Review: The Orphans of Raspay

Title: The Orphans of Raspay
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Series: Penric and Desdemona #7
Genre: Fantasy
Length: Novella
Available: Now

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When the ship in which they are traveling is captured by Carpagamon island raiders, Temple sorcerer Penric and his resident demon Desdemona find their life complicated by two young orphans, Lencia and Seuka Corva, far from home and searching for their missing father. Pen and Des will need all their combined talents of mind and magic to unravel the mysteries of the sisters and escape from the pirate stronghold.

This novella follows about a year after the events of “The Prisoner of Limnos”.

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Review: A Knight to Remember

Title: A Knight to Remember
Author: Ceillie Simkiss
Series: Elisade #1
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: Short novel
Available: Now

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Ser Genevieve, lady knight and heir to the Duchy of Teagan, has been chosen as part of the prince’s honor guard at his coming out ball – a high honor for a woman who’s only been a full fledged knight for a year. The ball is an opportunity for Genevieve to make a name for herself with a functional chainmail dress of her own design, and maybe a chance for her to properly get to know Duke Avery of Wolvington, a man she’s had a quiet crush on for years. 

The paths of a gentle blacksmith, a know-it-all nonbinary tailor, and Genevieve’s talented witch of a younger sister cross in their determination to make Ser Genevieve a knight to remember.

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Review: Dragon Magic

Title: Dragon Magic
Author: Megan Derr
Series: – –
Genre: M/M Fantasy Romance
Length: Novel
Available: Now

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Four strangers. A shared moment long forgotten. A bond forged in desperation.

On the first day of the Festival of Counting, the beginning of the royal census that takes place every ten years, the royal city is filled to overflowing. Everyone is happy, excited, and proud to be counted amongst those who live in the glorious kingdom of Orhanis.

Then a demon strikes, killing thousands in mere seconds and leveling the city. As the royal castle burns, only four men remain to drive the demon away—and in their desperation, accidentally bind themselves together in a legendary Oath, unable to part ways until they find and kill the demon once and for all.

Mahzan, the King’s Jester, an orphan who clawed his way to the top and hides a fearsome magic… Sule, the notorious North Captain, who sacrificed everything to live as a strong, capable, highly respected man… Cemal, a priest who traveled the continent bent on revenge and now lives lost… and Binhadi, the mercurial shadow mage with a dark history and bloody ties to the throne… 

Four men used to standing apart, standing alone, who must learn to stand together if they hope to save themselves and all of Orhanis.

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Review: The Heart of the Lost Star

Title: The Heart of the Lost Star
Author: Megan Derr
Series: Tales of the High Court #3
Genre: M/M Fantasy Romance
Length: Novel
Available: Now

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Kamir is on the verge of losing everything. Knowing full well he can’t meet the ultimatum his parents have issued, he instead finally puts in motion his plans to live completely independent of them. His plans are interrupted, however, by the unexpected return of his despised ex-husband—and thrown even further into upheaval when he ends up comforting the man he’s secretly loved for years.

Jader may not know where he comes from, but he knows where he belongs and what he wants—until he helps rescue some stranded Bentan travelers, one of whom look almost exactly like Jader, throwing his life and everything he thought he knew into tumult. Scared and overwhelmed, Jader flees—and lands unexpectedly in the arms of a man he’s always seen, but never really noticed.

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Review: Frogkisser!

Title: Frogkisser!
Author: Garth Nix
Series: ?
Genre: MG/Children’s Fantasy
Length: Novel
Available: 28th Feb

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Garth Nix is on hilarious form as he spins his very own fairy tale, featuring Princess Anya, who, with her loyal dog, must embark on a terribly important (capital Q) Quest to acquire the ingredients for a reversal lip balm, the vital item needed to change a frog back to a prince . . . oh, and save her kingdom from her villainous step(step)father.

A brilliantly funny take on fairytales and quests for younger readers.

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Review: The Pirate of Fathoms Deep

Title: The Pirate of Fathoms Deep
Author: Megan Derr
Series: Tales of the High Court #2
Genre: M/M Fantasy Romance
Length: Short novel
Available: 13th July

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High Commander Lesto Arseni is the most feared man in the Harken Empire. None but the High King dares risk his wrath—and a pirate who once punched him in the middle of the imperial pavilion. A pirate who later snuck away with Lesto to an empty room, touched him in ways far more memorable. And then immediately bolted like a man who’d gotten what he wanted.

Shemal just wants to live a normal life, leave his pirating days behind him and prove that he’s respectable now. The last thing he needs is the two idiots who show up wanting his help with the noble they’ve kidnapped—the very man Shemal had been hoping to prove himself to, the man he hasn’t forgotten since Shemal punched him a year and a half ago.

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Review: Enchanted Glass

Title: Enchanted Glass
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Series: – –
Genre: Children’s Fantasy
Age Range: 11+
Length: Novel
Available: Now

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When Andrew Hope’s magician grandfather dies, he leaves his house and field-of-care to his grandson who spent much of his childhood at the house. Into this mix comes young Aidan Cain, who turns up from the orphanage asking for safety. Who he is and why he’s there is unclear, but a strong connection between the two becomes apparent.

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Review: The Only Option

Title: The Only Option
Author: Megan Derr
Series: – –
Genre: M/M Fantasy Romance
Length: Novella
Available: Now

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A desperate dragon. A lonely necromancer. A marriage neither wants.

When he is summoned to the royal castle, Rochus anticipates nothing more than a particularly difficult assignment. The bothersome journey is almost made worthwhile when he is propositioned by a young, beautiful dragon, Tilo, who seems untroubled by the fact that Rochus is a necromancer.

When Rochus arrives at the castle he is ordered to marry the very same dragon he spent the night with. Though Rochus would rather sign papers and return home, he is helpless against Tilo’s pleas for help, even if it means spending more time around a man he is desperately drawn to but who doesn’t seem to want him.

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Review: Dragons Among Them

Title: Dragons Among Them
Author: Kyra Jacobs
Series: Kingdoms of Fire and Ice #1
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: Novel
Available: April 19th

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Two secret worlds. One unstoppable passion. A fiery secret that could destroy them all.

Prince Zayne Godfrey, heir to Edana’s throne, is betrothed to the lone princess of rival kingdom Forath. While his heart is not in the arranged marriage, he will do his royal duty.

When he finds a beautiful stranger cornered by a pack of wolves, he doesn’t hesitate to shift into his golden dragon form to save her. She thanks him by taking one look at him and fainting dead away.

Photographer Adelaide Miller is in England for a career-making shoot when a bizarre jogging mishap lands her in a dangerous, medieval-like world of royals, wizards and dragon-shifting men. Her first instinct is to find her way back, but the fire-breathing prince intent on protecting her threatens to melt her heart.

Zayne’s burning passion for Adelaide not only jeopardizes the fragile peace between two kingdoms, it uncovers a ruthless plot to destroy his family. Remaining together may change Adelaide’s very definition of home—and expose one searing secret that could forever shift the balance of power in Zayne’s world.

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Review: The Beauty’s Beast

Title: The Beauty’s Beast
Author: E.D. Walker
Series: The Beauty’s Beast #1
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: Short novel
Available: Now

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Lady Kathryn’s father sends her to court to find a husband, but being penniless and disinterested doesn’t bode well for her success. Bored by the petty intrigues of court, her frustration and loneliness are eased when the king charges her with the care of his newest acquisition: a wolf he and his hunters have recently captured. What the king doesn’t realize is his remarkable pet was once Gabriel, his favorite knight, cursed into wolf form by an unfaithful wife.

The beast’s too-knowing eyes and the way he understands and responds to her every utterance convince Kathryn he is more than what he seems. Resolving to restore him, she doesn’t count on the greatest obstacle being Gabriel himself. The longer he stays in wolf form as a captive of the court, the harder it becomes for him to remember his humanity and to fight his wolfish urges to maim and kill.

Only Kathryn’s affection and determination stand between Gabriel the wolf and Gabriel the man. But when the one who betrayed him returns to court, will Kathryn’s love be enough to keep Gabriel from exacting a brutish revenge that will condemn the wolf to death?

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