Sam Hawke’s debut novel, City of Lies, is the first book in The Poison Wars series. Though it’s mostly set in one city, this thick epic fantasy novel becomes increasingly large and sweeping, beginning with mysteries involving sudden deaths and an unexpected siege that lead to deeper discoveries about the past. It’s also an intimate, character-driven story narrated by two siblings who face deeply personal stakes—from their own survival to that of their friends, their family, and their people—while tenaciously pursuing […]

Magic Triumphs is the tenth and final book in Ilona Andrews’ New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels series, though it won’t be the last book set in this world since there are two more Iron Covenant books planned. The epilogue of this novel also teases another spin-off, but I’m not planning to read any of them: as far as I’m concerned, this series should have ended earlier, and many of the issues I’ve had with the later books were present […]

Iron and Magic is the first book in the Iron Covenant trilogy, a spin-off from Ilona Andrews’ New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels series set between the ninth and tenth books (Magic Binds and Magic Triumphs, respectively). This novel focuses on Roland’s former warlord, Hugh d’Ambray, as he fights an internal battle and mysterious magical forces—and his new wife, a powerful woman known as the White Warlock. After a prologue showing how Roland had Hugh brought to him as a […]

Today I have a spotlight of one of this month’s releases, Phoenix Unbound by Grace Draven, to share with you—and information on entering to win this plus five more romantic fantasy books from Penguin Random House! PHOENIX UNBOUND (THE FALLEN EMPIRE #1) by GRACE DRAVEN Ace Trade Paperback | September 25, 2018 ABOUT THE BOOK: A woman with power over fire and illusion and an enslaved son of a chieftain battle a corrupt empire in this powerful and deeply emotional romantic fantasy from […]

The Poppy War, R. F. Kuang’s fantastic debut novel and the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy inspired by Chinese history, is partially based on the Second Sino-Japanese War, particularly the horrific massacre that came to be known as the Rape of Nanjing. As such, it’s a story that unflinchingly examines how war shapes and changes people, for better and worse—with heavy emphasis on worse. The heart of The Poppy War is Rin, a war orphan determined to avoid […]

International bestselling author Mark Lawrence’s most recent novel, Grey Sister, is the second installment in the Book of the Ancestor trilogy. The previous volume, Red Sister, was one of the most engaging books I read last year largely because I was so invested in the main character and her story (and the fact that it revolved around a group of badass nuns also certainly worked in its favor!). Though I didn’t find Grey Sister quite as compelling as the first, […]