Spoiler Warning for Book One: This review covers the second book in a series, and there are some spoilers for the end of the first book. These are in the book description for The Archer at Dawn and are primarily related to where the main protagonists stand with each other and which sides they are on at the end of the first book. If you want to avoid this information but learn more about this trilogy, you can read my […]

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Description of The Jasmine Throne: A ruthless princess and a powerful priestess come together to rewrite the fate of an empire in this “fiercely and unapologetically feminist tale of endurance and revolution set against a gorgeous, unique magical world” (S. A. Chakraborty). Exiled by her despotic brother, princess Malini spends her days dreaming of vengeance while imprisoned in the Hirana: an ancient cliffside temple that was once the revered source of the […]

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Hall of Smoke, H. M. Long’s Viking-inspired epic fantasy debut novel, follows a priestess of the Goddess of War as she tries to set things right after having failed her deity—and discovers there’s far more to her world and its pantheon than she’s been taught when she becomes entangled in a war between the gods of the Old and New Worlds. Hessa was only a child when she learned she was […]

Since I’ve fallen rather far behind on reviews given 2020, I’ll probably be writing some shorter reviews. Usually when I write posts covering more than one book, the titles have little in common other than being speculative fiction that I’ve read, but this time I’m covering two fantasy books about magical women pushing back against patriarchies: The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk and The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow. As an Amazon Associate I earn from […]

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Although the bulk of my reading is speculative fiction because of its myriad worlds and endless possibilities, I primarily read for characters. In particular, I appreciate stories with characters so vividly multifaceted that I have complicated, difficult-to-articulate feelings about them—when I don’t simply love or hate them, when the way I think about them changes from moment to moment, when I’m left uncertain precisely what to think of them because they […]

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Book Description: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Uprooted and Spinning Silver comes the story of an unwilling dark sorceress who is destined to rewrite the rules of magic. “The dark school of magic I’ve been waiting for.” Katherine Arden, author of Winternight Trilogy I decided that Orion Lake needed to die after the second time he saved my life. Everyone loves Orion Lake. Everyone else, that is. Far as I’m concerned, he can keep his […]