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Book Review: The Wall of Storms (The Dandelion Dynasty, #2) by Ken Liu

Book Review: The Wall of Storms (The Dandelion Dynasty, #2) by Ken Liu

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Cover art illustrated by: Sam Weber

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: The Dandelion Dynasty (Book #2 of 4)

Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Silkpunk

Pages: 880 pages (Hardcover Edition)

Published: 4th October 2016 by Saga Press (US) & Head of Zeus (UK)

A mind-blowing masterpiece. The Wall of Storms is the best second book of a series I’ve read since Words of Radiance.

“Hope was the currency that never ran out, and it was the fate of the poor to toil and endure, wasn’t it?”

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Book Review: The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow (The Crystal Calamity, #1) by Rachel Aaron

Book Review: The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow (The Crystal Calamity, #1) by Rachel Aaron

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ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review

Cover Art by Luisa Preißler.

The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow by Rachel Aaron

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: The Crystal Calamity (Book 1)

Genre: Fantasy, historical fantasy, alternate history

Published: 1st June 2022 (self-published)

The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow was another effortless winner from Rachel Aaron, brimming with imagination, wonderful characters and captivating magic. 

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Book Review: Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang

Book Review: Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang

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

Cover art illustrated by: Nico Delort

Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone

Genre: Fantasy, Dark Academia

Pages: 560 pages (Kindle Edition)

Published: 23rd August 2022 by Harper Voyager

Babel was absolutely impressive, ambitious, and intelligently crafted. As unbelievable as it sounds, R.F. Kuang has triumphed over The Poppy War Trilogy—which I loved so much—with this one book.

“Language was always the companion of empire, and as such, together they begin, grow, and flourish. And later, together, they fall.”

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TS’s Monthly Wrap-Up : May 2022

TS’s Monthly Wrap-Up : May 2022

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Hello all!  Welcome back to my monthly wrap-up.

Amazingly, I found my Book of the Month for May right at the very beginning of the month, but that’s not to say that the books that came after that were not good.  Most of them were great reads (in fact, only one book disappointed me), and I’m happy to say that the series conclusion that I was looking forward to delivered very satisfactorily.   I did start to feel a slight burn-out from reading almost non-stop fantasy (albeit mostly Middle Grade) and ended the month with two crime/mystery thrillers.

NB. Books are rated within its genre.  For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.

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Book Review: The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2) by Brandon Sanderson

Book Review: The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2) by Brandon Sanderson

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The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

I first read Mistborn: Era 1 a little over 7 years ago. While I loved it in its entirety, I remembered thinking in hindsight that The Well of Ascension was significantly weaker than the first and third novels in the trilogy. I was mistaken. While it wasn’t quite as fast-paced as its predecessor, this was still a phenomenal book in its own right. It’s not quite perfect, but it is much stronger than I recalled. And there was so much that I had forgotten! As with all of Sanderson’s work, The Well of Ascension is brimming with fascinatingly scientific magic systems, a compelling plot, mysteries that don’t give themselves away too quickly, and characters with flaws but a ton of heart. Rereading this series is reminding me of why Sanderson is one of my favorite authors of all time. He never lets me down.
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Book Review: Darling Girl by Liz Michalski

Book Review: Darling Girl by Liz Michalski

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Darling Girl: A Novel of Peter Pan by Liz Michalski
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Darling Girl sounded like something that would be incredibly up my alley. A dark retelling of Peter Pan? Yes, please. However, I found myself pretty disappointed with the book overall. While I didn’t hate it, I found that the tale and the structure and especially the characters left much to be desired.

“Once the forbidden fruit has been tasted, there’s no going back to paradise. For anyone. Even Peter Pan, it seems. Innocence, once lost, is impossible to regain.”

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Book Review: Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) by Stephen King

Book Review: Song of Susannah (The Dark Tower, #6) by Stephen King

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Song of Susannah by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Song of Susannah is the penultimate installment in King’s magnum opus, The Dark Tower. And though I still wouldn’t consider it a bad book by any means, I do believe it’s the weakest in the series since The Gunslinger. That being said, I still very much enjoyed my time in this world and with these characters. I was absorbed the entire time, and the tension was palpable. Even when King isn’t at his best, there’s something about his writing that just sucks me in and won’t let me go, even after I’ve read the final pages.

“In the Land of Memory the time is always Now.
In the Kingdom of Ago, the clocks tick… but their hands never move.
There is an Unfound Door
and memory is the key which opens it.”

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Cover Reveal: The Blood of Outcasts (The Bane Sword Saga, #1) by D.A. Smith

Cover Reveal: The Blood of Outcasts (The Bane Sword Saga, #1) by D.A. Smith

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Hi everyone! Petrik from Novel Notions here.

After yesterday, we have another exciting post today. Yes, it’s another cover reveal! Novel Notions will be hosting the cover reveal to The Blood of Outcasts by D.A. Smith! Or to be more precise, this is a cover re-reveal. Knowing the importance of beautiful cover art, especially in self-publishing, the author decided to rebrand his debut novel with a brand new look. This is the first book in The Bane Sword Saga, a gritty samurai-inspired fantasy novel!

Without further ado, here’s the cover reveal to The Blood of Outcasts by D.A. Smith!

Cover art illustrated by Martin Mottet

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Cover Reveal: Starbinder (Eye of Eternity, #0.5) by Mark Timmony

Cover Reveal: Starbinder (Eye of Eternity, #0.5) by Mark Timmony

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Hi everyone! Petrik from Novel Notions here.

We have an exciting post today. Novel Notions will be hosting the cover reveal to Starbinder by Mark Timmony! Starbinder is an Eye of Eternity novella and a loose prequel to The Blood of the Spear. The author has mentioned that it is not necessary to have read Blood of the Spear first but you might get a bit more out of it if you have. The ebook for Starbinder is not available for sale, it’s an exclusive download for people who subscribe to my mailing list – which can be found here: https://marktimmony.com/signup/

There will be a physical version of the book available for sale via Amazon, etc, soon. Without further ado, here’s the cover reveal to Starbinder by Mark Timmony!

Cover art illustrated by Felix Ortiz

Cover art designed by STK.Kreations

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