It’s gift-giving and last-minute-shopping time. And if you’re looking to get something for the bookworm in your life, a perfunctory “Gifts for book lovers” Google search will undoubtedly feed you a deluge of bookish trinkets and products. But here’s the thing. The best gift for a bookworm isn’t some fancy bookmark or library scented candle.…
Continue reading ➞ The Quill To Live 2020 Holiday Gift Guide Extravaganza
It’s really hard to avoid reading about the conditions that a lot of people are working under today. Before the pandemic it was already questionable, especially with the rise of the gig economy. But the pandemic, particularly in the United States, has brought a lot of those issues into sharp detail. So when I heard…
Continue reading ➞ The Factory Witches of Lowell – Could Have Used More Time In The Loom
So you are sitting at home, reading a great fantasy book, and you think to yourself, “man, I wish I could pull every friend, family member, and random child on the street into this amazing hobby... but what are the best books to get someone into the genre?” Look no further random person I am…
Darcie Little Badger (referred to as Little Badger for the rest of the review) has burst onto the fantasy scene with Elatsoe, a stunning debut. Little Badger deftly mixes elements from multiple genres into a cohesive and thoroughly enjoyable story that I devoured from cover to cover. Elatsoe takes place in a world remarkably like…
Shveta Thakrar’s (wait for it) stellar (I had to) debut comes from our 2020 Dark Horse list. Star Daughter journeys to the cosmos, telling a celestial coming of age story. Thakrar weaves Indian mythology and folklore with resonant characters from our world. The result? A pleasant and imaginative read. Star Daughter follows Sheetal Mistry, 16-going-on-17-year-old…
Welcome to our Dark Horse Initiative wrap up for the first half of 2020! This year, we found a surplus of debuts we wanted to review, so we divided our Dark Horse list into two halves. January through June brought us 12 debuts. After a handful of delays, we finally knocked most of these off…
Continue reading ➞ The Dark Horse Initiative: January-June Wrap Up
Nick Martell’s The Kingdom of Liars delivers a strong debut that lays the foundation for a promising epic fantasy saga. Martell’s story of king killers, magic-induced memory loss, and political corruption springs off our Dark Horse 2020 list with fresh concepts and a high-speed narrative. Michael Kingman wears the fire-seared brand of a traitor thanks…
Continue reading ➞ The Kingdom Of Liars – Fast Fun Fantasy Fodder
I’m not a huge fan of post-apocalyptic stories. I don’t read them because they often have similar set ups and I usually come away with the feeling that I’m reading someone’s version of “here is what I would do.” I have read a couple that make me think there are still some diamonds in the…
We're back with another installment of The Book Rookie! This time, Alex and Andrew join cole to discuss The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson's thrilling conclusion to the original Mistborn trilogy! Just catching up? Listen to our discussions about Mistborn and The Well of Ascension before you dive in. And enjoy our shiny new musical…
When you see Cuphead Carnival Chaos on shelves, be they virtual or digital, you may ask yourself: who is this book for? Fair question. There are two answers. One is obvious, and the other is semi-obvious. The obvious answer: Cuphead Carnival Chaos is for fans of Cuphead. The semi-obvious answer is that this book is…
Continue reading ➞ Cuphead Carnival Chaos: A Gollywompin’ Good Time
