I could almost title this review ‘Anticipation gone wrong again’. I loved Miss Peregrine’s Home etc. (vo.1), Hollow City was ok (vol. 2), and I had to force myself to get past page 20 of Library of Souls (vol.3). The first 150 pages felt twice as long as the second half. Terrified running from monsters in search of kidnapped pals isn’t interesting for that long. It’s also hard to pay attention when you’re really only following a few of the Peculiars, and only one of […]
Rue-ing a mid-series disappointment
I have a small confession to make: I bought this book right away when it came out, and then I couldn’t bear to open it because I knew it would be at least 2 years before the next one. Well, said next one has been announced, so I felt a little more secure opening Imprudence. I have really liked everything Gail Carriger has written thus far that I have read, but this was a bit of a let-down. I feel like I may have let […]
If Georgette Heyer wrote fantasy
A fantastic blending of genres, The Dark Days Club takes a classic Regency set-up, romantic tension, and adds a terrifying fantasy layer, creating something that feels organic and real and wonderful. The Regency world of this novel is perfect, featuring the real life people that so often showed up in Georgette Heyer’s novels (Lady Jersey, the prince regent, Beau) and all of the dances and morning calls and promenades, making this fantasy novel feel grounded even when the supernatural elements are introduced. It started out […]
In Search of an Unsolved Mystery involving a Monkey’s Paw
From Wikipedia: “Tom Wallace lived an ordinary life, until a chance event awakened psychic abilities he never knew he possessed. Now he’s hearing the private thoughts of the people around him and learning shocking secrets he never wanted to know. But as Tom’s existence becomes a waking nightmare, even greater jolts are in store as he becomes the unwilling recipient of a message from beyond the grave.” I’m almost certain I saw this movie at some point, but remember almost nothing about it. It’s somehow […]
Not so much with the chaos. Mostly they just meander.
I can already tell that this series is going to eat my brain, and not in the super special fun way, but like in the way where some things about it annoy the hoobedy-boobedy out of me, but other parts of it compel me to persevere. I will spend the next five books (before Brandon Sanderson takes over) being yo-yoed back and forth between moments of “yes, give me more of that!” and “NO MAKE IT STOP.” I know this because that was what started […]
Summer, Baba Yaga, and a were-house
I love portal fantasies. I’ve loved them for as long as I can remember, from Narnia to Oz to Wonderland to Amber and even for a brief moment Xanth, I have loved stories of someone from this mundane world transported to a world full of magic and wonder. Summer in Orcus is an offering in this category from T. Kingfisher, aka Ursula Vernon, and it is marvelous. The best I can describe it is a middlegrade fantasy for adults, and much like Catherynne Valente’s The […]