Synopsis:

Nearly a thousand years ago, the tyrant-sorcerer Mordechai betrayed his people, forged a weapon of darkness, and led an assault against the Middle Kingdoms to claim the throne of Reality. He slaughtered the defenders, broached the Shimmering Door, ascended to the Unseen Realm, and sought to make himself a god at the Heart of the World. Only at the last moment was he thwarted—by the sacrifice of a young woman, Lightbringer, who slew the Servant of Darkness and ended his terrible campaign.

But now evil stirs in ancient strongholds, and blood-rituals claim the lives of innocents throughout the cities of the world, and fearsome shadow-monsters have reappeared to feast upon the living. The Servant has been resurrected. His armies have grown. His power has swelled. And he has resumed his bloody war against the free world. Again he marches for the Shimmering Door and the Heart of the World; and now there are few who remain to stay his hand.

Only a young forest girl, Ashera Eldibara, has any hope of standing against Mordechai. She bears the Sword of Light, the fabled weapon of her predecessor, and its magic hums in her bones. Others stand at her side as protectors and guardians—a wizard, a warrior, and a huntress, each prepared to sacrifice all in the last desperate struggle against the Servant of Darkness.

But they are few, and Ashera is young and untrained, inexperienced in the ways of magic and warfare—and the monstrous armies that she faces are vast and powerful . . . and already hunting her.

The Servant is not just a love letter to classic high fantasy, this is a John Cusack holding a boombox up to the Mount Rushmore of classic high fantasy: Tolkien, Brooks, Jordan, and Weis/Hickman.

Woodland girl, Ashera, is tied to an ancient prophecy and like all good classic fantasy stories, and she is tasked with defeating a resurfaced dark lord. What unfolds in these ~800 pages is a journey we’ve seen plenty of times but can never ever get enough of. Add in some excellent side characters and we have ourselves a boiling pot of porridge.

I mean it when I say this is classic fantasy to a ‘T’. We have a champion and a dark lord after the World’s Heart. We have the Light v Dark, aka good v evil. We have swords of Light and Dark (oh my). We have a ‘farmboy/girl save the world’ trope. We have demon beasties who are just here to kill Team Good Guys/Gals. We have dark wizards who work for the dark lord. Good wizards who help our champion. A literal slow build journey from humble beginnings to prophecized leader. Literal Prophecies (this is obvious since the series title is Prophecy of the Five). Woodland elves. Dwarves. Faeries. This tome is bursting with classic fantasy concepts and each one of them is reverent to the very idea of said tropes, almost to a fault (of which I absolutely adore).

And while we’ve seen so many books trying to adhere to the classic style and the greats, it really takes a deft storyteller to make you feel like you are witnessing something new. Greer is one of the most gifted storytellers I’ve read in awhile, hands down. His cozy-ish Garden Knight stories are so visceral, so elegant in their prose, I knew without a doubt The Servant would be the same. And it was! The prose, the pacing, the characters and their arcs, just so well done. The almost 800 pages felt like 200 because I was so engrossed in this story. Greer is a master at painting a scene, letting it breathe as needed. He doesn’t just ram details down your throat, hoping you catch the taste of what he is cooking, no he simmers on low, throwing in dashes of lore, pinches of action, heaps of character.

That said, I can see how this won’t be a story for everyone. It’s classic for a reason: it takes its time. We spend nearly 150 pages with Ashera in her home village before the shit hits the fan. Much of what happens here seems like it shouldn’t have a point other than being fluff, but trust me, it all serves a purpose to build up Ashera’s arc. Characters we meet are given so much life, and when things happen, you feel terror for them when the demon beasties and bad wizards show up. And even when Ashera finally leaves her home and begins her book 1 plot (there are 5 planned books in this series), it still takes its time, especially when it comes to her learning her magic. So if you are looking for fast pacing and all out action, you won’t get this here.

The vast majority of this book is told through Ashera’s POV, probably close to 85% or more. She, like every farmboy/girl character before her, starts off very naive to things, but she isn’t just a cardboard cutout for worldbuilding to be dumped on. She has a lot of character depth in the beginning, especially her relationship with her sister Kyrina and the twins Talia and Tovin (who also have magic). There is a realness to the relationships in this book and I commend Greer for making sure to build these up as they define Ashera throughout the book. The other two POVs are Penedur (a warrior sent to protect her, think Aragorn) and Cenhelm (a guard working for the dark lord). Penedur is fun, and he helps guide Ashera in a great way, slightly turning the hardened warrior trope on its head a bit. Cenhelm is barely seen, we only meet him way later in the book, but I have to assume we will get more with him in the rest of the series. We also have Kirin as our resident good wizard, and then Shayelin, a character I won’t delve into for spoiler reasons.

I won’t lie, I don’t read a ton of classic fantasy as much anymore, mainly because it’s hard to stand up next to the greats, or to even take those classic tropes and make them fresh again. But it was super refreshing with The Servant. I cannot wait until book 2, I just know Greer will give me another great story! So if you need some classic fantasy in your life, definitely go pick this up when it releases on June 28!

Synopsis:

While investigating the kidnappings of young, impoverished girls, Arianell Acraea uncovers a sinister conspiracy involving rogue Champions of Ares and forbidden sacrificial rituals fuelled by a magic that defies the laws of the Supreme Goddess herself.

Ellis, a nomad with an aversion towards divinity, wants nothing but the peace of a quiet life, away from the Gods and their glorified slaves. But a deadly encounter with Arianell pulls both women into a web of mysteries that connects all the way back to the heart of Aphrodite’s Vengeance and how she created her World Without Love.

Review:

Garden of Rotten Roses is technically book two in Hidalgo’s dark fantasy sapphic romance World Without Love series. But really, it is more of a prequel to one of my top reads last year, This is How Immortals Die, as it takes place canonically before TiHID, and the two main characters in GoRR are the parents of the main in TiHID. Buuuuut you need to read TiHID first as GoRR doesn’t make as much sense without doing so. Got all that? Good, away we go!

In this world, which is based on the Greek Pantheon (albeit more pre-industrial UK time period, in this story, Wales), an apocalypse happens after Aphrodite outlaws Capital ‘L’ Love. In a twist, people are immortal and can die, but they rejuvenate in a very Deadpool-esque manner in a few days depending on how gruesome a death. However, if two people fall in Love, they lose their immortality, and Aphrodite’s priestesses hunt these lovebirds down and brutally kill them. There’s cults, other God/Goddess devotees, blood magic, and death galore.

I want to start with the magic system because it was definitely one of my favorite things about TiHID. Because blood magic is just something I love a lot, I really enjoy when there are twists on it. In book one, the blood magic allows the two potential Lovers to join their hearts, giving them a very telepathic bond; they can feel what each other feels. This bond is used in some really fun ways, including a hilarious sex toy during a massive battle escapade. GoRR adds another layer to the blood magic, one more endearing: conception. Aside from this being a sapphic romance, I really liked the idea that Aphrodite’s priestesses are not just used to murder Lovers, but to help bring babies into this world when BFFs just want to have a baby together. There’s a ritual to bond/conceive, and this is just super neat.

‘True Love was ruthless. To accept it, you must first accept your own imperfect heart.’

I know I know, this is a dark fantasy romance, so their has to be romance right? There is, but it does start off as enemies to BFFs to lovers to Lovers, and this all balances delicately on the shoulders of Arianell and Ellis. Arianell is a Guardian of Hera, and she spends a lot of her time uncovering plots against her Goddess before spending her downtime on her family’s farm. Ellis is a heretic (meaning she doesn’t believe in the Pantheon for reasons), she’s brash, and after she kills Arianell (oh yeah, they were enemies first), does she finally slow her role. These two are polar opposites, but their relationship is excellent to watch blossom, thanks to Hidalgo’s deft prose. It was very refreshing to see them become friends before lovers, and finally Lovers. There is a tenderness in this progression you don’t always see in books.

Now, I will say that this story takes a different approach to its storytelling than TiHID. Book 1 is a literal journey drenched in blood (and one of the coolest shock/twists I’ve ever read halfway through), but GoRR is much slower paced, not as much blood (but don’t worry, there is still blood and action), and takes place over decades, mostly at Arianell’s farm. I really admire authors who take chances, and Hidalgo certainly does. But that doesn’t mean we don’t get fun battles and excellent voicey one-liners!

‘Waking up to the stink of rotten flesh was the indisputable sign that shit was about to hit you in the face.’

Oh, almost forgot, there are gryphons in this story too!

As a dude with a Classics degree, I fell in Capital ‘L’ Love with This is How Immortals Die, and Garden of Rotten Roses really solidified how much I enjoy this world Hidalgo created. I cannot wait for the big revelations promised to me in book 3! So if you need some antiquity, blood magic, brutal fights, and/or sapphic romance in your life, def check these books out!

Synopsis:

No Mercy, No Questions Asked.

Cork has quickly made a name for himself among the Kosellan mercenaries, but now his boss has come to him with an unusual job. Cork’s erstwhile countrymen, the Winn, have hired him to travel into the barren Frozen Lands and destroy a convoy, leaving only one survivor.

Cork isn’t sure he can trust the Winn. He feels like a pawn in their political game. However, his mother is sick and the Winn have promised to heal her if Cork does the job. And killing is what Cork does best.

To make matters worse. Cork’s crew has been decided for him: Arabella, an inexperienced and infuriating archer, and Nessa, a gloomy criminal with murder on her mind.

Cork will have to figure out how to complete the job, avoid Winn treachery, and manage conflicts with Arabella and Nessa along the way.

It’s going to be chaos.

Review:

The Pawns of Havoc is a novella that takes one of the side characters (and best character by far) from Lawson’s The Envoys of War and not only deepens the lore, but weaves an interesting tale that makes said character far more likeable than he already was. Winn and win (yes, that’s a in-world pun…).

Cork is a big, axe-wielding merc living with his sick mama. See, mama is Winn, and when the Winn leave their island for extended periods of time, they become increasingly ill because of magic. So Cork takes jobs to pay for mama’s meds. He gets a job to attack a convoy, killing all but one. The problem, it’s given to him by the dastardly Winn. Along with Cork, we get a stab-happy harpy of a killer named Nessa, and a naive, cobbler’s daughter who can shoot a bow named Arabella. And unlike the main book of the series, there is no failed plans. Mostly.

Everything about this novella is a step up in storytelling from the previous outing. While Envoys was enjoyable, it is clear that Lawson leveled up as an author in almost every category and I love seeing this from authors. The prose was the standout for me here in Pawns. It was very dynamic, very precise, very engaging, which was one of my small bugaboos from the first book. I was engrossed in every scene. The plot was perfect for a novella, and it didn’t stray at all. The tone was darker, less jokey, which for me, that’s a total win. The banter is still there as that’s Lawson’s specialty, especially between the three mains, and each joke hit very well and didn’t come across as forced. Pawns is definitely a more mature outing and I enjoyed every minute of it.

As I said, Cork was by far my favorite character in Envoys and it was nice to be with him as a POV. His arc was very well done and I felt like this will only enhance the character in the next books of the series. Despite his size and weapon-swinging abilities, Cork is a very deep and introspective character. He’s loyal to a fault but also realistic about life in general. His determination to help his mama is admirable. Essentially, Cork is just a giant cinnamon roll. Buuuuuut, Arabella outshone Cork here in this novella though, I won’t lie. She’s a fabulous foil for Cork. She’s funny, she’s brave, she’s headstrong. Just all sorts of all-around fun with her. I especially enjoyed her calling Cork ‘Connick’ and watching it go from annoyance to lighthearted ribbing to affection. Their potential romance arc was great. And Nessa, yeah, this little harpy was a blast. So bloodthirsty and snarky. Loved her. As a trio, you cannot ask for a better grouping of characters to carry a tale.

The Pawns of Havoc is my third outing in this world Lawson has created (shhhh he might have a short story about a Winn cook coming out this summer, don’t tell anyone…) and I can definitely say that he’s onto something here, especially as he continues to grow as a storyteller. It’s got me really excited to see where he goes next!

Synopsis:

Wealth, power, and an easy life. Vaz had it all, but nothing could satisfy him. He always wanted more.

When one of his plans makes his boss finally decide he is a threat, Vaz finds himself with only two options: to roll over and die, or to roll the dice. Literally. Due to an ancient pact between his people and a god of chaos, Vaz, like all citizens of his country, has a special die that grants wishes… if you get a 20. Anything else results in a grisly death.

Vaz knew there would be a price to pay, but he didn’t expect that, instead of getting his wish right away, he’d have to work for his own safety. Worse: that he’d have to work for the sake of another person.

Now a fugitive forced to prevent a young woman’s death, Vaz is confronted not just by the ugliness of his world, but by his own part in it.

Review:

Unfortunate hits as hard as buckshot to the chest, and in only 166 pages! This urban fantasy with a magic system based around chance is as hard-hitting as it is action-packed, and it sure as hell doesn’t skimp on dropping some hard truths about apathetic people.

Skeezy banker Vaz devises a new rate scam that will definitely get him some perks at work, maybe a promotion. But after coming home all giddy, a dude with a shotgun awaits him. Using his Last Resort, he takes a chance on his life with Chance, the god of this world. What unfolds after is a masterclass of cat and mouse, harsh self-discovery, and some really great banter.

Firstly, let’s start with the magic system here. In this world, every person is born with a Last Resort, a twenty-sided die. And when things are at their lowest, people can cast their die and hope to turn their fortune around, but only if they roll a twenty. Anything else is gruesome death (here seen by a vicious cat and scorpions). But there is a catch, the god Chance sends an Emissary to said person and that person must perform a task/quest as part of a Compact between the god and humans. This was such an awesome magic system alone, but then Silva throws us a coin part and, again, people on their quest can flip the coin and try to guess it right, if they do, Luck helps them, if not… Seriously, this magic system packed so much fun into it, I could read so many stories with this as a basis!

Vaz is an interesting protagonist. He’s not likable but he’s also not unlikable, and I think that stems from the perfect encapsulation of apathy in our current world. Silva does a wonderful job of imbuing Vaz with a sense of ‘I think I’m a decent person but really I’m not’ and the following line sums it up succinctly:

‘But if you take a good person and remove the “good” part, the result winds up being the exact opposite.’

Vaz is selfish in that he wants to make a better life for himself but at the expense of others, even without truly thinking about the consequences of his plans. His growth over this short novella was just superb (as well as hilarious when it finally smacks him in the face). And his relationship with his Emissary was phenomenal. The banter, the anger, the annoyance, everything was just great.

Syren is the other main character, and she’s drawn into this plot for connections to Vaz in a fun way. Her character is also great but I won’t spoil why. But as with Emissary, her interactions with Vaz are spectacularly witty and funny, while also emotional. They were a great odd couple type pairing.

The prose is great and the pace is wonderful. It’s also surprisingly really funny, lots of great back and forths, as well as situational humor that isn’t outlandish. I thought the few ‘Before’ chapters leading up to why Vaz has a shotgun guy in his bathroom were perfect and didn’t overstay their welcome, in fact, they added greatly to the storyline. As mentioned, there was such great character growth in only a short page length, bravo. And the ending is the exact type of ending that would make any Sopranos fan ecstatic.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Unfortunate. I’ve had this book on my TBR since it came out almost a year ago now and I’m just mad I waited this long to read it. Seriously, this was such a fun story!

Synopsis:

Hi, I’m Caiden, I look nineteen, but I’m actually a two-hundred-year-old vampire… and I’ve just been kicked out of a plane and dropped into a walled-off prison city for the world’s fantasy creatures. Welcome to Vampire City! A sprawling metropolis of segregated boroughs, desperate poverty and tyrannical vampire overlords who feed upon their lowly subjects to lay claim to them.

In my time here, I’ll work with a courageous leader of rag-tag elves, an ambitious warrior vampire looking to climb the heirarchy, street-wise goblins only after a quick buck, a hapless halfling who has found themselves up a certain creek without a certain paddle, and finally a young and headstrong vampire girl called Alma, who doesn’t feel like a vampire, and who incredibly can’t be fed upon by those tyrannical vampire overlords I mentioned earlier.

She might just be the key to changing this modern, run-down, unjust and cruel metropolis into a better place for everyone. Or she might not. Depends on what I do next, I suppose.

Review:

Vampire Metropolis is an urban fantasy with a ton of humor and even more heart (which is kinda surprising since vampire’s don’t really have hearts). There’s something very human in this tale, something we all strive for: finding one’s place, even if it’s in the worst place possible.

In a page ripped exclusively out of Escape from New York, humanity has finally created a way to get rid of all those pesky magical creatures that have been hiding among us. Elves, faeries, orcs, goblins, banshees, and of course vampires have all been rounded up by humans and shoved into a sprawling city, lovingly referred to as Vampire City, and kept under lock and key. Our protagonist, vampy Caiden, is tossed in the city and it isn’t until a newly made vamper, Alma, is thrown in, does Caiden realize his worth and find his place amongst his brethren. A strange coming of age tale almost, even though Caiden is over two hundred years old.

Told exclusively via Caiden’s POV, we get to experience life in Vampire City, as well as dig through his very depressing sense of self. The dude has some serious baggage. Caiden is a loner, doesn’t like to follow the rules set by the vampire lords, and he really doesn’t like to be around anyone or anything. He’s a very melancholy character and can be very whiny at times. But he does have an excellent narrative voice and is quite witty, so it’s easy to like him. Alma is the other main character and she’s such a good foil for Caiden, and the other vampires as well. She’s verrrrrry fresh as a vampire, so she doesn’t even want to admit it, even though she has fangs and cannot die (more on that below). Alma just wants to go home to her mom and the entirety of the plot revolves around her trying to change the way VC is run so she can try to get out. There’s a couple of other characters Caiden regularly interacts with who are also fun in their own way.

One neat bit of vampire lore that I’ve never seen before is that these bloodsuckers cannot die, ever. Once bitten, they exist FORRRRR-EVVVV-ERRRR. And believe me, Caiden tells us this and every other damn character quite often. Vampires can be decapitated, quartered, smashed to bloody pulp, lit on fire, hell, the humans throw vampires into VC from airplanes and they just go splat, and no matter what, vampires will always regenerate over time. A lot of the tension of this story revolves around this bit of lore.

If you couldn’t tell from the blurb, this story is laced with humor, and even though I don’t always veer toward these sorts of books, I thought almost all of the jokes landed. Caiden’s narrative voice was very strong and most of the humor comes from his perceptions, not just banter (but the banter was good too).

The prose is quite strong and the pace even. And while we did get a very deep dive into the politics of Vampire City with its vampire lords with their blood tithes and boroughs, I do think more description of the actual city and how the humans keep it controlled was needed. Because we do learn there are walls, but not really much else. My biggest gripe about the story is that this is told in Parts, not Chapters. Sure there are scene breaks often enough that act in a very similar manner to Chapters, but it felt odd at times. The biggest offender is a 5 year time jump right after Caiden gets into the swing of things. It was odd that it just sort of happened before we truly got to see more of VC, and even odder that it happened mid Part.

And I’d be remiss to not mention the climax and how it all played out. While I had no issue with how this story ended, I can see how some readers might question if the whole thing was even necessary. For me, this story was more about Caiden’s inner growth, not so much the physical plot.

If you are looking for a funny urban fantasy with vampires and other fae creatures, def give Vampire Metropolis a try! It’s a fun read with lots of uniqueness to it. Now if you would kindly piss off!

Synopsis:

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Only stolen.

Mages feed on catalysts like Dinnie to enhance their spells, and since she’s the most formidable weapon alive, they will stop at nothing to control her. Even her parents, leaders of warring realms, wage a battle for her custody, imprisoning her to prevent the other from gaining the upper hand.

No more.

For the first time in her fourteen years, Dinnie isn’t alone. With the help of Ghost, a glum deserter shackled to his past, she intends to flee this madness. But as they witness the horrors unleashed to retrieve her, one thing becomes clear: Her parents will never abandon their claim.

Death and destruction follow in Dinnie’s wake, and she must decide if her freedom is worth the cost.

Review:

The Source of Strife is one of those fantasy books that falls between classic fantasy meets Weird West meets zombie apocalypse, and it’s safe to say I am here for it! This book will go down as one of my 2025 faves, it was just that much fun.

In a world (movie trailer voice guy) where energy can be drawn from objects—including people—and transferred into magic. These are catalysts and channelers, plus a dampener who can hide a catalyst’s power. Two opposing lands are at war, fighting over the world’s most epic catalyst. The source of their strife (oh yeah, title pun!) is the fact that the two leaders of said lands are estranged hubby/wifey and the catalyst is their daughter. To get back his daughter, hubs is opening rifts where zombie-like creatures are attacking, so loyal soldiers from wifey’s side decide to kidnap catalyst and bring her to daddy to stop these rifts.

Normally I like to start with characters, but this definitely needs to start with the magic system. It’s so damn cool. I love the idea of catalysts being objects, but people? Yeah, that’s really neat. A channeler can take a person-catalyst’s energy and do some gnarly elemental magic, but it drains said catalyst (except the daughter’s), so it adds a layer of consequence to each scene. Then add in the dampener concept, I really thought this magic system was very inventive and unique.

Now, the story does shine with its characters. Dinnie is our 14 year old catalyst and she’s been nothing but a pawn/prisoner of her parents her whole life. She’s been smuggled back and forth already and essentially kept in an ivory tower. Dinnie knows nothing about the world, has very little agency, so much so, that she became a voluntary mute. I found it interesting a choice because in the early chapters, she’s basically just a McGuffin, but she really grows over the course of this story, and that only happens when she meets Ghost. Ghost is a former soldier of mama’s but has long since gone his own way. He is drawn back into this tug-of-war for plot reasons, but he was hella cool. Dude has some serious baggage and it all unfolds over the course of the story. Ghost is a channeler, but he’s also been able to create some energycasters (aka six-shooters ala Weird West) and the bullets are catalysts. His tools are just awesome. Bravid is the other POV character, and he’s the loyal soldier turned traitor. He’s got a complicated history with Ghost. There are other characters on the team and each are great in their own way.

This world is quite fun as well. Despite the plot basically being ‘sneak out of one land and into another’, there are some very interesting places we see. There’s a ‘floating city’, a people who live partially underground and is very ‘eff the patriarchy’, and then there’s just some good ole fashioned haunted places. Then you add in the rifts to a void where dead people kinda come back as zombies. It’s just really original and really awesome.

The prose is solid as it gets, and the action never stops. But don’t let that fool you, heavy topics are explored. Bullying. PTSD. Generational Trauma. Depression. Suicide. And each of these are handled with grace and tact, which can be very difficult for many authors. The arcs of the main three POVs were very steady and made sense for where this story was going. And while this might be a standalone, there is a lot of area that can be explored in future books, but the ending was incredibly satisfying.

I picked this book up based on the cover (which is baller by the way) and having seen a couple of good reviews. I’m so glad I did because The Source of Strife was really that good of a read. I hope Arch gets a ton of exposure and plaudits with this book. Go check it out!

Synopsis:

No less blood is shed when bonds become broken.

Threats come from all sides as Ladrican ships wait off the coast and a mysterious untethered threat becomes impossible to ignore.

Lin is pushed to breaking as he struggles to stall Ladrica’s assault. War is upon Danica, but like an infection allowed to fester, the threat of the untethered can no longer be ignored.

Soldier. Hero. Monster.

Review:

There’s always something special when a series you fell in love with ends. Not to mention all sorts of emotions. The Binding Tenets trilogy is one of those stories for me. It started with Bloodwoven (which was released one year to the day ago), grew with Bloodbound, and finally crescendos with Bloodless. The feels were there when I read Bloodless, and it’s very safe to say that Terral stuck the landing!

Bloodless picks up right where Bloodbound ends, so some light spoilers ahead. Lin’s surrogate daughter is once again the center of the plot and it is up to our no-longer-questioning hero to save her, and maybe save all of Danica with her. With war closing in on Danica, a new threat, a true threat, rises. The untethered are no longer empty vessels attacking at random, no, a leader has bound (yeah, that’s a lore pun right there) them.

As with Bloodwoven and Bloodbound, this story is told exclusively via Lin’s POV. We’ve seen this man go from true believer in the world he lives in to a man who no longer is bound by those same rules. He’s come to terms with his condition, and his growth over this series has been nothing short of exceptional. I don’t want to spoil anything, but there are some excellent twists on Lin’s journey and as a reader, you cannot help but root for the man, to cry alongside him, to yearn to just for him to be free. There is a very compelling ending to Lin’s journey and it was extremely satisfying to see where Lin ends up.

The surrounding cast is still great. Denny is still the beating heart of this series and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. She’s just amazing and I loved spending all the time with her. If Terral ever wants to write a prequel novella, Denny should be the main character! Since Bloodbound went in a different direction with Lin and Danica at large, we finally get to see some characters from Bloodwoven return, especially Tylle (Lin’s unrequited love interest). Tylle is as mysterious as ever, and it was great to see how the new version of Lin interacted with her. But it is the Horned King who steals the show here. He is the one who has created an army with the untethered. Again, no spoilers, but he was pretty damn frightening and was a worthy adversary for this final book of the trilogy.

One thing is absolutely certain, this story had a very satisfying ending for all characters. It was completely logical based on the world and arc Terral crafted. I was completely here for the ending.

With each book in the series, Terral has grown as a writer. The prose, while always strong, remains excellent. But you can really tell he’s leveled up as the scenes felt more alive, more visceral as the series has progressed. The pace of Bloodless is relentless as the end nears. And again, I think Terral seriously stuck the landing.

It has to be said, the magic of this series was always fun, but we only got snippets of battles throughout the first two books. Yeah they were action packed to the brim, but this final book took it to 11. Wefts were thrown left and right, people were hewn by the score. It was a bloody good time.

Honestly, The Binding Tenets trilogy is vastly underrated and more people really need check it out. Bloodless is just the perfect ending to a well-written journey of a man shattering the pillars of his beliefs against the true reality of his world. Seriously, go read this trilogy, you won’t be upset. Proud of you, Greg, this trilogy rocks!

Summary:

A DESTINY SHE NEVER CHOSE. A FATE, SHE CAN’T ESCAPE.

Alira Verbrandt, the Princess of Namelle, savored the scholastic tranquility of her life until the Illyrian Empire descended from the north. On the eve of battle, Alira is drawn into the center of a war that has raged for a thousand years.

Unveiled as a Fate, the descendant of a legendary bloodline, destiny is thrust upon her. Alira must navigate her mortal obligation of defending her people from an empire who means to destroy them, while finding others like her to awaken a rebellious god that may be her last hope..

At the heart of her worry, an ancient record foretells the return of their creator. He who shall pass a final judgment over both humanity and the gods, one they may not survive.

Review:

Looking for some classic-style fantasy but with a modern slant? Then make sure to check out The Waking of Storm and Flame, as it has all the trappings of classic fantasy: chosen ones (The Fates of Aten), meddling gods (who actually walk amongst mortals), magical implements (a nice ring), and heroes getting betrayed. So yeah, perfectly classic fantasy!

When a neighboring land invades, royal Steward of Gondor, I mean Duke Cael Verbrandt raises his army under the leadership of his adoptive sister, Commander Zahra Ke’elle, as well as his younger sister, Alira, and marches to the dwarven lines in hopes of stopping the invasion. Cael is declared King, they’re attacked and overwhelmed. Some things happen, and voila, the siblings are separated and we spend the rest of the novel trying to get back together and save their homeland.

The characters are really what drives this novel, specifically Alira and Zahra, who you could argue are the two main characters. Both are as different as can be. Alira is a bookish young woman who has never been outside their city, has never witnessed battle, nor has she really seen anything outside of her imagination and history books. While Zahra, on the other hand, was trained by their country’s famous general, has become a warrior of renown (she’s one of the few people to kill a very gnarly beastie type guided by the aforementioned meddling gods), and has a mysterious past. Both women are fantastic and trope-filled. Their arcs follow a similar trajectory toward self-discovery and I enjoyed them both equally, although Alira did at times grate on me like a younger sibling should. Cael is your standard fare royal warrior with some baggage, aka feelings of inadequacy. The general and the other side characters have some nice bits to them, but many just move the plot along when needed.

I will say my favorite aspect of TWoSaF are the meddling gods and magic system. There are a few layers to them as there are gods, then there are the Fates of Aten (one of the gods). And on top of that, the gods are at war with each other over reasons. I don’t want to spoil anything there, but I really did enjoy how the gods manifested themselves on the characters via those magical implements. The main implement in this book is the Ring of Terra, and is an earth-based magic weapon of the goddess Drea. And when invoked, Drea actually takes over the user for a time, thus creating some great tension when said character wants to regain control. Another magical weapon (this time a sword the Verbrandts’ father carried into battle) is found, and based on where Alira’s arc ends, the rest of the series will be spent finding the rest of Aten’s Fates/weapons. Another really cool magical tidbit is the sheyde, a shadow being-esque thing that has afflicted Zahra after her battle with the beastie. It’s almost like a possession, and toward the end, it plays a role in Zahra’s arc. This was really neat.

This story is very battle heavy and military forward (based on Betts’ own military background). The entire first half of the book is essentially one big battle. Then when the siblings split up post battle, we have some scenes of politicking to muster more soldiers, then we climax with another huge battle. I will say the battles were great and I loved the accurate chain of command, but there were times I felt discombobulated and didn’t exactly know where I was settings-wise, as well as timeline-wise. Things did kinda blend together because a lot of what happens during the battles were told to the characters via messengers like how actual commanders would have. Until they take the field of battle, which Cael, Zahra, and Alira do often.

The prose teeters on the line of classic fantasy ala Tolkien and a tad modern. I’d say the pace of the story was up and down accordingly due to the battles mentioned above versus the more political side. As a personal taste, I do feel like the economy of setting was not as strong as I would like, meaning I didn’t feel very immersed in the scenes, especially the battles. However, I do feel as there were great emotional beats throughout the story, certain twists were clear as day but the consequences were nice and hit when needed. My biggest gripe, as with most classic SFF books, is the use of third person omniscient POV. I’m just not a fan of head hopping. There were a number of times where the POV wasn’t clear for paragraphs or a ‘she’ was used to describe the character in the scene and it wasn’t clear who ‘she’ was. Again, small things that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this story.

The Waking of Storm and Flame is definitely a love letter to the type of fantasy stories I grew up reading, and I can honestly say I had a fun time with this story. It doesn’t break a ton of new ground but it doesn’t need to. I was fully engaged with Betts’ story and I can’t wait to see what he has in store for these characters in his upcoming sequel, The Last Cry of Innocence, which comes out on May 14th!

Synopsis:

When Aster Rutherford, the postmaster’s son and his childhood friend, Zinnia Hollyhock deliver a letter to the Pelware Mines, they are attacked by a birdlike monster that turns men to stone. Even worse, Buckwheat Village is plagued by an illness that’s incapacitating villagers, including Aster’s own father.

A chance encounter with Kara Reeves, the brash quartermaster of the Blue Skies, leads Aster to hitch a ride to the capital city in search of a doctor. Aster’s quest takes him from the dizzying spires of New Portsmith to the caves of Munayallpa and the forests of Tembour. Along the way Aster reconnects with his estranged mother and comes face-to-face with the god of a foreign land. Can Aster and the crew of the Blue Skies overcome pirates, politics, and monsters to cure Buckwheat Village before it’s too late?

Review:

The Odyllic Stone is an adventure story through and through, one that channels The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles while elevating some weirdness against the mundane. While the plot relies heavily on the ‘farmboy goes on an adventure trope’, the story does end up breathing new life in some unexpected ways that I found quite enjoyable.

The cast of TOS starts small in a tiny faraway village, but ends up expanding into far-reaching lands and a much larger group. Our main character is Aster Rutherford, and good ole Aster is a postmaster apprentice of sorts. He and his bff, Zinnia Hollyhock, have a run in with a cockatrice (seriously, why are there not more cockatrices in books???) and Aster’s simple life goes belly up in the most interesting and fun ways. His adventure to seek help leads him to become a sailor, a pathetic knife fighter, a failed petitioner, a smuggler, an explorer caught by simple booby traps, a big game hunter who lets the game go, and a champion (?). And all the while, Aster maintains his goal in trying to help those of his hometown. I just loved Aster.

The rest of the cast was not only diverse in character types but also incredibly well-balanced. Kara plays the role of love interest, brash young sailor turned captain, and all around capable human who gets wrongly fingered for some bad things. Chert is the reliable muscle and stoic buddy who has a deep-rooted history to the Odyllic Stone (the item of the title). Calantha was my favorite character. Not only was Calantha cool, calm, collected as a scientist but was also much more than meets the eye, but spilling that detail would be some spoilerific action. Zinnia had an interesting arc, though I do wish she had a bigger role earlier in the story to help build her up more because she did play a major part in the latter half of the book. Then there are a number of other side characters that range from excellent (Fletcher, Peter, Pat) to plot movers (Joss, Janna, Whitlock). All this to say, the cast is quite good.

Now here’s where things could become tricky, a looooooot of things happen. I mean a lot. You might have gleaned some hints of that from my description of Aster’s arc, but yes, this book has it all. Sailing becomes attacked by pirates and marooned. A follow-up journey to a secondary town that requires another journey to a third town, and in third town, Aster meets his long unmet mother who abandoned him as a child (sort of). Then we finally have Aster get the much needed doctor to save his village (after some politicking as a petitioner). Then we have a mystery to solve in the mines, which leads to a treasure hunt where the Odyllic Stone is discovered (this was my favorite subplot and really felt like reading Young Indiana Jones, very boobytrap thinking going on here). Then we have some assassination attempts. Then a heist before we end with a sweet rooftop battle with some weird creatures coming to life. There is so much that happens in this book that at times, it almost feels too much. Like there are moments when a slow down in the pace would have helped before jumping into the next obstacle. It wasn’t an issue, per se, but I would have preferred a few more scenes as breathers to allow the characters to have more reaction to everything that was happening.

One very cool structural bit was a letter between each of the chapters. Usually the letters were written to a specific character relating to the previous or upcoming chapter and had some plot details within (and I’m told the last few hint at where the rest of the series will go). I thought this idea was fun and neat, different and really fit the vibe of Aster being a postmaster’s son. It was also a great palate cleanser after the really long chapters (yes, there are fewer chapters that are longer than your normal length but there are plenty of scene breaks within each).

There was plenty of weird in this book too. Cockatrices are pretty normal despite their rarity of use (officially campaigning for more cockatrices in books!). But we also get giant cave-dwelling creatures that are godlike and proffer gemstone magic (sort of). We have mantis-like shapeshifters. There’s a magical chalice that takes you to the Null Realm where you meet an interesting being with your standard fantasy name with a random apostrophe in it. There’s mushroom beasties. Ballisks. Dragons of a sort. Even the Odyllic Stone has some weird to it. I thoroughly enjoyed all the weird, give me more of that!

The prose is pretty dynamic, not overly dramatic nor simplistic. The pace is hectic, as I mentioned, going from scene to scene to scene at a sprint. The tension is balanced nicely between action and drama, and the villain felt real once we learned who that was. There was a little bit of mustache twirling at parts but it wasn’t very over the top.

Ultimately, I had a grand time reading The Odyllic Stone. I never truly knew where it was going to go and I like that in a story full of adventure. And the plot twist at the end was satisfying, especially since I didn’t see it coming but should have guessed it with all the subtle hints. I can’t wait to see where Aster and co. go in book 2. Check out this book by a fellow Secret Scribe!

Summary:

In 1937, American circuses are trying to recoup the losses they incurred during the Great Depression while competing with newer forms of entertainment like movie theaters.

Kate Montgomery travels to the small town of Brixton Hill to scout a new act for her father’s struggling circus. Lewis Oswald, a trainer and friend of Kate’s family, introduces her to the Shadow Dancers, three young girls who can make their shadows dance independently of their bodies.

While the act would revive her family’s circus, Kate is horrified by the young women’s dismal training and living conditions. She wants to help them escape their dreadful situation, but when the Shadow Dancers take matters into their own hands, she’ll have to save herself.

Review:

*I read this novella as part the judging group The Secret Scribes for the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship (SFINCS) finals phase. The following review is strictly my personal thoughts as each novella will be reviewed by multiple judges to be as objective as possible.*

The Shadow Dancers of Brixton Hill is a wonderful little supernatural horror novella that kept me on my toes, turning page after page, not knowing where the story would end up. And where it did end, I wasn’t exactly expecting!

Heading out to Brixton Hill on behalf of her ageing father’s circus, Kate meets with a former performer and current circus trainer, as he’s got a new act that will blow everything they ever seen away: three young women/teens can make their shadows dance without moving their bodies. At first mystified and amazed, Kate takes a personal interest in the training methods as the young ladies seem out of sorts. Oswald repeatedly tries to convince Kate everything is fine, but Kate becomes more and more determined to learn the secret. What happens next would be quite spoilery, but needless to say, some spooky shit goes down!

As far as the cast, both Kate and Oswald are serviceable characters. Kate’s fighting an uphill battle as she’s a woman in the early 1900s doing work men have previously done, so most of her sources of tension come from Oswald trying to goad her into the deal, invoking how her father would have done things, fully knowing she is trying to carve her own path. Oswald is a trickster, conman/showboat, swindler type, trying to get as much money possible out of the deal. And that’s about all there is to character arcs. Then we have the three shadow dancers and since they are basically walking bodies, they don’t have much character to them outside of the ending.

But none of that takes away from how compelling this story is. The plot is very engrossing and the hints of supernatural are superb. Even the cover gives away some part of the plot, gasp a 4th shadow, ok that’s not a spoiler for those who can count and read the blurb, but the fourth young dancer does play a part in the story and adds to the mystery. Once the shadow dancers are introduced, the story really gets chugging along and while the ending might be a bit murky, the sense of eerie never lets you go. There is just something dark at play, something a bit sinister, something otherworldly. It’s just spectacular.

The prose is excellent. Since the story is told via Kate’s 1st Person POV, we truly are able to feel the spookiness of the shadow dancers and the nefariousness going on. Willson’s writing is very evocative and quite purposeful. Again, once Kate gets to the shadow dancers, this story never slows down and there is quite a lot of tension that builds expertly.

For a horror novella with a touch of supernatural, The Shadow Dancers of Brixton Hill is definitely one to check out!