Gracelingby Kristin Cashore480pp (Paperback)My Rating: 8/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.29/5Goodreads Rating: 4.17/5 The YA fantasy Graceling is Kristin Cashore’s debut novel. Her second novel Fire, a loosely connected prequel set 35 years prior to Graceling, came out last year. Cashore does recommend reading Graceling first to avoid spoiling part of it, and even though I read these two books in reverse order, I can understand why since it would have taken me a lot longer to guess what was coming […]

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. […]

Lips Touch: Three Timesby Laini Taylor272pp (Hardcover)My Rating: 9/10Amazon Rating: 5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4/5Goodreads Rating: 4.23/5 Lips Touch: Three Times is the newest book by Laini Taylor, author of Blackbringer and Silksinger from her Dreamdark series. Like her other two novels, Lips Touch: Three Times is a YA book, although it is darker and seems to be aimed at an older audience than the Dreamdark books (not that the Dreamdark series is not perfectly enjoyable to read as an adult but […]

Fireby Kristin Cashore480pp (Hardcover)Read Fire ExcerptMy Rating: 9/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.51/5Goodreads Rating: 4.33/5 Fire is a YA fantasy novel by Kristin Cashore. It is a loosely connected prequel to her debut novel Graceling and takes place approximately 35 years prior to it in a different land. Without having read Graceling, Fire was perfectly accessible and I did not feel at all lost reading it. However, Cashore’s site does say that reading Fire first gives away a spoiler for Graceling […]

Havemercyby Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett448pp (Paperback)My Rating: 9/10Amazon Rating: 4/5LibraryThing Rating: 3.87/5Goodreads Rating: 3.67/5 Havemercy is a collaborative debut novel written by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett. In July, an indirect sequel (i.e., a related book with a different set of main characters, some of whom were introduced in the first book) called Shadow Magic was released. On its own, Havemercy has a satisfying ending, but as one of my favorite reads of this year so far, this character-driven […]

The Magiciansby Lev Grossman416pp (Hardcover)My Rating: 8/10Amazon Rating: 3.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 3.77/5Goodreads Rating: 3.58/5 The Magicians, written by Time magazine book critic Lev Grossman, debuted at #9 on the New York Times bestseller list and is currently #21. Although the ending isn’t quite what I would call a cliffhanger since the main loose ends from this book are tied up, it also seems to be leading up to another book. Grossman has confirmed that there will indeed be a sequel in […]