The Salt Grows Heavy – Perfectly Spiced

A mermaid and a plague doctor walk across a burning kingdom. She doesn’t say anything as she watches her daughters devour the corpse of her husband. Her tongue had been removed, prepared for her to seal a pact of subservience to the prince that lies dead at her feet. The doctor chuckles softly, remarking on…

The Dragon's Promise Cover Photo

The Dragon’s Promise – Well-Kept

Elizabeth Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes duology comes to a close with a fairytale ending fitting for its rambunctious heroine. The story gets even bigger and better in The Dragon’s Promise as we follow Princess Shiori attempting to fulfill her stepmother’s wish. There was a lot more action in this book, and while both are amazing,…

A Spindle Splintered Cover Photo

A Spindle Splintered – Fractured Fairy Tale

I am never one to shy away from retellings, and I can’t deny Alix E. Harrow presented an intriguing remix of Sleeping Beauty in A Spindle Splintered. I certainly loved what this story tried to be, but unfortunately, there were other forces at play. Zinnia Gray is obsessed with Sleeping Beauty because she’s been cursed…

The Dark Tide – Witching Hour

Alicia Jasinska’s The Dark Tide was my third and final Dark Horse debut pick for the first half of 2020. The novel slotted neatly into my dark horse reading slate, adding an atmospheric fairy-tale inspired story to pair with my epic fantasy (The Kingdom of Liars) and sci-fi (Goddess in the Machine) selections. The Dark…