There’s a saying to the effect that the task of poetry is to either take the unfamiliar and make it familiar, or vice versa. As a long-time fan of fantasy fiction, I’ve always thought the same applied to that genre. Unfortunately, Dark Dreams does the exact opposite: it takes the unfamiliar and keeps it completely…
The Warrior, a sequel to The Trickster, which was quite favorable reviewed here at AAR, suffers from a bad case of sequel-itis. But instead of the usual symptom, bloated sections of boring back story, this one assumes the reader has read the prequel and will read the forthcoming sequel and leaves out too much information….
Move over, Buffy . . . Step aside, Xena . . . Zoë Smith’s the new super gal in town! Ahhh, those marketing folks. They’ll say just about anything to make a sale, won’t they? Well, after reading about Zoë’s adventures I don’t think Buffy and Xena need to worry about retiring and settling in…
For any readers who are fans of the Fantasy genre as well as Romance, Abandon should be quite a treat. The book offers an unending series of exquisite fantasy details so seamlessly woven into the story that the effect is reminiscent of Magical Realism. If the romance reached the same standard the book would be…
I don’t usually like books with supernatural elements. I’m more of a “reality” person and like my stories grounded in the touchable, knowable world. But, against my own instincts, I found Thoroughly Kissed to be a thoroughly fun read. Emma Lost is the original Sleeping Beauty. Her life and her beauty were the inspiration for…
I love faery stories. Be it a lighter kind of “fairy tale” or darker stories of magical beings, I am always searching for a read that will take me to another world. Karen Fox’s Prince of Charming is a story about one of the most famous magical beings there is, Robin Goodfellow, known to readers…
What would you do if a genie suddenly popped out of your cell phone? Well, if he looked anything like the stern, arms-crossed guy on the cover of Meredith’s Wish I know I’d be dusting off my sneakers and practicing my sprinting skills! But don’t let the picture scare you off, because between the covers…
Sun Wolf’s father taught him three things: Don’t mess with magic, don’t argue with drunks or fanatics, and don’t fall in love. In the course of this novel, he will do all three. The Ladies of Mandrigyn takes place in an imaginary world where a great empire has collapsed, leaving a politically unstable power vacuum….
Despite the beefcake cover and corny back cover blurb, I was impressed with the first quarter of this book. I thought Ms. Lawrence had taken a difficult premise – the hero of a virtual reality video game come to life in a New Jersey store – and made it workable. I was even laughing out…
I love finding new-to-me authors. Kathleen Nance has written two other books and two novellas, and I may have to go find them if they’re all as charming as this novel. Centuries ago, the gods of Olympus ruled the earth. Zeus, the ruler, dallied with many women, among them Io. Long story short, he turned…