The nitty gritty: Complex worldbuilding, intimate characterizations and brutal action make The Shadow of the Gods a must read for epic fantasy fans. “We all live with death’s talons in our shoulder, her breath on our neck.” – Elvar I’m happy to finally check John Gwynne off my fantasy bucket list! And I have to […]
The nitty-gritty: Come for the thrilling mecha battles, stay for the cute romance! Hard Reboot was a lot of fun! You might expect from looking at the cover that the story is chock full of mecha fighting goodness—and you would be partially right. But there is a lot more to this little story, and the […]
The nitty-gritty: A bawdy, irreverent and joyful adventure, The Blacktongue Thief is an excellent start to an exciting series. When listening for danger, one must never mistake silence for safety. Color me surprised and delighted by Christopher Buehlman’s traditional fantasy debut! I wasn’t sure what to expect but I did not expect this. Buehlman takes […]
The nitty-gritty: An inventive retelling with a pop music beat, The Album of Dr. Moreau is a funny, heartwarming surprise. I once made the mistake of telling an Englishman my story, and he turned it into a novel. What do you get when you mash together The Island of Doctor Moreau, a famous boy band […]
The nitty-gritty: Come for the characters, stay for the pulse-pounding action! The Last Watch is an excellent debut with heart, humor and thrills galore. A scrappy band of misfits sent to the outer reaches of the galaxy to protect humanity from a dangerous enemy; a newly recruited member of the team who is trying to […]
The nitty-gritty: Meticulously crafted and mind-bendingly creepy, Whisper Down the Lane is a riveting page-turner that’s hard to put down. Whisper Down the Lane is an extremely unsettling, paranoia-fueled psychological thriller that takes its ideas from some real life events and twists them into something new and horrifying. I wasn’t sure what to expect from […]
The nitty gritty: Dark and atmospheric, All the Murmuring Bones is an intriguing blend of fairy tale and mystery. Love is a barbed hook and family the line to which it is tied. It digs deep, and sometimes trying to remove it entirely does more damage than simply leaving the obstruction beneath the skin for […]
The nitty-gritty: A strange, sad, claustrophobic tale, with unexpected moments of beauty and hope. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything quite like We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep. This is a dark, atmospheric tale—verging on oppressive—that weaves together several unusual elements: a submarine called the Leviathan commanded by a religious zealot […]
The nitty-gritty: A thrilling, heartbreaking and satisfying end to one of my favorite series, The Fall of Koli is one of the best books of 2021. Jon stroked my cheek with one finger, a thing he did oftentimes to gentle me into sleep. “What do people look for out of a story, Spin? You told […]
The nitty-gritty: Filled with mysteries, magic and mayhem, The Ladies of the Secret Circus is a dark and layered tale of a family curse and the mysterious circus they can’t escape. I knew that Constance Sayers was going to deliver something unique with her latest release, but I was not expecting such an unusual, magical […]