A brilliant fantasy to kick off my 2025 reading year. I loved the combination of murder mystery and fantasy, with an apprentice and master investigator duo. Not only were the characters interesting, but the fantasy world also unfolds organically, through the eyes of Dinios Kol, the assistant investigator who has just graduated from his exams ..read more

I don’t know about you, but anything a book mentions libraries or bookstores, I’m sold. Especially if they’re in a fantasy setting, like Babel by R.F. Kuang. The Great Library of Tomorrow is no different. It’s a highly imaginative fantasy following Helia, a Sage of Hope guarding the Great Library of Tomorrow, and a young ..read more

Featuring a librarian with a plant companion, a jam shop and a spell that makes trees grow, The Spellshop is a cozy fantasy that left me with many warm and fuzzy vibes. It was nice just relaxing and reading about Kiela’s life as she moves to an island to take refuge. At first, Kiela takes ..read more

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Amina al-Sirafi, #1) by Shannon Chakraborty Published by HarperVoyager on March 2, 2023 Add to Goodreads Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend. Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, v ..read more

Kaldoras (The Medoran Chronicles Epilogue) by Lynette Noni Series: The Medoran Chronicles #6 Published by Pantera Press Source: Publisher Genres: Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, Young Adult Amazon | Publisher | Booktopia Add to Goodreads She didn’t hesitate to open the door and step through it, just as she had thousands of times before.Only, this time, something unexpected happened.Something different.Something very, very strange. Journey back to the world of Medora to follow Alexandra Jennings and her friends—and enemies—for one last adventure. Spanning four years after the final boo ..read more

House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City, #3) by Sarah J. Maas Published by Bloomsbury UK on January 30, 2024 Amazon | Angus & Robertson | Booktopia Add to Goodreads Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she’s going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that’s no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust. Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be th ..read more

The Atlas Complex (The Atlas, #3) by Olivie Blake Series: The Atlas #3 Published by Pan Macmillan on January 9, 2024 Source: Publisher Genres: Adult Fantasy Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction Amazon | Publisher | Booktopia Add to Goodreads Only the extraordinary are chosen. Only the cunning survive. An explosive return to the library leaves the six Alexandrians vulnerable to the lethal terms of their recruitment. Old alliances quickly fracture as the initiates take opposing strategies as to how to deal with the deadly bargain they have so far failed to uphold. Those who remain with the a ..read more

The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin Series: The Scarlet Veil #1 Published by Harper Collins Australia Source: Publisher Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romance Amazon | Book Depository | Publisher Add to Goodreads This dark and thrilling vampire romance—set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Serpent & Dove series—is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas! Célie Tremblay has always been a good girl: kind and beautiful, a daughter of whom every parent would be proud. She surprises the entire kingdom when she defies tradition to become the first huntswoman—including her new capta ..read more

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid Published by HarperTeen, Penguin Australia on September 19, 2023 Source: Publisher, Edelweiss Genres: Magical Realism, Young Adult Publisher | Booktopia Add to Goodreads Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad - author Emrys Myrddin’s beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him. Effy’s tattered, dog-eared copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first t ..read more

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang Published by Harper Collins on June 7, 2023 Source: Purchased Genres: Contemporary, Fiction Amazon | Publisher | Angus & Robertson | Booktopia Add to Goodreads Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an expe ..read more