I’m excited to say that, after half a year of waiting, I’ve finally finished the second books of two series that had me hyped last year. Those being: The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter, part of a four-book series called the Burning; and Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab, the conclusion to the Monsters … More RBR: The Fires of Vengeance, Wings of Ebony, Our Dark Duet, etc.
To many fantasy readers, there is something alluring about the idea of a magical world hidden from view, the possibility that it could be ours to use if we just know how to pierce that veil of secrecy. You see it in the likes of Harry Potter, Three Dark Crowns (although that is actually high … More Setting Study: Wings of Ebony and Hidden Worlds
As we head into June, I figured now would be as good a time as any to take a quick glance at my 2021 reading goals and see how we are doing. I’m going to refer back to my Setting My 2021 Reading Goals post for the books that I wanted to get to this year, … More 2021 Mid-Year Reading Check-In
For no logical reason, I found myself thinking about Katsa from Graceling again. I know I’ve written innumerable blog posts about Kristin Cashore’s works. I’ve mentioned my adoration for the romantic subplots in the series. But today we’re going to focus less on the romance and more on one character, at least to start off … More Asexuality in SFF: A Ramble
Welcome to another rapid book review. It’s been about a month since I’ve done one of these so I have several books to get through. The first one was an audiobook. The rest were physical copies. All but the audiobook were fantasy novels, so if you’re looking for some fantasy recommendations, you’re in luck. We … More RBR: Tell The Truth and Shame the Devil, Malice, Call Down the Hawk, The Gilded Ones, The Magician King
Everyone loves to hate on Goodreads, and for good reason. Amazon bought the website several years ago, and ever since then, there haven’t been any substantial updates to how the site looks or operates. It just feels old. That, plus all the ads, the Book Awards amounting to nothing more than a popularity contest, and … More Goodbye, Goodreads. Hello, StoryGraph?
No, we’re not talking today about the little corndog shaped creatures from Despicable Me. Or, more accurately perhaps, it’s not all that we’re talking about today. When it comes to combat, there are two options for making the protagonist struggle: conflict of wit or conflict of number. That is to say, outsmarted versus outmatched. Is … More Let’s Talk Tropes: Minions
Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle was one of those formative fantasy series that really began my obsession for the genre. I remember seeing that blue dragon on the cover way back in middle school, and it drew me in the same way that the bow and arrow drew me in for Kristin Cashore’s work. Like Cashore’s … More Book Review: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
Well, we are long overdue for a few book reviews, I think. But even though I finished Scythe a few weeks ago, I wanted to have This Golden Flame finished before I did another RBR. And, for reasons you’ll find below, it took me a little longer than anticipated to get through the book. So, … More Rapid Book Review: Fate of the Fallen, Scythe, This Golden Flame
I’m not sure when happy endings fell out of fashion, but I do know that present-day narratives generally strive for a distorted concept of realism where the grittier and darker it is, the more “realistic” it is. At the very least, this is the case for fantasy novels, so much so that the concept of … More Let’s Talk Tropes: Happily Ever Afters
Katie Bachelder 