Broken Souls – fantasy
broken souls High-fantasy book review I found the first odd third of Broken Souls (basically the prequel stories) difficult to progress through. This is largely due to Lura’s side of the narrative as she is compelled into prostitution and sexually assaulted multiple times, and I just found none of it an enjoyable narrative, […]
Roil Book Review
I listened to the audiobook for Roil and the narrator was good, but nothing extraordinary.If you like darker fantasy and distinctive world building, Roil is a good offering. The characters are solid, and out two main leads feel particularly human with a good mixture of flaws and personality that makes it easy to invest in […]
Beyond the Atmosphere book review
A quick, easy read, Beyond the Atmosphere introduces into a complex setting of warring species, internal intrigues, widely distinct cultures. This setting, the variety of the cultures in particular for me, is the book’s strongest feature: from the insectoid Masters to the Founders who retreated to an entirely different dimension, it is an interesting setting […]
Into the Violet Gardens book review
There is a good story in Into the Violet Gardens, dealing with government betrayal and the abuse of ‘others’/racism, but its prose and narrative composition make it difficult to enjoy and sometimes difficult to follow.On the subject of its prose, the book makes excessive, and most often weak, use of similes, sometimes as many as […]
Aerovoyant Book Review
Aerovoyant is a complicated review for me: it is well written, the characters are complex (Alphonse in particular) and the pacing is strong, making for an entertaining read from start to finish; but it is also driven by a message (the author expresses as much in the foreword) and there were many times during the […]
Hills of Heather and Bone book review
While well-written, Hills of Heather and Bone is a fairly standard on a conceptual level with its magic system and core plot revolving around necromancy and magical persecution. There’s some neat bits of creativity where the bones house the memories of the dead, and the necromancers must record or honor those memories in exchange for […]
The Dragon Bone Chair Book review
The Dragon Bone Chair is well written (if potentially a bit dry) with an excellent main character arc in Simon. Simon’s growth is slow and believable, with him starting out as dreamy and a bit scatter brained and evolving in more than just competence but in tangibly maturing as well.But I also found the book […]
Up Jumps the Devil book review
My thoughts on Up Jumps the Devil are complicated; The story is well written, sometimes beautifully so, with strong, complex characters, and a wonderful mystic/fairytale quality to many of its scenes and descriptions; it is also a mix of a longer narrative interjected with flashbacks and short-stories about the devil’s interactions with famous historical figures […]
Starfall book review
Starfall is a book that will appeal to a specific type of reader; huge effort was devoted to developing the world in which the story takes place, both in the environment, the technological setting, and how the characters interact with these, the various subspecies, and the cultures of the various nations. The Soonayhin culture and […]
This Charming Man book Review
If you liked the first book, which I did, you’ll like the sequel as the recipe is unchanged. Baincroft is a joy to read, and other other characters remain likable with their moments of comedy sprinkled throughout.There’s some more world building in this book, expanding our understanding of the setting, but its fairly superficial with […]
The Lost Star book review
Hall of Skulls Science-fiction VLOG/book review
Vlog review for Hall of Skulls science fiction book
Deathrunes and Dragons video review
Reign and Ruin fantasy-romance book
Reign and ruin fantasy-romance book review I thoroughly enjoyed the fantasy-romance book Reign and Ruin (StroyGraph) from start to finish. The pacing is excellent and while this fantasy book does lean more towards the political and character aspects (which I very much enjoyed) there are enough action scenes and scenes of immediate peril […]
The Accidental Alchemist Book Review
Actual rating 3.5Living gargoyles, vegan alchemists, smuggling rings, and hidden tunnels, oh my.The Accidental Alchemist is the second of my recent delve into cozy mysteries, and it does an effective job at feeding the readers hints as to the culprit of the the murder and at providing believable suspects other than the true murderer.The characters […]
The Lost Star episode one by Odette. C. Bell book review
Decent prose, characters, and pacing. I very much enjoyed the concept of the ship being a deathtrap and it was well utilized throughout the story. I also enjoyed Ava as a character, but some of her motivations lacked explanation; the core root of her character being someone who wants to avoid responsibility is effective and […]
We men of Ash and Shadow Review
Available in vlog & podcast https://youtu.be/bkkJq_4QCpwhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDUWXYFfpk4
The Mortal Blade book review
The Mortal Blade is one of those book that, while well written, didn’t impart a strong impression on me. The writing is solid, most of the main characters well constructed, and the pacing is quick but steady. Its setting is a more standard sword and sorcery fantasy, which I was ready for after a selection […]