Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
ILLBORN by Daniel T. Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Series: The Illborn Saga (Book #1 of 4)
Genre: Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 714 pages (Paperback Edition)
Published: 19th March 2021 by Troubador Publishing (Indie)
By the Lord, this was amazing. Illborn is an absolutely compelling character-driven epic fantasy debut. …
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
Reviewed by Adam Weller
Cover art illustrated by: Pen Astridge
Empire of Shadows by Alicia Wanstall-Burke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: The Coraidic Sagas (Book #3 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy
Pages: 610 pages (Kindle Edition)
Published: 25th January 2022 (Self-Published)
Alicia Wanstall-Burke’s Blood of Heirs fashioned one of the more devious second-book cliffhangers in the trilogies I’ve read in recent years. Up until the last few chapters, the story of Lidan, Loge, Ran, Sellan, and others twisting the fates of the Northern and Southern empires was an entertaining saga with strong-willed characters you could get behind. But its last few chapters really stood out, as it set the story careening off into truly exciting territory, and I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Empire of Shadows to see how the final pieces were going to fall. …
Cover art illustrated by: Nico Delort
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Standalone
Genre: Fantasy, Retelling
Pages: 480 pages (US Hardcover Edition)
Published: 10th July 2018 by Del Rey (US) & Pan Macmillan (UK)
If Uprooted is my Hell, then Spinning Silver is my Heaven.
Five years. It’s been exactly five years since I’ve read Uprooted by Naomi Novik. Honestly speaking, I never intended to read Spinning Silver. I consider Uprooted one of the worst fantasy novels I’ve read, and I had no motivation in trying out more of Novik’s works for five years. However, after hearing from many readers—one of them being my friend, Elliot Brooks—who disliked Uprooted that Spinning Silver worked wonderfully for them, my curiosity was piqued. And then, another good friend of mine—Mary—who also disliked Uprooted decided to sent me a copy of Spinning Silver. She said that Spinning Silver is one of the best standalone novels she has ever read. So here I am, nodding my head and adding my opinion to their praises; they were all 100% right. Spinning Silver is one of the best standalone novels I’ve read. This high rating you’re seeing is not a fairytale. It’s well-deserved, and Spinning Silver rightfully deserves the gorgeous cover art (US edition) illustrated by Nico Delort. …
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I could not have started the year off with a more pleasant surprise. I read another of Novik’s high fantasy novels, Uprooted, in 2016 and…I was not a fan. While I didn’t loathe it with every fiber of my being like Petrik did, it took me a couple of months to trudge through 435 pages. That’s not my general reading experience. There were a lot of things I really didn’t like about that book and, because of that dislike, I was skittish about picking up Spinning Silver . But, as I own both a physical and digital copy, I knew I was going to have to pick it up eventually. So when Petrik suggested we do a buddy-read as soon as the new year started, I jumped at it. He, Eon, TS, Haifa and myself all started it together, and the consensus has been overwhelmingly positive. Spinning Silver is a thoughtful, intricate, powerful novel that is one of the most atmospheric books I’ve ever read. I’m incredibly glad that we gave Novik another try. …
This is my journey in books for 2021!
Hi everyone, TS here! Firstly, I’d like to acknowledge that I’ve been inconsistent in my blogging/reviewing on Novel Notions this year. I couldn’t find the energy or will or brain-power as I found myself in a new expanded role at work that has a challenging learning curve, and discovered that I enjoy cooking and baking (even embarked on sourdough) so much that I started spending a lot of time in the kitchen.
I did manage to meet my reading challenge of 100 books this year regardless, and it’s probably the most diverse year of reading that I’ve had in my entire life. While fantasy remains my favourite genre for its sense of wonder, I found myself gravitating a lot towards mysteries this year, and also reading a lot more non-fiction.
I’ve decided to organise my best reads of 2021 a bit differently from prior years, somewhat thematically instead of the usual parameters and rankings.
And we’ll start with….
…
Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Picking up Krampus: The Yule Lord started out as a bit of a joke. I was reading A Christmas Carol, which has been my Christmas tradition for about a decade now, and decided to balance it out with something completely different. I went into Krampus fully expecting a horror novel that ripped Christmas apart. What I got was wildly different and infinitely more powerful. This book was profound and though-provoking and so much more emotional than I anticipated. Strangely enough, Krampus ended up being one of my favorite books of the year, providing a depth and nuance to famous and infamous figures that surprised me, as well as giving me a cast of new characters to root for. I have never been more pleasantly surprised by a book with such a disturbing cover. Which was also done by Brom. The man is an incredible artist. …
This list is also available on my Booktube Channel if that’s what you preferred: https://youtu.be/wZY-JG9HUgQ
Click here if you want to see the list of all the books I’ve read so far this year: Petrik’s Year in Books (2021)
It’s that time of the year again, y’all. 2021 is ending in a week. This year, I managed to read 130 books. This number includes 72 traditionally published books, 21 self-published/indie books, 37 manga volumes (I’ve read so many more manga volumes but I’ve decided to only include 37 here.)
In comparison to the previous years, whether it’s by pages count or the number of books, this is my lowest reading performance so far. There are details behind this reason, but really when it comes down to it, it’s because this is the first full year I became a Booktuber. In addition to reading and writing reviews, now I also record, edit, and upload videos to my YouTube Channel. My reading “performance” definitely suffers because of it, but not going to lie, I’m happy to make that sacrifice. As for the quality of the books I read, this is another incredible reading year, so let’s get to it immediately. As usual, I will be applying a few rules into this list:
Please read this first. There will be three rules I set in this list in order for me to give appreciation to more authors rather than having only a few authors hoarding this list. These rules allow me to highlight more authors, and at the same time, I’ll also be able to include both new and older books (many of them still need attention) that I read within this year.
Do note that although there’s a rank to this list, I HIGHLY recommend every book/series listed below because I loved all of them immensely, and they received a rating of 4.5 or 5 out of 5 stars from me. Without further ado, here are the top 20 books I’ve read in 2021! (All full reviews of the books listed can be found on Novel Notions and my Goodreads page …
ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art by : Ian Leino
The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft
My rating: 1.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Books of Babel (Book #4 of 4)
Genre: Fantasy, High fantasy, Steampunk
Pages: 672 pages (US paperback edition)
Published: 9th December 2021 by Orbit
The Fall of Babel is not just a title; it is a state. A state where the quality of the series ends up.
Josiah Bancroft, please do not read this review. I love your previous books, and I would prefer your memory of my thoughts on your books remains that way; leave it in the state of innocence and happiness just like Senlin before he entered the Tower of Babel. Now, let’s get on with the review.
“You could resent yourself for your imperfect enjoyment of your life, but that seems to me like a never-ending chore. A thankless one, too. I think that if we really knew how good our lives were while they were good, we’d be too scared to do anything, change anything. We’d never take a risk, or explore, or grow. You can hate yourself for not fully appreciating your happy days while you had them, or you could look back and be warmed by the memory, couldn’t you?”
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Y’all. I am so blown away by this book. I enjoyed A Court of Thorns and Roses much more than I expected. But I absolutely adored A Court of Mist and Fury. My expectations were a good bit higher going into this second book, but those expectations were obliterated. I can’t believe I waited so long to read this series. I might be the most reluctant of Maas converts, but I have been won over entirely. This book is one of the most addictive, well-paced, romantic things I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve read all year. Not only am I excited to see what happens next, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have found a new series to add to my comfort-rereads shelf.
Be aware that I don’t know how to review this book without giving some details that spoil events in ACOTAR. So, there will be spoilers aplenty below. You’ve been warned.
…
ARC provided by the publisher—Orbit—in exchange for an honest review.
The Bone Ship’s Wake by R.J. Barker
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: The Tide Child (Book #3 of 3)
Genre: Fantasy, High fantasy
Pages: 543 pages (UK paperback edition)
Published: 30th September 2021 by Orbit
I’ve completed two series by R.J. Barker now, and Barker stuck the landing in both Kings of Assassins and The Bone Ship’s Wake.
“Of all the people on the ship, the courser knew most what it was to be alone. And Joron, as Meas had once said, had found command was the loneliest place of all.”