Synopsis An outcast heiress. A notorious gang leader. A country on the brink of revolution. In the colonized nation of Viryana, Poppy Sutherland lives between cultures. As the brown-skinned adopted daughter of the Viceroy, she is both rejected by white high society and alienated from the people of her native island. When she discovers her […]
Fantasy
Review: The Swan’s Daughter by Roshani Chokshi
Synopsis: Prince Arris knows that marriage means murder. After poorly wording a wish to a sea witch, all one needs to rule the Isle of Malys is the heart and hand in marriage of the kingdom’s heir. Thus, Arris expects that the day of his marriage will be the one of his murdering. His only chance […]
Review: The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by H.G. Parry
Synopsis: All they needed to break the world was a door, and someone to open it. Camford, 1920. Gilded and glittering, England’s secret magical academy is no place for Clover, a commoner with neither connections nor magical blood. She tells herself she has fought her way there only to find a cure for her brother […]
Book Review: Reaper’s Bend by Jonah Evarts
TL;DR Review: A shockingly good debut. A dark and beautiful story about hurt people finding healing through healing another. Synopsis: Kairos will stop at nothing to get his revenge. He chases the man who took everything from him deep into the twisted land of death, Reaper’s Bend. Eris refuses to give into the curse that’s […]
Review: The Cyprian (Elemental Masters #18) by Mercedes Lackey
Synopsis: A cozy, cottage-core Regency fantasy perfect for fans of Bridgerton Elena Whitstone and her seven brothers, abandoned by her mother, find themselves with a new stepmother. At first she seems more neglectful than evil, until just after Christmas she proves herself to be worse than evil; she is an actual magician, a Master of […]
Review: War of the God Queen by David Hambling
Synopsis Jessica: a modern woman, thrown back into the bronze age, alone among a strange and violent people. Amir: a nomad warlord, leading a hopeless battle against monstrous invaders, looking for a miracle. To Amir, the beautiful stranger is a sign from heaven. And Jessica, though no warrior, has hidden talents even she does not […]
Review: Grand Conspiracy (Wars of Light and Shadow #5) by Janny Wurts
Synopsis Where there is light, there must always be shadow… The fifth volume in Janny Wurts’s spectacular epic fantasy, now re-released with a striking new cover design along with the rest of the series. The wars began when two half-brothers, gifted of light and shadow, stood shoulder to shoulder to defeat the Mistwraith. Their foe […]
Will’s Favorites of 2025
So…the end of the year is (checks the calendar) just a few sleeps away. Apparently it is the job of a book reviewer like myself to provide a BEST OF THE YEAR list and I have honestly been keeping a list like this in mind since January 1 of this year. Now, I have 9 […]
Review: Fallen Gods (Fallen Gods #1) by Rachel Van Dyken
Synopsis The world believed the Gods were myth and the Giants were only stories. They were wrong. The Gods aren’t dead – they’re merely sleeping, locked in mortal bodies, scattered across the world, waiting for the right spark to wake them. And Rey Stjerne’s father is the most ruthless of them all. He raised her […]
Book Review: This Gilded Abyss by Rebecca Thorne
TL;DR Review: Murder on the Orient Express meets Train to Busan by way of Arcane, with a hint of Titanic to really ratchet up the tension! Synopsis: Sergeant Nix Marr is a damn good soldier, but she’s desperate to leave her haunted past in the bioluminescent ocean, buried alongside old friends…and old flames. Unfortunately, even […]
Book Review: Dogged by Michael R. Fletcher
TL;DR Review: Bloody, gritty, action-packed, and…heartwarming? The novel I didn’t know my year was missing! Synopsis: WARDOGS ARE BORN TO DIE. In the final days of the Demon Empire a lone wardog goes in search of the answer to the only question she cares Who murdered her mate? Utterly unqualified to solve a mystery, Dogged […]
Tom Bookbeard’s Top Reads of 2025
Here we are again, another year, another wonderful library of books. My apologies for a lack of reviews from me this year; my reading time has been limited as I’ve had a kickass podcast, two anthologies, an audiobook, and that damned sky pirate novel I keep promising to finish, all taking up my spell slots. […]