Format: ARC

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by Saturday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley. A fantasy-inspired historical fiction story based around one of Florence’s most tumultuous periods in the 15th century, Isabel Ibañez’s debut adult novel Graceless Heart is a romantasy book full of interesting ideas. It features a resilient and independent female main character in a patriarchal dominated era marked by a political power struggle as well as the flourishing of the arts. Beautifully written and full of Italian flavor, the book’s great potential is unfortunately hindered by its uncertain commitment to what it wants to be and inconsistent pacing. I struggled to stay invested in the somewhat sparse story for most of the read before it devolves into a haphazard third act. Cleverly set within one of the Republic of Florence’s most colorful historical periods, Graceless Heart’s biggest asset and noteworthy element is its homage to the Italian setting and the excitement of the Renaissance era that runs throughout the course of the book. From snippets of Italian phrases to its vibrantly described visuals, from the get-go, the book feels distinctive amongst the numerous romantasy/fantasy romance novels constantly being pushed out.…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing. A powerful female knight and partner mage, swordplay crossed with magic, and a slow burn childhood friends to lovers arc, V. L. Bovalino’s The Second Death of Locke is a fantasy/romantasy novel that makes the most of all of its appealing narrative elements and ideas. While the fantasy romance/romantasy genre has increasing moved towards romance and smut dressed in fantasy clothing (or lack of, ba dum tss), this novel instead is a true balance of its genres, a very rare epic fantasy romance novel that has the plot and world-building that earns its fantasy classification. Featuring a healthy blend of action, character drama, romance, and magical intrigue, The Second Death of Locke is a great all-arounder that despite serving as the start to Bovalino’s the Hand and the Heart series, has an adequately satisfying ending that can be read on its own. While the romantasy genre originally was a combination of romance storylines set within a fantasy world, the genre has increasingly become associated with steamy romance, smut, and incorporating popular expected tropes. That said, many viral romantasy novels often feel romance…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by the author and Savage Realms Press in exchange for an honest review. A derelict grist mill off the beaten path, a string of grisly deaths with no known perpetrator, and an earth-shattering roar in the night. High school senior Jake and his fellow school newspaper club friends find themselves caught in the middle of a dangerous predicament following a local tragedy that has eerie similarities to a familiar scene of mass carnage twenty-five years ago. When their paths cross with a disheveled personal investigator, the tension and mystery of what’s out in the forest only grows as suspicious outside agents soon show up in town in full force. Dylan James’ novel Cedar Mills is an engaging suspenseful horror story that feels like a modernized take and ode to classic monster in the night horror tales. Featuring a diverse cast of characters with interwoven backstories, creative ideas mixed together in refreshing ways, and sharply pitched action scenes (pun fully intended), Cedar Mills is fast-paced and fun read akin to a Friday night stay-at-home horror movie marathon. With a strong opening chapter and a perfectly pitched introduction to the unknown out…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Winston Churchill wrote that history is written by the victors but in Hayley Gelfuso’s debut novel The Book of Lost Hours, it’s not about who writes history but who can access and manipulate it. A cavernous sprawling expanse filled with shelves of books, the Time Space is a place entirely removed from linear time as we know it, full of history and people’s memories stored as books. Referred to as Timekeepers, those that can access this place shape history to match their vision by removing select memories from this space, wiping them from existence. Trapped in this timeless space since 1938, Lisavet Levy tries to save these memories deemed dangerous by salvaging and hiding them within her book until an American timekeeper Ernest Duquesne begins to take notice in 1949. Meanwhile in 1965, mourning the death of her Uncle Ernest, Amelia Duquesne is approached by a mysterious CIA agent named Moira who presents her a Time Space watch and tasks her with finding a mysterious book of memories Ernest had been searching for. Blending elements of speculative fiction, time…

The following review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. In the year 2263, Jason’s world and home under New Toronto is a world unlike any other. Under a dome protecting the city from raging toxic storms, New Toronto and its inhabitants are at war against an Imperial Invasion from across the Solar System while simultaneously fighting a separate battle within against a nanophage epidemic infecting humans, robots, and cyborgs alike. Haunted by strange visions and a voice in his head, Jason’s life in a hidden underground enclave is thrown into chaos when latent psychic abilities start to threaten both himself and everyone else around him. As the United Federation of Earth combats the Imperial forces in space, with the help of his brother David and friend Sam, Jason hears the calls of the mythical and extraterrestrial obelisk Abaddon that promises salvation from his uncontrollable powers, as well as information about his mysterious past. Serving as the first entry in the Abaddon Cycle series and Colin Searle’s debut novel, The Call of Abaddon is an ambitious sci-fi epic that mixes cyberpunk elements (bio and nanopunk flavors specifically) with the…