Review of Daughters of Nri by Reni K Amayo
Daughters of Nri is both Reni K Amayo’s debut novel and the debut publication of Onwe Press, whose website describes them and their mission as follows: We are an independent publisher based in the UK. Founded by 2 black women in 2018, we want to disrupt the publishing industry offering opportunities to voices we need to hear more from. At Onwe Press, we value three things above all: unforgettable stories, author ownership and highlighting diverse voices. We’re small but we’re […]
Sporty Mini-Reviews: Girl in the Arena and Zeroboxer
Book Description: During the week, Lyn lives in a big house in Cambridge and hangs out with friends in Harvard Square. But over the weekend, she cheers her father on as he gears up for neo-gladiator competition-a high-profile televised blood sport that rivals the NFL. Lyn’s father is the top player in the league, and the paparazzi that have always swarmed him have started to dog Lyn’s every move. All this fame comes with another price—Lyn’s family lives with the […]
Review of The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow
The Ten Thousand Doors of January is Hugo Award–winning author Alix E. Harrow’s debut novel, and it is a treasure—enchanting, wondrous, beautifully written, a book that feels like it was penned specifically for bibliophiles and fantasy fans, a story that seems destined to one day be a classic. This historical portal fantasy set during the early 1900s is the tale of January Scaller, a young woman residing in a Vermont estate owned by Mr. Locke, the wealthy chairman of the New […]
Review of A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna
Space opera meets mythic fantasy in Sangu Mandanna’s young adult novel A Spark of White Fire, the first book in the Mahabharata-inspired Celestial Trilogy. This riveting, expertly paced tale features gods and goddesses, prophecies and curses, a divided royal family, and a sentient warship who is not particularly fond of the destruction and bloodshed for which she was crafted. I loved every moment of reading it and have already pre-ordered the sequel, A House of Rage and Sorrow (coming September 17 […]
Mini-Review of The Gossamer Mage by Julie E. Czerneda
Book Description: From an Aurora Award-winning author comes a new fantasy epic in which one mage must stand against a Deathless Goddess who controls all magic. Only in Tananen do people worship a single deity: the Deathless Goddess. Only in this small, forbidden realm are there those haunted by words of no language known to woman or man. The words are Her Gift, and they summon magic. Mage scribes learn to write Her words as intentions: spells to make beasts […]
Review of The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden’s debut novel and the first book in the Winternight Trilogy, is a beautifully written, atmospheric, Slavic-folklore-inspired book set in a fourteenth century Rus’ in which the old spirits are beginning to fade with the rise of Christianity in the region. This volume chronicles the childhood and young adulthood of Vasya, starting with her mother’s knowledge that her next child will be a daughter very much like her own mother, a woman resembling a […]
