The House of Always is book 4 in Jenn Lyons’ A Chorus of Dragons series, and I am just going to come out and say it: I loved this book. Not like, “hey y’all, this is a really good book”. Nope.
I. Loved. This. Book.
Epic Fantasy
Review: The Emperor’s Blades (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne #1) by Brian Staveley
The Emperor’s Blades is a fantastic start to the Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne series and one which I devoured in just a few days. The book centers on three siblings in line for the emperor’s throne and are each spread across the continent learning and training for their future roles in the empire.
Review: The Memory of Souls (A Chorus of Dragons #3) by Jenn Lyons
The Memory of Souls is book 3 in Jenn Lyons’ A Chorus of Dragon series. It marks the middle book of the set, and in many ways functions as most middle books do.
Review: Bright Steel (Masters & Mages #3) by Miles Cameron
Overall this series has been rife with full tilt action, character and magic badassery, camaraderie moments to die for, and plenty of soft, humorous, and quiet snippets between duos or trios that warm your chest. Cameron’s world has been one that is truly so rich and evocative, borrowing from a cultural setting that isn’t used often enough in fiction.
Review: The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue #1) by Christopher Buehlman
This book is absolutely *hilarious*, mostly in a darkly comedic sort of way mind you. Truly, I found myself chuckling right from the first pages at Kinch’s snark and commentary. Sometimes I caught myself laughing really loud too and that was definitely what I wanted as a low effort read these days.
Review: Master Assassins (The Fire Sacraments #1) by Robert V. S. Redick
Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick has been in my TBR for quite a while. I’d first heard about it through Mark Lawrence with his glowing praise, and knowing how much I’d loved Senlin Ascends based on his review, I figured I’d like this as well. However, the cover and blurb never really stood out to me so it was never that high on my TBR.
A few years later, I started hearing praise heaped upon the sequel and several of my fellow bloggers recommend it, so I finally took the plunge. And wow, this book was fantastic.
Review: The House of Always (A Chorus of Dragons #4) by Jenn Lyons
he only way I can compare the House of Always to media I’ve read before is the Hateful 8 meets Harrow the Ninth-style chronology … which is to say the timeline is mixed up and everyone is in the same room – that being the Lighthouse Shadrag Gor.
Review: The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive #1) by Brandon Sanderson
aisle of a specific section in a library. You grab several large volumes to return to your table and your extensive research thesis you’ve been working on for years. You sit down and in front of you lays a thousand-book-pages book, and you sift through every page, drinking the excitement of investigation and glancing at sketches, pictures and schematics of times of old, slowly taking notes and drawing your own conclusions. This is how I felt while I was reading The Way of Kings. A rich study about an extensive world name Roshar with interesting characters and their history. Even after the first 1000 pages of this grossly engaging and epic adventure (4000-5000 pages total), I felt like I only scratched the surface.
Review: The Hand of the Sun King (Pact and Pattern #1) by J. T. Greathouse
Hand of the Sun King is the brand new, erudite voice of an epic fantasy that sweeps you away into an empire reminiscent of ancient China, teeming with culture, doused in war, political intrigue, ancient proverb, philosophy, and a magic system that shares its roots with many others, but strikes out its own path in the genre. It’s for fans of the Poppy War who like their books a little more tame, and a little more hopeful, and for those who loved the Bone Daughter and its dive into traditional intricacies, and intricate plot.
Review: The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel #1) by Anthony Ryan
The Pariah is the first installment in Anthony Ryan’s latest series, The Covenant of Steel. This series is off to a really good start with tons of action, good writing flow, and a cast of characters that make story worth following.
Review: The Coward (Quest for Heroes #1) by Stephen Aryan
Aryan’s character development is masterful. His worldbuilding is expansive and immersive as all fantasy worldbuilding should be.
Review: Horns of the Hunter (Tales of Luah Fáil #1) by Frank Dorrian
Horns of the Hunter is a standalone novella set in Luah Fáil, a setting that will be familiar to those who have read some of Dorrian’s earlier works. I was completely sold upon seeing the wonderful cover by Felix Ortiz and Shawn T. King. Anyone who says they don’t judge a book by its cover is a liar.