In the first installment in his Shadow of the Leviathan series, Bennett blends in just the right mix of familiar mystery and fantasy elements to satisfy readers of both genres while still creating something that feels unique and immersive.
Fantasy
Review: The Dragons of Deepwood Fen (The Book of the Holt #1) by Bradley P. Beaulieu
An excellent entry in a new series from Bradley P. Beaulieu which features a healthy smattering of dragon bonding and lore, an empire that has long oppressed the kin, the people of the Holt, a great forest full of magic and wonder, and where Faedryn, the trickster god, is imprisoned.
Review: Our Cut of Salt By Deena Helm
SYNOPSIS THE HOUSE IS WAITING FOR YOU. From a bold new Palestinian voice comes Our Cut of Salt – an unflinching, sinister and moving take on the haunted house novel, perfect for fans of The Only Good Indians and The Haunting of Hill House.‘The essential haunted house story of our moment in history’ Gretchen Felker-Martin, author of Black Flame There is something haunting […]
Review: Together is a Distant Star
Synopsis: How far would you go to find where you belong? A shapeshifting alien changeling raised by humans. The “wicked” child selected as the village sacrifice. People trapped in rigid belief systems, oppressive regimes, well-intentioned families, complicated relationships, and their very own bodies. Is it better to succumb and survive, or escape by staking everything […]
Review: The Godsblood Tragedy by Bill Adams
Synopsis An orphan, without a trueborn name, returns to the city of her birth to uncover her past. Hounded by the servants of the Dark God and dying from the poisonous mist that covers the land, her path leads to one of the magical seals protecting the holy ruin of Eminence. A father, murdered and […]
Review: Imbued (The Imbued Duology #1) by Helyna L. Clove
Synopsis Calla has no memories of her childhood except for hazy, recurring nightmares. Working as a servant in Kiriong, the picturesque terrace garden home to one of the most influential families in the Kamphua Dominion, she’s content to live a simple life. As long as no one finds out about the forbidden magic stirring under […]
Review: The Horror in the Hills (Weird Tales of Argana Zeit Volume 3) by Owain Oakwood
Synopsis She’s impetuous, imperfect and impulsive, and he’s fearless, focused and furry. These traits propel Argana Zeit and her ghost-hunting dog Max into every mystery the town of Trotterwell has to offer. Unquiet phantoms, mischievous pranksters, restless hordes of fae, keepers of the dead and, naturally, a tribe descending from the ancient pre-Celtic Britons … […]
Sword of Kaiden by M.L. Wang
Synopsis On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire’s enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name […]
Review: The Last Breath of Peace by Lewis J. Sutcliffe
Synopsis: In the deep quiet of the Whispering Wood, Sorin has made a life out of being forgotten. That silence shatters when a dying Elven messenger collapses at his door, carrying a sealed warning meant for a king who may already be too late to listen. Hunted by fanatics, shadowed by ancient powers, and burdened […]
Review: The Lion and the Deathless Dark (Crowns of Nyaxia #5) by Carissa Broadbent
Before reading this I was a certified Septimus hater, and I was desperately hoping that Broadbent would be able to change my mind. I’d always seen him as a villain in the Crowns of Nyaxia series, always being a bit creepy or trying to take things from others. I’m thrilled to say that I’m now a huge fan of Septimus. I basically fell for him at the same time as Kyrene.
The Worst Survive (Faergrowe book 1) By Phil Williams
Synopsis An Englishman, a freedom fighter and a scientist walk into a bar. Stop me if you’ve heard this one. It’s 2042 and this Englishman, he’s been through the wars. Scully just wants a drink and enough coin for another round. He doesn’t care for New Industry politics, gang wars or science projects that could […]
Review: The Rouse by China Miéville
Synopsis: From the bestselling, award-winning master of uncanny fiction comes a defining work, twenty years in the making – a deeply moving, decade- and continent-spanning epic of grief, global tumult, and grim conspiracy. Maur’s life has been shaped by an unbearable loss. But in the aftermath of what is an apparently ordinary tragedy, deeper, stranger […]