The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #2 of 4)
Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Translation Edition Published: 2009 by Weidenfield & Nicholson, Orion Books (UK) & 2009 by Doubleday (US)
The Angel’s Game was equally as spellbinding and bewitching as The Shadow of the Wind, but in a totally different way.
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The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 23 June 2020 by Tor.com Publishing
Zen Cho is an author whose previous work I have enjoyed a lot, but in all honesty, what first drew my attention to this book was not the author or the title, but the beautiful, captivating illustration done by Sija Hong for the cover. Add in that blurb teasing a found family, wuxia fantasy story involving a nun joining up with a group of bandits in order to protect a sacred object but finding herself in a situation far more complicated than she expected and yes, my tbr mountain found itself one book higher.
Wolf of Wessex by Matthew Harffy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 400 pages
Published: 14th November 2019 by Aria
A great self-contained historical fiction novel. …
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
“The weight of what has been lost is always heavier than what remains.”
The Mothers is a powerful, moving picture of a how a secret can wreak havoc on a person, a family, a church, a community. An action that seems to only effect one person never does. Instead, even the smallest decisions can have far-reaching consequences, small ripples that grow into tidal waves.
“After a secret’s been told, everyone becomes a prophet.”
Cover illustration by: James T. Egan of Bookfly Design
The Fury Yet To Come by Steven McKinnon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Raincatcher’s Ballad (Book #0.5 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy
Pages: 124 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 25th June 2018 by Steven McKinnon DBA Vividarium Books (Indie)
This incredible action-packed grimdark novella is free. If you’re a fan of the sub-genre, I highly suggest you take this opportunity to get the book by subscribing to the author’s blog. …
Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The First Law (Book #3 of 3), First Law World (Book, #3 of 10)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark fantasy
Published: 20th March 2008 by Gollancz (UK) & 8th September 2015 by Orbit (US)
I’ve been meaning to read The First Law trilogy for years, after hearing loads of accolades from far and wide across the fantasy bibliosphere. Now that I’ve done so, I could safely say that Abercrombie deserved all those praises, and I’ll contribute by heaping on more of the same.
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Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In the past few years, I’ve developed a deep love for any memoir in which someone details their crazy childhood and how they managed to rise above it. While they are radically different, Hollywood Park is joining Educated as one of my favorites in this random subgenre for which I’ve developed such a fondness. Hearing about Mikel Jollett’s earliest years was incredibly illuminating, and was yet another true story that made me so incredibly thankful for the wonderful, easy childhood I had, and how foundational that gilded upbringing was in my becoming the person I am today.
“Those nights I just go blank, like I could tie every bad thing inside me to a balloon and just let it float up into the sky, disappearing beyond the clouds.”
Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath
Dead Beat by Jim Butcher
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Dresden Files (Book #7 of 25)
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 408 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 4th March 2010 by Orbit (UK) & 3rd May 2005 by Roc (US)
We human don’t deserve dogs, but how about Tyrannosaurus?
“Time after time, history demonstrates that when people don’t want to believe something, they have enormous skills of ignoring it altogether.”
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
We all have our insecurities, reasons we sell ourselves short and chicken out on following our dreams. Reasons we don’t think we deserve those dreams. And we’re all wrong. We all, every single one of us, deserve those dreams. And we need to respect ourselves enough to get out of our own way and to at least try. The worst that can happen is that we fail, right? And how is that worse than never trying at all?
Big Summer is a breezy, very current murder mystery. The perspective character, Daphne, is a plus-sized Instagram influencer who is about to be part of the biggest wedding to ever hit social media. But when someone winds up dead, Daphne finds herself trying to track down the murderer instead.
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Cover illustration by: Nekro
Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 544 pages
Published: 21st April 2020 by Harper Voyager
An exciting and enjoyable standalone fantasy for both adult and young adult audience. …