Fantasy Book Reviews

The dramatic final installment of The Enchanted Isles series, A Mage’s Path by I.L. Cruz concludes this sweeping saga of magical revelation and selfless heroism.

Having left Canto behind, along with a heartbroken friend and the love of her life, Inez seeks out the mysterious Avo in the realm of Faery for guidance on remedying the many magical crises surrounding her. Inez’s mother remains trapped in a powerful cowrie shell and her increasingly accessible magic still feels too out of control to wield against the very real enemies that threaten her, let alone aid her quest to return magic to […]

The first book in the Shadow World universe, Spirit Quest by Tim McRae is a dramatic, romantic, and adventurous introduction to a gripping new fantasy series.

Suspended in a timeless and legendary past, the prodigious fighter and magician Niri must confront once again the terrible dark magic of the Witch. Niri is sworn to protect her world from evil, a promise that has sustained her through unimaginable danger and pain. Cooped up in her house in the Old Forest, and still recovering from a fight with the evil Witch that almost cost her life, she perceives a certain unrest in […]

A microcosmic drama with existential implications, Mr. Average and the 12th Stone: Watch Your Mandibles by Ben Run is a mind-bending work of experimental fantasy, told from a thoroughly unique perspective.

Ave may be the best optimizer in the Ant Nest ant colony, but even his eternal loyalty and devotion to Hari isn’t enough to make him forget about the woman who has been visiting him on New Year’s Eve every year for the past eleven years. She is the reason he has been saving up all of his reflection time – all those carefully guarded seconds and emo-seconds – […]

An unlikely crew of allies must transcend all that attempts to divide them in Blood and Tradition by Marc Keyner, a thoughtful and entertaining fantasy escape into the fascinating land of Ylliora.

Desperate to give his unborn Half-Orc child a chance at survival, Mos plans to smuggle his still-pregnant partner, Ella, to a safe harbor and a new life with the help of an old seafaring friend. However, Captain Phara Everbloom has problems of her own, thanks to a power-hungry rival in town intent on squeezing her profits, sinking her reputation, and even assaulting her crew. Before Phara can sneak […]

An unexpected showing of family unity amidst palace intrigue and shadowy secrets, Children of Sorrow by Marc Keyner is a thrillingly dark and suspenseful continuation of the Tales of Ylliora series.

Dawson has spent a year trying to make a new life as a hauler down at the docks, scraping together coppers for honest work and keeping a watchful eye on his chosen community. However, given that his father is the Master of Spies in a city like Moncragh, Dawson can never fully escape the past, nor the wide array of deadly skills in which he was secretly schooled.

When […]