

Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing the audiobook of Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez. This was an impulse request on NetGalley. Was it worth it? Read on to find out!
Read More »Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing the audiobook of Together We Burn by Isabel Ibañez. This was an impulse request on NetGalley. Was it worth it? Read on to find out!
Read More »Hello, everyone! I’m finally reviewing The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah, which was one of my most anticipated books of the first half of this year. I’m happy I managed to read and review it prior to publication, even if only by one day. This book will be out on Tuesday. So, be sure to pick up your copy if my review piques your interest!
Read More »Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry, the first book in a new dark fantasy series. If it sounds like something you’d be interested in, it will be out tomorrow, May 10!
Read More »Hello, everyone! This evening I have another review as part of TheWriteReads blog tour for The Knave of Secrets by Alex Livingston. That’s right! Two blog tours in two days. I’m not gonna lie… I’ve been scrambling to get both of these done on time, but it has been a lot of fun, as well. Thank you to Rebellion Publishing and TheWriteReads for allowing me to participate! Now on to the book!
A twisty tale of magicians, con artists and card games, where secrets are traded and gambled like coin, for fans of The Lies of Locke Lamora and The Mask of Mirrors.
Never stake more than you can afford to lose.
When failed magician turned cardsharp Valen Quinol is given the chance to play in the Forbearance Game—the invitation-only tournament where players gamble with secrets—he can’t resist. Or refuse, for that matter, according to the petty gangster sponsoring his seat at the table. Valen beats the man he was sent to play, and wins the most valuable secret ever staked in the history of the tournament.
Now Valen and his motley crew are being hunted by thieves, gangsters, spies and wizards, all with their own reasons for wanting what’s in that envelope. It’s a game of nations where Valen doesn’t know all the rules or who all the players are, and can’t see all the moves. But he does know if the secret falls into the wrong hands, it could plunge the whole world into war…
***Thank you to TheWriteReads and Rebellion Publishing for providing a copy of the book. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***
This was a fun read. There was tons of political intrigue, interesting magic, and intricate world-building. The writing was good, and the narrative style did a great job of setting up the tone of the world. The plot was a bit slow at times, especially in the second quarter of the book, but the excitement of the games and mysteries kept me engaged for most of it.
The world and magic system were probably my favorite things about this book. The political situation was tense, and the history of each nation was fascinating to learn about. The Seminaire brotherhood of magicians was an interesting concept, and I wish even more time had been spent on learning about their order and the magic, and secrets, they held. There was also a wealth of information about the different games of chance played by the people in this world, which I’m sure some people will appreciate. Personally, I wish more time had been spent on the magic and less on the different games. Furthermore, I enjoyed the political intrigue but found it to be quite confusing for the first half of the book because I kept losing track of whose side certain characters were on. Once some of the secrets came out, it all made more sense, but the author’s attempts at showing the different political ties in the first half without any type of primer on the world’s history/alliances really fell flat. All in all, though, the world was fascinating, and I think it has a lot of untapped potential for future stories (if the author decides to make this more than a standalone).
I liked many of the characters, but they all felt a bit two-dimensional. Valen was probably the most well-rounded, and I liked his personality. I enjoyed seeing him become an unlikely hero, and his struggle with guilt about the consequences of his gambling and cheating was probably the most compelling character arc. I also really liked getting a middle-aged protagonist, and the relationship he had with his wife was something I loved reading. They were just so supportive of each other and worked great together while attempting to build their dreams into reality. Many of the other POVs really could have been eliminated. The stories of the two ambassadors felt like filler and a way to impart knowledge about the current political situation. However, as I noted above, they only served to make me more confused, and Ria’s perspective and motivations honestly felt a bit inconsistent. In general, the characters were fun to read, though, and many of them had plenty of great moments. They just all felt a bit wooden.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read filled with interesting magic, espionage, and lots of secrets. The ideas were good even if the execution of all aspects of the story weren’t as great as I’d hoped. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
Alex Livingston grew up in various quiet New England towns before moving to Buffalo, NY to study English at Canisius College. He writes SFF prose and interactive fiction. Alex is married and lives in an old house with his brilliant wife and a pile of aged videogame systems.
Hello, everyone! Today is my stop on TheWriteReads Ultimate Blog Tour for The Carnival of Ash by Tom Beckerlegge. Thank you to TheWriteReads and Rebellion Publishing for organizing the tour and providing a copy of the book. I’m grateful to be able to participate!
Read More »Hello, everyone! Today I have the pleasure of reviewing Elektra by Jennifer Saint. I’ve been meaning to get to Ariadne, which is also by this author and has received quite a bit of praise. So, I was excited to be approved for an eARC of this novel and get my first taste of Saint’s work. I’m also a sucker for mythology retellings, especially of Greek mythology, and was super pumped to see this take on the story.
Read More »Hello, everyone! Last month I had fun with my first post of micro reviews. I had several more books that weren’t ARCs that I needed to review and not enough time to write out full reviews for them all. So, I’ve decided to do some more super short summaries of my thoughts in four sentences or less. Here’s the result…
Read More »Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing the second book of the Hush duology, Veil by Dylan Farrow. I wasn’t super impressed with the first book, but I agreed to review this ARC due to its really cool premise before realizing it was a sequel. Did this sequel improve or worsen my experience with the overall story? Read on below to find out!
Read More »Hello, everyone! Today I’m excited to be reviewing The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee, a new, standalone Green Bone Saga novella set prior to the trilogy of books previously released. This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2022, and I was happy to get the chance to read and review it early!
Read More »I am VERY excited to be reviewing The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne. I enjoyed the first book in this series (check out my review here), and I’ve been seeing rave reviews for the sequel all over Twitter and other blogs. So, I was itching to get to this one myself.
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