The Emily Wilde trilogy has been a delight all the way through, and this third book in the series runs true to form, a delicious blend of cosy fantasyThe Emily Wilde trilogy has been a delight all the way through, and this third book in the series runs true to form, a delicious blend of cosy fantasy and light academia. I loved that as ever, Emily's academic pursuits provide the key to saving the day; I loved seeing her and Wendell tackling problems both together and apart; and above all I found the ending thoroughly satisfying, as Wendell attempts a number of different, grimdark solutions to his royal succession crisis. But Emily knows that this is not the sort of story you can live happily ever after in, and so she steps in to change fate - all without kidding herself about the danger involved in saving the life of someone who has been trying to kill you.
All this, and the prose has taken a step up in this book, too, with a far more convincing approximation of late-nineteenth-century English prose....more
woo! this landed really, really well. Doyle did a love triangle that dramatised the central moral dilemma of the story, a romance I actually believed woo! this landed really, really well. Doyle did a love triangle that dramatised the central moral dilemma of the story, a romance I actually believed in, some really solid but not overdone writing on trauma and depression, a terrific ride-or-die female friendship for the narrator, a use of the poem "Invictus" that made me appreciate it for the first time in my life, and a number of shocking swerves in the plot. There's also some interesting stuff around how a lot of people these days see talking a life as something dreadful that fundamentally changes you and at one point the loser in the love triangle gets a beautifully creepy line when he tells her that the boy she does like "won't be interested in you anymore once you've lost your innocence" which I thought pointed out some of the ways this attitude parallels purity culture - but of course there IS escape and new life in the end nonetheless.
I will absolutely be reading more of this author - this was good quality work....more
ok well the YA mafia romance got so much better because HOORAY we get a love triangle between the heroine and two different mafia bros that is expliciok well the YA mafia romance got so much better because HOORAY we get a love triangle between the heroine and two different mafia bros that is explicitly set up as a moral choice. will our girl choose the affable mafia bro who will not put her before his toxic family or will she choose the grumpy mafia bro who is always truthful and honest with her. this solves in a stroke the majority of the problems I had with the story in book 1 AND gives me a romance that I can get behind including some really satisfying, full-orbed romantic chemistry.
if Doyle lands this story as well as I hope I will utter a merry yell and settle down to reading all her other books too....more
Fun romcom/murder mystery. I didn't love the romance which made plentiful use of a trope I don't care for but the detection was fun. Fun romcom/murder mystery. I didn't love the romance which made plentiful use of a trope I don't care for but the detection was fun. ...more
Another satisfying, twisty, slightly bonkers murder mystery from Benjamin Stevenson, this one half the length, with a Christmas theme. I enjoyed it asAnother satisfying, twisty, slightly bonkers murder mystery from Benjamin Stevenson, this one half the length, with a Christmas theme. I enjoyed it as much as ever, and Stevenson continues to be one of the few male authors I've found writing female characters well. This was exactly what I needed for a very tired and sleepy afternoon! ...more
EMPIRE OF SHADOWS has a lot going for it, even before you hit the spectacular resolution. Although it's a heftyI was blown away by how good this was.
EMPIRE OF SHADOWS has a lot going for it, even before you hit the spectacular resolution. Although it's a hefty size, the book feels like reading a fast-paced Hollywood summer blockbuster movie in the vein of INDIANA JONES or THE MUMMY. While it's a cinematic adventurer-archaeology romp, it still crams an impressive amount of cultural, geographical, and historical detail into the story without ever bogging down, and proves that you can tell this kind of story without resorting to tired stereotyping. It evokes the Lady-and-Scoundrel bickering romance trope forged in Golden Age Hollywood and any Harrison Ford movie amazingly well considering how much respect its male lead has for the female lead's boundaries - I adored finally reading a version of this dynamic that didn't make me want to slap the male lead, and I loved that the romance arc was also a really moving friendship arc at the same time.
But then the resolution hit! And I'm thrilled to report that this book has the kind of ending that lifts an already enjoyable book above itself. The final few chapters are TERRIFICALLY well-written, with an intense sense of catharsis and some absolutely delicious cosmic horror stylings. This is not one of those books that sacrifices artistic power for what GK Chesterton once called "a pot of message". Trying to avoid spoilers here, but I thought that I could predict where the story was going but it did a 180 on me in the best POSSIBLE way. I was particularly impressed with how Jackie dealt with one element of ancient MesoAmerican culture which has quite probably been inflated, but could not have been invented whole-cloth, by colonisers justifying their depredations. Speaking as a historical fantasy author myself, this must have been an incredibly tricky issue to deal with, and I salute the author!
I could go on about all the other things I loved about this book, but I should be getting up and going about my day. There aren't a lot of historical fantasy authors in the indie/self-pub community working at this level of sheer quality and class, so if you enjoy historical fantasy make sure to read this one!
I hoovered this up in two sittings and enjoyed it far more than the first one, which feels introductory by comparison. While I had a number of nigglesI hoovered this up in two sittings and enjoyed it far more than the first one, which feels introductory by comparison. While I had a number of niggles (something about the way the heroine's mental health issues are handled makes the book feel quite dark and heavy at the beginning; I am not sure a Russian ambassador's son would be like that at all; I expected to see a lot more of the secret society doing secret society stuff) mostly I really, really enjoyed being able to gallop through a silly, engaging book that required very little of my overtired brain.
My favourite thing in the series so far: the heroine's prickly but slowly-developing trust with her mother's childhood sweetheart which is a bunch of my favourite tropes in a trench coat. Least favourite thing: the absolutely bonkers plot twist at the end of this book, in which the heroine (view spoiler)[turns out to be the long lost princess of this fictional monarchy (hide spoiler)]. But that's just my personal taste....more
Alas! I presumed that the back cover of this book was promising me a thoroughly bad antiheroine getting a terrific redemption arc, but that is emphatiAlas! I presumed that the back cover of this book was promising me a thoroughly bad antiheroine getting a terrific redemption arc, but that is emphatically not what happened and I am crushed. ...more
Just silly glittery fun. This book is evidently intended to bridge the gap between the original trilogy and the spinoff, so I didn't go in expecting aJust silly glittery fun. This book is evidently intended to bridge the gap between the original trilogy and the spinoff, so I didn't go in expecting a lot of payoff. There are two parallel plots that don't connect much but I enjoyed both of them. I loved how much character development we get, especially for Grayson, with family rather than romance being the motivation. And I appreciated how much simpler and less convoluted the plot of this book was than the second and third books in the original trilogy. ...more
A darker, spikier BEAUTY AND THE BEAST retelling, mashed up with THE FIREBIRD and set in a light medieval Russian setting. Having loved Spooner's SHERA darker, spikier BEAUTY AND THE BEAST retelling, mashed up with THE FIREBIRD and set in a light medieval Russian setting. Having loved Spooner's SHERWOOD, I was eager to read this one.
This is one of those early novels that authors work on for years, sprawling out and becoming richer with time. As such, it's a deeply thoughtful and heartfelt fairytale about longing and freedom. However, for me the story fell short: having evoked CS Lewis's problem of human desire for something beyond the walls of the world, it could not present its main characters with an equally transcendent satisfaction. In the end, the book's hunters must find what satisfaction they can in each other....more
This is a book for fans of cosy, cottagecore, hopeful fantasy like INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD or WORMWOOD ABBEY. It's setWELL THIS WAS UTTERLY DELIGHTFUL
This is a book for fans of cosy, cottagecore, hopeful fantasy like INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD or WORMWOOD ABBEY. It's set in an absolutely convincing fantasy version of medieval Wales, full of the best sort of anachronisms - the sort that makes the story world richer and more resonant, not less. And, it features bright adventures, a complicated but endearing cast of characters, and rich, unexpected themes. There's that rarest of all things, a love triangle that makes sense and isn't eyerolly. There's a coven of powerful witches who are just as capable as anyone else of exploiting the world and its people, whose shenanigans have applicability for everything from capitalism to religious hierarchies. There's our three central characters, a scrappy hedgewitch with a passionate sense of right and wrong and two princes, one of whom is hungry for power and the other of whom is anything but. There's a climactic moment as bright and bursting with life as the margins of a medieval manuscript. And it all adds up into a beautiful story with a passionate sense of justice, which never become preachy and maintains its wit and good humour throughout.
I'm back to my ONCE UPON A PRINCE retellings, and this loose retelling of Cinderella got my attention because it's a deliciously angsty, dark fae romaI'm back to my ONCE UPON A PRINCE retellings, and this loose retelling of Cinderella got my attention because it's a deliciously angsty, dark fae romance with season-inspired magic, which are all things I absolutely love! I prefer my spiciness to be in my food rather than my romantasy reads, yet I often find that sweet romance is just a bit too...well, sweet...for my tastes. As a result, I absolutely loved how this book was both sweet and dark.
I also loved the way that this book tackled the second-chance romance trope. I'll admit that I've always been a bit of a sucker for this trope. The trajectory from past hurt to future healing can be a dramatic one with lots of good potential for a redemption arc - IF it's done properly. I haven't seen a second-chance romance done in fantasy before, and it was super clever to see this one done with a magical explanation: our main characters didn't ACTUALLY horribly betray each other, but illusion magic has convinced each of them that the other person did. While our hero understandably has a lot of animosity about this perceived betrayal, I loved that it takes the characters a single mature conversation to figure out that someone has been tinkering with their memories, and I loved seeing them tentatively begin to work together to identify the culprits. And, I can't say how much I appreciated the fact that as the two of them begin to unravel the truth, including mistakes and hasty judgements made by both of them, the book allows both of them to mutually apologise and begin to rebuild. I feel like I've read too many books lately where the heroine gets blamed for not accepting her love interest's half-baked or flat-out nonexistent apologies, and I loved that that didn't happen here.
I will admit that while I did enjoy the darker elements to the story, I found the hero's point of view a bit difficult to inhabit while he was interacting with, specifically, female characters he viewed as hostile or deceptive. And some readers may want to know that the sexual tension is a little higher than normal for this series. Overall, however, there was so much to love about this novella and if I could order ten more like it I would!...more
Plotty mystery with deep themes about power, creation, humanity, and humility. I feel like Turton was trying to give an Atheist Message but jokes on hPlotty mystery with deep themes about power, creation, humanity, and humility. I feel like Turton was trying to give an Atheist Message but jokes on him I got a No King But Christ Message....more
Literary fiction meets psychological thriller in this short novel. MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER is written in gloriously spare prose, with deeply layeLiterary fiction meets psychological thriller in this short novel. MY SISTER, THE SERIAL KILLER is written in gloriously spare prose, with deeply layered themes and a steadily ratcheting sense of threat. It's one of those darkly funny books in which a perfectly normal protagonist, with perfectly normal motivations, finds herself doing increasingly abnormal things to cope with a person whose moral compass is starkly different to anyone else's. It's a picture of living with and loving someone whose moral compass is defective, in a traditional society which puts family honour above all else.
It was brilliant and I couldn't put it down, but the ending - while completely realistic and fitting - was also not particularly satisfying. And I suppose that's the difference between realistic literary fiction and a feel-good genre read....more
Terrific fun, even better than the first book - funnier, with more memorable characters and relationships, deeper themes, and a ton of thoughts about Terrific fun, even better than the first book - funnier, with more memorable characters and relationships, deeper themes, and a ton of thoughts about being an author. There's a proposal scene that veers into comedy, then cringe, then amazingly good thematic material as the narrator is brought to confront the ways he's failed to put the other person first in his life. Plus: there are parodies of Mission: Impossible and Fifty Shades of Grey and The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle that made me shout. Really satisfying, and a VERY fun train mystery....more
I decided to go on a bit of a mystery/thriller spree, and this one was first up. What put it at the top of my list, in addition to the fun premise (muI decided to go on a bit of a mystery/thriller spree, and this one was first up. What put it at the top of my list, in addition to the fun premise (murders and black comedy at a family reunion, but what's the difference between a killer and a murderer?) was realising that this is by an Australian author, and set in Australia. It was, in fact, super difficult to figure this out. There is nothing about Australia in the blurb. The author is Australian, but a ton of Aussie authors these days are having to set their books in America before they can land a publisher. It wasn't until I tripped over a bit of Aussie slang on page three that I knew for sure. I think this is a bit of a travesty; it feels like the publisher has done everything possible to play down the setting in an attempt to make the book palatable to US audiences.
Anyway, I was right to be excited to read a fellow Aussie author: it wasn't just very fun to read a very able and exciting detective story set in the Snowy Mountains; it was also distinctly refreshing to read a book published within the past decade that wasn't trying to do a Culture War on me.
This was a gripping whodunit, in which the author successfully juggles tons of characters, backstories, and twists without ever quite dropping one of them. I really appreciated the sensitive and respectful way he wrote his female characters, and handled some potentially thorny topics quite deftly. It was fun to see lots of references to Golden Age detective stories, including significant use of Ronald Knox's Ten Commandments - or nine of them, at least (I understand why the fifth was redacted, but would also like to point out that for its time, it was a shuffle in the right direction, insofar as it forbade authors not to do something that was quite common in pulp fiction of the time: using people of colour as exoticised threats, like the Indian cultists in THE MOONSTONE).
The denouement wrapped everything up in a way that was logical, but not 100% satisfactory: (view spoiler)[ The murderer turns out to be a character who has been a bit of a nonentity throughout the whole book. One final last-page twist (the little girl was killed by her own father - but why?) left much unexplained. And while I think it was realistic that the narrator moves on from his ex-wife and starts a new relationship, I was puzzled by the choice of Juliette, with whom he has no perceptible chemistry throughout the entire book. (hide spoiler)]
These niggles aside, I did find this to be a thoroughly fun, suspenseful read. I've already slapped a hold on book 2 at the library, because: THE GHAN....more
I just finished reading this in beta, and had a blast with it! The Melbourne-Gothic vibes are perfection and precisely right for this beautiful city, I just finished reading this in beta, and had a blast with it! The Melbourne-Gothic vibes are perfection and precisely right for this beautiful city, I'm already in love with the new cast of characters, and the themes about creation and personhood are fascinating and resonant. My brain is still in beta-reading mode so I can't say much more at this point, but you're all going to love it....more
All the ONCE UPON A PRINCE retellings have been thoroughly enjoyable, and this one had me chuckling and enjoying it a whole lot - which is no mean feaAll the ONCE UPON A PRINCE retellings have been thoroughly enjoyable, and this one had me chuckling and enjoying it a whole lot - which is no mean feat for a retelling of a legend which I happen to have a lot of opinions on (as a medieval history buff). And, if you like my Vasily Nikolaevich and really want another villanous disaster drama prince to fall in love with, look no further than this book. That said, in terms of the themes and the romantic resolution, I didn't feel this one quite lived up to the high standard set by the previous books in the series - so it wasn't quite as much to my taste as the others....more
Suzannah Rowntree
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