I loved everything about this book! The detailed and immersive world, the gripping and twisty plot, the fantastic characters. This is epic fantasy as it should be done. I can't wait for book 2!
The Sunday Times bestseller from an electrifying new voice in epic fantasy - a masterfully woven tale of imperial intrigue, cutthroat competition, and one scholar's quest to uncover the truth.
'IT'S THRILLING, ROMANTIC, OFTEN TRAGIC, AND ALWAYS FUNNY' ALIX E. HARROW 'SIMPLY GLORIOUS!' GEORGIA SUMMERS 'FIENDISHLY CHARMING AND CLEVER' TASHA SURI
She might win the throne. She might destroy an empire. Either way, it begins with murder.
After twenty-four years on the throne, it is time for Bersun the Brusque, emperor of Orrun, to bring his reign to an end. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders will compete…
I only discovered Katherine Arden this year and I have loved everything I've read by her. Her writing style is so gorgeous and descriptive. The Bear and the Nightingale is the first book in the Winternight trilogy, and I devoured all three in quick succession. A beautiful, satisfying saga.
_____________________________ Beware the evil in the woods...
In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church.
But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods. . .
It may be best if you go into this book knowing as little about it as possible. However, if you're a murder mystery fan then I suspect you'll enjoy this one. Brookmyre's takes on the different subgenres are spot on, and the twists just keep coming. The most original book I read this year.
***Winner of the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year*** ** Shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025**
FORGET WHAT YOU THINK YOU KNOW THIS IS NOT THAT CRIME NOVEL
You know Penny Coyne. The little old lady who has solved multiple murders in her otherwise sleepy village, despite bumbling local police. A razor-sharp mind in a twinset and tweed.
You know Johnny Hawke. Hard-bitten LAPD homicide detective. Always in trouble with his captain, always losing partners, but always battling for the truth, whatever it takes.
Ever since she can remember, Alyssia has seen things: flashes of other people's lives in a world that's not her own. She's always believed they're just her imagination, a way to fill the void left by the accident that killed her parents and took her memories. Yet when she wakes up inside one of her own visions, she's forced to confront the fact that maybe she was seeing the truth all along.
