Review of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi’s #1 New York Times bestselling debut novel, is the first installment in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy. This West African-inspired young adult fantasy book is a heart-wrenching story with characters facing memorable struggles in both their literal and figurative journeys, and I can definitely understand why it’s been making such big waves this year. However, despite being hooked throughout the first and last 100 pages, I did find the pacing between these two sections […]
Review of Before Mars by Emma Newman
Emma Newman’s latest novel, Before Mars, is set in the same science fiction universe as two of her previously published books, Planetfall and Clarke Award finalist After Atlas. Despite being the third book in this setting, it does stand alone as a complete story, although I did find myself occasionally wondering if I might have felt more connected to it had I read the others first and been familiar with the major events that were referenced. After having finished it, I believe […]
Review of The Defiant Heir by Melissa Caruso
The Tethered Mage, Melissa Caruso’s Venetian-inspired fantasy debut novel, was one of my favorite books read during 2017. The worldbuilding is thoughtfully done, and it also features wonderful characters and relationships, mystery and political intrigue, and a little romantic development. It’s so compulsively readable that I ended up staying up until 2:00 one morning finishing it, and I could hardly wait to continue the story in The Defiant Heir—and now that I’ve also read the sequel, I can hardly wait […]
Review of Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins
Daughters of the Storm, a sequel to the novella “The Crown of Rowan,” is the first novel in the Blood and Gold series by five-time Aurealis Award–winning author Kim Wilkins. Both this and Sisters of Fire, the second book in this epic fantasy series, were finalists for the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel during their respective publication years. About four years after its initial release in Australia, Daughters of the Storm was released in the United States for the […]
Review of Beneath the Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer
Beneath the Haunting Sea, Joanna Ruth Meyer’s young adult fantasy debut novel, is a tale about fate, love, courage, selflessness, and determination built upon forgotten history, myths, and family secrets. It’s a lovely story—even a book I found rather difficult to put down during the second half—but there are some issues with its execution despite being enjoyable overall. Shortly before her sixteenth birthday, Talia learns that the dying Emperor is her biological father and that he intends to announce that […]
Review of The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman
The Lost Plot is the fourth book in Genevieve Cogman’s delightful Invisible Library series, which follows the adventures of Librarian Irene Winters whose job involves traveling to various alternate worlds collecting books for an organization existing outside of time and space—and often requires plenty of deception and quick thinking on her part. Fortunately, Irene is competent and sharp-witted enough to consistently rise to the occasion even in the most ludicrous situations, and her practical-yet-amusing observations of the world and these […]
