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Book Review: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Book Review: The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

The Once and Future Witches

 

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Published: October 15th, 2020 by Orbit (UK) and October 13th, 2020 by Redhook (US)


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

Witchy as HELL! The Once and Future Witches was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and Alix E. Harrow absolutely, unequivocally, brought the magic.

I first picked up The Ten Thousand Doors of January earlier this year (2020) and loved it beyond description. In fact, that book now occupies a space on my favourites shelf. It is unsurprising then, that The Once and Future Witches was one of my most anticipated book releases of the year. Luckily, I have been fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to read this book before the official release date. The icing on the bookish cake is that I have had the privilege of reading not just one, but two of Alix E. Harrow’s spellbinding stories in less than seven months and both have filled me with an unbridled sense of wonder.

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Book Review: Dust & Lightning by Rebecca Crunden

Book Review: Dust & Lightning by Rebecca Crunden

Review copy received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Dust & Lightning by Rebecca Crunden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Genre: Science fiction, space adventure, novella

Published: 5th February 2020 (self-published)


Dust & Lightning was an enjoyable science fiction adventure that packed just enough character development and worldbuilding to make the plot work in novella form.

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Book Review: Of Darkness and Dawn (The Elder Empire: Shadow, #2) by Will Wight

Book Review: Of Darkness and Dawn (The Elder Empire: Shadow, #2) by Will Wight

Cover illustration by: Micah Epstein

Of Darkness and Dawn by Will Wight

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Elder Empire: Shadow (Book #2 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 364 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 10th August 2015 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)


This review is an unpopular opinion; please feel free to ignore this if you’ve read and enjoyed the first book, but in my opinion, Of Darkness and Dawn was a huge downgrade from its predecessor.

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Book Review: White Night (The Dresden Files, #9) by Jim Butcher

Book Review: White Night (The Dresden Files, #9) by Jim Butcher

Cover illustration by: Chris McGrath

White Night by Jim Butcher

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Dresden Files (Book #9 of 25)

Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy

Pages: 528 pages (US Kindle edition)

Published: 4th March 2010 by Orbit (UK) & 3rd April 2007 by Roc (US)


I’ve mentioned this several times, but it’s always safe to rely on The Dresden Files for a quick entertaining read.

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Book Review: The Burning God (The Poppy War Trilogy, #3) by R.F. Kuang

Book Review: The Burning God (The Poppy War Trilogy, #3) by R.F. Kuang

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

Cover Illustration by: JungShan

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Poppy War Trilogy (Book #3 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Grimdark Fantasy, Military Fantasy

Pages: 640 pages

Published: 26th November 2020 by Harper Voyager (UK) and 17th November 2020 by Harper Voyager (US)


Bursting with violence, devastation, death, and profound emotions. The Burning God is by far the best book R.F. Kuang has written in her career so far.

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Blog Tour: We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson

Blog Tour: We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson

Hi everyone! Petrik from Novel Notions here. We, the team at Novel Notions, are very thrilled and honored that we were asked by Orbit to participate in the blog tour for the We Ride the Storm, the first book in The Reborn Empire quartet, by Devin Madson.

I’ll keep this introduction brief, We Ride the Storm was one of my favorite self-published books, to have it picked up by Orbit—one of my favorite publisher—still gives me joy up to this day. With that in mind, on this blog tour I decided to re-post my review that I wrote two years ago when I finished reading We Ride the Storm—the self-published edition—for the first time. Once you’ve read this full-of-praises review, let it sink into your head that the traditionally published edition of We Ride the Storm is even more refined and polished.

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Book Review: The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

Book Review: The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

ARC received from the publisher, Tor, in exchange for an honest review

The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Genre: Historical fiction, mystery

Published:  23rd June 2020 by Tor Books


The Angel of the Crows was a decent and fun read, though not at all what I was expecting from the blurb. This book is Sherlock Holmes fan-fiction written in the subgenre of wingfic, where some of the characters have wings (in this case, they are angels).

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Book Review: The Labyrinth of the Spirits (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #4) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Book Review: The Labyrinth of the Spirits (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #4) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Cover illustration by: Matt Duffin

The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My rating: 6 of 5 stars

Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #4 of 4)

Genre: Historical fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Translated Edition Published: 2018 by Weidenfield & Nicholson, Orion Books (UK) & Harper (US)


The Labyrinth of the Spirits is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It has it all – evocative history, engrossing mystery, atmospheric setting, compelling characters, incredible emotional depth – wrapped up in writing so beautiful that it moves your soul.

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Book Review: Of Sea and Shadow (The Elder Empire: Sea, #1) by Will Wight

Book Review: Of Sea and Shadow (The Elder Empire: Sea, #1) by Will Wight

Cover illustration by: Micah Epstein

Of Sea and Shadow by Will Wight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: The Elder Empire: Sea (Book #1 of 3)

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy

Pages: 428 pages (Kindle edition)

Published: 30th December 2014 by Hidden Gnome Publishing (Indie)


This pirate fantasy was almost as good as its parallel novel.

“The successful man visualizes success rather than failure,”

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