Derek Bailey's Blog: DB Books and Reviews, page 10

REVIEW: NPCs (SPELLS, SWORDS, & STEALTH #1)

When the NPCs have to save the day...I picked up this shorter audiobook as part of a Discord Buddy Read for a Readathon, largely because of it's manageable length and intriguing premise.  HOW I RATED IT 4/5 I started out feeling rather mixed about this book's core premise, but felt a little more sold on it by the end and ultimately did enjoy my journey with this ragtag group of characters.  

REVIEW: FOUR SCORED (NEEDLE AND LEAF #2)

The boy who might be the key to it all...After reading and being absolutely obsessed with THRICE, I knew I needed to jump into it's sequel. I honestly meant to get to this several months ago, but at long last I have finally been able to enjoy this new entry into the NEEDLE AND LEAF series. HOW I RATED IT 5/5 Though things felt slightly hectic at the start, I quickly settled into this delightful

REVIEW: ASCENDANT (SONGS OF CHAOS #1)

A boy and his dragon...ASCENDANT, is the start of an indie fantasy series that has received a lot of praise. Though it may not be as well known as series like EMANESKA or THE BOUND AND THE BROKEN, I was still curious to see what the buzz was about with this one. HOW I RATED IT 4/5 While I didn't love every aspect of this story and didn't always click with the writing, there is such a deeply

AUGUST READS

Thanks in part to another Discord Readathon, I was able to get through a number of reads this month. 1. Butcher, Baker, Candlestick TakerThis was an easy 5/5 for meI've always been a fan of a good murder mystery, but I've never read one quite like this. The historical fiction angle captured me a lot more than I thought it would and the character-centric narrative was absolutely brilliant. Will

MINI REVIEW: THE TALE OF THE BORDER KNIGHT

When Keymark was young...This short novella serves as a prequel to THE LEGEND OF BLACK JACK, which I enjoyed, so I picked up a nice paperback copy of it and decided that the end of this month was a great time to finally give it a read. HOW I RATED IT 5/5 So much ground is covered in terms of character development, lore building, and general plotting, yet somehow Witham manages to deliver an

REVIEW: DEATHLESS BEAST (THE KALLATIAN SAGA #1)

In pursuit of a deeper faith...After reading and loving THRICE, I have been curious to give this author's epic fantasy series a try. HOW I RATED IT 4/5 In spite of how I tend to struggle with the "epic fantasy" subgenre, the remarkable characters, creative setting, and intricate world building all captured my attention and left me wanting to know what will come next in this series. CHARACTERSThis

REVIEW: BUTCHER, BAKER, CANDLESTICK TAKER (SPOKANE CLOCK TOWER MYSTERIES #1)

Was it the butcher, the baker, or the candlestick taker?...While not in the fantasy genre, this is one that several of the BookTubers I follow have read and highly recommended. Since I am always up for a good whodunnit murder mystery, I was very curious to finally give this a try myself. HOW I RATED IT 5/5 As much as I may love the classic tropes and formulas associated with murder mysteries, I

JULY READS

Thanks in part to another Discord Readathon, I was able to get through a number of reads this month. 1. THE CREWThis was a wild and surprising 5/5 rideThis ended up being so much more than what I was expecting. I loved the dark, wacky humor mixed with more serious themes and tons of video game easter eggs sprinkled in throughout.Full review here2. The Fear of Moncroix5/5 for an awesome

REVIEW: THE CREW (THE BONE DUST SAGA #1)

Now THIS is a motley crew...I'd been hearing a lot about how good Sadir S. Samir's zany fantasy novel is, but definitely worried about whether it would be too over-the-top for me. Given that it isn't a massive book, I decided to finally give it a try since it fit some prompts for a readathon I took part in.HOW I RATED IT 5/5 THE CREW is not a perfect book and it could very well be "too much" for

MINI REVIEW: THE FALL (THE BOUND AND THE BROKEN #0.5)

When everything fell apart...Since this short novella is included as part of the audiobook for OF BLOOD AND FIRE, I decided to continue right on into it, especially since I finished the first book a little unsure about my plans to continue the series. HOW I RATED IT 3/5 Even though I normally like faster-paced stories, THE FALL absolutely bombards readers with a deluge of action scenes