Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Comments 1 comment


Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nine Perfect Strangers was not a book I intended to pick up. The idea of a novel this long set at a health resort sounded tedious to me. But after seeing the trailer for the Hulu series, I found myself intrigued. I enjoyed another of Moriarty’s books, Big Little Lies, and it was also a story whose premise did nothing for me, so I decided to give Nine Perfect Strangers a try. I’m glad I did, because it ended up being one of the best non-fantasy novels I’ve read all year. I was honestly incredibly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book. …

Read More Read More

Cover Reveal: Nectar for the God (Mennik Thorn #2) by Patrick Samphire

Cover Reveal: Nectar for the God (Mennik Thorn #2) by Patrick Samphire

Comments 0 Comment

Hi everyone! Eon from Novel Notions here.

Today we are honoured to be able to do the beautiful cover reveal of Nectar for the God by Patrick Samphire. This book is the sequel to Shadow of a Dead God which was one of my favourite reads of 2020, a delightful page-turner of a story featuring a down-on-his-luck, heart of gold, scrappy mage protagonist. And it’s funny as hell.

The first book in the series intitally had a cover made by Patrick himself, and he did an excellent job of it, but he then decide to update it and asked Ömer Burak Önal to design a new cover which turned out to be a showstopper. It’s no surprise then that he asked Ömer to also design the artwork for the sequel after that magnificent previous effort. So, without further delay, here it is, the cover reveal of Nectar for the God!

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Book Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Comments 2 comments

(This is a repost of an old review I wrote in May 2018)

Cover art illustrated by: Sam Weber

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series:The Divine Cities (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Urban fantasy, Post-apocalyptic, Horror

Pages: 452 pages (US paperback edition)

Published: 9th September 2014 by Broadway Books (US) & 2nd April 2015 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)

A truly wonderful start to a trilogy and one of the most original world-building I’ve ever had the chance to experience in a novel. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Shadowblack (Spellslinger, #2) by Sebastian De Castell

Book Review: Shadowblack (Spellslinger, #2) by Sebastian De Castell

Comments 0 Comment

Shadowblack by Sebastian de Castell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Spellslinger (Book 2 of 6)

Genre: Fantasy, YA fantasy

Published:  5th October 2017 by Hot Key Books (UK) and 21st August 2018 by Orbit (US)

Enjoyable and engaging, Shadowblack was an excellent sequel which builds on the characters and the intriguing world they live in.

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Book Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Comments 0 Comment

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Divine Cities (Book 1 of 3)

Genre: Urban fantasy, fantasy, post-apocalyptic

Published: 9th September 2014 by Broadway Books (US) & 2nd April 2015 by Jo Fletcher Books (UK)

It had been a while since I’ve come across such a magnificent start to a series or trilogy; City of Stairs was a fine example of genre-redefining for urban fantasy.

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel, #1) by Anthony Ryan

Book Review: The Pariah (The Covenant of Steel, #1) by Anthony Ryan

Comments 0 Comment

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

Cover art illustrated by: Jaime Jones

Cover art designed by: Lauren Panepinto

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Covenant of Steel (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 576 pages (UK Hardcover edition)

Published: 26th August 2021 (UK) & 24th August 2021 (US) by Orbit

I’ve read every novel by Anthony Ryan, and The Pariah just might have his best prose so far.

“When the task is a killing, be quick and make sure of it. Torment is an indulgence. Save it for only the most deserving.”

…

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Death of Dulgath (The Riyria Chronicles, #3) by Michael J. Sullivan

Book Review: The Death of Dulgath (The Riyria Chronicles, #3) by Michael J. Sullivan

Comments 0 Comment

Cover art illustrated by: Marc Simonetti

The Death of Dulgath by Michael J. Sullivan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Riyria Chronicles (Book #3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 408 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 15th October 2015 by Riyria Enterprises, LLC (Self-published)

The Death of Dulgath is the best volume in The Riyria Chronicles so far. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King

Book Review: Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King

Comments 0 Comment


Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I read this book and wrote big portions of this review while ill. So if it doesn’t make a ton of sense, that’s why. In my defense, the book made less and less sense as I read it, the stories flowing less effortlessly and feeling more forced. Which is common with King. Sticking the landing just isn’t his strength.

Out of all of the Stephen King books I’ve read, this one is by far the strangest, at least in terms of set-up. It’s not a novel, per se, nor is it a collection of short stories. These interconnected novellas become more and more dependent on one another as they progress, telling different facets of the same story in a way. …

Read More Read More

Book Review: The Desert Prince (The Nightfall Saga, #1) by Peter V. Brett

Book Review: The Desert Prince (The Nightfall Saga, #1) by Peter V. Brett

Comments 2 comments

ARC provided by the publishers—Del Rey & Harper Voyager—in exchange for an honest review.

Cover art illustrated by: Tommy Arnold

The Desert Prince by Peter V. Brett

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Nightfall Saga (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High fantasy, YA fantasy

Pages: 656 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 3rd August 2021 by Del Rey (US) & 5th August 2021 by Harper Voyager (UK)

I won’t lie; I’m disappointed with The Desert Prince, but I have to acknowledge that this is a case of “not for me” due to having read The Demon Cycle. …

Read More Read More