Tag: fantasy

Book Review: A Flame in the North, by Lilith Saintcrow

Image belongs to Orbit Books.

Title:  A Flame in the North    
Author: Lilith Saintcrow    
Genre: Fantasy     
Rating:  3.8 out of 5

The Black Land is spent myth. Centuries have passed since the Great Enemy was slain. Yet old fears linger, and on the longest night of the year, every village still lights a ritual fire to banish the dark.

That is Solveig’s duty. Favored by the gods with powerful magic, Sol calls forth flame to keep her home safe. But when her brother accidentally kills a northern lord’s son, she is sent away as weregild—part hostage, part guest—for a year and a day.

The further north Sol travels, the clearer it becomes the Black Land is no myth. The forests teem with foul beasts. Her travel companions are not what they seem, and their plans for her and her magic are shrouded in secrecy.

With only her loyal shieldmaid and her own wits to reply upon, Sol must master power beyond her imagination to wrest control of her fate. For the Black Land’s army stirs, ready to cover the world in darkness—unless Sol can find the courage to stop it.

They thought the old ways were dead. But now, the Enemy awakens…

I love the Norse-inspired mythos of this story, but it felt very, very slow. Sol and her shieldmaiden, Arn, were great characters, but everyone else sort of blurs together into a hazy backdrop. I couldn’t keep them straight, even the Elders. The worldbuilding and setting were fantastic and well-done, but everything else sort of dragged.

Lilith Saintcrow is a bestselling author. A Flame in the North is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherland, by Heather Fawcett

Image belongs to Random House-Ballantine, Del Rey.

Title:  Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherland      
Author: Heather Fawcett    
Genre: Fantasy    
Rating:  4 out of 5

When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.

And she also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

This was a fun read! I enjoyed the first book, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and this book just continued the fun. Emily felt like she’d loosened up a little bit and learned to be around people better, but she was still a bit awkward and fumbling. When she tends to overthink things, she gets herself in trouble, but her instincts are good. This was a fun adventure;

Heather Fawcett is a bestselling author who lives on Vancouver Island. Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherland is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House-Ballantine, Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: This Cursed Light, by Emily Thiede  

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title:  This Cursed Light  
Author:  Emily Thiede   
Genre: YA    
Rating:  5 out of 5

When the gods make the rules, the players must choose: Sacrifice their love to save the world, or choose love and let it burn?

Six months after saving their island from destruction and almost losing Dante, Alessa is ready to live happily ever after with her former bodyguard. But Dante can’t rest, haunted by a conviction that the gods aren’t finished with them yet. And without his powers, the next kiss from Alessa could kill him.

Desperate for answers, Dante enlists Alessa and their friends to find the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring his powers and combining forces with them to create the only army powerful enough to save them all. But Alessa is hiding a deadly consequence of their last fight–a growing darkness that’s consuming her mind–and their destination holds more dangers than anyone bargained for. In the mysterious city of the banished, Dante will uncover secrets, lies, and ghosts from his past that force him to ask himself: Which side is he on?

When the gods reveal their final test, Dante and Alessa will be the world’s last defense. But if they are the keys to saving the world, will their love be the price of victory?

I loved this so much! I loved the first book, This Vicious Grace, and this one was just as good. Alessa and Dante are great characters: both are flawed and struggling but learning and growing towards becoming better people. Their relationship is so much fun, with their teasing and bantering, and their friendships with those around them are just as vibrant and fascinating. I loved all of this!

Emily Thiede was born in New Jersey but grew up in Virginia. This Cursed Light is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Unholy Terrors, by Lyndall Clipstone  

Image belongs to Macmillan Children’s/Henry Holt and Co.

Title:  Unholy Terrors   
Author: Lyndall Clipstone    
Genre: Fantasy, YA    
Rating:  4 out of 5

Everline Blackthorn has devoted her life to the wardens—a sect of holy warriors who guard against monsters known as the vespertine.

When a series of strange omens occur, Everline disobeys orders to investigate, and uncovers a startling truth in the form of Ravel Severin: a rogue vespertine who reveals the monsters have secrets of their own.

Ravel promises the help she needs— for a price. Vespertine magic requires blood, and if Everline wants Ravel to guide her across the dangerous moorland, she will have to allow him to feed from her.

It’s a sin for a warden to feed a vespertine— let alone love one— and as Everline and Ravel travel further across the moorland, she realizes the question isn’t whether she will survive the journey, but if she will return unchanged. Or if she wants to.

This felt like a very atmospheric novel:  dark, secretive, a gloomy landscape. I never did really understand the culture and its history, so I never had a good feel for the characters and the why behind all their rituals. While the characters were moving from place to place, I f let like they were just going in circles—and the idea that these two opposing forces had strongholds located so very close together didn’t make sense to me, either.

I would have liked to see more character development:  Everline was the only one I had any sort of insight in, and her rash impulses never made sense to me, either, not for someone who’s supposed to be such a warrior and focused on being a good little warden. I enjoyed the read, but it was lacking in some areas.

Lyndall Clipstone is from Australia. Unholy Terrors is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan Children’s/Henry Holt and Co. in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Hurricane Wars, by Thea Guanzon  

Image belongs to Avon and Harper Voyager.

Title:  The Hurricane Wars   
Author:  Thea Guanzon   
Genre: Fantasy
Rating:  4.0 out of 5

 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, Talasyn has 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 believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire’s shadows.

Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been forged into a weapon by his father. Tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty Shadow magic, Alaric has never been bested. That is until he sees Talasyn burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. In a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen.

Talasyn and Alaric both know this war can only end with them. But a greater threat is coming, and the strange new magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Thrust into an uneasy alliance, they will confront the secrets at the heart of the war and find, in each other, a searing passion–one that could save their world…or destroy it.

I’m not going to lie: I was intrigued by the setting and culture all along, but the Reylo fanfiction aspect was almost too much for me to take. It wasn’t even disguised as anything else, frankly, and that was almost enough to make me put the book down. Thankfully, that improved. I liked both characters, although Talasyn’s unbridled anger was a bit wearying. Like, please just stop being furious for 30 seconds, okay?

The characters grew on me, and the culture of the islands was fascinating. I’d love to read more set in this world, but I hope there’s some character growth in the next book, so the hatred doesn’t grate on my nerves and destroy my enjoyment of the story.

Thea Guanzon is from the Philippines. The Hurricane Wars is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Forest Grimm, by Kathryn Purdie

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: The Forest Grimm
Author: Kathryn Purdie    
Genre: Fantasy, YA     
Rating: 4 out of 5 

“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”

The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book – Sortes Fortunae , the Book of Fortunes – with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose―to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel―who is fated never to be with her―have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest―alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales―has a mind of its own.

I enjoyed this read, although I felt like it could have used a bit more resolution or development in certain areas. I still had questions at the end, like, why, exactly, Axel was so enamored of Ella? I feel like she used her wish for that, but it was never said. The fairy tale characters were, of course, appropriately dark and evil—Hansel and Gretel especially—so that part made sense, but there were odd bits of things I found disjointed. I liked Clara, although her determination to die was slightly unsettling. This was a solid read, it just left me with some questions.

Kathryn Purdie is a bestselling author and lives in the Rocky Mountains. The Forest Grimm is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

The Best Books I Read in August (2023)

In August, I read 17 books, bringing my total for the year to 135 books read. Of those books, a few were standouts.

The River Runs South, by Audrey Ingram. This was an excellent Southern fiction read, and a debut novel from this author. I wasn’t too sure if I liked the main character at first, even though she was going through a very tough time, but I ended up loving her—and her adorable daughter. I also loved the setting so much and thought it was portrayed so well.

Touch of Power, by Maria V. Snyder. I’m a big fan of this author and I’d read this before, but I remembered almost none of it. I enjoyed the characters so much! They were so memorable and believable and made the rest of the story truly magical.

The Brothers Hawthorne, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I’ve enjoyed this series so much, and I read this entire novel in one session, on release day. It did not disappoint. The Hawthorne brothers and their antics are thoroughly entertaining, and I love the relationship between the three brothers.

Book Review: Her Radiant Curse, by Elizabeth Lim    

Image belongs to Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Title:  Her Radiant Curse     
Author: Elizabeth Lim    
Genre:  Fantasy, YA  
Rating:  4 out of 5

One sister must fall for the other to rise.

Channi was not born a monster. But when her own father offers her in sacrifice to the Demon Witch, she is forever changed. Cursed with a serpent’s face, Channi is the exact opposite of her beautiful sister, Vanna—the only person in the village who looks at Channi and doesn’t see a monster. The only person she loves and trusts.

Now seventeen, Vanna is to be married off in a vulgar contest that will enrich the coffers of the village leaders. Only Channi, who’s had to rely on her strength and cunning all these years, can defend her sister against the cruelest of the suitors. But in doing so, she becomes the target of his wrath—launching a grisly battle royale, a quest over land and sea, a romance between sworn enemies, and a choice that will strain Channi’s heart to its breaking point.

I enjoyed this like I’ve enjoyed Elizabeth Lim’s other novels. The rich cultures and diverse settings fascinate me, and she’s skilled at depicting intricate relationships of all sorts. I love Channi and Vanna’s relationship with all its history and complexity. I was engrossed in watching the sisters come into their own and become who they were meant to be.

Elizabeth Lim is a bestselling author. Her Radiant Curse is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:  Morgan Is My Name, by Sophie Keetch   

Image belongs to Penguin/Random Hose Canada.

Title: Morgan Is My Name       
Author: Sophie Keetch     
Genre: fantasy     
Rating:  5 out of 5

Young Morgan of Cornwall lives a happy life in Tintagel Castle until King Uther Pendragon, with the help of the sorcerer Merlin, murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage. Furious, brilliant, and vengeful, Morgan defies her brutal stepfather, taking up a secret education, discovering a lifelong affinity with the healing arts, and falling in love with a man far beneath her station. However, defiance comes at a cost. Used as a bargaining chip in her stepfather’s war games, Morgan finds herself banished to a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, amidst the machinations of kings, sorcerers, and men.

But some desires are not easily forgotten, and the search for her independence is a quest Morgan cannot give up. As the era of King Arthur approaches, she must use all her wit, knowledge, and courage to fight against those who wish to deny her intelligence, crush her spirit, and control her body. But, in seeking her freedom, Morgan risks losing everything–her reputation, her loved ones, and her life.

I love Arthurian legends and retellings, but most are not as well-done as this one. I truly loved this read! Morgan is a fascinating character as a child, and she only grows more fascinating as she gets older. I loved her forceful personality, her wit, and her determination to live her own life. Uther Pendragon—and Merlin, too—was a horrible person in this story and he made my skin crawl. Morgan, however, is vibrant, inspiring, and had me rooting for her from the first page.

Sophie Keetch is Welsh and lives in South Wales. Morgan is My Name is her new novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin/Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Painted Devils, by Margaret Owen   

Image belongs to Macmillan Children’s/Henry Holt and Co.

Title:  Painted Devils      
Author:  Margaret Owen   
Genre:  Fantasy, YA
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 

When misfortune strikes, the “reformed” jewel thief Vanja manipulates a remote village for help and in turn, accidentally starts a cult around a Low God, the Scarlet Maiden. Soon after, her nemesis-turned-suitor Emeric and a supervising prefect arrive to investigate the claim of godhood, and she realizes how in over her head she must be. But the Scarlet Maiden does reveal herself . . . only to claim Emeric as her virgin sacrifice. Desperate to save the only man she’s ever cared for, Vanja decides to seek an alternative: bring the Scarlet Maiden a drop of blood from each of seven brothers for the midsummer feast.

While the thief and prefect-in-training still have feelings for one another, Emeric must determine whether Vanja has committed fraud as his final test for prefect-hood. And as they travel the Haarzlands, a harsh land far from the rules of the city, the past that Vanja barely remembers comes into full view and she fears a future that does not require her to keep running.

The amount of snark in this novel is genius-level. I was snickering within two minutes after I started reading. Unlike the previous book, I was invested from the very beginning, and each obstacle the characters met only drew me further into the story. This is a gritty fantasy, not a sweetness-and-light one, but the characters and the world have so much depth that you feel everything they experience. I highly recommend this read and this author.

Margaret Owen lives in Seattle. Painted Devils is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan Children’s/Henry Holt and Co. in exchange for an honest review.)