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Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars.
Series: The Great Library (Book 3 of 5)
Genre: Young adult, alternate history, historical fantasy, fantasy
Published: July 2017 by Berkley Books (US) and Allison & Busby (UK)
Immensely engaging and intense, Ash and Quill was mid-series perfection.
Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Riftwar: Empire (Book #1 of 3), The Riftwar Cycle (Book #5 of 31)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Classic Fantasy
Pages: 528 pages (UK Paperback edition)
Published: 19th May 1987
Daughter of the Empire is a magnificent page-turning political intrigue with an amazing heroine to root for.
Spirit’s End by Rachel Aaron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Legend of Eli Monpress (Book #5 of 5)
Genre: Fantasy, high fantasy
Published: November 2012 by Orbit (UK and US)
Easily one of the most addictive and fun fantasy series I’ve read in recent memory, The Legend of Eli Monpress concluded most satisfactorily in Spirit’s End, and now occupies my list of favourites.
ARC provided by Goodreads & the publisher—Scribner—in exchange for an honest review.
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Historical fiction, Science fiction, Literary fiction
Pages: 656 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 28th September 2021 by Scribner
Cloud Cuckoo Land is more ambitious and complex than All the Light We Cannot See in every possible way. …
Cover art illustrated by: Larry Rostant
The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Riyria Chronicles (Book #2)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 372 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 17th September 2013 by Orbit
The cover art to The Rose and the Thorn is atrocious, but let’s not judge a book by its cover.
“The right word, said at the right moment, can work magic, he was fond of saying. You merely need to understand power, where it comes from, and the direction it flows.”
Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann
My rating: 6 of 5 stars
The premise and cover of Olympus, Texas immediately grabbed my attention, but I wasn’t expecting anything earth-shattering. I figured I was in for an interesting story that would hopefully keep me engaged but which I would most likely forget about soon after. I was incredibly mistaken. It’s closing in on mid-June, and I can unequivocally say this is the best book I’ve read so far this year. And I started off the year with The Labyrinth of the Spirits, which blew my mind. I can’t believe I found this book even more impactful. Not only was the story excellent and the characters impeccably crafted, this book was a masterclass on the psychology of fictional beings who have been around for millennia without being this thoroughly exposed and explained. I feel like an entire college class could be taught on the Greek pantheon using Olympus, Texas as a textbook. It’s incredible, and it changed the way I think about stories I’ve known for decades.
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The Spirit War by Rachel Aaron
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Legend of Eli Monpress (Book #4 of 5)
Genre: Fantasy, high fantasy
Published: June 2012 by Orbit (UK and US)
A new-found favourite, The Spirit War was a fantastic penultimate volume in The Legend of Eli Monpress, a series which just kept getting better.
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Cover art illustration by: Patrick Foster
Bloodline by Will Wight
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Cradle (Book #9 of 12)
Genre: Fantasy, Progression Fantasy, Xianxia
Pages: 378 pages
Published: 6th April 2021 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)
I am not sure whether this is an unpopular opinion or not, but Bloodline is the best of the series so far for me. …
Legacy by Nora Roberts
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
When will I learn? I’ve read over 200 Nora Roberts novels, and yet every once in a while I will still read a synopsis for an upcoming novel of hers and decide that I’m not sure I’m going to love that one. So instead of preordering, like I generally do for her new releases, I place a hold with my library. That’s what I did with Legacy. And now I have to buy it anyway, because I loved it. …
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ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by: Thea Dumitriu
The Broken God by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Black Iron Legacy (Book #3 of 5)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 578 pages (Paperback edition)
Published: 20th May 2021 by Orbit (UK) & 18th May 2021 by Orbit (US)
The Broken God continues The Black Iron Legacy’s reputation as one of the most imaginative ongoing fantasy series right now. …