Welcome to the cursed town of Sparrow… Where, two centuries ago, three sisters were sentenced to death for witchery. Stones were tied to their ankles and they were drowned in the deep waters surrounding the town. Now, for a brief time each summer, the sisters return, stealing the bodies of three weak-hearted girls so that they may seek...
fantasy
ARC Review | Toil & Trouble
A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic stories featuring witchy heroines who are diverse in race, class, sexuality, religion, geography, and era. Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Glinda the Good Witch. Elphaba the Wicked Witch. Willow. Sabrina. Gemma Doyle. The Mayfair Witches. Ursula the Sea Witch. Morgan le...
Review | The Smoke Thieves by Sally Green
The Smoke Thieves was described as A Game of Thrones for a YA audience, though its multiple perspectives, the warring kingdoms and many character deaths were the only similarities – beyond that, The Smoke Thieves is comprised primarily of common fantasy tropes, making for a rather generic read. With one of the opening scenes involving actual demon hunting, I expected the demon smoke...
Review | The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The Bear and the Nightingale was one of my more anticipated reads for the year. As someone who loves historical fiction and fairytale retellings, I was really excited to see Arden’s take on Russian folklore. The only Russian story that I was familiar with was that of Baba Yaga, so I was really excited to learn more about Frost...
Review | Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible...
Review | Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
Betrothed since childhood to the prince of Mynaria, Princess Dennaleia has always known what her future holds. Her marriage will seal the alliance between Mynaria and her homeland, protecting her people from other hostile lands. But Denna has a secret. She possesses an Affinity for fire—a dangerous gift for the future queen of a kingdom where magic is...
Review | The Traitor’s Game by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Nothing is as it seems in the kingdom of Antora. Kestra Dallisor has spent three years in exile in the Lava Fields, but that won’t stop her from being drawn back into her father’s palace politics. He’s the right hand man of the cruel king, Lord Endrick, which makes Kestra a valuable bargaining chip. A group of rebels...
Review | The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco
In The Bone Witch, Tea mastered resurrection―now she’s after revenge… No one knows death like Tea. A bone witch who can resurrect the dead, she has the power to take life…and return it. And she is done with her self-imposed exile. Her heart is set on vengeance, and she now possesses all she needs to command the mighty...
Review | When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel’s wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees, and for how little anyone knows about...
Review | Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi
Our story begins on a frosty night… Laylee can barely remember the happier times before her beloved mother died. Before her father, driven by grief, lost his wits (and his way). Before she was left as the sole remaining mordeshoor in the village of Whichwood, destined to spend her days washing the bodies of the dead and preparing...