The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

You learn over time that the world isn’t broken. It’s just… got more pieces to it than you thought. They all fit together, just maybe not the way you pictured when you were young.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. There was a lot that I liked; the magic system was cool and I loved that the protagonist was a middle-aged mother who'd been hiding her light under a bushel for fifteen years. The complicated family dynamics were incredibly well done, especially the marriage between the protagonist and her husband, and there were some really powerful moments in the story.

However, there was a lot I didn't like. I was never totally on board with the worldbuilding. Most of the time the story seemed to be taking place in a feudal-Japan-inspired world so I found the mentions of modern technology and superheroes jarring. The pacing and structure of the book were also weird. The Sword of Kaigen took SO LONG to get started. The first third of the book dragged because of the constant, and mostly irrelevant as it turned out, info-dumping and dull conversations. 

The climax of the book had me gripped and genuinely hit me in the feels but it was in the middle of the book. Which is... an odd choice. The story meandered after that, although there were again some fantastically emotional moments, and then the story just kinda ended. 

The Sword of Kaigen is a really hard book to judge. There was a great story in there, it just needed a really ruthless editor to cut away all the unnecessary exposition and characters to reveal it.  

Recommended For: Fans of Asian-inspired fantasy and anyone who likes their fantasy full of complicated characters.

Read On: Other fantasies with Japanese-inspired settings are Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn and The Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin is a fantastic SFF story with a middle-aged female protagonist.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

 By the time Alex managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it.

Alex Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. A dropout and the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved crime, Alex was hoping for a fresh start. But a free ride to one of the world's most prestigious universities was bound to come with a catch. Alex has been tasked with monitoring the mysterious activities of Yale's secret societies who tamper with forbidden magic and raise the dead. Now there's a dead girl on campus and Alex seems to be the only person who won't accept the neat answer the police and campus administration have come up with for her murder.

This had everything I love about dark academia. Ninth House is full of secret societies up to no good, ghosts who hang around campus, a twisty murder mystery, and an underdog outsider who will not allow a girl's death to fade into obscurity. My only niggle was that it was a little slow at the start but it was absolutely necessary to create the rich and believable world of Ninth House.

Recommended For: Fans of dark academic stories with a touch of the supernatural

Read On: Not fantasies, but The Secret History by Donna Tartt and The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova are other dark academia books I've really enjoyed. I also loved Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, a YA-fantasy duology.

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

"Absolutely not, What an utterly hare-brained idea, Annabelle."

Brilliant but destitute Annabelle Archer is one of the first female students at Oxford University. In return for her scholarship, she must recruit influential men to champion the rising women's suffrage movement. Her first target is Sebastian Devereux: cold, calculating and the most powerful duke in England...

Confession time: My guilty pleasure is enemies-to-lovers stories full of misunderstandings, witty banter, and prickly exteriors hiding hearts of gold. This cute romance had all of that but the spark was never quite there. All in all, Bringing Down the Duke was a sweet and funny romance, but fairly forgettable.

Recommended For: Anyone looking for a light-hearted and easy-to-read historical romance

Read On: The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare is another historical romance that has all the feels and is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny.

Saint's Blood by Sebastien de Castell

On the morning of your first duel, an unusually attractive herald will arrive at your door bearing a sealed note and an encouraging smile.

This is such a fab fantasy series full of sword fights, friendship, messy politics, and wry humour!

Recommended For: anyone who likes swashbuckling fantasies that are more sword than sorcery

Read On: The last book in the Greatcoats series is Tyrant's Throne. Another swashbuckling fantasy is Swordheart by T. Kingfisher.

The Last Colony by John Scalzi

Let me tell you of the worlds I've left behind.

John Scalzi is one of my fave sci-fi authors and this third book in his Old Man‘s War series didn‘t disappoint. The story has shifted from military sci-fi to a colony so it‘s a quieter tale but it still has all the things I like - politics, wry humour, and a love for humanity tempered with a distrust of organizations.

Recommended For: Anyone who likes sci-fi that's more about humans than space battles.

Read On: The next book in the Old Man's War series is Zoe's Tale. Another sci-fi that focuses on space colonists is Semiosis by Sue Burke. I can also highly recommend Scalzi's Interdependency series - the first book is The Collapsing Empire.

Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence

The dissolution of any monastery or convent is not something to be lightly undertaken. Even the might of House Tacsis, whose line was born of emperors, may not suffice.

I devoured Grey Sister in a day because I just could not tear myself away! I loved the political intrigue and the strong female friendships that formed the core of the story. I also enjoyed the greater role that Abbess Glass plays in this story as I always like clever characters who see the world as a chess game and other people as pieces to be set up as needed. My favourite thing about this series, however, has to be just how effortless the worldbuilding is. Not once is there any info-dumping - things are just presented as they are - and yet I have a real picture of the precarious world that the Sisters inhabit.

If I have any niggles with Grey Sister, it's that Nona was almost becoming too super-powered by the end of the book and some of the things she did broke the established rules of the world. However, this may have consequences in the third book, so I'll reserve judgment until then.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and fast-paced dark fantasy with lots of politics, brutal fight scenes, and brief flashes of humour. It maybe wasn't quite as good as Red Sister, but as the tricky middle book of a trilogy, it was a good read.

Recommended For: Fans of dark fantasy full of action

Read On: The final book of the trilogy is Holy Sister. Mark Lawrence has also written the Red Queen's War trilogy which is another excellent series of dark fantasies shot through with sardonic humour. The first book is Prince of Fools.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

It is important, when killing a nun, to ensure that you bring an army of sufficient size. For Sister Thorn of the Sweet Mercy Convent Lano Tacsis brought two hundred men.

A quick reread before reading the rest of the trilogy... I enjoyed Red Sister more the second time around! It's rare to have a fantasy book where pretty much all the characters are female with nary a love interest to be seen. Oh, and the women all kick arse and take names.

Recommended For: Lovers of gritty fantasy looking for something a little different

Read On: The next in the series is Grey Sister.

Prayers In Steel by Michael McClung

The woman's slippers were silk, that much he could tell, and embroidered with seed pearls. There was no way to know what colour they might once have been since her feet were soaked to the ankles in blood.

This photo sums up my Easter break so far! Prayers in Steel is a straightforward sword and sorcery fantasy that isn't the most original tale out there, but it was a fun read and fitted my mood perfectly. Unexpectedly short, though - I'd settled in for a chunky fantasy and was a bit surprised when the book ended two hours later!

Recommended For: Any fantasy fans looking for a quick undemanding read.

Read On: The second book in the series is An Unclean Strength but I'm not sure I'll get to it. Michael McClung also wrote the Amra Thetys series which I really enjoyed. The first book is The Thief Who Pulled On Trouble's Braids.

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

Winslow Houndstooth was not a hero. There was nothing within him that cried out for justice or fame. He did not wear a white hat - he preferred his grey one, which didn't show the bloodstains. He could've been a hero, had he been properly motivated, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

Winslow Houndstooth has a bag of federal gold and a crew of mercenary hippo-wranglers. His job? To clear a Louisiana bayou overrun with dangerous feral hippos. The hippos aren't his only target, however. Also hiding in the bayou is the man who destroyed his life, and Winslow is after revenge.

A crime caper set in an alternative 1890s Louisiana with a diverse cast of hippo-riding cowboys? Exactly my kind of read! I loved the idea (and I love that it was inspired by an actual real thing that almost happened) and I think I would have come to adore the characters too. There was A LOT going on for a novella, though, and I'm not sure I completely followed what was happening and why. If only this had been longer with more time for character development, I'd have absolutely loved it!

Recommended For: Anyone looking for a fun and fast speculative fiction novella.

Read On: The second novella in the series is Taste of Marrow. Other great alt-history fantasies are His Majesty's Dragon by Noami Novik, and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

84K by Claire North

She had not seen the man called Theo in the cards, nor did they prophesy the meaning of her actions. When she called the ambulance they said they would come soon, and half an hour later she was still waiting by the water.

What if any crime could be committed without punishment, so long as you could afford to pay the fee assigned to that crime? Theo works in the Criminal Audit Office. He assesses each crime that crosses his desk and makes sure the correct debt to society is paid in full. But when Theo's ex-lover Dani is killed, it's different. This is one death he can't let become merely an entry on a balance sheet. Because when the richest in the world are getting away with murder, sometimes the numbers just don't add up

So this was an odd one and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. It's a grim dystopia and there's a real sense of hopelessness and an uncaring passivity which is much more believable (and therefore unsettling) than the active cruelty and discrimination so often seen in dystopian stories. This is a recognisable England in which ambulances only turn up after they check your credit rating, and prisoners pay off their debt to society by working in factories. I was quickly absorbed in the story and really wanted to know what happened even though I knew from the first page that there would likely not be any happy endings. This is not that type of book.

However, the writing style was hard work. It was written in a dreamy way, full of half-sentences and partly finished thoughts, which was a little off-putting. Also, the narrative kept slipping from one timeline to another without any warning. Lastly, I'm not sure that I liked the lack of resolution at the end.

Recommended For: Anyone looking for a disquieting dystopian novel written in a unique style

Read On: 1984 by George Orwell is the ultimate dystopian novel. Other more modern novels set in a capitalist dystopia are Autonomous by Annalee Newitz and Jennifer Government by Max Barry.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Who doesn't know this story? Ebeneezer Scrooge, literally the definition of a grumpy old miser, is visited by the shade of his old business partner who urges him to change his ways before it is too late. With the help of the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet To Come, Scrooge gets a second chance at figuring out what's really important in life and immediately becomes a kinder and more generous man.

A Christmas Carol really is a great little story, and I can see why it is one of Dickens's most loved books. It's sweet and touching and full of characters that burst off the page in true Dickensian fashion. There are also some genuinely chilling and unearthly parts, the most unnerving of which is when Scrooge comes face to face with his own corpse which lies cold and unregarded in an empty chamber. 

My favourite thing about the book, however, is all the stuff that doesn't make it into the adaptations. Dickens was a tireless social campaigner, and A Christmas Carol calls out the attitudes that many held (and, sadly, still hold) about the poor. At the start of the book, Scrooge refuses to give to charity because the poor should turn to the workhouses and the treadmills if they have no money. He also advocates that hunger and disease will rid London of its 'surplus population' - a sentiment he regrets when a ghost asks him to choose who will live and who will die. Lastly, Dickens calls out politicians who pass discriminatory laws in the name of religion;

"There are some upon this earth of yours,” returned the Spirit, “who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us."

My first experience with Dickens was Great Expectations, which landed with a thump on my desk when I was 14 years old. Like so many schoolchildren, this first introduction to Dickens wasn't an inspiring one and I've steered clear of his works ever since. A Christmas Carol has convinced me to give him another chance.

Recommended For: Anyone, like me, who is a little intimidated by Dickens.

Read On: There's so many to choose from! I'm tempted to give Great Expectations another chance, or David Copperfield as there's a film adaptation out in January.

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

When we meet him, Ivan Denisovich Shukov has served eight years in a Siberian labour camp and is a veteran at the art of survival. From the first clang of reveille on a bitter January morning to lights out that same evening, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich chronicles a single day in the life of Shukov.

This is a short little book that only took a day to read, but will linger with me for much longer. With its stark descriptions of the hunger, cold, and fatigue faced by Shukov, Solzhenitsyn depicts the harshness of life in the gulag and how it changes those who are imprisoned there. Honest, cunning, selfish, and compassionate, Shukov hides bread in his mattress, cheats the cook, runs small errands for his superiors, smuggles a scrap of metal into the camp, and steals building supplies. All of this for a few extra scraps of food which, in the Siberian winter, can make the difference between life and death.

But what really struck me was that in the face of such deprivations, Shukov refuses to let the gulag turn him into anything less than human. He always puts himself first but helps others if he can. He's loyal to his workmates and takes a quiet pride in a well-built wall. He also manages to wring tiny moments of joy and humour whenever he can. An unexpected bit of fish in his soup, a successfully cadged cigarette, a mouthful of sausage - Shukov's happiness at such tiny pleasures is his way of holding on to his humanity and self-respect in a place designed to strip him of every dignity.

Quiet, understated and very, very human, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a short and powerful depiction of the fate of thousands of Russians caught up in the Stalinist purges of the USSR. A book that truly deserves its place in James Mustich's 1000 Books To Read Before You Die.

Everless by Sara Holland

Most people find the forest frightening, believing the old tales of fairies who will freeze the time in your blood, or witches who can spill your years out over the snow with only a whisper.

Jules and her father are behind on rent, and low on time. To stop her father bleeding himself dry to clear their debts, Jules takes a job at Everless, the grand estate of the wealthy Gerling family. But Everless is a dangerous place, especially with the marriage of the Gerling heir to the Queen's daughter, and Jules soon finds herself tangled in a web of secrets and temptation.

Everless is a YA fantasy with a great premise. Time is literally money in the world of Sempra. The poor bleed themselves of hours and even years to make iron coins to pay their debts while the rich can live for centuries. It's an awesome and thought-provoking premise that I've not come across before... but the rest of the book was disappointing. The plot was paper thin and relied too heavily on inexplicably terrible decisions and secrets that were kept secret for no reason other than to advance the story. The characters were dull and uninteresting, and don't even get me started on whatever weird non-romance was happening.

All in all, Everless is a great idea let down by insipid characters and a flimsy plot struggling under its own weight. It wasn't terrible by a long way, but there are far better books out there.

Recommended For: Younger readers might enjoy this a lot more than I did

Read On: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and Red Rising by Pierce Brown are a similar tales of unfair societies, rebellions, and commoners with special abilities.

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams

The great city of Ebora once glittered with gold, but its god is dead and the once grand city is crumbling to pieces around the few survivors. Tormalin the Oathless has no desire to sit around and wait to die so he abandons Ebora to be among the living, where there are taverns full of women and wine. When eccentric scholar, Lady Vincenza de Grazon, takes him on as a hired sword, he eagerly agrees even when the job involves facing down monsters and retrieving ancient artefacts. Even when they are joined by a fugitive witch with a tendency to set things on fire, Tormalin has no intention of ever returning home.  But not everyone is as willing to let Ebora fade away, and Tormalin is slowly drawn into a tangled mystery centuries in the making.

The Ninth Rain is a hefty classical-style high fantasy, and the first book of the Winnowing Flame trilogy. If I'm being honest, I found it quite hard to get into at the beginning and wasn't entirely convinced about the whole concept of alien invasions in a fantasy world. Also, there was a LOT crammed into a few short chapters with witches, vampires, monster plants, and aliens. And yet, once the story really got going, it all kind of works. The world-building is rich and detailed and so cleverly done so that it fades into the background - you always know what you need to know, but the story never gets bogged down by exposition. 

Also, I really liked the diverse and lovable characters, particularly the three protagonists who are the heart of the story, and their experiences give The Ninth Rain its depth and complexity. I rooted for all of them, and the banter between them made me giggle. Plot-wise, like I said, The Ninth Rain started slow and the 'OMG, I have to know what happens next!' page-turning feeling didn't hit me until about a quarter into the book. However, once that happened, I flew through the chapters as the characters became more and more entangled in a web of magic, prophecy, and ancient mysteries.

Original, fun to read and full of diverse and likeable characters, The Ninth Rain is a great start to an exciting fantasy series. Get through the first few chapters, and you'll be rewarded with a story full of heart, humour, and heroics.

Recommended For: Fans of classical fantasy full of quests, magical creatures, ancient enemies, and heroes you can root for.

Read On: The next book in the trilogy is The Bitter Twins. If you love epic fantasy with a lot of heart, you'll like the Amra Thetys series by Michael McClung - the first book is The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble's Braids.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Our Dragon doesn't eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley.

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests, and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its evil at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years. Agnieszka is terrified when she is chosen, but she finds that the Dragon, the Wood, and magic itself are far more complicated than she ever thought...

I loved this gorgeous young adult fantasy steeped in the rich traditions of Eastern European folklore. The story quickly swept me up and I found myself absorbed in the tale of Agnieszka and the Dragon as they battled to keep the Wood at bay. I also really liked the quiet humour which underlaid the first person narrative. My only niggle was that there was so much crammed into the plot, especially in the last half of the book, that it felt a bit rushed. I wanted to both devour Uprooted in one sitting because I was desperate to know what happened next and also wanted to slow down and savour the story properly... definitely one for a future re-read!

At its heart, Uprooted is about the power of love; love may make you vulnerable and desperate at times, but the ties it creates are powerful.

Recommended For: Anyone who likes their YA fantasy full of folklore and magic

Read On: Spinning Silver is another retelling by Naomi Novik, as is To Kill a A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo. Another tale of a malevolent and ancient forest aimed at adults is In The Night Wood by Dale Bailey.

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett

As Sancia Grado lay facedown in the mud, stuffed underneath the wooden deck next to the old stone wall, she reflected that this evening was not going at all as she had wanted.

There's not much in the way of work for an escaped slave like Sancia Grado, but she has an unnatural talent that makes her one of the best thieves in the city of Tevanne. When she's offered a lucrative job to steal an ancient artefact from a heavily guarded warehouse, Sancia agrees, dreaming of leaving the city behind - but instead, she finds herself the target of a murderous conspiracy. Someone powerful in Tevanne wants the artefact, and intends to kill Sancia to get it.

Foundryside is a action-packed epic fantasy full of heists, innovative magic, and ancient mysteries. It's exactly the kind of fantasy I love with immersive world-building, a magic system with rules, tangled politics, a clever protagonist, and a dangerous conspiracy right at the centre of it all. I really liked the characters, especially Sancia, and the banter between them adds a sly humour to a dark tale. Honestly, just a fab book, and I can't wait for the sequel to come out!

Recommended For: Fans of slightly darker fantasy with imaginative magic systems.

Read On: Other fantasy stories involving the problems of stealing something that you probably shouldn't have are The Palace Job by Patrick Weekes and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. And if you like Robert Jackson Bennett, try his Divine Cities trilogy, beginning with City of Stairs.

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

On the run and haunted by the lives she took in the Fold, Alina realises that she can't outrun her past or her destiny as the Sun Summoner. With the help of a notorious privateer, she returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces of the Darkling. But as her power grows, Alina becomes torn between the man she loves, her desire for greater power, and her duty to her country. 

Siege and Storm is a Russian-inspired fantasy, and the second book in the Grisha trilogy. I always enjoy Leigh Bardugo's writing, but I felt that this book didn't quite live up to the first. The writing was just as good, and she has a real talent for creating characters who are both flawed and complicated. Her characters also have real emotional depth, and there were times when my heart broke as Alina had to choose between her duty to her country and her heart.

However, not even beautiful writing and complex characters could save Siege and Storm from a long period in the middle of the book where nothing really happened. The beginning and ending of the book had me hooked, but I felt that the middle just... drifted until something exciting happened.

Recommended For: Anyone who loves complicated characters that will break your heart.

Read On: The next book in the Grisha trilogy is Ruin and Rising. Other Russian-inspired fantasies include The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden, and The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye.

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Doctor Miles Singer went to war to escape his destiny, and came home a changed man. With a fake name and a gift for healing, Miles is working in a cash-strapped veterans hospital when a fatally poisoned man asks him to catch his killer. With the help of the mysterious Mr Hunter and a sister he cannot trust, Miles must risk his hard-won anonymity and freedom to unravel a conspiracy that could topple nations.

Witchmark is a cute historical fantasy that was perfect for a lazy morning in bed. While the story hasdits flaws, I did like Witchmark even though I was never hooked by it. For me, the world-building was very skinny indeed, and I felt like too much information was revealed far too late in the story. Also, the mystery at the centre of the book was very shaky at times, relied a lot on coincidental meetings, and took ages to get anywhere interesting which made Witchmark very easy to put down between chapters. 

That being said, I still enjoyed it. Set in a world reminiscent of Edwardian England, Witchmark just about managed to stay on the right side of twee, and the romance between Miles and Tristan was endearing, if a little instalovey. What I really liked - and kept me reading - was Miles' very complicated relationship with his sister and his constant fight to be his own person.

Recommended For: Anyone in need of a light and undemanding read on a lazy day

Read On: The second book in the Kingston Cycle is Stormsong. Another enjoyable historical fantasy romance is Soulless by Gail Carriger. 

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Sabriel is the daughter of the Abhorsen, the magical protector of the Old Kingdom who makes sure that the Dead stay Dead. But having spent her childhood at boarding school in the neighbouring country of Ancelstierre, Sabriel knows little about her homeland and the dangerous creatures that roam there. When her father becomes trapped in Death, however, Sabriel must return to the Old Kingdom. Armed with her father's sword and binding-bells, and accompanied by an ancient spirit in the form of a white cat and a secretive young mage, Sabriel must discover and defeat whoever or whatever is behind this uprising of the Dead.

I really enjoyed this gem of a historical fantasy. It's aimed at younger readers so the plot is fairly straightforward, and there's no swearing, sex, or bad language, but Sabriel is one of those books which never reads like its written for children. It's fun, scary, action-packed from start to finish, and deals with issues of responsibility, duty, and the death of a parent. Sabriel herself is a necromancer with dark and deadly abilities, but she's also very likeable. She's tough, sensible, very relatable, and does whatever needs to be done with the minimum of fuss or angst. She also stumbles, and doubts herself, and realises that learning how to do something and actually doing it are two very different things. 

Recommended For: Anyone looking for fantasy stories that don't patronise younger readers

Read On: The next book in the Old Kingdom series is Lireal by Garth Nix. Another children's fantasy with a practically minded heroine is Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.

The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan

Born in the slums of Imardin and struggling to make an honest living, Sonea hates the magicians. She hates their arrogance, she hates their power, and, most of all, she hates the way they use their magic to oppress the poor. So no one is more surprised than she is when she throws a stone through a magician's protective shield and knocks him out... 

The Magician's Guild is a high fantasy and the first book in the Black Magician trilogy. It was ok, but not amazing or even particularly memorable. It's a generic and inoffensive fantasy story with a largely predictable plot, a stock-and-trade medieval European setting, and flat characters. Mostly what it lacked was depth and complexity. I did like the premise though, and there were hints of a darker and much more interesting story to come.

Recommended for: I think this might appeal more to younger readers, or anyone looking for a quick and unchallenging fantasy story.

Read On: The next book in the Black Magician Trilogy is The Novice.  A similar fantasy about a slum girl finding her magical powers is The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso.