The first time I read China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station, I was not only confused, I was repelled. Too much was happening in a rank, unpleasant world where everything seemed to end badly for everyone. I kept the book only because I’d paid good money for it. A few years later, I read it again….
I was utterly thrilled to get a copy of Julia Whicker’s Wonderblood for review, as it seemed like it would be right up my alley. I’m a huge fan of dystopian fiction, rival queens, and anything having to do with carnivals, and this book contained all of those elements. Unfortunately though, I was unable to…
The Glass Spare will probably go down as my most unexpected DIK of 2017. Picking it up, I was prepared for a light read that I could enjoy but forget about once I was finished. I didn’t plan to get emotionally invested in the characters, and I certainly didn’t expect to be so impatient for…
When it comes right down to it, sequels are hit or miss. When the author does a fantastic job of setting up an alternate history in book one, as Beth Cato does in Breath of Earth, it’s a really hard act to follow. In the end, Call of Fire is a good follow up, but…
Eternity in an Hour is a delightful start to this fantasy series by new author, Matthew Merendo. It’s an interesting and intriguing story that I’d place somewhere between the YA and NA genres, with an enjoyable, intelligent plot and storyline to interest all adults. Here’s the blurb (from Amazon): Isolated in the center of an enormous sea,…
I have, most likely, given The Bear and the Nightingale one of the few low grades you will find for it. I did not do this lightly nor did I do it without reason. Part of it is simply that the book was badly marketed, at least for this reader. Hailed as being like Naomi…
We mere mortals have always been obsessed with the idea of immortality. With The Apothecary’s Curse, author Barbara Barnett taps into that fascination by bringing us the story of two men bound together by their inability to age. The tale revolves around the ideas of what it means to be alive and how having limitless…
This is one book with a reputation that precedes itself. Already optioned for an ABC television series on word of its tonal resemblance to the Gossip Girl franchise, HarperCollins is working mightily to make this the next big YA series on the block. The setting initially carries far more weight than the soapy GG world….
Across the Nightingale Floor starts with classic fantasy tropes: a young man thrust from a sheltered existence discovering new powers; a young woman made a drudge who falls in love with the prince. What makes it fresh is the Japanese spin: not only is the setting inspired by feudal Japan, but the characters and their…
It’s safe to say that science fiction and fantasy novels have been staples of my reading diet since I first began to read, which means that I can be a harsh critic when it comes to this genre. I’ve read so many of these books I know what terrific, great, good, acceptable and sub-par look…