Me and A Restless Truth by Freya Marske did not get along. After an enchanting frolic through book one in the series, my expectations were high, and they came crashing down quickly. Our original characters, Robin and Edwin, set the standard, and I found that this adventure could not live up to the first magical…
Ocean Echo, by Everina Maxwell, is a pseudo-sequel to the very popular Winter’s Orbit from last year. It isn’t really a sequel, despite being set in the same universe, because it has zero overlapping characters. But Ocean’s Echo definitely embodies the same spirit as Winter’s Orbit. It’s another gay romance with two very different men…
Back in 2020, Simon Jimenez released his first major book, The Vanished Birds. I actually read it then and declined to review it despite all the buzz surrounding the release. My reasoning for this was simple: despite being one of the best books I had read that year, the subject matter (the torture and death…
Right off the bat, I would love to take a moment to recognize how good Alex White is at naming things. Everything in their books has such fantastic and memorable names; whether that's the long evocative titles, the cool nomenclature of the magic system, character names/nicknames, or the locations/settings. Everything White touches comes away with…
Continue reading ➞ August Kitko And The Mechas From Space – Punching, Feelings, And Robots
I am left with a lot of questions after finishing Neon Yang’s The Genesis of Misery. The primary one being, “so what?” Described as a combination of Neon Genesis Evangelion meets retelling of Joan of Arc, I would say that Misery lives up to its promises. Yet, while I think this is an imaginative and…
I find myself in a difficult position when it comes to picking a score for today’s book. Nona The Ninth, the third book in The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir, has a complicated existence. On the one hand, Muir is one of the most talented authors around right now. Her incredible prose and outstanding…
The Bruising of Qilwa, a novella by Naseem Jamnia, is a short story about being trans, immigration, belonging, and how plague/tragedy can change reality for many people. The story is entertaining, heartfelt, and it brings some nice representation to a genre that could always use more. However, while it is both cute and fun it…
Continue reading ➞ The Bruising of Qilwa – More Than Meets The Eye
Introducing another surprise hit for 2022, Ed McDonald’s Daughter of Redwinter. I have read McDonald’s other fantasy series, Raven’s Mark, and enjoyed myself greatly. There was definitely room for improvement, but the core of his last series was great (you can find reviews about it here) and McDonald has a real talent for bringing life…
Continue reading ➞ Daughter Of Redwinter – Two Headstones Way Up
I will forever keep anything Nghi Vo writes at the top of my TBR because every story is unlike anything I have read before. She has captured my attention once again with her most recent release, Siren Queen. This time, Vo pulls back the curtain on the glitz, glamour, and dark side of Hollywood as…
A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske is utterly delightful and one of the best books I’ve read in 2021. I am blinded by the joy this book brought me, and I can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy all over. I know it’s cliche but Marske’s story is truly magical and conjures all the right…
