SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French
Julia Kitvaria Sarene
French deserves credit for doing something original with grimdark genre and creating a setting quite different to what you will usually have read.
SPFBO
SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: By Blood, by Salt by J. L. Odom – Review
A beautiful book, beautifully written.
SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: Small Miracles by Olivia Atwater – Review
Do not read this book at 3am whilst suffering from insomnia and then discover there is NO chocolate in the house, in any form!!
SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang – Review
A very well-written story with plenty of atmosphere, and the relationships—both new and old—being particularly well done.
SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: The Thief Who Pulled on Trouble’s Braids by Michael McClung – Review
...a clever, gritty little gem. A witty, tightly written fantasy adventure with a phenomenal lead, great humor, surprising emotional depth, and just enough chaos to keep things unpredictable.
SPFBO Champions League Kick Off
It's June first. It's time for the third round of SPFBO X! It's the 10 year anniversary of SPFBO, and we’re celebrating it with a Champions League round. All 10…
SPFBO Finalist Review: By Blood, by Salt by J. L. Odom
This was my favourite of the SPFBO books by quite some distance. It’s a powerful story about outsiders, how they try to fit in, and how they are treated.
SPFBO Finalist Review: Gates of Hope by J. E. Hannaford
The plot starts with a classic fantasy trope but quickly deepens into something more complex, balancing humor, action, and reflective moments.
SPFBO Finalist Review: Runelight by J. A. Andrews
Also, Kate and Venn's passively antagonistic friendship . . . I love it!!! I wanna be there for ALL their interactions – to adjudicate, or just laugh. Their banter is…
SPFBO Finalist Review: Wolf of Withervale by Joaquín Baldwin
This year's finalists are all big on their worldbuilding but the stand out so far has been The Wolf of Withervale. The author has obviously spent a huge amount of…
SPFBO Finalist Review: By A Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron
I'm a big UF fan and this book certainly ticks a number of boxes of what I love about that sub-genre of SFF
SPFBO Finalist Review: The Oathsworn Legacy by K.R. Gangi
My favourite parts are mostly the mini stories of the quests the brothers completed, and the creatures and characters they met along the way.