Synopsis The lords have fallen.It was the war to end all wars.Violence had plagued the Fractured Kingdoms since the fall of the Old Empire. But as the generals and the lords died in the Valley of Torglen, the folk looked beyond their allegiances. Beyond their nations. The bedraggled masses that survived the battle flocked to […]
Dark Fantasy
Book Review: A Graveyard for Heroes (Dreams of Dust and Steel #2) by Michael Michel
TL;DR Review: Ambitious, imaginative, and incredibly compelling. The most epic grimdark world I’ve read since Abercrombie. Synopsis: Treachery looms across the land. The Scarborn have deposed the once-great Ironlight family. With scores to settle, the lowborn shake rust from their knives and trade allegiances for a promise of blood while the highborn rally their armies. […]
Review: King of the Forgotten Darkness by Erik Goodwyn
Synopsis: Twenty-four-year-old Liam is a traumatized warrior in a paradise free of war. He works his high-rise job. He is safe, comfortable, and free of suffering. For years, the portals to the brutal and magical world of Erentyr, where Liam came from, have been sealed, civilization protected. All that Liam wants is to live a […]
Review: Garden of Rotten Roses (World Without Love #2) by Nicole Hidalgo
Synopsis: While investigating the kidnappings of young, impoverished girls, Arianell Acraea uncovers a sinister conspiracy involving rogue Champions of Ares and forbidden sacrificial rituals fuelled by a magic that defies the laws of the Supreme Goddess herself. Ellis, a nomad with an aversion towards divinity, wants nothing but the peace of a quiet life, away […]
Review: The Godsblood Tragedy (Passage One of the Divine Godsqueen Coda) 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: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
Synopsis: From V. E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: a new genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger. This is a story about hunger.1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But […]
Review: Death of a Clown by Catherine McCarthy
The joke’s on him… Synopsis Born and raised into the Sacred Order of Tragicomedy, Chester Brown’s path is written in stone. The bulbous nose and gigantic feet define him physically, while The Sacred Church of Razzmatazz ensnares him in its grip.For Chester there can be no escape…or so he believes.But Chester Brown has a secret […]
Book Review: Crueler Mercies by Maren Chase
TL;DR Review: Rapunzel meets Man in the Iron Mask. A helpless, naïve prisoner becomes a cunning, revenge-driven queen. Synopsis: “Vita’s rage overflowed until she was prepared to drown in it, and she knew that she would never again dam this anger to please another.” After nine years as the people’s beloved princess in the sun-soaked […]
Review: Parasitic Omens (A Gods of Dallalmar story) by Jessica A. McMinn
Omen to this Synopsis In the world of the occult, new is never good. As one of Copperton’s hardworking investigators, Lawrence Reed has seen it all: vampires, werewolves, warlocks and witches. When a monstrous creature crawls from the corpse of a mutilated girl, Law is determined to find answers—with or without payment. Ignoring advice to […]
Book Review: The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
TL;DR Review: Razor-sharp dialogue, a wildly imaginative alt-history fantasy world, and wonderfully extravagant characters result in what may be Joe Abercrombie’s best work to date. Synopsis: Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds. Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his […]
Review: The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Synopsis: Holy work sometimes requires unholy deeds. Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters, and the mission he is tasked with will require bloody […]
Review: A Claiming of Souls by R A Sandpiper (Amefyre #3)
Warning: third degree slow burn ahead Synopsis A SOUL TAKEN. A SOUL RESTORED. A WAR AT HER FINGERTIPS. Suri’s deal with the Fae has left her a shadow of herself. Revelations about the prophecy sew confusion, new allegiances come to light, and Suri grapples with the darkness inside her. Insidious plots toll countless deaths as […]