Claire Legrand’s latest novel Furyborn is one of the most anticipated YA fantasy releases of 2018. Set in a world rich with magic and mythology, Furyborn is the story of two young women who live centuries apart, whose roles in an ancient prophecy about two queens could leave the world in ruins—or be humanity’s salvation.
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It took me a few days to properly compose my thoughts and feelings after finishing Julia Fine’s debut novel What Should Be Wild. I needed to calm down so my entire review wouldn’t just be incoherent key mashing interspersed with “GO READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!” Hopefully, this review is a little more eloquent.
Lucky me recently snatched up an advance reader’s copy of Danielle Teller’s new upcoming novel All the Ever Afters, the story of Cinderella as told by Cinderella’s “evil” stepmother, Agnes. This book is in a similar vein to Wicked, in that it deeply expands on, reinvents, and complicates the original fairytale in a way that feels very relevant and necessary, minus all the “bippity boppity boo.”
Opening up a newly-released book by Tamora Pierce felt a little bit like breathing in sunlight. Okay, my inner poet likes being a little dramatic, but when I finally got around to reading Tempests and Slaughter, I was a little worried that returning to Pierce’s work after seven+ years would be disappointing. I still remember so vividly the magic and wonder of her Circle of Magic series, and the vivacity of the Alanna books, and the intensity of the Beka Cooper series. I was afraid that Tempests and Slaughter might reveal to me that I’d outgrown Pierce’s writing, or that it wasn’t as good as I remember it being, or that I simply wouldn’t like this new story.
I needn’t have worried. I’d been waiting eagerly for Tomi Adeyemi’s debut novel Children of Blood and Bone as soon as I heard the buzz about it in the months before it hit the shelves. A magical YA fantasy set in a West African-inspired land? I was so excited, but none of the hype could prepare me for the payoff. This book is my new favorite.
To conclude my “Forays into Fairyland” themed month, I will be reviewing an exciting new bestseller by Holly Black.
When I saw that there was a new fairy-themed book out by Holly Black, beloved author of the Modern Faerie Tales series that I adored as a wee teen, I nearly jumped up and down. I don’t follow Black on Twitter, so I had no idea that she was cooking up another faerie series. I brought the book home a few days later, practically vibrating with excitement. As you may know, I’ve been on a faerie (fairy, faery, faerie, fairie, whichever spelling floats your boat) book review kick this month. This particular book is by no means a new one--Bones of Faerie, by Janni Lee Simner, is the first in a trilogy first published in 2008. I don’t remember what year I picked it up from a shelf in a bookstore and decided to buy it, but it was probably relatively close to that publication date.
I don’t think I even read the first page of this book after I bought it—if I had, I definitely wouldn’t have let it gather dust on my shelf for 8+ years. Every so often, I’d see this book’s spine on my shelf, and wonder why I never bothered to read it. Finally, I decided enough was enough, and I read it in less than a week. As I was cleaning up the kids’ section of the bookstore I work at the other night, smiling at a few beloved, familiar novels, something that’s been on my mind a lot struck me.
Most people who know my reading habits and my writing tendencies could probably tell you that I have a certain preferred…aesthetic. You can probably sum up my personality by listening to Florence and Machine’s entire discography. I’m drawn to magic, myths, fairytales, and glitter. Always have been. It really shouldn’t have surprised me that somehow, I ended up unintentionally choosing to read three different books in the last two months that all transported me into worlds infused with magic, faeries, and darkness.
Man, it was fun. All the Crooked Saints is the first Maggie Stiefvater book that I've read, and let me say, I could not have chosen a better book to introduce myself to her body of work. Magical realism, owls, black roses, Elvis, trucks that are recovered ecosystems, coyote-headed priests, the incomprehensibility of love and radio waves and miracles—it doesn’t sound like all of these seemingly unrelated things could work together, but they all live in this book, and I didn’t once question it.
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AuthorWriter, reviewer, bookseller, book nerd extraordinaire. Fiction reader at Waxwing Magazine. Archives
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