convey with her writing is unmatched and I’m never quite sure if I’m mourning or floating when I read her works. My heart is always both so full and so empty.
Review and Q&A: Infested by C.M. Forest
Set entirely within a high-rise apartment block C.M. Forest makes Infested into a high-stakes horror. Nothing is as it seems and the building quickly becomes a dark nightmare for Olivia. She’s trapped in her building with no power or phone service and these earwig type creatures that seem to be taking over the residents and turning them into violent horrors.
Review: Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson
I jumped in with zero knowledge of The Stormlight Archive (I haven’t even read the synopsis’) and I found Dawnshard a fascinating and completely compelling read. I am sure that there are spoilers for the first 3 in the series (although I wouldn’t know what they are), and I’m sure there are things I didn’t understand, or get the significance of. BUT, I had a great time reading Dawnshard and I found Sanderson’s writing so accessible that I actually found it really easy to understand what was going on.
Review: A Mirror Mended (Fractured Fables #2) by Alix E. Harrow
Synopsis: Zinnia Gray, professional fairy-tale fixer and lapsed Sleeping Beauty, is over rescuing snoring princesses. Once you’ve rescued a dozen damsels and burned fifty spindles, once you’ve gotten drunk with twenty good fairies and made out with one too many members of the royal family, you start to wish some of these girls would just […]