Stories of strong heroines (surprise!) in medieval realms are mostly entertaining. Except when they aren't.
Category: bookreviews
Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
With A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas gives us a mash-up of Beauty and the Beast and the legend of Tam Lin.
Book Review: King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard
The third book in Aveyard's Red Queen series includes enough surprises and shifting perspectives to make for an enjoyable read.
Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Balancing scenes wrought with terror, anguish, and anger with moments of humor and forgiveness, Thomas demonstrates the power of literary activism in her debut novel, The Hate U Give.
Book Review: With Love from the Inside by Angela Pisel
In With Love from the Inside, a book about a woman awaiting execution on death row for the murder of her infant son, author Angela Pisel explores the limits of family ties and the harm born from shame and lies.
The Bear and the Nightingale and the “Religious Nut” plot device
Magic and family and winter and...nuts!
First, persevere: Stephanie Garber’s Caraval
Read Stephanie Garber's Caraval, but don't stop when you get to the end of the story.
Book Review: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Great world-building and interesting characters compensate for superficial emotional resonance in fantasy favorite A Darker Shade of Magic.
Book Review: The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
With The Language of Thorns, a collection of six fairy tales set in the fantasy Grishaverse of her previous novels, author Leigh Bardugo serves up a challenge to disrupt the tropes that stifle us with a deliciously decadent dose of gingerbread, wood smoke, and fox-fur coats.
Book Review: Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire of Wicked fame returns for another jaunt into fable backstory with Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker.