Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Dresden Files (Book #11 of 25)
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 545 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 4th June 2009 by Orbit (UK) & 9th March 2009 by Roc (US)
Turn Coat is one of my favorite volume in the series so far, it’s up there with Dead Beat and White Night.
I received an ARC of A Chorus of Fire from the publisher (Tor books) in exchange for an honest review.
A Chorus of Fire by Brian D. Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Sorcerer’s Song (Book #2 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 11th August 2020 by Tor Books
A captivating continuation, A Chorus of fire expertly sets up the series for a climactic finish.
The Bard’s Blade was the first book I read by Brian D. Anderson and I loved it. As I stated in my review for that book, there are not many fantasy stories where music plays a major role. That does not seem to have changed much since I wrote that and I was eagerly looking forward to immersing myself back in this world. When I was given the chance to read the sequel early, I had zero hesitation in saying “YES, PLEASE!” Before I carry on though, I would like to give a shout out to Felix Ortiz for the gorgeous cover art he created for this book.
Shadow Of A Dead God
Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Mennik Thorn (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy
Published: May 27th, 2020 by Five Fathoms Press
Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
A real page-turner; Patrick Samphire has crafted an excellent, mage-ical adult fantasy debut.
I am for the most part very wary regarding what I choose to read, and as such, I rarely read books that I have not heard a lot of good things about, with the exception of authors whose previous work I loved. Shadow of a Dead God by Patrick Samphire fell smack-bang in the middle of this category, with neither the author nor the book being known to me, but I was seriously tempted from the first time I read the blurb and it shows the importance of a well-written description. Still, I wavered until my co-blogger, Emma, said that she was also interested in this fun sounding book and ready to give it a shot, and I thought, what the hell, let me join in. I am SO happy I made that decision.
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ARC provided by the publisher—Head of Zeus—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover illustration by: Scott M. Fischer
Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Burningblade & Silvereye (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Post-apocalypse, Sci-fi.
Pages: 593 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 21st July 2020 by Head of Zeus (UK) & Orbit (US)
A captivating start to a series; if you’re worried whether Ashes of the Sun will be as good as The Shadow Campaigns or not, feel free to incinerate those doubts away now. …
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Lord of the Rings (Book #2 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Classic Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Published: 11th November 1954 by George Allen and Unwin
“It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.”
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath
Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth by Christopher Russell
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: Divinity’s Twilight (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Sci-fi, Steampunk
Pages: 498 pages (US Paperback edition)
Published: 2nd June 2020 by Morgan James Fiction (Indie)
This was good, an ambitious SFF debut to what I foresee will be a large series.
Due to my TBR pile that continues to exponentially grow uncontrollably, I have to say that I rarely accept an ARC/review copy from an unknown author these days. My gut, however, told me to accept the request to review Christopher Russell’s debut, Divinity’s Twilight: Rebirth, and I’m glad I gave this one a go. I mean, how could I say no when Russell himself said that he’s a huge fan of The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson; the inspirations from that epic series was evident in his debut. …
Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath
Small Favor by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Dresden Files (Book #10 of 25)
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 444 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 11th June 2009 by Orbit (UK) & 1st April 2008 by Roc (US)
For better or worse, Small Favor is a fully action-packed packed—have I mentioned packed?—volume.
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher (Orbit/Redhook) and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians is a truly brilliant example of alternative history. Parry managed to stay completely faithful to the persons and events that make up the true history of this time period while deftly adding in the existence of magic and exemplifying how that existence might have impacted the French Revolution and the British fight to abolish the slave trade. Historical figures like William Pitt, William Wilberforce, Toussaint Bréda L’Ouverture, and Maximilien Robespierre are all exquisitely portrayed both as individuals that really existed and fictional characters whose minds were are invited to explore. Parry balanced this contrast beautifully. She could have rewritten history in a way that made it somehow less. She could have stayed so true to history that the narrative felt more like a nonfiction text than a novel. But she did neither of those things. She was able to bridge that divide in a way that both informs and inspires, that encourages both historical curiosity and fantastical imaginings. I’m truly in awe of what she was able to do with this novel.
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ARC received from the publisher, Tor.com, in exchange for an honest review.
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy, wuxia, novella, Asian-inspired
Published: 23 June 2020 by Tor.com Publishing
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is a Malaysian-based fantasy with a semi-wuxia flavour that was an absolutely delightful slice of home.
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ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Cover illustration by: Felix Ortiz
Ash and Bones by Michael R. Fletcher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Series: City of Sacrifice (Book #2 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy
Pages: 661 pages
Published: 1st August 2020 Michael R. Fletcher
Ash and Bones is a sequel filled with battles, narcotics, magic stones—especially obsidian—and moral dilemmas.
“There are two means of convincing a population to police itself: Religion, and Economy. Faith and greed.”