Ya Boy Kongming transports a celebrated third-century Chinese tactician from his deathbed to modern-day Japan, where he meets amateur singer Eiko and pledges his intellect to propel her career. On the surface, it’s a nice enough isekai-ish story: historical figure…
But Silence Fallen comes with caution tape. The real warning I needed the first time through this book was the completely unexpected character twist at the end. Somehow, I never saw it coming. This time, i gleefully read through, picking out every detail along the way.
5 stars The main character’s thoughtful and sarcastic tone will make anything in this series an instant read. That they are a security cyborg with grunt-level insight into the world and all its mundane absurdities sweetens the deal. Couple that…
4.5 stars The fourth book in the Blood Trails series takes the shades of gray established in the previous books and mixes them thoroughly when Shade is asked to save a demon (and its paladin host) after a double homicide…
4.5 stars TAKEN takes the Blood Trails series further into shades of gray by asking whose moral standards are being referenced. If something is evil by human standards and honest and moral by Fey standards, what is the objective truth?…
4.5 stars WEREWOLVES IN THE CLEVELAND METROPARKS. I bought this book without hearing much more than “sale, urban fantasy, Cleveland” and was pleasantly surprised (pumped) to find not only werewolves (one my favorite creatures) but also familiar settings. With a…
4.5 stars Shade Renard aspires to be more than just a village witch, but she didn’t expect her first job as a private investigator to be for a vampire. With high stakes, Otherworld diversity, and smooth storytelling, this book hits…
3 stars Jonathan Howard writes beautiful prose with stunning imagery, and the publisher set this short anthology in a beautiful binding to match. Kyth is an intriguing character: not a thief but someone who retrieves objects that were stolen. She…
5 stars I knew little about this book when I bought it, only that the author is an engaging speaker with many interesting things to say. Combined with my beloved urban fantasy genre, I figured this would be worth it.…
5 stars This is one of my favorite novels so far this year. With humanity divided among a fleet of generation ships and strong female characters in martial roles, it reminds me of THE STARS ARE LEGION but with a…