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Steven J. Mepham

Since 2020, I have been using the Goodreads Reading Challenge as a way to increase the number of books  I read in a year.

For 2023 I set the target as 40 books.

You can also get up to date progress by visiting my Goodreads profile

An Echo Of Things To Come, (The Licanius Triology book 2)
The Licanius Trilogy, book 2
James Islington

In the wake of the devastating attack on Ilin Illan, an amnesty has been declared for all Augurs – finally allowing them to emerge from hiding and openly oppose the dark forces massing against Andarra. However as Davian and his new allies hurry north toward the ever-weakening Boundary, fresh horrors along their path suggest that their reprieve may have come far too late.

In the capital, Wirr is forced to contend with assassins and an increasingly hostile Administration as he controversially assumes the mantle of Northwarden, uncovering a mystery that draws into question everything commonly believed about the rebellion his father led twenty years ago. Meanwhile, Asha begins a secret investigation into the disappearance of the Shadows, determined to discover not only where they went but the origin of the Vessels that created them – and, ultimately, a cure.

And with time against him as he races to fulfill the treacherous bargain with the Lyth, Caeden continues to wrestle with the impossibly heavy burdens of his past. Yet as more and more of his memories return, he begins to realize that the motivations of the two sides in this ancient war may not be as clear-cut as they first seemed…

The Light of All That Falls
The Licanius Trilogy, book 3
James Islington

After a savage battle, the Boundary is whole again – but it may be too late. Banes now stalk the lands of Andarra, and the Venerate have gathered their armies for a final, crushing blow.

In Ilin Illan, Wirr fights to maintain a precarious alliance between Andarra’s factions of power. With dark forces closing in on the capital, if he cannot succeed, the war is lost.

Imprisoned and alone in a strange land, Davian is pitted against the remaining Venerate. As he tries to keep them from undoing Asha’s sacrifice, he struggles to come to terms with his own path and all he has learned about Caeden, the friend he chose to set free.

And finally, Caeden is confronted with the reality of a plan laid centuries ago – heartbroken at how it started and devastated by how it must end.

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol.5
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Born the crown prince of a prosperous kingdom, Xie Lian was renowned for his beauty, strength, and purity. His years of dedication and noble deeds allowed him to ascend to godhood. But those who rise, can also fall…and fall he does, cast from the Heavens again and again and banished to the mortal realm. Eight hundred years after his mortal life, Xie Lian has ascended to godhood for the third time. Now only a lowly scrap collector, he is dispatched to wander the earthly realm to take on tasks appointed by the heavens to pay back debts and maintain his divinity. Aided by old friends and foes alike, and graced with the company of a mysterious young man with whom he feels an instant connection, Xie Lian must confront the horrors of his past in order to dispel the curse of his present

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol.6
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

BODY IN ABYSS, HEART IN PARADISE White No-Face, Xie Lian’s greatest fear and most hated enemy, has arrived…or so it seems. While the ghost with the half-crying, half-smiling mask is somewhere nearby, the creature is elusive as always, taunting Xie Lian from just out of reach and promising the total destruction of everything he holds dear. As Xie Lian confronts the trauma of his last encounter with the terrifying ghost, Hua Cheng will do anything in his power to protect him. But White No-Face’s identity and purpose are not the only mysteries to unravel, as Hua Cheng also has a history in the labyrinthine tunnels beneath Mount Tonglu. Will Xie Lian finally discover the full connection they share―and learn the true depths of Hua Cheng’s devotion?

Sabikui Bisco, Vol. 4
Shinji Cobkubo

A divine flower that eats…mushrooms?! In the heart of Kyushu lies the Six Realms Prison. There, an android with the ability to tame the ravenous Shroom-eating blossom dreams of freedom. For the sake of the Mushroom Keepers‚ Äô way of life, Bisco will have to break into the prison and bust out the one person capable of pruning this problem before it blooms out of control!

Little Mushroom: Revelations
Shishi

With the retrieval of his spore, An Zhe is closer than ever to being discovered as a xenogenic in the Northern Base. As dissident thorns borne from the Garden of Eden pierce through civilization’s peaceful façade, An Zhe takes this opportunity to escape the human base once and for all.

Just one last obstacle stands in his way: Lu Feng. Facing against each other now as human and xenogenic, the two soon find their fates intertwined in this desolate land.

Meanwhile, despite all adversities, scientists are slowly unraveling the mystery behind the xenogenic mutations and the nature of their apocalyptic world–will this become the key to saving mankind or a damnation sealing its fate?

In this decaying universe, it is the tiny little mushroom who will witness humanity’s final trial….

The Eidolon: The Magnus Academy, Book 1
K.D. Edwards

In the epic conclusion to K.D. Edwards’ first blockbuster trilogy in the Tarot Sequence series, audiences followed Rune on a race against time as an age-old threat rose to threaten the city of New Atlantis. Now, for the first time, The Eidolon tells what really happened to Max, Quinn, and Anna as prisoners in the Hourglass Throne’s base of operation.

The Eidolon is the first in a brand-new collection of novels and novellas in the Magnus Academy series. These stories will be told through the various points of view of Rune’s found family, ultimately leading to a planned arc of novels set at the new Magnus Academy.

A Memory of Souls
A chorus of Dragons Book 3
Jenn Lyons

The longer he lives, the more dangerous he becomes . . .

The city of Atrine lies in ruins. And now Relos Var has revealed his plan to free the monstrous god, Vol Karoth, the end of the world is closer than ever.

To buy time for humanity, Kihrin and his friends need to convince a king to perform an ancient ritual. The power released would imprison the god for an age to come. But this may come at too high a price for the King of the Vane, as the ritual would strip his people of their immortality. As a result, some will do anything to prevent this ritual – including assassinating those championing this solution.

Worse, Kihrin must come to terms with a horrifying possibility. It seems his connection to Vol Karoth is growing in strength . . . but what does it mean? And how can Kihrin hope to save his world, when he might be the greatest threat of all?

The House of Always
A chorus of Dragons Book 4
Jenn Lyons

In the aftermath of the Ritual of Night, everything has changed.

The Eight Immortals have catastrophically failed to stop Kihrin’s enemies, who are moving forward with their plans to free Vol Karoth, the King of Demons. Kihrin has his own ideas about how to fight back, but even if he’s willing to sacrifice everything for victory, the cost may prove too high for his allies.

Now they face a choice: can they save the world while saving Kihrin too? Or will they be forced to watch as he becomes the very evil they had all sworn to destroy?

The Discord of Gods
A chorus of Dragons Book 5
Jenn Lyons

The end times have come.

Relos Var’s final plans to enslave the universe are on the cusp of fruition. He believes there’s only one being in existence that might be able to stop him: the demon Xaltorath.

As these two masterminds circle each other, neither is paying attention to the third player on the board, Kihrin. Unfortunately, keeping himself classified in the ‘pawn’ category means Kihrin must pretend to be everything the prophecies threatened he’d become: the destroyer of all, the sun eater, a mindless, remorseless plague upon the land. It also means finding an excuse to not destroy the people he loves (or any of the remaining Immortals) without arousing suspicion.

Kihrin’s goals are complicated by the fact that not all of his ‘act’ is one. His intentions may be sincere, but he’s still being forced to grapple with the after-effects of the corrupted magic ritual that twisted both him and the dragons. Worse, he’s now tied to a body that is the literal avatar of a star – a form that is becoming increasingly, catastrophically unstable. All of which means he’s running out of time.

After all, some stars fade – but others explode.

Godkiller
Godkiller, Book 1
Hannah Kaner

You are not welcome here, godkiller

Kissen’s family were killed by zealots of a fire god. Now, she makes a living killing gods, and enjoys it. That is until she finds a god she cannot kill: Skedi, a god of white lies, has somehow bound himself to a young noble, and they are both on the run from unknown assassins.

Joined by a disillusioned knight on a secret quest, they must travel to the ruined city of Blenraden, where the last of the wild gods reside, to each beg a favour.

Pursued by demons, and in the midst of burgeoning civil war, they will all face a reckoning – something is rotting at the heart of their world, and only they can be the ones to stop it.

The Art of Prophecy
War Arts Saga, Book 1
Wesley Chu

Prophecies don’t make heroes: they only choose them. When Chosen One Jian falls short of his prophesied quest, he must find his own path to greatness.

The prophecy is clear: Wen Jian is the Chosen One, born to defeat the immortal Eternal Khan and save the kingdom. The only problem is that the prophecy is wrong.

Jian has been raised in splendor, trained by the best warriors, and celebrated before a single battle has been won. After all, he’s the chosen one, selected by prophecy to defeat the immortal god-king and free the kingdom for good. But when the prophecy is proven to be incorrect, Jian still has to find a way to succeed―and maybe even become a hero in his own right.

To save the kingdom, an unlikely band of heroes rise: Taishi, an old grandmaster who swore her days of battle were over; Sali, a warrior re-evaluating her allegiances; and Qisami, an assassin with questionable values. Together, the four embark on a journey more wondrous than any prophecy could forsee.

Some Desperate Glory
Emily Tesh

All her life, Kyr has trained for the day she can avenge the destruction of planet Earth. Raised on Gaea Station alongside the last scraps of humanity, she is one of the best warriors of her generation, the sword of a dead planet.

Then Command assigns her brother to certain death and relegates her to the nursery to bear sons, and she knows she must take humanity’s revenge into her own hands. Alongside her brother’s brilliant but seditious friend and a lonely, captive alien, Kyr must escape from everything she’s ever known. If she succeeds, she will find a universe far more complicated than she was taught and far more wondrous than she could ever have imagined

A Court of Thorns and Roses
ACOTAR Book 1
Sarah J Mass

Feyre is a huntress. And when she sees a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she kills the predator and takes its prey to feed herself and her family.

But the wolf was not what it seemed, and Feyre cannot predict the high price she will have to pay for its death…

Dragged away from her family for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding even more than his piercing green eyes suggest.

As Feyre’s feelings for Tamlin turn from hostility to passion, she learns that the faerie lands are a far more dangerous place than she realized. And Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

A Court of Mist and Fury
ACOTAR Book 2
Sarah J Mass

Feyre survived Amarantha’s clutches to return to the Spring Court – but at a steep cost. Though she now possesses the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can’t forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, the mesmerising High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates his dark web of political games and tantalising promises, a greater evil looms – and she might be key to stopping it. But only if she can step into her growing power, heal her fractured soul and have the courage to shape her own future – and the future of a world cloven in two.

A Court of Wings and Ruin
ACOTAR Book 3
Sarah J Mass

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit – and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords and hunt for allies in unexpected places. And her heart will face the ultimate test as she and her mate are forced to question whether they can truly trust each other.

A Court of Frost and Starlight
ACOTAR Book 4
Sarah J Mass

In this companion tale to the bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series, Feyre, Rhys and their friends are working to rebuild the Night Court and the vastly changed world beyond after the events of A Court of Wings and Ruin.
But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated – scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court.

A Court of Silver Flames
ACOTAR Book 5
Sarah J Mass

Nesta Archeron has always been prickly – proud, swift to anger and slow to forgive. And since the war – since being made High Fae against her will – she’s struggled to forget the horrors she endured and find a place for herself within the strange and deadly Night Court.

The person who ignites her temper more than any other is Cassian, the battle-scarred, winged warrior who is there at Nesta’s every turn. But her temper isn’t the only thing Cassian ignites. And when they are forced to train in battle together, sparks become flame.

As the threat of war casts its shadow over them once again, Nesta and Cassian must fight monsters from within and without if they are to stand a chance of halting the enemies of their court. But the ultimate risk will be searching for acceptance – and healing – in each other’s arms.

A Court of Silver Flames
Martha Wells

“I didn’t know you were a… demon.”
“You idiot. I’m the demon.”
Kai’s having a long day in Martha Wells’ WITCH KING….

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?

Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions.

He’s not going to like the answers.

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