We are so, so close! Kristen has been on a mad reading spree reading through the last of her books and she is now done! Hoooorraayyyy! This post will have a bunch of cuts and her semifinalist announcement at the bottom!

Across the Broken Stars by Jed Hearne

Across the Broken Stars is the story of Leon, who is a man with a secret: he’s an angel. Which, considering he lives in a world where nearly all of the angels were all killed in a brutal war with the Vahrians, is a big secret indeed. He thought he was the last, until he meets Elena, another angel who is determined to find Waverrym, a place that may not actually exist. A place where angels may still live.

The first thing that makes this entry super unique is that it is a fantasy story that takes place in more or less a sci-fi world. This was really hard to pin down, genre wise, because it really is kind of both. They live on discs that orbit the planet that the Vahrians live on. The gravity is different, there are forcefields surrounding the discs, and there is space travel. Though, this space travel is done, as far as I can tell, by pegasus-drawn-carriages, rather than any spaceship-like-vessels. 

It’s a fantasy world full of pegas(usses? pegasi?) and angels and so on, in a bigger world of space travel and planetary invasion. So, take that as you will. It really was an interesting world that I wish was explained just a tad more in the beginning. 

I ended up DNFing it at 30% because I couldn’t stand one of the main characters. When that same character started fawning over someone who she just met, and who (at first glance, at the very least) has the same physical characteristics as the people who genocided her entire race? Yeah, I was out. If this is something that wouldn’t bother you, I’d definitely suggest giving it a go, because it is quite unique!

Og-Grim-Dog by Jamie Edmundson

This one has lots of in-genre jokes, and lots of jokes in general, and some hit better than others. Og-Grim-Dog is The Landlord – the innkeeper at The Flayed Testicles. Business as usual one day until a man with parchment and pen declares that he knows who Og-Grim-Dog is and that he is there to hear the story of their life and record it as told by the ogre. 

They start in the middle, like ya do, and tell of the time that they went dungeon crawling with a group of adventurers and the shenanigans that were had in the process. It makes reference to many other works in the genre, whether those references are more subtle or get right in your face would depend on the reader and what they’ve read, for the most part. Again, some of these worked for me more than others. 

I did like Og-Grim-Dog, so this was a nice and easy read that I completed in just short of two hours. It’s very short, but leaves lots of room for… well, for the beginning and the end of the story, as it were. Between ‘Team Shove It Up Your Ass’ getting drugged with hallucinogens or Og-Grim-Dog going to Judge Julie’s court to fight for their right to party, this one is short, but has a chuckle or two within, and I’d recommend it to fans of comedic fantasy that don’t mind crass humour. 6.5/10 stars. 

Fade by EG Bateman

This was made it through round 1 cuts, but unfortunately it’s being cut today. I’ve pulled a synopsis from Kristen’s original full length review and included a link to said review if you missed it the first time.

“all told, I thought that Fade was an interesting and engaging book with an interesting set of characters. I may yet investigate further into the series. Because I do not have enough audiobooks, obviously.”

Phoenix Prince by Kristen Gupton

This is another one that made it through round 1 of cuts but we will be saying goodbye today and goodluck!

“This wasn’t a perfect book, but it was certainly entertaining enough for me to read it in just short of two days. I really liked Keiran and I cared what happened to him. He is a vampire, but one that has abstained from human blood for years and is physically frail because of it. He doesn’t want to ‘become a monster’ like the vampire who made him one, and I thought his struggle was a noble one. That said, I liked Jerris, Keiran’s best friend and bodyguard, even more. I enjoyed the banter between them.”

AND THE SEMI FINALIST IS:

A King’s Bargain by J.D.L Rosell

CONGRATS!!!!!!! I have already started reading this one and I’ve passed on the info to Graham Austin-King and we shall deliberate who our finalist will be!

A link to Kristen’s full review: