The first book was brutal, violent, dark. I needed a resolution for the characters, sure, but I understand how trilogies work. Things always get significantly worse before they get better, and the ending of part 1 is never, ever as straightforward as it appears.
Author: Erin Morgenstern (twitter / website) UK Publisher: Vintage Genre: Fantasy See also: The Night Circus Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a strange book hidden in the library stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something … Continue reading REVIEW: The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern
Author: Renée Ahdieh (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Hodder Genre: Historical fantasy, high fantasy, YA See Also: Flame in the Mist After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice - to rescue him, she must return to Inako and face the dangers that have been waiting for her in the Heian Castle. … Continue reading REVIEW: Smoke in the Sun – Renée Ahdieh
Author: Jodi Taylor (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Headline Genre: Humour, SFF 'So tell me, Dr Maxwell, if the whole of History lay before you ... where would you go? What would you like to witness?' When Madeleine Maxwell is recruited by the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research, she discovers the historians there don't just study the … Continue reading REVIEW: Just One Damned Thing After Another – Jodi Taylor
Author: Alix E. Harrow (twitter) UK Publisher: Orbit Genre: Historical fantasy EVERY STORY OPENS A DOOR In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored and utterly out … Continue reading REVIEW: The Ten Thousand Doors of January – Alix E. Harrow
Author: R.F. Kuang (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Harper Voyager Genre: Fantasy, historical fiction (ish) See Also: The Poppy War Rin is on the run… Haunted by the atrocity she committed to save her people, addicted to opium, and driven by the murderous commands of Phoenix, the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power. … Continue reading REVIEW: The Dragon Republic (Poppy War #2) – R.F. Kuang
Author: Renée Ahdieh (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Hodder Genre: Historical fantasy, high fantasy, YA Mariko has always known that being a woman means she's not in control of her own fate. But Mariko is the daughter of a prominent samurai and a cunning alchemist in her own right, and she refuses to be ignored. … Continue reading REVIEW: Flame in the Mist – Renée Ahdieh
Author: Gita Trealease (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Pan Macmillan Genre: YA, historical fantasy Buy now: ebook | paperback Paris in 1789 is a labyrinth of twisted streets, filled with beggars, thieves, revolutionaries – and magicians . . . When seventeen-year-old Camille is left orphaned, she has to provide for her frail sister and her volatile brother. In … Continue reading REVIEW: Enchantée – Gita Trelease
Author: Samantha Shannon (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus Genre: Epic fantasy Buy Now: ebook | hardcover A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens. The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm … Continue reading REVIEW: The Priory of the Orange Tree – Samantha Shannon
Author: Natasha Ngan (website / twitter) UK Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Genre: Epic fantasy, LGBT+ fiction, YA Buy Now: ebook | paperback | hardcover In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, … Continue reading REVIEW: Girls of Paper and Fire – Natasha Ngan
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