This is probably my favorite Mighty Nein Origins story yet! The art is absolutely gorgeous and it was so so so cool to see Caduceus as a child and interacting with his family as they continue to deal with the corruption that creeps into their sacred grove. Being able to watch him perform death rites was a fabulous bonus for me. As always, it made me fall deeper in love with the characters I hold so dear.

I originally picked this up because of the cover and a coworker recommended the author to me. BOY DID IT PAY OFF! This slow burn mystery is set at a summer camp in the 1970s where a teenage camper disappears in the middle of the night. The counselors don’t know what to do (some of them having been surprisingly unaware when she disappeared) and the entire camp is in a state of panic. The missing girl? Barbara Van Laar: daughter of the Van Laars who own the campground and the estate to the north of the camp. While this panic is certainly understandable, especially considering the wealth and reputation of the Van Laar family, it’s made even worse due to their family history of disappearing children. The Van Laars first child, lovingly called Bear, disappeared at the estate over a decade ago.

History seems to repeat itself as readers are jolted back and forth between the present investigation and the past investigation concerning Bear’s disappearance. We’re introduced to a huge cast of characters - the parents, some counselors, campground employees, lovers - all of whom have important insight to share concerning their experiences in the past and/or present. Some people suspect foul play of the Van Laars, but what really happened to Bear? And what’s happened to Barbara, now? Moore weaves an intricate web with her plot that ultimately leads to a satisfying ending. Readers won’t want to put the book down once they’re invested and familiar with the characters and settings (about 30% through the book, for me)! And after that roller coaster ride, I’m hoping to dig into Moore’s older work and I look forward to what she puts out in the future!

We pivot to a new narrator, Nina, after she’s been arrested by the Population Police under suspicion of being a third child while at school. After some intense questioning, Nina’s offered a deal: collect intel on 3 prisoners (arrested for illegal ID card creation) and betray them to save her own life. Nina must decide if she values her own life more than the lives of 3 innocents.

Maddileh has been disgraced, no thanks to the man she thought loved her in return. In order to reclaim her honor, she’s decided she must slay a dragon and bring back a token that will make her a legend among men: the Fireborne Blade. She’s convinced that this long-lost sword resides with an ancient, powerful dragon known as the White Lady. Armed to the teeth (with dragon fire-resistant armor, to boot), she sets off with her squire, a former mage called Petros, who also has something at stake in this particular dragon hunt. His sister, Saralene, has been taken captive by the White Lady, and he wants to reunite her with their family.

As readers may guess, Maddileh is, indeed, a knight in shining armor who successfully defeats the White Lady and manages to reclaim the Fireborne Blade, but there is a completely unforeseen (by me, anyway) plot twist that forces Maddileh to stay behind. The last 30 or so pages of this book had me white-knuckling the book and trying to finish the story as quickly as possible. All I can say without spoilers is that this book screams female rage and revenge and I absolutely ate it up!

Bond is excellent at her craft and this is an excellent read for those who are fans of dragons and powerful female characters. The structure and pacing were particularly stand-out for me, as we got lots of flashbacks of Maddileh before her quest, during, and then brief interludes of old knights (alive and dead) telling tales of their own dragon quests. The interludes were a personal favorite, as they dispensed lore through the lens of other storytellers and old records. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in this series, which is due to be released in October!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for letting me read an e-ARC of The Ending Fire by Saara El-Arifi! This book comes out September 10, 2024, so you have plenty of time to devour the first two books in this series before diving into this final installment. Don’t forget to preorder this from your local indie bookstore or library.

Readers rejoin our main characters where we left off - Anoor is preparing to travel with the Zalaam, Sylah returns to the mainland to search for Anoor, Hassa is dedicated to seeing the downfall of the Wardens and returning the land to the Ghostings, and Jond is working toward the same. We witness the rapid decline of Anoor as she falls further and further down the rabbit hole that Yona and the Zalaam have constructed for her as the Child of Fire. Sylah eventually comes to grips with the idea that Anoor is on the wrong side of the impending war while working hard to prepare their troops. Hassa and Jond are, perhaps, our hardest workers throughout this installment: Jond is traveling with Kara to secure allies for the ward and Hassa is preparing the former Warden’s Empire by gathering the Ghostings and ensuring that there is order in the ranks (while also working on her own bloodwerk technique after acquiring a special stylus).

The build-up and scenes of war were phenomenal, the character growth and development is ridiculously well-done, and I found the conclusion immensely satisfying (though sad in the countless losses). Watching these characters move through grief and heartache while also grappling with the end of the world was a thrill, and, needless to say, this finale blew me out of the water. This book had me neglecting other responsibilities just so I could keep reading, which is not common for me. Though I’m mourning the end of this beloved series, I cannot wait to see what El-Arifi continues to put out into the world, and I will continue singing the praises of this trilogy. If you love epic fantasies with masterful world-building, pining sapphic romance (slow-burn style), intriguing magic systems, queer-normative characters/universes, and characters who are so human that you love to hate them at times, this series is for you.

Readers are thrown head-first into a world that de Bodard crafts as we meet up with junior Navigators from various clans around the system. They are tasked with guiding ships around the Hollows, which are filled with deadly space monsters called Tanglers. These Navigators have the ability to extend their Shadows (it’s hard to describe, but it’s essentially a magic they wield that seems to manifest internally) to deter and avoid these monsters.

Our main characters, Việt Nhi from the Rooster clan and Hạc Cúc from the Snake clan, along with three other junior navigators, are tasked with capturing an escaped Tangler. One of their number is poisoned shortly after their departure and they struggle to figure out how this was possible, but it leads them to an even bigger discovery: the Tangler they seek is enormous, and they certainly won’t be able to destroy this creature on their own. Seeking advice from their elders, they’re given useless information and they realize the creature is on its way toward an area filled with civilians. The catch? There’s no real way to prevent the ensuing destruction.

Nhi refuses to accept defeat, and the entire crew must band together to protect the innocent and, if possible, avoid more damage. Can they solve this problem peacefully and without more loss of life?

Aliette de Bodard knows how to write space operas, even in shorter formats. While I struggled feeling completely immersed in the beginning, I was hooked by 50% and sped through the second half. I was a little turned off by the romance plot between our main characters in the beginning (it felt predictable and immediate attraction isn’t something I love in books), but they grew on me and I was pleased with the ending. If you enjoy a story that loves a smart reader, keeps you on your toes, and leaves a lot of world-building to your wildest imagination, you might enjoy this one!

I enjoyed following Luke (new alias: Lee Grant) as he attends school for the first time with other people. It was constantly anxiety-inducing, worrying about whether or not he’d be discovered as a third child, and absolutely beautiful when he goes outside for the first time in years and attempts to plant a garden with only the wild surroundings and scraps from his meals. When he’s finally invited to join a group of third children, he’s elated (albeit a bit hesitant to share too much personal information). His instincts prove correct when a traitor reveals themself to be in their midst. I only wish that we had arrived at the climax of the story a little faster - there was a lot of downtime that felt a little repetitive. But I cannot WAIT for the next book.

Okay y’all, this one was a real slog for me. I started it, got halfway through, and then had to completely restart it from the beginning. The Dark Forest picks up relatively soon after the The Three-Body Problem’s ending once Luo Ji is announced as one of the four Wallfacers in the project of the same name. The Trisolarans have sent advanced technology called Sophons ahead of them to Earth’s surface to collect information on its inhabitants. Humans cannot record or relay information without the Sophons knowing about it. Their critical flaw? They cannot read minds or understand the concept of deceit. And thus, the Wallfacer project was born: four humans are selected (seemingly at random, in the case of Luo Ji) to develop plans to save Earth and humanity. They’re given endless resources to ensure their plans come to fruition, and no one is to know of their plans or to question their actions - humanity is at stake, after all.

We follow Luo Ji for the entire second book: he putters around for most of the first part, and we eventually witness the downfall of the other 3 Wallfacers while Luo Ji remains alive through everything. In the end, after a couple of centuries of hibernation and rejoining society at different points in time, Luo Ji comes up with a plan to successfully foster peace between Earth and the Trisolarans.

I struggled getting through this one because the scientific terminology was often so far above my head - I definitely lost the thread more than once. It didn’t help me, personally, that the structure of the book wasn’t committed to “standard” chapter breakdowns. Each part had a handful of chapters that were dozens of pages long, with breaks only indicated by extra spacing. It was difficult for my brain to stop in the middle of “chapters” when there was no resolution between page breaks and it would take several reading sessions for me to finish each chapter. I ended up listening to the audiobook for the most part, just to complete it. Overall, I felt the often-natural second book slump with this installment, but with the excellent ending, I’m reinvigorated to start the third and final book. I’m just hoping it’s a little more fast-paced.

We catch up with our MC, Paige, shortly after she’s fought for and won the Rose Crown. Battered, bruised, exhausted, and the new Underqueen of the Syndicate, Paige struggles to gain the trust and adoration of those she rules. With her focus on maintaining a working relationship between humans and the Ranthem as they unite against Scion, she doesn’t have time to think about appeasing her naysayers.

Readers are quickly thrust into chaos as the threat of Scion’s Senshield project becomes a reality. Paige has limited time and resources to get all of the voyants she possibly can to safety, and then to track down the rumored portable Senshield devices based on the scant information she’s been provided. Her plans are foiled more than once, as seems to be custom at this point in the series, and she struggles to overcome challenge after challenge with the help of her friends and advisors. It doesn’t help that her feelings for Warden continue to bloom, when they are in an impossible situation and cannot be together in the ways they want to be.

Though this is, by far, the shortest installment in the series (not including bonus novellas), it still packs quite a punch and leaves readers gasping for breath by its conclusion. All of the events happen in such a short span of time that it’s hard to believe how much action can be crammed into the book’s pages, but Shannon does so masterfully, as always. It’s been a while since a book series has left me with such a hangover after each book that I struggle to pick up another book soon after, but here I am again: wanting desperately to continue on with the 4th book, while also not wanting to move on so quickly that I am left desolate upon finishing the next book and waiting for the 5th book to publish in early 2025. Reading an ongoing series truly tests my resolve and patience every single time.

Ashâke is an acolyte who has been training and waiting for the day she hears the call of the orisha signaling it’s time for her to ascend to priesthood. After being passed over and not chosen, she feels snubbed and is desperate to make contact with any orisha. As she tries to summon and trap one, she is caught by the high priests. This type of contact with the orisha is forbidden, so she is punished for her attempts. Deciding to leave the temple, she learns so much more than she could’ve anticipated about the dangerous people (and celestial beings) lurking just outside the temple walls.

This is such a promising story! The things I really loved about this story: the worldbuilding, the characterization, and the INTRIGUE! Things I wanted from this story: MORE OF IT. I think my biggest qualm throughout the entire novella is that I wanted this to be a novel-length story. The world and the characters are so rich, but it fell flat for me in such a brief storytelling format. I wanted to see even more depth and dimension to the characters while getting more backstory about the world to be fully immersed. Instead, I frequently felt pulled from the story due to the rushed plot. I will still gladly come back for the second half of this duology and am intrigued to see how Ogundiran fleshes out the rest of this story.