Tag: fantasy
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Book Review: A Glint of Steel and Roses (Flame & Shadow #2) by L. Eveland

Read my review of the first book in the Flame & Shadow series, A Dream of Flame and Shadow. This book launches right in the middle of the action, catching us up with what we missed with Cian and Hellion already off to war at the end of the previous…
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Book Review: Flamesworn (Immortals Descending #5) by Iris Foxglove

Read my reviews of previous books in the Immortals Descending series: Storm Front (#1) | Shadowfall (#2) | Daybreak (#3) | Tempest (#4) One of the (many) things I love about this series is how the authors take risks with their storytelling. Sticking with stand-alone books might be a safer way to entice readers,…
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Farpoint 2024 Schedule

I just published my first queer paranormal romance, so where better to share it in public for the first time than a science-fiction convention? Joking aside, while I love speculative fiction in all forms, my life as a nerd began with Star Trek, and I love attending this local convention…
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Book Review: A Throne and a Crown (Riehse Eshan #4.5) by Adelaide Blaike

Read my reviews of previous books in the Riehse Eshan series: A Knife and a Blade (#1) | A Whisper and a Breath (#2) | A Shadow and a Storm (#3) | An Oath and a Promise (#4) Did this epic series need an extended epilogue? Probably not, because we already got to see…
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Book Review: Tisak (Kingdoms of Pelas #2) by Michelle Frost & Michele Notaro

Read my review of the first book in the Kingdoms of Pelas series, Zyon. This book picks up immediately after the events of the first, in which our heroes are fleeing their life of slavery and searching for the “Resistance.” While not everything is perfection, the opening third of this…
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Book Review: Knight of Staria (Starian Tale) by Iris Foxglove

Read my reviews of other books set in the world of Staria. I’ve been addicted to every book set in this expansive and unique fantasy world since reading the first installment, The Traitor’s Mercy. I was incredibly impressed that two additional books featured redemption arcs for villains in the first…
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Book Review: The First and Last Adventure of Kit Sawyer by S.E. Harmon

Kit Sawyer is a character who has carved his niche out of the weight of his family’s legacy. Harmon crafts each aspect of Kat deliberately, from his medical issues to his personality, to set him apart from both cliché genre archetypes and the expectations that accompany his last name within…
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Book Review: Dominion (Triad #3) by Cari Z

Read my reviews of previous books in the Triad series: Alliance (#1) | Endurance (#2) In this conclusion to an excellent epic fantasy trilogy, Z once again pulls no punches when it comes to making things complicated for her characters on all fronts. After working so closely together in the…
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Book Review: Endurance (Triad #2) by Cari Z

Read my review of the first book in the Triad series, Alliance. Though I may have felt like the romance arc didn’t get the attention it deserved in the first book of this trilogy, I was more than happy to suspend disbelief and go along with Symon, Deyvid, and Petur…
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Book Review: Alliance (Triad #1) by Cari Z

The openings of epic fantasy stories can often be either overwhelming or too spare in the details, but Z hits the perfect balance of worldbuilding and backstory in the first chapter without any sort of info dump. I got a good sense of Symon and his immediate circumstances enough to…
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Book Review: How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy by A.J. Sherwood

This post includes reviews of all individual installments of the How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy series. Miracle 1 The author admits to this project being “crack” in the back cover description, so I went in anticipating humor and ridiculousness. I was not disappointed,…
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Book Review: The Courtship of Nora Fagan (A Marriage Made in Hell #1) by Michelle Renee Lane

This book is marketed as both romantic erotica and paranormal erotica. I started reading it with those genre expectations in mind, and the bad news is that is book is only one of those three things. It’s not erotica when the first kiss doesn’t occur until the 50% mark, and…
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Book Review: Sentinel’s Soul (Sentinel’s Saga #1) by Kristopher L. Campa

I had the pleasure of reading an early draft of this book, but it was long enough ago that I came into the final version with mostly fresh eyes and more than enjoyed a second visit to this world. This series debut presents a fascinating urban fantasy world that separates…
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Book Review: Tempest (Immortals Descending #4) by Iris Foxglove

Read my reviews of the previous books in the Immortals Descending series: Storm Front (#1) | Shadowfall (#2) | Daybreak (#3) Part of me feels like I’ve already gushed about this series as much as I possibly can, but then the authors give me another twist that adds layers to this excellent epic…
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Book Review: Gale (Hammer and Fist: Geminatus #2) by Jennifer Cody

Read my review of the first book in the Hammer and Fist: Geminatus series, Inferno. I have previously joked that I want to live in Cody’s brain, and this book is another excellent example of why. I adore the world she has created between the joint Hammer and Fist series,…
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Book Review: Starshine by Alethea Faust

I know that a lot of readers have come to the main books of the series because of the intrigue of “sex wizards” and/or “kink-based magic system.” That’s not a bad thing, and I’ll admit those added to my curiosity when I gave them a shot, but the downside to…
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Confluence 2023 Schedule

I’m heading back to Pittsburgh for the second time this summer, this time in celebration of science fiction and fantasy! It’s been a minute since I’ve attended this particular convention, so I was pleased that the stars aligned for me to return this weekend. Confluence 2023July 21-23, 2023Sheraton Pittsburgh Airport…
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Book Review: Riehse Eshan Series by Adelaide Blaike

This post includes reviews of the following books in the Riehse Eshan series: A Knife and a Blade (#1) | A Whisper and a Breath (#2) | A Shadow and a Storm (#3) A Knife and a Blade (Riehse Eshan Book 1) This novel is the first in a series…
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Book Review: Bloodlines by A.E. Lister

Vampires are still my first love in the urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres, but I’m to the point of being so picky about how they’re portrayed that I was originally hesitant to volunteer to read an advanced copy of this book. However, Lister does an excellent job leaning into…
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Book Review: DragonRider (DragonKin #1) by S. Rodman

Rodman hooked me on this urban fantasy setting within the first pages of the book, using quick, subtle details to set up the broad scope of the secret fantasy elements without resorting to direct explanation. Once Kirby arrived at the castle and learned the true reason for his presence, I…
