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Believe the hype: a masterclass in tension

Jade City by Fonda Lee

May 12, 2022 by Aquillia Leave a Comment

Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga books have garnered numerous SFF award nominations and have been talked about quite a lot on social media. And with good reason: this was the most stressful reading experience I think I’ve ever had. There are just so many setups for things to go horribly wrong that I almost felt relieved when they did go wrong. Kekon is an island that has thrown off the yoke of its imperial masters but still faces threats from all sides–and from within. What was a freedom […]

Cute fantasy romances that avoid being saccharine

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher

May 6, 2022 by Aquillia 4 Comments

For the last year, my favourite books list has included a mixture of “cozy” and “weird”. It’s hard to get me in the mood for something too traditional; I’m enjoying books with romantic elements but get frustrated by lack of non-relationship plot; and I think nothing will ever live quite up to my euphoric feelings of “wtf” with Harrow the Ninth. A friend recommended Paladin’s Grace to me and I am so grateful for that! I devoured it and the sequel, Paladin’s and am disappointed Scribd and […]

Lyrical prose, historical setting, and a fairytale feel mesh well together

A Rush of Wings by Laura E. Weymouth

March 22, 2022 by Aquillia Leave a Comment

A Rush of Wings is YA fantasy author Laura E. Weymouth’s most recent book (with a gorgeous cover in a different style than her other equally gorgeous covers). In many ways it resembles her second book, A Treason of Thorns in its historical setting (this time the Scottish highlands) more than her first, The Light Between Worlds, but there is some shared DNA with that one too, especially in its protagonist. While The Light Between Worlds offered a sort of justice for the Narnia character Susan Pevensie, […]

My interest in this series has waxed and waned pretty quickly

Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Crescent City: House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

February 25, 2022 by Aquillia 2 Comments

I’m reviewing these two books together (I’ll try to stay spoiler-free for both of them) because I’ve read them in quite quick succession and because my disappointment in the one is heavier because of my surprise interest in the other. I will preface by saying, I’m not a huge fan of Sarah J. Maas’ books. Sorry, I’m not trying to harsh someone’s vibe if you’re into them, I’m not the target audience. Yet I read them because sometimes I’m in the mood–like for candy, for […]

Fantasy with an impressively historical heart

Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay

Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay

February 23, 2022 by Aquillia 4 Comments

I’ve been working my way through Guy Gavriel Kay’s ouevre the past few years, and I’m shocked its taken me this long to get to the incredible duology that is Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors. I say duology but in truth they are two halves of a whole, which is dubbed the Sarantine Mosaic, and so I will review them together while avoiding spoilers as much as possible for both books. And I say shocked because I have a PhD in the political history […]

A book I might have wanted to write for myself

The Councillor by E.J. Beaton

June 9, 2021 by Aquillia 8 Comments

What’s this? A review? I actually kicked myself to write this review for multiple reasons. This book is a debut and I want to support debut authors. I just finished it but I’m on holiday and cannot yet meet my bookish friend in a café to talk about it. This book is so far up my alley I am devastated that I didn’t write it. (It’s written with far more beauty and panache than I could have, though). Also, Luca Fontaine. Another reason I’m reviewing […]

Emmalita on But who ever really knows the experience of another?I've been burned by author recommendations so many times.
Emmalita on “Your body was numb to grief; perhaps you had felt it once, but you did not feel it anymore.”I'll send you another one if you need it later. The invitations do time out.
narfna on “Your body was numb to grief; perhaps you had felt it once, but you did not feel it anymore.”Well, I just clicked the link but it's blocked at my work, so. Sucky.
Emmalita on New Love and a Complete Bingo Board!Congratulations!
wicherwill on thank you to my friend EvinThe characters also don't really do the fantasy bits--they begrudgingly put up with the weird, which is why I was struggling with whether this counts...

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