Seeds of War, High-fantasy book review
SEEDS OF WAR High-Fantasy Book Review Seeds of War (goodreads) is a high-fantasy of returning gods, morally gray characters, and a little bit of politicking. Seeds of War’s strength lies in its characters, all of whom are varying degrees of internal moral complexity, from mercenary lords, to false prophets, and pseudo mob-bosses. Most […]
Spirits of Vengeance book review
SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE Well executed, SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE, doesn’t really innovate on the preceding books in the series. This is the third book in this fantasy indie book series. SPIRITS OF VENGEANCE focuses more on the spirit side of the world building, and does so with fair success, but it just doesn’t […]
The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter –
THE BULLET CATCHER’S DAUGHTER I found the Bullet Catcher’s Daughter a fun, well executed steampunk novel. I was surprised to see that it only has a 3.74 rating on GOODREADS. Elizabeth provides a likable, intelligent lead full of agency who is easy to emotionally invest in. While remaining tough, she retains enough emotional vulnerability […]
House Witch 2 Fantasy book review
THE HOUSE WITCH Much the same as the first book, but less of the comedy worked for me on this iteration. The queen’s pregnancy subplot remains the strongest part and most investable part of the narrative, but most of the previous book’s flaws remain present. The HOUSE WITCH 2 spends a […]
SHOREFALL
SHOREFALL This series is rapidly becoming one of my favorites. You can read my review of FOUNDRYSIDE, the first in the series. The character work(their likability, complexity of thought and variety of personalities as well as chemistry) and prose is excellent. The world building/magic is excellent and wonderfully tangible/ intractable. The […]
The Bone Ships book review
THE BONE SHIPS BOOK REVIEW I liked the Bone Ships. The world building is strong with both original ideas, excellent cultural immersion/creativity, and a clear, enjoyable aesthetic which as best I can describe feels like a mixture of Norse and Polynesian with some original elements sprinkled in. The characters are solid, and […]
CROOKED LADDER Fantasy book review
The CROOKED LADDER had decent to good prose, solid character work and complexity that is well executed and displayed via interactions and story progression. The world building is decent but a little bare bones, with the more interesting elements only emerging in the latter half of the book. The story progression is smooth […]
SIREN AND SCION Fantasy book review
SIREN AND SCION Siren and Scion is a bit slow to start with its main characters being more morally complicated than the preceding books; one is a gambling addict and the other is doing her best to strong arm herself into a political marriage. So it took time for me to be able to emotionally […]
Tea Set and Match Book Review
TEA SET AND MATCH The sequel to A Coup of Tea, Tea Set and Match largely maintains the quality of the first book, but has a couple more issues, one of which is more personal than anything else. Primarily, although the plot differs, its mostly the same story; it feels the same […]
FREE BOOKS-giveaways- For January 2025
FREE BOOK-giveaways- January 2025 Anyone interested in some free books to start the new year? Well, here’s four sets of fantasy or science-fiction books to download. If you do pick any of them up, please do the author a kindness and leave some reviews. Happy new year everybody. https://storyoriginapp.com/to/wkyxVJT https://storyoriginapp.com/to/ihob71Z https://storyoriginapp.com/to/5kpwEc2 https://storyoriginapp.com/to/AjCUZme
A COUP OF TEA cozy-mystery book review
A COUP OF TEA A wonderful cozy fantasy. The characters are likable, decently complex, and the prose is strong. The opening chapter is sharp, delivering an excellent hook while introducing you to your main character with indications of her flaws and strengths while giving her meaningful decisions and agency. The books strongest […]
Company of Slayers book review
There are several minor criticisms I could level against Company of Slayers, the prose is a little weak (albeit not terribly so) and the plot is inconsistent with its tone (I.e the plot reads like an adventure story, but the plot itself is simultaneously largely humorless and a straightforward action narrative.) Ultimately though, the core […]
Fire of the Forebearers book review
FIRE OF THE FOREBEARS Fire of the Forebearers started slow for me despite kicking its plot off early and making distinct effort to build investment in Kura as its main character with decisions, consequences, and motivations. The initial chapters of her story are in particular full of fantasy elements as well, with centaurs, […]
Mysterious Ways book review
MYSTERIOUS WAYS Strangely enough, after decades of not encountering one, this another book set in a matriarchal society, stumbled upon immediately after finishing its predecessor. Unfortunately it suffers from much the same flaw as The Empath and the Solider in that it styles itself a matriarchal society, but almost exclusively uses the framework of a […]
The Empath and the Soldier book review
THE EMPATH AND THE SOLDIER There’s quite a bit I liked about the Empath and the Soldier, GOODREADS has it at 4 stars. The prose is solid (and makes a distinct effort to fit within the time period of the events) the characters are strong, well defined, and given plenty of time to express themselves […]
THE HOUSE WITCH Romantasy book review
THE HOUSE WITCH A cozy fantasy with a loose plot wrapped around a series of shorter adventures and a slow burn romance. The House Witch has a very specific style it’s going for, cozy, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark, and I can’t quite pinpoint why. There are many scenes […]
Tethered Spirits Book Review
TETHERED SPIRITS BOOK REVIEW Tethered Spirits (StoryGraph) has several strong points: solid prose, decent characters, several strong ideas, a good plot that supports its action elements with some mystery/questions, and strong use of its cored idea/inspiration. But it also suffers from some significant technical flaws. It’s takes nearly sixty percent of the […]
THE THIRTEENTH HOUR fantasy book
THE THIRTEENTH HOUR BOOK REVIEW There was a lot I liked about The Thirteenth Hour, (StoryGraph) at multiple levels: the characters are dynamic, likable, and full of personality. The world building is complex and immersive while also being well implemented. The narrative is consistently humorous while also landing the darker moments, themes, and […]