Good Reads & Views

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Fiction

What it's about: Feyre will do anything to keep her family from starving in the depth of winter, even kill a wolf that just might be a terrifyingly dangerous faerie. Now, to pay for her crimes, Feyra has been forced to reside in the Spring Court by a handsome king in a kingdom of masked creatures. A Court of Thorns and Roses is a Beauty and the Beast retelling which straddles the line between Young Adult and Adult Fiction, containing rip-roaring action and sensually descriptive scenes. 

Series Alert: Other titles in the series are A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight.

You might also like: The Black Jewels trilogy by Anne Bishop.

 

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Fiction

What it’s about: Frustrated with her kind but incompetent father’s unsuccessful running of the family’s moneylending business, young Miryem takes over, starts collecting outstanding debts, and puts the business back on sound footing. When she is overheard boasting of her ability to turn silver into gold, she draws the attention of the Staryk, creatures who haunt the woods, ruled by a king of winter who loves gold.

Reviewers say: “A medieval fable of obscure moral import blossoms into a thoughtful, emotionally complex, absorbing drama that stands confidently on its own merits” (Kirkus). “This masterly, immersive high fantasy tale is grounded in real-world challenges and opportunities for growth” (Library Journal). “This book is about the determination and quiet competence of women doing remarkable things without knowing first that they can do them” (NYT Book Review).

You might also like: Novik's Uprooted, an award winning fantasy that Publishers Weekly called "a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as a Grimm fairy tale yet fresh, original, and totally irresistible." 

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The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
Fiction

What it’s about: Not long after the death of her mother, Yeine Darre is summoned to the city of Sky to become a third heir for her grandfather, the ruler of the city of Sky and therefore the world. Yeine hopes to solve her mother’s murder but becomes embroiled in a plot by the captive gods to win their freedom. She does not plan to fall in love with the Nightlord himself.

Why you should read it: N. K. Jemisin just won her third Hugo Award and is one of the leading writers in the Afrofuturism movement. This book is a good starting point to experience her rich worldbuilding and an unusual cast of characters.

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An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
Fiction

This fantasy story hooked me in fast with its beautiful cover and didn’t let go. I loved the lush descriptions of colors in the paintings, the fast pace, and the gutsy heroine. If you like stories about the Fae, give this one a try.

Isobel paints portraits of the fair folk, but when she captures the mortal sadness in the autumn prince Rook’s eyes, he kidnaps her in a rage, saying she has made him look vulnerable to his enemies. And then they fall in love, which makes things worse.

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Down Station by Simon Morden
Fiction

Deep in the London Tube maintenance tunnels, an apocalyptic explosion above ground still wreaks destruction. The few survivors are running from billowing fire when a door opens and they stumble out into a new world. Then it closes behind them and disappears. And Mary and Dalip, Stanislav and Luiza and the others are left trying to survive repeated betrayals in a living land they don’t understand, and trying to find a way to return to the families they left behind in London. Assuming London is still there. If you like this one, try also A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab.

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Eliza And Her Monsters By Francesca Zappia
YA Fiction

Eliza Mirk is barely noticed at school, but online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of a hugely popular web comic called Monstrous Sea. (People buy Monstrous Sea t-shirts and even get tattoos.) When a new guy at school tells Eliza he loves Monstrous Sea, she pretends to be just another fan of the series, but as their relationship deepens, she wonders about telling him the truth.

Fans of Rainbow Rowell’s Fan Girl and Carry On, Simon Snow, this one’s for you. I liked the wistful tone of this story and the interactions of super shy couple Eliza and Wallace. In between their story are excerpts from Monstrous Sea, and at Wattpad, you can also find Children of Hypnos, a fantasy series alluded to in Eliza and Her Monsters.

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The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch
Fiction

Another treat in this wonderful mystery series, which incorporates fantasy, English history, and the supernatural. This time around, police officer/wizard Peter Grant investigates a series of hauntings on the London Underground, assisted by new and old friends, including his precocious young cousin, Abigail. Although this novella wraps up quickly, Peter’s quips about everything from how magic works to his ruminations on architecture are just as funny as in the rest of the books.

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The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch
Fiction

Constable Peter Grant figures there must be a rota among his friends and colleagues to rescue him. Since he and his boss, wizard DCI Nightingale, are the only two members of London’s Metropolitan Police to investigate the weird & supernatural, and he usually rushes in where the sane refuse to tread, he frequently needs rescuing. This time out, the daughter of Lady Tyburn (a minor river goddess) has admitted to purchasing illegal drugs which killed another girl, and Lady Ty expects Peter to make the trouble go away or she’ll start flooding London. Of course, it’s not going to be that easy. Funny, fast-paced, and seriously loopy, this is the most recent in a series by a former writer for Doctor Who. Great for fans of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, and Kevin Hearne.

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11/22/63 by Stephen King
Fiction

If you love reading time travel books or suspense or adventure or historical fiction or romance or alternate history novels… this book just might be for you. In this big, absorbing genre-bender, King explores what would happen if we were able to change history. When Jake’s dying friend asks him to take over his mission to prevent JFK’s assassination by traveling back in time through a wormhole, Jake can’t think of any reason why not. And then the story’s off and running… Jake returns to the late 1950s and learns to love (and sometimes hate) life in a “simpler” time. Jake’s wry first-person narration puts us right there with him, in a richly evoked late ’50s / early ’60s setting, among memorable characters. If you like stories that take you on a long, winding, exciting, surprising ride, give this one a try.

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A Green and Ancient Light by Frederick S. Durbin
Fiction

In an unnamed country perpetually at war, a boy and his grandmother find a badly injured enemy pilot. Unable to bring themselves to give him up to the authorities, his grandmother enlists Mr. Girandole, an old friend who is not entirely human, to help them care for him. Hiding him in an abandoned garden, the trio nurse him, and fend off a determined military search for him. As he begins to regain his strength, they all begin puzzling out the secrets of the garden, which may be a gateway which will allow both the soldier and Mr. Girandole to return to their homes. For fans of Peter S. Beagle.

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