Physical Magic by William C. Tracy – SPFBO #11 Semi-Finals Review
Julia Kitvaria Sarene
A thoughtful, inclusive fantasy with a strong emotional core, a distinctive setting, and a protagonist whose struggle with self-worth feels honest and earned.
2026
Of Mages and Makers by Rel Carroll – SPFBO #11 Semi-Finals Review
Steampunk, chicanery, and robbery all collude to deliver a romance that is lighthearted, but which emphasizes a lesson in consent.
City of Stone by K. T. Holder – SPFBO #11 Semi-Finals Review
Overall, this is a book with a solid foundation, a lot of heart, and characters I genuinely enjoyed spending time with.
Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off #11: The Seventh and Final Fall
And that is it for our cut posts! Thank you once more to every author who entered and had the courage to put their work in front of us. We…
Try This Instead: Children’s and YA Lit Recommendations
Aly Noel
A lot of readers carry a “magical orphan child who goes to school and defeats the evil villain with help from their found family, as the prophecy foretold” shaped hole…
Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off #11: The Sixth Fall
We are nearing the end of the cut posts for this year's Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO)! Today we say goodbye to three more books in our Sixth Fall.
Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee – Review
Summer Hanford
Sixteen-year-old Jun dreams of proving his worth as a warrior in the elite Guardian’s Tournament, held every six years to entrust the magical Scroll of Earth to a new protector.…
Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off #11: The Fifth Fall
We are deeper into June and deep into the cuts for this year's Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO)! Today we bid farewell to three more books in our Fifth Fall.
Iron Prince by Bryce O’Connor and Luke Chmilenko – Review
Christopher Keene
Reidon was born weak, sickly, and small. Afflicted with a painful disease and abandoned by his parents because of it, he has had to fight tooth and nail for every…
Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off #11: The Fourth Fall
June is here, and so is another round of cuts in this year's Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO)! Today we are saying goodbye to three more books
Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence – Review & Interview
Stuart Cripps-Schnoor
Daughter of Crows is an unrelenting, naked depiction of humanity at its worst, but also a fierce reminder of what survives it. It is a story of stolen innocence, brutal…
Charms, Charts, and Conspiracies by David Green – Review
Charms, Charts, and Conspiracies is cosy fantasy doing exactly what the genre does best: creating a world so warm and full of good people that you feel the loss of…