This week I received two review copies from Blind Eye Books, which publishes science fiction and fantasy featuring gay and lesbian characters. Lately I’ve accepted none of the review copies I’ve been offered in an attempt to get caught up on the reading pile, but I remembered hearing about one of these books, read some excerpts and couldn’t resist. The Archer’s Heart by Astrid Amara This was the book I remembered hearing about thanks to Orannia. Back when we were […]

Black Shipsby Jo Graham496pp (Paperback)My Rating: 8.5/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4/5Goodreads Rating: 3.94/5 Black Ships, a retelling of Virgil’s Aeneid from the perspective of a priestess, is a debut novel written by Jo Graham. Graham has since then written a loosely connected novel set in Egypt called Hand of Isis, and she has another related novel about a soldier serving Alexander the Great called Stealing Fire coming out in May 2010. After reading Black Ships, I’m very much looking forward […]

Do I dare make a December reading list? I’m not so sure I do after last month’s failed attempt, especially considering December was the month last year that I managed to read the fewest books due to the busy holiday season. So I think I’ll learn my lesson from last year (when I attempted to read a 700 – 800 page book that I just didn’t have time for) and stick to short-ish books for December. I am going to […]

So much for getting caught up on all my reviews this vacation weekend… I was planning to but I’ve been on the computer far less than normal. (Apparently, planning isn’t working well this month since I only read about half the books on my reading list for the month.) When I do start writing them, I’ve got three reviews to do now: Black Ships by Jo Graham (great book), An Illustrated Guide to Mythical Creatures by David West and Anita […]

By the Mountain Boundby Elizabeth Bear320pp (Hardcover)My Rating: 9/10Amazon Rating: 5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4/5Goodreads Rating: 2/5 By the Mountain Bound is the second book in The Edda of Burdens series by Elizabeth Bear even though it is actually a prequel to the first book, All the Wind-wracked Stars (review). The series is based on Norse mythology and the first novel began with the end of the world. By the Mountain Bound fills in the backstory leading up to this cataclysmic event. […]

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve had any TBR additions, but this week I do have one review copy I received. The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay This debut urban fantasy is coming out on Tuesday (November 24). For a while, I was urban fantasied out (especially if it had vampires with the exception of the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs) but I read the first four pages and think I’ll be reading this one […]