A fantasy novel about a reluctant monarch ascending the throne after years in hiding, who inherits a struggling kingdom threatened by the mad queen of a neighboring land isn’t exactly a revolutionary concept. Quite the opposite—it’s cliché. Yet The Queen of the Tearling is getting a lot of pre-publication buzz, due to a big advance… Continue reading Book Review: The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Tag: fantasy
The Merry Sisters of Fate: A 3-in-1 YA Fantasy/Paranormal Romance Review
Our library is hosting the three authors of the forthcoming Curiosities: A Collection of Short Stories, which I reviewed here (and also shared a fun story about reading a couple of the stories to some juvenile delinquents here). But I hadn’t read any of the novels written by Tessa Gratton, Maggie Stiefvater, or Brenna Yovanoff and wanted to… Continue reading The Merry Sisters of Fate: A 3-in-1 YA Fantasy/Paranormal Romance Review
Sci-Fi + Jane Austen: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diane Peterfreund
Pride and Prejudice isn’t my favorite Jane Austen novel. Neither is Emma. It’s not even Sense and Sensibility or Northhanger Abbey. For the record, it’s Mansfield Park, but a close second is Persuasion. So when a new book came into the library and was described on the jacket as a dystopian/post-apocalyptic spin on Persuasion, I… Continue reading Sci-Fi + Jane Austen: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diane Peterfreund
So you loved The Hunger Games…what should you read next?
If I had a nickel for every time I have been asked to recommend a book that is “like The Hunger Games,” I could double my paycheck. It’s great that kids are excited about reading, but I hate that even though we have multiple copies of the most popular read-alikes, they are often checked out.… Continue reading So you loved The Hunger Games…what should you read next?
Smoke and Mirrors: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
A little known fact about me is that I am enamored with Russian history. When I was an undergraduate, I took 18 hours of Russian history classes, and I only switched my emphasis within International Studies to Latin America because all the Russian history professors were old, stodgy and boring and when I took political… Continue reading Smoke and Mirrors: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
wrapped up in books 