As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The Final Strife is Saara El-Arifi’s debut novel and the first book in The Ending Fire trilogy, an epic fantasy series inspired by Ghanaian folklore and Arabian myths. It’s also a spectacular first novel with fantastic worldbuilding and storytelling (the epigraphs and oral tales are especially wonderful additions), and I was eager to read more of it every time I had the chance. It had been some time […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Book Description: A “superb fantasy saga” (Helene Wecker) of martial arts and magic, about what happens when a prophesied hero is not the chosen one after all—but has to work with a band of unlikely allies to save the kingdom anyway, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lives of Tao “An ambitious and touching exploration of disillusionment in faith, tradition, and family—a glorious reinvention of fantasy and wuxia tropes.”—Naomi Novik, New York Times bestselling […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Book Description: This dark, lush, and beautiful reimagining of the story of Rapunzel presents the witch’s perspective in this tale of motherhood, magic, and the stories we pass down to our children. “Smart, swift, sure-footed and fleet-winged, The Book of Gothel launches its magic from a most reliable source: the troubled heart. Mary McMyne is a magician.”—Gregory Maguire, NYT bestselling author of Wicked Everyone knows the tale of Rapunzel […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Note: You may want to read this review on the website (instead of by email or feed reader). There are spoiler tags following the fourth paragraph that should be hidden on the website but may be visible elsewhere. Kate Elliott’s latest book, the standalone epic fantasy novella Servant Mage, tells the story of a commoner swept into an overthrown monarchy’s struggle against the new regime. Fellian, like all […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Note: You may want to read this review on the website (instead of by email or feed reader). There are spoiler tags toward the end that should be hidden on the website but may be visible elsewhere. Book Description: A stunning debut from a powerful new voice, Kaikeyi is the story of the infamous queen from the Indian epic the Ramayana. It is a tale of fate, family, courage, and heartbreak—of an extraordinary woman determined […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Book Description: A girl of two worlds, accepted by none… A half Reaper, half Shinigami soul collector seeks her destiny in this haunting and compulsively readable dark fantasy duology set in 1890s Japan. Death is her destiny. Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren […]