A few years ago, gigantic circular portals opened up across the Earth and for the first few months they did nothing. Then suddenly they released hordes of monsters and millions died. Since that time we've learned that the portals lead to world fragments with a core that can be destroyed before the monsters reach critical mass and invade Earth. We've also learned that these fragments are rich in valuable minerals and plants, which is a huge help in fighting the monsters, but our best weapons are actually the few humans who have developed Talents. Talents are superpowers that can grow more powerful with use or even gain additional skills. Some can summon an invulnerable shield once a day, manipulate lightning, or move with amazing speed and make up strike teams to destroy the cores. Other Talents aren't combat related, but might be even more valuable, like Adaline's ability to evaluate the importance of what she sees, which allows teams to extract rare minerals and plants. For ten years she has risked her life in the Breaches, but today is her unlucky day. Alone and wounded, she still tries to help a dying humanoid who passes on an unusual inheritance.

Up until now, each book of the Street Rats of Aramoor series has focused on different tribe of kids, and the time has come focus on Ayrion's own tribe, Avalanche. Yes, technically Ayrion started in a different tribe that has already had a book, but let's not quibble right off the bat. This is the finale of the series and Michael Wisehart uses it to bring back some key characters from prior books into one final adventure before Ayrion moves on to become the Guardian Protector of the King. Like a meal full of comfort food in front of a warm fire, this book seems to have everything a fan of the series would want in a finale, but how is the story itself?

This is a long series, and sometimes it gets bogged down in details about cultivation and/or blow by blow action scenes. However, every once in a while Zac learns a bit more about his origins and his connections to both the ancient Limitless Empire, which created the System, and the Technocrats, that would prefer to destroy it. This fifteenth book in the series spends much less time on cultivation and instead makes major advances in both the main plot as well as secondary characters and sub-plots, which has reignited my interest in this series, especially after book fourteen wasn't as exciting as I had hoped it would be.

God's attention seems to be elsewhere and as Lucifer unleashes his minions on Earth, God makes no answer. The year is 1348 and the Black Death is rampant, but that's just a small part of the problem. The war between heaven and hell has spilled over on to Earth and a young girl rich in faith tries to fight back against the horrors. Is it her faith that makes this possible, or is she just as mad as everyone else? Thomas isn't sure, but as a fallen knight who dreams of redemption, he can't help but take up her cause, no matter how annoying she happens to be. This unlikely duo travels around medieval France coming up against one horror after another, and while Thomas tries to solve every problem through killing, Delphine urges peace. They may disagree on the methods for fighting back against Hell's minions, but why is it up to them in the first place? Where is God and why is he allowing this to happen?

The mercenary wonderist Cade, a great term for various forms of magician, and his friend, frenemies, as well as a few random add-ons stepped up to prevent an extra-planar invasion of their world. Too bad they were being used and now instead of a simple invasion the Celestine Plane and Infernal Plane have access to Cade's world and angels and demons are wreaking havoc using mortal lives to keep score. Angry at being tricked, and just angry with everyone in general, the Malevolent Seven have sworn to kick out the celestines and infernals with their newly coined motto "Peace at any price, no matter how many people we have to kill". Does this sequel live up to dark irreverent humor of the original?

I'm not really a fan of vampire movies and TV series and when I do choose to watch one, I am rarely impressed. So I was very surprised when I got into The Originals (back when it was on Netflix) and found myself eagerly looking forward to the next episode. I really enjoyed the series and especially liked when they got creative in the storytelling while staying true to their version of vampire lore. It's based in New Orleans and tells the story of the Mikaelson siblings, Elijah, Klaus, and Rebecca, the first 3 vampires ever created, (hence the name "originals.") This version of New Orleans is also home to werewolves, witches, and humans, although these factions are constantly vying for power and violating the terms of any peace agreements and killing each other off. So, does this 3 book series carry on with the interesting story telling, or is it just a cash grab that drops the name of the series to lure in suckers like me?

The Chronicles of Elantra is one of my favorite series thanks to the colorful variety of races, but Shards of Glass, the first book of the Academia Chronicles, was not my favorite because it focused so much on one of Sagara's creative arcane puzzles and this was one I couldn't quite grasp. So I was pleasantly surprised that Raven and her special "glass" were only a tiny part of this book and that it was much less complicated and made a lot more sense. There are no arcane mysteries here, just Robin attending classes in between dodging assassination attempts while the Chancellor Lanagaros, a dragon, and Teela a Barrani try to figure out how to expose his murderous uncle and get him safely in charge of the potentially world ending Gardianno legacy. Poor Robin would rather just forget all of that and attend classes even if Teela is now one of his instructors.

I'm a big fan of the First Law series and I loved how Joe Abercrombie was able to convince me to root for characters that were often pretty evil and selfish. However, the series quickly taught me that there can't possibly be a good outcome for any of those characters, because that's not how Joe Abercrombie rolls. Yet I continued to hope from book to book, all to no avail. So when I heard he was starting a new series, I was eager to jump into his new grimdark world and hopelessly root for a brand new set of characters in a totally new fantasy setting. However, in The Devils, Joe made some odd choices that impacted my ability to get into this new fantasy world, and I quickly worried that I was going to be the one with the bad outcome this time around.

The prior book in this series ended with the unthinkable, Ace Ryker becoming a Hand of God. James Crowley found it hard enough to believe that he could be given a chance to atone for the sins of his life by serving the White Throne, but Ace Ryker? There wasn't a repentant bone in his body, so it was now more impossible than ever to tell good from evil. Crowley no longer wanted to be part of this eternal battle, but he wasn't ready to spend eternity in hell just yet, as Rosa still needed saving. Unfortunately, Crowley was now on the run from the man who had already killed him once, and he still wasn't sure exactly how he was going to bring Rosa back to the land of the living. The one thing he was sure of, though, is that he would pay any price to make it happen.

Kay's latest historical fantasy is inspired by events in France during the Hundred Years War against England, and it builds on the world first seen in The Lions of Al-Rassan. Here Christians, Jews, and Muslims are represented by the Jaddites, Kindath, and Asharites, although the actual religious beliefs are quite different. Early in the 15th century little magic remains in the world, but there are still some who receive communications from the unseen half-world and a few remnants of the old gods seen in Sarantium (Constantinople). This particular story starts with the brutal assassination of a King's brother. Because this Duke was also acting as regent for the King while he was lost in madness, the desperate Provost pulls the tavern poet Thierry Vallar into the investigation in the hopes that he can ask questions behind the scenes. Thierry would much rather go back to his warm bed, but as he was in the middle of a criminal endeavor that would see him hanged, he has little choice but to assist. But their worst fears are realized because exposing the culprit might throw Feirrere (France) into a civil war, and they already in the process of losing a war against Angland (England).