The writing was amazing, and each time I felt something new was going to happen, it did. This novel is not predictable, and that’s a good thing. There’s always something new happening, and I cannot wait to see what happens when Vera and the group travel to see the lands beyond Taggerstan. There’s so much story brimming here, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the entire series here.
Epic Fantasy
Review: The Justice in Revenge (The Fall of the Gods #2) by Ryan Van Loan
The Justice in Revenge is the second installment in Ryan Van Loan’s The Fall of the Gods series, and if you want to know more about book 1 (The Sin in the Steel) you can find my review at this link. Suffice to say, I thought it quite a jaunt and found myself really looking forward to book 2. Now that it is here I can say with confidence: The Justice in Revenge does not disappoint.
Review: Gunmetal Gods (Gunmetal Gods #1) by Zamil Akhtar
I first noticed this book a while back when I spotted the cover on Twitter. Who can blame me, right? It’s astounding and really sets up the tone of the whole book. Gunmetal Gods is pretty dark and fairly bleak at that. But, it works. This is a tale of grief, revenge, ambition, religious zealotry, and rage. It’s a military fantasy based on Middle Eastern history, especially that of the Ottoman Empire and the Crusades, with a distinctly Lovecraftian twist.
Blog Tour Review: Legacy of Light (The Legacy Trilogy #3) by Matthew Ward
Sometimes I struggle with reviews of series finales because I find it difficult to find something new to say. I have already spoken at-length about characters, plot, setting, writing style, emotional connection, etc. I try to stay away from repeating myself too much, because who wants to read that? (By the way, if you want to read my previous reviews, you can find them here: The Legacy of Ash (Book 1); The Legacy of Steel (Book 2).
Review: The House of Always (A Chorus of Dragons #4) by Jenn Lyons
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.
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.