Nijkamp has written a wonderful, diverse YA book that really hits home. You never learn too much about the teens lives’ before they were sent to the Juvenile Centre, there are theories about what each teen may have done but you never really find out about their lives before. The focus is far more on the current situation, how a group of forgotten teens try to survive the pandemic that has broken out.
Fiction
Review: The Blood Trials (The Blood Gift Duology #1) by N. E. Davenport
I loved N. E. Davenport’s The Blood Trials. I went into this book without any expectations and turned the final page both surprised and satisfied. It offers up a complex world, rife with geopolitical conflicts, futuristic technologies and awesome fight scenes. But it also introduces a dark, supernatural magic system that plays into the racial and social dynamics of its corrupt society. All of this combines for a solid debut and a wondrous world that I can’t wait to read more of.
Book Tour and Review: The Jealousy of Jalice (A Disaster of Dokojin #1) by Jesse Nolan Bailey
Every scene was fresh and each turn of the page brought some new creature, new horror, or new mystery to be solved. I was not left wanting as I read, as each challenge the characters faced was intense and exciting. The stakes were never lowered and lives were always on the line.
Review: Age of Ash (Kithamar #1) by Daniel Abraham
As a lover of science fiction, I can appreciate the breaking of the status quo. Every so often, genres like cyberpunk or post-apocalyptic fiction came in to stir shit up and make it messier, so to say. But fantasy, I’ve found, is much more comfortable resting on its laurels—challenges to foundational fantasy conventions have been slower, and few and far between. In the last decade or so, though, the intention from authors to actively challenge fantasy’s history has been growing.
Daniel Abraham’s newest novel Age of Ash, book one in The Kithamar Trilogy, seems to do just that. It tackles the notion of “epic fantasy,” questioning the epic-ness of it all and how big battles and a fast pace have dominated that landscape. But beyond that, Age of Ash is a heartfelt story that grounds itself in genuine characters in grim circumstances. What follows is a novel that is epic in its ideas and execution, but relatable in its perspectives and emotions.
Book Tour and Review: Second Star to the Left (Reimagined Fairy Tales #1) by Megan Van Dyke
Truly, I cannot boast about this book enough. Rating this book was an easy task, as it captured my attention and my heart in the first chapter. Everyone loves a good Happily Ever After, and this one does not fail to deliver on every point. Plus, for those of you who just love a good dose of spice *wink wink,* this book has it in abundance. You will blush, cheer, and fall in love right along with the characters. If you need reminding that love can exist even in the most trying circumstances, this is a book for you.
Review: Age of Ash (Kithamar #1) by Daniel Abraham
From New York Times bestselling and critically acclaimed author Daniel Abraham, co-author of the Expanse, comes a monumental epic fantasy trilogy that unfolds within the walls of a single great city, over the course of one tumultuous year, where every story matters, and the fate of the city is woven from them all. Kithamar is a centre […]
Review: Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Synopsis An ordinary man undergoes a startling transformation—and fears that all of humanity may be next—in the mindblowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion “You are the next step in human evolution.”At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to […]
Review: Disappearance of a Scribe by Dana Stabenow (Eye of Isis #2)
‘Stabenow brings Alexandria’s Hellenistic period to life… She is now as much at home in ancient Egypt as she is in the Alaskan wilderness’ Publishers Weekly ALEXANDRIA, 47 BC. Cleopatra – seventh of her name, avatar of the goddess Isis, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt – watches over her city. The war is over, […]
Review: Servant Mage (#1) by Kate Elliot
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 […]
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 […]
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.