Review: Song of the Beast by Carol Berg

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So far, 2023 has been the year of the backlog, finally getting around to many of the books that have been on my radar for years. I suspected I’d like it purely due to Berg’s reputation for writing broken protagonists (I quite enjoyed Transformation) and the first half was great. Unfortunately though, what could have been a fairly enjoyable standard dragon story started to drag on in the second half instead. And the romance subplot being unpleasant and annoying to read certainly didn’t help.

Review: The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

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Thanks to the publisher (Del Rey) for the ARC of this book.

Finally, finally, after nearly two weeks of struggling, I am done with this book. I don’t think I’ve ever had such complicated feelings before, or struggled as much with a book I couldn’t help but see as excellent in many ways. I wonder if perhaps I might have loved it in another mood and another time, if it’s me or the book, but in the end, it’s no use.

Mini Reviews: Monk and Robot #1-2, The Hands of the Emperor, The Sign of the Dragon

Sometimes things don’t work out no matter how much you want to like a book, no matter how up your alley it sounds. With one popular series I found out I dislike and two DNFs I had high hopes for, this round-up of mini reviews happens to be unintentionally dedicated to those.

Review: The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri (Burning Kingdoms #2)

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Thanks to the publisher (Orbit) for the ARC of this book.

This has been one of the most anticipated sequels this year and I was very happy when I got it. But while I liked The Jasmine Throne well enough, this one just didn’t work for me. I expected to be drawn in and then heartbroken by a suitably tragic ending, instead I was simply bored.

Review: Scarlet Odyssey by C.T. Rwizi (Scarlet Odyssey #1)

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There’s one very simple and shallow reason I picked up this book: I wanted antelope familiars, pets, or mounts in my fantasy (mostly thanks to a certain livecam I’ve been enjoying this year). This sounded the best out of the few recs I got, it works for the Set in Africa Bingo square and as a bonus, the antelopes mentioned were kudu. Unfortunately, even though it really is a pretty good book and definitely one fans of epic fantasy would enjoy a lot, I didn’t count on my inability to handle big multi-POV epics.

Mini Reviews: Spear, Mooncakes, Shards of Earth, The Raven Tower

I am once again behind on reviews, which means it’s time for another mini reviews post. Usually, I order them from least to most recent – this time, however, with one novella I loved, a graphic novel I was rather indifferent on, and two DNFs, it seemed a shame to put the novella last, so I ordered them by rating instead.

Mini Reviews: The Missing Page, Seven Endless Forests, In the Watchful City, Phoenix Extravagant

Despite the January and February slumps, I’m still reading at a faster pace than I can write full-length reviews. So here’s another round of shorter, more condensed ones to hopefully help me catch up at least a little.

All of them are books I enjoyed a lot, and hopefully I can convince you to try one or two as well 😁

Review: She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (The Radiant Emperor #1)

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ARC received from the publisher (Mantle) in exchange for an honest review.

This was the last book of the 2021 orange sapphic trifecta (the other two being The Unbroken and The Jasmine Throne) I had left to read and another of my most anticipated releases.  It delivers everything other early reviews have promised – moral grayness, queerness, epicness, kneeling, yearning, a most interesting misogynistic eunuch, a petty scholar, determination, and romantic fisting. In short, if you’re looking for a different take on epic fantasy, you should definitely go for it.

Review: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (Burning Kingdoms #1)

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ARC received from the publisher (Orbit) in exchange for an honest review.

I know there is no higher power that sanctions a king or an emperor. There is only the moment when power is placed in your hands, and there is one truth: either you take the power and wield it, or someone else will. And perhaps they will not be as kind to you and yours.

I should not have put this off as long as I did – my fears about this book being a slow read because it was epic fantasy were baseless. Not only does it largely live up to the hype, it reads really really fast as well. And the romance subplot is exquisite – sapphic, morally gray, with with a strong hurt/comfort element.

Review: The Unbroken by C.L. Clark (Magic of the Lost #1)

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ARC received from the publisher (Orbit) in exchange for an honest review.

This has been, hands down, one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I’ve been looking for books with messy, complicated relationships lately, so that sounded fantastic, plus being promised critique of colonialism on top and that cover? With those arms? 😍

Unfortunately, while it’s a good book, I have to admit I found it something of a struggle, even if it was no fault of its own.