Tales from the Circle

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...

  Daughter of the Wolves, by K. S. Villoso is a fast-paced adventure-filled sword and sorcery book filled with magic and battles and shifting loyalties, and amazing complex characters. It's kind of a follow-up, chronologically, to Blackwood Marauders and features some returning characters, as well as featuring some characters from Villoso's Agartes Epilogues and Wolf of Oren-Yaro. I love each dive I take into this fantasy world. Agos-agan feels real and each glimpse I get into it just makes me want to re-read all the other books and trace character paths and look at the maps of the world. But what I love most about Villoso's writing is those gut-wrenchingly accurate portrayals of how it feels to be an outsider, how it feels to try and communicate with people who don't understand you, etc. Daughter of the Wolves focuses on Anira, a relative of the Warlord of Oren-Yaro, who finds herself caught up in this crazy adventure when her brother, the soldier, makes a stupid mista...

Well, it's that time of year again where I look back at the books I read throughout the year and highlight the top books. Check out my past top books lists:  Top 8 Books I read in 2021 Top 5 Books I read in 2020 Top 3 Books I Read in 2019   Top 5 Books I Read in 2018   Top 3 Books I Read in 2017 It's been a year of cozy reads for me overall and I continued the mood-reading trend that I began last year so even though I only read 14 books this year (I know, it's not much, but I wrote like 3 books) five of those 14 turned out awesome! Here they are in the order in which I read them:  The Lord of Stariel by A. J. Lancaster  Genre: Faerie/Historical Fantasy  The Lord of Stariel is a cozy, almost slice of life fantasy about a girl who returns to her family home for a funeral. She didn't leave on such good terms so there's a lot of awkwardness between her and her family, and it's the day-to-day interactions between her and the rest of the family that makes this bo...

Everyone is making their "best of" lists for the books they've read this year (I plan to do one too, hopefully soon) and planning their TBRs for 2023, but I wanted to take a few minutes to look back on three books I read a while ago that I still think about sometimes. When reviewing and rating a book I always try to be as balanced as I can be. My reviews are always written the day of finishing a book or the day after if I finish it late at night or get busy. If I leave it for longer I'll either forget to leave a review or it'll start feeling like this looming difficult task that I'm delaying. Anyway, this means that my reviews are usually my initial reactions to the reading experience. They tell you how I felt about it right after closing the book. I'm well aware that ratings have issues, and sometimes even for me it's hard to decide how many stars I want to give to a book, because I want to be fair, but at the same time I'm very aware that this wh...

I loved K. S. Villoso's Agartes Epilogues (aka Legacy of the Lost Mage series) and I enjoyed Legacy of the Wolf Queen as well, so I've wanted to read this book for a while. I finally had the chance and I found myself flying through it. Compared to both the other series I've read it was much more on the character-driven side so it reminded me more of the Wolf Queen series. At the same time, there were a lot of call-backs to the Agartes Epilogues in terms of the settings and characters. Overall, I loved the main character Luc, but hated the other main character Roena so it wasn't my absolute favourite of Kay's works, but let's be honest, I still flew through it and found myself eager to get back into it and find out what happens next. Blackwood Marauders follows the (mis)adventures of Luc - a boy who was born on a slave ship and rescued by a man who came to be an amazingly loving father. He grew up on a farm with his father, his father's wife, and their son Al...

I've never been one to get physical copies of books. From a very young age only the local libraries could support my extensive reading addiction. When I discovered how convenient ebooks are I switched almost completely away from physical books to ebooks, whether it's from the library or books I buy on kobo and amazon. So my physical collection is very tiny. It consists of a couple of copies of the Lord of the Rings, one of them very beat-up from the number of times I've read and re-read it, and the Harry Potter books from 3-7 because there was no way I was waiting until that came to the library and had to have them as soon as they came out. I've also got a handful of other books I somehow collected over the years.  Lately, though, I've found myself mentally shelving certain books into a future physical library. These are all books I loved so much that I know I definitely need to have a copy of them if I ever decide to get a bookshelf and start a physical collection....

 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...

    Cinnamon Bun by Ravens Dagger is described as "A Wholesome LitRPG" and that's really what it is. I don't think I've read any other LitRPG, but I found it a good introduction to the genre, so don't be afraid of that subtitle if you've never tried the genre or aren't much of a gamer. It's basically an adventure story where a young girl (high schooler, I think) is sitting in class when a little magical message pops up in front of her inviting her to accept a mission to purge the world of a great evil. When she accepts, she is transported to a different world, a fantasy videogame world.  She explores the world, excited for adventure, and discovers that she can gain skills (like you would in a videogame). But instead of being a warrior or mage or something her "class" is Cinnamon Bun and she gets skills like cleaning and friend-making. She also definitely doesn't want to kill anything, and I love the way that her morals were incorporat...

The Brightest Shadow by Sarah Lin is a progression fantasy with an epic fantasy scope and feel. The world-building in this is excellent, and despite the huge number of pages I've already read I know there's already so much built up and waiting to be uncovered and explored. I also really enjoyed most of the characters and the perspectives they bring to this story. I may be judging it a bit more harshly than necessary by giving it four stars instead of five, but I think that's partially because I can almost see the excellence that could have been, but it just feel a tiny bit short in a couple of small ways when it could have been phenomenal.  The first part of the story was excellent and I was gripped and interested throughout. Tani's Farwalk was an excellent hook into the story - it's a journey she is taking as part of her warrior training with the added goal she has given herself to observe the "Deathspawn" that have arrived on the continent near her home ...

  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...

Well, it's that time of year again where I look back at the books I read throughout the year and highlight the top books. Check out my past top books lists:  Top 5 Books I read in 2020 Top 3 Books I Read in 2019   Top 5 Books I Read in 2018   Top 3 Books I Read in 2017 This year has been an interesting reading year for me. I DNFd so many books that were actually well-written and somewhat interesting, but I just didn't feel in the mood for them at the time. This very moody reading had an interesting side-effect: I ended up reading so many books this year that I absolutely loved. So this year's list is going to be longer than usual!  Without further ado, I give you my list of the best books I read this year. Books that I loved and would highly recommend. In no particular order:  Heartscale by Lola Ford   Genre: Epic Fantasy  My Rating: 5 Stars  Heartscale is an excellent book exploring the relationships between dragons and humans in various differe...

The Wrack is a unique fantasy novel that focuses on the spread of a disease called the Wrack and how it affects the people, their cultures, politics and the world at large. An interesting read in pandemic times, and the author mentions how weird it was to be writing and releasing it during the pandemic. Even though the book is a work of fiction about a fictional disease in a world where magic exists I found the inner science nerd in me extremely excited while reading this book. I also love epic fantasy and I think the author pulls of an amazing feat by showing how the Wrack spreads across this entire world, showing the large, epic scale while still having so many beautiful, close, character moments.  In some ways, The Wrack itself is the main character. There are some characters that show up a couple of times, but in general, don't expect to follow certain characters throughout the novel. The work of fighting the pandemic is a global one and the author allows us to see so many pers...

Gunpowder Alchemy is an excellent steampunk book set in 1800s China. In the midst of the Opium war a young woman named Soling, who is working as an assistant to a physician in a small town and trying to keep her family fed, ends up getting embroiled in the war between the Empire, the English, and a band of rebels that is growing into a dangerous army. She has to confront her past, her father's old position in the court, and her family's current disgrace.  It's an immersive, well-told tale with amazing characterization at the heart of it that drives the story. It's so rare when a protagonist's family relationships feel real. She goes on an adventure that takes her away from them, but she thinks about them and tries her best to make sure they're safe and to contact them and that makes all her interactions feel real and genuine.  There's action, there are interesting clockwork contraptions, gunpowder warfare, ships, and so many other exciting things. The story ...

  Burning Bright was the story I didn't know I needed to get me out of this reading slump. It's like a period drama by Austen mixed with a naval adventure story (ala Horatio Hornblower) mixed with magical powers/superpowers. Very interesting combination and a well-written story.  Elinor Pembroke's power manifests one night while she's asleep... and she sets her room on fire. She's 21 and unmarried so her parents - mostly her father - decide that this Extraordinary power she has to control fire makes her a more eligible match and they try to find her some rich/powerful husband. This is the interesting thing about the worldbuilding that reminded me a little bit of Temeraire, the author has put these powers into this historical time period and they're being used within the society like in the army, in fire brigades, etc. Elinor is a noblewoman, so her family doesn't expect her to use her power for anything, especially since she manifested late/at an older age, ...

Hi everyone, For the past couple of months I've been collecting recommendations of beloved books and asking the authors of those books to put them on sale! The result:   - 53 awesome SFF books on sale for only $0.99 each  - Recommendations so you know why the book is awesome   - There are SPFBO and SPSFC books in here for those following those contests  Check it out:  https://www.talesfromthecircle.com/epicsale2021.html Last year I picked up Between the Shade and the Shadow based on Calvin Park's recommendation in this sale and it was one of the best books I read in 2020! I can't wait to find out what new gems I'll discover this year. And I'll be sure to share my thoughts here!  Hope you find something you enjoy reading!

I had the pleasure of writing a guest post for FanFiAddict about world-building and some of the elements that make readers connect with the world and want to visit it.  Building an Immersive World   In it, I talk quite a bit about Tolkien's Middle Earth as well as some of my favourite immersive reads including K. S. Villoso's Agartes Epilogues and Daniel E. Olesen's Chronicles of Adalmearc.  And to celebrate the guest post I've put up my big epic fantasy book Children of the Dead City up for sale . You can get all 375K words for only $0.99 - and I'm hoping readers will find it immersive and fun! :) 

Reading the afterword of this book cemented a realization that I had already made a while ago: I love to read Ursula K. LeGuin, but I mostly love reading her non-fiction essays/thoughts about writing more than her actual fiction. ( Check out my review of The Disposessed here. ) That afterword, where she explains what she was thinking when she wrote the book and discusses the ideas behind it, was much more interesting to me than the actual book. I respect what she was trying to do with this book and I found myself enjoying small sections of her writing, but overall the distant tone in which this book was written kind of hindered from engaging with all these great ideas in a meaningful way.  In a coming of age story like this that was supposed to be about the main character understanding himself it really would have helped to get to know his thoughts first-hand, but LeGuin never really tells us what he's thinking. Instead, she tells us the names of all kinds of Islands and towns and ...