Books by Rating

I rank books out of five stars, judging on overall enjoyment and everything that makes up the novel itself, including cover design, editing and layout. If you would like to discuss the rating I have on any book, please do so on the review post itself.

Three Star Reviews

• Ex Libris – edited by Paula Guran (anthology)
• The Chimes – Anna Smaill
• Coin Heist – Elisa Ludwig
• Curtsies & Conspiracies – Gail Carriger (Finishing School #2)
• Dangerous Games – Jonathan Oliver (anthology)
• The Dinosaur Lords – Victor Milán (The Dinosaur Lords #1)
• The English Girl – Margaret Leroy
• Etiquette & Espionage – Gail Carriger (Finishing School #1)
• Everfair – Nisi Shawl
• Fearsome Magics – Jonathan Strahan (anthology)
• Fuse – Julianna Baggott (Pure #1)
• Gilded Cage – Vic James
• Illusion – Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick #5)
• Kindred (graphic novel) – Damian Duffy, John Jennings
• Labyrinth – Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan)
• Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey – Countess of Carnarvon
• Missing You – Harlan Coben
• The Moonlight War – S.K.S. Perry
• Moscow but Dreaming – Ekaterina Sedia (collection)
• Netherwood – Jane Sanderson
• Outpost – F. T. McKinstry (The Fylking #1)
• Reach for Infinity – edited by Jonathan Strahan (anthology)
• Rebel of the Sands – Alwyn Hamilton
• Revenge – Debra Webb (Faces of Evil #5)
• Secret Lives of Books – Rosaleen Love (Twelve Planets #10)
• Sedition – Katharine Grant
• The Snowbirds – Jim Fitzsimmons
• Someone Else’s Skin – Sarah Hilary
• Something More than Night – Ian Tregillis
• Spice Merchant’s Wife – Charlotte Betts
• The Stranger – Harlan Coban
• Steelheart – Brandon Sanderson (Reckoners #1)
• Witch World – Andre Norton (The Estcarp Cycle #1)

Four Star Reviews

• 2012 – edited by Alisa Krasnostein & Ben Payne (anthology)
• Agents of Dreamland – Caitlín R. Kiernan
• The Apothecary’s Daughter – Charlotte Betts
• The Beast’s Garden – Kate Forsyth
• The Book of Life – Deborah Harkness (All Souls Trilogy #3)
• Broadchurch – Erin Kelly
• The Broken Eye – Brent Weeks (Lightbringer #3)
• Caraval – Stephanie Garber
• City of Wolves – Willow Palecek
• The Cracks in the Kingdom – Jaclyn Moriarty (The Colours of Madeleine #2)
• Cursed – Benedict Jacka (Alex Veras #2)
• Daughter of the Territory– Jacqueline Hammar
• Deception – Barry Jonsberg (Pandora Jones #2)
• The Devil in the Marshalsea – Antonia Hodgson (Tom Hawkins #1)
• The Dinosaur Knights – Victor Milán (The Dinosaur Lords #2)
• The Elementary Sherlock Holmes – Portico
• Epic – John Joseph Adams (anthology)
• Every Heart a Doorway – Seanan McGuire (Every Heart a Doorway #1)
• Every Move – Ellie Marney (Every #3)
• The Falcon Throne – Karen Miller (The Tarnished Crown Quintet #1)
• Fangirl – Rainbow Rowell
• Fantasy-Faction – Marc Aplin (anthology)
• Fated – Benedict Jacka (Alex Veras #1)
• The Female Man – Joanna Russ
• Firefight – Brandon Sanderson (Reckoners #2)
• The Girl in the Road – Monica Byrne
• The Girl with No Hands – Angela Slatter (collection)
• Golden Boys – Sonya Hartnett
• Guardian – Jo Anderton (Veiled Worlds #3)
• The House of Lies – Renee McBryde
• The Inside Man – Jeff Abbott (Sam Capra #4)
• John Saturnall’s Feast – Lawrence Norfolk
• Let’s Get Lost – Adi Alsaid
• The Long Way Home – Louise Penny (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #10)
• Lotus Blue – Cat Sparks
• Magic City: Recent Spells – edited by Paula Guran (anthology)
• Magic Comes to Whiteport – S.J. Madill
• Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend – Matthew Green
• Nightmares – edited by Ellen Datlow (antholoy)
• Nightsiders – Sue Isle (Twelve Planets #1)
• No One Left to Tell – Karen Rose
• Otherbound – Corinne Duyvis
• The Painter’s Apprentice – Charlotte Betts
• The Palace Job – Patrick Weekes
• Pantomime – Laura Lam (Pantomime #1)
• Prisoner of Night and Fog – Anne Blankman
• Pure – Julianna Baggott (Pure #1)
• Resistance – Mikhaeyla Kopievsky (Divided Elements #1)
• The Return Man – V. M. Zito
• Risuko – David Kudler
• Rooms – Lauren Oliver
• The Scriptlings – Sorin Suciu
• Siege and Storm – Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha #2)
• Skin Game – Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files #15)
• Solaris Rising 3 – edited by Ian Whates (anthology)
• Some Fine Day – Kat Ross
• Sovereign – April Daniels (Nemesis #2)
• Squid’s Grief – D. K. Mok
• Stonemouth – Iain Banks
• Super Sushi Ramen Express – Michael Booth
• Swimming to Tokyo – Brenda St. John Brown
• Thief’s Magic – Trudi Canavan (Millennium’s Rule #1)
• Thief of Lives – Lucy Sussex
• Tomorrow’s Kin – Nancy Kress (Yesterday’s Kin #1)
• Top Gear Years – Jeremy Clarkson
• The Uninvited – Liz Jensen
• The Very Best of Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume 2 – edited by Gordon van Gelder
• Vision in Silver – Anne Bishop (The Others #3)
• The Visitors – Sally Beauman
• The Water Knife – Paolo Bacigalupi
• Water So Deep – Nichole Giles
• The Winner’s Curse – Marie Rutkoski (The Winner’s Trilogy #1)
• The Wizard’s Promise – Cassandra Rose Clarke (The Hanna Duology #1)
• The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2010 – Liz Gryzb (anthology)
• The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2011 – Liz Gryzb (anthology)

Five Star Reviews

• 1342 Facts to Leave You Flabbergasted – QI
• After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall – Nancy Kress
• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry – Neil DeGrasse Tyson
• Asymmetry – Thoraiya Dyer (Twelve Planets #8) (collection)
• Bad Power – Deborah Biancotti
• Backcountry– D. E. McDonald
• Barrayar – Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga #2)
• Bellwether – Connie Willis
• The Biography of James Tiptree Jr – Julie Phillips
• Bitter Seeds – Ian Tregillis (Milkweed Triptych #1)
• The Blankmail Blend – Livia Day (Café La Femme #1.5)
• Blackout – Mira Grant (Newsflesh #3)
• The Casual Vacancy – J. K. Rowling
• Caution: Contains Small Parts – Kirstyn McDermott (Twelve Planets #9)
• Cherry Crow Children – Deborah Kalin (Twelve Planets #12)
• A Closed and Common Orbit – Becky Chambers (Wayfarers #2)
• Cloudwish – Fiona Wood
• Cold Comfort – David McDonald
• Cold-Forged Flame – Marie Brennan
• The Coldest War – Ian Tregillis (Milkweed Triptych #2)
• A Corner of White – Jaclyn Moriarty (The Colours of Madeleine #1)
• Cracklescape – Margo Lanagan
• Cranky Ladies of History – edited by Tansy Rayner Roberts and Tehani Wessely (anthology)
• Crocs in the Cabinet – Ben Smee, Christopher A. Walsh
• Crossroads of Canopy – Thoraiya Dyer (Titan’s Forest #1)
• The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith (Cormoran Strike #1)
• The Darwin Elevator – Jason M. Hough (Dire Earth Cycle #1)
• Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)
• Daughters of the Storm – Kim Wilkins (Blood and Gold #1)
• Days of Blood and Starlight – Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2)
• Deadline – Mira Grant (Newsflesh #2)
• Defying Doomsday – edited by Tsana Dolichva & Holly Kench (anthology)
• Den of Wolves – Juliet Marillier (Blackthorn & Grim #3)
• The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories – edited by Mahvesh Murad & Jared Shurin (anthology)
• The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart – Stephanie Burgis
• Dreams of Gods and Monsters – Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3)
• Drowned Vanilla – Livia Day (Café La Femme #2)
• Eliza Rose – Lucy Worsley
• The Emperor’s Soul – Brandon Sanderson
• Epilogue – Tehani Wessley (anthology)
• Ethan of Athos – Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan)
• Every Word – Ellie Marney (Every #2)
• Feed – Mira Grant (Newsflesh #1)
• The Female Factory – Lisa L. Hannett & Angela Slatter (Twelve Planets #11)
• The Final Empire – Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn #1)
• Focus 2012 – compiled by Tehani Wessely (anthology)
• Fool’s Assassin – Robin Hobb (The Fitz and the Fool #1)
• Fool’s Quest – Robin Hobb (The Fitz and the Fool #2)
• The Gathering Dark – Leigh Bardugo (The Grisha #1)
• Goodhouse – Peyton Marshall
• The Harbors of the Sun – Martha Wells (Books of the Raksura #5)
• Her Smoke Rose Up Forever – James Tiptree Jr. (collection)
• The Hero and the Crown – Robin McKinley (Damar #1)
• Hey there, Dumpling! – Kenny Lao
• Hold Me – Courtney Milan (Cyclone #2)
• Home – Nnedi Okorafor (Binti #2)
• The House of Silk – Anthony Horowitz
• I Was Here – Gayle Forman
• Insert Title Here – Tehani Wessely (anthology)
• Investigating Sherlock– Nikki Stafford
• Invisible Planets – edited by Ken Liu (anthology)
• Jane Austen at Home – Lucy Worsley
• The Just City – Jo Walton (Thessaly #1)
• Kaleidoscope – edited by Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios (anthology)
• Kid Dark Against the Machine – Tansy Rayner Roberts
• The Lascar’s Dagger – Glenda Larke (The Forsaken Lands #1)
• The Last Stormlord – Glenda Larke (Watergivers Trilogy #1)
• Led Astray – Kelley Armstrong (collection)
• The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch (The Gentleman Bastard Sequence #1)
• Love and Romanpunk – Tansy Rayner Roberts (collection)
• The Mad Scientist’s Daughter – Cassandra Rose Clarke
• The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination – John Joseph Adams (anthology)
• Medalon – Jennifer Fallon (The Demon Child #1)
• The Mountains of Mourning – Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan)
• Mr Kiss and Tell – Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham (Veronica Mars #2)
• Nasty Women – edited by 404 Ink (anthology)
• A Natural History of Dragons – Marie Brennan
• Nexus – Ramez Naam
• The New Voices of Fantasy – edited by Jacob Weisman & Peter S. Beagle (anthology)
• Parasite – Mira Grant (Parasitology #1)
• The Path of Flames – Phil Tucker (The Chronicles of the Black Gate #1)
• Phantazein – edited by Tehani Wessely (anthology)
• The Quarry – Iain Banks
• Rat Queens Vols 1 & 2 – Kurtis J. Weibe & Roc Upchurch (graphic novel)
• Red Seas Under Red Skies – Scott Lynch (The Gentleman Bastard Sequence #1)
• Red Sister – Mark Lawrence (Book of the Ancestor #1)
• Redshirts – John Scalzi
• Roses and Rot – Kat Howard
• Seed to Harvest – Octavia E. Butler (Patternmaster #1-4)
• Shadowplay – Laura Lam (Pantomime #2)
• Shards of Honor – Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga #1)
• Showtime – Narrelle M. Harris
• Sisters of the Fire – Kim Wilkins (Black and Gold #2)
• Slipping – Lauren Beukes
• St Martin’s Press Sampler – 2015
• Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
• Storm – Tim Minchin (graphic novel)
• Strange the Dreamer – Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer #1)
• The Sword and Sorcery Anthology – edited by David G. Hartwell and Jacob Weisman (anthology)
• Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil – Melina Marchetta
• Time Salvager – Wesley Chu
• A Trifle Dead – Livia Day (Café La Femme #1)
• Troubadour – Isolde Martyn
• Two Hundred and Twenty-One Baker Streets – edited by David Thomas Moore (anthology)
• The Uncertain Places – Lisa Goldstein
• The Very Best of Tad Williams – Tad Williams (collection)
• Vestigial Tales – Laura Lam (short stories)
• Vicious – V. E. Schwab
• The Vor Game – Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga)
• Voyage of the Basilisk – Marie Brennan (Memoirs of Lady Trent #2)
• The Waking Land – Callie Bates
• What a Croc! – The NT News
• What If? – Randall Munroe
• A Wizard of Earthsea – Ursula K. Le Guin (Earthsea Cycle #1)
• Wolf by Wolf – Ryan Graudin (Wolf by Wolf #1)
• Woodstock: Master of Disguise – Charles Schulz
• The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Novellas 2016 – edited by Paula Guran
• Zeroes – Scott Westerfeld, Deborah Biancotti, Margo Lanagan