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Month: June 2020

Book Review: The Burning God (The Poppy War Trilogy, #3) by R.F. Kuang

Book Review: The Burning God (The Poppy War Trilogy, #3) by R.F. Kuang

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

Cover Illustration by: JungShan

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Poppy War Trilogy (Book #3 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Military Fantasy

Pages: 640 pages

Published: 26th November 2020 by Harper Voyager (UK) and 17th November 2020 by Harper Voyager (US)


Bursting with violence, devastation, death, and profound emotions. The Burning God is by far the best book R.F. Kuang has written in her career so far.

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Blog Tour: We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson

Blog Tour: We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson

Hi everyone! Petrik from Novel Notions here. We, the team at Novel Notions, are very thrilled and honored that we were asked by Orbit to participate in the blog tour for the We Ride the Storm, the first book in The Reborn Empire quartet, by Devin Madson.

I’ll keep this introduction brief, We Ride the Storm was one of my favorite self-published books, to have it picked up by Orbit—one of my favorite publisher—still gives me joy up to this day. With that in mind, on this blog tour I decided to re-post my review that I wrote two years ago when I finished reading We Ride the Storm—the self-published edition—for the first time. Once you’ve read this full-of-praises review, let it sink into your head that the traditionally published edition of We Ride the Storm is even more refined and polished.

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Book Review: The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

Book Review: The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

ARC received from the publisher, Tor, in exchange for an honest review

The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: Historical fiction, mystery

Published:  23rd June 2020 by Tor Books


The Angel of the Crows was a decent and fun read, though not at all what I was expecting from the blurb. This book is Sherlock Holmes fan-fiction written in the subgenre of wingfic, where some of the characters have wings (in this case, they are angels).

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Book Review: The Labyrinth of the Spirits (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #4) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Book Review: The Labyrinth of the Spirits (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #4) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Cover illustration by: Matt Duffin

The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 6 of 5 stars

Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #4 of 4)

Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Translated Edition Published: 2018 by Weidenfield & Nicholson, Orion Books (UK) & Harper (US)


The Labyrinth of the Spirits is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It has it all – evocative history, engrossing mystery, atmospheric setting, compelling characters, incredible emotional depth – wrapped up in writing so beautiful that it moves your soul.

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Book Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

Book Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune


The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Change often starts with the smallest of whispers.”

How many books have been written proclaiming that different doesn’t mean wrong? Countless. And yet that message is still just as desperately needed, if not moreso, than it’s every been. We live in a world divided, a world in which diversity is still viewed with suspicion by many fronts. But though we still have a long way to go, inclusion and acceptance of those different than ourselves has come a long way over the course of the past century. While it may seem as though we’ve taken a step back in recent years, we’ve actually come so far that we’re better able to recognize our failings than ever before. Just as waking a sleeping limb is painful but necessary in order for our body to properly function, being able to see the areas in which we’re lacking is painful but necessary if we want to keep moving forward into a world in which people are valued for their souls and dreams instead of cast out for being different. After all, aren’t our differences what make us beautiful? The world would be a boring place if we were all carbon copies of one another. I for one am thankful to live in a world in which uniqueness abounds.

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Book Review: Of Sea and Shadow (The Elder Empire: Sea, #1) by Will Wight

Book Review: Of Sea and Shadow (The Elder Empire: Sea, #1) by Will Wight

Cover illustration by: Micah Epstein

Of Sea and Shadow by Will Wight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Elder Empire: Sea (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 428 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 30th December 2014 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)


This pirate fantasy was almost as good as its parallel novel.

“The successful man visualizes success rather than failure,”

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Book Review: Dust of Dreams (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #9) by Steven Erikson

Book Review: Dust of Dreams (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #9) by Steven Erikson

Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars.

Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen (Book 9 of 10)

Genre: Epic fantasy, grimdark fantasy, fantasy

First published:  2009 by Bantam (UK) and 2010 by Tor (US)


The denouement of the Malazan Book of the Fallen is so long that it had to be written over two enormous books. Dust of Dreams is the first act of this grand finale and it was glorious!

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Book Review: Of Shadow and Sea (The Elder Empire: Shadow, #1) by Will Wight

Book Review: Of Shadow and Sea (The Elder Empire: Shadow, #1) by Will Wight

Cover illustration by: Micah Epstein

Of Shadow and Sea by Will Wight

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Elder Empire: Shadow (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 406 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 30th December 2014 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)


An incredible start to an assassin high fantasy trilogy with a strong potential to be even better than Cradle.

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Book Review: The Kingdom of Liars (The Legacy of the Mercenary King, #1) by Nick Martell

Book Review: The Kingdom of Liars (The Legacy of the Mercenary King, #1) by Nick Martell

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

The Kingdom of Liars by Nick Martell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: The Legacy of the Mercenary King (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Mystery

Pages: 608 pages (US hardcover edition)

Published: 7th May 2020 by Gollancz (UK) & 5th May 2020 by Saga Press (US)


Kingdom of Liars was one of the most hyped up debuts in 2020, and I believe it’s partly due to Sanderson’s blurb.   It is a commendable debut, but while I’m not disputing what Sanderson said about this book, the enjoyment I derived from reading it was a whole lot more mixed than his blurb would suggest.

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