Novel Notions -

Book Review: Dandelion Wine (Green Town, #1) by Ray Bradbury

April 30, 2026 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dandelion Wine is an absolutely beautiful coming-of-age story. It’s a book I’ve owned for years, one I purchased second-hand when I realized that it was part of a series that included one of my favorite books, Something Wicked This Way Comes. But for some reason, I kept putting it off, fearing that it would somehow weaken the magical grip Something Wicked has on my heart. Instead, it strengthened it. This slim book is every bit as weirdly wonderful and inexpressibly nostalgic as its counterpart, weaving that same magical grip around my heart regarding the summer as Something Wicked did with autumn. It’s exactly what I’m always craving—but rarely find—when I venture into the realm of natural realism. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Once There Were Heroes (A Time of Dragons, #1) by Philip C. Quaintrell

April 18, 2026 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Cover art by Chris McGrath

Once There Were Heroes by Philip C. Quaintrell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: A Time of Dragons (Book #1 of 5)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Pages: 750 pages (Hardcover Edition)

Published: 4 September 2023 by Quaintrell Publishings

Once There Were Heroes ignites the epic and slow-burning genesis of an unexplored saga in the world of Verda. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Lesser Devil (The Sun Eater, 1.5) by Christopher Ruocchio

April 16, 2026 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

The Lesser Devil by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“He had always been the lesser devil. Always in Hadrian’s shadow, or his father’s. It had taken years, decades, to realize that it was this that had made him angry as a boy. This that had made him … whatever he’d been.”

“…shadows shrink in time.”

Crispin, the “lesser devil” of House Marlowe, has always lived in Hadrian’s shadow, even close to 40 years after his older brother’s disappearance. Hadrian is constantly on Crispin’s mind. His longing for his older brother, in spite of how terribly they parted, was poignant. “I wish Hadrian was here” and “Hadrian would know what to do” were frequent refrains in his thoughts. And yet, he has within himself the potential to be a better man. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1) by Larry McMurtry

March 30, 2026 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove Book #1 of 4)

Genre: Historical Fiction, Western

Pages: 946 pages (Ebook Edition)

Word Count: 379,000 Words

Published: 1985 by Simon & Schuster

I thought I was done with reading a Western-setting novel. Lonesome Dove proved me wrong by becoming the best Western story I’ve ever read.

“I’m glad I’ve been wrong enough to keep in practice. . . You can’t avoid it, you’ve got to learn to handle it. If you only come face to face with your own mistakes once or twice in your life it’s bound to be extra painful. I face mine every day–that way they ain’t usually much worse than a dry shave.”

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: Scion by James Islington

March 21, 2026 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

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

Cover art illustrated by Yohei Horishita

Scion by James Islington

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Scion (Book #1)

Genre: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk

Pages: 240 pages (Ebook Edition)

Word Count: 56,000 Words

Published: 1st September 2026 by Saga Press (US) and Gollancz (UK)

Scion is a fast-paced and action-packed cyberpunk novel about freedom, justice, and identity. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Daughter of Crows (The Academy of Kindness, #1) by Mark Lawrence

March 16, 2026 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

ARC provided by the publisher—Harper Voyager—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by Tom Roberts

Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Academy of Kindness (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic fantasy

Pages: 450 pages (Ebook Edition)

Published: 24th March 2026 by Ace Books (US) and Harper Voyager (UK)

Daughter of Crows marks Lawrence’s marvelous return to the grim and dark storytelling of his, and it will be one tale to remember.

The Academy’s official motto was, πίστη πάνω από τη συνείδηση, ‘Creed Above Conscience.’ Unofficially it was ‘Leave the bodies’.

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: Empire of Silence (the Sun Eater, #1) by Chistopher Ruocchio

March 2, 2026 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

“We live in stories, and in stories, we are subject to phenomena beyond the mechanisms of space and time. Fear and love, death and wrath and wisdom—these are as much parts of our universe as light and gravity.”

The Sun Eater is one of those series that I’ve heard so many good things about that I found myself really hesitant to pick it up. But I’m glad that I finally decided to take the plunge, because I was immediately enamored by Hadrian Marlowe and held rapt by his story. Ruocchio has an immaculate way with words, and he’s drawn a dark but impeccably nuanced system of worlds that feels true, even if fictitious. This is a gigantic story, the surface of which is barely scratched in this first installment. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1) by Matt Dinniman

February 15, 2026 Petrik Leo Comments 0 Comment

Cover art by Luciano Fleitas

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, LitRPG

Pages:450 pages (Hardcover Edition)

Published: 2 October, 2020 (Self-Published)

Fun, bonkers, and filled with personality. It took me years, but I finally started reading Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, arguably the most popular LitRPG series at the moment.

“Mana Toast. This is toast. It refills your mana. That’s it. Nothing more. Fuck you.”

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman

January 19, 2026 Celeste Comments 0 Comment

The Charmed Library by Jennifer Moorman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Stella Parker had never burned a book in her life. Had never once thrown pages of text—much less handwritten love letters and poetry—into a fire. Yet there she was, purposefully setting fire to one of the most precious things in her life: words.”

That is the first paragraph of the prologue for The Charmed Library. I was immediately sold. Moorman’s writing style is simply gorgeous. And it’s beautifully suited to magical realism. The early pages of this story led me to ask myself: why don’t I read more magical realism? I really should, because it’s charming. This melding of the reality I know with the magical and fantastical I long for just such a lovely, hopeful juxtaposition when handled properly. And Moorman strikes that balance well.