Title: Dead Man in a Ditch Author: Luke Arnold Publisher: Orbit Publication date: September 22, 2020 Genre: Fantasy One Sentence Summary: With half of Sunder City looking for magic’s return and the other half struggling to move forward, Man for Hire Fetch Phillips is stuck in the middle, until an old friend returns from the dead. The Plot: The Question of How to Move Forward Ever since Fetch Phillips found a vampire who somehow managed to stay young after the Coda that stripped the world of magic, people have been coming to him asking if magic is coming back. Fetch doesn’t believe so, but a paying client is a paying client and he can’t afford…
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Book Review: The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Title: The Doors of Eden Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky Publisher: Orbit Publication date: September 22, 2020 Genre: Fantasy One Sentence Summary: There are multiple versions of Earth out there, but they’re all starting to splinter into each other, and it’s up to a strange assortment of humans, humanoid creatures, and rats to fix it. The Plot: A Dizzying Assortment of Edens Best friends and lovers Lisa “Lee” Pryor and Elsinor “Mal” Mallory are monster hunters (think the Yeti). They don’t seek to find proof of strange creatures, but instead dream of being the ones to capture the blurry photo. Until they end up on Bodmin Moor, on the other side of a doorway. Only one girl comes…
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Book Review: The Dragon’s Banker by Scott Warren (revisited)
Still one of the best self-published fantasies I’ve read! If I had time to reread, this is one the books I’d pick up again. I love how normal it felt, a day in the life of a banker. Who just happens to be hired by a dragon. It’s so much fun! Originally posted September 24, 2019 Title: The Dragon’s Banker Author: Scott Warren Publisher: Self-published Publication date: September 25, 2019 Genre: Fantasy Summary: After losing much of Lord Brackwaldt’s fortune, Sailor Kelstern, of Kelstern Merchant Banking, is stuck taking on risky ventures as the Royal Mint starts to roll out paper currency to replace the gold and silver, the currency of dragons. When Sailor…
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Book Review: The Mermaids Melt at Dawn by Grendolyn Peach Soleil
Title: The Mermaids Melt at Dawn Author: Grendolyn Peach Soleil Publisher: Self-published Publication date: July 19, 2020 Genre: Fairy Tales, Folklore, Mythology, Fantasy One Sentence Summary: Deep in the bayou, Rok is a rowdy Cajun boy who was raised on the stories of the mermaids of Barbiche Island, who hold their own terrible stories. While dragons will always be my favorite mythological creature, mermaids come in at a very close second. From beautiful and sweet to ugly and terrible, the stories about them kind of run the gamut. As soon as I saw the title of this one, I couldn’t resist. Add in mythology and folklore and Poseidon and I was hooked. I was actually…
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Book Review: Nousopolis by Mack J. Lou
Title: Nousopolis Author: Mack J. Lou Publisher: Self-published Publication date: July 11, 2020 Genre: Science Fiction One Sentence Summary: When the network allowing people to thought-stream each other remotely is abruptly shut off, a group of 4 scientists race to figure out why and how to solve the problem before Nousopolis is destroyed. I was hooked when the description mentioned people can communicate through thought. And then to have that shut down? I was intrigued and needed to know what was going to happen next. I was also sold on the fact that one of the main characters is a mom of two as I am as well, and that some of the characters are scientists.…
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Book Review: Someone Else’s Life by Kevin J. Simington
Title: Someone Else’s Life Author: Kevin J. Simington Publisher: Self-published Publication date: July 11, 2020 Genre: Mystery and Thriller One Line Summary: How far would you go it you were a PI and your daughter was in danger? Honestly, I’ve been trying to cut down on the mystery and thriller reading. They’re just a little too real right now. But, when Mr. Simington contacted me for a review, there was just something about the blurb that excited me. Maybe it had to do with his description mentioning “character-driven” and “fascinating characters”. Sometimes I find authors’ descriptions of their novels to be a bit overblown, but, in this case, I’m glad I went with my instincts because…
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Book Review: Strand: The Silver Radio by Justin Attas
Title: Strand: The Silver Radio Author: Justin Attas Publisher: Self-published Publication date: February 14, 2019 Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian, YA One Sentence Summary: Quincy doesn’t fit in in the great tower called Strand no matter what he tries, but, when he’s forced into the Nether Layer, he finds adventure, danger, and purpose. I have a love-hate relationship with dystopian sci-fi novels. On one hand, there’s something that’s just appealing about them. I love when authors take our world, push it far into the future, and re-imagine what life might be like if there had been some major catastrophe. On the other hand, most dystopian sci-fi novels have let me down. They tend to follow the same…
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Book Review: The Angel of Bishopsgate by Eloise Reuben
Title: The Angel of Bishopsgate (Book 1 in the Darker Cities Trilogy) Author: Eloise Reuben Publisher: Self-published Publication date: February 19, 2019 Genre: Thriller, Historical Fiction One Sentence Summary: When Tessie is targeted by the villainous Angel of Bishopsgate because of the mother she is estranged from, and torn away from her husband Finn, the young couple will do everything in their power to be reunited, and stay alive. I’m not a big fan of historical fiction, but something about this one drew me in. It sounded really interesting and the excerpt Amazon provides really drew me in. I was really interested in how things would turn out knowing Tessie and Finn would be torn…
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Book Review: The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
Title: The Bone Shard Daughter Author: Andrea Stewart Publisher: Orbit Publication date: September 8, 2020 Genre: Fantasy Summary: In a world comprised of islands ruled by a reclusive Emperor with a daughter no one has seen since she was young, where the Emperor’s constructs run everything on each island, there are those who are restless, who would bring change to the Empire. At the age of eight, every child goes through the Tithing Festival and has a chip of bone taken from their skull to be stored in the palace until it’s needed to power a construct. Lin, the Emperor’s daughter, is determined to be named heir, doing everything in her power to learn how to…
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Book Review: Never Say No by Elizabeth Neep
Title: Never Say No Author: Elizabeth Neep Publisher: Bookcouture Publication date: September 4, 2020 Genre: Women’s Fiction Summary: Vivian Jones has it all: top female London divorce lawyer, marital bliss, and a perfect home life. Hailey Kidd wants to be just like her and is thrilled to be one of her two trainees after switching into law from teaching. Her boyfriend, Dom, and best friend, Sophie, though, are less thrilled as Hailey suddenly has no time for them. They say the grass is always greener, and Hailey definitely agrees, but, when her personal and professional lives clash, she’s in for a rude awakening. The Plot: The Other Side is Not Always Better I…
