Review: The Unspoken Name – A Saga of Badass Lesbian Orc and Wonder Bread Boy

Title: The Unspoken Name Author: A.K. Larkwood Publisher: Tor Books Genre(s): Epic Fantasy, Portal Fantasy Subject(s): Gods, Coming-of-Age, LGBTQ+ (main and secondary) Release Date: Feb 11th, 2020 Page Count: 464 (hardback) Rating: 6.0/10         What if you knew how and when you will die? Csorwe does. She will climb the mountain, enter …

Review: Magic for Liars – Ivy Gamble is Not Magic and She Wants Everyone to Know

Title: Magic for Liars Author: Sarah Gailey Publisher: Tor Books Release Date: June 4th, 2019 Genre(s): Fantasy, Mystery Subjects and Themes: Siblings, Mental Health, LGBTQIAP+ (Secondary) Page Count: 336 (hardback) Rating: 5.0/10       Ivy Gamble was born without magic and never wanted it. Ivy Gamble is perfectly happy with her life – or …

Review: Bloody Rose (The Band 2) – Zigazig Ah-ing its Way to Glory

Title: Bloody Rose (The Band 2) Author: Nicholas Eames Publisher: Orbit Release Date: August 28th, 2018 Genre(s) and Subject(s): Epic Fantasy, Humour Page Count: 560 (paperback) Goodreads Rating: 8.5/10         Before we dive in, let me just mention that Chapter One of Bloody Rose sees our protagonist reverse-mansplaining to an idiot and …

Review: In the Present Tense – Great Scott, You’re a Time Traveller, Miles!

Title: In the Present Tense Author: Carrie Pack Publisher: Interlude Press Release Date: May 19th, 2016 Genre(s) and Subject(s): Sci-Fi, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 336 (paperback) Goodreads Rating: 6.5/10           Imagine waking up one morning to find yourself 8 years in the future and in bed, not with your teenage boyfriend, but …

Review: Annex (The Violet Wars 1) – Kids VS Aliens

Author: Rich Larson Publisher: Orbit Release Date: July 24th, 2018 Genre(s) and Themes: Sci-Fi, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 368 (paperback) Goodreads Rating: 7.0/10       Annex bucks my recent trend of reading books that have strong beginnings and lackluster endings, because I struggled hard with the beginning of this one. The book presents a city …

Review: The Book of M – Beauty at the End of the World

Title: The Book of M Author: Peng Shepherd Publisher: William Morrow Release Date: June 5th, 2018 Genre(s): Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy Page Count: 496 (hardcover) Goodreads Rating: 8.5/10       Post-apocalyptic books and I have somewhat grown apart in the last few years. These days, if I want my daily dose of doom and gloom, I …

Review: The Rig – Black Mirror But With Less Rampant Cynicism

Title: The Rig Author: Roger Levy Publisher: Titan Books Release Date: May 8th, 2018 Genre(s): Science Fiction Page Count: 617 pages Goodreads Rating: 6.5/10         The Rig is one of those books that I know a lot people will love for its sheer originality and exploration of complex themes, but just didn't …

Grey Sister – A Case of Arrested Development

Title: Grey Sister (Second Book of the Ancestor) Author: Mark Lawrence Publisher: ACE Release Date: April 3th, 2018 Genre(s): Epic Fantasy Page Count: 432 Goodreads Rating: 7.0/10     I'm probably going to get booed and pelted with virtual tomatoes by every Grey Sister fan (read: everyone) for this review, so I've donned my tactical …

[Review] From Unseen Fire – When in Rome…Do as the Mages Do?

Title: From Unseen Fire (Aven Cycle 1) Author: Cass Morris Publisher: DAW Books Release Date: April 17th, 2018 Genre(s): Fantasy, Alt-History Page Count: 400 Goodreads Rating: 5.0/10       This book is a lesson in tempering expectations. One would think that, being a fan of the video game industry, it's one I've learned backwards …

[Review] Jade City – Rich, Bloody, and Gloriously Asian

Title: Jade City (The Green Bone Saga 1) Author: Fonda Lee Publisher: Orbit Books Release Date: November 7th, 2017 Genre(s): Fantasy, Crime Page Count: 512 Goodreads Rating: 9.0/10       Jade City is Fonda Lee's adult fantasy debut and it is an absolute firecracker--a brutal tale of two warring families set in a rich, …