Beauty Awakened by Gena Showalter
I’d never read any of Gena Showalter’s books before trying Beauty Awakened, but I’d gotten the idea they were fun reads. Unfortunately, I did not have fun with Beauty Awakened — in fact, it made me angry — and I abandoned the book partway through.
The setup is that Koldo, a physically and emotionally scarred dark-angel type, and Nicola, a self-sacrificing young woman with a heart condition and a dying twin sister, meet and eventually fall in love.
July 21st, 2014. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 1 | Gena Showalter | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
You never know what Sarah Beth Durst is going to do next. Fairy tales mixed with science? Vampires and unicorns? Gods taking over human bodies? Creepy carnivals? She’s done all of that and more, and with The Lost, Durst begins another story that, just like her previous novels, is completely different from what has gone before.
Lauren Chase took to the open road to get away, just for a little while, from the prospect of bad news about her mother’s health.
June 23rd, 2014. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4 | Sarah Beth Durst | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Fantasy Literature welcomes back Sarah Beth Durst, whose new novel, The Lost, is out this week. I’m currently reading The Lost and really enjoying it — it’s eerie, and filled with mysteries. In the spirit of The Lost, Sarah has a question for you. One commenter (U.S. address) will win a signed copy of The Lost. Thanks for stopping by, Sarah!
My question for you this Thursday is: What have you lost that you’d like to find?
I’ve lost earrings — a little silver gecko,
May 29th, 2014. Kelly Lasiter | Sarah Beth Durst | Thoughtful Thursday | 8 comments |
In one of last month’s Thoughtful Thursday columns, April suggested a discussion topic. She wants to know what your “book deal breakers” are.
Book deal breakers are elements you find in the synopsis, cover, title, or text that will make you absolutely not buy, read, or continue reading a particular book. April says “I know everyone has some!”
So, readers, what are your book deal breakers?
As always, one commenter will be chosen to pick a book from our stacks. Winners are notified in the comments, so make sure to check the notification box or remember to check back in about 10 days.
April 10th, 2014. Kelly Lasiter | Thoughtful Thursday | 25 comments |
Vampires are everywhere in teen fiction, but recently some authors have ventured outside fangland and explored a more diverse assortment of supernatural beings. And so we have Fates by Lanie Bross, a novel about, well, Fates. I was a little sad when I realized Bross’s Fates didn’t bear much resemblance to the Greek Fates, just because I’m a sucker for classical mythology, but nonetheless I was eager to see what Bross did with the concept. The gorgeous cover art didn’t hurt a bit either.
February 11th, 2014. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 2.5 | Lanie Bross | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Mistress of the Wind by Michelle Diener
“East of the Sun, West of the Moon” is a Scandinavian fairy tale that’s a bit like “Beauty and the Beast,” and even more like “Cupid and Psyche.” It’s full of striking imagery but has always inspired a bit of ambivalence in me — I love that the girl goes on an epic journey to rescue the guy, but I’m always a smidgen irked that she wins him by doing laundry better than her rival! In recent years, a number of authors have turned their hands to retelling the story in novel form,
December 31st, 2013. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3 | Michelle Diener | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Daughters of the Nile by Stephanie Dray
Daughters of the Nile concludes Stephanie Dray’s trilogy about Selene, the daughter of Cleopatra, who survived the fall of her mother’s kingdom and went on to become a queen herself. I’ve never been quite sure how to categorize this series — is it fantasy? is it historical fiction with magic realism? — but I’ve certainly been enjoying it.
In Lily of the Nile, we saw Selene as a young girl coming of age; in Song of the Nile we saw her dealing with the issues of young womanhood in addition to the precarious political situation in which she lived.
December 11th, 2013. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 4.5 | Stephanie Dray | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Sorrow’s Knot had some big footsteps in which to follow, since Erin Bow’s debut novel Plain Kate was pretty terrific. But I’m pleased to report that Sorrow’s Knot not only lived up to my expectations but exceeded them. This is a fantastic novel, and better than Plain Kate.
Sorrow’s Knot is set in a world that feels a lot like the Pacific Northwest,
December 6th, 2013. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 5 | Erin Bow | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
The Incrementalists by Steven Brust & Skyler White
The Incrementalists is collaboration between authors Steven Brust and Skyler White. I was more familiar with White going in, having enjoyed her trippy novels and Falling, Fly and In Dreams Begin. My experience with Brust’s vast catalogue was sadly limited to having read The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars many years ago while obsessively collecting the FAIRY TALE SERIES. In The Incrementalists,
November 21st, 2013. Kelly Lasiter´s rating: 3.5 | Skyler White, Steven Brust | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Today we welcome Erin Bow whose novel Plain Kate (which I loved) made our BEST OF 2010 list. Her second YA novel, Sorrow’s Knot was released this week and I can’t wait to read it. Since it’s Halloween, Erin’s here to talk about creepiness and to give away a copy of Sorrow’s Knot to one random commenter with a U.S. address.
Happy Halloween, fantasy readers and writers! Let’s talk about how to make monsters creepy.
There’s a curious thing I call the Sauron paradox,
October 31st, 2013. Kelly Lasiter | Erin Bow | Thoughtful Thursday | 11 comments |
I would love to completely leave the psychopathic edgelord's hellsite, but bsky appears to exist only as an app, and…
I had it on my list to reread (which means I looked over at the bookcase one night, saw it…
Marion, I'm saving James (and Orbital) for after my semester ends so I can devote my undivided attention to them.…
Susan, glad you enjoyed. Samuel Jackson should absolutely play him in the movie!
Troy, 100% agreed. Sadly the BBC adaptation is also confused about this. They seem to think Orciny is some kind…