Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead (Age of X #1) Dutton Adult (June 2013) Ebook, 464 pages Urban Fantasy When I heard that Richelle Mead was releasing a new series, I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it, even though I had no idea what it was about. Gameboard of the Gods is a sexy and violent adult dystopian novel, with an undercurrent of paranormal activity and mythology, lots of action and a slow-revealed mystery that didn’t disappoint. Written from the point of view of…
Poison by Sarah Pinborough Gollancz (April 2013) Hardcover, 200 Pages Fantasy Poison is a retelling of the Snow White fairy-tale but with a modern edge and some wonderfully delicious touches. First off this is a book well worth purchasing in hardcover, it is like one of those old treasury editions albeit one with shiny holographic effects etched into it. It is gorgeous to look at and has some lovely illustrations by Val and Les Edwards. The main character in this version of the tale is the Queen, Lilith. Sarah Pinborough…
Fire (Graceling Realm #2) by Kristin Cashore Audiobook, 13h 16m | Narrator: Emma Powell Orion Publishing Group (April 2012) | YA Fantasy I am fast becoming a rather big fan of Kristin Cashore’s writing. You could be forgiven for thinking that book two in her Graceling Kingdom series would have the same world building we’ve already seen in Graceling. But, Cashore has cleverly crafted an additional rich and exotic world layered onto the clever landscape she has already depicted. I think it’s also fair to say if you really don’t need to have read…
The Shadowed Sun (Dreamblood #2) by N. K. Jemisin Orbit Books (June 2012) | Paperback, 528 pages | Fantasy Set ten years after the events of The Killing Moon, The Shadowed Sun returns us to the kingdom of Gujaareh, which is being ruled by the Kisuati. I found it difficult to get into the book at the outset as it felt like there were several narrative threads coming together, but the main focus is on Sharer-Apprentice of the Hetawa, Hanani. She is the first ever female apprentice in the Hetawa, choosing to follow…
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine #1) by Ransom Riggs Quirk Books (2011) | Paperback, 348 pages | YA Fantasy Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is a young adult supernatural horror story that cleverly incorporates the use of vintage photographs into its pages. The story begins with sixteen-year-old Jacob Portman and the stories his grandpa used to tell him as a child. These stories are fantastic fairytales about the orphanage he grew up in during the Second World War, featuring children with strange abilities, such as…
Blood’s Pride (Shattered Kingdoms #1) by Evie Manieri Jo Fletcher Books (August 2012) Hardback, 528 pages Fantasy Rising from their sea-torn ships like vengeful, pale phantoms, the Norlanders laid waste to the Shadar under cover of darkness. They forced the once-peaceful fisher folk into slavery and forged an alliance with their former trading partners, the desert-dwelling Nomas tribe, cutting off any hope of salvation. Now, two decades after the invasion, a rebellion gathers strength in the dark corridors of the city. A small faction of Shadari have hired the Mongrel, an…
Black Feathers (Black Dawn #1) by Joseph D’Lacey Angry Robot (March 2013) Ebook, 496 pages Fantasy, Dystopian Black Feathers is a modern fantasy set in two epochs: the Black Dawn, a time of environmental apocalypse, and generations into the future in its aftermath, the Bright Day. In each era, a child undertakes a perilous journey to find a dark messiah known as The Crowman. In their hands lies the fate of the planet as they attempt to discover whether The Crowman is our saviour… or the final incarnation of evil. (Goodreads)…
The Book of the Forsaken (The Game #1) by Yannis Karatsioris Createspace (July 2012) Paperback, 304 pages Fantasy, Young Adult A sarcastic storyteller traps three characters in his web in order to get hold of a special book. Daniel, Cassidy and Igor are three unique individuals, considered outcasts for different reasons. They are about to meet and stick together, as coincidences and forced situations lead them to a journey all around Europe. As everyone is after the Book of the Forsaken, the coming Game is about to take place on the dark…
Ice Forged (Ascendent Kingdoms #1) by Gail Z. Martin Orbit Books (Jan 2013) Paperback, 592 pages Fantasy Condemned as a murderer for killing the man who dishonored his sister, Blaine “Mick” McFadden has spent the last six years in Velant, a penal colony in the frigid northern wastelands of Edgeland. Harsh military discipline and the oppressive magic of the governor’s mages keep a fragile peace as colonists struggle against a hostile environment. But the supply ships from Dondareth have stopped coming, boding ill for the kingdom that banished the colonists….
Deep Down (Wide Open #2) by Deborah Coates Tor Books (US, 5th Mar 2013) Paperback, 304 pages Fantasy Now that she’s solved her sister’s murder, Hallie Michaels has left the army and isn’t sure what to do next. Her relationship with deputy Boyd Davies is tentative, there’s still distance between her and her father, and she needs a job. The good news is, she hasn’t seen a ghost in weeks. All that changes when she gets a call asking her to help an elderly neighbor who is being stalked by black dogs,…
Chime by Franny Billingsley Bloomsbury (Apr 2011) Hardback, 368 pages Young Adult, Fantasy Briony has a secret. It is a secret that killed her stepmother, ruined her sister’s mind, and will end her life, if anyone were to know. She has powers. Then Eldric comes along with his golden lion eyes and a great mane of tawny hair. He is as natural as the sun, and he treats her as if she is extraordinary. And everything starts to change… (Goodreads) REVIEWER: Rebecca When I first saw the cover for Chime…
Scent of Magic (Healer #2) by Maria V. Snyder MIRA Books (Dec 2012) Paperback, 404 pages Young Adult, Fantasy As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga…
TOUCH OF POWER (Healer #1) by Maria V Snyder PUBLISHER: Mira Books RELEASE DATE: 20 December 2011 FORMAT: Paperback, 390 pages GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy Avry’s power to heal the sick should earn her respect in the plague-torn land of Kazan. Instead she is feared. Her kind are blamed for the horrifying disease that has taken hold of the nation. When Avry uses her forbidden magic to save a dying child, she faces the guillotine. Until a dark, mysterious man rescues her from her prison cell. His people need Avry’s magic to…
THREE PARTS DEAD (Three Parts Dead #1) by Max Gladstone PUBLISHER: Tor Books RELEASE DATE: 2nd Oct 2012 FORMAT: Hardback, 336 pages GENRE: Fantasy A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart. Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will…
PANTOMIME (Micah Grey #1) by Laura Lam PUBLISHER: Strange Chemistry RELEASE DATE: 7th February 2013 FORMAT: EBook, 416 pages GENRE: Fantasy, Young Adult R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide. Iphigenia Laurus, or…
