TL;DR Review: Higher stakes, deeper grimdarkness, bloodier battles, and messier characters—exactly what I want in a Book 2! Synopsis: “A civil war on that scale would make Harfal little more than a mass grave.”“There would be death. There would be chaos. But this time there would be a lasting peace…” Follow Cael, Emil, Merily and […]
Fantasy
Book Review: The Pale City (Rites of Resurrection #1) by Marshall J. Moore
TL;DR Review: Lightning-fast plot, richly colorful world, and heart-pounding action. Roman/Greek Republic colored with African-inspired culture and magic. Synopsis: Only the dead can save the living. In Albastine, the dead are made into mindless servants known as Attendants, incapable of harming the living unless commanded to by the soldier-necromancer Legates. Forced into an early retirement, […]
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
Synopsis The Dead Cat Tail Assassins are not cats. Nor do they have tails. But they are most assuredly dead. Nebula and Alex Award winner P. Djèlí Clark introduces a brand-new world and a fantastical city full of gods and assassins. Eveen the Eviscerator is skilled, discreet, professional, and here for your most pressing needs […]
Review: The Blood that Burns the Winter Snow (The Bound and the Broken short story) by Ryan Cahill
Synopsis The Blood that Burns the Winter Snow is a short story set in the world of The Bound and The Broken. Vars Bryer is a man of The Glade. He loves his wife, feels at peace in his home, and would give the air in his lungs to keep his children safe. But the […]
Book Review: ShadowBane by Cal Logan
TL;DR Review – Japan-inspired world, a grimdark tone, and packed to the brim with bloody action. An absolutely epic read! Synopsis: One womb, one soul, two fates. One will rise. One will fall. Shura and Jin are the last of a divine bloodline, operating at the bloodiest fringes of society where they wield might and […]
The Advent of Winter by Dom McDermott
Synopsis Step into the magical realms of The Advent of Winter, where twenty-four self-published authors craft enchanting tales that will transport you to a realm of frost-kissed wonders. Originally released as daily stories throughout advent, this dark, winter-themed fantasy anthology invites you to journey through winter, one captivating story at a time. With each story, you’ll […]
Book Review: Bringer of Dust (The Talents Trilogy #2) by JM Miro
TL;DR Review: Addictive and enthralling, but not for the faint of heart. Deeper, darker, and twistier—an excellent second installment in this gothic historical fantasy trilogy. Synopsis: In this highly anticipated second book in the Talents Trilogy, the world of the dead is closer than you think. Agrigento, Sicily, 1883. With the orsine destroyed, Cairndale lies […]
Review: Arc copy: Preformances Of A Death Metal Bard (A Brutal Novella) by Rob Leigh
Synopsis Unfortunately, Death Metal doesn’t get much play in this sleepy, peaceful, actually kind of boring kingdom. Of course not. It’s tough inventing a genre on your own, and it doesn’t help when all the instruments you’ve tried up to this point don’t match the brutality necessary for a dark and heavy performance. My coin […]
Book Review: The Traitors We Are (Crown and Tide #1) by Michael Roberti
TL;DR Review – “Light” grimdark flavor, with singular characters and a world that just keeps getting more interesting with every chapter. Synopsis: In a world where writing disappears when the author dies, 22-year-old Cael Oberlan watches the last gasping breaths of his best friend. He pulls a scrap of paper out of his pocket as […]
Book Review: The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart
TL;DR Review: A singularly creative and fresh-feeling reading experience. An excellent start to a gripping new series. Synopsis: In this sweeping epic fantasy comes a story of magic, betrayal, love, and loyalty, where two sisters will clash on opposite sides of a war against the gods. A divine war shattered the world leaving humanity in […]
Review: Arc of Broken Brotherhood (The Brotherhood of the Eagle #4) by Tim Hardie
Synopsis Broken Brotherhood, the fourth and final book in The Brotherhood of the Eagle fantasy series by Tim Hardie The final conflict between the Brotherhood of the Eagle and King Adalrikr Kinslayer approaches. Johan Jokellsward’s forces lay siege to Adalrikr’s stronghold, preparing to launch a deadly and decisive assault. Far to the north, Rothgar returns […]
Book Review: Ordinary Monsters by JM Miro
TL;DR Review: The X-Men, as written by Edgar Allen Poe. Dark, haunting, gothic, violent, and twisted in all the best ways. Synopsis: Charlie Ovid, despite surviving a brutal childhood in Mississippi, 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 […]