The Dragon and the Blade Saint: This Isn’t Where We End Vol. 1 by Garry: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Dragon and the Blade Saint by Garry

This is a light novel with a time travel/transmigration plot. Mitaelshuroxa, an Elder Dragon, has lost bitterly at the hands of the Blade Saint who has butchered her entire people. When he goes for a killing blow, she activates a device that allows her to jump back in time. She intends to kill him before he has a chance to become so powerful even a magnificent Elder Dragon cannot defeat him.

She finds herself on the grounds of a magic academy, in a realm with no dragons, 17 years in the past, still badly hurt and trapped in human form, with almost no mana to defend herself. She’s rescued by Karen, a Guardian (in training) who offers her an asylum at the school. The only catch is, she has to pretend to be a human named El—and wear a dog collar that restricts her power. It’s almost too much to bear, but she doesn’t have to endure it long, because the Blade Saint goes to the same school and a practice duel is conveniently set between them, so she can kill him and leave. Things don’t go as planned though, and instead, she finds herself fighting a stronger enemy with him.

This was a good start to a series, fast-paced and humorous, with no romantic plot whatsoever so far. There are several POV characters, each with their own mission and distinctive voice. El was grumpy and cranky, though she was only 15 in her own realm too, and powerful despite the restrictions. Karen was saved from being annoying by her sense of humour. Villains were truly bad, with their POV chapters too.

The first half had all the annoyances of a light novel with details changing between one scene and the next, and girls’ obsessing with the size of their boobs, but when the Blade Saint, Ca’al finally showed up, the narrative changed gears. He had a good, tragic backstory that was written like it belonged to a different book, and it elevated the story from three stars to four. Fight scenes on the latter half of the book were well-written too.

The volume ends at a natural place with no cliffhangers. But the epilogue sets the stage for the next book, revealing a new villain. I might read more (if there is more), but the first volume formed a satisfying whole, so I can leave it at this too.

There are no translation notes, so this appears to be an English original. I don’t know if the author is western or Japanese, but they can write in the style of light novels well.  

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

How to Fake It in Society by K.J. Charles: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

How to Fake It in Society by KJ Charles

K.J. Charles has a skill of writing historical romances of ordinary people who are interesting without fancy titles or high social status. She gives her characters skills and occupations that are unique and meaningful for the plot instead of being mere gimmicks. And her gay historical romances never solely revolve around the fear of being found out but have their unique obstacles on the way to happily ever after.

How to Fake It in Society is about two men who know they’re not worthy of being loved. One because he’s been brought up to feel insignificant, and the other because he knows his entire life is a lie. They come together at the cross-roads in both of their lives, and each turns out to be exactly what the other needs in his life. But the lies are there and they’re not easy to forgive, as they’re exactly the kind that makes the other realise how unworthy of being loved he is. It takes a drastic turn for the two to find their happily ever after.

Titus Pilcrow has made a meagre living as a colourist, someone who makes oil and watercolours. But now he’s about to lose his shop, because his vindictive ex is his landlord. But his fate takes a drastic turn, when his elderly client pressures him to marry her on her deathbed so that her unworthy nephew won’t inherit a penny. And then she dies, leaving him a fortune.

Enter Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte, who had quite counted on that fortune. He has a moneylender at his neck, and he needs funds fast. But instead of asking for money from Titus, he ends up befriending him. And it’s an excellent friendship that gives Titus much needed self-confidence and happiness, while making Nico feel like he isn’t a complete scammer. And then it all goes wrong, with no easy way out to happiness.

This was a delightful romance. I loved both men, their unique stories and especially Titus’ enthusiasm for colours. The detailed stories about different colours never felt stamped on just so the author could show her research. They had a role in the story, up to the climax. Bad guys had their comeuppances and good guys got everything lovely. The men came together in the end on their own terms, without lies or compromises. The reader can be sure that their union will last.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Platform Decay by Martha Wells: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

Platform Decay is book 8 in the Murderbot Diaries. Like most books in the series, it’s more a long novella that only took four hours to read, but it’s a complete and satisfying story, with no cliffhanger ending.

Murderbot has arrived on a humongous planet-circling torus to free Dr Mensah’s family members Farai, Sofi and Naja, who have been captured by Barish-Estranza corporation in retaliation to events in the previous book. They’re already in a safehouse. Murderbot simply has to get there and take them safely back to their escape shuttle. But things get immediately complicated, because the person who has been helping them wants Murderbot to save other people too, and they’re in a completely different part of the torus, to a wrong direction from the shuttle.

The rescue mission takes them through different zones of the huge torus, some of which are civilised and some that are more like the Wild West. Some zones belong to B-E, others don’t, but that doesn’t stop the corporation from chasing them. Transportation turns out to be the greatest problem though. Murderbot isn’t happy with having clingy humans and their emotions to account for. It’s even less thrilled with its own new emotion module that keeps interrupting at worst possible moments.

This was an exciting flight through imaginative environments. Murderbot was mostly its sarcastic self again, with no imminent mental breakdowns anymore, as the emotion module did its job. It was trying new things like direct communication, which went about as well as one can imagine. And it realises that having some emotions isn’t all that bad, and sometimes it’s nice to be thanked and praised. Especially if it comes from small children.

The story isn’t entirely satisfying emotionally though. The setting is new, and the characters are again people the reader hasn’t really met before. They turn out to be nice additions, but the emotional connection isn’t there, like with Mensah, Amena or ART. Their interactions with Murderbot weren’t as funny or poignant either, though an understanding formed between them in the end. But there was Three, the SecUnit Murderbot freed, exercising its free will with unpredictable results. It was nice to follow the bond between the two. And the ending was satisfying, leaving everyone in a good place. I hope we’ll get more books soon.

Out Law by Jim Butcher: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Out Law by Jim Butcher

Out Law is book number 18.75 in Dresden Files series, an odd number considering there isn’t a book n:o 18.5 and it’s a long novella of almost 200 pages. I hadn’t read book 18, Twelve Months, which came out this January (2026), or the novella The Law (2022), which apparently set the stage for this one, and it’s been ages since I read the previous full book, Battle Ground, which came out in 2020. There were a lot I didn’t remember and a lot that had happened in Harry’s life since then, but I was able to read this perfectly fine without knowing all the details. Though now I’m spoiled for some of them, should I go and read the books I skipped.

Harry owes the crime boss Marcone a favour. Marcone decides to collect. A goon of his, Tripp Gregory, wants to get out of the life of crime by starting a charity to help children. But he’s gone about it in a very gangster way, which has landed him in trouble with the IRS, and a bookie who won’t pay up his winnings. Marcone wants Harry to help. Harry is reluctant, because he doesn’t like Tripp. But Marcone appeals to his moral core: you don’t always only get to help the people you like or who deserve your help.

What starts as a straightforward case gets a supernatural twist when someone sends a demonic entity to try and kill Tripp. It turns out, Harry has battled the entity before, and it’s kind of his fault that it’s on the loose. So, now it’s personal.

This was a good and compact, but full story with proper three acts and a good story arc. The old Harry was back, a bit grumpy but one that isn’t crushed with grief, guilt and PTSD. There were funny moments, and good banter. There were many life lessons delivered to Tripp who took them like a five-year-old who has never considered moral questions before. The enemy was powerful, but not overly so; Harry was powerful, but not overly so. I liked this. It returned my love for the series and I might continue with it again.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An Accident of Dragons by Cheri Radke: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

An Accident of Dragons by Cheri Radke

I went into this book hoping for pleasant cozy fantasy with some adventure in the mix. I definitely got that. Just not the way I thought based on the book description, which is a bit misleading. But then again, so is Teddy, the book’s narrator. It’s not entirely cozy in its details either (some gory stuff in the mix), but I’m not a purist when it comes to genre conventions. I just allowed the story to take me where it wanted to go, and I suggest other readers do the same, as it’s definitely not where they expect it to lead.

An Accident of Dragons takes place in Summer. It’s an island where everything has its place and nothing ever changes. The state of things is maintained by Summer, a huge ancient dragon that lives in the caves beneath the island. And the island is ruled by Summer, the dragon’s caretaker who is bonded with her. Much is made about confusing the three throughout the story.

The position of the caretaker is hereditary, the next ruler inheriting some attributes already at birth that allows them to connect with the dragon. But Jack, the previous Lord Summer, had rebelled against becoming Summer and had died without an heir. To everyone’s surprise, the dragon has chosen Teddy, Jack’s kept man, as the next caretaker.

The book starts six years after that. Teddy has mostly settled into his new position as a ruler that he never thought to become. He’s an outsider to Summer, and has never had a place there, because everyone’s place is set by the dragon and nothing ever changes. Unlike Jack, he’s dutifully married a nice widow and managed to produce an heir despite definitely preferring men, and now maintains cordial if distant relationship with his wife and stepson while doting on his daughter Zinnia, who is five.

And then Zinnia is abducted by people from the mainland, where the people of Summer seldom go, because Summer the dragon doesn’t want them to leave. Unlike on Summer, things change on the continent. A cult is rising there that is utilising dragons’ powers to subjugate everyone. And now they want a dragon’s egg. Summer’s egg.

Teddy is almost forty, not very strong despite the dragon altering his physique a little, and a dandy who prefers fancy clothing and parties to heroics. But he doesn’t hesitate to go after his daughter. With him is the entire navy of Summer (three ships) and his stepson Brook who dreams of seeing the world. Turns out, rescuing Zinnia is the easy part. Defeating a cult that wants Summer—the dragon and island both—is another matter.

This was a delightful read. It’s a book that firmly stands with the voice of its narrator, Teddy, and it does it with great flair. He addresses the reader very directly and with familiarity, but it isn’t until the very end that we learn he’s talking to his children. He has a delightful voice, a rather straightforward outlook on life, and no misconceptions about his importance, even though he’s the ruler of the island. Slowly, we learn why that is the case. But he’s a bit unreliable narrator. Or rather, he alludes to events of the past that give the reader one notion, only to tell the full story later that reveals a different picture.

Teddy is an outsider, made evident because he looks different. It’s never stated outright, but everyone on the island is white and he’s Black, or their world’s equivalent, as skin colour isn’t mentioned, only shown on the book’s cover. But it’s not an issue to anyone; this isn’t a book about race or racism. That Teddy is gay isn’t an issue either, or that he maintains relationships even though he’s married. Everyone does the same, his wife included. Teddy has an odd romance with a married father of two throughout the book—odd because Teddy doesn’t really like him (although it turns out to be a very good relationship.) But this isn’t a gay romance either—though there’s room for it.

This is mostly a book about becoming, and accepting oneself. Teddy realises that he’s never really accepted that he’s Lord Summer, and has only waited for his daughter to take over. He’s never really accepted that he’s a father to Brook too, and that he has a wife who has her own needs. It’s about finding the family he already has. Teddy who returns to Summer is different than Teddy who left. The ending is satisfying, but there’s room for more adventures. I’d definitely read them.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.