A Thousand Nights is a fantastic, not-to-be-missed fantasy novel that I’ve read repeatedly over the last several years and that I strongly recommend to anyone who enjoys this kind of tale. While the story is easily recognizable as a retelling of the Arabian Nights (without the racism and sexism inherent in that text), Shahrazad is…
Alix Harrow’s latest offering, Starling House, transports readers to the heart of Eden, Kentucky, a town wrestling with the ghosts of its past—racism, environmental decay, and the decline of coal mining. Against this backdrop stands Starling House, a foreboding gothic mansion with a sinister reputation. Harrow’s narrative deftly weaves together elements of a hero’s journey…
The heart is a battlefield. All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, she found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power…
Melinda Taub already has the excellent Still Star-Crossed under her belt, so I’m not surprised this take on Pride and Prejudice is playful, well-written, and original. But The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch does a lot more – it makes you rethink Lydia as a character and adds new layers to Austen’s book’s characters…
Sebastian Nothwell’s Fiorenzo is a standalone tale of love and triumph over adversity set in a world inspired by the Venetian Republic in what feels like the late seventeenth/early eighteenth century. The author calls it a “fantasy of manners” – which brings to mind the comedies of manners of that period, with their secret identities,…
The Witches of Bone Hill is a fast-paced, interesting story that moves way too quickly and has way too many moving parts going on at the same time to qualify for an easy recommendation. And yet it’s fun, just the right sort of thing to read as we enter the fall and Halloween looms. Real…
The Forest Grimm takes another modernizing spin through the fairytale world, adding on different sorts of modern magic to the mix as it goes. Kathryn Purdie’s trip into the woods is less enchanting than Sondheim’s, but it’s not as rough a ride as it could have been. Clara is only seventeen years old, but already…
Are you ready to get witchy? Hex Education is a fun, snarky, fast-moving slice of fantasy fiction featuring one winning heroine and some fun twists on witch-related tropes. The leads are quite imperfect and their journey to self-acceptance is quite the interesting ride, but several crucial building blocks are missing from the narrative. Alicia, Katrina,…
Sandhya Menon’s fairytale-based story of a boarding school where magic, true love, and fairytales come true continues apace with DE’s story, Of Dreams and Destiny, which is a take on the legend of Sleeping Beauty. The romance pops, the retelling flows, and Menon’s characters are as worthwhile, even if this isn’t her very best outing….
Twisting the tragic tale of the Habsburg dynasty (which gave the world Marie Antoinette), The Embroidered Book throws potent magic into the existing pile of family tensions, political chess playing, and romantic complications. A few clunky turns of phrase, awkward pacing and a weak magical subplot keep this one from a higher grade, but the…
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