Tales from the Circle

  Kir's Fury is the second book in the Godeena Codex. I loved the first book, Godeena, which stood well enough on its own with a satisfying story that wrapped up nicely, but I was definitely thrilled when I found out the author had written a second book. Because I wanted to dive in right away, I decided not to re-read Godeena, and this showed me that Kir's Fury also works fairly well as a stand alone, though of course, I would still recommend reading Godeena first!  This book has a much wider focus, showing us many different planets, characters from various different civilizations, and all kinds of interesting tech levels and even some supernatural powers. It felt epic in scale, which I really loved. It starts on the planet Godeena, six years after the events of the first book, and starts with the archaeologist Diana and her team doing their explorations of that planet, trying to uncover the secrets of the lost civilization that once inhabited it. What they uncover exposes a t...

Firebrand Book 2: The Fire-Touched is an excellent follow-up to the first book. It continues the story of Martel as he completes his first year at the Lyceum, hoping that by the end of it, he'll finally pass the novice stage and become an acolyte like the others his age. As this is the second book Martel has become more comfortable at the school and with the surrounding city and I also enjoyed sinking comfortably back into this well-built world with Martel. I enjoyed this second installment almost more than I did the first.  Martel's characterization is consistent with the first one, and he continues to get himself into tough situations and put himself into danger to help others, but by now he has his feet under him a bit more and is better able to handle the situations he gets into - and pick out friends from foes from people who are trying to use him. There's lots of great character work not only for Martel, but also some of the side-characters.  In terms of his magical e...

  Outlaw Mage by K. S. Villoso follows the adventures of Rosha, a young woman with the ability to do magic living in an empire where she's an outsider. This book is full of what I love most about Villoso's work: those raw, deep observations about what it feels like to be an outsider trying to find or make a place for yourself in a society that doesn't have a place for you except on the sidelines. There's a fast-paced, action-packed story full of magic and secrets and even empire politics, but those few, scattered thoughts where Rosha is trying to come to terms with the way others see her, the way the empire treats her and her family, those are what raise this book above others of its kind and convince me that K. S. Villoso will one day be considered one of the greatest writers of this generation.  "The Empire of Dageis, mighty conqueror, the bastion of civilizations, envy of the world. And yet its people cannot grasp how a mere Gorenten child could make a pebble fl...

  A Necromancer Called Gam Gam is a wonderful novella that explores loss through the adventure of a young girl on the run. When I first saw this book getting praise on social media I thought from the black cover and the skeleton and the title that it would be a horror story or something and so I ignored it for a long time. Eventually, I actually began paying attention to what people were saying about it and realized that my first impression may not have been accurate. I'm so glad I eventually checked out this cozy story set in a dark world. It's excellent. Like many others, I've found myself searching out and enjoying cozier reads lately, but I sometimes find them lacking in depth or sometimes I'm annoyed by how they ignore certain important themes just to keep the vibe cozy. It really doesn't sit well with me when a book is set in a war zone or something and the characters have no sense of introspection on their surroundings and just ignore them - and unthinkingly ...

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is not a new anime. It's been out for a while - since 2009! In fact, it's the second anime adaptation of the original manga series. So I'm sure what I say here is nothing new to a lot of people, but I just can't stop thinking about this amazing story so I guess I'll rant about it here for a bit.  Another note before I start. It took me a while to get into this anime. I actually started watching it and dropped it a couple of times. Even this time, it took me a few episodes to get invested/convinced as the story built up. I wasn't hooked as quickly as I am with some other anime/shows/fantasy works. But I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. If you haven't watched it, you should definitely give it a chance.  Moving on, let's talk about the genius of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which I will from now on refer to as FMAB:  Everything Builds to a Well-Defined Ending  The manga that this show was based on was already fi...

 Miss Percy's Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons is basically like a Jane Austen novel, but the main character inherits a dragon egg. The egg hatches. She has to deal with it while also dealing with her growing realization that the life she's settled into isn't exactly the life she wanted. Her inheritance changes her life, slowly but surely, but I loved that Mildred doesn't immediately become some hardened adventurer at the drop of a hat. She remains true to her character and reacts to the change in her life in realistic ways, making the book more charming than ever and adding another excellent thread of her personal growth into the plot.  It's a cozy book, but not one without excitement and adventure. The plot really comes together near the end and delivers a satisfying action-packed conclusion. That being said, this is book 1 in a series and the doors were definitely left open for even bigger adventures. I think it works well enough on its own...

The Ikessar Falcon is the breathtakingly excellent sequel to The Wolf of Oren-Yaro. Check out my review of Book 1  here. It's going to be hard to do a proper review without spoilers, but I'll do my best. Let me start by saying that it's a must-read and shows once again that Villoso is a master when it comes to epic fantasy. I couldn't tear myself from the pages!  Just like The Wolf of Oren-Yaro, the Ikessar Falcon is written in first person from Talyien's POV and just like book 1, this limitation of POV doesn't stop the author from telling a sweeping epic tale, showing us a vast and rich world, and building several characters who feel real and have excellent development. It's not just Tali that gets development, it's all the characters.  World-building is one of my favourite aspects of reading and why I love epic fantasy so much. I loved this world when I read the Agartes Epilogues (which are being re-released soon, I think!) and I loved it when I read t...

  A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher is a compelling fantasy adventure that follows a young 14 year-old girl whose power lies in her ability to magically enhance her baking skills. I found the story to be a page-turner and finished it in just over a day.  The thing that hooked me from the start was the voice of the protagonist Mona. She's got a very compelling personality and I genuinely enjoyed reading from her perspective, even though I don't think I've ever truly enjoyed a first person story before. There's a fun, almost sarcastic kind of humour in the way she describes and comments on the events of her tale that just kept me reading and turning the pages. Her voice was very refreshing and very genuinely the voice of a young person trying to navigate the adult world.  And the author clearly shows through this story that you can write something aimed at a younger audience, something clean, and easy to read that feels "middle-grade" and...