Happy New Year everyone. Are you looking forward to 2025? Last year was a mixed bag for me, some good & some bad things, but overall, I’m just happy to begin a fresh new year.
One of the highlights of 2024 were the books I read. This was the first year in many years where I didn’t DNF and or hate more books than I liked. Shocking, I know.
Here are the reviews for the books I read in 2024.
One Sorcerer and a Sacrifice: An Urban Fantasy (The Tarot Societies Book1) by Cait Ambrose
This is a typical Urban Fantasy where Evie, the broke, down on her luck, sarcastic heroine, is transported into a magical underworld filled with the usual supernatural creatures (vampires, magicians, shifters, etc.). There she discovers her innate magical powers which are, as usual, rare, powerful, and makes her the key to everything. She falls in instant lust-love with the brooding villain and the ruggedly, brooding hero, and they her. The climax is solved by deus ex machina and is so contrived, it took me out of the story. Despite the ending, the novel is an easy, fun, and fast read. It uses ancient Egyptian mythology which is a nice change of pace.
Awakening the Gods: A Celtic Urban Fantasy (Rise of the Celtic Gods Book 1) by Kristen Gleeson
This was a refreshing novel in that it dealt with Celtic mythology, which I don’t normally read. The settings were well described, and the characters were grounded in realism. The two leads, Smithy and Saoirse, had believable chemistry. My main criticism of the novel was the pacing. Words were repeated back-to-back for no discernible reason. While Saoirse is very likeable, things just happened to her in the story. Her supposed father dies, then she meets her supposed grandmother, then she moves to the country to live with the grandmother, then she meets her love interest, and then… She doesn’t take action until the very end of the story and her actions don’t make sense. Also, there are no real stakes. I never believed either Smithy or Saoirse were ever in danger because the main antagonist, Baylor, is mostly not involved in the plot. Overall, this was an enjoyable read, with a series storyline with potential to be great.
Sign of the Griffin by Megan Linski
It is a Middle-Grade fantasy story for kids on the lower end of the age bracket. The story premise is simple and the protagonists, Scout and Evian, are cute. The main issue with the book is that the plot just happens to the characters. They stumble upon magic weapons, allies, situations, and solutions. Any trouble is resolved easily and with little effort which killed any tension. But overall, young kids would enjoy this easy-to-read novel.
Oasis (The Last Humans) by Dima Zales and Anna Zaires
This sci-fi/dystopia novel was engaging enough for me to finish it, but it wasn’t to my tastes. The main characters are a Youth named Theo, and Phoe, who is a mysterious voice in his head. The problem wasn’t the characters, but the plot. It didn’t make any sense. Every mystery solved brought up new questions, but not in a good way. For example, Zoe made Theo go on a quest to win a virtual reality game, but it never made sense why he had to do so. Eventually, we are told an explanation, but the reason given made no sense. The game itself didn’t make sense. Also, the story is set in a future human society, yet they make endless references to current media and culture. The characters act no differently than modern college students and their language is contemporary. The novel ends with an info dump where Phoe sits down with Theo, and she explains the origins of their society. None of it makes sense. I don’t want to spoil anything but… Spaceships, computers, AI, nanotechnology, etc. are machines/programs, who is maintaining and building them if no one remembers how or even knows that they are living on a spaceship? What about fuel? Resources? Where are they headed? Who is steering the ship so that they don’t crash or fly into danger when even the ship’s computer doesn’t know what’s going on? Why did human society evolve this way? Why keep the origins a secret when letting everyone know would make more sense? Why the separation of age groups? I have dozens more questions, but I’m not motivated enough by book one to find out if they are answered in book two.
Of Blood and Fire (The Bound and The Broken Book One) by Ryan Cahill
Wow, this epic fantasy novel was amazing. This is the first book of the year to have me staying up past midnight to finish just one more chapter only to lie to myself at the start of the next one. It has all if the usual fantasy elements, a medieval setting, with a young male protagonist whose life is upended and he goes on a journey that includes swords, dragons, mentors, magic, mages, orc-like creatures, direwolves, giants, elves, and dwarves, oh my! The world building is deep, yet familiar and easy to follow. The main characters were fun with their own unique personalities, but there are a lot of characters to keep track of. At the beginning of the book, I found myself preferring sidekicks Dann and Rist, over the main character of Calen, but as Calen struggles and learns he comes into his own and is likeable at the end. Of the many side characters, it was Dahlen who I found the most intriguing and who I’d like to know more of in future books, hopefully. The pacing is good and becomes great after the first 100 pages or so. My only real nitpick are the character names. They all have similar sounds and first letters: Calen, Dahlen, Dann, Aeson, Arthur, Asius, Rhett, Rist, etc. I get that this will happen with such a large cast, but it became a bit much to keep straight in the latter half of the book when all of these characters are in the same scenes. Overall, I loved Of Blood and Fire, and I can’t wait to read the next novel in the series.
Of Darkness and Light (The Bound and The Broken Book Two) by Ryan Cahill
Yeah, I read the second book in this series, and it was as awesome as the first book. This novel sizzles when it focuses on the characters of Calen, Dann, Rist, and Dahlen. They are beautifully written characters who are likeable, flaws and all. Cahill really put them through the ringer this go around. I literally can’t wait to read the next novel in the series. Now, there are a few issues, after all no book is perfect. Where the momentum dies is when the subplots involving Ella, Calen’s pointless sister, and the plot with the new characters in the Dayne subplot. While I understand why the author included the Arden/brotherhood subplot, those scenes were also a slog to get threw in this 861-page fantasy. These could have been cut and the novel would have been near perfect. Finally, with the cast expanding even more in the second book, there is still the major issue of characters with the same sounding name or starting with the same letter. Despite this quibble, The Bound and The Broken series is one I’m in love with and will continue to read.
Of War and Ruin (The Bound and The Broken Book Three) by Ryan Cahill
I hate to write this, but I didn’t like this book as much as I did the first two in the series. Don’t get me wrong, this is an excellent novel. It is well written; the world building and magic are still easy to understand, and the battle scenes were page turners. Most of this tome I adored, but the ending left me sour. The story continues right where the second novel left off. Once again, the plot is highly entertaining when the focus is on the main characters of Calen, Dan, Rist, and Dahlen. The story moves smoothly and is easy to read with those characters. The development of the characters of Rist and Dahlen is superb. I love those two more now than I did in books one and two. The story becomes a slog to read during the Dayne/Alina Valtara rebellion plot. This D-story should be in its own novel. It detracts from everything happening with Calen and the interesting characters. The absolute worst chapters to get through were the Ella and her lame ass friends plot. They are so boring. Ella is why this otherwise wonderful novel ended on a low note for me. She grinds the momentum to a standstill, and she really doesn’t do anything. Events happen to her. Not much time has passed since book one, but by the end of this book Ella (who is barely out of girlhood and who had run away from home with her boyfriend in book one) has somehow become a magic wielding Druid, rebel fighter, and proficient swords woman who knows battle strategy better than the centuries old elves who’ve fought wars before. Ella becomes a full on deus ex machina in the final battle. She really killed the ending for me. With that said, I’m looking forward to reading book four in this series.
Court of Assassins (The Ranger Archives Book One) by Philip C. Quaintrell
This was an easy, fast paced read that was packed with action. I was never bored at any point. Each fight scene was epic and well written. I’m so damn jealous! Court of Assassins is a wonderful fantasy novel with rich world building, which was easy to fall into. Sometimes with fantasy novels it feels like I need to take notes as I slog through complicated lore and history. While the mythology here is well developed, I was never confused. Every character has a unique voice, even minor ones. The main character, Asher, really struggles throughout the novel with his past, but his ruminations never got too depressing. My only quibble with the book was the assassin secret society/school part as a whole. How are they able to maintain and fund a large group and network when the general public believes they are myths and legends of old? How do the assassins get hired? Also, the training methods for youths seems like it would produce traumatized, non-functioning adults with PTSD, OCD, anxiety, depression and a host of other debilitating mental health issues, not cold, killing machines. Finally, while I loved Asher–an efficient, badass killer who is the best killer who has ever killed in the history and future of killing–he comes off as a hypocrite when he’s gets on his sky high horse lecturing other killers about immorality because he’s finally realized killing people for money is a bad thing after murdering hundreds of people before his epiphany and dozens more after his grand epiphany. Everyone is someone’s child, family, friend, lover, and co-worker, no matter their age. I felt Asher’s killing spree was whitewashed away because the opponents were “bad people” and “deserved” to die, but none were any worse than Asher. They weren’t given a sudden “murder is bad” epiphany after murdering a child nor the opportunity to atone for a lifetime the way he was. Besides this minor annoyance, this book was fantastic. I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series.
Blood and Coin (Book 2 of The Ranger Archives) by Philip C. Quaintrell
This is the second book in this series, and it was significantly better than the first book. (And I loved the first book.) The pacing was on point. The world is super immersive. There is everything one could want in a fantasy series, monsters, (light) magic, crime lords, gladiators, & well written fight scenes. Most importantly, the story was fun, despite the heavy themes and gore. All of my issues with the first book were fixed. This time around the main character, Asher, feels human. He’s still a killing machine, but he reads more like a man struggling with his past and who he is and who he wants to be. The story takes place a few years after the first book where Asher is living the life of a Ranger. He has put his life as an Assassin behind him, but circumstances involving a Dwarf named Doran brings the killer of humans roaring back, swords raised. This book has me excited to read the last book in the trilogy. I can’t recommend the first and second books in The Ranger Archives strongly enough.
Frostborn: The Gray Knight (Book 1) by Jonathan Moeller
The characters in this fantasy novel are generic and one dimensional. None displayed any personality whatsoever. The main character, Ridmark, is a stoic, disgraced, former knight with a do gooder attitude and who is a badass fighter with a quarterstaff. Caius is a gruff, yet kind, dwarf-priest who is a badass warrior with a mace. Kharlacht is a reserved orc with a heart of gold and who is a badass swordsman. Calliande is a beautiful, mysterious woman Ridmark and Caius save from orcs, who spends most of the story being rescued and getting info dumped on about her badass magical past. They have to work together to fight monsters and to defeat an army of evil orcs from overtaking a city. Plus, there is an even bigger, evil foe waiting to pounce.
I finished this book because of the simple plot, delightfully fleshed out world, detailed but not confusing lore, well written fight and battle scenes, and the fast pacing. I couldn’t quit this novel. The story sucked me in despite the cardboard characters. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Mist, Shadow, and Deep by Eoghan R. Cunningham (Book 2 of the Crystalline Dragon Saga)
This book slaps so hard it left a mark. I devoured it in two days. I literally couldn’t put it down. The fantasy novel follows its main character, Dusk, and his friends Lex and Tara as they head south to flee the evil cult, the Circle of the Dawn, who want to capture Dusk and obtain the dragon crystal embedded in his chest for mysterious reasons. On their way to Emerald Deep they have to fend off monsters of the animal and human variety. What makes this book so fun to read is its fast pace and likeable characters. Dusk makes mistakes, grave ones, but comes off as human and flawed. My only gripe is that Lex and his comedic personality took a backseat in book two, which is a shame. The novel also ends in a cliffhanger. I don’t mind because I’m definitely reading book three in this highly entertaining series.
The Grimoire of Kings (Book 1 of The Tales of Bramoria) by Blake R. Wolfe
This YA fantasy wasn’t for me. It had all of the elements that I usually adore in a fantasy story, such as dragons, magic, a young protagonist who might be gay, and non-human races, but the story just didn’t work for me. The novel introduces us to modern day 17-year-old friends, Tyler (MC), Clay (a mischievous side character who is being physically abused by his widowed father), and Danny (a good-hearted side character who is dying of cancer). The boys run away to take Danny on an adventure before he passes away. Clay ends up stealing a magic book from a mysterious bookstore. The book transports the three friends to a typical high fantasy world, Bramoria, where hijinks ensue. If you haven’t guessed my issue with this book already, the three boys don’t have much personality outside of what I described. Tyler is a block of wood in the beginning and comes off as unlikeable once the fantasy plot kicks in. I wish the main character had been Danny or Clay instead. Also, the fantasy world isn’t immersive. Settings just feel flat. Finally, the book ends in a cliffhanger. Cliffhangers don’t bother me, but I’m not interested enough in the story to buy the next installment. Overall, the book is fast paced, easy to read, and would have been better if the characters had been fleshed out. This is a rough-cut gem in need of polishing.
King of the Dark, Book 1 of The Prince’s Assassin by Ariana Nash
This novel is so damn horny. It skirts the line between gay erotica and Romantasy. The world is well developed and so are the characters. It follows Nikolas, a disgraced ex-soldier who is forced to serve a dark, brooding, handsome, cruelly manipulative Prince named Vasili. I loved the twists this author throws in which are all unexpected and unique, yet never feels as if they came out of nowhere. They all make sense, and I saw the logic once the reveal happened. My only major nitpick is some of the modern terminology. The relationship between Julian and Prince Vasili is “complicated.” There are so many modern idioms that they sometimes threw me headfirst out of this well-crafted medieval fantasy world. The middle also has a bit of sogginess where the pacing slows, but it soon picks up to an unputdownable ending. There are a number of steamy sexy times that aren’t graphic but are hardly demure. Otherwise, this is a solid fist book in a series.
So, folks, what was the best book you read last year?
I hope you liked this month’s blog post. The books in my urban fantasy series are available on Amazon. Please let me know your thoughts by liking, commenting, and/or subscribing. Also, you can join my mailing list by clicking here.
stacy benedict 