Fantasy Book Club Series discussion

What books are you reading during the 3rd Quarter of 2025 (July, August, September)? Anything you really liked? Anything that was maybe not so hot? Anything in between? Please let us know all about the good, the bad, and the ugly!

All genres welcome in this topic thread!

So far in July, I’ve read:
Murder on the Serpentine by Anne Perry, the last book in her Charlotte & Thomas Pitt series of historical mysteries, 7.5/10, a nice wrap up to the series.
Lt. Leary, Commanding by David Drake, book 2 in this series, 7.75/10, fast-paced military science fiction.
Legend in Green Velvet by Elizabeth Peters, 5/10. There’s a fair amount of Scottish history crammed in between frantic chases across Edinburgh & the Highlands. The plot is implausible, to say the least, and the characters were almost as ridiculous, but still, it was a fast, fun read.

Wrapping up July:
The Blackhouse (9.5/10) and The Lewis Man (10/10) by Peter May, books 1 & 2 in his Lewis series (the stories mainly take place on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides). Beautifully written with complex, memorable characters.
Signal Moon by Kate Quinn, 8/10. Speculative fiction novella.
The Far Side of the Stars by David Drake, 8/10. Military space SF, action-packed and fun.

I made it to the second book of Codex Alera Academ's Fury and really liked that one (5/5). I have a feeling I know where Butcher is going with this book... I'll have to pick up the next one to find out if I'm right though.

I don't normally read a lot of horror, but I read Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi. It reminded me a lot of IT by Stephen King. If you've read both books, you might see some of the same similarities. I think it might have been his inspiration. Genuinely liked the writing style and the story. 4/5 stars.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett was probably my favorite book in a while. Great mystery, interesting world. (5/5)

August reads:
The Lewis Man by Peter May, 10/10. A finely-crafted story, told in third person in the present day & first person as one of the main characters sifts through his confused memories & relives his past. Painstakingly thorough, ex-police officer Fin Macleod works to solve the many-layered mystery of the identity of body in the peat bog & at whose hands he was murdered. This story is richly human, with hauntingly beautiful descriptive prose & unforgettable characters.
Return to Night by Mary Renault, 5/10. I found this to be an odd book. It tells the story of a woman doctor in her mid-thirties who gets involve with a troubled young man, an aspiring but thwarted actor, in his early twenties, just before the outbreak of WWII. Parts of it felt very true to the time period, yet other parts seemed bizarrely contrived. I will say I have read & enjoyed several of Renault’s historical fiction books, which were quite successful & for which she is best known. This was one of her earlier books when she wrote mostly what were then contemporary romances.
Where the Wandering Ends by Yvette Manessis Corporon, 6.5/10. I recently visited Greece, which drew me to this historical fiction based in Corfu (with scenes in other European countries as well as New York City). I listened to the audiobook & the narrator (Myrto Stylou) was excellent. Strengths: well-researched; evocative prose; unique & likable characters; a balance of humor & gravity. The author really brought the settings & people to life! Weaknesses: very slow pace (almost dragging in parts); difficult to follow the jumps back and forward in time; some side plots felt unnecessary and disruptive to the flow of the main storylines.
Nolyn by Michael J. Sullivan, 8/10, comments in our discussion topic thread for this book.
Baking Bad by Kim M. Watt, 6/10. The mystery was rather simple, obvious, & thin, but as a “cozy” fantasy mystery, I guess that may be typical; it’s not a genre I’ve read before. The characters were likable & colorful and the settings were vivid. As an introductory book into a series (Beaufort Scales), it works well. Overall, a fun, unchallenging read.
The Way to Glory, by David Drake, the 4th book in the Lt. Leary series, 7.5/10. Another fun adventure among the stars. Adele Mundy continues to be my favorite character.
The Chessmen by Peter May, 7/10. Although this book was filled with Peter May’s evocative prose & colorful characters, it seemed less cohesive than the previous two books in the Lewis series. The author uses flashbacks extensively in this series & signals them by switching from third person to first, but the past & present seemed to blur somewhat together. I felt like May was juggling a few too many plot lines & a couple of these stretched my ability to suspend disbelief almost to the breaking point. Still, it was a solid read, atmospheric & complex.
The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home by Joseph Fink, 8/10. This is book 3 in the “Welcome to Night Vale” series (based on the Night Vale podcast)—I was not at all familiar with Night Vale & I received this audiobook as a bonus for doing some market research. It was part historical fiction, part pirate adventure story, & part fantasy/horror novel; a weird mix, I know. What can I say? I enjoyed it.

Currently reading The Strange Nation of Rafael Mendes by Moacyr Scliar & listening to Cold Storage by David Koepp.

I'm trying to get through some books that have been recognized for awards this quarter. Not sure what to read after. Great to hear from other members how their reading is going this quarter.

Here’s what else I read in September:
The Strange Nation of Rafael Mendes by Moacyr Scliar, 1/10. Nope, I just don’t get it. Maybe it’s the translation, maybe it’s me, but nothing about this book works for me. It is 3 stories in one book: a few days in the life of the current Rafael Mendes, whose personal life is a mess & who works at a financial company about to go under because of corruption & embezzlement; the repetitive tales (histories? fables? fantasies?) of Rafael’s supposed ancestors, starting with the Biblical Jonah; and the current Rafael’s father’s story (he’s a physician). All of them are bleak, filled with poor decision-making, religious confusion, romantic missteps, violence, & betrayals. The writing is awkward (could be the translation), with lots of “telling” & not enough “showing”. There are interesting snippets of history but it’s hard to know how much of that is even accurate—there’s not enough context to be able to tell. I finished it because I’m a completist; I kept hoping it would come together, have a resolution, make a statement—something! But nope, it didn’t, at least, not for me.

Farilane by Michael J. Sullivan, 9.5/10. My comments are in our discussion folder about this series (The Rise & Fall).

Cold Storage by David Koepp, 8/10. I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. It’s kind of a SF/horror mix with some interesting characters. I listened to an audio version and the narrator was great!

New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson, 10/10. I liked this book way more than I thought I would. The characters were unique & interesting, the setting (Earth’s own New York City after climate change leads to massively higher ocean levels) was familiar & yet unrecognizably changed, and the plot threads came together in a very satisfying way.
The main characters had their own POV chapters, although a couple pairs of characters shared their chapters (Mutt & Jeff and Stefan & Roberto). Most were in third person, past tense, but Franklin’s were in first person and some were in present tense. I really couldn’t see the reasoning behind this but it did help the chapters stand out from each other.
The author sometimes is criticized for his long “info dumps” or scientific explanations. In this book, those explanations are separated into chapters from the POV of a “citizen” who breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader. The tone of these chapters is conversational, with some dry humor, and I found them both helpful and easy to read.
This book was sobering, even with its flashes of humor, and more than thought-provoking. Highly recommended!

After really liking Nolyn, I decided I would go back and read Theft of Swords. I have since finished that, but I have book ADD, and I'm not sure when I'll get to the next one. I liked Theft of Swords though. I'll make it to these eventually.

September is probably my slowest reading month. My kiddo is a senior in HS and I haven't missed any of his soccer games. 😊

After I finished the Bloodsworn trilogy, I decided lighter books were in order. Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez was a solid 4/5 star read. Quite a few laughs in it, with some real life problems, which she meshes together beautifully.

Last night I finished The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. 5/5 stars. it's not action-packed, but it was beautifully written and I would recommend it. I went into the book knowing nothing about it. I almost never read blurbs or reviews. This book was enchanting if you like descriptions of the world. There was a lot of subtlety in the book as well. Things that were mentioned in passing that turned out to have meaning later.

Christina wrote: "Last night I finished The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern. 5/5 stars."

I have heard good things about this book from friends and other book group folks, similar to the comments you made. I’ll have to keep my eye out for it.