Tag: Book Review

Sixteenth Watch – Myke Cole

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The Coast Guard must prevent the first lunar war in history.

A lifelong Search-and-Rescuewoman, Coast Guard Captain Jane Oliver is ready for a peaceful retirement. But when tragedy strikes, Oliver loses her husband and her plans for the future, and finds herself thrust into a role she’s not prepared for. Suddenly at the helm of the Coast Guard’s elite SAR-1 lunar unit, Oliver is the only woman who can prevent the first lunar war in history, a conflict that will surely consume not only the moon, but earth as well. Continue reading “Sixteenth Watch – Myke Cole” →

Crooked Kingdom – Leigh Bardugo

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Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world. Continue reading “Crooked Kingdom – Leigh Bardugo” →

The New World – Mark Lawrence

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So, the other day on Twitter, Mark Lawrence asked if there were any bloggers interested in reading a new novella featuring Jal & Snorri, the two main characters from his Red Queen’s War trilogy.

My hand shot up like a kid who FINALLY knew an answer in class!

It’s wild to think that Mark Lawrence has four completed trilogies out in the world, but there it is. He’s one of my absolute favorite authors, and while Book of the Ancestor is currently my most favorite of his, The Red Queen’s War has a very special place in my heart. Lawrence’s humor comes through in all of his work, but The Red Queen’s War books are for sure his funniest. Of course they are also beautifully written, bloody & brutal, and insanely gut-punchy & emotional. But still fucking hilarious.

The New World is going to be included with the upcoming Grim Oak Press omnibus edition of The Red Queen’s War (I may or may not have shamed my sister into pre-ordering it for my birthday that just went by), but I couldn’t pass up the chance to reconnect with Jal & Snorri, one of the most memorable fantasy duos of ever!!

(Oh, if you haven’t read The Broken Empire and The Red Queen’s War trilogies…this might be a bit spoilery)

The New World finds Jal & Snorri reunited, and boarding a ship to set sail for the New World (which, if I’m understanding my Broken Empire geography, would be somewhere in North America). There’s a small crew aboard the ship, some familiar faces, some new. Jalan is now a cardinal, yet another job for which he seems rather ill-suited. But he’s happy, thrilled to be together with Snorri, and adventure is in the air.

Then they set sail and it’s one fucking nightmare after another.

Jalan is no great lover of the sea, but they have a very long voyage ahead of them. Like…long to the point where Jalan tries making stew out of old boot leather.

*ahem*

This is just a fun story, and it thrilled me to get to see Jal & Snorri together again! It has everything you’d want in a nautical fantasy tale…mutinies, funerals at sea, pirates, epic bad weather, puking, hardtack…The New World has got it all!

This is a quick story you could read in one sitting, but one of the most exciting things about it is the introduction by Lawrence. He mentions that while The New World stands on its own (it does), it was written as the begging of a new Jal & Snorri novel!

*dies*

Maybe that novel gets finished someday, and maybe it doesn’t. Either way, it was great to catch up with these two! I think Jalan Kendeth will forever be Lawrence’s funniest & most surprising character. And Snorri…oof…an over-sized Viking with a heart to match…they were the unlikeliest of duos, and the friendship that developed between them is one of my favorites in all the fantasy books I’ve read.

Thanks so much to Mark Lawrence for sending me a digital copy of The New World!!

Cursed – Various

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ALL THE BETTER TO READ YOU WITH

It’s a prick of blood, the bite of an apple, the evil eye, a wedding ring or a pair of red shoes. Curses come in all shapes and sizes, and they can happen to anyone, not just those of us with unpopular stepparents… 

Here you’ll find unique twists on curses, from fairy tale classics to brand-new hexes of the modern world – expect new monsters and mythologies as well as twists on well-loved fables. Stories to shock and stories of warning, stories of monsters and stories of magic. Continue reading “Cursed – Various” →

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro – K. S. Villoso

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Born under the crumbling towers of her kingdom, Queen Talyien was the shining jewel and legacy of the bloody War of the Wolves. It nearly tore her nation apart. But her arranged marriage to the son of a rival clan heralds peace.

However, he suddenly disappears before their reign can begin, and the kingdom is fractured beyond repair.

Years later, he sends a mysterious invitation to meet. Talyien journeys across the sea in hopes of reconciling their past. An assassination attempt quickly dashes those dreams. Stranded in a land she doesn’t know, with no idea whom she can trust, Talyien will have to embrace her namesake. Continue reading “The Wolf of Oren-Yaro – K. S. Villoso” →

The Boatman’s Daughter – Andy Davidson

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Ever since her father was killed when she was just a child, Miranda Crabtree has kept her head down and her eyes up, ferrying contraband for a mad preacher and his declining band of followers to make ends meet and to protect an old witch and a secret child from harm.

But dark forces are at work in the bayou, both human and supernatural, conspiring to disrupt the rhythms of Miranda’s peculiar and precarious life. And when the preacher makes an unthinkable demand, it sets Miranda on a desperate, dangerous path, forcing her to consider what she is willing to sacrifice to keep her loved ones safe. Continue reading “The Boatman’s Daughter – Andy Davidson” →

Guns of the Dawn – Adrian Tchaikovsky

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The first casualty of war is truth . . .

First, Denland’s revolutionaries assassinated their king, launching a wave of bloodshed after generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbour, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought conflict.

Genteel Emily Marshwic watched as the hostilities stole her family’s young men. But then came the call for yet more Lascanne soldiers in a ravaged kingdom with none left to give. Emily must join the ranks of conscripted women and march toward the front lines.

With barely enough training to hold a musket, Emily braves the savage reality of warfare. But she begins to doubt her country’s cause, and those doubts become critical. For her choices will determine her own future and that of two nations locked in battle. Continue reading “Guns of the Dawn – Adrian Tchaikovsky” →

Zero Sum Game – S. L. Huang

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Cas Russell is good at math. Scary good. The vector calculus blazing through her head lets her smash through armed men twice her size and dodge every bullet in a gunfight, and she’ll take any job for the right price.

As far as Cas knows, she’s the only person around with a superpower…until she discovers someone with a power even more dangerous than her own. Someone who can reach directly into people’s minds and twist their brains into Moebius strips. Someone intent on becoming the world’s puppet master.

Cas should run, like she usually does, but for once she’s involved. There’s only one problem…
She doesn’t know which of her thoughts are her own anymore. Continue reading “Zero Sum Game – S. L. Huang” →

Midnight Taxi Tango – Daniel José Older

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Carlos Delacruz straddles the line between the living and the not-so alive. As an agent for the Council of the Dead, he eliminates New York’s ghostlier problems. This time it’s a string of gruesome paranormal accidents in Brooklyn’s Von King Park that has already taken the lives of several locals—and is bound to take more.

 The incidents in the park have put Kia on edge. When she first met Carlos, he was the weird guy who came to Baba Eddie’s botánica, where she worked. But the closer they’ve gotten, the more she’s seeing the world from Carlos’s point of view. In fact, she’s starting to see ghosts. And the situation is far more sinister than that—because whatever is bringing out the dead, it’s only just getting started. Continue reading “Midnight Taxi Tango – Daniel José Older” →

A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy – Alex White

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The crew of the legendary Capricious are rich enough to retire in comfort for the rest of their days, but none of it matters if the galaxy is still in danger.

Nilah and Boots, the ship’s newest crew-members hear the word of a mysterious cult that may have links back to an ancient and all-powerful magic. To find it, hot-headed Nilah will have to go undercover and find the source of their power without revealing her true identity. Meanwhile, Boots is forced to confront the one person she’d hoped never to see again: her old, turn-coat treasure-hunting partner. Continue reading “A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy – Alex White” →