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Book Review | The Book of Doors
Title: The Book of Doors Author: Gareth Brown Published: 15th February 2024 Publisher: Transworld Publishers Genre: Fantasy Rating: 3/5 stars Because some doors should never be opened. New York bookseller Cassie Andrews is not sure what she’s doing with her life. She lives quietly, sharing an apartment with her best friend, Izzy. Then a favourite customer gives her an old book. Full of strange writing and mysterious drawings, at the very front there is a handwritten message: This is the Book of Doors. Hold it in your hand, and any door is every door. Cassie is about to discover that the Book of Doors is a special book – a…
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Book Review | The Gods Below
Title: The Gods Below Author: Andrea Stewart Published: 5th September 2024 Publisher: Orbit UK Genre: Fantasy Series: The Hollow Covenant #1 Rating: 4.5/5 stars After a divine war shattered the world, humanity struck a pact with the god Kluehnn: in return for regular tribute of magical gems, Kluehnn would restore the world to its former glory. But as each land is transformed, so too are its people changed into strange new forms – if they survive at all. Hakara is not willing to pay such a price. Desperate to protect herself, and her sister Rasha, she flees her homeland for the safety of a neighbouring kingdom. But tragedy strikes when…
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Book Review | Long Live Evil
Title: Long Live Evil Author: Sarah Rees Brennan Published: 1st August 2024 Publisher: Orbit UK Genre: Fantasy Rating: 3.5/5 stars A TALE FOR ANYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN… When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series. She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world,…
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Book Review | Play of Shadows
Title: Play of Shadows Author: Sebastien De Castell Published: 28th March 2024 Publisher: Quercus Genre: Fantasy Series: Court of Shadows #1 Rating: 3.5/5 stars Swordplay, magic, intrigue and friendships stronger than iron: the first volume in the new swashbuckling fantasy series set in the universe of THE GREATCOATS. Damelas Chademantaigne picked a poor night to flee a judicial duel. He has precious little hope of escaping the wrath of the Vixen, the most feared duellist in the entire city, until he stumbles through the stage doors of the magnificent Operato Belleza and tricks his way into the company of actors. An archaic law provides a temporary respite from his troubles…
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Book Review | A Tempest of Tea
Title: A Tempest of Tea Author: Hafsah Faizal Published: 22nd February 2024 Publisher: Pan Macmillan Genre: YA, Fantasy Series: Blood and Tea #1 Rating: 5/5 stars On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it – and she can’t do the job alone. Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known…
