Book Reviews

Uptown Oracle Reads… Ashlords

AshlordsScott Reintgen (Affiliate Links) Every year since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they’ve raced them. First into battle, then on great hunts, and finally for the pure sport of seeing who rode the fastest. Centuries of blood and fire carved their competition into a more modern spectacle: The Races. Over the…
SPFBO 2018 Top 10 Finalists – Try a Chapter and First Impressions Book Reviews

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been testing all the SPFBO 4 (2018) finalists books by reading them for an hour. I’ve already done this with SPFBO 5 and it worked really well to let me see which of the books I would want to read more of. I’ve also made a master list…
Uptown Oracle Reads… The Sisters Grimm | A Unique Retelling of Classic Fairytales

The Sisters GrimmMenna van Praag (Affiliate Links) Once upon a time, a demon who desired earthly domination fathered an army of dark daughters to help him corrupt humanity . . . As children, Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea dreamed of a strange otherworld: a nightscape of mists and fog, perpetually falling leaves and hungry ivy,…
SPFBO 2019 Top 10 Finalists – Try a Chapter and First Impressions Book Reviews

This years Self-Published Fantasy Book Off, or SPFBO for short, has recently started and I was intrigued about quite a few books on the list. I was also looking back at the previous years and realised just how many of the finalists I’d heard of as really good fantasy books. Of course I really wanted…
Uptown Oracle Reads… Soul of the Sword | A Japanese Inspired Fantasy

One thousand years ago, a wish was made to the Harbinger of Change and a sword of rage and lightning was forged. Kamigoroshi. The Godslayer. It had one task: to seal away the powerful demon Hakaimono.
Uptown Oracle Reads… Court of Miracles | Criminal Masterminds during the French Revolution

The Court of MiraclesKester Grant (Affiliate Links) Les Misérables meets Six of Crows in this page-turning adventure as a young thief finds herself going head to head with leaders of Paris’s criminal underground in the wake of the French Revolution. In the violent urban jungle of an alternate 1828 Paris, the French Revolution has failed and the city…
Uptown Oracle Reads… The Wolf of Oren-Yaro |A Complex and Mysterious Fantasy

The Wolf of Oren-YaroK.S. Villoso (Affiliate Links) A queen of a divided land must unite her people, even if they hate her, even if it means stopping a ruin that she helped create. A debut epic fantasy from an exciting new voice. “I murdered a man and made my husband leave the night before they…
Uptown Oracle Reads… No Good Deed | A Robin Hood Time Travel Adventure

No Good DeedKara Connolly (Affiliate Links) Ellie Hudson is the front-runner on the road to gold for the U.S. Olympic archery team. All she has to do is qualify at the trials in jolly old England. When Ellie makes some kind of crazy wrong turn in the caverns under Nottingham Castle—yes, that Nottingham—she ends up…
Uptown Oracle Reads… The Raven and The Dove | A Magical Avian Adventure

So The Raven and The Dove was definitely a cover choice for me. Yes I know you should judge, but it was just so pretty! I didn’t really have much information going in, but I’ve since found out it’s a Tristan and Isolde Retelling. I personally do not know that story, so I won’t be…