I really liked the first Lace and Blade anthology, with a few caveats, when I read it earlier this year, but what less in love with this one. Which is sad, as it was the cover of this one that made me notice the anthologies ( Read more... )

This is a fantasy anthology that combines swords and sorcery with things like swashbuckling and highwaymen. It is, obviously, something I was meant to have ( Read more... )

Inda is the second son of the Prince of Choraed Elgaer. According to tradition, his older brother, Tanrid, is to train at the military academy, while Inda is to be trained at home, and become Tanrid’s champion when he inherits. By royal decree, however, second sons are now to attend the academy, too, and so off Inda goes, only to become the target ( Read more... )

This is largely a continuation of the first “Sasharia en Garde!” book, Once A Princess, with Sun navigating Canardan’s court, Jehan deciding whether or not to rebel against his father, and Sasha searching for her father.

Actually, I wonder if young women searching for their fathers is a trend that’s catching on? Variations of it are one of the most ( Read more... )

First, a small cover rant that is totally unrelated to the quality of the book itself: A headless woman cover! Why must my Sherwood Smith book have a headless woman? I don’t think I’ve read anything from Samhain Publishing before that isn’t one of Smith’s books, but they managed to let the women keep their heads! (I might be less annoyed if the ( Read more... )

When Flian wakes up with amnesia, one prince, Garian, tells her that she’s his guest, and happily engaged to Jason, king of a nearby country. Despite the amnesia, Flian is quite certain she’d never fall for someone as serious and humorless as Jason. Jason doesn’t seem particularly interested or amused. Another prince, Jaim, climbs the walls and ( Read more... )

The complete list of books I read it 2008 is in poll form here.

( top books of the year )

Rhis, the princess of a small but rich kingdom, is sent by her parents to the coming of age party for Prince Lios of Vesarja, along with every other available princess and noblewoman around. Along the way she befriends Shera, the romantic younger sister of Rhis’s domineering sister-in-law, with whom Rhis has been trading correspondence for years. ( Read more... )

Even the basic setup of this one is fairly spoilery, so it all goes under the spoiler cut.

( spoilers )

Set a year or so after Wren to the Rescue, Wren’s Quest has Wren and her friend Connor, the youngest prince no one knows what to do with on a quest to find out who Wren’s birth parents are, while their friends Princess Teressa and Tyron try to get to the bottom of a conspiracy at court.

Wren and Connor’s adventures were just as fun as the ( Read more... )