TL;DR Review: High on the steam, spice, and sass. An insightful exploration of the burdens of duty and the cost of desire. Synopsis: Low stakes. High heat. Sharp steel. Mattinesh Jay, dutiful heir to his struggling family business, needs to hire an experienced swordsman to serve as best man for his arranged marriage. Sword-challenge at […]
Fantasy
Review: The Quiet Stillness of Empty Houses by L.V. Russell
Synopsis: Theodora Corvus can hear the whispers of her crumbling family home. She can hear the whispers of Kingsward Manor, her place of employment. She sees the watchers by the lake, black-eyed and waiting. But Broken Oak is silent. Broken Oak is empty. When Theodora takes the job as governess to young Ottoline Thorne, she […]
Review: A Promise of Blood (Amefyre #2) by R A Sandpiper
Death becomes her Synopsis Suri survived the fallout of Queen Lera’s ceremony, but now finds herself deep in unfamiliar territory—the City of the Damned. The City’s deadly ruler, Kol, believes she’s the key to breaking the curse upon the desert wasteland. Suri just wants to save her brother and forge her own destiny away from […]
Review: The Pariah by Anthony Ryan
Synopsis “A gritty, heart-pounding tale of betrayal and bloody vengeance. I loved every single word.” —John Gwynne The Pariah begins a new epic fantasy series of action, intrigue and magic from Anthony Ryan, a master storyteller who has taken the fantasy world by storm. Born into the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised […]
Where Sirens Roam (The Twin Worlds Saga) by Cameron Michaels
Synopsis Fear lies in the depths.Daruhm just wants to be left alone, away from the broken world he inhabits.However, as one of the last remaining scribes of his kind, he is tasked with joining the Iron Dragon for a voyage across the Great Sea, giving an account of their findings, alongside an ancient race that […]
Book Review: The Path of Pain and Ruin (The Gods Path) by Joel Glover
Synopsis: In the wastes beyond the Last City, all is quiet. Everyone has heard of the Hundred Blessed. Of the Final War between the Empire of Blue and Green and the Empire of Red and Ivory. Of what they did. But the war is never over. You can’t outrun your past. And you can’t hide […]
Review: Death of a Mad Dragon by Alex Valdiers (Standalone, The Roake Gang Series)
Synopsis There are good dragons and bad dragons. And then there are mad dragons … The Raoke Gang goes on a wild dragon chase. A horde of dragons crushes the Raoke Gang’s plans to rob a space cruise liner. In the heat of the battle between humans and dragons, the Raoke Gang vouches for the […]
Review: Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa
It’s tough to describe what this book is. The publisher has gone with ‘A queer, madcap, friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers time travel romance’, which to be honest is about as close as you can get. It’s also been described as ‘cosy’ which I don’t necessarily agree with as much but I can see why it might dip into the category at times. Basically it kind of defies explanation and you’ve just got to go with it and see where it takes you.
Review: Vultures (Shadow Twins Series #1) by Luke Tarzian
Synopsis An enemy slain is not a conflict won… After decades of war the demon Te Mirkvahíl is dead. But its progeny endure, spilling from the Heart of Mirkúr, sowing death across the land of Ariath. If the people are to finally know peace, the Heart must be destroyed. Theailys An believes he can do […]
Review: Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
In short, Isabel Cañas’ Vampire of El Norte is everything you could possibly wish for in a Mexican gothic, with rich folklore, beautiful and atmospheric prose, complex characters, and a forbidden romance rooted in cultural and historical authenticity, to die for. Not to mention how incredibly it shows the “other side” of the Mexican-American war of the late 1840s, in ways you rarely see in mainstream media.
Review: Your Blood and Bones by J. Patricia Anderson
Synopsis: Kill the monsters when they’re found. No matter who they used to be. The girl with secret feathers in her skin and strange bones jutting out beneath her clothes is resigned to her fate. Her deformities mark her a monster and the stories say monsters must die. When her family finds out and turns […]
Book Review: Hell of a Witch (Tear Down Heaven #2) by Rachel Aaron
TL;DR Review: Action, romance, magic, and intrigue dialed up to max intensity. A delicious “will they, won’t they” I absolutely loved. Synopsis: The hotly anticipated sequel to HELL FOR HIRE! One month ago, Bex, the demon Queen of Wrath, and Adrian, witch of the Blackwood, pulled off the upset victory of the century. Now, they […]