Synopsis From the moment the first settler dug a well and struck a lode of shine, the world changed. Now, everything revolves around that magical oil. What began as a simple scouting expedition becomes a life-changing ordeal for Arlen Esco. The son of a powerful mogul, Arlen is kidnapped and forced to confront uncomfortable truths […]
Historical
Review: The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills cycle #1) by Nghi Vo
Synopsis A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her […]
Review: Uncanny Vows (Huntsmen #2) by Laura Anne Gilman
Gilman opens up this sequel in one of my absolute favorite ways across media, and that is by zooming in from a seemingly normal and sweeping outdoor scene, into an indoor one of absolute chaos and mayhem. And so it is that months after the events of book one, we find Rosemary and Aaron battling pesky imps wreaking havoc during a routine hunt. Not only is this kind of scene absolutely hilarious but the medias res allows you to hit the ground running back into the action you left off from book one.
Review: Uncanny Times (Huntsmen #1) by Laura Anne Gilman
I found this first entry in the Huntsmen series an excellent start to a hopefully long saga that promises good times, feels, sibling shenanigans, and lots of action. Also, there’s a molosser dog with one upturned and one downward ear as the animal companion and his name is Botheration. Need I say more?
Review: Dark Water Daughter (The Winter Sea #1) by H.M. Long
Synopsis A stormsinger and pirate hunter join forces against a deathless pirate lord in this swashbuckling Jacobean adventure on the high-seas. Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection […]
Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece
Synopsis From the author of Wildwood Whispers comes a spellbinding novel of magic and self-discovery when a woman escapes her abusive husband and finds shelter in a magical orchard. Virginia, 1959. Raised in a children’s home run by religious zealots, Rachel never forgot the wildwood orchard she turned to for refuge as a young girl. […]
Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland
Synopsis The New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation makes her middle grade debut with a sweeping tale of the ghosts of our past that won’t stay buried, starring an unforgettable girl named Ophie. Ophelia Harrison used to live in a small house in the Georgia countryside. But that was before the night in […]
Review: The Impudent Edda by Rowdy Geirsson
A fresh take on Norse mythology, full of comedy and Bostonian flair.
Healer and Witch by Nancy Werlin
Synopsis After eleven young-adult novels, best-selling and award-winning author Nancy Werlin casts a brilliant new spell in a middle-grade historical fantasy for fans of classic fare. Nancy Werlin’s first story for middle-grade readers tackles and transcends traditional fantasy tropes: can a young woman gifted with magic learn to manage her powers—and claim her strength—without violence? […]
Review: The Ravenmasters Revenge (The Return of King Arthur Trilogy #1) by Jacob Sannox
Synopsis It is the autumn of 2019. Merlin’s wayward apprentice has escaped from the Tower of London with his raven familiars. Legend foretells that the White Tower, then England, will fall.Can King Arthur, a weary veteran of the English Civil War, Waterloo and the Somme, prevent the Ravenmaster from exacting his revenge? Review Just fantastic, […]
Review: Bastards of Liberty(The Conspiracy of Crows #1) by Matthew Zorich
Synopsis In the heart of the Holy Imperium, a family’s lives are shattered. Runt Ashburn, the youngest of three siblings, journeys to seek his father needing answers. His sister Alsyha, now an indentured servant to blacksmiths, plots her escape and revenge. At the same time, the oldest, Ashburn Benjamin, juggles the life of a soldier […]
Review: The Darkness That Comes Before ( The Prince of Nothing Trilogy #1) by R. Scott Bakker
Synopsis The first book in R. Scott Bakker’s Prince of Nothing series creates a world from whole cloth-its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals. It’s a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years into the future, as untold […]