A handful of Brooklyn teens must master their new-found ability to wield spirits like weapons in Daniel Jose Older’s Shadowhouse Fall, the highly anticipated sequel to his first YA novel Shadowshaper. I reviewed the audiobook of Shadowshaper, last May and was struck by Older’s ability to bring a new perspective into the often over-saturated genre of urban fantasy. Since the release of Shadowshaper, Older has published two ebook-only novellas, Ghost Girl in the Corner and Dead Light March, which take place between the events of Shadowshaper and its sequel. While not it’s not absolutely necessary to have read the novellas in order to understand what’s going on in Shadowhouse Fall, they do introduce and provide some backstory for a new character who plays a prominent role in the sequel. The novellas are currently $0.99 on Amazon. Shadowhouse Fall comes out tomorrow, September 12, and can be found at most major book retailers. Continue reading Shadowhouse Fall Review–A Shadowshaper Sequel
Tag: ghosts
“Upon A Ghostly Yule” Review—Another Victorian Christmas Tale!
Talk about a Ghost of Christmas Past! “Upon a Ghostly Yule” is a festive short story by Amanda DeWees, one of my new favorite authors who writes traditional-style Gothic novels, such as the one I reviewed earlier this year, With This Curse. Last year, she published this yuletide tale which continues in a similar vein. Set in the mid-nineteenth century, “Upon a Ghostly Yule” is a sort of companion story to one of Dewees’s other novels, A Sea of Secrets, though it functions as an entirely independent piece. Much like Leanna Renee Hieber’s “A Christmas Carroll,” this story is the perfect blend of ghosts, romance, and holiday cheer. Continue reading “Upon A Ghostly Yule” Review—Another Victorian Christmas Tale!
Leanna Renee Hieber’s Heartwarming Holiday Story, “A Christmas Carroll”
Who doesn’t love a good Christmas ghost story? Especially when that ghost story is also a love story! And of course, it’s even better when that story is a companion novella to a series you’re (not so) patiently waiting for the next book in. You’ve heard me rave all year about Victorian fantasy author Leanna Renee Hieber and her newly re-released Strangely Beautiful saga. Books one and two have been re-edited and published by Tor in a beautiful single volume, which I reviewed back in April. The next book, a prequel called Perilous Prophecy is slated to be reissued next June. In the meantime, Leanna’s short novella “A Christmas Carroll” is just the thing to tide us over, and it’s appropriately festive for the season! Continue reading Leanna Renee Hieber’s Heartwarming Holiday Story, “A Christmas Carroll”
Eterna and Omega Review: Sensitives, Psychics, and Spirits, Oh My!
Our favorite Victorian paranormal research teams are back this week, with Book 2 of the Eterna Files! Back in January, I posted about how much I loved The Eterna Files, the first book in Leanna Renee Hieber’s latest series. Tomorrow, August 9th, the story continues with the release of Eterna and Omega. I’ll be attending the New York City book launch event this Thursday at the Morris-Jumel Mansion. If you’re going, come say hi! If you’re not in NYC but still want a signed copy, WORD bookstore is offering signed and personalized copies for preorder! You can also find it on Amazon or at your local bookstore starting tomorrow. Continue reading Eterna and Omega Review: Sensitives, Psychics, and Spirits, Oh My!
The Screaming Staircase Review—Teenage British Ghostbusters
Teenage British ghostbusters… need I say more? I’ve been a fan of Jonathon Stroud’s writing since I picked up the first book of the Bartimaeus Trilogy many years ago and started laughing out loud in the bookstore. I was thrilled to discover that Stroud was back at it with a new series, this time about one of my favorite topics—ghosts!
The Screaming Staircase is the first book in Stroud’s Lockwood & Co. series. It takes place in a modern British setting in which history has been altered by the emergence of The Problem—several decades ago, the appearance of ghosts increased drastically and their deadly touch became a serious threat to society. To combat this threat, a number of ghost-hunting agencies emerged, employing psychically sensitive children and teenagers to investigate hauntings. Lockwood & Co. is one such agency, though unlike the others it employs no adult supervisors or managers, allowing the teens to fend for themselves. Continue reading The Screaming Staircase Review—Teenage British Ghostbusters
The Graveyard Book Review–A Ghost Story for All Ages
Neil Gaiman is known and respected in the gothic community for many reasons. His comic book series The Sandman, which revolutionized the world of comics, stars a character called Death who became a fashion icon for goths for decades to come. His book Coraline brought creepy children’s tales to the public eye when it was made into a movie in 2009. My favorite work of his that I’ve read so far, however, is another kid’s book—The Graveyard Book.
This book is a tale for practically any age (the back recommends 10 and up, it does contain some mentions of violence). While certainly accessible to children, I found it perfectly enjoyable to read for the first time as an adult. There are many subtleties that might be missed by young readers (as they are often missed by the character Bod) that enrich the story for adults. Continue reading The Graveyard Book Review–A Ghost Story for All Ages
Afterworlds Review–All of the Genres
Some of you may be familiar with Scott Westerfeld from his delightfully disturbing dystopia series Uglies. In Uglies, we saw that Westerfeld has the potential to get very dark in the doom and gloom of a futuristic totalitarian government kind of way. Westerfeld’s latest book, Afterworlds, goes down a completely different path, but may be equally entertaining to dark-minded readers.
I don’t even know how I would classify the genre of this book. There are really two different stories going on in alternating chapters: a simple realistic coming of age story of Darcy Patel—a teenage writer struggling to navigate the adult worlds of New York City, publishing, and true love; and then you have the story of Darcy’s novel about a teenage girl named Lizzie who becomes a psychopomp and falls in love with a death god as she struggles to come to terms with her new relationship with the dead. It’s really in this second story that the darker elements come into play.