Fellian is a Lamplighter, able to provide illumination through magic. A group of rebel Monarchists free her from indentured servitude and take her on a journey to rescue trapped compatriots from an underground complex of mines. Along the way they get caught up in a conspiracy to kill the latest royal child and wipe out […]
Fiction
Review: Mouse Trap (Clay Wolfe/Port Essex Mystery #3) by Matt Cost
Clay Wolfe and crew are back with another round of hijinks, thanks to author Matt Cost. I have liked this series because of the shenanigans, the budding romance, the action sequences, the sexy scenes, and the fun, ridiculous narratives. Sometimes, it is fun just to get lost in a trope-y mystery, and Mouse Trap provides just that.
A Song of Steel (The Light of the North #1) by J.C. Duncan
A roaring Norse saga of war, honour, love and loss. Vikings face Crusaders in an epic battle for the soul of the North. ‘A gripping, well-executed story, with a fun, original premise.’ – Angus Donald‘A Song Of Steel is a rising light of Norse Mythology.’ – Daniel Kelly‘I thoroughly enjoyed the authenticity, the historical underpinnings and the […]
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: This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone – a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winner – is one of my favorite reads of 2021.
Review: Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
This is one of those books that is hard to explain, but should be experienced.
Review: Mind Trap (A Clay Wolfe/Port Essex Mystery #2) by Matthew Cost
Mind Trap is the second installment in veteran author Matt Cost’s ClayWolfe/Port Essex Mystery series (though each can be read as a standalone). You might also know Cost’s other works, the Goff Langdon Mainely Mystery series. The author clearly has found a niche in the light mystery/thriller genre, and after reading two of his books I can say the writing reflects that fact. (I reviewed the first book in the series, Wolfe Trap, earlier this year).
Review: Gods of Rome by Gordon Doherty and Simon Turney (Rise of Emperors Book 3)
Gods of Rome is the sweeping cinematic finale to the most important battle of Roman History: The Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Gordon Doherty and Simon Turney are veteran writers in the Historical Fiction Genre of the Ancient World, and they have delivered an astounding finale!
Review: Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente
A gloriously weird little novella!
Review: Priest of Bones (War for the Rose Throne #1) by Peter McLean
Following the story as told/written by Tomas Piety in first person, the reader is met with a matter of fact recounting of events that reveals a character who is choosing to share his story, while also keeping some of the details to himself. This is all done while commenting on it all in a manner that, I don’t want to say is bleak, cause it’s not really that, more like with very few fucks left to give and heavily influenced by the protagonist’s principles. This sort of unreliable narrator is the kind that fascinates me the most, especially because when done well, and I’d argue that McLean did it brilliantly, it reveals more about the characters themselves than what they’re actually telling the reader. At the same time, this makes for a fast moving story that doesn’t waste time on world building through long expositional paragraphs, but rather only focuses on the relevant details and events.
Review: The Last House on The Needless Street by Catriona Ward
I’ll conclude by saying that I really relished this book for what it was, and if you’re seeking a thriller wrapped in a mystery with a slight dash of supernatural, you’ll find a home in The Last House on Needless Street.
Review – Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide (to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons (A Miss Percy Guide #1) by Quenby Olson
Synopsis Miss Mildred Percy inherits a dragon. Ah, but we’ve already got ahead of ourselves… Miss Mildred Percy is a spinster. She does not dance, she has long stopped dreaming, and she certainly does not have adventures. That is, until her great uncle has the audacity to leave her an inheritance, one that includes a […]