#Book Review – Setsuko and the Seven Samurai; V.M. Sawh

A retelling of fairy tales is always a good challenge, both for the writer and the reader. The writer has to weave a story using key elements–recognizable elements–while adding enough spin to make it stand out; the reader has to step away from the original tale and suspend their disbelief in places while looking for hidden tropes.

#Book Review – Merchants of Knowledge and Magic; E. McCorkle

Still, every now and again I happen upon a fantasy that waters my crops, clears my skin, and removes those twenty-odd years from my soul in zero point five. One page in and I’m that girl again, squeeing at world-building or raving about fantastic MCs.

#Book Tour #Book Review – The Girl in the Corn – J. Offutt

I had high, high hopes for this book. The blurb was intriguing, the cover promising, and the first chapters were so captivating I was looking forward to seeing how things would pan out. Then, something happened and left me with more questions than answers.

#Book Review – Over the Broad Earth; J.L. Feuerstack

Over the Broad Earth has been a surprise from start to finish. 

#Book Review – Shadebringer; G.W. Hooper

Talk about surprises. Whenever I pick up a book, the bare minimum I expect from it is a trope paired with a fresh twist. Subtle or blatant, it doesn’t matter, as long as I get something new. With Shadebringer, Hooper read my mind because he pulled one hell of a twist–and I’m allowed to talk about it since it’s in the blurb 😀

#Book Tour #Book Review – The Amber Crane; M.V. Hassell

Historical fantasy? Wow, sign me up. I’m a big history fan, and I like a well-written fantasy every now and again; as a combo, it sounds pretty much irresistible. The Amber Crane is that combo, mixing both genres in a graceful, poignant way.

#Book Review – A Phantom’s Vengeance; M. Mizzi

A Phantom’s Vengeance, Mizzi’s debut, hits all the high notes of the genre: a troubled and wronged MC, tragedy striking, a quest for vengeance, and the beginning of a saga. It’s classic fantasy through and through, and the story itself follows the classic book structure to a T (I checked XD).

#Book Review – A Slave’s Revenge (Hell Holes #4); D. Firesmith

The thing is, it takes a lot of talent to write a sci-fi novel with something new to say. A fresh take. A Slave’s Revenge, the fourth installment of the Hell Holes series, does have that fresh take, and it comes under the form of demonic aliens. They hail from Hell, which is a physical place, and kidnap people in order to enslave them. Our MC, Paul, gets captured when he’s a teenager, and works his way to the top, sort of, before he manages to get his revenge. Saving the world while he’s at it may or may not be a plus.

#Book Review #ARC – The Liar of Red Valley; W. Goodwater

This is how you write a good book. You take a character—Sadie, in our case—and plop her there, front and center. Backstory? Sure, when and if it becomes relevant, it can be sprinkled throughout the story. Infodump of any kind at the beginning? No. There’s the MC, there’s the (relevant again) setting, and there’s trouble brewing on the horizon. Nothing more is needed.

The Chrysillium Tree – Laken Honeycutt

I loved this book. I loved almost everything about it. Mæve is an interesting character, and rooting for her is so easy because she’s fierce and courageous, but also kind, intelligent and humble. She’s given a task early in the novel, and no matter how dire things are, she does everything in her power to reach her goals.