City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Divine Cities (Book 3 of 3)
Genre: Urban fantasy, fantasy, post-apocalyptic
Published: 2nd May 2017 by Broadway Books (US) & 4th May 2017 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)
With its stunning denouement in City of Miracles, Robert Jackson Bennett’s masterful genre-redefining trilogy is now one of my all-time favourites.
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City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Divine Cities (Book 2 of 3)
Genre: Urban fantasy, fantasy, post-apocalyptic
Published: 26th January 2016 by Broadway Books (US) & 7th January 2016 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)
City of Blades was one of the best sequels I’ve read; it has everything I could ask for that expands upon an already fantastic start to a trilogy.
(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in May 2018)
Cover art illustrated by: Sam Weber
City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series:The Divine Cities (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Urban fantasy, Post-apocalyptic, Horror
Pages: 452 pages (US paperback edition)
Published: 9th September 2014 by Broadway Books (US) & 2nd April 2015 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)
A truly wonderful start to a trilogy and one of the most original world-building I’ve ever had the chance to experience in a novel. …
City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Divine Cities (Book 1 of 3)
Genre: Urban fantasy, fantasy, post-apocalyptic
Published: 9th September 2014 by Broadway Books (US) & 2nd April 2015 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)
It had been a while since I’ve come across such a magnificent start to a series or trilogy; City of Stairs was a fine example of genre-redefining for urban fantasy.
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo
(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in December 2017)
Death Note: All-in-One Edition by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Death Note (#1-13)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Psychological, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 2400 pages
Published: 5th September 2017 by VIZ Media LLC
Death Note is a masterwork that eventually will become a classic in the manga/anime industry; in my opinion, it already did. …
Cover art by Anna Steinbauer
One Good Dragon Deserves Another by Rachel Aaron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: Heartstrikers (Book 2 of 5)
Genre: Urban fantasy
Published: 1st August 2015 (Aaron/Bach, self-published)
One Good Dragon Deserves Another is simply a sublime sequel.
I thoroughly enjoyed book one in The Heartstrikers series and was eagerly looking forward to more of the same with Rachel Aaron’s follow up book, One Good Dragon Deserves Another. Lucky for me, the author not only delivered on this expectation, but she also blew it out of the water! This book has every chance to be in my top ten at the end of the year! I LOVED IT.
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Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Heartstrikers (Book 1 of 5)
Genre: Urban fantasy
Published: 13th July 2014 (Aaron/Bach, self-published)
Nice Dragons Finish Last is a delightful start to what looks like a very promising series.
I might love the fantasy genre, but urban fantasy has ever been my least favourite of its sub-genres, making this latest foray of mine a rarity. Despite my reservations, I am impressed though. Once again, my friend, TS, has proven that the title I have bestowed upon her – Queen of Recommendations – is not a ceremonial one in the least. I am confident that this series is going to be one of my favourites.
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Blood Heir by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Aurelia Ryder #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
To be published: January 12th 2021
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
This review is part of the Blood Heir Blog Tour, kindly organized by Mihir (Fantasy Book Critic). #BloodHeirKD
Back to Atlanta.
Back among old friends.
“To the fans of Kate Daniels World who refuse to let it go.”
Aww look, I just got my first and very apt book dedication!
Joking apart, Kate Daniels’s crazy world, her dysfunctional Atlanta and her colorful friends and foes alike aren’t things I am ready to let go. If there is more, I will read it. If there isn’t, I will reread the existing stories over and over again. But Blood Heir, however, is not a book about Kate. is a book (and the first installment in a new series) about Julie, Kate’s protégé and probably my least favorite regular character. Did I care? May be a bit, may be at first, but not enough to make me consider walking away. As long as it was set in Atlanta, the mere chance of seeing some of the old cast was incentive enough to pre-order the book months in advance and pounce on the opportunity to read it early.
2020 has been such a strange, stressful and complicated year. I took a one-year sabbatical leave from work from mid-2019 and managed to do quite a bit of travelling for about six months before the world got completely turned upside down. I’ve read/listen over 120 books this year, 73 of which was completed during the first half when I wasn’t working and the entire world was on lockdown. Getting back to work during the second half in the midst of a global pandemic and a new challenging role did affect my ability to read and also write reviews on a regular basis.
Despite 2020 being such a watershed/dumpster year, it’s been an incredible one for my reading as I’ve completed a lot books ranging from great to masterpieces. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I’ve added so many books onto my favourites shelf (many of which were from the same series). If you’re curious/interested, you also can see my year in books for 2020 right here.
Similar to my previous list, I do not limit this to only books released this year. There are simply too many great books that have been published prior and that I’ve yet to read, so there will always be older books included. Below are the parameters that I’ve set for the list.
None of these are ranked except for the top five. The rest, I’ve listed them in the chronological order of when I’ve read them this year. Almost all of these have been reviewed by me on Novel Notions and Goodreads, albeit some are quite brief.
The featured image above was specifically designed by Felix Ortiz for Novel Notions’ Top 20 Lists. Check out his portfolio, he’s brilliant.
This list is also available on my Booktube Channel if that’s what you preferred: https://youtu.be/1gXaV7SQVio
Click here if you want to see the list of all the books I’ve read this year: Petrik’s Year in Books (2020) …