Review: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Title: The Goblin Emperor
Author: Katherine Addison
Series: The Chronicles of Osreth #1
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: June 22, 2021
Edition: Audiobook
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Powell's | 

Synopsis:

   The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.
   Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
   Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.

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ARC Review : Traitor Son by Melissa Cave

Title: Traitor Son
Author: Melissa Cave
Series: Empire of the Stars #1
Genre: Adult Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Owl and Bear, LLC
Publication Date: November 1, 2024
Edition: Digital
Source: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon US 

 

 

Synopsis:

   In a land ravaged by war, a knight’s promise and a princess’s secret might raise a new dynasty…or topple an empire.
   At the end of a brutal war, Remin of Andelin promised his knights that he would build them a good place, far from the carnage of war and the poisonous intrigues of the Empire. But the only thing more difficult than winning a war is securing the peace.
   Welcome to the Andelin Valley, where the days are filled with the backbreaking labor of building a city and the nights bring monsters summoned in the waning days of the war. The Andelin devils dare even the sacred soil of the Empire, and it takes all of Remin’s military genius to keep his people alive. Yet even in the face of bandits, traitors, and implacable hatred of the Emperor, the greatest danger to Remin might be his new wife.
   Princess Ophele Agnephus. Daughter of the Stars, the Exile Princess, she is also the daughter of the Divine Emperor that executed Remin’s family. Raised in a distant prison and given in the place of her sister as Remin’s reward for victory, Ophele carries a secret that could topple the Empire: his family was innocent. But will she risk her life to reveal the depth of her family’s dishonor?
   As the summer bleeds on and the walls of their city rise, Remin finds himself drawn to Ophele, who shares so many of his dreams and sorrows. She could be everything: his love and his wife, the mother of his children, the foundation of a dynasty that will last forever. Or she could be the Emperor’s weapon, placed at his side to destroy everything he has left.
   A marriage built in the ashes of betrayal. A land built on the ruins of a century of war. And a people determined to rise, with shattered trust and an unquenchable hope…if Ophele can only make them believe it is possible. Traitor Son is the story of a people broken by tragedy, a hero torn between his duty and his dreams, and a young woman who must find the courage to take her place at his side, before their own devils tear them apart.

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Review: The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan

Title: The Rose and the Thorn
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Series: The Riyria Chronicles #2
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Edition: 376 pages, Kindle Edition
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Powell's | 

Synopsis:

TWO THIEVES WANT ANSWERS. RIYRIA IS BORN.
   For more than a year Royce Melborn has tried to forget Gwen DeLancy, the woman who saved him and his partner Hadrian Blackwater from certain death. Unable to get her out of his mind, the two thieves return to Medford but receive a very different reception --- Gwen refuses to see them. The victim of abuse by a powerful noble, she suspects that Royce will ignore any danger in his desire for revenge. By turning the thieves away, Gwen hopes to once more protect them. What she doesn't realize is what the two are capable of --- but she's about to find out.

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Review: The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan

Title: The Crown Tower
Author: Michael J. Sullivan
Series: The Riyria Chronicles #1
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: August 06, 2013
Edition: Kindle
Source: Library
Purchase: Amazon US | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop | Powell's | 

 

 

 

Synopsis:

A warrior with nothing to fight for is paired with a thieving assassin with nothing to lose. Together they must steal a treasure that no one can reach. The Crown Tower is the impregnable remains of the grandest fortress ever built and home to the realm’s most valuable possessions. But it isn’t gold or jewels the old wizard is after, and this prize can only be obtained by the combined talents of two remarkable men. Now if Arcadius can just keep Hadrian and Royce from killing each other, they just might succeed.

Two men who hate each other. One impossible mission. A legend in the making. 

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Bulk Review: Manga Pt. 5

 

I really did mean to read the books I own this year, but I didn't. I have a theory that the reason is in part because of the book I chose to start the year with was a book I wasn't enjoying and that left me unmotivated to read it at all. And I wasn't willing to just choose a different book when I could've and probably gotten through more of my owned books. That being said I finally decided to stop and just move on. It's a 1k-page book and it took me 9 months to get ~400 pages into it. I've read other books that were just as long, that didn't feel like as much of a chore to get through.

I like when there aren't long wait times at the library for volumes, so I was able to get through quite a few in a fairly short amount of time, thus adding to my avoidance of reading full-length books.