Book Review: The Night Circus

10/26/2020Posted inBook Reviews
Fantasy comes in many forms. Though I tend to gravitate toward high/epic fantasy, it would be an injustice to ignore the other beautiful forms of the genre. This week’s book is an urban fantasy of sorts – that is, it is a historical fiction set in the real world (late 1800s), but with magic thrown in. It is called The Night Circus, and it is one of the best and most magical books I have read in a long time. The…

Book Review: City of Lies

09/28/2020Posted inBook Reviews
This book review is of another gem I found randomly browsing the New Fantasy section at the library. I was caught by the beautiful cover, the short but sweet jacket blurb, the female author, and a killer first line and first scene. City of Lies is the debut novel of Sam Hawke that came out in July 2018 (published by Tor Books). It is a high fantasy epic set almost entirely within a single city – Silasta. The book is written…

Book Review: The Women’s War

08/31/2020Posted inBook Reviews
My default for choosing books has always been from recommendations. This is how most books become popular – not from a great cover or jacket summary, but from word-of-mouth and the enthusiasm of book-lovers. This past year, I made a point to look for new fantasy authors on the shelf and try their work on no one’s recommendation. I have to admit, I found some duds this way, and it was a risky endeavor, but I also came across some…