The Bloodforged carries The Bloodhound series further into conflict and gives the reader another fun and exciting adventure as this series continues to be a captivating and fun page turner that flies by. There are challenges that are physical, political and strategic. There are moments of romance and heartbreak. The whole book almost seems to be an emotional rollercoaster as the characters are desperate and driven to extremes to try and survive and stop this war. This book does have a decidedly darker tone to it than the first. It also does not have quite as strong of a romance aspect. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there is still some romance and a couple of heated moments between characters, but it takes more of a side seat in this compared with the strong love triangle that was in the first book. This allows the book to get more into the war, it also makes room for a few new characters. While I really enjoyed the romance in the first book, I will admit I also enjoyed it not being as prominent in this book.  The story in The Bloodforged challenges many characters to step out of their comfort zones and to step up their…

The Flux is a great second book I really enjoyed it and so was even more pleased to find that a third book is planned. Just a quick warning. This review may contain spoilers for Flex so if you’re intending to read that, which I wholeheartedly feel you should, then you should stop reading about now. The Flux starts a short while after the conclusion of book No.2. Aliyah is now 8 years old and her mancy powers make her something of a handful to manage. Forget the terrible twos. Try denying anything to a child who can simply create a portal of her own and waltz straight out of her bedroom whenever she likes. Grounded? I think not. Aliyah’s parents have divorced and Imani is now married to David. He’s a bit of a cold fish and not content with taking Paul’s wife seems hellbent on taking much more. Paul, following his heroics at the conclusion of Flex where he brought Anathema’s grand plans to a dramatic halt (albeit with the help of his daughter who’s own magic remains a secret to everyone else except Valentine), now heads up the task force who track mancers. Of course, being a mancer,…

Last year’s The Mirror Empire was one of the most exciting (and sometimes divisive) entries in an already stellar year of fantasy fiction. Kameron Hurley crafted a book that was daring, original, and even challenging. While putting her own spin on the idea of parallel worlds in a post-apocalyptic sort of portal fantasy, she turned gender roles and relationships on their head. It was the most brutally violent female-led fantasy I had ever encountered. It was ambitious, awesome, imaginative, and exhausting in equal measure . . . and I had serious concerns as to how a sequel would fare. Fortunately, the depth she established there proves to have even more layers than we thought, making Empire Ascendant a more than worthy follow-up. Having brought the two pivotal universes together at the end of the first book, Hurley continues to develop her worlds here. We already had a pretty good idea of the geographies and societies, but this time around we get a much deeper understanding of the politics involved. What impressed me most was the fact that she let both sides have their moments in the spotlight, questioning the means and motives of each. Conflicts both personal and political are dealt with here, and they are as complicated and confusing as…

The Heart Goes Last is a dark and yet humorous vision of a dystopian future where the world has lost social order. Life is hard, money and resources are incredibly scarce and people fear for their safety as there is no longer police or social justice to keep people in line. Charmaine and Stan, a young married couple, are lucky, for while they have lost their home and have little to their name, they have managed to hold on to their car, a safe haven from the streets. As they put it, their car is “the barrier between them and gang rape**“. Pretty much, this world is frightening and shows no mercy. To be fair, there are areas further west where things have not become quite so desperate. But without the means to pay for gas for such a journey or any other way to get across the country, this haven is just mere fancy, a nice hypothetical “what if we could get out there”. In reality, it is nothing in the realm of possibilities, as the west may as well be located on the moon for all the good it does them. But, a ray of hope opens near…

The nitty-gritty: A sprawling adventure story filled with airships, magic crystals, military maneuvers and talking cats. Yes, I said talking cats! Despite the fact that it took me two weeks to read The Aeronaut’s Windlass, I had so much fun. This was my first Jim Butcher book, and I can see why he’s so popular. His storytelling is exciting and his characters practically jump off the page. No doubt my rating would be higher had the book been shorter, simply because there was just too much of it. But despite some slow spots and a few personal issues I had with Butcher’s writing (which I’ll get to later), I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Readers who love military proceedings and battles at sea are going to love this book. And although the story doesn’t take place at sea, but in the air, it still had the feeling of a rollicking sea adventure. The story revolves around several groups of main characters. Captain Grimm is the commander of the merchant ship Predator and reports to the Spirearch of Albion. Spire Albion and Spire Aurora are at war, and after Grimm’s airship sustains major damage in an attack, Grimm reluctantly agrees to head up a…