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 11, 2017
Too Like the Lightning (2016) Written by: Ada Palmer Genre: Speculative Fiction Pages: 433 (Nook) Series: Book 1 of Terra Ignota Publisher: Tor Why I Chose It: It was nominated for the Hugos. Also, a friend who knows my taste very well sent me the link and explained that I had to read this book, and I was going to…
August 9, 2017
Labyrinth Lost (2016) Written by: Zoraida Córdova Genre: YA/Urban Fantasy Pages: 340 pages Series: Brooklyn Brujas, Book 1 Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire Why I Chose This: I saw this cover while browsing my local bookstore and immediately fell in love. Magic, mayhem, a world of monsters and gods? I was sold straight away. The premise: The only way to get her family…
August 3, 2017
The Curse of Chalion (2001) Written by: Lois McMaster Bujold Genre: Fantasy Pages: 502 (Mass Market Paperback) Series: The World of the Five Gods Book 1 Publisher: Harper Voyager Why I Chose It: The World of Five Gods was first brought to my attention about ten years ago when I decided that reading the Hugo Winners list would be a…
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 27, 2017
The Boy on the Bridge (2017) Written by: M.R. Carey Genre: Post Apocalyptic Fiction Pages: 390 (Hardback) Publisher: Orbit Why I Chose It: Although M.R. Carey’s best-selling book The Girl With All the Gifts came out in 2014, I didn’t read it until this year. I thought it was a brilliant novel that combined genre and literary fiction into a…
July 26, 2017
A Closed & Common Orbit (2016) Written by: Becky Chambers Pages: 342 (Trade Paperback) Series: Wayfarers (Book 2) Published by: Harper Voyager Why I Chose It: As part of this year’s Hugo read, and because I had heard a lot about this series, generally all positive, and wanted to read it. Spoilers for both A Long Way to a Small,…
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…