I would never have linked flamenco dancing and dragon fighting, but honestly, it really works! This historical fantasy romance has a lot of things going for it, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. “Dragonadores exist to show the people of Hispalia that dragons can be beat. We can have victory against the formidable beasts. People are attacked every day, villages destroyed by fire, children murdered in their sleep. We fight to give hope.” Zarela grew up in La Giralda, the most famous dragon fighting arena in Santivilla, and a child of famous parents. Her father is quiteRead the Post
Review: A Far Wilder Magic – Allison Saft
After the incredibly inventive Down Comes the Night, I wondered how the author could follow up that debut. Well, this is definitely a worthy successor, full of characters who do lots of pining for the other while simultaneously being in denial. While her mother, an alchemist, travels the world in pursuit of her craft, Margaret lives a solitary life taking care of their dilapidated mansion on the edge of a small English village. But she knows things will change when she spots the Hala, a legendary magical creature, in the woods. The Halfmoon Hunt will be coming to attempt to killRead the Post
Review: Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves – Meg Long
I’m a sucker for kid-and-their-dog books, and this is a high-stakes scifi version of that. It’s the perfect book for reading while snowed in and cuddling your own dog. “No wolves. No sleds. No racing.” I say it automatically despite the lump in my throat. “Foolish rule for life on a planet that revolves around those three things,” she quips.” Tundar, an Edge World, that has near constant electrical storms and a frigid climate. Corpos – giant corporations – attempted to terraform the world once, but just made it worse, exacerbating the weather and making the wildlife even more deadly.Read the Post
Review: If This Gets Out – Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich
I’m of the vintage where my formational boy bands were Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Sure, there were lots of arguments over which band was best and who was the hottest, but it was nothing like the fan culture surrounding boy bands today (especially KPOP!). So I can’t exactly say this sounded up my alley, but I absolutely adored Sophie Gonzales’ Perfect on Paper and the combination of best-friends-to-lovers plus forbidden love tropes peaked my interest. And I’m so glad I took the chance on this because it was an absolute rollercoaster of a ride full of angst, pining and adorableness. AfterRead the Post
Review: Perfect on Paper – Sophie Gonzales
Content warnings: This book is just so adorable and funny. I’m not sure how I’ve missed this author before, but once I picked this book up I could not put it down! Darcy operates an agony aunt locker at her high school. Students can drop off a letter – and the fee – and get a personalized email response. And things are going great! She has a 95% success rate (based on refunds) and she’s successfully managed to keep it a secret, even from her best friend Brooke. Until she gets surprised by Brougham. Initially Darcy thinks Brougham is nothingRead the Post
Review: Namesake – Adrienne Young
Content warnings: I’m still loving this YA pirate girl trend, so of course I was excited to get back to Fable’s world. Also, I adore how the covers form Fable’s face! This is the second in the duology, and can’t be read as a standalone, so this review will contain spoilers for the first book. “We were salt and sand and sea and storm. We were made in the Narrows.” At the end of the last book, things were finally looking up for Fable – and then she got kidnapped by Zola and his crew. Though she initially thinks heRead the Post
Review: Down Comes the Night – Allison Saft
Content warnings: That’s a delightfully gothic cover, huh? I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this book, but I love books that star healers, especially ones that have to make hard decisions, and this book definitely lived up to that (and the creepy cover). The fragile peace between the kingdoms of Danu and Vesria looks ready to break, and Wren, the illegitimate niece of the Danubian queen, is the only person who’s able to stop it. After being thrown out of the guard for healing (and then losing) a prisoner, she receives a mysterious letter from a noble inRead the Post
Review: Amelia Unabridged – Ashley Schumacher
Content warnings: I love when covers match the book’s contents, don’t you? That gorgeous cover is basically what the book is about, complete with flying whales, late nights reading in a bookstore, and a lost-looking young adult trying to figure out life. It’s heart-wrenching and lovely and I cried way more times than I want to admit. “Do you want to talk about it?” I would have been less surprised if the stone lion sitting outside the fancy restaurant across the street had opened its massive jaws and made the same offer, but I managed to mumble, “No, thank you.”Read the Post
Review: The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi
I’m pretty much ride or die for found families, so it’s no surprise that I’m a fan of the recent crop of young adult heist books. This book is reminiscent of Six of Crows, in that it’s a young adult fantasy heist story, but there’s a lot more going on below the surface. It’s a story about revenge and perseverance, about colonialism and colorism, about being biracial and never quite fitting in. Denied his birthright as the heir of House Vanth, Séverin has assembled both a fortune as the owner of the glamorous L’Eden hotel and a crew of hotshotsRead the Post
Review: Fable – Adrienne Young
Content warnings: I’m not sure what’s prompted the rash of young adult pirate books lately, but yes, please give me more, thanks. This one is a dark and gritty fantasy filled with found family and adventure on the high seas. Also, I apologize ahead of time for the boatload of nautical puns in this review. “I’m on the Marigold to crew.” “No, you’re not.” She sighed, getting to her feet. “You’re on the Marigold to find a family.” This is basically a “found family” story in two senses. First, Fable is hunting down her father Saint, head of a massiveRead the Post