Review – The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

The Grace of Kings
By: Ken Liu
Website: http://kenliu.name/
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Series: The Dandelion Dynasty, Book #1
Award: Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2015), Locus Award for Best First Novel (2016)
Rating:


The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu is the start to an epic fantasy series set in an Asian inspired world steeped in political upheaval. This first volume in the Dandelion Dynasty series is filled with memorable characters and gorgeous settings, and is the perfect book for anyone looking for the next long saga about a fantasy world.

Review – Red Queen by Christina Henry

Red Queen
By: Christina Henry
Website: http://www.christinahenry.net/
Release Date: July 12, 2016
Publisher: Ace
Series: The Chronicles of Alice, Book #2
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


I really enjoyed Red Queen by Christina Henry. This is the second book in a series, and I hadn’t read the first one yet when I received an arc. However, it is very easily read without the first. Enough of the first book is conveyed to get a general feel of the world and Alice’s past. The majority of this is run through in the prologue. Don’t skip this if you’d like a refresher on the series. This book, too, is quite easily read as a standalone novel.

Review: Prodigy by Marie Lu

Prodigy
By: Marie Lu
Website: http://marielu.org/books.html
Release Date: January 29, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Series: Legend, Book #2
Rating:


I will admit, right away, that I didn’t tear through Prodigy as fast as I did Legend. I’m willing to bet it’s more due to the circumstances of when I was reading this than the quality of the book. (There was a family emergency, and the book was put aside so that I could focus on helping. But enough about my life.)

We return to the alternating points of view of Day and June and, this time, the book starts off with our hero and heroine together. However, they don’t stay together for long as they are pulled apart by circumstance, as you would expect from any good novel.

Review – Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler

Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale
By: David Kudler
Release Date: June 15, 2016
Publisher: Stillpoint Digital Press
Series: Seasons of the Sword, Book #1
Award: BAIPA Great Reads Award - Best in Class
Received From: Publisher
(All reviews are our own, honest opinions.)
Rating:


Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale by David Kudler is a tale about a young girl, nicknamed Risuko, living in Japan in the age of the samurai. Her father died several years earlier, and she lives in relative poverty with her sister and mother. When the story opens, Risuko is sold to a rich women, with the intent of becoming a kunoichi – something she hasn’t necessarily heard of and doesn’t, at first, understand.