Novel Notions -

I’ve been excited about A Study of Shattered Spells for close to a year now. As soon as information about it started to drop, months before the Kickstarter campaign opened, I was captured by it. A dark academia novel featuring a magic school and a music-based magic system, told from a professor’s perspective and written from a Christian worldview? I can’t think of any description more specifically tailored to my interests and reading tastes. …

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Book Review: Framed in Death (In Death, #61) by J.D. Robb

September 3, 2025 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

Framed in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, in exchange for an honest review.

Framed in Death is the 61st installment in the In Death series. I’ve loved Nora Roberts (and her pen name, J.D. Robb) for well over half my life. I’ll read—and have read—pretty much anything that she writes. But there’s something about this series that is just so special to me. I’ve been following the adventures of Eve Dallas and Roarke, Peabody and the rest of the crew, since I was sixteen. Which was twenty years ago. Because Nora publishes two installments in the series per year, it feels like I have this bi-annual chance to catch up with a great group of friends. Some installments are more successful than others, but all of them provide me with that cozy feeling of sitting down to a meal with good friends I haven’t seen in months. That being said, Framed in Death is a very strong installment, one that had me glued to its pages late into the night. …

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Book Review: Winter’s Chill (The Nordic Wars, #2) by Morgan L. Busse

August 20, 2025 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

Winter’s Chill by Morgan L. Busse
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Winter’s Chill picks up right where Winter’s Maiden left off. We continue following Brighid and Kaeden, with occasional secondary perspectives thrown in. Busse takes us to the White City in the southlands, and back to Bear Clan territory in the north. I loved learning more about the Eldaran through Kaeden’s perspective. But even more, I loved exploring the lore and power of the Bear Clan alongside Brighid. While not as tense and fast-paced as its predecessor, Winter’s Chill is just as compelling. The expansion of the world and the growth of the characters made for an engaging reading experience. …

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Book Review: Winter’s Maiden (The Nordic Wars, #1) by Morgan L. Busse

August 18, 2025 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

Winter’s Maiden by Morgan L. Busse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Winter’s Maiden is the first installment in the Nordic Wars, a Norse-inspired fantasy brimming with compelling characters, intense action, and fascinating worldbuilding. Fans of John Gwynne, rejoice! This novel scratches the same itch as Gwynne’s The Faithful and the Fallen in terms of mythos, and his Bloodsworn Saga in terms of setting and characters. I was swept away by this epic tale from start to finish, and I immediately dove into the second installment, Winter’s Chill, as soon as I read the final page. …

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Book Review: The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy, #2) by James Islington

August 13, 2025 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

ARC provided by the publisher—Saga Press—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art by Jaime Jones

The Strength of the Few by James Islington

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Hierarchy (Book #2)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Science Fantasy

Pages: 736 pages (Hardcover edition)

Word Count: 240,000 words

Published: 11th Novermber 2025 by Saga Press

We’re not at the end of 2025 yet, but I believe The Strength of the Few by James Islington has secured the best fantasy book of the year award. This is the finest sequel I’ve read since Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson and The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu.

“The power to protect is the highest responsibility.”

…

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Book Review: The Crier Stone (The Chaos Grid #2) by Lyndsey Lewellen

August 6, 2025 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

The Crier Stone by Lyndsey Lewellen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Chaos Grid was thoroughly enjoyable, and I honestly felt that it could have worked as a standalone novel, even though part of me wanted more of the story. I’m so glad Lewellen didn’t leave it there. The Crier Stone is a phenomenal sequel, improving on its already excellent predecessor in almost every way. We are thrown right back into Juna’s story where we parted from her at the end of that first book. From the very first page of The Crier Stone, the pace is fast and the plot is tense. There is a depth here that was hinted at in The Chaos Grid without being fully realized, in terms of character development and worldbuilding and the underlying tale of faith at its core. I was enraptured from start to beautiful finish. …

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Book Review: The Chaos Grid (The Chaos Grid, #1) by Lyndsey Lewellen

August 3, 2025 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

The Chaos Grid by Lyndsey Lewellen
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I love retellings, especially stories that riff on either a fairytale or a Bible story. Some stories—like “Beauty and the Beast” or the Book of Esther—have been retold often. I’ve read quite a few takes on both of those, some of which have been wonderful. But then there are stories that reimagined less frequently, like the story of Jonah. I can only remember encountering one other loose retelling of that particular tale, but it didn’t hold a candle to this book in terms of originality. The Chaos Grid is the first half of a duology that blends Mad Max with the Book of Jonah, set within a post-apocalyptic, dystopian Texas. I found it fascinating and unique, fast-paced and compelling. There was never a dull moment in this first half of the story, and it left me hungry to know what happens next. …

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Book Review: Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) by Martha Wells

July 9, 2025 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Cover art by Jaime Jones

Network Effect by Martha Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Murderbot Diaries (Book #5)

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 346 pages (Kindle Edition)

Word count: 112,000 words

Published: 5th May 2020 by Tordotcom

I can say with ease that Network Effect, the fifth title and the first full-length novel in the series, is the best book in The Murderbot Diaries so far.