Book Review: Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik

 Book title: Throne of Jade
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Historical fantasy
Published: April 25, 2006
398 pages
My rating: 4.5/5

“Those men want to take Laurence from me, and put him in prison, and execute him, and I will not let them, ever, and I do not care if Laurence tells me not to squash you.”

A Chinese delegation has come to London to demand the return of the Chinese dragon Temeraire to his native land. Unwilling to part with Temeraire, his handler Captain Will Laurence must join him on a perilous sea voyage to the Far East in an attempt to convince the Emperor to let Temeraire stay in Britain.

Throne of Jade is the second book in Naomi Novik’s historical fantasy series Temeraire set during the Napoleonic Wars and featuring dragons. I listened to the audio book of the first book, His Majesty’s Dragon, a few weeks ago. This was also an audio book listen, and I will be continuing to listen to audio books of this series as long as they are available on my library app. I’m really enjoying this series so far! 

Book Review: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands
by Heather Fawcett

 Book title: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands
Author: Heather Fawcett
Genre: Historical fantasy
Published: January 16, 2024
337 pages
My rating: 4/5

“I’m afraid I have not gotten over my resentment of him for saving me from the snow king’s court in Ljosland earlier this year, and have made a solemn vow to myself that I shall be the one to rescue him from whatever faerie trouble we next find ourselves in. Yes, I realize this is illogical, given that it requires Wendell to end up in some dire circumstance, which would ideally best be avoided, but there it is. I’m quite determined.”

Emily Wilde, professor of faerie folklore, has just published her comprehensive encyclopaedia of fairies with the help of a fellow scholar and infuriatingly charming faerie king Wendell Bambleby. Her new research project is a map of the faerie realms, but her research is interrupted when Wendell’s murderous stepmother sends assassins to kill him. In order to free him from his family’s sinister plans, Emily and Wendell must travel to the Austrian Alps in search of a door to Wendell’s realm.

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is the second book in Heather Fawcett’s light academia fantasy series. I read the first book, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, a year ago, and I enjoyed it a lot. The second book was as charming as the first one. I still loved Emily’s character and her diary-style narration. One thing I liked more in this installment than in the first book is that I didn’t find this book as heavy-handed in Emily’s autism-coded representation. That may be due to the fact that we already know the character, so there is no need to over-explain her personal quirks.

Book Review: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping
by Sangu Mandanna

 Book title: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Genre: Cozy fantasy
Published: July 15, 2025
352 pages
My rating: 3.5/5

“There is always a little magic in the heart of a person who loves it.”

Sera Swan used to be the most powerful young witch in Britain, until an illegal resurrection spell caused her to lose most of her magic and be evicted from the magical Guild. Now at thirty, she runs an inn with the help of what little magic she has left. When she learns about an ancient spell that might help her restore her powers, she turns to magical historian Luke Larsen to ask for his help. Together with Sera’s weird found family, they set about to reclaim Sera’s lost magic.

 A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is Sangu Mandanna’s standalone adult cozy fantasy with a strong romantic subplot. I listened to it as an audiobook, and I thought the narrator did a great job in bringing the characters to life. The writing style was witty and bantery – a little too witty to my taste at points. Not every sentence needs to try that hard to be witty. I find that this type of bantery narration so typical of romantic comedy and chick lit can get on my nerves if I consume too much of it. But if you love that style of narration, you’ll probably enjoy this book! 

September Wrap-Up and October Hopefuls

September reads

 

September Wrap-Up

• Finished: 16
• Started but not finished: 1
• Total pages read: 3,501
• Average rating: 3.8

I did not expect to finish this many books in September! I read more e-books, audiobooks, and nonfiction books than I had planned. Out of the sixteen books I finished, nine were nonfiction and seven were fiction. I’ve written reviews for four of the fiction books: Marie Brennan’s adult fantasy A Natural History of Dragons (5/5 stars), Sabaa Tahir’s young adult fantasy An Ember in the Ashes (3/5 stars), Rachel Ann Hubert’s adult fantasy The Debt Collector (4/5 stars), and Hayley Gelfuso’s adult historical fantasy The Book of Lost Hours (5/5 stars). The two five-star fantasy novels were so good that I’m not sure which I liked more!

Book Review: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

 Book title: His Majesty’s Dragon
Author: Naomi Novik
Genre: Historical fantasy
Published: January 3, 2006
356 pages
My rating: 5/5

“I am afraid I am not rich enough a partner for you; I will not be able to give you a heap of gold to sleep on.”

“I should rather have you than a heap of gold, even if it were very comfortable to sleep on,” Temeraire said.

During the Napoleonic Wars, British sea captain Will Laurence captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched Chinese dragon egg. When the dragon Temeraire hatches, he chooses Laurence as his handler, and Laurence must leave his ship behind. He and Temeraire join the Aerial Corps, taking a crash course in aerial battle tactics before Napoleon’s forces threaten to invade Britain.

His Majesty’s Dragon in the first book in Naomi Novik historical fantasy series Temeraire. This was another audio book read for me, and although I wasn’t a huge fan of the audio book narrator, the story eventually won me over.

Book Review: The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso

The Book of Lost Hours by Hayley Gelfuso

 Book title: The Book of Lost Hours
Author: Hayley Gelfuso
Genre: Historical fantasy
Published: August 26, 2025
391 pages
My rating: 5/5

“A memory, once it’s over, is never exactly what it was when it was happening. Whatever comes later changes the meaning of it.”

Eleven-year-old Lisavet Levy finds herself trapped in a vast library where memories are stored in books. As she grows up among the memories, she discovers that government agents are destroying memories to maintain their preferred version of history. She attempts to salvage as many memories as she can, but when an American agent Ernest Duquesne is sent to stop her, she must risk everything to change history itself.

The Book of Lost Hours is Hayley Gelfuso’s adult historical fantasy and an instant five star read for me. I can already tell that this will be one of my favorite books this year. I listened to it as an audio book, but I wish I had this as a physical book so I could have savored it longer! That being said, the audio book narrator did a great job, and I enjoyed the listening experience.

Book Review: The Debt Collector by Rachel Ann Hubert

The Debt Collector by Rachel Ann Hubert

 Book title: The Debt Collector
Author: Rachel Ann Hubert
Genre: Fantasy
Published: December 21, 2022
371 pages
My rating: 4/5

Evening had fallen, and I was already running late. I hurried past a mess of ivy-covered stone shops, their windows boarded up with roughly cut black wood from the forest to the east. I followed a path that seemed to narrow as I drew further in, carefully hurrying as I darted down a slope in the road that took me deeper into the city.

I glanced at my wrist and winced when I saw the flashing red coordinates.

Not much further now.

Poverty and desperation reign in Adelliah’s world. Like many people, she has made a deal with a money lender. The loan terms are generous: a lifetime to repay what was borrowed. But if a person dies before the loan is repaid, it’s Adelliah’s job as a debt collector to make sure that the loan doesn’t go unpaid. Her job is to collect the dead people’s souls to pay for their debts. Until one night, someone collects the soul first, and she must find out who did it and why.

The Debt Collector is an indie book and the first volume in Rachel Ann Hubert’s fantasy series Rise of the Tarnished. I was expecting a gritty urban fantasy-esque story, but this book wasn’t exactly what I expected. The first chapters focus on Adelliah’s work as a debt collector in several cities of the fantasy world. (As a sidenote, I wish the book would have had a map. There were quite a few different places to keep track of.) I really enjoyed these urban settings and the new characters Adelliah meets along the way.