This episode gives a quick rundown on my top 8 books of 2023!

Small Gods is one of the two standalone novels in the Discworld series. I had never read anything by Pratchett and before I dove right in I decided I'd dip my toes in. Small Gods centers around a single PoV character named Brutha who is the one true believer in the Great God Om who remains. As a result of a dearth of true believers, despite being the only god allowed in a rather large empire, Om is now trapped in the body of a lowly turtle and will need a nobody named Brutha to help reclaim his place in the pantheon of gods.

This episode talks about the 4 book Sol's Harvest series by MD Presley. This review is spoiler free and only talks about the plot details of book 1. The series is an analogue to the American Civil War with a religion loosely based on the Abrahamic view of a God and a Devil.

Murder at Spindle Manor by Morgan Stang is a SPFBO 9 finalist that was published in 2022 and clocks in at 249 pages long. The book is a gaslamp murder mystery with a lot more of the fantasy element than I expected.

The Last Ranger by JDL Rosell is the first book in the Ranger of the Titan Wilds series. It is a finalist for SPFBO 9. It is 462 pages long and came out in December of 2022. The book is an epic fantasy adventure story that evokes imagery of the Horizon Zero Dawn video games.

Master of the Void by Wend Raven is a SPFBO 9 Finalist published in 2023. It is 523 pages long and is a sweeping coming-of-age journey that follows a cast of misfit friends through times of heartbreak, fear, joy, laughter, failure, and triumph.

In this episode I talk about the 9 books I finished, plus 1 book I DNF during the month of October.

Daughter of the Beast by EC Greaves is a Slavic Fairytale inspired epic fantasy. Published in 2022 it is a finalist for SPFBO 9. If you've ever looked for a story that at times reads like a dark fairytale this just might be your book. Featuring no humans at all.   Author Website https://www.ecgreaves.com/   My other links https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNbX0k_kCZbW7pJx3T-2Oxg https://www.instagram.com/nerdbookreview/

Shadow of a Dead God is the first book in the Mennick Thorn series by Patrick Samphire. The 4th and final book in the series releases on November 3rd. The book is an urban fantasy murder mystery set in a secondary world with roughly Renaissance Era technology with plenty of magic.

Kraken Rider Z is a new book by Dyrk Ashton, the author of the Paternus Trilogy, releasing November 14th 2023. If is a Progression fantasy about sentient dragons and their bonded riders, along with a, you guessed it, kraken! In this review I talk a little bit about Dyrk and his first trilogy before talking about Kraken Rider Z itself.