For me personally Of Darkness and Light could have been 900 pages longer and it wouldn’t have mattered. It’s that epically good.
Fantasy
Review: Bastion (Immortal Great Souls #1) by Phil Tucker
Set in intriguing world of Hell, Bastion sports a fantastic set I’d characters and blends progression and cultivation elements into a wild roller coaster ride of a plot that grasps you from get go till the finale and leaves you screaming for more!
Of Darkness and Light by (The Bound and the Broken #2) by Ryan Cahill
Arrows whoosh. Fire burns. Hearts beat. Blood pumps, spills; the start of Darkness and Light is visceral like the Fall, but this situation seems entirely worse. What starts in fire and loss end in complete darkness with a singular ray of light that is the exciting, jaw-dropping cliff-hanger that rounds off such an expansive novel. It lifts the lid on the story that started with Of Blood and Fire. The Dragonguard and the imperial army descend upon one boy and his adolescent dragon. The night holds its breath as we wait for the fires to come …
Review: A Marvellous Light (The Last Binding #1) by Freya Marske
A Marvellous Light is the first installment in Freya Marske’s The Last Binding trilogy, and the author’s debut novel (though, it is not the author’s first published writing, as Marske has published short stories in the past). Honestly, I was not sure about this book at the start; but, by about a third of the way in the characters had grown on me and the intrigue of the plot began to set in. Not to mention the beauty of the prose. Needless to say, I really liked this book.
Of Darkness and Light(The Bound and the Broken #2) by Ryan Cahill
All in all, Of Darkness and Light was an incredible book that had me gripped from page one, all the way to the last page two days later. Cahill is absolutely going to keep on getting better with each book that he puts out and I can’t wait to see what happens in book three and even where he goes after he finishes with The Bound and the Broken.
Review: Of Darkness and Light (The Bound and the Broken #2) by Ryan Cahill
Of Darkness and Light is the second install in Ryan Cahill’s The Bound and the Broken series, and it is a book in which the author dramatically expands in all aspects versus book 1. The storyline has much more suspense and conflict, the character set is expanded, the characters also grow significantly, the world building is grander, and the pace is improved, as well. Of Darkness and Light is truly epic.
Review: The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel #1) by Anthony Ryan
The Pariah is the opening act in The Covenant of Steel series and what an opening it is! We follow Alwyn Scribe in first person, as he shares with the reader his tale through the benefit of hindsight. I’ve grown really fond of this type of narrator over the years because, especially if the attitude is right, it makes for some really fun reading, rife with asides and commentary that add a certain dimension to the story that, be it because of ominous foreshadowing or amusing snark, sass, or dry humor, regularly gives you a solid chuckle. The Pariah had all of that and more.
Review: The Justice of Kings (Empire of the Wolf #1) by Richard Swan
The Justice of Kings is a triumph, a marvel that has placed courtrooms and wordplay as epic a battle as legions of men versus beasts ever were; with intrigue laced into every word of Helena’s tell-all tale of justice, and the lengths a single man will go to mete it out, the Justice of Kings is a tale above them all? When I say I enjoyed this book, it is the biggest understatement I’ve made this year.
Review: Of Blood and Fire (The Bound and the Broken #1) by Ryan Cahill
Of Blood and Fire is the first in The Bound and the Broken series and author Ryan Cahill’s first novel. I walked away impressed with Cahill’s storytelling ability, world building proficiency, skill in developing characters, and detailed descriptions. I liked this book a lot and see a lot of potential for the rest of the series.
Review: Of Darkness and Light (The Bound and the Broken #2)
Synopsis Heroes will rise. Nations will fall. Behind the towering walls of Belduar, Calen Bryer and his companions stand in defense of the city and its new king. In over a thousand years, Belduar has never fallen. It has stood as a bastion of hope. But the Lorian empire are at its walls once more, […]
Lucia by Steven A. McKay
Synopsis At eight years old, Lucia is torn from the life she knew. Her village burned to the ground and parents murdered by Romans, she is kidnapped, sold and shipped abroad to the Villa Tempestatis in Britannia to serve the young Roman army officer Castus.Faced with a bleak future of decades of servitude to her […]
Review: The Bone Shard Emperor (The Drowning Empire #2) by Andrea Stewart
The Bone Shard Emperor is the 2nd installment in Andrea Stewart’s The Drowning Empire series. This is one of the most unique fantasy stories I have read; in fact, the first book in the series, The Bone Shard Daughter, was one of my (and many others’) favorite books of 2020 (read that review here). With all of the great elements at play in this book and the way the story progresses, I am not surprised to see The Bone Shard Emperor receiving similar accolades.