I couldn’t really pick a top five, nor a top ten this year. So you get the fun of a top 15! Like last year then, I’ll just be sharing all of their glorious covers and if I reviewed the book itself I’ll be linking the rambles in their titles so you can see if they are the books for you, at your leisure.
These are all books that kept me up till the very small hours of the night, some even made me see the first inklings of dawn and deprived me of even the little sleep I do get. But! I have no regrets whatsoever and neither would you, I believe, if you gave them a go!
Grimdark
Book Review: Dogged by Michael R. Fletcher
TL;DR Review: Bloody, gritty, action-packed, and…heartwarming? The novel I didn’t know my year was missing! Synopsis: WARDOGS ARE BORN TO DIE. In the final days of the Demon Empire a lone wardog goes in search of the answer to the only question she cares Who murdered her mate? Utterly unqualified to solve a mystery, Dogged […]
Review: An Inkling of Flame by Z.B. Steele
An Inkling of Flame balances an almost cozy found family story with the horrors of war.
Review: Brutal (The Brutal Sword Saga #1) by James Alderdice
Synopsis He has no name. His past is a mystery. His future is etched in blood… The Sellsword knows an opportunity when he sees one. When he rides into the border city of Aldreth, he can tell that the power struggle between two feuding wizards needs a solitary spark to ignite into all-out-war. As he […]
Review: The Scroungers (Vermin of the Old Empire Bk1) by Thomas J Devens
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 […]
Review: Legacy of the Brightwash (Tainted Dominion Book1) by Krystle Matar
Synopsis: Tashué’s faith in the law is beginning to crack. Three years ago, he stood by when the Authority condemned Jason to the brutality of the Rift for non-compliance. When Tashué’s son refused to register as tainted, the laws had to be upheld. He’d never doubted his job as a Regulation Officer before, but three […]
Review: The Scroungers (Vermin of the Old Empire #1) by Thomas J. Devins
An anti-war story set in a Medieval town, The Scroungers is told through many perspectives and vignettes.
Review: The Sovereign (Magic of the Lost, Book 3) by C.L Clark
The Sovereign brings princess Luca and soldier Touraine together one last time in the thrilling conclusion to C. L. Clark’s beloved queer political fantasy trilogy. Luca is the new queen of Balladaire. Her empire is already splintering in her hands. Her uncle wasn’t the only traitor in the court, and the Withering plague will decimate her people […]
Review: We Men of Ash and Shadow/The Hand that Casts the Bones (The Vanguard Chronicles) by HL Tinsley
Synopsis: ‘We Men of Ash and Shadow’ is the first book in the Vanguard Series and follows the journey of protagonist, John Vanguard, through the dark and corrupt city of D’Orsee. A Grimdark gas lamp novel, ‘We Men of Ash and Shadow’ explores themes of redemption, loyalty, and betrayal against the backdrop of a world […]
Review: Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff
Synopsis: From holy cup comes holy light;The faithful hands sets world aright.And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,Mere man shall end this endless night. Gabriel de León has lost his family, his faith, and the last hope of ending the endless night—his surrogate daughter, Dior. With no thought left but vengeance, he and a band of […]
Review: Sins of Steel and Shadow (The Turned Book 1) by Steve Pannett
Synopsis: Centuries have passed since the lauded Battle King defeated the vampyr hordes and ended the Years of Blood, but the memories on both sides are long, and some grievances are not so easily set aside. Humans and vampyrs coexist in an uneasy peace, but no peace lasts forever. And for Bail Neren, there has never […]
Norylska Groans by Clayton W Snyder and Michael R Fletcher
Synopsis Norylska Groans…with the weight of her crimes. In a city where winter reigns amid the fires of industry and war, soot and snow conspire to conceal centuries of death and deception. Norylska Groans…and the weight of a leaden sky threatens to crush her people. Katyusha Leonova, desperate to restore her family name, takes a […]