Blog Archive

View My Stats
Thursday, November 28, 2024

Book review: Sleeping Worlds Have no Memories




Book links: Amazon, Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Nebula Award, SCKA Award finalist. Member of SFWA. Left one erstwhile empire only to settle in another. Speaks German by day, Russian by night. Writes in English.

Publisher: CAEZIK SF & Fantasy (November 12, 2024) Length: 300 pages Formats: ebook, paperback
Tuesday, November 26, 2024

Book review: Moonbound by Robin Sloan


Book links: AmazonGoodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Robin Sloan grew up in Michigan and now splits his time between San Francisco Bay Are and the San Joaquin Valley of California. He is the author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Sourdough.

Publisher: MCD (June 11, 2024) Length: 432 pages Formats: audiobook, ebook, hardcover, paperback
Friday, November 22, 2024

SPFBO X Finalist review - The Oathsworn Legacy by K.R. Gangi


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: K.R. Gangi is an independent author from Minnesota who transcribes his daydreams into stories of fantasy. The Light of the New World series is his first step on his writing journey, along with a few short stories and an endless list of projects he hopes to one day complete. There is nothing that brings him more joy than his wife, Melissa, and the books neatly shelved in what's referred to as "The Reading Room." He firmly believes that there is nothing more powerful than a good story.

Find K.R. online: website

The Oathsworn Legacy links: Amazon, Goodreads

SPFBO X Finalist Interview: K. R. Gangi, the Author of The Oathsworn Legacy


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: K.R. Gangi is an independent author from Minnesota who transcribes his daydreams into stories of fantasy. The Light of the New World series is his first step on his writing journey, along with a few short stories and an endless list of projects he hopes to one day complete. There is nothing that brings him more joy than his wife, Melissa, and the books neatly shelved in what's referred to as "The Reading Room." He firmly believes that there is nothing more powerful than a good story.

Find K.R. online: website

The Oathsworn Legacy links: AmazonGoodreads

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Review: Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis

 

Buy Wooing the Witch Queen

OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Stephanie Burgis is a dual citizen of the US and the UK and lives in South Wales (land of dragons) with her husband, the author Patrick Samphire, and their children. The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart is Stephanie's first (delicious) novel for Bloombsury.

FORMAT/INFO: Wooing the Witch Queen will be published by Bramble Romance on February 18th, 2024. It is 304 pages long and told in third person from Saskia and Felix's POV. It will be available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback formats.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS:  When Archduke Felix needs a place to hide from his murderous relatives, he figures there's no place safer than the court of the wicked sorceress Queen Saskia. She's no friend to the empire, has a magical wall around her country to keep out anyone trying to invade, and needs someone to organize her magical library. She also, unfortunately, has murderous feelings about the Archduke, owing to the actions of his regent who's been using Felix as a puppet ruler. So when Queen Saskia mistakes Felix for a dark wizard, he doesn't correct her. But the more time Felix and the Queen spend with each other, the more they begin to fall for each other, until Felix realizes that if his identity is revealed, he's risking not only his life, but his heart as well.

Wooing the Witch Queen is a cozy fantasy romance mixed with a healthy dollop of "fight the patriarchy" energy. Queen Saskia brings a take-no-prisoners attitude to the table, willing and able to incinerate condescending wizards and pretenders to the throne. Of course, much of the "wickedness" ascribed to her comes from her insistence on treating non-humans as equal to humans and her refusal to let any man dictate terms to her (though I suppose her fondness for a crown of bones doesn't help).

On the other side of the pairing is Felix, a cinnamon role of a man fleeing an abusive life. He loves books and fountain pens and the extraordinarily powerful woman that is Queen Saskia. While he's a bit of a tempering influence on Saskia's more murderous inclinations, he also fully supports Saskia in her bold, brash ways.

There's a lot to adore about how this couple comes together. There's the obvious flirtations in the library, bonding over a love of books while hands briefly touch. There's the growing respect for each other as they each see the love and protection the other offers to those around them. And perhaps my favorite part of all, Felix's embracing of a Saskia in all her passionate glory.

And for those wondering about how spicy this one gets, I'd classify it as akin to PG-13. Things are more implied than explicit, everything essentially happening juuuust off page.

The one downside to this novel is that it relies fairly heavily on Queen Saskia overlooking some glaringly obvious clues as to Felix's real identity. There are a couple of moments where the leaps of logic she makes are somewhat baffling. It's the kind of contortions that are somewhat common in romance novels to keep the tension going, but some of the explanations offered were a real stretch.

CONCLUSION: Wooing the Witch Queen is the cozy power fantasy romance I didn't know I needed. It's that classic tale of finding a person who accepts you for who you are. More importantly, it's about a powerful woman finding a man who isn't threatened by her power but instead is wildly attracted to it. I had a delightful time with this tale, and I will definitely be back for the next installment of the Queens of Villainy romance series.

Monday, November 18, 2024

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio (Reviewed by Shazzie)

 Book Review: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio



OFFICIAL BOOK BLURB: You wait ages for The One . . . then 203 come along at once 

One night Lauren finds a strange man in her flat who claims to be her husband. All the evidence – from photos to electricity bills – suggests he’s right. Lauren’s attic, she slowly realises, is creating an endless supply of husbands for her. There’s the one who pretends to play music on her toes. The one who’s too hot (there must be a catch). The one who makes a great breakfast sandwich. The one who turns everything into double entendres (‘I’ll weed your garden’). And the one who can calm her unruly thoughts with a single touch. 

But when you can change husbands as easily as changing a lightbulb, how do you know whether the one you have now is the good-enough one, or the wrong one, or the best one? And how long should you keep trying to find out?


OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: The Husbands by Holly Gramazio was a solid read. It’s not just solid, it’s an exceptional one.

Our protagonist Lauren comes home from a girls night out and is greeted by a stranger who claims he is her husband. Her house is not exactly as she remembers it, and this person has apparently been around for a while, and the people around her are very familiar with their history. She discovers her attic is functioning/malfunctioning and gives her a steady supply of husbands – every time the present one walks into it, a new one comes out.

The way she deals with this situation is downright hilarious, but also opens up a lot of questions. As Lauren tries to work through how the attic might be doing this, and goes through her seemingly unlimited husband buffet, the author spectacularly examines the paradox of choice where the abundance of husbands makes her more picky, choosy, and irritable. A lot of the fun was in her increasing desperation to get reluctant ones to climb up into the attic, and I have them bookmarked to read again and again. The fun part aside, there’s also a heavier side to the story which examines the loneliness she faces being the only one who is in on this truth, and the lengths she would go to to kind of convince herself that she should keep one or another husband. This slowly takes her on a journey of self-discovery that makes the story relatable in more ways than one.


CONCLUSION: In short, this book is right up there with the freshest, funniest, and most thought-provoking books I’ve read. I don’t recall another book making me crack up like this one did, and at the same time had me marvelling at how clever it was. Highly recommended.

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

COVER REVEAL: The Damned King (Eidyn Series #3) by Justin Lee Anderson

 



Official Book Blurb: The eternal light keeping demons at bay has been extinguished and Eidyn’s last bastion is under brutal siege. Aranok and his allies draw the final battle lines as the war for the kingdom nears its end. With death threatening from every shadow and truth itself at stake, Eidyn’s defenders must put aside their grudges and come together. But is it possible to save everyone when some prefer the lie?

The art is by Jeremy Wilson and cover design is by Lauren Panepinto.



Tuesday, November 5, 2024

SPFBO Finalist Interview: Adrian M. Gibson, the Author of Mushroom Blues


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ADRIAN M. GIBSON is a Canadian speculative fiction author, podcaster and illustrator (as well as occasional tattoo artist). He was born in Ontario, Canada, but grew up in British Columbia. He studied English Literature and has worked in music journalism, restaurants, tattoo studios, clothing stores and a bevy of odd jobs. 

In 2021, he created the SFF Addicts podcast, which he co-hosts with fellow author M. J. Kuhn. The two host in-depth interviews with an array of science fiction and fantasy authors, as well as writing masterclasses. (But don’t worry, it’s not overly serious—there are also plenty of shenanigans to be had.)

Adrian has a not-so-casual obsession with mushrooms, relishes in the vastness of nature and is a self-proclaimed “child of the mountains.” He enjoys cooking, music, video games, politics and science, as well as reading fiction and comic books. He lives in Quito, Ecuador with his wife and sons.

Find Adrian online: website

Mushroom Blues links: Amazon, Goodreads
Friday, November 1, 2024

SPFBO X Finalists - our approach and some stats



As avid fantasy readers, we love discovering new voices and hidden gems. SPFBO contest gives us such a possibility, and we’re thrilled to participate in it for the tenth time. 


The first stage of the contest has just ended, and ten blogs have picked their champions. We’re excited to read all of them and would love to encourage you to do the same. 

Here's GR LIST with all finalists. We encourage you to add them all to your Want to Read shelf.

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

The Serpent And The Wolf by Rebecca Robinson (reviewed by Caitlin G.)



Official Author Website
Buy The Serpent and the Wolf

OFFICIAL AUTHOR BIO: Rebecca Robinson is a writer of fantasy romance novels. Her debut novel will be published in November 2024 by Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. She is represented by Samantha Fabien at Root Literary.

FORMAT/INFO: The Serpent and the Wolf will be published on November 19th, 2024 by Saga Press. It is 352 pages and told in third person from Vaasa and Reid's POV. It will be available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook format.

OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Vaasa is used to political schemes - just not ones that involve her dying. But after Vaasa inherits a dark magic that killed her mother, her brother takes the opportunity to marry her off to a foreign ruler. Vaasa will be dead in a few months, and her brother can use that as a pretext to invade. Things take a twist, however, when her husband recognizes her magic and offers her a deal: Vaasa will use her political cunning to help secure his seat in an upcoming election, and he will give her the knowledge she needs to control her magic. With her husband's charisma and her own skills, the two pose a powerful front...but Vaasa's brother has plans of his own, and he doesn't care if Vaasa lives or dies in his quest for power.

The Serpent and the Wolf is a slow burn political fantasy romance that takes a while to get going, but builds to an absolutely gripping conclusion. While the publishers are leaning on the romantasy angle to sell this one, The Serpent and the wolf takes its time to get hot and steamy (flirtatious wedding night in the opening scene aside). Everyone's mileage with romances varies with how much they like certain tropes, and I'll admit, the dynamic between Reid and Vaasa wasn't my favorite at first. It starts from a place of "woman thinks she's dangerous, man thinks she's adorable and feisty but not really dangerous," which isn't my cup of tea. As the story progresses, however, we see this relationship evolve into a real partnership. Vaasa has the political acumen to take Reid's charisma and leadership to the next level, and Reid's smart enough to respect her advice. I am totally here for a power couple, and that's what The Serpent and the Wolf built to.

I do wish, however, that the actual politics and world-building had been just a little more fleshed out. There's a whole whirlwind of countries that are part of a collaborative empire that elect a ruler every ten years, as well as countries outside of that empire. Trying to keep track of which countries got along and which had bitter history, as well as the slew of names of rulers and advisors, was a bit of a daunting task, even for someone who loves political fantasy. That made it hard to track what was going on in some scenes, as I wasn't sure who was representing what nation and what the full significance was supposed to be.

The Serpent and the Wolf also takes a while to get to the central thrust of its story, and I do think the first half of the book is a bit weak. There's a rivalry in Reid's inner circle that's never really fully explained; Vaasa also spends the first half the book running around trying to understand her magic in a way that felt meandering.

Eventually, however, Vaasa and Reid begin to click, and the back half of the book is much stronger for it. I devoured the last third of the book as the action kicked off, and enjoyed where the story ended. While I was skeptical at the beginning of the book, I am definitely on board to find out where things go in the sequel!

CONCLUSION: The Serpent and the Wolf may not start with its best foot forward, but it finds its way in the end. I do think this is an instance of a bit of mismarketing, as the publisher is leaning heavily on the romantasy angle. While there's certainly spice, this is a definite slow burn that takes its time building the romance. This is not at all a bad thing, it's simply a matter of coming into the book with the right expectations. So if you're looking for a slow-burn romance about the evolution of a political power couple, The Serpent and the Wolf is where you should look.

  

FBC's Must Reads

FBC's Critically Underrated Reads

NOTEWORTHY RELEASES

 Click Here To Order “Barnaby The Wanderer” by Raymond St. Elmo
Order HERE

NOTEWORTHY RELEASES

 Click Here To Order “Barnaby The Wanderer” by Raymond St. Elmo
Order HERE

NOTEWORTHY RELEASES

 Click Here To Order “Barnaby The Wanderer” by Raymond St. Elmo
Order HERE

NOTEWORTHY RELEASES

 Click Here To Order “Barnaby The Wanderer” by Raymond St. Elmo
Order HERE

NOTEWORTHY RELEASES

 Click Here To Order “Barnaby The Wanderer” by Raymond St. Elmo
Order HERE

NOTEWORTHY RELEASES

 Click Here To Order “Barnaby The Wanderer” by Raymond St. Elmo
Order HERE