Every once in awhile, I just need some fluff. I don’t want to think; I just want to feel. I never thought in a million years I would turn to romance novels for fluff, as my haughty reading tastes had prevented me from enjoying them before. But now, I have to admit, they’re growing on … Continue reading Strawberry Hill, by Catherine Anderson →

As you all know, fantasy is my Kryptonite: give me a modern character, a fantasy world to explore, and I’m gone until that journey is finished. But sometimes, magical realism all by itself is just as powerful as any real magic spell. The greatest adventures can be found with your own friends, in your own … Continue reading The Looking Glass, by Janet McNally →

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and consequently the Wizard of Oz film, is a rare entity: a story whose characters, settings, and adventures just exude magic. From childhood, the story of Dorothy and her strange companions has been a warm source of comfort and enchantment for me. And yet, I find I know very little … Continue reading Finding Dorothy, by Elizabeth Letts →

When I reviewed Kendare Blake’s Three Dark Crowns last summer, I knew I had landed on something pretty awesome. A little over six months later, and here I am, reviewing the sequel, One Dark Throne. It’s taken me long enough to read it, and therefore long enough to review it. Because this is a sequel, … Continue reading One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2), by Kendare Blake →

Of all the world’s pantheons of gods, I remember the Greek one the best, having learned about them in school, watched them in movies and television, and continued to read them in fiction (cough Percy Jackson cough). Ah, distinctly, I remember watching the 1997 film version of The Odyssey in English class—Odysseus bending to the … Continue reading Circe, by Madeline Miller →

You would think that, having frequented the fantasy section numerous times, I would have tried some of Holly Black’s work. She has won many accolades for her faerie stories, full of dangerous revels, forbidden forests, but most of all, of tantalizing faeries with beautiful faces and terrible magic. The Darkest Part of the Forest is … Continue reading The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black →

I am torn—so, so torn—with this one. The last YA book I read with a political overtone was Meg Cabot’s All-American Girl, when I was fourteen. Twelve years later, I picked up Red, White, and Royal Blue at the behest of some good friends who loved it. I’m not saying this review will compare the … Continue reading Red, White, and Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston →

I must admit: I’ve gotten better at looking at fluffy YA books and allowing excitement to take control, rather than stuffy contempt. Although, I think part of why I picked up today’s book is because, for once, I could make a book suggestion to my sister Robin. You know, the family Potterhead? The one who … Continue reading Prince Charming, by Rachel Hawkins →

In the fandom world, we have a lot of what we call “feels.” When a piece of entertainment media hits you so hard that you can only squeal and jump and laugh and altogether react to whatever’s happened in the movie, TV show, book, comic, etc. And right now, I have a lot of them … Continue reading The Princess and the Fangirl, by Ashley Poston →

Many people underestimate how awesome of a playground history is for fiction. Most of the time, writers create sweeping love stories in bygone eras, or maybe they rewrite a historical character with better or worse qualities. But how about meshing history with fantasy to create a biting commentary? Fantasy can easily help to reflect society’s … Continue reading Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland →