Synopsis: For a Godless like Azreal the Wretched, peace might be a more profitable time, but it’s no less bloody… A decade into the armistice with Inath, the North, once united against invasion, finds itself a divided kingdom. Azreal – an infamous mage of the Northern military – operates in his native land as a […]
Grimdark
Review: Thief of the Night Guild (Queen of Thieves 2) by Andy Peloquin
Synopsis The impossible becomes inevitable with the fate of her loved ones hanging in the balance… A cunning thief of unrivaled ingenuity, Ilanna is determined to secure her freedom at any cost. No price is too high to break the shackles of the Night Guild’s callous cruelty. With her future on the line, nothing will […]
Review: Child of the Night Guild (Queen of Thieves 1) by Andy Peloquin
Synopsis They killed her family. They ripped apart her home. But to repay her debts, she’ll have to sacrifice her innocence. Robbed of everything she loves, Viola mourns the sudden loss of her mother. Now burdened with an impossible debt to the Night Guild, she’s forced to train as a cunning thief. Subjected to cruelty […]
Review: Legacy of Brick & Bone (Tainted Dominion #2) by Krystle Matar
Synopsis: Follow the law and you’ll stay safe. But what if the law betrays you? It all started with the girl from the river: mutilated, tattooed, murdered. Tashué couldn’t help but look for answers and in the process, he uncovered the ugly truths being hidden by the very law he used to believe in—the law […]
Review: ShadowBane (A Schism of Souls #1) by Cal Logan
Synopsis: One womb, one soul, two fates. One will rise. One will fall. Shura and Jin are the last of a divine bloodline, operating at the bloodiest fringes of society where they wield might and magic against the demons they are sworn to destroy. For Shura, it’s the only way to restore honor to her […]
Eleni’s Top Reads of 2025
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!
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.