SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang – Review
Julia Kitvaria Sarene
"It’s one of those rare books that transforms as you read it, and then transforms you in turn."
Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off (SPFBO)
SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: The Lost War by Justin Lee Anderson – Review
A wonderful mix of mystery, adventure and heart. It captures the spirit of old-school fantasy while keeping a modern warmth that makes it easy to love.
SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: Where Loyalties Lie by Rob J. Hayes – Review
It is sharp without being flowery and keeps the focus where it belongs, on the characters and their choices.
SPFBO 10 Champions’ League: The Grey Bastards by Jonathan French
French deserves credit for doing something original with grimdark genre and creating a setting quite different to what you will usually have read.
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 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…