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 […]
Spirits of Vengeance fantasy book
spirits of vengeance High-fantasy book review Well executed but doesn’t really innovate on the preceding high-fantasy books in the 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 end up feeling like a different experience then the preceding […]
The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter book review
THE BULLET CATCHER’S DAUGHTER High-fantasy book review I found the Bullet Catcher’s Daughter a fun, well executed steampunk novel. Elizabeth provides likable, intelligent lead full of agency who is easy to emotionally invest in. While remaining tough, she retains enough emotional vulnerability for the plot to exert emotional pressure on her, […]
House Witch 2 Fantasy book review
the house witch High-fantasy book review 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 […]
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 high-fantasy book review
the bone ships High-fantasy book review I liked the high-fantasy book Bone Ships. The world building is strong with both original ideas, excellent cultural immersion/creativity, and a clear, enjoyable aesthetic which as best as I can describe feels like a mixture of Norse and Polynesian with some original elements sprinkled in. The […]
CROOKED LADDER fantasy book
crooked ladder High-fantasy book review The CROOKED LADDER is a high-fantasy book that has decent to good prose, solid character work and complexity that is well executed and displayed via interactions and story progression. The fantasy world-building is decent but a little bare bones, with the more interesting elements only emerging in the […]
SIREN AND SCION romantasy 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 […]