Musings from a Loft
Celebrating a literary lifestyle dedicated *mostly to the fantasy + sci-fi genres, with the occasional review from the mortal realm.
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Book Review: The Girl in the Tower, a Magnificent Must-read Sequel
If The Horse and His Boy was your favorite Chronicles of Narnia book growing up, you will love this book. As you know from my review of book one of The Winternight Trilogy, I wasn’t convinced this series was for me at first.
Buddy Read Review: Daughter of No Worlds, Booktok’s Latest Fantasy Romance Obsession
I first saw this book mentioned on Booktok last Fall, and remember thinking, “Yeah, that sounds good,” and added it to my TBR.
Book Review: The Bear and the Nightingale, a Slow, Dark Folkore Story
In the spirit of making a dent in my already quite lengthy physical TBR, I finally picked up The Bear and The Nightingale by Katherine Arden. It’s been recommended to me so many times…
Book Review: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, the Book That Would Not End
I'm so disappointed. This book seems to be much beloved on Booktok, but it left much to be desired for me. Even though there was some absolutely beautiful writing
Book Review: Was ‘The Hero of Ages’ the Hero of Mistborn, Era 1?
While I’ll say it’s a tie between The Final Empire and The Hero of Ages as my favorite, they both get all the stars. And they both made me cry. Brandon Sanderson absolutely RUINED my heart (IYKYK) with…
Book Review: Does The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) Suffer from Second Book Syndrome?
Kind of. There’s not an easy answer. The book as a whole I would give a solid…
Book Review: Does Mistborn aka The Final Empire Deserve All the Stars?
I pretty much devoured book one of the Mistborn Trilogy, The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson in my buddy read that kicked off 2023. We’re doing the whole trilogy, so yes, you can still join in!
Book Review: The Viking Enemies-to-Lovers Read That Will Get You Out of a Reading Slump
I can’t believe I’m just down getting to it. After a string of mediocre reads, I’ve been feeling a little bit of a reading slump coming on, and this was exactly what I needed to get out of it.
Book Review: Cloud Cuckoo Land, a Philosophical Love Letter Celebrating the Power of ‘Story’
After several mediocre reads, I was so excited to finally pick up an anticipated read I thoroughly enjoyed! While I loved this book, I can completely see this book not being for everyone. There are…
Book Review: Did The Atlas Paradox Suffer from Second Book Syndrome?
Along with a massive part of Booktok, I read The Atlas Six last summer and absolutely loved it. Olivie Blake’s self published version was a huge hit on Booktok, and became a staple in Dark Academia and Urban Fantasy rec lists. So The Atlas Paradox has been one of my most anticipated reads of 2022.
Babel: A historical fantasy? Or an allegory on the darkness of colonialism?
After reading Babel, R.F. Kuang is officially on my list of autobuy authors. With a magic system steeped in historical believability, Kuang has achieved, in my opinion, one of the most profound…
Book Review: The ‘All of Us Villains’ Duology Delivers
What would you do if you were chosen to be your family’s Champion in a fight to the death with your friends? This fantasy duology is technically YA, but wow, is it brutal.
Book Review: A Time-bending, Lyrical Love Story Between Enemies
There is no doubt that this novella is beautifully written. It was as if The Time Traveler’s Wife and the Ship of Theseus novel from “S” had a baby.
Duology Review: An East Asian Retelling of the Evil Queen Fairytale
If you love fairytale retellings, morally gray characters, and villain origin stories, you might love this duology.
Book Review: The Spicy, Suspenseful, Scottish Romance Series You’ve Been Waiting For
I love a good romance mixed with thriller/mystery. I need plot. Enter The Adair Family series by Samantha Young. Set in the Scottish highlands, this series has it all.
Emily Henry’s ‘Book Lovers’: A Cliché-filled Romance Romp for Nerd Girl Summer
Epic banter, cringe clichés. That’s it. That’s the review. I’m kidding. I have a lot of thoughts on Book Lovers by Emily Henry.
Book Review: The War of Two Queens, and Why You Might Hate This Book
Now that the hardback version is finally out, here are my unfiltered thoughts on The War of Two Queens, book four in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s From Blood and Ash series.
Review: A Portal Fantasy You’ll Not Soon Forget
As someone who grew up on the likes of Narnia, I LOVE a good portal fantasy steeped in magical realism.
Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries, the Sci-Fi Novellas You’ll Devour in One Sitting
I found myself legitimately laughing out loud listening to these audiobooks. And I devoured four of them in a week.
Book Review: John Gwynne’s Fantasy Epic, The Bloodsworn Trilogy
When I tell you this is one of the best adult fantasy series I’ve read in a long time, and you need to pick it up immediately…