Today I have the honour of hosting the Sixteenth author showcase focusing on the awesome talent originating from Australia and New Zealand. The idea came to me whilst seeing so many of the book community gathering at recent conventions in the US and UK. And once my FOMO had subsided, I got to thinking about […]
Fantasy
Review: Under an Azure Sky (Elysia Dayne #1) by Wil Chan
Synopsis: Elysia Dayne is a renowned hero, mercenary, and monster slayer famed for killing a dragon in single combat. At least, that’s how the bards tell it. However, there was a time when she thought that dragons were beautiful. The jaded sword master accepts a job along the unforgiving borderlands to rescue Princess Isabella Solemaine, […]
Review: How the Fox Runs by J.O Ellis
Synopsis Alise, an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane, wants nothing more than a life of freedom in the forest she loves. Charged with the murder of her lover, Alise is convinced she has been framed. Motivated by this belief she manipulates, cheats and steals her way out only to be captured by […]
Review: The Blacktongue Thief (Blacktongue Series #1) by Christopher Buehlman
Synopsis Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler […]
Review: The Knight of the Moon by Gregory Kontaxis (Novella #1 of The Dance of Light Pentalogy)
A tragic story that fleshes out a prominent character from the series’ novels.
Review: The Banner of the Broken Orc (The Call of the Darkness Saga #1) by Aiden L Turner
Synopsis The Dark Lord sends forth his call. Could you resist the wealth and power?Prince of men, lord of light, and champion of the weak, Jacob’s immense physical strength is matched only by his great kindness. Until an animal rage awakens, and he is born anew. Reborn like a warrior of old. A hero with […]
Review: The Seam of Eternity (The Veins of Eternity #1) by Rocco Levitas
TL;DR Review: Perfect for fans of the early Wheel of Time books and a more cerebral, hard magic system. Great worldbuilding, interesting characters. Synopsis: Shadow cripples all realms, magical and physical. A single chosen one isn’t enough. Callan failed to save his sister from the plagued swamps blighting the land. When darkness threatens his home, […]
Beware of Chicken 2 (Beware of Chicken) by CasualFarmer
Synopsis A laugh-out-loud, slice-of-life martial-arts fantasy about… farming???? Jin Rou wanted to be a cultivator. A man powerful enough to defy the heavens. A master of martial arts. A lord of spiritual power. Unfortunately for him, he died, and now I’m stuck in his body. And you know what? Things ain’t actually all that bad. […]
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 […]
Review: Traitor of Redwinter (The Redwinter Chronicles #2) by Ed McDonald
Synopsis Traitor of Redwinter is the second in Ed McDonald’s Redwinter Chronicles, full of shady politics, militant monks, ancient powers… and a young woman navigating a world in which no one is quite what they seem. The power of the Sixth Gate grows stronger within Raine each day―to control it, she needs lessons no living […]
The Harvest of Moondew Valley: Well of Shadows (The Harvest of Moondew Valley) by D. R. R. Hatch
Synopsis Alden Bramblethorn’s job at The Whispering Willow is wearing on him. But it’s not just that. His family is broken, and he has no living relatives. Lonely, he seeks answers from the GoldenRoot Ancestral Repository. It doesn’t take long for him to strike gold. There, he finds an ancient letter with a deed to […]
Review: Kraken Rider Z by David Estes and Dyrk Ashton
TL;DR Review A wonderfully fresh, upbeat, and enjoyable entrant into the world of progression fantasy. Compelling yet easy reading from start to finish. Synopsis If there’s one thing dragons fear, it’s a kraken. Even lowly hull-scrubber Zee Tarrow knows that. Like everyone on the island kingdom of Tosh, he grew up frightened by fables and […]