The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a debut novel by N. K. Jemisin, who was recently nominated for the Nebula Award for her short story “Non-Zero Probabilities.” Even though it’s the first book in The Inheritance Trilogy, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a complete story with a satisfying conclusion. The next two books in the series each focus on a different main character than the first one. According to Jemisin’s website, the second book The Broken Kingdoms will be released in […]

The Book of Jheregby Steven Brust480pp (Trade Paperback)My Rating: 7.5/10Amazon Rating: 4.5/5LibraryThing Rating: 4.12/5Goodreads Rating: 4.17/5 The Book of Jhereg by Steven Brust is an omnibus containing three books from his Vlad Taltos series – Jhereg, Yendi and Teckla. There are currently twelve books in this fantasy series (out of a planned 19) about the assassin Vlad Taltos, and the newest book Iorich was just released last month. The books are not published in chronological order, and this collection has […]

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 […]