Book Review : The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood

Whenever a new King Arthur retelling releases, I trip over myself to read it. In the case of The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood, I was even more excited to read this one because it was written by H.G. Parry, the author of The Scholar and The Last Faerie Door, and The Magician’s Daughter. Parry always manages to create such uniquely magical experiences in her novels, so I was anxious to see how that applied to The Witch Below the Dreaming Wood, which follows Nimue and her relationship with Merlin. 

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Book Review : Hopeless Necromantic

What a title, am I right? I knew I had to read Hopeless Necromantic. From the very first page, the novel kept surprising me. I had never considered the exact pitfalls of raising someone from the dead before, which in retrospect, seems remarkably shortsighted of me. Main character Sikras “Catseye” Nikabod, who is no stranger to horrified—er, unsatisfied—customers, has it all figured out, down to the fine print.

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Book Review : The Dragon Has Some Complaints

When I read the blurb for The Dragon Has Some Complaints, I immediately pictured the classic three-headed dragon meme, where each head has a wildly different personality. Whether or not that is where the inspiration for this novel comes from, this three-headed dragon—named Garrodigh—does have very distinct personalities. Each head is referred to by their position on the body of the dragon—Centerhead, Upperhead, and Bottomhead, and formerly, Lefty.

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Book Review : The Last Contract of Isako

The Last Contract of Isako is a difficult novel for me to rate. It has so many things I love—a strong heroine in her later years, a male character who wields cunning more effectively than his triggersheath, and incredibly interesting world building. Unfortunately, that same world building that I found so fascinating was also, well, depressing.  “To Serve is to Live.

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Book Review : The Magic We Made

Despite being someone who grew up happily reading Meg Cabot’s Mediator and The Princess Diaries series, I realized I hadn't read any of her books for adults. I stumbled across The Magic We Made,a romantic novel involving witches on NetGalley, and decided there was no time like the present. Like all of Cabot's books, The Magic We Made has her distinctive blend of humor, quirkiness, and relatability. 

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Book Review: Rolls and Rivalry - Blogging with Dragons

Rolls and Rivalry, the latest in Kristy Boyce’s Gaming and Romance series, shifts focus from Dungeons & Dragons tabletop adventure to color guard rivalry.

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Book Review : The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy

In my advanced age, I’ve come to prefer friends-to-lovers over enemies-to-lovers. I’ve found the latter to be a trope that’s nearly impossible to execute well, often rushing past the trust and transformation that make these romances truly satisfying. But every now and then, a truly—shall we say—irresistible premise comes along, and I wade back into the genre. The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy…

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Book Review : The Undercutting Of Rosie and Adam

The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam tries very hard to make its demi-god main character, Rosie, likeable and relatable, but it falls woefully short with its six foot five beauty. Though Rosie is supposed to be every bit as fiery as her red hair and eyes, I just found her to be rather flat. I wanted to like her, I really did, but the biggest conflict in her life can be boiled down to the fact that she has daddy issues (her dad’s one of the oldest gods, the Trickster), and that she can’t die, or rather, stay dead.

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Book Review: Snake-Eater

Selena leaves her emotionally abusive relationship with only $27, her dog Copper, and nowhere obvious to go. She heads into the desert looking for her eccentric Aunt Amelia, and instead finds herself in a town that knows everyone’s business, a house full of secrets, and something in the desert that never really left. Snake-Eater is another example of why T. Kingfisher…

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Book Review : Tailored Realities

I’m going to be honest, I’m not sure what I was thinking when I requested Tailored Realities. There are two wolves inside of me: The one that hates short stories and the one that loves Brandon Sanderson and wants to read all of his work. The second wolf came out on top, so I requested the ARC. Was Tailored Realities enjoyable with Brandon’s signature world-building and magic systems?

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Book Review : Blood for the Undying Throne

Blood for the Undying Throne is the sequel to one of my favorite books of last year, Blood of the Old Kings. That first novel in The Bleeding Empire series featured one of the most unique magic systems I’ve encountered in a fantasy book in years, where the corpses of sorcerers are used as power generators. Blood for the Undying Throne…

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Peak: The Chaotic, Cozy Mountain Climbing Game You Didn’t Know You Needed

An old friend from my Overwatch days popped into Discord the other week (shout out to you, Nathan) and casually mentioned a game called Peak. I’d never even heard of it. My interest was—you guessed it—peaked (ba-dum-tis). I was skeptical. How fun could a mountain climbing game really be? Turns out…very. Peak is a uniquely charming blend of humor, strategy, chaos, and teamwork that’s somehow both cozy and adrenaline-fueled.

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15 Games that Deserve More Love

Every gamer has that one hill they’re willing to die on—the game everyone else slept on, hated, or dismissed—but you’ll defend until the end of time. For me, that list of games I'm ready to defend is…kind of long. Over the years, I’ve fallen hard for games that either launched to mixed reviews, got overshadowed by bigger titles, or just didn’t get the respect they deserved.

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Book Review : The Princess Knight

From the title, I expected a feminist take on The Princess Bride. What I got instead—as the author’s note later confirmed—was a Celtic-medieval fantasy version of Legally Blonde that takes itself seriously. It’s an inspired premise, but unfortunately it didn't quite resonate with me as much as I would have liked. The Princess Knight follows Princess Clía, who, after being jilted by her betrothed, Prince Domhnall, sets out to prove her worth by enrolling in the world’s most prestigious battle academy (which he also attends).

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Top Ten Tuesday : Fast-Paced SFF Books to Cure Any Reading Slump

We’ve all been there—the dreaded reading slump. That dark time when your TBR pile glares at you accusingly, asking, “Why can’t you just sit down and read?” Or worse, “Why can’t you even finish a single book?”  Sometimes the cure is as simple as picking up something fast-paced and irresistible (or, let’s be honest, adding another book to the pile). These ten science fiction and fantasy picks have rescued me from slumps in the past—and I hope they can pull you back into reading too, especially when the gaming console or Netflix starts calling your name.

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Book Review : The Jasad Crown

The Jasad Crown is the sequel to The Jasad Heir and the final book in the Scorched Throne duology, which comes to a stunning close. I was so excited for this release that I reread the previous entry, one of the most successful portrayals of enemies-to-lovers I’ve ever read, so that it would be fresh in my mind. Because I held The Jasad Heir in such high regard (I think I enjoyed my reread even more than my initial read of the novel), my expectations for this sequel were equally high and that made some of the choices here more difficult to reconcile.

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Book Review : Behooved

Behooved is a grown horse girl’s dream come true in novel form. The story follows Bianca Lilliana as she journeys to a neighboring country to wed their heir to the throne, Aric. This marriage will secure an alliance between their two nations. Bianca and Aric immediately get off on the wrong foot, which soon magically becomes a hoof—at least in Aric’s case—when an assassination attempt gone wrong turns Bianca’s new husband into a white horse and she is framed for his disappearance and murder.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Cozy Fantasy Books for a Lazy Summer

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is a Summer Freebie—pick any topic that fits under the summery sun. And while the calendar insists it’s June, someone clearly forgot to tell the weather. It doesn’t feel like summer yet... and honestly, I don’t feel much like summer yet either. Lately, motivation has been in short supply. So instead of fast-paced adventures or epic quests, I’ve been craving softness—

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Top Ten Tuesday : Fantasy Novels with Animal Companions

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is all about animal companions—real or fantastical. Naturally, I had to veer into the fantasy realm, so I'm sharing fantasy novels with animal companions. Here are some of my favorite magical sidekicks: enchanted horses, gods of white lies, otter-like creatures that mysteriously sprout antlers, sarcastic unicorns, and (of course) dragons. They’re not ranked by cuteness—because honestly, how could I ever choose?

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Book Review : The Two Lies of Faven Sythe

Well, the author who single-handedly made me like science fiction has done it again with The Two Lies of Faven Sythe. The second I saw that Megan E. O’Keefe had written another book, I had to read it as soon as humanly possible. And it did not disappoint, like all of O’Keefe’s works, The Two Lies of Faven Sythe features spectacular and creative world-building, loveable characters, and a thrilling story with a twist.

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Top Ten Tuesday : Fantasy Books that Feature Quests

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is books with travel—but as a devoted dragon enthusiast, I couldn’t resist breathing a little fire into it. So instead of planes and passports, we’re diving into fantasy quests: heists, kidnappings, long-lost relatives, and all the delightful chaos that comes with leaving home and (probably) picking up a sword, staff, or broomstick. Top Ten Tuesday…

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Blog Tour : Hive

Hive: Madders of Time is a fast-paced thrill ride that drops both new readers and returning fans of the author, D.L. Orton, into a time-bending adventure where the fate of the world hangs in the balance. With references sure to delight science enthusiasts and pop culture fans alike, Hive brings a fun sense of humor and an easygoing style to a story packed with intensity.

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Top Ten Tuesday : Ways My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday is Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over Time .  Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

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Top Ten Tuesday : Authors Who Live in my States

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday is Authors Who Live In My State/Country (submitted by Jennifer @ Funk-N-Fiction.) Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

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Book Review : Check & Mate

Whenever I want to read something light, fun, and quirky, I have a tendency to reach for an Ali Hazelwood novel. I enjoy her brand of humor and like reading her portrayal of women in typically male dominated fields. Check & Mate is no exception to these hallmarks of Hazelwood’s writing, as it features a young woman, 18- year-old Mallory Greenleaf, entering the professional chess world.

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Top Ten Tuesday : Books with the Word Dragon in the Title

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday* is Books with the Word “” in the Title (Choose a word and find ten books with that word in the title.) So naturally, I have chosen to feature books with the word dragon in the title. Terribly original, I know. But to make things a little more exciting, I've tried to pick novels with dragons in the title that I've already read and/or reviewed and also are less widely known.

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April 2025 On My Radar

A roundup of book reviews and bookish discussion posts that were on the radar of A Literary Escape during the month of April 2025.

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Book Review : Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore

Every once in a while a book comes along that feels like a warm hug and that's Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore. This novel is a cozy fantasy romance all about the magic of second chances. It features a compelling female protagonist, just enough of a high stakes plot, and a happy ending. Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore…

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Top Ten Tuesday : Books that Surprised Me

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. This week’s theme is books that surprised me in a good or bad way.

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Stellar Blade : Stellar Potential

When I first saw the trailer for Stellar Blade, I was intrigued, mostly in spite of myself. Another game featuring an overly sexualized female protagonist catering to a male audience—do we really need yet another one of those? Well, months later, the demo rolled out, and I played it. To my surprise, I immediately loved the Souls-like gameplay (something I usually despise), the world-building, and was incredibly interested in the story.

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