Synopsis Tell me how it happened… Layne was a soldier, conscripted to fight under the Fox in a vengeance fueled march. He, and his friends, were due for a fated confrontation, one that has ended in blood and loss. Now, the inquisitors want to hear every detail of his conscription, his training, and the duel […]
Fantasy
Review: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
Synopsis Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling. An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by […]
Review: Tangleweed & Waterbloom (The Garden Knight #1) by Justin Greer
Synopsis: After years of travel in the wide world, Derry Melyvante has made his home near the quiet woodland village of Haverdell. He lives with his dog Barrow on a small island outside town and spends his days in singular pursuit of his craft: Derry is a gardener, a master of woodlore and plants and […]
The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson
Synopsis A heretic thief is the empire’s only hope in this fascinating tale that inhabits the same world as the popular novel, Elantris. Shai is a Forger, a foreigner who can flawlessly copy and re-create any item by rewriting its history with skillful magic. Condemned to death after trying to steal the emperor’s scepter, she is […]
Review: A Palace Near The Wind (Book #1 of the Natural Engines Duology) by Ai Jiang
Synopsis The Feng people have bark faces, carved limbs, arms of braided branches, and hair of needle threads. Bound by duty and tradition, Liu Lufeng, the eldest princess of the Feng royalty, is the next bride to the human king. The negotiation of bridewealth is the only way to stop the expansion of the humans […]
Review: Silence is Silver (Shadowbinders #0.5) by Andrew Watson
Synopsis: The Urdahl believe pain is inevitable. But if one can lean into that suffering they can achieve anything. Beneath the desert sands, Bas has spent his entire life training to become a fully-fledged Urdahl. And now his time has come to prove his worth. First, he must drink from the Seeing Bowl to clear […]
Book Review: With His Father’s Sword (The Empire of the Beast) by T.M. Carruthers
TL;DR Review: The Count of Monte Cristo meets Kingdom of Heaven by way of Gladiator. Synopsis: I am Harald Fairhair, illegitimate son of a dead land. I am Harald Lionheart, breaker of chains and champion of the arena. I am Harald the bastard, and I have destroyed the world. Hear Harald’s own words as he […]
Review: This Too Shall Burn by Cat Rector
Synopsis Arden has lived in the woods near the deeply religious town of Arrothburg all her life, practicing magic and keeping balance with nature. She heals the sick, as her mother did before her. No matter how deeply the people of the village hate witches, they still arrive at Arden’s cabin in the dead of […]
Review: Cruel is the Light by Sophie Clark
A demon-strably good book Synopsis A bloody war between demons and the Vatican has waged for more than a century, with two elite soldiers now at its center: Selene Alleva, a high-ranking exorcist running from a dark family legacy, and orphan Jules Lacroix, recruited by the Vatican and unrivalled on the battlefield. When their paths […]
Review: Curiouser And… by Jillian Maria
Synopsis: For sixteen years, Ashlyn Jones has heeded her parents’ warnings and followed their rules. But after taking a tumble in the forest, she awakens in a strange land where there are no rules—where signs lack direction, the sky hovers on the edge of night, and all paths lead to the glittering red palace of […]
Review: Empire Of Shadows (The Coraidic Sagas #3) by Alicia Wanstall-Burke.
Synopsis In the aftermath of battle, a truth is laid bare—the world, and the people within it, are not as they appear. Adrift without an anchor and nursing a broken heart, Lidan steels herself for a task she never thought would fall to her—to hunt down the architect of the horrors that have plagued the […]
Review: They of the West by Dani Finn
Synopsis: Dralen never could leave well enough alone. He knows better than to go near the canyons. That’s where the Logans live, wild men of the hills said to devour lone travelers in frenzied midnight feasts. But the mysterious cloaked figure he saw down by the canyons had to be there for a reason. And […]