TJ Young & The Orishas is an exciting new fantasy series by Antoine Bendele. If you like coming-of-age magic stories, read this for sure. I have actually only read the first one--The Gatekeeper's Staff. (Oh--and also a little short story that you can get when you sign up for Antoine…
Elizabeth Lim's Spin the Dawn is an amazing book full of many of my favorite things. There's magic (cool, unique magic, unlike magic systems I've seen before.) There's political intrigue. There's a young woman trying to make it in a man's world. There's a focus on an artist who is…
I wouldn't have guessed that Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book was my kind of book. I'm not usually into the macabre or horror. But it is. It really is.I like the strongly developed characters in here. They're quirky, but not so quirky that they seem flat or impossible.I also like…
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko is such a good book. Really. Go out and get it if you haven't read it yet. (From the library works--that's what I did.) The book is about Tarisai, who is beautiful, intelligent, talented, strong, and immune to fire. She can also read (or steal) memories…
I’ve been meaning to read Jade City for a while, and I don’t know what took me so long.Once I finally got into it, I found this book totally lived up to its hype. It’s a brilliant story, with intricate plotting and rich world-buildingThe real stars, though, are the characters.…
In A Voice that Thunders, Cully Mack plays around with that weird bit from Genesis 6. You know the bit--where Nephilim are on Earth, and sons of God are having children with daughters of men.That bit is a mysterious and intriguing glimpse of something odd going on in ancient times.…
If you need a fun, quick read that’s delightfully magical and laugh-out-loud funny, Flora & Ulysses is a great pick.Flora is a wonderful character. Smart and cynical, she nonetheless manages to be be sweet. Also, her ability to accept the incredible (but true) is refreshing.I wonder, in fact, if that…
Marie Lu’s The Kingdom of Back surprises with its mix of fantasy and historical fiction. I expected a fantasy, but at first, got nothing but a tale of Mozart’s forgotten sister.As a historical tale, this story immerses me in a world of rich detail, patriarchy, ambition, and music. Then, just…
The Priestess Trials by A. A. Lee places me in a rich, unique world that feels vaguely familiar.It’s like something I saw or heard during my time in China–but in the countryside, not the city. However that doesn’t quite fit either because this world has very little modern technology. (They…
I picked up The Raven and The Dove from a sales promotion that Songs of Healing was also in, and I was glad I did. This story by Kaitlyn Davis has great world building, interesting magic, good pacing, fascinating political intrigue, and romance. Plus, people can fly!Seriously, I love the…
I have loved The Girl Who Drank the Moon since I first read it when my daughter picked it up for a contest back when she was in fifth grade. So, several years, now.Like all the best fantasies, this one immerses me in a world that feels both familiar and…
Midnight Sun, as you probably already know, is the latest book in the Twilight series. It covers much of the same ground as the original books–but from Edward’s point of view.I admit I liked it, but that might be at least partly nostalgia. Still, some of Edward’s behavior feels a…
Marissa Meyer has written another fabulous book with Cress. Book Three of The Lunar Chronicles lives up to the high standard set by Cinder and Scarlet. (My daughter would say it surpasses it. Cress is her favorite.)Like the two previous books, this one is a fairy-tale retelling–in this case of…
Adelaide and the Dragon Castle has a lot of my favorite things in YA fantasy–great characters, coming of age, dragons.I love the way Adelaide finds her own solutions in a world that glorifies violence. And I love that these solutions don’t come instantly, but take some trial and error.I’m not…
This is book 2 in The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, and it’s every bit as good as Cinder. The story continues, with great new characters taking center stage. I love Scarlet’s loyalty and tenacity and Wolf’s fight to hang onto the good parts of his humanity. Thorne is fun,…
I always enjoy reading works by the RMFW Writer of the Year nominees, and this little gem by Jeff Seymour is one of the reasons why. It has sparkling wit, swashbuckling adventure, and a delightfully idealistic heroine, who starts out a foolhardy tomboy, but ends up a thoughtful and courageous…
I admit that I read this because (a) it was on lots of bestseller lists and (b) I liked the dress on the girls on the cover. I mean, I wouldn’t wear it, but it looked cool.The story was as beautiful as the dress, with a great, spunky main character…
This Cinderella retelling by Demelza Carlton has an Asian setting and a warrior-trained girl as the main character. Mai manages to be humble and confident at the same time, a difficult, but believable mix in this environment. I enjoyed her story very much.
Dragon of Ash and Stars was a Bookbub title I picked up for free, but it was worth so much more than the nonexistent price I paid. This is one of only a couple of ebook titles I’ve read that I may try to obtain in actual paper (the others…
A nice little fantasy with interesting characters and some great description. I thoroughly enjoyed it up until close to the end.Then I got a bit weirded out by the bizarre religious rituals and the suggestion that thirteen is old enough to be a mother--of any kind.Still, a fun read, that…
Mandy, the heroine in this book, manages to work through an overwhelming burden of grief and guilt without that burden overwhelming the reader–or becoming trivialized. Granted, she’s got magical help, but still, it’s an impressive feat.I’ll definitely be picking up more of Shawn Mcguire’s books in the future.
Trickster's Girl was another gift from the RMFW conference. This was well written and engaging. I enjoyed Ms. Bell’s Goblin War piece more, but I suspect that has less to do with the books themselves and more to do with my own preference for straight up fantasy than for Native-American-religion-tinged…
As I’ve probably mentioned before, one of the great things about RMFW conferences is the number of books we get in the swag bag. I love, love, love going home with enough to keep me busy–for a bit anyway.The Goblin War is one of these. I certainly never would have…
I thoroughly enjoyed this, though I must admit I found it less satisfying than the original seven. The story line is great; it's lovely to get to know some of these characters as adults, and I'm interested all the way through. However, I miss the inimitable style (and punny humor)…
My kids and I have been reading through the Harry Potters together for several months, and have just finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We started this set because the kids are getting pressure from classmates to read and discuss the books, but I don’t want my…
This is book six in a chapter book series K loves. After reading it, I sort of get the attraction. Like cotton candy, it’s mostly fluff, but very sweet. Neither the characters nor the plot are very deep, but it’s certainly no worse than the Nancy Drew mysteries I chain-read…