sapper?

The Will of The Many

James Islington

Set in a quasi-Roman fantasy world this is a satisfying read.
Vis is an orphan trying to do something impossible – find a way to avoid being forced to cede his will to the Hierarchy.
The Catenan Hierarchy has conquered the world and their will magic powered by a strict societal power class system in now unchallenged.
Under unlikely circumstances Vis finds himself adopted by a powerful Catenan senator in order to solve a mystery at the elite Academy.
Vis – who has a dangerous secret past – is force to ride a fine line to serve the interests of different groups who want to use him for their own ends.
I really did enjoy this one. The book is split into three parts and the first part is particularly strong. I enjoyed the rest a little less but where it left off is very tantalizing and I’m looking forward to getting the sequel when it comes out.

Rating: A-

glue?

Just Stab Me

Jill Bearup

This is an ok fantasy romance enlivened by a tremendously appealing meta plot where the ‘author’ talks with her characters about the story and events happening in her real life.
Originally a series of short videos on YouTube with the author playing all the parts. This is where I came across it.
Having enjoyed those little videos I decided to buy the novel.
At no point is it terribly original but it is frequently fun and different enough from the videos to be worth the outlay.

Rating: B+

gondola?

The Family You Make

Jill Shalvis

Levi and Jane have a near death incident during a crazy snowstorm at a ski resort. Thinking that they’re going to die Levi tells his mother that he’s found the one an that he’s with her.
A pretty enjoyable fake dating romance with likeable lead characters.
Jill Shalvis is always reliable for a romance you can get a little lost in.

Rating: B

maw?

The Golden Enclaves

Naomi Novik

The final book in the Scholomance series finds El out of the school and dealing with the repercussions of that final day.
Suddenly in demand she finds herself defending enclaves from attack and looking for a way back in to work out who the mysterious villain is.
This is the weakest of the three books in this series but I continue to love El and her horribly narrow and self-loathing worldview. It was interesting to see the wilder magical world but the actual ending felt like a bit of a cop out. For once in my life I wanted to see more angst!

Rating: A