Circe by Madeline Miller
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Historical fiction, Mythology, Retelling
Pages: 433 pages (US Kindle edition)
Published: 19th April 2018 by Bloomsbury (UK) & 10th April 2018 by Little, Brown and Company (US)
Madeline Miller is now on my must-read author list. I can’t wait for her next work already. …
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I loved this book. The story ended up being so much more hopeful than I expected. Edward’s journey from normalcy to survival to learning to live again is incredibly encouraging to anyone who has ever undergone trauma. Because no matter what we’ve faced in our lives, next to none of us have ever undergone a tragedy quite like the one Edward endures.
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The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #2 of 4)
Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery
Pages: 673 pages (US Kindle edition)
Translated Edition Published: 2009 by Weidenfield & Nicholson, Orion Books (UK) & 2009 by Doubleday (US)
The Angel’s Game is another incredible book by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It’s as good as The Shadow of the Wind in a different way. …
ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Drowning Empire (Book #1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 448 pages (UK hardcover edition)
Published: 10th September 2020 by Orbit (UK) & 8th September 2020 by Orbit (US)
This will most likely be my favorite fantasy debut of 2020. …
Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Expanse (Book #2 of 9)
Genre: Science fiction, Space opera
Pages: 624 pages (UK paperback edition)
Published: 7th June 2012 by Orbit (UK) & 1st January 2012 by Orbit (US)
Avasarala is finally here!!! …
Reaper’s Gale by Steven Erikson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars.
Series: Malazan Book of the Fallen (Book 7 of 10)
Genre: Epic fantasy, grimdark fantasy
First published: 2007 by Bantam (UK) and 2008 by Tor (US)
I will not be the first to extoll the astounding breadth and depth of the Malazan world with its extensive history, a multitude of races, richly diverse cultures and a huge cast of characters. I may also not be the first to admit how lost I sometimes feel, wandering through this labyrinth of intricate worldbuilding.
Reaper’s Gale was the first volume in the Malazan Book of the Fallen which, to my delight, continued directly from the previous book. There was no whiplash from the sudden change in plot lines from one book to the other in the past six books. Almost all the subplots from the previous novels led into this one with a lot of known main characters showing up one way or another, all of which descended upon the Letherii Empire.
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The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Book of the Ice (Book 1 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Science Fiction
Published: 21 April 2020 by HarperVoyager (UK) and by Ace (US)
A scintillating start to this new series!
Omens are difficult and open to interpretation but if the oracle that touches your newborn dies moments later, frothing at the mouth, it is hard even with a mother’s love to think it is a good sign. In such cases a second opinion is often sought.
If the old adage that you’re only as good as your last book holds true for authors, then it’s hardly a surprise that one of my most highly anticipated book releases of the year was The Girl and the Stars. Full disclosure, that’s a complete understatement. Mark Lawrence delivered an emphatically stunning and satisfying conclusion with Holy Sister, finishing off his The Book of the Ancestor (TBOTA) series in some style and simultaneously pushing my hype levels for his next project through the roof (although I am still not over some of the heartaches he caused me). I did not think I could be more excited. That was until I heard that his new book was set in the same world as that previous series. It’s safe to say that if I had access to a Delorean, I’d have read this quite a while ago.
*For those who have not yet read TBOTA series, you are welcome to read The Girl and the Stars first. You won’t be missing out on anything that will take away any understanding or enjoyment from this read.
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My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I was so disturbed by this book. My Dark Vanessa is incredibly thought-provoking and raises a ton of great questions. I’m glad that I read it. And I’ll never read it again. (Side note: Everything being explored in this review is pretty much referenced in the book’s synopsis, so I don’t think I’m spoiling anything. But if you want to go into this book truly blind, you might want to skip this review.)
“To be groomed is to be loved and handled like a precious, delicate thing.”
Scarlet Tides by David Hair
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Moontide Quartet (Book #2 of 4)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy
Pages: 688 pages (UK paperback edition)
Published: 24th October 2013 by Jo Fletcher
Wow. Scarlet Tides is an awesome sequel. My gratitude goes to Kitty G for recommending this super underrated series. …
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #1 of 4)
Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery
Pages: 506 pages (US Kindle edition)
Translated Edition Published: 2004 by Weidenfield & Nicholson, Orion Books (UK) & 2004 by Penguin Books (US)
An astonishingly engaging story within a story type of novel; the passion for books and reading introduced in the first chapter was just an appetizer before all the interconnecting twists and turns. …