Ah, the Grand Tour of Europe—that most exciting part of coming of age for any young Victorian gentleman. Monty’s Grand Tour, however, gets a bit too exciting in The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee—a queer YA historical novel that my friends have been ranting and raving to me about for well over a year. Apparently, July is the month for me to finally catch up on all the great reads from the last few years that I somehow missed. I actually met Mackenzi Lee back in 2015 at the Brooklyn Book Festival and reviewed her debut novel, This Monstrous Thing. And yet I still managed to be the last one to hop on the Gentleman’s Guide bandwagon. Oh well, better late than never! Continue reading The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue Review
Tag: young adult
Review of An Ember in the Ashes
“The field of battle is my temple. The swordpoint is my priest. The dance of death is my prayer. The killing blow is my release.” This is the mantra of one of the elite soldiers in Sabaa Tahir’s dark YA fantasy, An Ember in the Ashes. The first in an ongoing series, this book blends political intrigue and revolution with mythological creatures and hints of magic. I picked up An Ember in the Ashes on a whim, but found myself devouring it as fast as possible and immediately downloading the sequel. Continue reading Review of An Ember in the Ashes
Review of Spinning Silver—Slavic Demons and Ice Fairies
It’s never wise to brag where the Staryk can hear you…. One of my favorite authors, Naomi Novik, once again brings fairy tales to life in Spinning Silver. This stand-alone novel came out last year and is a chilling tale that blends a Slavic-inspired fantasy world with a loose retelling of “Rumpelstiltskin.” If you love folklore, badass female characters, and hefty fantasy novels, this book will be right up your alley! Continue reading Review of Spinning Silver—Slavic Demons and Ice Fairies
The Kingdom of Copper Review–Heroes and Villains
Everyone’s the hero of their own story … but that usually means they’re the villain of someone else’s. S. A. Chakraborty ramps up the moral ambiguity and political tensions in book 2 of The Daevabad Trilogy, The Kingdom of Copper. Just over a year ago, I reviewed book 1, The City of Brass, after it impressed me with its intricate world-building and nuanced characters. Now those characters are back and they have to make increasingly tough decisions about where they stand and whose side they’re on in a millennia-old conflict between factions of the djinn society, and between the djinn and magical forces even older and more powerful. Continue reading The Kingdom of Copper Review–Heroes and Villains
Review of Peeps–Unsexy Vampires
These days, we have a tendency to want a scientific explanation for everything—even in our most outlandish fantasy stories. Writers of vampire fiction, in particular, have come up with myriad explanations for how vampires come into existence, whether it’s a genetic mutation or some blood-borne disease. In Peeps, Scott Westerfeld has a particularly unsexy explanation: parasites. Through the eyes of teenage protagonist Cal, Peeps gives us the scoop on being a vampire, including the good, the bad, the awkward, and the gross. Continue reading Review of Peeps–Unsexy Vampires
Beneath the Sugar Sky—A Colorful Tale of Resurrecting the Dead
A real-life Candy Land may seem like paradise, but all the sugar in the world can’t cover up the taste of corruption, war, and murder…. Beneath the Sugar Sky is the third book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series. Last year, I reviewed Every Heart a Doorway, in which McGuire introduces the boarding school full of misfit children who have returned from various fantasy lands. I also reviewed Down Among the Sticks and Bones, a prequel of sorts that depicts the adventures of twin sisters Jack and Jill in a land of vampires and mad scientists. With the third book in the series, which came out back at the beginning of 2018, McGuire shifts gears rather dramatically. Continue reading Beneath the Sugar Sky—A Colorful Tale of Resurrecting the Dead
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown Review
I will never be tired of vampire stories. Especially when authors keep finding clever new ways to reinvent the lore as Holly Black does in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. I’ve been a fan of Holly Black for years and have particularly enjoyed her books on fairy tales and faeries, so I knew my favorite monsters would be in good hands with her. “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” started out as a short story, which I came across in an anthology several years ago. Though the story hardly did more than briefly sketch out the vampire-infested world that Holly Black created, I remember enjoying it immensely. Well, the full-length novel that grew out of it is even better. Continue reading The Coldest Girl in Coldtown Review
Bruja Born Review—The Right Way to Do Zombie Romance
Do not mess with death—That’s pretty much the golden rule of magic. You can have all the magic power in the world, but if you use it to bring someone back from the dead, things will not go as planned. I know that, you know that, even Harry Potter knows that. But apparently Lula Mortiz does not. Bruja Born is the second book in Zoraida Córdova’s Brooklyn Brujas series. Two years ago, I reviewed Labyrinth Lost, which Alex Mortiz accidentally sends her family to the underworld while trying to banish her magic. Now, in the sequel published last month, Alex’s sister Lula gets her own story. Continue reading Bruja Born Review—The Right Way to Do Zombie Romance
Daughter of Smoke & Bone Review—Not Your Average Angels and Demons
Karou lives in two worlds. In one, she’s a gifted art student studying in Prague; in the other, she collects teeth for a ram-horned chimaera. Balancing those two lives was hard enough, even before being attacked by an angel. I have to admit that I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. The book has been out for years, and I remember there being a lot of hype a while back. But honestly, I have a really hard time keeping track of all the different series with “_____ of _____ and _____” titles. After a friend reminded me of this one’s existence, I decided to just jump into it cold, without looking anything up about the series. Once I started reading, I was pleasantly surprised! Continue reading Daughter of Smoke & Bone Review—Not Your Average Angels and Demons
Review of Dread Nation–Civil War Zombies!
When the dead start to rise on the battlefield at Gettysburg, the American Civil War is taken in a whole new direction. This is the premise of Justina Ireland’s unique new zombie tale, Dread Nation. This book has been on my radar since the beginning of the year, so as soon as it came out last month, I hopped on the waiting list to get the audiobook from the library. I love the idea of combining zombie horror with alternative history. Add in a badass teenage heroine who takes on zombies and institutionalized racism alike with her sharp-edged sickles, and I’m 100% sold! Continue reading Review of Dread Nation–Civil War Zombies!