The Grave of Empires is shaping up to be a new favorite fantasy series. Filled with humor, wit, and memorable if somewhat questionable characters who you can’t help but root for, Sam Sykes’ latest series is just a joy to read. The Gallows Black picks up on the explosive energy of Seven Blades In Black and fills in a gap in the history of Sal and her friend/lover Liette. If you loved Seven Blades In Black you’ll definitely want to read this prequel novella. Continue reading
It’s the last day of the year which means it’s time for my Best Reads of 2019 post! I’d hoped to write one more review before the end of the year but that isn’t gonna happen. That’s fine though because I have what I need for this list already. And while I didn’t read as many books as I’d hoped this year I did read some really good ones!
2019 was another great year for speculative fiction. I’ve heard it said by many readers that we are in a new golden age of spec fic. I think that’s true. Much of that has to do with some great new authors being published by traditional publishing houses, but a lot of that has to do with the rise of really great books coming out of the self-published/indie publishing realm.
What follows below are those books I read this year (regardless of publication date) that I rated a 4.5 or 5 out of 5 stars. There were a total of eight books to make the list. Of this group there was one self-published title, and two formerly self-published titles that were picked up by a major publisher, one of which hasn’t actually been published yet but I read the ARC. I’ll start with the 4.5 group, move to the 5.0 group, and finish with my favorite book of the year. Apart from the final book there is no particular order to this list other than the two main groupings. Continue reading
Well June is at an end and it’s time for another review post. I didn’t do one for May so this will actually be a combined two-month in review post.
Let me start by saying things have been going a little slow here at Off The TBR. I kinda fell into a reading slump and I’m not sure why. It isn’t that I haven’t been wanting to read as much, I just have been reading at a slower pace. Some of that may be due to my son’s baseball schedule and being tired from work, but I don’t think those are big reasons. It really started in April just before the D.C. field trip with my youngest and I just slowed down after that. Can’t really explain it. Instead of my goal of reading and reviewing one book a week (roughly four a month), I’ve been closer to two reviews a month the last couple months. Continue reading
I’ve been trying to think of ways to diversify my posts so you’re not just getting reviews and month-in-review updates. It’s been a while since I made a book haul post and I bought a couple of books today so I thought, “why not do another book haul post?” My last one was probably over a year ago, and I know you’re all dying to critique my spending habits. Maybe I’ll make this a more regular thing.
For this post I don’t just want to tell you what I hauled, I also want to tell you why I hauled it. Today I bought two books on my Kindle. Here they are… Continue reading
Well March has come and gone and I don’t have much to show for it. I kinda slacked off this month. Well…that isn’t really fair. I was busy all month, just busy doing other things. In the end I didn’t do nearly as much reading and blogging as I’d planned. Which is OK I suppose, only now my whole reading schedule is thrown off and I need to rework it. That’s just how it goes sometimes.
Here’s a quick overview of what I’d planned to read and review in March:
Here’s what I actually read:
So what happened? Well I’ll tell you… Continue reading
Author: Sam Sykes
Series: The Grave of Empires Book 1
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: April 9, 2019
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 704 (661 + Extras)
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher.
Seven Blades In Black is the dark, gritty, sarcastic, epic, guns, swords, and sorcery revenge story you’ve been wanting, even if you didn’t know it. Continue reading
Nicole over at Thoughts Stained With Ink talked me into trying out this post topic back in January and after running with it a couple of months I’ve decided to keep it going. For now at least.
This isn’t something I usually do because I hate locking myself into a specific reading list. It just never works out for me. As my previous Month In Review posts reveal, I rarely stick to what I set out to read. I might read more, less, or switch books out for others. Rarely to I finish the month as I intended.
So my ongoing rule for this topic will be…
Off The TBR 