Small Angels by Lauren Owen
Length: 400 Pages
Genres: Gothic, Fantasy, Magical Realism
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Death, Blood, Gore, Animal Attacks and Mention of Animal Death, and Instances of Child Abuse (Physical and Psychological)

"In a distant time (the story ran) people cleared trees from the edge of Mockbeggar to make space for themselves, a place to build and farm, They moved in and stayed awhile, and then they were gone--wandering or dead, no one could say for sure now. But they left their relics behind: smashed pots, lost coins, assorted bones. And decade by decade, root by root, the trees moved back and swallowed it all."

Many years ago, I picked up Lauren Owen's debut called The Quick. It remains, to this day, one of my favorite pieces of vampire media, and a story that stuck with me for long afterwards. Many times, I've wondered why she hadn't put anything else out--and secretly hoped that one day she would return with something else beautiful and gothic. When I happened across this book, I was elated! Finally, I thought, Lauren Owen has come back! I was desperate to request it on NetGalley but worried I wouldn't have the time. And then, I was contacted by Random House to see if I was interested. How could I say no? 

Chloe has been in love with her fiancé, Sam's, village since she first step foot there. It is like falling back through time, to a place that is lovelier, calmer, full of colorful locals and beautiful nature. Of course, it's no surprise that she would wish to have her wedding there. When the original location falls through, Chloe takes it upon herself to instead host it at an old church at the edge of the woods called St. Michael's and All His Angels, or Small Angels, colloquially. It is a dream come true, and if it needs a bit of work, a bit of polish and shine, well, it's all worth it in the end. Only Chloe doesn't know the story of Small Angels, or the village, or those entrancing, dangerous woods, called Mockbeggar--a place where the locals warn her never to go.

Kate, Sam's sister, knows what the forest is capable of. She hasn't returned in ten years, not since a disaster struck and left everything in pieces. Kate, young and brave, was in love with Lucia Gonne, of the infamous Gonne family, who hosted late night walks through the woods, singing a peculiar song, who keep torches blazing through the land, and ring the bells of Small Angels on full moons. Once, a long time ago, people went to the Mockbeggar Woods to tell stories to the trees, and sometimes, those stories would be remembered. There is one story--of a boy betrayed, of three white dogs and a house made of roses--that the woods refuse to forget. Mockbeggar has lain dormant since Kate left, but now it is coming alive again--and the ghosts are angry.

There are some books you come across that make you remember why they exist in this first place, that this is what storytelling is about. Lauren Owen has woven a tale of such beauty and poetry, sadness and love and forgiveness, that I felt enraptured from beginning to end by her mastery. Small Angels put me in mind of my favorite sorts of books, full of magic and danger, and reminded me of the first time I read Angela Carter and was in shock with awe. This is a story about stories, about true love, first love, and the special sort of love that exists only between siblings. I can't remember the last time I read such a fantastic and original ghost story, and this should be categorized with such staples like The Turn of the Screw or The Woman in Black. It was a heady mix of horror and fairytale and love story, I wish I could experience it all over again already! 

If you read nothing else this year I beg you to read Small Angels, and be whisked away to a sleepy English village full of apparitions, strange superstitions, and memories that can come back to draw blood.

Book Review: Book of Night by Holly Black

Book of Night by Holly Black
Length: 306 Pages
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence, Gore, Familial Abuse, Parental Neglect, Mentions of Incest and Mentions of Drug Addiction

“There'd always been something wrong with Charlie Hall. Crooked, from the day she was born. Never met a bad decision she wasn't willing to double down on. Had fingers made for picking pockets, a tongue for lying, and a shriveled cherry pit for a heart. If her shadow had been one of those magic ones, she was pretty sure even that thing would have run away.”

I've spoken before about how much I love Holly Black's works. The Folk of the Air series is one of my favorites of all time, and before that, when I was little, I was obsessed with The Spiderwick Chronicles. They were some of the first books that I just devoured, usually reading one a day, and I of course loved the artwork of Tony DiTerlizzi (and yes, I was disappointed by the movie). So in a way, I feel that Holly Black shaped who I am today, contributed to my love of dark fairytales, mythology, and even parts of my creativity. There just weren't books out there to feed my fascination like The Spiderwick Chronicles did! So of course, I was thrilled to bits to find out she would be writing her first ever adult book, and my sister lovingly preordered it for me! And as always, Holly Black did it again, weaving something together that will both mesmerize and break your heart.

Charlie Hall is known as "The Charlatan", an expert thief and conwoman who has made her name stealing, mostly priceless tomes from "gloamists". Gloamists are people who can do a special sort of magic, able to command their shadows, to make them change into fantastical shapes, or slip through the smallest crack to find out dirty little secrets. Now, after a brush with a gun, Charlie has decided to go the straight and narrow, and works almost exclusively as a bartender. But the lure of fast money and the thrill of swiping something right from under someone's nose is still there. She wants to be good, for her new boyfriend Vince, who has mysteriously lost his shadow, and for her sister, Posey, who craves a quickened one more than anything.

Unfortunately, trouble seems to be drawn to Charlie. There is the mysterious death of a rare book dealer, his shadows torn to bits--his last known sighting? The bar where she works. When she sticks her nose in it, it ends in her being harassed at her work by a gloamist who's looking for a special book and a special person. Vince comes to her rescue, killing the gloamist as easily as squashing an ant. There are secrets that Vince is keeping, about his past and his present, ones that Charlie will do anything to discover--even if it breaks her heart in the process. Thus begins a tale of blood-fed shadows, dark cabals, and proof that revenge is a dish best served cold.

This book was a beautiful blend of horrific fairytale and gothic mystery, which is nothing less than I've come to expect out of Black. Full of her wonderful, biting prose and characters that are so perfectly rendered they feel real, I couldn't wait to find out all the secrets in this book, but loved every minute it took. I recently described Holly Black as the queen of writing "bad girls", and she has done it again in Book of Night. Charlie is a loveable hard-ass with as much bite as her cocktails, but has that sort of vulnerability you can easily lose with characters like this. All I can say is read it--it's the urban fantasy you've been waiting for.

Book Review: From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper
Length: 368 Pages
Genres: Contemporary Romance and Fantasy
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

I previously had the good luck to get an ARC of the first book in the series, Payback's a Witch, by Lana Harper, and I gave it a whopping five stars! It was witchy and funny and sexy, so obviously I jumped at the chance to get my hands on the sequel! Unfortunately, I didn't like this one quite as much.

Isidora "Issa" Avramov comes from a long line of badass, darkly-inclined witches, but has her own softer side as well, one that yearns to design her own ready-to-wear, sustainable fashion. She also loves animals, and at eighteen she worked at a shelter. Unfortunately for her, goody-two-shoes and green magic expert Rowan Thorn also worked there and certainly lived up to his name--he was a thorn in Issa's backside the whole time she was there, until finally she snapped and served up some magical retribution.

Now, Issa and Rowan see each other as enemies, just as their families have for generations. But when a necromantic curse--the Avramov family's specialty--is cast on a Thorn, leaving the girl weak and with hardly any magic, they must come together to get to the bottom of who could have the motive and means to create such deadly magic. And even more shocking, Issa thinks she might like Rowan. Like Rowan.

I was really excited to sink my teeth into this book, mostly because the Avramov's were the most fascinating of the families to me, and the heroine, Isidora, is Talia's little sister (Talia was my favorite part of Payback's a Witch!). Rowan started off a bit one-dimensional, something a lot of the characters outside of the protagonist face, and just when I thought he was getting a bit more depth, I felt he went right back to his old ways (which is pretty much perfect, might I add). They had a cute relationship, and I liked how much they talked things out to resolve conflict. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling like the mystery and history of Thistle Grove was just overall more exciting than the romance in this installment.

But please, if you loved the first one, give this one a go as well. If anything, it'll produce some laughter and sunshine for your day, along with a lot of snark and spells! 

Book Review: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Length: 288 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction and Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Racism, Homophobia, Body Horror, Violence, Gore, Antisemitism and Sexism

“Like we understood to make wide circles around the drunks on the streets and how calico cats were the luckiest of all, we understood immortality as a thing for men. Men lived forever in their bodies, in their statues, in the words they guarded jealously and the countries they would never let you claim. The immortality of women was a sideways things, haphazard and contained in footnotes, as muses or silent helpers.”

Having already read some of Nghi Vo's work previously, I had very HIGH expectations for her newest work, which is inspired by Old Hollywood, only made much darker and much more magical.

Luli Wei (we never learn her real name) has always loved movies. When she was a little girl, she would trade inches off her hair for a ticket inside the theater to see Juliet kill herself over her beloved Romeo, or perhaps get a glimpse of Su Tong Lin, the only woman on the big screen who looked like her. Luck seems to be on her side when she stumbles across a movie set and is immediately chosen to be an extra for the film. The magic of movie making gets in her blood, taints it. But the world of the stars is one that will chew you up and spit you out, or worse, leave you a brainless extra that they trot out in times of need, called "nodders". Once, Luli was told she was "cold as the Atlantic", and it will be that ice in her veins that will keep her alive and famous--and grant her her most famous role as the hissing and red-tailed "siren queen". But even after fame has found her, her pride and temper might cost her more than just her next role--it might cost her her life.

This a novel that is full of a strange magic, both in the prose and the subject matter. Changelings stalk the movie sets, people drink up other people's years in teacups, and the truly famous become real life stars--hung aloft in heaven by some amazing power that also grants them immortality. Luli is a character with an amazing depth; she is bitter and strong and wise, with a surprising inner softness and loyalty. She wants to be something. But most of all, she wants to belong to herself and herself only, a hard thing in the line of work she has chosen. Told from her point of view, we get a sort of pseudo-biography that could belong to any Old Hollywood starlet, detailing her childhood spent in her family's laundry in Hungarian Hills, to her many powerful and doomed loves, if not for the whispers of monsters and magical mayhem, imps and silver kisses. 

This is a book that will wrap you up in its spell, holding you fast until the very last page, and leave you gasping for more. There is no doubt that Nghi Vo is not only here to stay but a gale-force talent to be reckoned with, one that will certainly hold us captive for many more years to come.

Book Review: Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
Length: 432 Pages
Genres: Fantasy and Historical Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Redhook for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Blood, Gore, Misogyny and Death

I've always loved mythology ever since I was little (one of my favorite gifts I received for my birthday was a book on Greek mythology), but like many, I've neglected learning more about mythologies outside of a Eurocentric view. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and I'm so excited to say I think it will be one of my top books of 2022 as well!

Kaikeyi is the oldest daughter, a yuvradnyi (crown princess) to her twin brother's yuvraja (heir apparent), of the raja of Kekeya, and a mother who has been banished, forgotten as easily as if she was a mere servant. Life among seven brothers and a father who sees her as nothing more than bait for a political marriage, is both privileged and hopeless. She wants to be just as good a warrior, just as good a politician and student, as her many brothers. With the loss of her mother, she is plunged into despair and turns to her beloved scrolls for advice. There, she discovers a secret, a place that she can enter into with meditation, a place where she can see all the many tethers that make up the relationships around her. With practice, she will be able to manipulate those tethers, to stroke them into calmness, or suggest someone confess to her a secret.

Years later, Kaikeyi is bargained away as a third wife to the raja Dasharath, who desires nothing more than an heir--but it is in a bargain of her own making. In exchange for her hand, she asks that should she produce a son, he will be made the sole heir to the kingdom, no matter if his other wives eventually have sons as well. He accepts, before her father and twin and their entire court.

At her new home, Kaikeyi cultivates relationships with servants, courtiers, and her fellow radnyi. But still she does not have a son. Desperate, Dasharath calls on the gods for help, and they answer, offering magical kheer for the wives to drink in order to produce heirs. Little do they know that the gods have set into motion a plan that will bring bloodshed and betrayal in its wake.

But Kaikeyi has one last trick up her sleeve. When her marriage to Dasharath was still young, she saved his life in battle. In payment he granted her two boons, oaths to the gods that whatever she wanted he must grant. Now, Kaikeyi can choose to use these boons to save her kingdom and her family, but at the cost of being forevermore a villain in her own tale.

Based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana (which is one of the largest epic poems in the history of the world), Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel explores a much-maligned character, that of the stepmother to the hero of the story, Rama. He is an avatar of the god Vishnu and is an incredibly important character in Hindusim. While in the epic Kaikeyi is somewhat given the excuse of being swayed by her maid, the humpbacked and conniving Manthara, in this version, she makes choices of her own free will, for better or worse. She is full of strength and doubts, goodness when she is afraid she is nothing but wicked and forsaken by her gods. Kaikeyi is truly a character that will stick with you long after you turn the last page.

Full of fascinating deities, magic and heartbreak, Patel has breathed new life into a character who before existed little beyond her betrayal and her womanhood. Perfect for fans of Ariadne by Jennifer Saint and Circe by Madeline Miller--welcome Kaikeyi into your collection of favorite mythology villainesses!

Book Review: The Ikessar Falcon by K.S. Villoso

The Ikessar Falcon
Length: 640 Pages
Genres: High Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence, Gore, Death and Threats of Rape (That of a Child)

"I knew I was doomed to pay for them for the rest of time. For if Yeshin's sons had not been killed and he had not been  made to march to civil war, I wouldn't have been raised the way I was -- the bearer of everything, his in every way, both sword arm and womb. I would never have been betrothed to Rayyel, never been born. I could deny my shackles, but they would always be a part of who I am. If I had known from the beginning, I would've let them smother me."

The first book in this trilogy by K.S. Villoso, The Wolf of Oren-yaro, was one of my favorite fantasy books of 2021, and so I was really excited to sink my teeth into the sequel!

Queen Talyien of Jin-Sayeng can't catch a break. Trapped across the sea in the empire of Ziri-nar-Orxiaro, where enemies lurk around every corner and are only just too happy to see her suffer, she longs to return home to her son, Thanh. Not even her own people seem to want her back -- not one guard has been sent to retrieve their missing queen, and now, there is an embargo on any ships trying to head back home. Luckily (sometimes), she has her disgraced ex-captain (and one-night stand years ago), Agos, and her current captain, Nor, on her side, along with the conman with a heart of gold, Khine Lamang. Together, they get into unimaginable trouble trying to get back to Jin-Sayeng. It is a journey filled with loss and blood, the sting of love, and...dragons, lots and lots of dragons.

The Chronicles of the Bitch Queen series has one of the most in-depth and amazing fantasy worlds out there. Based heavily on the author's Filipino culture, it is a breath of fresh air, far away from the standard white European and medieval stand-in we're so used to. The first book in the series was more of an adventure tale, full of fighting and near-escapes, and while this one has that too, it is also a story of politics, of royals who don't know much beyond the breath of their castle, and of two Dragonlords, once lovers and now just man and wife in name, who are only too human. It is also very dark, and I can imagine it would be a series that those waiting on the next Game of Thrones installment would enjoy! Queen Talyien ranks, for me, as one of the best and most complex characters in fantasy today, if not all of current literature.

Long may the Bitch Queen reign!

Book Review: A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
Length: 384 Pages
Genres: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings for Violence, Racism, Blood, Gore, Animal Death (Not Her Dog), Neglect and Emotional Abuse by a Parent, Antisemitism and Xenophobia

I was so excited when I got an ARC of this book, as I've heard nothing but excellent things about it! And now it's my turn to sing its praises.

Margaret Welty has seen the legendary hala in the flesh. It appeared to her, a snow-white fox the size of her dog, Trouble, before anyone else. Now, the Halfmoon Hunt is after it, flooding her small backwater town, Wickdon, with the richest and rowdiest New Albians, all thirsting for the blood of the world's last demiurge. Depending on the religion, demiurges are either demons, gifts from God, or pieces of God himself, but one thing is for sure: they are dangerous, and wherever they show up destruction is left in their wake. Margaret knows firsthand there is only one thing more dangerous -- seeking the philospher's stone, which can only be made out of demiurge's boiled down body. She almost lost her mother, Evelyn, to it. Left alone in a crumbling mansion filled with ghosts of her past, Margaret wants nothing more than for her mother to return home from her obsessive search. And if that means she has to risk her life in the Halfmoon Hunt to win the demiurge for her, she will.

Weston Winters is desperate. He is an alchemist -- or almost one -- who has lost every one of his apprenticeships due to his own folly. He's exhausted every option in his sprawling city of Dunway and being taken on by the mercurial Evelyn Welty is his last option. And it's not just his hopes of changing the world for the better that rest on his shoulders, but the happiness of his mother and four wild sisters. After an accident that cost them their father's life, they struggle to make ends meet. Weston will do anything to make it, even if it means living with Evelyn's daughter, who does little more than seethe at his sunny presence. When she suggests they enter the Halfmoon Hunt -- every team has to consist of one hunter and one alchemist -- he balks at the thought. He's a good Sumic boy and his mother would kill him if he so much as laid a finger on a demiurge. But the victors don't just win the demiurge's body. They win money.

I loved both of the main characters -- Margaret for her practicality and heart, which is soft as clay underneath her armor, and Weston for his positivity and mischievousness! The mythology was fascinating, and I loved especially learning about Weston's Sumic religion. He's Banvish, and this combination is this world's Irish Catholic. His mother, Aoife, has little figures of the demiurges, and sometimes prays to them. He explains they don't worship them, but use them as sort of messengers between them and God, sort of like saints. Margaret herself is half Yu'adir, which is heavily influenced by Judaism. Both of them are the subject of ridicule and hate by the New Albians, and I could totally understand both of their reactions to it. Margaret wants to be forgotten, to blend in with the population, to be safe. Weston is a fighter and can't help but pick at the prejudices in the town, much to Margaret's chagrin.

A big part of this book is the exploration of family dynamics. On one hand, we have the Winters family, who is full of love, despite their differences, and will always protect each other and be there for one another. And on the other we have Margaret's family. Evelyn is gone most of the time, in search of something to make her family real again. Margaret has lost a little brother, and her father left them, so she clings desperately to the memory of her mother before alchemy and grief overtook her life. But the thing she has to learn, no matter how heartbreaking it is, is that she doesn't deserved to be treated this way. She is such a strong character, but is made weak by her controlling and neglectful mother, and I found that so realistic. Because oftentimes it those we love the most that hurt us the most.

My one little qualm about this book is that I sort of wish it had just been Adult instead of Young Adult. The romance is at the forefront of A Far Wilder Magic, and we have some rather explicit and steamy scenes, even a sex scene towards the end. Even though Saft was coy with her words, it's obvious to anyone with an inkling of knowledge about sex what is going on. If it had been adult, maybe we could have explored those themes and scenes even better.

All in all I really loved it. It's full of magic and heartache, love and hope, and will surely bring a smile to your face. Highly recommend!

Book Review: Temple of No God by H.M. Long

Temple of No God by H.M. Long
Length: 432 Pages
Genres: Fantasy
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

A special thanks to Netgalley and Titan Books for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings for Violence, Blood and Gore

Hall of Smoke, the first book in this series by H.M. Long, was one of my favorites of 2021, so I was thrilled when I got the chance to receive an ARC of the second book via Netgalley! While I did love catching up with Hessa, Nisien, and Estavius, I wasn't as enthralled by this sequel as I was hoping.

Hessa is now thirty, a High Priestess of the resurrected God Thyvinder, and married to a High Priest of an enemy tribe in the hopes of bringing their people together. She is older, wiser, and even more deadly than before. After the Upheaval, Rome-inspired Arpa is in turmoil; not only do they have no Emperor, their Gods are dead, leaving their souls with no one to shepherd them to the afterlife. Castor, a nefarious legionary from the first book, has made a reappearance and been tasked by pretender to the Arpa throne, Bresius, to find Hessa and ask her to join their cause. Being a High Priestess, she is one of the only people who can enter the Penumbra, this world's Mount Olympus for the Arpa Gods, and touch the Blood of Eiohe, which gives the Emperor his power and extraordinarily long life.

She agrees, and is once again thrown into the center of dangerous divine machinations, some that may change the very course of the world she fought so hard to make better.

I expected to love this one as much as the last, and while much of the ride was enjoyable, there were also parts that seemed monotonous -- the majority of the book involves travelling across Arpa and getting into several fights with the mysterious Laru, priests of a new and dangerous God working against Hessa and company. The worldbuilding is dense and so well done and is probably one of the most original and fun fantasy worlds I've encountered, and definitely stands out amongst all the legions of fantasies inspired by Medieval Europe. Honestly, I was expecting more of the previous characters, like Sixnit and her two children, Vistic and Thray, who I felt had the most potential for new stories, to be involved, and was a little disappointed they only had a scene or two. I'm excited to see where Hessa goes next, but Hall of Smoke still stands as the best so far in this series. Pick up Temple of No God if you're like me and want more of this breathtaking world and mythology.

Book Review: The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska
Length: 338 Pages
Genres: YA Fantasy, YA Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence and Blood

"The first is my Bright Morning,

the second my Red Sun.

Lastly rides my dearest,

my darkest, my Black Midnight."

I was recommended this amazing Sapphic monster romance by my sister, Abby, who got an early copy of this and loved it! I have said previously that YA books and I don't seem to mix (unless it's the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black!), however I'm beginning to think I just haven't found the right ones! Happily, I can report that I absolutely loved this one.

In Poland-inspired Lechija, three witches are at war over a prince's heart. The eldest is Black Jaga, who lives in the Midnight forest where it is forever night, the middle, Red Jaga, who resides in the Midday Forest, and finally, White Jaga, whose forest is called the Morning forest. Each is most powerful at their designated time, and so are the servants they take. Marynka and Beata are known as Midday and Morning respectively, and have been raised together, trained from the moment they were taken to be the perfect monsters, complete with sharpened iron teeth and long claws (well, for Beata). Their only task is to get hearts for their "Grandmothers". Unfortunately, Zosia, called Midnight, is much better at it. Quick, efficient, and otherwise perfect, they have never seen her, but she's all Marynka can think about.

When Marynka and Beata decide to team up to take the pure heart of Prince Józef, they unknowingly travel with their nemesis. Marynka is drawn to the coldly beautiful Zosia, with her silver hair and midnight-blue eyes and Zosia feels the same -- until she discovers who Marynka really is. Marynka is determined to win this time, even when she discovers that Zosia has been taking the hearts for herself in the hopes of escaping Black Jaga. 

What ensues is a mad-cap adventure to see who can get to the Prince first, full of gorgeous descriptions of Lechija during Karnawał, a time where people don colorful disguises and attend breathtaking balls, magic, and a wonderfully slow-burn romance between enemies.

The Best Books of 2021!

I read fifty-nine books in 2021, so it is incredibly hard for me to narrow it down this year! These are my (tentative) top five of 2021, and I'd love to know yours -- just leave a comment below.

In no particular order...

1. A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

I was so excited when I was able to get an ARC of this on Netgalley last year, and I can tell you that my hopes had never been higher for a book! It was a retelling of Dracula but from the POV of one of his "brides", and the writing was as luscious and dripping with menace as I could have hoped. A must-read for any vampire lover! Full review here.

2. Sistersong by Lucy Holland

One of my favorite fantasies I've read in years, Sistersong is an amazing retelling of a myth I wasn't familiar with, that of "The Twa Sisters". I highly recommend you don't research it before you read the book, because the twist at the end is as shocking as it is heart-rending. One of my favorite aspects of the novel was the way Holland was able to weave together myth history so seamlessly. Full review here.

3. The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

Even though I have a huge physical pile of books I need to read I couldn't help but snatch this one up when I spotted it in the bookstore. I mean look at that amazing cover (definitely my favorite of 2021)! An ode to Gothic literature by way of fantasy, I adored this complicated and beautiful book! Full review here.

4. The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

Walton's debut novel blew me away and kept me thinking about it months afterwards. Opal is probably one of my favorite characters ever -- she just jumps right off the page. Daisy Jones and the Six but punchier and punkier. Full review here. 

5. Fierce Dreamer by Linda Lafferty

This novel traces the very true and very shocking story of 17th-century painter Artemisia Gentileschi, who not only broke down boundaries by becoming the first woman admitted to the Accademia di Arte del Disegno, but by prosecuting her rapist in a court of law -- and winning. Her passion, her strength and her heart make this unputdownable. A word of warning: the rape scenes in the novel are of a quite graphic nature, so please be prepared for that. Full review here.

Book Review: The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker
Length: 393 Pages
Genres: YA Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence, Gore, Death and Body Horror

"I was nothing but Death that bled from every organ and anger so vicious that it could tear the sky to shreds, drain the oceans dry, and crack the universe in two."

Another book recommended by my sister, who actually got an early copy of this and ended up really liking it! It was one of my options for my November Book of the Month so I jumped at the opportunity to snatch it up.

Ren Scarborough's life is measured by her differences. She is Half-Japanese and Half-English, raised in London by her father and stepmother. She is also part Reaper, soul collectors who can stop time with clocks made of pure silver and gold, and part Shinigami, demons that ferry souls down to the depths of the Japanese Underworld, Yomi. When she finally has enough of being abused for being different and her Shinigami powers explode -- literally -- leaving other reapers injured, she knows she will be hunted down and left to live the rest of her supernaturally long life trapped in a tomb. With little else to do, she escapes to Japan with her sensitive half-brother, Neven, by her side.

There, she travels to Yomi and meets the Goddess of Death herself, Izanami. She sets Ren up with an impossible task: kill three powerful Yokai to become one of her Shinigami. Ren accepts, and is helped on her task by the jovial, yet mysterious, Shinigami Hiro. Ren wants nothing more to belong, and to possibly find her mother along the way. And she will do anything to get it.

Abby warned me that this one took a minute to get going, with much of the first half being devoted to worldbuilding, but as a fantasy lover I was no stranger to that, and actually don't mind it! At times I clashed with the writing style, which sometimes was too descriptive at the cost of losing tension and readability, stumbling into repeating the same thing again and again. However I loved the mythology in this book, and learning about these amazing monsters and Gods. Ren you'll either love or hate -- she is boiling over with emotion and righteous anger, so much so it sometimes comes at the cost of her relationships. The ending was phenomenal, and luckily, we have another book to look forward to! Check this one out if you're getting tired of good girls and the crushing amounts of Euro-centric fantasy populating the genre.

Book Review: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
Length: 456 Pages
Genres: YA Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Triggers Warnings for Violence, Gore, and Body Horror

"Books, too, had hearts, though they were not the same as people's, and a book's heart could be broken: she had seen it happen before. Grimoires that refused to open, their voices gone silent, or whose ink faded and bled across the pages like tears."

I'm so happy to have finally gotten around to reading a Margaret Rogerson! My sister and I decided to read this one together, as she had recently read Vespertine by her and knew I'd love her work. And boy was she right! I admit she does know some things 😉.

Elisabeth Scrivener is an orphan, raised amongst the grimoires in the Great Library of Summershall. Her greatest dream is to become a Warden, one of the select few that transport dangerous books and battle Maleficts, horrible creatures made of ink and leather that these very books transform into if harmed. These books are dangerous, alive and breathing and with personalities all their own. Most are used by Sorcerers, who gather their magic by summoning demons. All her life Elisabeth has been taught that Sorcerers and magic are intrinsically evil, but her worldview is challenged when a powerful Magister by the name of Nathaniel Thorn arrives in Summershall. They have a fateful encounter, where he spares her getting in trouble with her superiors, and is very much different than what she expected.

Elisabeth's world comes crashing down, when one night a powerful grimoire turns into a dreaded Malefict, killing the Director, a woman who practically raised her. With only a sword and her wits, Elisabeth kills it, costing the Kingdom a valuable artifact, but sparing their neighboring village. Much to her dismay, Elisabeth is the sole suspect and is whisked away to be tried. The Sorcerer who has come to collect her? None other than Magister Thorn.

In the city, Elisabeth discovers that Sorcerers are regarded much differently, almost like celebrities, along with their demonic companions. And when their arrival at their destination comes along with an attack by a group of dog-like fiends, Elisabeth fears that someone is out to get her, someone who can summon demons and bid them to hunt her down, someone...with magic.

I absolutely adored this book and the world within it. I loved the idea of Sorcerers making pacts with demons, which in this story costs them years of their life in exchange for powers, and thought it was not only original, but made for amazing dynamics, like that of Nathaniel and Silas, who has raised him and taken care of him but still hungers for his soul. Elisabeth was strong and brave, and her growing love for Nathaniel was one of the highlights of Sorcery of Thorns. I would love to see another book in this world by Rogerson, as it has the potential for so many great ideas! Highly recommend, for romance lovers and fantasy experts alike!

Book Review: The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling
Length: 368 Pages
Genres: Horror and Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Blood, Gore, Body Horror, Miscarriage, and Death

"A magician gets what she asks for, whether she meant to ask for it or not."

My little Gothic loving heart has been eagerly awaiting the publication of The Death of Jane Lawrence! I've always loved the genre, whether it be in film or on paper, and after working on my own Gothic story that love has only bloomed bigger, so it is with much joy in my heart that I can say: Reader, I adored it.

I hadn't looked into the plot very much, as I wanted to go in knowing as little as possible, so I was really surprised (pleasantly, so) to discover it's set in a fantasy alt-England called Great Breltain, where religion is something of the past and the superstitious after a war with Ruzka (a stand-in for Russia), and magic is possible, but often with great cost.

Jane Shoringfield is a woman with a love and understanding of the mathematics that reflects the way she lives her life: practically, and with each decision carefully researched. Orphaned during the war, she has lived with her guardians ever since, but now they wish to return to the very place her parents died. And Jane can't stomach it. So, with a discerning eye, she compiles a list of bachelors within Larrenton, and sets her sight on Dr. Augustine Lawrence. She makes him a proposition, where they will marry, live together, but be more like business partners than husband and wife.

Augustine agrees under one condition -- he must always spend the night at his ancestral home, Lindridge Hall, and she must never come there.

It seems an easy compromise, only Jane never expected to be attracted to him, let alone grow to love him and learn to be loved instead. Soon, she learns that Augustine is inexplicably tethered to Lindridge Hall, and is haunted by his failings...and perhaps something more.

Full of magic and spooks, a crumbling estate filled with things that go bump in the night, and a strong and smart heroine, The Death of Jane Lawrence is a must-read for this Halloween season. If that doesn't convince you maybe this will: It's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, where magic not only changes our reality but sometimes our bodies in horrifying ways, meets Crimson Peak. What are you waiting for?

Book Review: Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper
Length: 336 Pages
Genres: LGBTQ, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings for Cheating

"A swell of raw magic flooded into the car, until the air around me nearly shimmered with potential, bright and buzzy and headier than a champagne cocktail. As if Thistle Grove's own magical heart was pulsing eagerly toward me, welcoming me back. No hard feelings about my long absence, apparently.
Made one of us, I guess."

I was so, so pleased when I was reached out to to give a review of this amazing, wonderful, perfect book, and I cannot thank the publishers more for allowing me too! Payback's a Witch is everything I dreamed it would be (and more).

Set in the magical town of Thistle Grove, we follow Emmy Harlow as she returns home to take her family's ancestral place as Arbiter during the Gauntlet, a spellcasting tournament in which the other three witching families compete. Emmy hasn't returned in four years, and left in the first place all because of her ex Gareth, scion of the stuck-up Blackmoore family, who own almost every bit of Thistle Grove and everyone in it. They are the most powerful of all the families, and haven't lost a tournament in years and are expected to win again like clockwork. Only Gareth screwed with the wrong witches.

Upon returning, Emmy learns it's not only her heart that he's broke -- he also hurt her bestfriend, Linden Thorne, and the darkly beautiful Talia Avramov's. Together, they devise a devilishly sweet scheme: work together during the games to bring down Gareth -- and the Blackmoores -- once and for all. The only thing Emmy doesn't expect is to fall head over heels for Talia.

I adored everything about this book, from the history of the families, which wove in some Arthurian myth along with the Russian Baba Yaga, to the charmingly witchy town, to the romance between Emmy and Talia, which was equal parts sweet and sexy. The writing was gorgeous, so incredibly evocative I could actually picture the haunted woods, to the dusty little shop (cleverly named "Tomes and Omens") to the verdant Honeycake orchards. Payback's a Witch is the perfect romance for #SpookySzn, and let's be real, for every season after!

Book Review: A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell

A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell
Length: 320 Pages
Genres: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings for this book include Violence, Blood, Guns, Death, Mentions of Depression and Anxiety, and Abandonment

"The magic we perform doesn't have words. It is felt. It is the roots beneath our feet. It is the string connecting our fates to each other and to the rest of the world. It is the life-giving water, it is the power in ourselves."

There is one word to some up this book and it is...meh. The plot, characters, the writing, all of it was overwhelmingly okay when I was expecting WOW! My main draw to this book was that the protagonist is plus-sized and, being plus-size myself, I was so, so excited to see an explicitly plus-size/fat character get the spotlight, and to be something other than a skinny person's comic relief! Hollowell really delivered on that aspect -- Derry is fat and it has little to no impact on her plot and life which was a breath of fresh air.

Unfortunately I couldn't get into A Dark and Starless Forest. It seemed interesting enough, with nine magical sisters living in a secluded house and being raised by the mysterious and cruel Frank, a pseudo-father figure with teeth. Derry's magic is related to nature, so she has the ability to grow flowers and vines and connect with the earth in a powerful and sometimes frightening way. The other sisters tended to run together for me, and with only a few little descriptions of their looks, personalities and powers thrown in once or twice I was left feeling a little lost. The catalyst for A Dark and Starless Forest comes when one sister after another starts to disappear and the girls start to question Frank's motives. Meanwhile, the forest surrounding the house starts to call to Derry in familiar voices. It's only when she ventures inside that she starts to discover the dark truth.

I think this was a pretty run-of-the-mill YA fantasy. To be honest, I'm beginning to think YA and I just don't get along. I keep getting swept away by their shiny covers and amazing blurbs but 9 times out of ten I'm disappointed. If you'd be interested in a sort of girl-power X-Men retelling with a malevolent and powerless Professor X pulling the strings, then I think this would be the perfect book for you! I have no doubt there are many who'd enjoy this and I also recognize how amazing it is to have a kick-ass plus-size heroine front and center. Hopefully, Derry is the first in a long, long line.

Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Length: 400 Pages
Genres: YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi
Rating: 3 out of 3 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for an ARC of this book!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence, Alcohol Abuse, Torture, Murder and Physical Abuse

"He should be the Iron King, and I should be the Iron Queen. Yet Iron Demon and Iron Widow is all they'll let us be."

I was really excited for Sci-Fi take on the infamous Wu Zetian, who was the de facto ruler of the Tang dynasty and the only female Emperor of China, so much so that I specifically asked to get an ARC of it. Iron Widow relies heavily on Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim (which I thoroughly enjoyed, even if I was in the minority), so I thought I would really enjoy this! Unfortunately, I was more than a little let down.

Wu Zetian has been raised for one thing: to become a concubine for a pilot so that he can power the towering Chrysalises, made of precious spirit metal to combat the Hunduns. They are bug-like aliens who have taken over the planet and wiped out a whole city hundreds of years ago, driving the remaining humans back behind the Great Wall. It is a fate few survive, for the pilot's spirit pressure, or qi, obliterates the minds of the concubines. Zetian has already lost her Big Sister, but instead of a valiant death in the midst of a battle, she is murdered by a cruel pilot, one Zetian will do anything to get close to. When she is matched up with him something incredible happens -- it isn't Zetian who is killed but him. Her spirit pressure is enormous, so she can only match up with one pilot, Li Shimin, a convicted murderer who killed his family is still a prisoner despite his powerful qi. 

Zetian is tired of being used and will stop at nothing to eradicate a system that views girls as nothing but kindling to fuel the boys' fire. With help of her friend Yizhi, and the eventual acceptance of Shimin, she strives to become the most powerful woman in all of Huaxia.

My main issue with this book was the writing. It was, for lack of a better word, amateur, bordering even on fanfic-y. Everything Zetian said was cool and witty and a perfect retort that left mouths hanging open and people cowering in fear. It was trying to be edgy and coming across as more cringe than anything else. I was very interested in the relationships between Shimin, Yizhi and Zetian, and the fact that they were in a polyamorous arrangement. I really liked that aspect and it was a breath of fresh air from the usual love triangle. Iron Widow takes a while to get going and ends on a massive, unsatisfying cliffhanger. I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel to this one, much to my disappointment!

Book Review: Sistersong by Lucy Holland

Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Length: 416 Pages
Genres: Fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Trigger Warnings in this book for Some Gore and Violence and Misgendering of a Trans Character. There is also a scene of where Keyne, the trans character, is forcibly stripped and made to wear a dress.

A special thanks to Netgalley and Redhook Books for an ARC of this book!

*Note: While Keyne is called she/her by the other characters for the majority of the book, I will be using he/him pronouns to describe him, as those are his preference!

"The tale of my sisters live on, but my part in it is lost. They tell different tales about me now: wild peerless flags of tales, with trappings fit for a king. I am a man. I am a woman. I am neither and wear a sorcerer's skin. I am the uncle of a Saxon legend. I murder children. I married Brittany's daughter. I am a creature of vice, as Gildas was fond of saying. And I am also a saint, who abandoned my people for a life of faith and was martyred for it."

I've been eagerly awaiting Lucy Holland's debut, Sistersong, and was so thrilled when I was approved for an ARC! I can tell you know, with that same excitement, that is book is one of my favorites of the year so far! When it comes to fantasy I can be incredibly picky, as it is one of my favorites genres and one I like to write in. But this blew all of my expectations way out of the water!

My bestfriend is my own sister, so I am instantly drawn to stories surrounding the loving and complicated relationships between them. Sistersong follows Riva, the eldest, who was burned by a fire when young and left with a limp and a hand that she can't use, Keyne, who wants nothing more than for his family to accept him as the heir of Dumnonia, and Sinne who is young, beautiful and a little spoiled.

The siblings lives are thrown into tumult when Riva follows Keyne outside of Dumnonia to his secret meetings with the magician Myrdhin, who teaches him about his magical connection the land, and becomes lost, only to be saved by the secretive Tristan. Sinne and Riva's relationship is further fractured by their jealously over Tristan, and it is this that eventually tears them apart -- forever. With the threat of the priest Gildas, who is determined to root out not only their religion, but their powers, pushing in on them from all sides, can the sisters learn to overcome their differences for the better of their Kingdom?

Sistersong reminded me of everything I love about this genre, and oftentimes reminded me of Arthurian myth and the stories I've read based off of it, although this book is based solely off an old ballad called The Twa Sisters. I was unfamiliar with it, and I highly recommend you don't look if up if you are curious, as it reveals a grim twist towards the end of the book that truly shocked me! I also adored the magic system, which relied on one being able to manipulate the "patterns" of the universe -- from fire to air to earth and more.

With murder, magic, battles and ballads, Sistersong is undoubtedly one of the best fantasies of 2021. Be sure to snatch it up on October 5th, or better yet, preorder it now!

Book Review: The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova
Length: 336 Pages
Genres: Magical Realism and Fantasy
Rating: 5 out 5 Stars

A special thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel!

"How do you fight a thing that believes it owns you? How do you fight the past? With gold leaves and salt? With silence? With new earth beneath your feet? With the bodies, the hearts of others?
With hearts that are tender and bloodied but have thorns of their own.
With the family that chooses you."

Trigger Warnings in this book for Minor Blood and Violence

I was so, so pleased to have gotten an ARC of this wonderful, magical and simply delightful new novel by Zoraida Córdova! It is my first foray into her work, though I've heard nothing but good stuff and I can guarantee it will not be my last.

Told in alternating timelines, following the titular Orquídea Divina in her youth, and three of her grand-children and one great-grandchild, Marimar, Rey, Tatinelly and her daughter, Rhiannon, this is a story of the strength of family (and how much they can annoy us!) and just what one will do to feel power when they are born powerless.

The mysterious Orquídea Divina showed up in Four Rivers with a house in her pocket and a determination to protect herself and her family from something she won't name. Five husbands later plus a plethora of children, grandchildren, and a great-grandchild on the way, she calls her family home to claim their inheritance. Growing up in the magnificent house in Four Rivers, where the pantry never runs dry, the floors are scrubbed with a mixture of lemon, salt and herbs to keep evil out, and stories of fairies, Ecuadorian river monsters, and duendes are gospel truth, the Montoyas are used to the strange. What they find upon arrival, though, beggars belief, and sends them into a dangerous game of survival and truth.

I loved every second of this book. From the very first page I knew this was exactly my kind of book, and unless Cordova did something drastic, it wouldn't dip beneath a five star rating! I really enjoyed the dynamic of the large family (I've always wished to have a large family!), and how in the end, they come together to protect what's theirs despite their differences. This novel is certainly one of the most original takes on magic I've read in a long time, and while I kind of guessed the identity of the unnamed threat, it did nothing to diminish the exhilarating ride that was The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina!

This amazing novel comes out September 7th, so mark your calendars, or better yet, pre-order it! You can't dare to miss one of the best books of 2021.

Book Review: Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
Genres: Fantasy
Length: 448 Pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

"Beware, beware three maidens fair
With bloody hands and divine air.
Help not the girl whom others blame
She'll burn the world to ash and flame.
Trust not the girl with the golden crown
She'll take what's yours and watch you drown.
And my Lily Maid will scream and cry.
She'll break them both and then she'll die."

Trigger Warning in this book for Suicide

Along with Greek mythology, one of my lifelong obsessions (dating back, probably, to when I first glimpsed Sam Neill in the 1998 Merlin miniseries on Syfy, when it was still Scifi) is Arthurian mythology. I've always had such a fascination with the characters, and I have to admit I've rarely come across a well-done Arthurian story. I was really taken by surprise when I saw Laura Sebastian's Half Sick of Shadows as one of Book of the Month's June picks, because it had somehow completely flown under my radar! 

"I am half-sick of shadows," Elaine Astolat, Lady of Shalott, famously declares in Lord Alfred Tennyson's lyrical poem, which consists of 20 stanzas (19 in another version). She is afflicted by a strange curse, doomed to forever weave images on her loom, and to only ever glimpse the world through a small handheld mirror. The Lady of Shalott is perhaps even overshadowed by her own death, in which she dies of heartbreak over the knight Lancelot, and floats down the river to Camelot, a lily clutched in hand.

In this retelling, Elaine is cursed with visions, which come unbidden to her in her sleep, and later, under the careful tutelage of the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, at her beck and call through weaving on her loom. Her childhood is spent trapped in a tower in Camelot with her mother, until the wild and tempestuous Morgana returns to court and they strike up a fast friendship. Morgana urges Elaine to come away with her back to Avalon, where the Fey have reigned since they lost the war with Albion. She does, and when she arrives she meets the lost Prince Arthur, the strange and beautiful Lyonessian Princess Guinevere, and the half-fey Lancelot, who she will go on to love.

Soon, Elaine realizes that her power is more a curse than a gift. Urged to never share her visions with those they involve, lest she bring them to fruition, Elaine is lonely, but wise and trusted. She, along with the others, are raised for one purpose: to see Arthur crowned. Everything, their friendship, their love, and even their very selves, are pushed to the side to see the task done. But Elaine cannot accept the future that lies ahead -- one of broken promises, treasonous friends, and her own heart broken by the very man she so wants to trust. Can she stop it? Or is the future already set in stone?

I very much enjoyed this new take on the Arthurian myth, told from the POV of a character rarely utilized. I loved each character, and each new vision Elaine discovered, of a bitter and hate-filled Morgana, or of her and Arthur heartbroken by their lovers' betrayal, made my own heart ache. I was especially taken with this new spin on the much maligned Guinevere, and was pleased to see her not relegated to the same old adulterous harpy role she so frequently fills. A refreshing take on the old with a bittersweet ending, Half Sick of Shadows is a perfect choice to inspire new lovers of Arthur, Morgana, Lancelot, Guinevere, and the oft-forgotten, Elaine.

Book Review: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
Length: 480 Pages
Genres: High Fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for an ARC of this novel!

"'Kill me or save me,' murmured Malini. 'But do something, Priya.'"

Trigger Warnings in this book for Violence and Gore

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri is undoubtedly a fantastical feat -- layers upon layers of exquisite worldbuilding, a cast of morally grey characters, and a magic system that is as fascinating as it is deadly, it is a sure win for those read A Song of Ice and Fire and wanted more (and might I say, better?). The first in a trilogy inspired by the epics of India, we follow several characters, with the heart of each warring faction represented by the Ahiranyi maidservant Priya and the imprisoned Parijat Princess Malini. 

Priya serves in the Mahal, the palace where the regent and his wife live in sanctity in wild and diseased Ahiranya. When Malini is sent against her will to live in the Hirana, a temple with a changing and treacherous pathway that once housed people and children with forbidden powers -- fueled by the dangerous waters that lurk beneath the temple -- until they were deemed a danger to Parijatdvipa by the Emperor and burned alive. Malini herself narrowly escaped such a fate, and is forced to live in solitude by her tyrannical brother, the Emperor Chandra. She wants nothing more than to see him gone, and her elder brother, Aditya, on the throne. She will do anything to accomplish it, including getting closer to her new maid, Priya, who has startling powers, and a history she refuses to remember. What neither expect is the complicated feelings that bloom between them.

This is a long book, and less interesting POV's sometimes made it feel even longer. Despite loving so much about it, from the history to the wonderfully scheming main characters to the gorgeous writing, I oftentimes found myself wishing it had been cut down just a little. But don't let that deter you from the amazing first book in a new series! A must-read for any fantasy fan, check this one out when you're wanting to sink deep into a mythology, a new world, and people that might just be...a little monstrous.