Here are mini reviews for fantasy and science-fiction books I read from April to June 2024. Give them a shot if they sound interesting.

The links lead to the book page on goodreads, from where I've also copied a portion of the blurbs for this post.

Tree of Aeons 5 by spaizzzer

Blurb

Aeon and the Valthorns expand their reach to the neighboring worlds. They meet new people, new friends, new enemies, and encounter unusual races and creatures, and along the way, they accumulate more power, and build up their war potential. With their greater strength, it was finally time to slowly push back, and take the battle against the demons to the other realms, and also to the demon worlds.

Review

This was another good addition to the series. I especially enjoyed the expansion to the other worlds and strengthening the position in already visited worlds. Aeon and his team have truly become a multiversal power, able to take the fight to the demon worlds and even purge them. At the same time, the danger is escalating as well, so they need to find new ways to level up, research into more options, etc. All of this makes it an enjoyable read. I found the vassal wars subplot boring — so many other things were interesting and could've been explored further.

The Abjurer (Journals of Evander Tailor #3) by Tobias Begley

Blurb

Evan Tailor needs to kill an Archmage. If he can survive a party first. With the Silver Queen calling in her debt, Archmage Roark's oaths binding him into assistance and silence, and new classes pulling at Evan from all sides, this year is not turning out to be the peaceful and prosperous introduction to abjuration magic that Evan had hoped for.

Review

The pacing was good, with a nice mix of training, planning, action and some slice-of-life stuff. The looming threats helped too, had me turning pages to see how events would turn out. I especially liked when Evan challenged all his classmates and the professor for his course work. It showed how far he'd progressed and growing to be confident with his abilities. I didn't really understand the Fae politics, but I enjoyed the fight and hope the mysterious person would show up again. The climax was good as well and thankfully didn't have any nasty betrayals — there's already plenty of trouble.

The Eldritch Artisan (Father of Constructs #3) by Aaron Renfroe

Blurb

At level five, Harvey has been rejuvenated. No longer hindered by his age, he and his adopted family will journey to Saito, to find their kidnapped allies. The Eldritch Artisan isn’t just any adventure; it's a thrilling mix of dungeon crawling, base-building, and intense tower defense that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Review

I liked the action scenes, especially one at the end. When the introduction said there would be base building and the book started with the main characters going to a city, I thought it'd happen at that place. So, due to my false expectations, it was bit of a let down when the survial arc was inside a delve. Still, it was nice to have the adventure team joining the action. Looking forward to the next two books that'll complete the series and the author hinted that there might be follow up books as well!

Jake's Magical Market by J.R. Mathews

Blurb

Jake, wasting his day slacking off in the cooler, as he usually did, found himself alone in a completely new and very dangerous world. Can he learn to survive? Can he collect enough cards and create a good enough deck to fight back against the monsters that have overtaken his former home? And why are these strange people that look a lot like elves knocking on the door of the market he is hiding in and asking to buy some of his goods? The gods may have stacked the deck against him, but Jake just might have a few cards up his sleeve that will help him survive.

Review

I'm not a fan of books with Earth experiencing an apocalypse, but I had enjoyed "Portal to Nova Roma" by the author, so I decided to give this trilogy a shot. The magic system was intriguing and the card art were all good! I especially enjoyed the crafting scenes. Worldbuilding and character work were good as well.

I enjoyed the plot in the first book, but not so much in the sequels. Felt like the last two books could've been a single entry, with all the suffering/heavy scenes reduced to make way for a more compact and enjoyable read.

Mark of the Fool 7 by J.M. Clarke

Blurb

Coming of age magic academy fantasy with a weak-to-strong progression into power, a setting inspired by D&D, detailed world building and magical science, action, comedy, slice-of-life, and GameLit elements.

Review

The first half was mostly slice-of-life stuff and a tournament arc. The opening of the bakery shop was done pretty well as was the partnership with a surprise return of a side-character from earlier books — wish there had been more focus on that but I suppose by now I should know to expect the pay-offs to come in later books.

The action at the end was intense and surprisingly even more dangerous than what we had seen so far. That's probably expected as the series is getting close to finishing, but still I wasn't expecting the amount of losses they took. And the ending had the biggest twist, even if I should've easily predicted it.

Assassin (Ends of Magic #3) by Alexander Olson

Blurb

Nathan and his companions are free. For now. They're trapped inside the fortress-city of Halsmet, and every mage of Giantsrest is hunting for them. Luckily enough, they've been found by Faline, the shapeshifting leader of the Assassins of Gemore. She's pledged to teach Nathan her deadly trade. How far will he go to fight the empire of slavers? How much murder is justified?

Review

This was another good entry — plenty of action, some cool magic developments, some revelations about prophecies, etc. The starting few chapters were a bit too dark though, what with Nathan's new class, atrocities of the Giantsrest, etc. I was wondering how they'd proceed from where the last book ended, and of course they took even more risks! The second half was a bit more relaxed and much needed after the high octane action. I was hoping the looming battle would be covered in this book itself, but it didn't pan out that way...

So, I immediately read the next book on Royal Road to get the resolution for this arc. It was really done well, especially the suspense and the action scenes. We finally got to know a bit more about the world, which opens up the series for an expansive plot.

Dawn by Payton Fletcher

Blurb

Not much daunts Rakta Velbrun. He has immigrated from Rusk to the Certillian Empire, traveled the realm battling unspeakable creatures with his adventuring guild, and faced off against the Warlock King himself. But when his wife, Lydia, passes away in childbirth, leaving him the sole caretaker of their three infant children, he finds himself in unfamiliar territory.

Review

Having a dad of three kids as the main character was a refreshing change to read. I would've probably enjoyed it better if his wife had been alive and the story was actually slice-of-life instead of escalating dangers. Poor Rakta — so much lost and had to face issues from even his kids! I considered DNF-ing, but the pacing was good and I was able to skim through the tougher parts. I haven't read the final book of the trilogy yet.

The Knight (The Last Horizon #3) by Will Wight

Blurb

On Karosha, the Perfected gather fleets crewed by inhumanly flawless soldiers. In the Galactic Union, the secretive organization known as Solstice pulls strings in the shadows. And in the depths of Dark Space, after years of silence, the ravenous D’Niss begin to stir. Raion Raithe, Knight of The Last Horizon, sees these threats as a chance to redeem himself. He will stand against the danger, and he will stand strong, no matter what it costs. His friends are counting on him.

Review

I enjoyed this better than the second book in the series. The first half was mostly about the team discussing the Zenith Devices, flashback of Varic's life with Raion, some small action, etc.

Then came the turning point in the second half when Varic got really angry on behalf of his team mate. Things went into overdrive and the finish was great! Good to learn more about Raion's powers. I also enjoyed Varic's teaching, wish there were more such scenes.

Shieldsmith (Manifestation #4) by Samuel Hinton

Blurb

The Misfits, having helped secure the first Nhamian nexus with Qaeldicras, face an even more challenging issue. A second ancient spirit, Galsinith, is trapped deep inside Nhamian territory in a facility underneath the active volcano called the Oldfather. To free her, they team back up with Octavian, Hlaya, and others. It should be an easy journey. All they need to do is sneak through a large empty of monster-claimed wilderness, infiltrate a secret facility, and release the chains holding the spirit there. What could go wrong?

Review

This was another great entry in the series. Loved the mix of travel, training, action, mysteries, slice-of-life scenes, twists, etc. Two mentors and two squads who were all doing their best to work together and achieve their mission goals in a dangerous setting made for a compelling read.

I especially loved how the author continued to build the magic system and even the experienced mentors had something new to learn. Also, the games and banter made the training sessions interesting. Some losses were to be expected with the escalation of events at the research facility — though I wish it weren't so.

Deathseed (The Weirkey Chronicles #8) by Sarah Lin

Blurb

Theo and his allies have ascended to Authority, but new power means new challenges. They're capable of changing the Nine Worlds, but those worlds haven't waited for them to gain power. Something foul is growing back in Tatian, threatening everything Nauda holds dear. Friends and enemies from their entire journey will come together in a great struggle where every decision has consequences, and the tiniest of details might save or ruin everything...

Review

Whoa! This book started with an unexpected surprise that I wasn't really interested in — thought it'd be a quick action sequence building up to something else. Instead, it became the core plot point and it reminded us that Theo and Fiyu weren't the only powerful Authorities around.

As usual, it was great to read all the training sessions and theory crafting. Getting to see Theo struggle with his blue print was another surprise, which I should've expected based on all the new stuff he had learned recently. In addition to Nauda and Fiyu, it was so good to see Navim and Krikree again and their soul crafting. While it is still a long way to go, I'm looking forward to Senka's soulhome.

I think more than all the amazing action scenes and twists, the character progression was the highlight of this book. And that tied well with the revelations and decisions at the end of the book. We got some hints about Siblings and Vistgil too. I'm guessing we are at halfway point through the series, looking forward to the rest.