Synopsis England, 1882. In Victorian London, two children with mysterious powers are hunted by a figure of darkness —a man made of smoke. Sixteen-year-old Charlie Ovid, despite a lifetime of brutality, doesn’t have a scar on him. His body heals itself, whether he wants it to or not. Marlowe, a foundling from a railway freight […]
Urban Fantasy
Book Tour/Review: No Gods, Only Monsters (Antiquity Chronicles #1) by Steve McHugh
Synopsis Diana, the Roman Goddess of the hunt, lives alone on the far edge of the Roman Empire. When an old friend arrives looking for help, Diana finds herself thrust back into her old life, and old problems. With innocent lives caught in the crossfire, Diana realizes that the only way to ensure the safety […]
Review: One Foot in the Fade (The Fetch Phillips Archives #3) by Luke Arnold
Detective and noir fiction is one of those sweet spots for me as a reader. Those times when I’m not reading fantasy or science fiction, I love basking in the mystery and dark explorations of books by Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and the like. There’s something raw about those works, their characters and their worlds, that pulls me in every time.
That’s why my discovery of the urban fantasy detective genre five or six years ago quite literally blew my mind (it’s a mash-up made in heaven!). I have since devoured countless great genre-blending gems, and Luke Arnold’s The Fetch Phillips Archives stands high among them. Now, three books in with One Foot in the Fade, I can safely say this is a series that has cemented itself as some of the best urban fantasy detective literature out there.
Review: Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts by Evan Ross Katz
A perfectly balanced celebration, scrutinization, and discussion of the cultural phenomenon that is Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Review: Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May
The story is dark, extravagant, and feels as if there is danger lurking around every corner—which to be fair, there is. The writing feels lush and intoxicating, luring you into this life of parties, prohibited magical drinks, and dark magic.
Review: Jade City (Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee
Synopsis The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It’s the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion–but nowadays, […]
Review: He Who Fights with Monsters (Books 1 – 4) by Shirtaloon
Brilliance in bound words.
A LitRPG lite / Progression fantasy hybrid series of epic proportions, mean humour and overall super fun comfort read!
Servant of the Underworld (Obsidian and Blood #1) by Aliette De Bodard
Synopsis – The first book in the critically acclaimed Obsidian and Blood trilogy: Year One-Knife, Tenochtitlan the capital of the Aztecs. Human sacrifice and the magic of the living blood are the only things keeping the sun in the sky and the earth fertile. A Priestess disappears from an empty room drenched in blood. It […]
This Charming Man (The Stranger Times #2) by C. K. McDonnell
llip has suddenly developed pointy teeth; he’s getting really wary of daylight and to top it off … he can no longer see his reflection in the mirror. Well, what does he think has caused that? Perhaps its an STD, he surmises … and that, reader, is completely on brand for a book in The Stranger Times series, it had me roaring from the get-go and is utterly, utterly entertaining. It’s certainly for fans of Pratchett and other comedic novels, but really does cut its own shape in the genre with a heavy focus on fantasy, world-building and urban-central storytelling. I loved this and it continues to be a series I look forward to.
Review and Book Tour: Shadow of a Dead God (Mennik Thorn #1) by Patrick Samphire
Synopsis I was a grown man, damn it, and a mage of Agatos. Armies fled before me. Demons quaked in fear. Small animals gave me a wide berth. Babies cried when I smiled at them. Mennick Thorn is a broke mage for hire with an attitude problem and a tendency to make all the wrong […]
Review: Jade Legacy (Green Bone Saga #3) by Fonda Lee
Endings are a tricky thing. A good ending can reframe an entire story or bring home the points that an author was making. A bad ending can sour the experience of a whole series or story. Thankfully, Jade Legacy, the third and final book in the Green Bone Saga, is a smashingly good ending.
Review: Mitosis (The Reckoners #1.5) by Brandon Sanderson
Synopsis: Steelheart may be dead, but Epics still plague Newcago and David and the Reckoners have vowed to fight back. Review: Steelheart, the first book in The Reckoners series, was actually the first Brandon Sanderson book I’d read. The trilogy were the only books of his I’d read when I met him for the Oathbringer […]