Tales from the Circle

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 ...

  The Lord of Stariel is a slow paced, almost slice of life, fantasy story with a period drama feel to it. I flew through this short, cozy tale of a young woman going back home after six years away to attend her father's funeral. She slowly gets accustomed to her old home and deals with her feelings towards her family and the lands of her estate.  I absolutely loved how slow paced it was. If you're looking for action or a fast-paced plot you might find yourself bored, but I personally loved how easy and comfortable it was for me to slowly sink into the Stariel Estate along with Hetta. Eventually dangers do intrude on this quiet world and the plot picks up the pace, but this doesn't happen until closer to the end so don't read this book expecting world-ending dangers or anything.  There is magic and it's almost steampunk-ish in the way it's embedded into this world, but there is also a kind of magic present within the land of Stariel itself and there's also a...

Amari and the Night Brothers is an excellent middle-grade fantasy book that can be read and enjoyed by adults. It follows the adventures of a young girl named Amari who discovers that there is a supernatural world that exists right alongside and within the normal world she's so used to. Her brother, who is now missing, has left her a nomination for a tryout at the Department of Supernatural Affairs, so she has the opportunity to go to a summer camp and try out for a position in the Bureau. This not only open up a whole new world for her, it also allows her to find out more about why he's missing and to look for him.  What follows is an excellent adventure where Amari learns to deal with an navigate her role in the supernatural world while at the same time learning to deal with and understand the racism and prejudice she faces in the real world. From the very beginning of the book the author shines a light on the prejudice that Black children face in their schools and daily live...

  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...

I'm steadily working on my WIP now and I don't have too much to share on here. Also, I recently saw a post (which I can't find to link to anymore!) on reddit that asked worldbuilders to share the background behind a specific law in their worlds and how it came about. Anyway, I got to thinking about this, because I have a scene in Children of the Dead City that does exactly that and I thought it would be fun to share.  It shows some teachers taking their students on a little field trip to show them a monument to the story behind a specific law. This excerpt explains the story of how the "Dragon Warriors" - previously called "Dragon Riders" a long time ago in their history - came to have a rule forbidding magic.  This excerpt is from chapter 44 of Children of the Dead City, so if you were planning on reading that novel already, you may want to just wait and read it in context. I don't think it's too, too spoilery, but still, I thought I'...