October 11, 2017
A Conjuring of Light (2017) Written By: V.E. Schwab Genre: Fantasy Pages: 624 (Hardcover) Series: Shades of Magic (Book 3) Publisher: Tor Books Why I Chose It: Because the second one ended on the cliffhanger of all cliffhangers and I’m only human. The Premise: As darkness sweeps the Maresh Empire, the once precarious balance of power among the four Londons…
October 3, 2017
A Gathering of Shadows (2016) Written By: V.E. Schwab Genre: Fantasy Pages: 512 (Trade Paperback) Series: Shades of Magic (Book 2) Publisher: Tor Books Why I Chose It: I really liked the first one, which didn’t end on a cliffhanger. Strangely enough, I find that more of a reason to read a sequel than when a book just cuts off…
September 27, 2017
Full of transforming dragons, self-deprecating princes, and clever women, Seraphina easily became one of my favorite books when I first read it. Rachel Hartman struck just the right balance of hope and despair, secrecy and truth, and humor and magic. How could I not love it? Which means I had no excuse to wait this long to read the second one. Especially…
September 6, 2017
A Darker Shade of Magic (2016) Written By: V.E. Schwab Genre: Fantasy Pages: 416 (Trade Paperback) Series: Shades of Magic (Book 1) Publisher: Tor Books Why I Chose It: I’ve walked past the sequel to this book in the library half a dozen times, the cover and title grabbing my attention. And each time I picked it up and said,…
August 30, 2017
Three Wishes (2016) Written By: Lisa Manifold Genre: Paranormal Romance Pages: 188 (Paperback) Series: Heart of the Djinn (Book 1) Publisher: Self-published Why I Chose It: Lisa Manifold was chosen as Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Independent Writer of the Year last year. It was the first time they even had an Independent category, and I wanted to check out some…
August 23, 2017
I can’t actually remember which of Carol Berg’s books I read first, but the Lighthouse duet has always been my favorite. It might have been the covers that drew me originally with their evocative colors, or it might have been the name of the series. I come from a family of sailors, and I’ve always liked the idea of lighthouses as…
August 22, 2017
Heaven’s Queen (2014) Written By: Rachel Bach Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 388 (Trade Paperback) Series: Paradox Book 3 Publisher: Orbit Why I Chose It: I Needed to finish this series. Needed with a capital Need. Premise: From the moment she took a job on Captain Caldswell’s doomed ship, Devi Morris’s life has been one disaster after another: government conspiracies, two…
August 17, 2017
Honor’s Knight (2014) Written By: Rachel Bach Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 374 (Trade Paperback) Series: Paradox Book 2 Publisher: Orbit Why I Chose It: It’s the next in the series? My motives are not that complicated. The Premise: Devi Morris has a lot of problems. And not the fun, easy-to-shoot kind either. After a mysterious attack left her short several…
August 2, 2017
Clariel (2014) Written By: Garth Nix Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Pages: 419 (Trade Paperback) Series: Old Kingdom (Book 4) Publisher: HaperCollins Why I Chose It: I read Sabriel, the first in the Old Kingdom series, back when I was a teenager, and it quickly became one of my favorites, full of unique magic, truly scary bad guys, and even a…
July 26, 2017
The cover art for A Natural History of Dragons was what first attracted me to The Memoirs of Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan. That and its title. I have a degree in biology and a passion for dragons so this seemed like the perfect juxtaposition of those two interests. And it was. It so was. Brennan also managed to…