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. …
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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. …
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, Macmillan Audio, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The premise for The Maidens immediately piqued my interest. A ritualistic murder on a prestigious college campus, with a Classics professor and his select group of all female students, known as the Maidens, at the center of the intrigue? Yes, please. I love dark academia, especially when combined with the study of Ancient Greek and classical literature. I went in hoping form something along the lines of The Secret History, which I absolutely adore. But I liked what this book pretended to be far more than what it actually was. If that makes sense. Alas, The Maidens fell a bit flat for me. …
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Magician: Apprentice by Raymond E. Feist
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Riftwar Saga (Book #1 of 3 or 4), The Riftwar Cycle (Book #1 of 31)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Classic Fantasy
Pages: 509 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 1st October 1982
Magician: Apprentice is a familiar and enjoyable start to a beloved classic fantasy series. …
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ARC provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art designed by: Patrick Knowles
Master Artificer by Justin Travis Call
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Silent Gods (Book #2 of 4)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy
Pages: 896 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 6th May 2021 by Gollancz (UK) & 18th May 2021 by Blackstone Publishing (US)
Master Artificer is an epic, super detailed, and ambitious grimdark sequel to Master of Sorrows.
Bag of Bones by Stephen King
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
As I’ve been reading through King’s back catalogue, I’ve come across very few of his stories that hadn’t been spoiled to some extent for me, simply by the culture in which we live. While I had never read The Shining or Pet Sematary or ‘Salem’s Lot, I had some idea what was going to happen because they’re so present in our collective cultural psyche. The same could be said for Carrie, and Misery, and IT, and so many other King novels. But Bag of Bones? I went into this one completely blind. And as with Needful Things and Rose Madder, other books of his that I knew nothing about, it was more impactful because of my lack of exposure. It’s not among my favorite King books I’ve read, but Bag of Bones will be sticking with me for a while.
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ARC provided by Goodreads and the publishers—Ballantine Books, Cornerstone—in exchange for an honest review.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Science fiction, Space Opera, Hard Sci-fi
Pages: 496 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 4th May 2021 by Ballantine Books (US) and Del Rey (UK)
Andy Weir is back with a new novel suitable for fans of The Martian.
“Stupid humanity. Getting in the way of my hobbies.”
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The Lords of the North by Bernard Cornwell
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Last Kingdom (Book #3 of 13)
Genre: Historical fiction
Pages: 401 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 22nd May 2006 by HarperCollins
This was a good but slightly weaker volume compared to its predecessors. It’s so good to finally meet Sihtric and Finan for the first time, though. …
ARC received from publisher, Tor, in exchange for an honest review.
To Hold Up the Sky by Cixin Liu
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Science fiction, short stories
Published: 1st October 2020 by Head of Zeus (UK) and 20 Oct 2020 by Tor Books (US)
True to his form as seen in his most renowned science fiction series, The Remembrance of Earth’s Past, Cixin Liu’s imagination in this short story collection, To Hold Up the Sky, was truly remarkable.
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ARC provided by the publisher—Saga Press & Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by: Richard Anderson
The Two-Faced Queen by Nick Martell
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Legacy of the Mercenary King (Book #2 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High fantasy
Pages: 592 pages (Kindle edition)
Published: 25th March 2021 by Gollancz (UK) & 23rd March 2021 by Saga Press (US)
Overall, The Two-Faced Queen a good sequel. Similar to its predecessor, the first half was a bit of a struggle for me, but the second half was great.
“To be forgotten feels more like death than death.”