The future is now, and it is bright and dazzling. Divinity 36, by Gail Carriger, reads like a next-generation YA staple that will sit undiscovered for a while and make huge waves when it goes mainstream with the youth. The name of the game is divinity. There is no difference between celebrity and religion, love…
In Other Lands, by Sarah Rees Brennan, is a conundrum of a book. It is a standalone fantasy with a number of traditional tropes and elements I can’t usually stand. It’s a portal fantasy, YA, a coming-of-age story with a love triangle, and has an unlikable protagonist, among other things. In the dedication, Brennan seems…
Continue reading ➞ In Other Lands – Young, Dumb, And Full Of Adventure
I tend to avoid fiction that is directly marketed as YA, but sometimes, I see a premise that is too cool to resist. To Shape A Dragon's Breathe (Nampeshiweisit #1), by Moniquill Blackgoose, is a colonial fantasy set in the States during a period when the English (Anglish) still controlled their colonies. The book is…
Continue reading ➞ To Shape A Dragon’s Breath – Hot And Heavy
It’s books like Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto that rekindle my love for YA. Over the years I have been worn down after reading many lackluster books in the category, but this one is a bright spark that deserves attention. It’s a unique story that is well-written, has a fully developed world that…
I have been circling Legendborn by Tracy Deonn for some time now. A part of me felt that this book was going to be amazing, and I wanted to make sure I had the time and space to sit down and appreciate the story unfolding around me. Two years later and a month before the…
The Last Graduate, by Naomi Novik, is one of the best books of the year for many readers. I don’t think that will surprise anyone who has read A Deadly Education, which was one of my top picks of last year. The Scholomance series stands out from the pack with a unique narrative experience, fabulous setting,…
If you are in the market for something different, Star Eater by Kerstin Hall has you covered. Set in a grimdark world, the book is about an authoritarian and aristocratic order of nuns that consumes the flesh of their order members to maintain superpowers similar to Spider-man. So, it's certainly different from anything else I…
Yoon Ha Lee is a science fiction writer with a penchant for the strange and the imaginative. His Machineries of Empire series came out of nowhere a few years ago and wowed the pants off of myself and many other reviews. His work has a tendency to be surreal and confusing but with clever guardrails…
Happy new year everyone! We started 2020 off strong with a whole slew of reads over our break and will have a number of interesting reviews and other pieces in the coming weeks. Up first we have the sixth, and final, book in the Spellslinger series, Crownbreaker, by Sebastien de Castell. This YA series has…
Continue reading ➞ Crownbreaker – Don’t Need A Crown To Be King
I am running out of inventive and original ways to say I really like almost anything that Sebastien de Castell puts out. This is something like the eighth book of his that I have reviewed and the worst thing I have had to say about any of his works is that you should go read…
Continue reading ➞ Queenslayer – Captivating But Showing Wear
