The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

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The Resurrection of Joan AshbyThe Resurrection of Joan Ashby by Cherise Wolas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I honestly need more than five stars to give.

“She was no longer writing about tragedies that blew apart peoples lives, but about something else entirely: how dreams could keep hope alive and fresh.”

Getting this book was kind of a big deal for me. Okay, it was a really big deal. This was the first physical ARC I ever received. I’ll be honest: being asked to review this book made me feel kind of special, which was a large part of the reason I accepted it. When the book was delivered, I was tentatively excited, but I wasn’t going to hold my breath that it was going to be any good. And I wasn’t going to lie and say that it was amazing if it wasn’t, though I would’ve tried to soften the blow the best I could, because I hate to hurt anyone’s feelings, even if the author never read my review. But it turns out that I needn’t have worried. The Resurrection of Joan Ashby was everything that literary fiction should be; it took the mundane and elevated it with stunning prose and tremendous character depth. …

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The Gods of Vice (The Vengeance Trilogy, #2)

The Gods of Vice (The Vengeance Trilogy, #2)

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The Gods of Vice (The Vengeance Trilogy, #2)The Gods of Vice by Devin Madson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

No sophomore slump here; this was another great installment for The Vengeance Trilogy.

The battle for the Crimson Throne has split Kisia and it’s time for the characters to choose sides. Prepare for shifting allegiances, betrayal, and revelations. The plot in The Gods of Vice continues immediately after the end of the first book and once again, vengeance and the deadly magic—Empathy—become the central theme. If you’ve read the first book and haven’t read the novella, In Shadows We Fall yet, I strongly urge you to read it now; it’s only 100 pages long anyway. The novella, despite being very short, provides a lot of backgrounds information that is still pertinent to this installment. For example, Empress Li won’t just be a simple name you read; you’ll know so much more about her each time her name gets mentioned. This of course doesn’t mean that you HAVE to read the novella to understand the events in this book, but it will certainly be beneficial in enriching your experience. So why not? It’s fantastic and it will only take two hours (at max) to read. …

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Original Fiction Friday – The Last Dancing Princess

Original Fiction Friday – The Last Dancing Princess

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Hello friends! I’d like to share some of my original fiction with you, and I thought a wonderful way to do so would be through a weekly feature on the blog. Please feel free to comment and message me your opinions. And if you have a story idea you’d like to see me tackle, I’m definitely open to suggestions!

I love words with all of my heart. One of my greatest passions is writing stories of my own, stories that I hope will find an audience some day. My other great love is music, and many of my short stories heavily feature music and the power I feel it holds. This is such a story. I hope you enjoy my spin on the classic fairy tale! …

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The Blood of Whisperers (The Vengeance Trilogy, #1)

The Blood of Whisperers (The Vengeance Trilogy, #1)

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The Blood of Whisperers (The Vengeance Trilogy, #1)The Blood of Whisperers by Devin Madson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

A thoroughly engaging Asian-inspired fantasy and a super underrated debut.

I’m a man of habit; I usually always plan my TBR. But Devin Madson’s books shot up my TBR and ruined my plans immediately the moment I finished her award-winning novella, In Shadows We Fall, three weeks ago. From the moment I finished the novella, I knew I simply needed to read more set in this world and I’m damn pleased I followed that notion. …

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The Chemist

The Chemist

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The ChemistThe Chemist by Stephenie Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book I honestly had no intention of reading.

I really enjoy Meyer’s YA books. They’re a little trashy, but they’re fun and addictive in a teenage soap opera kind of way. Twilight will always be one of my guilty pleasures. But I honestly didn’t think she could handle writing an adult spy thriller. I mean, it requires so much more research and finesse than a vampire/werewolf love triangle, right? The foreshadowing that was so present in the Twilight Saga would have to be done away with, because a thriller with no surprises isn’t really a thriller. The characters would have to be radically different from those she’s known for. I didn’t think she could do it.

I was wrong. …

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Book Review: The Ember Blade (The Darkwater Legacy, #1) by Chris Wooding

Book Review: The Ember Blade (The Darkwater Legacy, #1) by Chris Wooding

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I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

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

Cover art designed and illustrated by: Blacksheep Design

The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Darkwater Legacy (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

Pages: 832 pages (Hardcover edition)

Published: 20th September 2018 by Gollancz

Wooding strikes a magnificently fine balance between classic epic fantasy and grimdark fantasy, making this an amazing start to a new trilogy. …

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City of Stairs (Divine Cities #1)

City of Stairs (Divine Cities #1)

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City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Time renders all people and all things silent. And gods, it seems, are no exception.”

I have a confession to make. I purchased this trilogy in February of 2017, even preordered the final installment though I hadn’t read the first two. I just knew that it was a trilogy that I would love based off of the synopsis. There is nothing in the realm of fiction that I love more than unique religions and overt philosophizing. While setting and characterization and plot and prose are what make a book function, the books that make me happiest are those in which religion and philosophy play a vital part. However, even though I was almost positive that I would love Bennett’s trilogy, I kept putting it off for some reason. Petrik finally convinced me to give in and read it, and I’m so thankful that he did. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. …

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The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)

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The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not a review. This is a story, a story about a man who opened the first pages of Mistborn: The Final Empire.

Back in August 2016, there was a man who lived in emptiness. He was probably clinically depressed, but he would never know; he didn’t get himself checked. His heart didn’t ache, his smile was freely given, but he was never happy; he felt empty every day. Damages were added when he realized his hobbies didn’t interest him that much anymore, which resulted in reluctant social interaction with his friends. His insomnia was so acute that he couldn’t sleep without alcohol so he drowned in it every night. These symptoms were most likely the aftermath of cumulative mental damage afflicted by those closest to him. His best friend spread lies about him, his closest cousin stole tons of money from him, and then he lost his job and his then girlfriend dumped him. He was alone. He told himself, this can’t be it. There’s always a way to come back stronger. He decided to do something new; he decided to fully immerse himself in reading novels. There were countless choices out there and he didn’t know what to choose first, but on the 1st of September 2016, he dived into the mist and hope was born. …

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Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1)

Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1)

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Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World, #1)Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Representation is so important in fiction.. It’s much easier to sink into a character’s story when they resemble you in some way. For centuries there was very little healthy representation of anyone outside of heterosexual white males of European descent. Characters who fell outside of these restrictions tended to be only secondary characters, and were often portrayed as two-dimensional caricatures of the race or sex or religion they represented. There were exceptions, of course, but they were few and far between, and were often authored by women using male pseudonyms. That still left many groups utterly unrepresented, though. Thankfully, in the past few decades this lack has been addressed, and the variety of representation in literature has skyrocketed. …

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Paternus: Wrath of Gods (Paternus Trilogy, #2)

Paternus: Wrath of Gods (Paternus Trilogy, #2)

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ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Paternus: Wrath of Gods (Paternus Trilogy, #2)Paternus: Wrath of Gods by Dyrk Ashton
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Paternus: Wrath of Gods is a brilliant concoction of mythologies, cultures, and fantasy that fans of urban fantasy definitely must read.

First of all, how awesome is that cover? In my opinion, it’s one of the best indie cover art I’ve ever seen. Then let me proceed by expressing my gratitude to the author for including a RECAP of the story and a list of characters from the first book at the beginning of this sequel. If it weren’t for this, I doubt my experience of reading this book without rereading the first one would be as good. Seriously, I still don’t get why traditionally published authors—except Mark Lawrence and Michael J. Sullivan—don’t do this more often; it is only a few pages long, and is so useful in enabling readers to acclimatize themselves to the world and characters again. So yes, even if it’s been a while since you’ve read the first book, you don’t have to worry about feeling lost. …

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