Currently Reading: Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

Remember how much I liked Grave Mercy? It was years ago, and I never wrote reviews for the other two books in Robin LaFever’s excellent His Fair Assassin trilogy, but the stories of Ismae, Sybella, and Annith have stuck with me for ages and have, quite honestly, made other historical fantasies pale in comparison. So

Top 10 Reads of 2018

Ahoy there, long forgotten and much-missed corner of the internet.  I’m just dropping in to forcefully recommend my ten favorite books that came out in 2018, then I’ll probably forget to post for another year or so. Sad but true!  Let us not delude ourselves with thoughts of extra-curricular productivity in this shiny new year.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

“Tell Alice to stay the hell away from the Hazel Wood.”  That’s Ella Proserpine’s message to her daughter while she’s being kidnapped by nasty characters from a fairy tale.  Naturally, Alice heads straight for the Hazel Wood to find her mom. It’s way weirder there than even I expected. Characters: 5 stars Plot: 4 stars

Wildfire At Midnight by Mary Stewart

Star Ratings: Characters: *** (3 stars) Writing:***** (5 stars) Plot: *** (3 stars) Overall: **** (4 stars) Oh, hello, it’s been nearly a year since I re-visited this dusty old page. I’ve moved house and made some Frighteningly Big Life Decisions in the meantime, so please forgive the lapse. Big changes in life bring with

Book Review: Words In Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Star Ratings: Characters: ***** (5 stars) Writing:**** (4 stars) Plot: **** (4 stars) Overall: **** (4 stars) (Be it known that I read an advanced reader’s copy of this book and some things may change before publication.) I liked this book.  It’s realistic, somewhat romantic, somewhat nerdy YA.  It’s Australian, so the seasons were confusing.

YA Books To Buy For Your Graduation Gifts

I’m away from the Somewhat United States at the moment, ceilidh dancing in Edinburgh and haunting my old haunts in St Andrews, but high school students all over America are getting ready to graduate within the next few weeks.  Congratulations to you all, especially to the young adults who are regulars at my bookshop.  I’m

Book Review: The Sleeper And The Spindle

Writing: ***** (5 stars) Illustration: ***** (5 stars) Overall: ***** (5 stars) Age range recommendation: 10 and up (So long as readers are familiar with the likes of Grimm’s fairy tales and know that things can get ugly.  Previous knowledge of the original Sleeping Beauty/Snow White stories will help.) The Sleeper and The Spindle, written

Book Review: The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow

Star Ratings: Characters: ***** (5 stars) Character Development: ***** (5 stars) Plot: ***** (5 stars) Writing: **** (4 stars) Overall: ***** (5 stars) Age range recommendation: 13 and up.  (Swearing, violence, mild sexuality.) Be it known that I read an advanced copy of this book and some details may change before publication in late September.

Book Review: The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

(img source: goodreads) Star Ratings: Characters: ***** (5 stars) Character Development: **** (4 stars) Plot: *** (3 stars) Writing: **** (4 stars) Overall: **** (4 stars) Age range recommendation: 12 and up. (Dark but not scary, though there’s some troubling emotional and domestic abuse.) Be it known that I read an ARC of this book,

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Star Ratings: Characters: *** (3 stars) Character Development: *** (3 stars) Plot: **** (4 stars) Writing: *** (3 stars) Overall: *** (3 stars) Age range recommendation: 15 and up.  (Definitely not for anyone who isn’t in high school yet, as there’s sex and other grossness.  I would actually recommend this to a lot of twenty-somethings