As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The Jasad Heir, the first book in The Scorched Throne duology, is an Egyptian-inspired epic fantasy novel by debut author Sara Hashem. She began writing it to examine the following question: “what do you owe to a place and a people you’ve barely known but without whom you wouldn’t exist?” This concept is explored through the first-person perspective of Sylvia, the heir to a demolished kingdom hated for […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Having thoroughly enjoyed her Books of the Raksura, I was excited for a new fantasy novel by Martha Wells, her first in some time after writing several books in her acclaimed science fiction series, The Murderbot Diaries. (Although I thought All Systems Red was decent, I didn’t find it captivating enough to continue the series and much preferred her other books I’d read.) Unfortunately, Witch King fell far […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Cassiel’s Servant is the latest of Jacqueline Carey’s books set in the same world as her beloved Kushiel’s Legacy series, which introduced the land of Terre d’Ange, its pantheon, and the iconic heroine Phèdre nó Delaunay. This new novel covers the same major events as the first book in the series, Kushiel’s Dart, but it has a different entry point and voice since it’s narrated by another character. […]

I’m thrilled to have a guest post by Genevieve Gornichec to share with you today! She is the author of  The Witch’s Heart, a novel inspired by Norse mythology featuring “a banished witch [who] falls in love with the legendary trickster Loki.” The Weaver and the Witch Queen, her second novel, is coming out in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook in exactly one week—on July 25! I’m delighted she’s here to discuss creating its setting  in “Worldbuilding the Past: A Fantastical […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. The Bone Shard War concludes The Drowning Empire trilogy, Andrea Stewart’s Asian-inspired epic fantasy series containing The Bone Shard Daughter and The Bone Shard Emperor. Set about two years after the end of the latter, the finale follows the same set of characters amidst various problems contributing to upheaval in the Empire: the return of old magics and prejudices against their users, sinking islands that kill and displace […]

As an Amazon Associate and Bookshop affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Note for readers new to this series: This review covers the middle book in a trilogy and contains spoilers for the previous book in the series. You may prefer to read my 8/10 review of the first book, The Bone Shard Daughter, especially if you are interested in the following: Asian-inspired secondary fantasy worlds and/or island settings Multiple perspectives People growing and doing their best Cute (really cute!) […]