Blithe Haven: the Red Harvest
Blithe Haven: THe Red Harvest Dystopian fantasy fantasy book review Blithe Haven: The Red Harvest is a brutal book. The world is punishing, it is scarred by a distant apocalypse and broken into warring city-states ruled by the cults to savage gods. It is a potent and evocative setting, with plenty of neat moments of […]
Of Mountains and Seas
Chinese paranormal fantasy book review Of Mountains and Seas is interesting on technical level, interweaving a multitude of characters, perspectives, and time periods to create a generational narrative around a core theme and antagonist. The result, unfortunately, didn’t really resonate with me; it was a little too fractured, with the various narratives only being distantly […]
Blueprint of Eternity
Science-Fantasy book review Blueprint of Eternity is a science-fantasy story with themes of mystery and self-determination.One of this book’s greatest strengths is its prose, which is often evocative and displays significant effort to write something beautiful. The prose can stray into the excessive, however, and will over-utilize a few key descriptors or phrases.The story’s other […]
A Time of Dread
A time of Dread High-fantasy book review A Time of Dread by John Gwynne is an epic fantasy revolving around the war between angels and demons descended to the mortal world. A Time of Dread is a solid epic fantasy with a bit of a darker aesthetic, dealing with blood sacrifices and betrayals and the […]
On a Pale Horse book review
On a Pale Horse High-fantasy book review On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony is a high urban fantasy story, the first in a series, that explores the investiture of a new aspect of Death, and the underlying conspiracy that occasioned it. First and foremost, On a Pale Horse is […]
The Witchstone book review
the Witchstone Dark, urban-fantasy book review The Witchstone by Henry. H .Neff is a dark, urban fantasy revolving around a monstrous curse, demons, and a globe-trotting adventure. The Witchstone hits the right level of dark fantasy I really enjoy, with the presence of darker elements, the gothic, and sometimes grotesque, aesthetic, and some […]
The Daughter of Havenglade (1-3)
Daughter of Havenglade High-fantasy book review The Daughter of Havenglade series is a high fantasy, action adventure, coming of age story following a young enchantress called Lorenna as she comes into her power and fights evil. This is a review of the first three books in the series, Daughter of Havenglade, Black Dragon […]
Without Mercy
Mithout Mercy Dakota Steele FBI Crime Thriller book review Without Mercy by Ava Strong is an FBI crime-thriller with themes of overcoming addiction and trauma. Without Mercy lies solidly outside my habitual reading, so there are certain themes and concepts I will have enjoyed more in my reading than more experienced […]
Silo (Frozen World #1)
Silo Frozen World 1# Post-apocalyptic action book review Silo (Frozen World #1) by Jay.J.Falconer is a post-apocalyptic action story with light thriller elements set in a frozen wasteland with competing warlords, scarce resources, and cannibals. Silo offers a relatively compelling setting; the ice, the resources, the warlords, the cannibals, it all […]
Savior’s Spell
Savior’s Spell Urban-Fantasy book review Savior’s Spell by Gwen Rivers is an urban, paranormal fantasy of werewolves, soul mates, and fae with themes of vengeance and trauma. In the terms of the paranormal/urban fantasy sub-genres I have always favored the classic monster of werewolves over vampires, so Savior’s Spell’s focus on […]
A Canadian Werewolf in New York
A Canadian Werewofl in New York Paranormal book review A Canadian Werewolf In New York by Mark Leslie is a light paranormal story focused on how the extraordinary affects the ordinary life. As concepts go, the driving concept behind A Canadian Werewolf had potential but I personally found the execution a […]
Godkiller book review
Godkiller High-fantasy book review Godkiller (Fallen Gods #1) by Hannah Kaner is a high fantasy with solid characters, an excellent delivery on its gods, and an aesthetic that often borders on the dark fantasy. There is a fair bit that Godkiller succeeds in, but the elements it succeeds the most in […]
The Darkest Bloom
The Darkest Bloom Shadowscent High-fantasy book review The Darkest Bloom by P.M. Freestone is a high fantasy action adventure with intrigue and riddles, wrapped up with a magic systems structured around themes of scent and perfumes. The Darkest Bloom was an entertaining read, but ultimately nothing particularly special. The characters, plotting, and progression worked well. […]
The Winds of Change
The Winds of Change (The Elements of Time) High-fantasy book review The Winds of Change by Sam Paisley is an epic, action adventure, fantasy coming of age story with tyrannical gods and nuanced character dynamics. The core of this story is the friendship and character work of Cooper and Reid, our […]
The Children of Chaos high-fantasy
The Children of Chaos High-fantasy book review The Children of Chaos (Cruel Gods #2) by Trudie Skies is the high fantasy sequel to the Thirteenth Hour. The Children of Chaos is of similar quality to the first book; the characters remain likable with fun interactions and chemistry. We see more of the other […]
When The Moon Hatched
When the Moon Hatched Romance Fantasy book review The traditionally published When the Moon Hatched (Goodreads) is an epic, romance fantasy by Sarah. A. Parker with creative world building and beautifully reimagined dragons. When The Moon Hatched is romance fantasy that, unusually, happens to just be a good fantasy book outside of […]
Fire From Ashes high-fantasy book review
Fire From Ashes by Jessica Barberi is a high-fantasy book of a classical dragon archetype and survival built around a strong core character narrative.This book’s strength lies in its character work. Ciran is a solid protagonist, being both reasonably likable, flawed, and believable; though it is how the author uses his character narrative that makes […]
Seeds of War high-fantasy book review
seeds of war High-fantasy book review Seeds of War (goodreads) is a high-fantasy book of returning gods, morally gray characters, and a little bit of politicking. The book’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 […]