"Doctor Walden looked glumly at the form she had o fill in." There are so many books set in magical schools, but have you ever wondered how it all looks from the teachers' point of view? Incandescent (which comes from a piece of poetry where it rhymes with 'adolescence', in case you're wondering) follows Saffy … Continue reading The Incandescent – Emily Tesh
"It was early morning on the banks of the Elkinslough River." Mangled bodies with drastic and inexplicable injuries have started to show up in the city's river. Earstripe, a gnole (sort of a talking badger) and local constable (although there's tension in the inter-species attempts at inclusion), wants to investigate more than his superiors think … Continue reading Paladin’s Hope – T Kingfisher
"Clara stood outside a stranger's tent, holding a naked sword in her hands." Istvhan is a paladin - or rather, he was before his god, the (slightly misnamed) Saint of Steel died. The death was an extremely traumatic event for his followers, and the berserker paladins mostly did not fare well. Now there are seven … Continue reading Paladin’s Strength – T Kingfisher
"Hello. This is your storyteller. You may already be wondering why I'm intruding onto the story like this, which is a fair question." Fifteen years ago, teenagers Jeremy and Rafe went missing in a West Virginian forest for six months. They never provided an explanation, and no longer speak to each other. Jeremy, however, makes … Continue reading The Lost Story – Meg Shaffer
"I will share how I fell. But first, I must tell you what it is like to fly." Centuries ago, mankind broke the bond between humans and dragons, stealing magic for themselves and banishing the dragons to another world. That world is now on the brink of destruction, and it has been foretold that the … Continue reading Dragonfall – Laura Lam
"There was nothing scarier than a blind old woman with whites for eyes suddenly gripping your arm under a full moon night." What else to review on Valentines Day, than a romance? A dark, overly sexed-up, gothic romance, of course! 😉 Corvina Clemm has led a sheltered life, mostly alone with her mother and the … Continue reading Gothikana – RuNyx
I always enjoy seeing these posts on other blogs, but to be honest didn't feel I 'acquired' (ahem) enough books in a week to make it worth while. Why did it take me so long to think about a monthly haul post, instead?! This month has been very generous on the book-buying, hurrah, so suddenly the … Continue reading Stacking the Shelves – January 2023
"'The Red Scholar is dead.'" XÃch Si's life as she's known it has come to an end. Captured by pirates, even if the impossible happened and they let her go, she'd be arrested as soon as she got home, tainted by association and ever suspect. Her future can only hold indentured servitude, or death. But … Continue reading The Red Scholar’s Wake – Aliette de Bodard
Alithea (Tilda Swinton) is a narrative scholar, that is, she studies stories. She's hugely pragmatic and down to earth (not least indicated by her Northern accent, natch; an element I found hugely irritating), although given to some flights of fancy. Thus when she manages to unleash a literal genie from a bottle while visiting Istanbul … Continue reading Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
"'Watch out for the top of the door!'" We first met Delta Douglas back in Last Pen Standing, when she moved to a sleepy former Gold Rush town to open a craft supplies shop with her best friend. We rejoin them, two murders later (!), as the tourist town of Tundish hits the slow autumn/winter season. … Continue reading The Glitter End – Vivian Conroy
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