Elfland by Freda Warrington

Cross Elizabeth Hand with Fire and Hemlock, and you might end up with something like Freda Warrington’s Elfland. This is the kind of big, sweeping modern faerie tale that you don’t see often on the adult shelves anymore. There’s been some beautiful work done in YA recently, but in the adult realm, the trend has been away from novels like this. And that’s a shame. Elfland is complex, rich, sensual, beautifully written, and sometimes heartbreaking. Read the rest.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

I just finished Warbreaker, and the words that keep coming to mind are “That was so good!” This is the first Brandon Sanderson novel I’ve read, and it certainly won’t be the last. Warbreaker combines highly original world-building with an exciting plot that kept me on the edge of my seat… Read the rest.

Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater

…No one walked away unscathed from the events of Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception. James bears physical scars, along with a persistent torch for Deirdre, who only sees him as a friend. Dee, meanwhile, is pining for Luke and spiraling into depression. James and Dee think the faerie folk are through with them, but when they begin classes at Thornking-Ash, a residential fine-arts high school, trouble follows them there. Read the rest.

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews

As I started reading On the Edge, my biggest question was, would lightning — or magic — strike twice? Could Ilona Andrews write something just as great as her Kate Daniels series, in a completely different universe? The answer, it turns out, is yes! … Read the rest.

Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews

I didn’t know how much I’d missed Ilona Andrews’ writing until I started reading Magic Strikes. Part of it is the prose. It’s vivid, it has a great streak of humor running through it, and best of all, it’s smooth. The reader is never jolted out of the story by a grammar snafu or an awkward phrase. Part of it is Andrews’ continued use of a wide variety of myths. Andrews is one of the few urban fantasy authors who seem to realize folklore is a huge sandbox… Read the rest.

Black Ships by Jo Graham

There’s nothing I love so much as sinking into a big fat book that combines the sweep of history with a dash of magic. This book is an adaptation of The Aeneid, from the point of view of the Sybil who, in the poem, guides Aeneas through the underworld… Black Ships is a beautiful book, and I loved every minute of it. I just wish it had been longer… Read the rest.

Hand of Isis by Jo Graham

I loved Black Ships, and I didn’t know if Jo Graham could top it. The answer, I am happy to report, is a great big YES!  Hand of Isis continues the story of some of the characters from Black Ships who have now been reincarnated as players in the Egyptian-Roman power struggle. You don’t need to read Black Ships first, but you’ll probably get more out of Hand of Isis if you do. The story is told from the point of view of Cleopatra’s “personal assistant,” Charmian, who is Gull reincarnated… Read the rest.

The Armless Maiden: And Other Tales for Childhood’s Survivors by Terri Windling

I love adult fairy tales, but it seems that all too often, writers pump up the sex and violence to render the tales “adult,” rather than more deeply exploring the human emotional dramas in the stories. Maybe that’s why I love the anthology The Armless Maiden: And Other Tales for Childhood’s Survivors which was edited by Terri Windling. The tales and poems here do include sex and violence, yes, but at their heart is the strength and resilience of the human spirit… Read the rest.

Illusion by Paula Volsky

… If you like fantasy, read Paula Volsky’s Illusion. If you don’t normally go for fantasy, but like a good romantic historical epic, suspend your disbelief about the magic and read it anyway. And if you’re like me, and like both genres — don’t hesitate another moment. Read the rest.

King of Morning, Queen of Day by Ian McDonald

… This is a stunning story and one that I’ll probably reread over and over again. It doesn’t suffer one bit from the ailment that afflicts so many multigenerational novels — the tendency for one or more of the intertwined stories to lack luster. All three of the women, and their lives and times, are vivid and passionate. And I must say, there are few male authors who can write such nuanced and three-dimensional female characters. Get your hands on a used copy of this. I wish they’d reprint it… Read the rest.

Black Thorn, White Rose edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Black Thorn, White Rose is the second in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling‘s series of adult fairy-tale anthologies. I’d have to say that this is my favorite of the bunch; most of the volumes are good, but this one has so many wonderful stories that have stayed with me for years… Read the rest.

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

… Diana Wynne Jones draws us into her spell with this novel, never letting us put it down. The story gets more and more intricate as is progresses, making less and less sense, and we are captivated, unable to turn away until we know what’s going on. An excellent book, complex and moving. Heaps of stars… Read the rest.

Alcestis by Katharine Beutner

The ancient Greeks held up Alcestis as a model of wifely devotion. Her husband, Admetus, was spared from death on the condition that someone else die in his place. When Admetus’ relatives and friends refused, Alcestis volunteered herself and made the journey to the underworld, but was later rescued by Heracles. In her debut novel, a poignant literary fantasy, Katharine Beutner fleshes out the figure of Alcestis, and gives her a backstory that helps explain her willingness to sacrifice herself… I recommend it to readers who enjoy retellings of myth from the female perspective, and readers who are looking for a blend of fantasy and literary fiction… Read the rest.

Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier

Sometimes a book comes along just when you need it. Heart’s Blood was like that for me. Between Juliet Marillier’s compelling tale-spinning and an underlying message about love and courage that I really needed to hear, it’s pretty safe to say I was moved deeply by this novel. Read the rest.

Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor

I’m having a hard time reviewing Lips Touch: Three Times. Intelligent language seems to be failing me. I don’t want to write a review so much as I want to jump up and down and squeal like a crazed fangirl. Lips Touch is chocolate in book form. It’s dark, it’s rich, it’s delicious, and it’s precisely to my taste. Read the rest.

Jasmyn by Alex Bell

Start a book with a sentence like this, and you’ve given yourself a tall order to fill. However, Alex Bell doesn’t disappoint. Jasmyn is something special indeed, putting me under its spell in a way that only a few books a year ever do.  Read the rest.

Naamah’s Kiss by Jacqueline Carey

In Naamah’s Kiss, Jacqueline Carey returns to the world she created in the Kushiel’s Legacy series, and introduces a delightful new heroine. Moirin mac Fainche is a descendant of Alais de la Courcel and a member of the Maghuin Dhonn tribe of Alba. On her father’s side, she’s D’Angeline, with lines of descent from Naamah and Anael. When a tragedy changes Moirin’s young life, and an initiatory rite reveals that she has a destiny beyond the sea, Moirin travels to Terre d’Ange in search of her father. There, she’s treated as an exotic novelty.  Read the rest.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

….Shiver is written in vivid prose that engages all of the senses. Maggie Stiefvater does a great job of evoking the sight of a single spot of red against a sea of white, the sound of canine nails scratching at the deck outside Grace’s house, and the smell of paper and ink in a bookstore on a warm summer day, making Shiver a fully immersive experience. I nearly forgot it was July here as I read; I could hear the winter winds howling.  Read the rest.

Wolfbreed by S.A. Swann

….This is a gritty, violent novel, yet there are themes of love and redemption that are often absent from the grittier sort of fantasy. S.A. Swann shows us the worst that humanity can do, but also the best. The surrounding horrors make the moments of beauty all the more effective… I loved Wolfbreed. As soon as I finished it, I found myself recommending it to friends, and I’d say that’s a pretty good sign!  Read the rest.

Fitcher’s Brides by Gregory Frost

A widower, with a little help from his cold-hearted new wife, has fallen under the spell of Elias Fitcher, an apocalyptic preacher who predicts the world will end within the year. Packing up all his earthly belongings, and his three daughters — romantic Vernelia, neurotic Amy, and practical, skeptical Kate — he and his wife move to a tiny village in upstate New York to await the end of days. There, the charming, charismatic, and utterly horrifying Fitcher takes a shine to Vernelia, and sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind courtship… Gregory Frost here gives us an unforgettable rendition of one of our darkest fairy tales, a heroine to root for, and a truly terrifying villain… Read the rest.

Wilderness by Dennis Danvers

Wilderness, originally published in 1991, has recently been rereleased. I presume it’s because tales of lycanthropy are all the rage at the moment… Wilderness devoured me for two days and evoked the whole gamut of emotions. I recommend it to readers looking for a moving supernatural love story, with themes of trust, acceptance, and forgiveness. This is more in the vein of the “old-school” urban fantasies than the “new” style. It’s not a noir story, not much ass gets kicked, and many of the developments take place within the characters’ psyches. It’s a beautiful example of what it is, though, and I hope it finds its way to the right niche of readers… Read the rest.

Waking the Moon by Elizabeth Hand

I’m on either my third or fourth copy of Waking the Moon, I can’t remember which. I first read it eleven years ago, loaned it to everyone I thought might be remotely interested, sometimes didn’t get it back, and never felt quite right when I didn’t have it on my shelf. This is one of my Desert Island Books…  a fever-dream of a story, with a sympathetic heroine and unique prose. Elizabeth Hand has a writing style that is sensual, vivid, and more than a little bit psychedelic… I always find something new in Waking the Moon every time I read it… Read the rest.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

It could have been maudlin. It’s not. It could have been preachy. It’s not. What Before I Fall is, is awesome… Oliver writes in an authentic teen voice and never breaks character. Some YA authors write characters who talk and think like thirty-year-olds, and some authors try too hard to sound hip. Sam’s voice is spot-on…  By the end of the book, I bet you’ll love Sam, who grows in so many ways as she sees everything she’s been oblivious to all these years. The character development, and all the lovely falling and flight imagery, may bring tears to your eyes. And Kent! Pardon my gushing, but he may well be my favorite YA male lead ever… Before I Fall is a book that will stay with me for a long time. I suspect it’ll become one of my annual rereads… Read the rest.

Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey

Return to Terre d’Ange with Kushiel’s Scion, sequel to the Kushiel’s Legacy trilogy. This book follows Phèdre’s adopted son, Imriel, son of the treacherous Melisande and third in line for the D’Angeline throne. Carey does an excellent job of developing Imriel into a complicated, troubled young man without in any way betraying the character he was in Kushiel’s Avatar: haunted but with the proverbial heart of gold. Imriel is coming of age here, and coming to terms with desires he finds hard to face… I really love what Carey does with his character, and can’t wait to see what comes next for him, as it’s clear there will be further Imriel books… Read the rest.

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

… Sometimes I read a novel and feel like it was written specifically for me, so perfectly does it hit all my favorite notes. Sisters Red is one of those. Imagine the dark fairy tale world of Angela Carter, with a forbidden yet gentle romance reminiscent of Maggie Stiefvater‘s novels, plus some Buffy-style ass-kicking. (And it is Buffy-style, featuring hatchets and throwing knives rather than the guns more prevalent in adult urban fantasy.) Then put all of this into a tight plot: tiny little details are seeded into the story in the beginning, and by the end, they all matter. Tremendously… Sisters Red works well as a retold fairy tale, and it also works well as a fusion between the action-oriented type of urban fantasy and the angsty-love-story type. Highly recommended… Read the rest.

Kushiel’s Mercy by Jacqueline Carey

… I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoyed the previous five. It has it all: dire magic, forbidden love, transcendent spirituality, devastating war — and yes, sex. There is not as much sex as there is in some of the previous installments, but what’s here is beautiful, lit as it is with Imriel and Sidonie’s love. If you liked the waterfall scene between Phèdre and Joscelin in Kushiel’s Avatar, you will like the love scenes in Kushiel’s Mercy. I can’t say much more without ruining the plot, but I will say that when I turned the last page, I cheered Jacqueline Carey for a job well done… Read the rest.

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

I’m not actually sure if Santa Olivia is technically a fantasy novel. The heroine, Loup Garron, has unusual abilities, but she gets them by way of genetic engineering, not magic (her father was a top-secret military experiment). However, if you’re a fantasy fan, don’t let this dissuade you! There’s plenty here for a fantasy reader to love. Santa Olivia is a coming-of-age story; it’s a story about being a misfit; it’s a story about an underdog up against towering odds; it’s a love story; it’s a hero(ine)’s journey story… I could not put Santa Olivia down, and I highly recommend it. It had me on the edge of my seat, and while I was already a Jaqueline Carey fan, it has given me even more respect for her abilities. This is completely different from anything she’s done before, and it’s darn good… Read the rest.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

What can I say that hasn’t already been said? The Hunger Games has been getting lots of buzz, and by the time I was a few pages in, I knew it was all deserved. And then it got better. The Hunger Games takes place in the future, in a dystopian nation that arose from the ruins of the United States…  There are deep themes here if a reader is looking for them, and it can also be read as a darn fine action-adventure story. Try not to bite your nails too short… The Hunger Games is excellent… I can’t wait to start Catching Fire… Read the rest.

Ghosts & Echoes by Lyn Benedict

I’ve never met a Lyn Benedict/Lane Robins book I didn’t like, but Ghosts & Echoes is the best of her work to date. There’s a ton of urban fantasy out there, ranging from the stellar to the egregious, but this is the kind of book I like to wave at people and say, “This is what urban fantasy can be.” … With her usual beautiful prose, a clever new take on an old piece of folklore, and a plot that keeps us feverishly turning pages to learn what new revelation waits ahead, Lyn Benedict has written one of the best urban fantasies I’ve read in some time. I enthusiastically recommend Ghosts and Echoes… Read the rest.

Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint

… I didn’t realize how much I’d missed Charles de Lint’s urban fantasies until I borrowed Memory and Dream from a friend on a whim. I haven’t been reading much of his stuff for the past couple of years, and I’m not even sure why… I couldn’t put it down, and that it’s a moving story about art, love, friendship, forgiveness, abuse in its many forms, and what it means for a being to be truly “real.” It’s not completely without flaws… but Memory and Dream passes the most important test that determines whether I give a book five stars. Namely, I couldn’t get anything productive done while I was reading it!.. Read the rest.

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman‘s place on my personal “favorite authors list” is cemented firmly by Smoke and Mirrors, a versatile collection of his short stories and narrative poems. There is a wide variety of “types” of story here, from fantasy to horror to mystery to wildly hilarious comedy. I liked almost all of them. Neil Gaiman‘s two finest gifts are (1) humor, and (2) truly scary horror that gets under your skin rather than just grossing you out with gore… If you like psychological horror, dry humor, or anything of the sort, you’ll love this. Read the rest.

Black Pearls by Louise Hawes

Once upon a time, there was a woman who was so caught up in a book that she did nothing all day but read it, from cover to cover. Black Pearls: A Faerie Strand is a gem. Louise Hawes‘ dark, sensual fairy tale retellings and Rebecca Guay‘s evocative illustrations work perfectly together to form one of the best books of retold tales that I’ve ever read. I checked this out from the library, but I’ve resolved that I simply must have a copy of my own to treasure… And she read happily ever after. Read the rest.

Child of a Rainless Year by Jane Lindskold

… In Child of a Rainless Year, Jane Lindskold leads the reader into the mystery slowly, letting the weirdness accumulate until Mira can no longer deny it, which is a different technique than what I’ve seen in a lot of “urban fantasy” novels. It’s more usual to drop a mundane character right smack into a supernatural event and go from there; here, it’s a more gradual realization. And it works very well indeed. Lindskold’s prose is beautiful, and the setting vividly painted. It was also refreshing to see an older heroine. Not to mention a heroine who’s plump and doesn’t miraculously lose weight as part of her character development. Read the rest.

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

In Daughter of the Forest, Juliet Marillier deftly sets the fairy tale “The Six Swans” in dark-ages Ireland; think of the general time period of The Mists of Avalon, when Christian and Pagan, Gael and Briton and Saxon, were fighting and feuding and even sometimes getting along. The tale fits in amazingly well in the setting; the famous fairy tale echoes the Irish legend of Fionnuala and the children of Lir, which predated it. The transformations, the impossible quests, the painful vows work perfectly in the Celtic milieu…I am floored when I hear that this was Juliet Marillier’s first novel. The beauty of the prose, the vision of nature, the haunting love stories, and the vivid characters ensure that I’ll be reading the two sequels, and anything else Marillier writes after that. Wonderful. Read the rest.

Winter Rose by Patricia McKillip

… McKillip’s Winter Rose, does the most amazing job of making the faery world real. In this beautifully poetic novel, wild Rois and her quiet sister Laurel both fall in love with a newcomer to town, Corbet Lynn, heir to a ruined castle, his grandfather’s curse, and lots of unanswered questions… McKillip’s prose is magical and poetic, and we are left wondering what is dream and what is real, even as we shut the back cover. Haunting and beautiful. Read the rest.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

I don’t want to spoil the plot, as there are many twists lurking within this book, so I’ll just say this: This is the best one yet… Here, J.K. Rowling presents a Book 6 that is as tight as Book 3, has as much romance and character development as Book 4, involves a tragedy as profound as that of book 5 (or maybe more so, as I’m not convinced that the character who died in book 5 is really dead), and is sprinkled throughout by moments as funny as the best ones from books 1 and 2. She has set up so much interesting stuff, I have no idea how she’s going to fit it all into one final book. Overall: Whoa… Read the rest.

Fair Peril by Nancy Springer

Both riotously funny and sweetly touching, Nancy Springer‘s Fair Peril is a fun and wonderful fantasy novel. It’s set in modern times, in a sort of “Anytown, USA” — where the shopping mall is a portal into Fairyland, and anything can happen. It all begins when Buffy Murphy discovers a talking frog who claims to be a prince. Buffy is a divorced and overweight woman, down on her luck, who holds down a practical job in a fake food factory and is a storyteller on the side. Hoping a gimmick will make her storytelling more sought-after, she takes the frog home… it’s a fun and wild ride. In the end, Buffy learns that no story is set in stone, and it’s never too late to start all over with “once upon a time.” Read the rest.

The Snow Queen by Eileen Kernaghan

… The Snow Queen is a short novel, a single-sitting book if you’re a fast reader like me, yet more enchanting than many longer works. Nothing is superfluous here; Eileen Kernaghan tells the story she has come to tell — a mythic reworking of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale of the same name — and that’s it. The enchantment begins with the lovely cover, graced with an illustration drawn from a 1913 book of fairy tales. Then, in the first paragraph, I was taken back to my childhood storybooks… Read the rest.

Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin

For some time I’ve been a fan of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. In the last few years, though, when my mind turns to that series, it’s usually either (a) to speculate about potential plot twists or (b) to wish the next book were out already. What I forget is how much I simply enjoy Martin’s writing, particularly his nuanced, flawed characters and the way he can turn a phrase. Fevre Dream, a tale of vampires on the Mississippi River in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, provided the perfect opportunity to savor Martin’s writing in a stand-alone novel with a comparatively straightforward plot… I greatly enjoyed Fevre Dream, and you will enjoy it too if you like Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the early books of Anne Rice — the vampire ones and her “straight” historical novel The Feast of All Saints. I also recommend it to Martin fans looking for a fix during the wait for A Dance with Dragons. Read the rest.

Black Heart, Ivory Bones edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Black Heart, Ivory Bones is the sixth and final entry in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s series of fairy tale anthologies. Of the six, I’ve read four, and each has its own particular flavor, its own unique mood. While all of the books contain a mix of light and darkness, in this volume there seems to be more of a balance: “all that’s best of dark and bright,” if you will. The mood that Black Heart, Ivory Bones evoked in me was a wistfulness, maybe, or a pensiveness… My choices for favorite stories in the anthology have changed somewhat over the years, but the book as a whole is a standout to both my 23-year-old self and my 32-year-old self. I highly recommend it. Read the rest.

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

… Who Fears Death can be incredibly hard to read, due to the subject matter. Okorafor depicts racial and sexual violence without flinching, and because the scenario echoes real events taking place in our own time, it hits hard. It hurts more than reading about imaginary violence in a made-up land… Who Fears Death is a book I will never forget, but I’m not sure I’ll reread it; it contains some scenes I’m reluctant to revisit… I was swept up in Onyesonwu’s story and couldn’t put the book down. The night I finished, I stayed up far too late turning pages, and after closing the book, I couldn’t sleep. Okorafor includes some tantalizing ambiguities, and I lay awake turning these ambiguities over and over in my mind. I love a book that makes me tear up and makes me think at the same time. Read the rest.

Queen of Shadows by Dianne Sylvan

Having enjoyed Dianne Sylvan’s nonfiction in the past, I was thrilled to see she had an urban fantasy coming out. I wasn’t sure if Queen of Shadows would live up to the high expectations I’d set up in my head, but I was definitely curious to find out. My expectations were met and then some. Queen of Shadows is my favorite book of 2010 so far… If paranormal romance and urban fantasy exist on a continuum, Queen of Shadows is more toward the PNR end of that spectrum. If you just don’t like vampire romance at all, it probably won’t convert you. But if you do like vampire romance, but often find yourself disappointed in it and are looking for a book that reminds you why you liked vampire romance in the first place, you could not do better than Queen of Shadows. Moving, well-written, suspenseful, and sensual, this is a novel you won’t want to miss. Read the rest.

Lavondyss by Robert Holdstock

I have a bad habit of overusing the word “haunting.” Ergo, I worry that when I use it here, it won’t pack the punch it really should. Let me just say, then, that when I say Lavondyss is haunting, I mean it. This book settled into my bones like a hard winter. It will stay in my mind forever. I feel like I’ve lived a whole second life by reading it, and I’ll probably read it again at my earliest convenience just to see if I catch anything I missed the first time… Lavondyss has everything I love in a book: compelling characters, vivid prose, mythic elements, art-as-magic, complex character relationships, and just the right amount of ambiguity. It’s a fairy tale, the old kind with blood and revenge and jaw dropping wonder. It’s the kind of book that, when you finish, you feel the urge to flip right back to the first page and start over… Read the rest.

Midsummer Night by Freda Warrington

When you love a book as much as I do Freda Warrington’s Elfland, there’s always a little bit of fear mixed in with the anticipation for its sequel. Finding a book that resonates with you on many levels at once is like falling under a spell. What if the second book isn’t as good; what if it breaks the spell? Now that I’ve read Midsummer Night, though, I can report that I’m still happily ensorcelled. Midsummer Night lives up to the quality of Elfland and is a terrific novel in its own right… This book has everything: a big complex plot, emotionally compelling characters, evocative writing, gorgeous settings, a sense of wonder, a bit of humor, great use of tiny little details that might not seem important at first, and a few scenes that will scare your socks off! It shares a cosmology (and a secondary character or two) with Elfland, but can stand alone. You’ll want to read Elfland anyway though, as it’s wonderful; the AETHERIAL TALES are some of the most enchanting fantasies I’ve read in years and I highly recommend them. Read the rest.

In Dreams Begin by Skyler White

…Reading In Dreams Begin felt like finishing Robert Holdstock’s Lavondyss and A.S. Byatt’s Possession on the same day, then going to bed and having a strange, sensual dream… In Dreams Begin explores topics such as art, beauty, fidelity, and the nature of love. It’s an intensely sensual story; readers who hate sex in their fantasy novels had best stay away, but readers willing to surrender to In Dreams Begin’s spell will be rewarded with a thought-provoking read. As in and Falling, Fly, White finishes the novel with a conclusion that will have you scratching your head, saying “Oh!” as pieces fall into place, and maybe thumbing back to earlier scenes to reread them with new knowledge in mind… This is one of the best, and most brain-tickling, books I’ve read this year. For a poetry geek like me, In Dreams Begin is a seductive dream indeed. Read the rest.

Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier

… One can always depend upon a Juliet Marillier book to provide lovely writing, haunting magic, and a sweet, slow-building romance. Longtime fans will also enjoy the reappearance of characters from earlier in the Sevenwaters series; at this point some of them feel almost like members of the reader’s own family! Marillier makes great use of recurring motifs… After finishing Seer of Sevenwaters, I wanted to jog my memory about a few plot points from the original Sevenwaters trilogy, and thumbed back through two of those books. What struck me then was how much less grim Seer of Sevenwaters is. I remembered the beauty and magic of the first three books, but what I had forgotten was how many misfortunes are heaped upon those first three heroines (and other innocents) and how much they suffer before they eventually triumph. While bad things do happen in Seer of Sevenwaters, there is more of a pervasive sense of hope throughout the story. I’m not sure if this reflects a change in me or a change in Marillier’s writing — or if it’s intentional, meant to show that the actions of Sorcha, Liadan, and Fainne gave Sibeal’s generation a better world to live in. Read the rest.

Bloodshot by Cherie Priest

I was pretty excited to read Bloodshot. I first encountered Cherie Priest by way of her Southern Gothic novel Four and Twenty Blackbirds several years ago. Since then, her name keeps popping back up in my consciousness, both as a writer of several acclaimed steampunk novels I haven’t had the chance to read yet, and as a Person Who Says Interesting Things on the Internet. So when I heard she was dipping her authorial toes into one of my favorite subgenres, urban fantasy, I knew this was a book I wanted to read. Bloodshot did not disappoint. In fact, I may gush a bit, because this book is darn near flawless… I can think of very few urban fantasies that match it in plot, character, or writing style. Read the rest.

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

What a ride! I count myself fortunate to be a “late adopter” of Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series, because that meant I was able to devour its five books in rapid succession, almost as if they were one single long novel. It’s been an intense experience, the kind I always want to find in urban fantasy and so often don’t. This series has everything: a mystery; a twisty plot that isn’t confusing to read even when you don’t yet understand everything that’s happening; a dynamic heroine who changes as the story progresses; a complex, fascinating world; great sex (yeah, I said it) that always serves plot or character rather than the other way around; a touch of humor… Now that the series is finished, I can heartily recommend it with two caveats… Read the rest.

Huntress by Malinda Lo

Huntress is a prequel to Malinda Lo’s debut novel, Ash, though the two books can stand independently. Huntress takes place several centuries earlier, in a time when the country’s culture was more analogous to that of feudal China… The best thing about Huntress is that nothing in it is a cop-out. Anytime there’s the possibility of an easy way out, that’s not where Lo takes the story. This lack of cop-outs makes Huntress stand out against a number of books that foreshadow difficult choices but don’t follow through; against any book where the bad guys are made of cardboard; and even against Ash, where the solution was something of a loophole. Don’t think, though, that this is a depressing book. Huntress is filled with noble characters, beautiful imagery, and selfless love; and left me feeling uplifted after I finished it… Read the rest.

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

One of last year’s most striking fantasy novels was Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death. Brilliance Audio has now released an audio version of Who Fears Death, and I recommend it with great enthusiasm. I discuss the plot at greater length in my review of the print book… Brilliance Audio’s production of Who Fears Death is narrated by Anne Flosnik. Flosnik’s voice is so gorgeous that I would happily listen to her read the phone book. Coupled with Okorafor’s prose, the effect is enchanting indeed. The one thing I will mention is that Flosnik acts out the accent that Onyesonwu might have, which means it takes a little extra concentration to follow the narrative. Then again, this is a book you’ll want to pay close attention to anyway. Who Fears Death is the polar opposite of a light read; it’s complex, thought-provoking, unsettling — and often beautiful. Read the rest.

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull

Anyone who likes urban fantasy should go “back to basics” and pick up this defining classic of the subgenre. I’ve read several books that borrow zillions of plot elements from War for the Oaks, but never reach the same sort of exhilarating heights. Yeah, yeah, we all know the story: young woman wanders the city at night and meets a mysterious stranger, so on, so forth. Now sit back and see it done right! Read the rest.

One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire

… In One Salt Sea, Seanan McGuire deepens her exploration of most of the major characters. In one of the book’s most haunting scenes, she shows us just how broken Rayseline really is, making me pity her as much as I hated her…. Toby herself is compelling as always — maybe even more so than usual, since this case strikes so close to home — and as an added bonus, she’s on the ball this time and there aren’t any moments of wondering why she’s missing the obvious. One Salt Sea is the best October Daye book to date; everything that’s great about the series comes together in one book. The plot is strong, the characterization is terrific, the tragedies hurt, a few things that were confusing are explained here, and McGuire’s usual beautiful writing and dark humor are present and accounted for. This has become one of my favorite urban fantasy series, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next. Read the rest.

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

… Anne Ursu’s Breadcrumbs is a retelling of the fairy tale “The Snow Queen,” and it’s fantastic. Ursu perfectly captures what it’s like to be a child of about eleven, just on the cusp of puberty but not there yet. You’re old enough to know that believing in magic is considered childish, but you don’t want to live in a world without it… This is a beautifully written book — and intelligently written, too. Kids will enjoy this, especially kids who are introspective and bookish like Hazel herself, but I think it may actually be even more enjoyable for adults. This isn’t so much a book for children as it is a book about childhood, meaningful for readers of all ages… I recommend Breadcrumbs to anyone who is a geeky kid… and anyone who has ever been a geeky kid. Read the rest.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

… I first experienced Laini Taylor’s beautiful writing in 2009’s Lips Touch: Three Times, a collection of three original fairy tales (which you should all go read right now, if you haven’t already). It was such a pleasure getting to sink into her prose again as she unfolded Karou’s world. Prague comes to life in all its quirky beauty, and the scenes in Brimstone’s shop are so visual and so detail-rich and so odd that reading them feels like walking into a Brian Froud painting… Daughter of Smoke and Bone is what I wish more paranormal YA novels could be. I may sometimes seem to be down on paranormal YA, but I don’t inherently dislike it. In fact, I like it very much, at least in theory, and so I want it to be good. So often, too often, it’s not. Daughter of Smoke and Bone really is that good. Read the rest.

At The Edge of the Universe, we review mainstream authors that incorporate elements of speculative fiction into their “literary” work. However you want to label them, we hope you’ll enjoy discussing these books with us.

The Snow Child had me from the first page, specifically these two sentences:

She had imagined that in the Alaska wilderness silence would be peaceful, like snow falling at night, air filled with promise but no sound, but that was not what she found. Instead, when she swept the plank floor, the broom bristles scritched like some sharp-toothed shrew nibbling at her heart.

I loved the way Eowyn Ivey used alliteration and onomatopoeia here to reinforce the picture she described, and I was pretty sure from that moment that I would enjoy this book. And I did. I know I’ve found a good book when I find myself wanting to babble on about both the story and the mechanics of its telling.

The year is 1920. Mabel and Jack are a fiftyish couple who have moved to remote Alaska to get away from constant reminders of their childlessness and years-ago miscarriage. Mabel feels prissy and useless in this rugged land but isn’t quite sure how to change that. Jack feels that he “married up” and is ashamed that he can’t give Mabel a soft, easy life. Both are haunted by the lack of the children they wish they’d had. The Snow Child follows the evolution of these characters and of their marriage as they adjust to the harsh realities of their new home, befriend a rough-and-tumble neighbor family, and encounter the snow child of the title: a little girl who appears the morning after Jack and Mabel impulsively build a girl of snow.

The child, who calls herself Faina, is an enigma. Is she a supernatural being, a magical fairy-girl like the one from the “Snegurochka” tale Mabel’s father read to her long ago? Is she an ordinary flesh-and-blood orphan scratching out a solitary existence? Or is she a figment of Mabel’s imagination, conjured out of loneliness and cabin fever? Ivey feeds this ambiguity by writing dialogue differently when it involves Faina. These conversations are not set off in quotation marks the way the rest of the book’s conversations are. It helps one wonder whether Faina has the gift of speaking directly into people’s minds — or if she only exists in their minds in the first place. We do eventually get some answers about Faina’s nature, but later these seemingly definitive answers are called into question yet again.

The prose is skilled; one has the sense that every word in The Snow Child is carefully chosen, yet the book never seems overwritten. Ivey has a knack for using just the right word, not necessarily the prettiest word — they’re not always the same thing and she gets that. Ivey’s writing evokes both the stark setting and the moments of beauty to be found there, as well as the inner landscape of the characters. Here’s another sample that stood out to me, and seemed to perfectly describe the feeling of worrying about something and hoping that the worrying itself could somehow bring about a happy outcome:

It was a possibility she could not bear. She wound herself tightly, as if within her girdled ribs she could contain all possibilities, all futures and all deaths. Perhaps if she held herself just right. Maybe if she knew what would be or could be. Or if she wished with enough heart. If only she could believe.

The Snow Child is a moving fairy tale adaptation, and seems to tell us that no matter how we find our loved ones — whether by birth or marriage or friendship, or maybe by magic — we never know how long we will have with them. Life is uncertain; we might have more time than we expect, and we might have less. All we can do is make the best of it.

Icefall by Matthew Kirby

… Matthew J. Kirby perfectly creates an unbearable tension… Every major character is complex… All of this great storytelling and characterization is enhanced even more by beautiful writing… I very nearly missed out on Icefall twice. I received an ARC last year, but was swamped and knew Bill was a Kirby fan and passed it along to him, and then after reading his stellar review, selfishly wished I’d held on to it! Then, recently, I checked it out from the library, but kept not getting around to it, until I got an overdue notice and decided to hurry up and read it before I took it back. I’m so very, very glad I did. Don’t make my mistake, people — don’t put off reading this book. Icefall is stunningly good. Read the rest.

Lily of the Nile  by Stephanie Dray

After the defeat and death of Cleopatra, her three youngest children were taken to Rome and paraded as spoils of war, then adopted into the household of the victorious emperor, Octavian. Of the three, the one who went on to make a mark on history was Cleopatra’s daughter, Cleopatra Selene. In Lily of the Nile, Stephanie Dray tells the story of Selene’s coming of age in Rome, with a magical element added. Read more »

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Halfway through Beautiful Creatures, I remember thinking, “Hey, this is like The Witching Hour, but for teenagers!” The Witching Hour is probably my favorite Anne Rice book of all time, so this is high praise coming from me. It’s different, of course — Beautiful Creatures is much more PG-rated and unfolds at a faster pace — but both are big, meaty books featuring antebellum mansions, hidden witch families, curses generations in the making, and one pure love to stand against evil… Read the rest.

Spellbent by Lucy A. Snyder

… Spellbent is dark enough that it won’t be for everyone…  Jaded urban fantasy fans should consider giving Spellbent a try. Snyder adds together a determined yet flawed heroine, fun secondary characters, a plot with tons of forward momentum, and one seriously creepy Hell, and the end result is a visceral, powerful modern-day Orpheus myth. Read the rest.

Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning

At the end of Faefever, Mac was brought low, her free will stolen by the schemes of the Lord Master and the powers of several Fae. In the early chapters of Dreamfever, Karen Marie Moning makes the unusual decision of switching to another point of view, that of Mac’s teenage friend Dani, who narrates the first few days after the walls between the worlds fall down… As Mac reenters the world, she learns what has happened in her absence. When she sees the map showing all the new Dark Zones and the number estimating the Earth’s current population, it’s chilling. This battle just got much bigger… Dreamfever ends on the mother of all cliffhangers… Read the rest.

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews

No sophomore slump here! Ilona Andrews follows — and tops — her debut novel with an excellent sequel, Magic Burns….  Magic Burns just earned Andrews a place on my very short “snap up on sight” list. She’s one of the most original voices currently writing in the urban fantasy subgenre, and I can’t wait to see what she does next… Read the rest.

Queene of Light by Jennifer Armintrout

Many urban fantasy authors have written about supernatural races coming out of the shadows and living among humans. Few have done anything like this: The supernatural races crossed the Veil to live among humans, but war broke out, and the humans won. The otherworldly beings, along with any humans found to have paranormal abilities, have been banished to an underworld of sewers and subway tunnels, while the humans rule the world above. I love this idea… Read the rest.

The Wood Wife by Terri Windling

Our heroine, Maggie, is reeling from her divorce and drifting rather aimlessly through life — she considers herself a poet but hasn’t written a poem in years… Both a mystery and a fantasy, The Wood Wife is gorgeously written and a good read. As a writer, I was especially moved by the discussions of whether or not Maggie was still a poet. Well done…  Read the rest.

King of Sword and Sky by C.L. Wilson

King of Sword and Sky is longer than either of the previous two Tairen Soul books, but for me, it breezed by so quickly, I could hardly believe it. King of Sword and Sky continues several plotlines from the earlier books, resolves a really huge one, and ends with a heck of a bang!  Read the rest.

Nightwalker by Jocelynn Drake

I’ve been a fan of Buffy for a long time, but there was one thing I always wondered about. Namely, why would a vampire ever bother going to Sunnydale, knowing the Slayer lived there and was likely to dust the vamp as soon as he or she arrived in town? One would think a vamp could live a longer, more peaceful life simply by avoiding the Slayer’s stomping grounds, right? After the first chapter of Jocelynn Drake‘s Nightwalker, I think I get it… Read the rest.

Hallowed Circle by Linda Robertson

Linda Robertson’s first novel, Vicious Circle, was a fun read, and its sequel, Hallowed Circle, is even better. In this second installment, Robertson spins a highly original plot (if this has been done in urban fantasy before, it was in a book I missed!), further develops her characters and the relationships among them, and as an added bonus, passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors… Read the rest.

Mythangelus by Storm Constantine

Storm Constantine has frequently taken inspiration from the legends of the angels. Mythangelus is a collection of her angel-themed short fiction. The stories deal with issues of religion, gender, and sexuality; and are filled with lush prose …. I highly recommend this collection to fans of mythic fiction. These strange, haunting stories will draw you in, and then leave you thinking about their themes (and in some cases, their ambiguous endings) afterward.  Read the rest.

In Ashes Lie by Marie Brennan

….In Ashes Lie follows Lune and her allies through the end of Charles I’s troubled reign, Oliver Cromwell’s rise to power, and the eventual restoration of the monarchy. Running alongside this mortal politicking, dangerous plots are afoot in the faerie court. As you might guess by the novel’s title, the climactic events take place during the Great Fire of 1666, which threatens to destroy both London and the Onyx Court. Like Midnight Never Come, In Ashes Lie gets off to a slowish start. Marie Brennan takes her time moving all of her pieces into place. When all hell does break loose, though, it’s as exciting as anyone could wish, and made all the more effective by the careful, deliberate buildup of events. Read the rest.

Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan

… Marie Brennan has a lovely, elegant prose style that lends itself well to describing the glittering courts. There’s a certain “iciness” to it, a certain emotional distance between reader and characters, at least at first. Later in the book, emotion does bleed through, unmistakable even when it’s described with great restraint. And speaking of restraint, Midnight Never Come is unusually chaste when compared to many other recent faerie-themed novels. This is fantasy of manners, closer kin to Ellen Kushner‘s Swordspoint than to Laurell Hamilton‘s Meredith Gentry series… Read the rest.

and Falling, Fly by Skyler White

When I finished and Falling, Fly, the first words out of my mouth were, “Wow, what a mindf*ck.” The cover art, while a beautiful example of its kind, seems to imply a fairly standard urban fantasy. and Falling, Fly is anything but… and Falling, Fly reaches an ending that satisfies and yet leaves the reader’s brain buzzing.  I always appreciate a novel that makes me think… I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the beautiful writing… Read the rest.

Firethorn by Sarah Micklem

Reading the publisher’s blurb, you might expect a very different book from this one. It’s not that it’s inaccurate, per se. It’s just that all of the events in the blurb happen at the very beginning of the story. By page 15, Luck has fled the estate and is hiding out in the Kingswood, trying to survive on what she can forage. After what can best be described as a shamanic near-death experience, Luck believes she has been chosen by Ardor, the god of fire, for some unknown purpose, and changes her name to Firethorn.  Read the rest.

White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

White Is for Witching blends gothic horror, racial politics, and the older, bloodier sort of fairy tales into a deeply unsettling novel. The story opens with a passage intentionally reminiscent of “Snow White,” describing the mysterious imprisonment? disappearance? death? of the heroine, Miranda Silver. From there, we move backward in time, to the point when the events leading to Miranda’s fate began…  Read the rest.

Wildfire by Sarah Micklem

…. Like Firethorn, Wildfire is not for the faint of heart. It’s gritty, often gruesome. There’s one scene in particular, right at the end, that I hope fades from my memory soon! However, I found Wildfire rewarding. I enjoyed the beautiful writing and the heroine’s personal journey. As the novel ends, Firethorn has a renewed sense of purpose, but I know there will be more twists and turns ahead for her in the third book. I’m looking forward to reading it, and hoping there’s some peace or contentment at the end of Firethorn’s road. Read the rest.

The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

….. I had a lot of fun reading The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. Leanna Renee Hieber creates a sense of enchantment from the very beginning, and the novel caught me up in its spell during a week when my real life went completely haywire. It has the feel of a fairy tale, which is not an easy mood to sustain in a full-length novel. The Strangely Beautiful Tale is elegantly written and chock full of interesting characters and mythic themes. I especially loved watching the development of Percy from a meek mouse to a woman who knows what she’s willing to fight for…  Read the rest.

Dead on the Delta by Stacey Jay

Stacey Jay’s fairies are tiny, beautiful… and bloodthirsty. Chemical disasters caused them to mutate, and now they swarm the bayous of the Delta region in search of human blood. Most humans die from the bite. Some expire immediately in intense agony, while others go insane first and live a few more years in containment facilities before dying. A few humans, though, are immune. Annabelle Lee is one of them. Being immune qualifies Annabelle for all sorts of unpleasant jobs… It’s dangerous to read this book just before bed. Not because you’ll have nightmares — though that’s possible too — but because you’ll find yourself saying “just one more chapter” over and over until you suddenly realize it’s some ludicrous hour of the morning… Stacey Jay has the start of something really special here, between the creative take on fairies, the flawed but sympathetic heroine, and the gritty sense of a disaster-ravaged Louisiana. Dead on the Delta is a hard-to-put-down “rural fantasy” that I can wholeheartedly recommend. Read the rest.

Stealing Fire by Jo Graham

…Stealing Fire is a compelling yarn, a love letter to Egypt, and a meditation on how best to govern a diverse realm. (And how not to govern one.) Graham’s political background shines through as the characters discuss what makes a great leader. Her gift for humor is in evidence, too. Yet, I was left hungry for more… In fantasy, there are lots of great short-story ideas that get stretched into long novels, great novel ideas that become bloated trilogies, and great trilogy ideas that become long, plodding series. With that in mind, maybe I shouldn’t complain that Stealing Fire feels like an 800-page book compressed into 300 pages. After all, Jo Graham left me wanting more, and there’s something to be said for that… Read the rest.

The Golden Key by Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott

Melanie Rawn, Jennifer Roberson, and Kate Elliott collaborate here to create a novel that is very hard to put down — despite its formidable length and flattish characters. What drew me in was the carefully designed world, the totally believable magic, the overall mood, and the centuries-spanning plot… The book is divided into three sections, taking place in three different time periods. The sections are different enough in tone and style that I suspect each author wrote a section mostly by herself, with little collaboration except in world-building… Read the rest.

The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess by Leanna Renee Hieber

In The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker, we met Beatrice Smith, a member of the Guard that preceded Alexi Rychman’s circle. The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess is a prequel, focusing on Beatrice’s time in the Guard and on the goddess Persephone as she makes preparations for the war against Darkness. While this book is set earlier than the two existing books, I recommend starting with The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, because the Grand Work is explained there in more detail… Like the previous books, Perilous Prophecy is written in Hieber’s lovely, old-fashioned style. She evokes the literature of the period and also incorporates it into the story… The mythology is compelling, the emotional journeys are moving, and the treatment of diverse religious backgrounds is beautifully done… The Perilous Prophecy of Guard and Goddess may well be my favorite of the Strangely Beautiful books so far. Certainly it had me reaching for the Kleenex! I only wish it had been longer. After the conclusion, Hieber includes a teaser for book four, Miss Violet and the Great War, which will tell the story of the daughter of Percy and Alexi. I can’t wait. Read the rest.

Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

… Well, fellow Andrews fans, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. And the first thing you want to know, I’m sure, is “is it worth the wait?” In a word, yes! Kate Daniels is my favorite urban fantasy series, yet between books, I sometimes forget just how much I’m craving this character, this voice. I don’t realize how much I’ve missed it until I can sink into it again. Magic Bleeds is bursting at the seams with plot… Magic Bleeds is a terrific urban fantasy novel and a worthy addition to a great series. If you’re new to Kate Daniels, you’ll want to start with the earlier books; the events of this book are much more affecting if you’ve read the build-up. If you’ve been following Kate’s adventures, don’t hesitate to pick this up! Read the rest.

Riversend by Sylvia Kelso

Speculative fiction sometimes gets a bad rap for being nothing but “escapism.” While there are certainly plenty of “just for fun” books in the genre, what people sometimes forget is that sci-fi and fantasy have often been a place where writers can experiment with unusual prose styles and tackle controversial themes that might not go over well in mainstream, “realistic” fiction. Sylvia Kelso’s Riversend is an ambitious novel, blending dense, lyrical prose with a thought-provoking look at gender roles and unconventional relationships, and it’s a good story to boot… Read the rest.

Silk by Caitlin R. Kiernan

…Silk is a haunting blend of horror and old-school urban fantasy, the kind of urban fantasy that has less to do with badass back-tattooed vigilantes and more to do with alienation from mainstream society. The central characters are a loosely connected group of struggling musicians and troubled goths trying to make it on the streets of Birmingham Alabama. They’re broke, most of them come from traumatic pasts, drugs are endemic, and alliances among the group are shifting. The brightest spot in their lives is the relationships they forge in the face of problems both mundane and magical… Silk isn’t a perfect novel… Still, it’s a very good novel, and one that has made a lasting impression on me. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it… Read the rest.

The Iron Hunt by Marjorie M. Liu

“When I was eight, my mother lost me to zombies in a one-card draw.” That’s the first sentence of Marjorie M. Liu’s The Iron Hunt, and it’s just about perfect as opening lines go. It’s the primary reason I bought the book… Liu’s style is unusual and won’t be to everyone’s taste. However, I found it visceral and poetic at the same time, and especially good when describing violence and magical visions. Another aspect of The Iron Hunt that worked well for me was the mythos… I highly recommend The Iron Hunt to anyone who likes urban fantasy, tough female characters, and unique prose. I will definitely be looking up more of Liu’s work while I await the sequel to The Iron Hunt. Read the rest.

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

…Wicked Lovely is adapted from one of my favorite off-the-beaten-path fairy tales, a Scottish tale of the turning seasons… Wicked Lovely would appeal to many of the young girls who love Twilight, and Marr’s book is (in my opinion) superior. Aislinn knows what she wants (it’s not just love) in a way that Bella does not. The machinations of beautiful, manipulative Keenan are presented in a negative light. And while Seth comes off as a bit idealized, he’s a genuinely decent guy who truly loves Aislinn. He doesn’t talk to her like she’s stupid. He doesn’t stalk her. If I had a daughter, I’d much rather have her dreaming of her very own Seth than dreaming of her very own Edward… Read the rest.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley

Robin McKinley sure knows how to use the English language. We are in her spell from the beginning. Deerskin commences with Lissar’s nurse telling her a fairy tale — but the fairy tale is the story of how Lissar’s larger-than-life parents met. She is told from the very cradle what paragons her mother and father are, and yet she herself is ignored by them. McKinley seduces us with the the magical kingdom’s rarefied beauty and glamour — and also the coldness and rot at its core. When Lissar flees, we are shown, with the same deftness, an inhospitable wilderness… Read the rest.

Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception by Maggie Stiefvater

First love: it’s scary and confusing enough even when there aren’t homicidal faeries involved. Add in the homicidal faeries, and a girl can get in over her head before she can say “cold iron.” Maggie Stiefvater‘s Lament: The Faerie Queen’s Deception is an excellent YA fantasy that will appeal to anyone who likes stories of the fae as they appear in the oldest legends: dangerous, seductive, and sometimes deadly. Let me say right up front: Lament is downright frightening in places. These are not your fluffy, sparkly faeries. Getting mixed up with them can mean stark terror and heartbreaking choices… Read the rest.

Dark Oracle by Alayna Williams

… Alayna Williams creates a compelling heroine in clever, intuitive Tara. Harry is a likable character, too, and their relationship — conflicts and all — is touching and realistic. Williams also peoples her novel with memorable secondary characters, from the scientist’s daughter Cassie to Harry’s awesome mentor to the Pythia, head of the Daughters of Delphi. (Not to even mention the dog and cat.) The plot is suspenseful, the descriptions vivid and often just plain gorgeous, and all the elements add up to a perfect escapist read for summer. I found it impossible to put down; I’m usually reading three or four books at once, but this was the book for several days running… Read the rest.

Majix by Douglas Rees

Majix: Notes from a Serious Teen Witch is charming in both senses of the word. Told from the point-of-view of a fourteen-year-old Wiccan, Majix is a funny and heartwarming story about family, friends, and finding oneself… Douglas Rees does a terrific job with Kestrel’s voice. Who’d have thought a sixtyish male author could conjure up a 14-year-old girl’s voice so well? Maybe he has some “majix” of his own… Kestrel’s journey is compelling, and her character will be relatable to young adults who feel like they don’t quite fit in — and not-so-young adults who once felt that way… If there’s anything about Majix that I’d complain about, it’s that some of the outcomes for Kestrel and her friends are almost too sunny to be believed. This is, however, a small quibble. After all, there are far worse things than spending a few hours in a world where underdogs can triumph by doing the right thing and being true to themselves. Read the rest.

Wait for Dusk by Jocelynn Drake

Okay, I can’t help it. I have to start with this awful cover art… A more fitting cover would have shown Mira with a fireball in one hand and a big bloody knife in the other. Having read the first four DARK DAYS novels, I was expecting Wait for Dusk to follow the pattern of books two, three, and four: namely, a slow-build start with lots of politics and posturing, leading up to an action-filled finish. To my surprise (and pleasure), there’s not a slow moment in Wait for Dusk… The book is filled with action and violence, and every fight is consequential to the main plot in addition to being exciting. Jocelynn Drake builds to a big ending and then delivers it… Wait for Dusk ends on a satisfying note. This is the first DARK DAYS book that’s really recaptured the explosive energy that defined Nightwalker, and to my mind it’s even better than that first installment. Ignore the cover and snap this one up. Read the rest.

The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr

I still remember the day I bought my copy of The Wild Swans. I’d been on a retold-fairy-tale bender and had devoured almost every book listed in the back of the Fairy Tale Series books edited by Terri Windling, at least the ones I could track down. I knew I wanted something in a similar vein, and the back cover blurb of The Wild Swans promised exactly what I was looking for. The book delivered, too; it turned out to be a stirring novel blending the fairy tale “The Wild Swans” with modern-day issues… The Wild Swans broke my heart and then fused it back together. I recommend it with enthusiasm… Read the rest.

Thief Eyes by Janni Lee Simner

Thief Eyes begins with a spine-tingling scene of sorcery, in which Hallgerd, a young girl in ancient Iceland, calls upon dangerous powers in order to avoid an unwanted marriage. With this scene, Janni Lee Simner sets an ominous mood, gives us some background information, and provides a few tantalizing hints about what might unfold later… Thief Eyes paints a vivid picture of Iceland and alludes to many of its myths. You may find yourself wanting to travel there or to read the classic sagas. I know I did! This is a well-researched and thoroughly enjoyable young adult novel, not to mention refreshingly original. (No vampires!) Read the rest.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

… When a series becomes this popular and sparks this much speculation among readers, the author’s task is extremely difficult. How to surprise a fanbase, when that fanbase has spent many months trying to guess what will happen in the final installment? Yet Suzanne Collins succeeds admirably. There are plenty of twists in Mockingjay that I simply never saw coming… Like the previous books in this series, Mockingjay works on the level of action/adventure and on the level of social commentary. Here, Collins gives us a chilling look at war, propaganda, and collateral damage. If you’ve enjoyed this series so far, you will almost certainly find Mockingjay a worthy conclusion. If you haven’t tried this series yet, you’re missing out! Read the rest.

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

… Plain Kate is written in the style of a fairy tale and draws heavily on Russian folklore. Erin Bow’s prose, especially when describing nature or Kate’s craft, is lovely and lyrical. The plot is epic in a way, since the fate of a country rests on the outcome, but at the same time it’s a very intimate story. Almost all of the major characters turn out to be connected. The two major threads are Kate’s struggle to stop the villain and to find a place to belong, and the villain’s quest for revenge and the deep hurt at its core. The central events pit love against fear and bitterness in a beautiful, moving way. I say “love,” but I wish to clarify that I don’t mean romantic love. There is, in fact, no romance whatsoever. If you’re sick of romantic YA fantasy, you’ll like Plain Kate. If you prefer books with a prominent romantic element, this may not be the book for you (though I’d recommend trying it anyway, because it’s terrific)… Read the rest.

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews

William Wolf didn’t get the girl in last year’s On the Edge, but he certainly won over plenty of us readers. In Bayou Moon, the second Edge paranormal romance by the husband-and-wife team that makes up Ilona Andrews, William gets his turn to shine and to meet his match in a scrappy Edge woman… Bayou Moon has a little bit of everything: horror, comedy, romance, heartwarming family relationships, tons of creepy swamp atmosphere, and a twisted blend of magic and mad science. I loved the way everything dovetailed together eventually, and the way the Mars’ past was slowly revealed. There’s not much more I can say without spoiling some of the best surprises, but I’ll just say that I highly recommend Bayou Moon and hope the Gordons keep writing Edge books for a long time to come. Read the rest.

Geist by Philippa Ballantine

Sometimes you read a book and enjoy it while reading, only to find it falls apart when you think about it later. The inverse happened to me with Philippa Ballantine’s Geist. I enjoyed it, and then the more I thought about it, the more I found to appreciate… Ballantine’s world-building is subtle… The characterization is fantastic. Sorcha, in particular, jumps right off the page; an abrasive, snarky, sometimes narrow-minded, yet often endearing woman who is determined to do what’s right and likes her cigars… Raed — a noble rogue with a dark secret — may just win my award for “Hottest Fantasy Hero Since Joscelin Verreuil.” The plot moves quickly and is peppered with banter and sexual tension… I just have to know what happens with these characters! Geist will appeal to urban fantasy fans willing to venture into a wholly invented world, and to high fantasy fans that don’t mind a story that’s a little sexy. I thoroughly enjoyed this character-driven novel that isn’t quite like anything else I’ve read. Read the rest.

Black Wings by Christina Henry

… Henry’s writing style and her characterization of Madeline set Black Wings apart from the urban fantasy crowd. Madeline is hilarious when she’s being snarky, and incredibly “real” and relatable when she’s hurting. One of the best moments is when Madeline takes a moment to remember a tragedy that occurred in the early pages of the book. Madeline reflects on how the events of the last few days hadn’t given her time to mourn, and how she doesn’t even feel like the same person who experienced that loss, and it’s such a perfectly drawn and poignant look at what she’s going through. Henry proves equally skilled with a more lyrical prose style; this is most evident in the vision scenes but shows up at other points as well. The more elevated style gives these sections a tragic grandeur that suits the fallen-angel theme. I read Black Wings in one day, and I loved spending that time with Madeline (and Beezle). I recommend Christina Henry to readers who enjoy the dark humor of Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series and the demon politics of Stacia Kane’s Megan Chase series. Read the rest.

Vicious Grace by M.L.N. Hanover

… Vicious Grace is the third in Hanover’s urban fantasy series The Black Sun’s Daughter. This one’s set in Chicago, at labyrinthine Grace Memorial Hospital, where a sleep researcher has noticed an eerie anomaly in his latest study: all of his subjects have had the same dream of an inhuman creature crawling out of a coffin. Jayné Heller and her team are called in to help. Conveniently, Jayné’s uncle Eric left her a condo in the city, and the gang settles in to investigate… Vicious Grace is a chilling novel on two levels: the external horror of the haunted hospital, and the internal horror in Jayné’s mind as she considers the uses — and abuses — of the power she has inherited from Eric. I couldn’t put it down. You’ll want to read Unclean Spirits and Darker Angels first (otherwise the impact of this installment won’t be as great), but Vicious Grace is the best of the series so far. Read the rest.

Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

Kate Daniels has opened her new business, Cutting Edge Investigations, but there’s just one problem: no clients. “If things kept going this way,” she muses, “I would be forced to run up and down the street screaming ‘We kill things for money.’” It’s not that she needs the money, really; it’s more that she wants to be a successful, independent businesswoman rather than just Curran’s consort. So when a case comes her way, Kate takes it, even though it’s not the sort of mission she’s used to… The authors weave an intense story filled with action, horror, emotion, and Kate’s snarky sense of humor…  if you’ve been following Kate Daniels, you can’t miss Magic Slays — and if you haven’t been reading the series, you should! Read the rest.

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel’s Dart is the story of Phèdre, marked as a masochist by the angel of pain and punishment, and trained from youth as a courtesan and spy. The book follows her through her childhood and then the vicissitudes of one fateful year, in which Phèdre learns more about pain and love than she had ever dreamed possible… I don’t think I understood, until I finished the novel, how thoroughly Jacqueline Carey had woven the mingling of pleasure and pain into the story. The two are forever mingled in Phèdre’s life, but it goes far beyond the bedroom… Love and pain are never far apart. By the end of the book, we’ve all been pricked by Kushiel’s dart… Read the rest.

Ice Song by Kirsten Imani Kasai

I’ve never been a big science fiction reader, and so it took me far too long to get around to reading Kirsten Imani Kasai’s Ice Song. Its beautiful cover would draw my eye again and again in the bookstore, then I’d flip it over to read the back cover copy and think, “Oh. Submarines. Mutations. This is that science fiction book again.” Now that I’ve read it, I wish the blurb had contained one brief sentence that would have had me snapping up the book right away: This is a fairy tale. Sure, the setting is an environmentally ravaged future, and the part-human, part-animal beings who populate it are made that way by mutation rather than by sorcery, but make no mistake: this is a fairy tale. Just as the key to Sorykah’s quest is hidden within a fairy tale told to her along the way, I believe that the key to enjoying Ice Song lies in approaching it as a fairy tale… Ice Song is unique, striking, often disturbing, and always emotionally moving. I savored the prose, too, which is evocative and dreamlike as befits a story that feels so much like a fairy tale despite its futuristic setting. Read the rest.

Hammered by Kevin Hearne

… Hammered is a much more serious story than either Hounded or Hexed. While giving us two books’ worth of side-splitting entertainment, Hearne has been sneakily laying the groundwork for Hammered, building up characters and friendships and subplots so that we care deeply about what happens here… The central theme is the question of how to hold on to one’s humanity when one has great power and can live for hundreds or thousands of years. How do you keep from getting arrogant and seeing ordinary mortals as insects? How do you hold on to what makes you you — and conversely, is it possible to hold on too much, becoming consumed by a grudge that might not be worth all that you sacrifice to it? It’s clear that Atticus is better than most at this balancing act, and it’s equally clear that it’s often his humanity that puts him in so much danger. Hammered is not the end of this series, but it effectively closes a big story arc. It makes a good temporary stopping point as we await Tricked, due out in 2012. Kevin Hearne is evil, though, and packs in one more spooky plot hook at the end. It’s not a cliffhanger for the plot of this book, but it’s sure going to cause some trouble in the next one! Read the rest.

The Uncertain Places by Lisa Goldstein

…In 1971, Berkeley students Will and Ben go to visit the eccentric Feierabend family who live in a rambling house in Napa Valley. Ben is dating the eldest Feierabend sister, Maddie, and wants to introduce Will to the second sister, Livvy. Will thinks Ben’s trying to palm off a less attractive “pale shadow” of Maddie, but when he meets Livvy, he’s smitten. As their relationship grows, so do the mysteries surrounding the Feierabends — and then something terrible occurs and Will must outwit the fairies to bring back his love. Goldstein invents a long-lost Grimm fairy tale that serves as the trail of breadcrumbs to guide Will’s steps. But even if Will does win his way to Livvy, he’ll need to be careful; fairies can be tricky about the fine print. The climax of the story is the kind I like best; it forces the characters to look within themselves and decide what they value most… For readers who enjoy the quieter style of contemporary fantasy, I recommend The Uncertain Places. It’s a quick read, but a memorable one… Read the rest.

Naamah’s Blessing by Jacqueline Carey

Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel and Naamah books have become comfort reads for me. When I open up one of these novels, I always know I’ll find beautiful writing and a world I enjoy returning to again and again. A world where love in all its forms — not just romantic or sexual — can defeat evil and change the course of history. Naamah’s Blessing, the final installment of the trilogy about Moirin mac Fainche, is no exception… Carey has done an excellent job of using details that seemed forgettable or extraneous and bringing them full circle… For longtime fans of the series, there are Easter eggs. Occasionally a detail appears in the story that Moirin doesn’t understand — but the reader does. I had a lot of fun with these… Naamah’s Blessing features beautiful writing, an exciting and emotional plot, gorgeous new landscapes, appealing new characters, development of old characters, tragedy, joy, humor, and a satisfying culmination of Moirin’s story. As always, Carey sweeps us away. Read the rest.

Working Stiff by Rachel Caine

Rachel Caine’s Working Stiff is technically a zombie novel, but it’s not your typical zombie novel. It’s not your typical urban fantasy, either. In fact, it might be more properly termed urban soft science fiction, as the zombifying agent is a nanotech drug rather than magic. But whatever you call it, it’s an excellent book that has me kicking myself for not having tried Caine’s novels before. Bryn Davis is one of the most relatable urban-fantasy heroines I’ve seen. She’s neither Superwoman nor a clinging vine. She’s just a young career woman with an endearing mix of strengths and vulnerabilities, who is forced into a desperate existence and must struggle to survive… Working Stiff is really, really good. It’s sometimes creepy, sometimes sad, sometimes terrifying — Bryn’s death scene is a wrenching example of all three — but always riveting, and it’ll make you think about what really makes a person “alive.” The ending leaves Bryn with even more troubles than before, and leaves the reader jonesing for the sequel… Read the rest.

Prince of Annwn by Evangeline Walton

Evangeline Walton first wrote the Mabinogion Tetralogy in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Prince of Annwn is the first in the sequence but was the last to be published. It was a nominee for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 1975. The four novels are based upon four related tales from Welsh mythology, known as the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. Prince of Annwn is an adaptation of the first “branch,” “Pwyll Prince of Dyfed.” Walton expands upon the original tale, fleshing out descriptions and journeys and character motivations, but keeps the essential elements of the story and strives for a similar prose… I’ll certainly be seeking out the others as soon as possible. Prince of Annwn is an excellent read, whether you’re new to the Mabinogion or already familiar with it. It’s also a valuable piece of fantasy history. I’d been meaning to read it for years, and only regret taking so long to get around to it. Read the rest.

A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire

I was a little disappointed in Rosemary and Rue, the first OCTOBER DAYE novel, but I could see tons of potential there and looked forward to the rest of the series. A Local Habitation blows it out of the water, and blows most of the urban fantasy on the shelves out of the water while it’s at it… Toby is stronger here than she was in Rosemary and Rue, more dynamic, and more resourceful… The suspense, the world-building, the characterization, and the writing combine to make A Local Habitation a standout. I can’t wait for An Artificial Night; I want more Toby, and definitely more Tybalt! Read the rest.

The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams

The Shadow Reader is Sandy Williams’ debut novel and the first in the new McKenzie Lewis series. If this book is any indication, I anticipate great things from Williams and this series in the future. I enjoyed The Shadow Reader immensely… It can take a little while to get one’s bearings in the fae world Williams has created, but she does a terrific job of making that world feel fleshed-out and lived-in. One gets the sense of a rich history and geography in the background, even if McKenzie only sees a small sampling of it in this first book. I was reminded both of Karen Marie Moning’s Fever universe and C.L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul in terms of the setting. The Shadow Reader kept me turning pages frantically, and when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about how much I wanted to be reading it and finding out what happened next or what new truth would be revealed. I had a lot of fun with The Shadow Reader and can’t wait to read more about McKenzie. Read the rest.

Liar’s Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce

Digger, a.k.a. Celyn Contrare, is back in the city of Gerse. Following a strange series of events, she learns that her friend Durrel Decath stands accused of murdering his wife, a woman from one of Gerse’s wealthiest merchant families. Digger sets out to clear Durrel’s name… What follows is an exciting whodunit… with magic… Liar’s Moon is an exhilarating read. This is in part because of the suspense and intrigue that will keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting to know what happens next. It’s also in part because of Digger herself and how much fun it is to follow her through her adventures. A brave and resourceful heroine, she’s always poking into something, always on the edge of danger, and always helping to move the plot along. When I finished the last page of Liar’s Moon, I felt bereft, both because Bunce ends the book with a killer hook and because I wanted to spend a few hundred more pages hanging out in Gerse with Digger. I can’t wait for book three… Read the rest.

Fate’s Edge by Ilona Andrews

Fate’s Edge is the third in the EDGE series by husband-and-wife duo Ilona Andrews… Fate’s Edge is a caper story. Sure, the protagonists have some personal demons to face, but for the most part the book is sheer rollicking fun. The hero is Kaldar Mar, whom we met in Bayou Moon as Cerise’s cousin, a gambler and something of a con artist. The heroine is Audrey Callahan, herself an accomplished thief and grifter. She’s about to leave behind her life of crime when she lets family guilt drag her into one last heist. Kaldar, now working for the spy agency the Mirror, is assigned to recover the artifact Audrey stole. But her father has already sold it, and in the wrong hands it could spell the end of both the Edge and the Broken. Now Kaldar and Audrey have to work together to steal it back… If you’re looking for a paranormal adventure that’s pure fun, Fate’s Edge is it. It’s got swashbuckling and thieving and magic and humor and hot chemistry; what more could you want? Read the rest.

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Juliet Dark is a pseudonym for Carol Goodman, two of whose literary suspense novels I read years ago: The Lake of Dead Languages and The Drowning Tree. I enjoyed them, and what I remember most are the mythological themes, the academic settings, and the beauty of Goodman’s prose, especially when describing water, ice, and snow. Recently Goodman has entered the fantasy field, first with the BLACK SWAN RISING novels (written with her husband Lee Slonimsky under the pen name Lee Carroll), which I’ve been meaning to read, and now with The Demon Lover. I’ve had underwhelming results in the past with suspense authors crossing over into fantasy, but Goodman is a different kind of suspense author. She puts so much mythology into her mainstream books, and has such a talent for making the real world seem like a fairyland, that I always half expected the paranormal to show up anyway. In The Demon Lover, the paranormal does show up, and the novel does not disappoint… Read the rest.

Living with Ghosts by Kari Sperring

When you’ve shared a review site with someone for a long time, you start to get a feel for how your tastes are similar — and how they’re different. Being aware of these differences means that sometimes a negative review from one of your co-reviewers can make you want to read the book! For example, I know that if Kat finds a heroine too snarky, I’ll probably love her. Similarly, John and I often disagree on the “relationship stuff” in books. Recently he read Kari Sperring’s Living with Ghosts and had trouble with it, but from his review I could tell it was probably something I’d like. I was right, and Living with Ghosts was a terrific read for me… Living with Ghosts is the kind of book about which one might say, “this is the sort of thing you will like, if this is the sort of thing you like.” There’s a certain type of decadent, historically-influenced, character-driven, political, and often urban fantasy that I deeply enjoy and that is sometimes hard to find. Definitely give Sperring a try if you like Jacqueline Carey, Ellen Kushner, and Lane Robins. The writing is beautiful, the characters are well-drawn, and the story is scary and tragic and deeply romantic, without being a romance (i.e. no tidy happily-ever-after here)… Read the rest.

The Crowfield Demon by Pat Walsh

In The Crowfield Curse, young William and his friends and allies righted a long-ago wrong at Crowfield Abbey and faced down the terrifying Unseelie King. But now another evil is rising at the abbey — one that has even the Unseelie King running scared.

The Crowfield Demon is even better and spookier than The Crowfield Curse. Read more »

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

I first heard about Robin LaFevers’ new YA release, Grave Mercy, a few months ago and was intrigued by its premise, which involves an order of assassin nuns. Based on that, I thought it was set in a fantasy world. When I learned that it was in fact set in our own world, in medieval France, I was more skeptical. How would LaFevers set assassin nuns in real France without it seeming unrealistic?… It’s not quite realistic, but it’s so much fun that you won’t mind… The heroine is fierce and resourceful, the romance is believable, the world-building is enthralling, and the intrigue is… well, intriguing.  Whenever I wasn’t reading it, I was wishing I was reading it, and couldn’t wait to get back to it. I’m shocked to find that it’s listed at 560 pages. It felt short to me, and I wished it were longer! It ends on a good stopping point but leaves plenty for Ismae’s friends Sybella and Annith to do in the next two HIS FAIR ASSASSIN books. Grave Mercy is aimed at young adult readers, but has plenty to satisfy older readers too, especially if you liked Maria Snyder’s Poison Study, Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart, and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalon. Read the rest.

Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

The sequel to Lily of the Nile, Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray continues the story of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of the more famous Cleopatra. In this installment, Selene marries, becomes queen of Mauretania, and continually longs and schemes for the return of her birthright: the throne of Egypt.

Song of the Nile begins with a prologue that refers to the myth of Persephone’s descent, and so we know from the start that this book will take Selene into some painful emotional territory. There are two elements here that may trouble some readers, so I’ll get those out of the way while also saying that, in my opinion, they are handled well and are not gratuitous. Read more »

Silence by Michelle Sagara

Michelle Sagara makes her young adult debut with Silence, a spooky and emotionally moving urban fantasy. The heroine, Emma, is mourning her boyfriend Nathan, who died in a car accident. She feels most at peace when she visits the cemetery in the evenings — until one night she has an uncanny encounter on the grounds. And the weirdness doesn’t end there. Now Emma can see and touch the dead, and may be able to affect these spirits in other ways as well… Emma is a well-rounded character with both good qualities and flaws… She is likable in the beginning and grows during the novel’s events to become an even more compelling heroine… Silence distinguishes itself in a glutted field of YA paranormal fiction. Sagara starts with some of the popular plot tropes, but doesn’t take them in the directions you might expect, and the lovable characters and authentic emotion help set the book apart too. It’s a story of loss, grief, and the way life goes on after tragedy, sad at times but hopeful rather than depressing. I highly recommend it to YA urban fantasy fans. Read the rest.

Spider’s Bite by Jennifer Estep

The atmosphere of Spider’s Bite might be described as “Southern-fried noir.” The setting is Ashland, an Appalachian city where magic is openly known and a ruthless magical mobster has her fingers in every pie. Most of the cops are corrupt. The hair is big and the food is gloriously unhealthy. Gin Blanco is an assassin… Her profession makes her an unlikely heroine, but her tough, snarky voice and her surprisingly strong sense of ethics are likely to win you over in spite of yourself… There are a few twists that aren’t too hard to guess, but Gin’s engaging voice, gutsiness, and resourcefulness keep the pages turning. When I finished Spider’s Bite, my first thought was, “What a fun book!” I will definitely check out the rest of the Elemental Assassin series. Read the rest.

Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

…. Three Days to Dead is a good addition to the urban fantasy shelves, with a convincing and moving love story, some great settings and imagery, and a plot that’s complex but still makes sense. Read the rest.

Stalking Tender Prey by Storm Constantine

Stalking Tender Prey draws on the legend of the Grigori, or Watchers. The Grigori are said to be angels whose over-entanglement with mortals led to their Fall. The central character in Stalking Tender Prey, Peverel Othman, is a Grigori who takes up residence in the small English hamlet of Little Moor, with life-changing results for the townspeople. His arrival precipitates an awakening of sorts, and a loss of inhibitions.  Read the rest.

Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson

Lord of the Fading Lands has me thinking about genres, and the distinctions between them, and the places where they blur. Specifically, is the Tairen Soul series romance-with-fantasy or fantasy-with-romance? I’m going to have to come down on the side of romance-with-fantasy, though there’s a great big fantasy plot in this book alongside the love story. Read the rest.

Queen of Song and Souls by C.L. Wilson

Queen of Song and Souls, the much-anticipated fourth book in C.L. Wilson’s Tairen Soul series, continues the story of Rain and Ellysetta’s quest to complete their bond and defeat the sinister Mages of Eld. In this volume, they attempt to enlist allies in their war against Eld… Read the rest.

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

… Overall, Rachel Vincent’s My Soul to Take is a solid YA fantasy featuring an original mythology and a strong heroine. If you liked Amber Kizer‘s Meridian, you will probably like My Soul to Take, and vice versa… Read the rest.

Turned by Julie Kenner

… I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this series, from its twisting plot to its unlikely heroine and the terrible decisions she faces. I don’t know if Kenner plans to continue The Blood Lily Chronicles; the ending of Turned leaves the reader satisfied, but leaves the door open to further stories. I can say, though, that I recommend these three installments to fans of fast-paced urban fantasy with a dark edge… Read the rest.

Darker Angels by M.L.N. Hanover

… I really enjoyed Darker Angels and I think it’s safe to say I’m hooked on The Black Sun’s Daughter. Jayné continues to be a delight; she’s no master strategist, but she has a lot of compassion, and she has more courage than she thinks she does. And to heck with the inner curmudgeon. By the end, this had become a “set the alarm early so you can read before work” kind of book, and I finished it with a smile on my face and maybe a few tears in my eyes.  Read the rest.

Doppelgangster by Laura Resnick

…  Doppelgangster is a great mix of urban fantasy, humor, mystery, and maybe a dash of chick lit. It had me in stitches. I also recommend Resnick‘s first Esther Diamond book, Disappearing Nightly. You don’t have to read it to follow Doppelgangster‘s storyline, but it’s worth tracking down anyway, just because it’s fun!  Read the rest.

The Turning by Jennifer Armintrout

… The Turning is an exciting, fast-paced story, full of action and romance. I felt that Carrie’s attraction to both men was well-written, both the frustrating relationship with Nathan and the addictive pull of Cyrus. The plot ends on a satisfactory note but leaves the door open for a sequel, which I’m looking forward to. Read the rest.

Killing with the Edge of the Moon by A.A. Attanasio

At 151 pages, Killing with the Edge of the Moon is an evening’s read, but what an enchanted evening it is!…  Killing with the Edge of the Moon feels more like a fairy tale than a traditional novel, and will be enjoyed by anyone who likes stories of teens confronting the Otherworld. Read the rest.

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

… Cassie is a fierce heroine who practically jumps off the page. She’s smart, brave, and resourceful. She isn’t always likable, but she’s always dynamic. She strikes bargains, takes death-defying risks, tells lies, tricks people, and never gives up. In YA fantasy, there have been a lot of passive heroines lately. This is NOT one of them.  Read the rest.

Blood Cross by Faith Hunter

…  another harrowing episode of Jane’s life, filled with action and written in thick, detail-rich prose… Along the way, Jane learns more about her Cherokee background, the tangled history of the vampire clans and the witch covens, and the genesis of the very first vampires. I think these revelations of history were actually my favorite parts of Blood Cross! …. I was riveted. Read the rest.

Skinwalker by Faith Hunter

… The originality of Skinwalker begins with Jane Yellowrock, the heroine. Jane is a loner and a smart aleck, but her similarities to the stereotypical urban-fantasy protagonist end there. Jane is a skinwalker — a shapeshifter drawn from Native American folklore — and she lives in a sort of symbiosis with “Beast,” the spirit of a mountain lion… Then there’s Jane’s strange past, mysterious even to Jane herself, and her deep-seated (but never obtrusive or preachy) Christian faith.  Read the rest.

Lady of Light and Shadows by C.L. Wilson

… Lady of Light and Shadows gets off to a bit of a slow start. There’s a lot of talk, as characters discuss and debate politics. …. I started to wonder whether the characters would ever manage to get out of Celieria by the end of this book, or even by the end of the third. …. But when this plot goes BOOM, it does it in a big way. The second half of Lady of Light and Shadows is just terrific. Read the rest.

Goddess of Spring by P.C. Cast

I hesitated to read Goddess of Spring. I never did really get into P.C. Cast‘s first novel, Goddess by Mistake, and I love the Persephone myth and didn’t want to be disappointed. But finally I decided to read Goddess of Spring — and liked it!…  Read the rest.

Vicious Circle by Linda Robertson

The bare bones of this story will be familiar to urban-fantasy devotees: Werewolves, vampires, faeries, and witches all exist and have become public knowledge in recent years. Girl, tough and feisty, takes it upon herself to dispense justice in a supernatural murder case. Girl is chosen against her will to play a major role in paranormal affairs. Girl is wooed by attractive werewolf and attractive vampire. I was worried Vicious Circle would be just like a hundred other novels with a similar premise, but Linda Robertson does some really interesting things to make her story stand out.  Read the rest.

The Betrayal by Pati Nagle

… Pati Nagle‘s prose is a treat. It’s elegant; she’s great at using just the right amount of “archaic” or “elevated” language to add to the mood without impeding the flow of the story. She’s also skilled with descriptions. The beauties of nature and of aelven handiwork, from embroidery to palaces, are vivid throughout the novel… Read the rest.

Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin

Lavinia, wife of Aeneas, is silent in Virgil’s Aeneid. In the novel Lavinia, Ursula LeGuin gives a voice and a story to this nearly obscure figure. I loved the prose from page one. LeGuin’s skill with the English language is unquestionable. Here’s a sample from early in the novel: Like Spartan Helen, I caused a war. She caused hers by letting men who wanted her take her. I caused mine because I wouldn’t be given, wouldn’t be taken, but chose my man and my fate. The man was famous, the fate obscure; not a bad balance. The concept behind Lavinia is more complicated than you might think.   Read the rest.

Gods’ Concubine by Sara Douglass

… I devoured Gods’ Concubine in two days, and can’t wait until the third installment, which is supposed to take place during the Restoration period… Gods’ Concubine is better than its predecessor. First of all, the plot is more complex. It’s less all-battles-all-the-time and has a lot more plotting and politics in it. And secondly, more importantly, the characters are developing splendidly! … With their lusts and machinations, their struggles and games, these people will shape history. And I, for one, will be reading on… Read the rest.

Deadtown by Nancy Holzner

… Holzner has set up an intricate, well-realized world in Deadtown. The first half of the book is pretty heavy on exposition as Holzner builds her setting. It makes for a slowish pace, but it’s effective… In the second half, the plot kicks into high gear and races toward a suspenseful climax… I recommend Deadtown to anyone looking for a well-realized urban fantasy world. There’s a message about xenophobia here if you’re looking for it; but even if you’re not looking for messages, this is an original and promising urban-fantasy debut… Read the rest.

White as Snow by Tanith Lee

A maiden is kidnapped. Her mother searches for her, disguised as an old beggar woman. A deadly fruit is eaten. The maiden dies, but not necessarily for good… Depending on how you flesh out the rest of the tale, this could either be the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, or the fairy tale “Snow White.” Tanith Lee weaves the two together in until it’s hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. The myth and the fairy tale fit together well in Lee’s hands…  Read the rest.

Magic in the Shadows by Devon Monk

… Overall, Magic in the Shadows was enjoyable. I found it superior to Magic in the Blood, and roughly tied with Magic to the Bone. There’s a lot of set-up here, but it’s interesting enough that I didn’t mind. Monk now has plenty of plot hooks to explore in future books. Best of all, Allie is developing into a character who is more able to withstand the trouble that lies ahead. I recommend the Allison Beckstrom series to urban fantasy fans who want something fresh and original, with a snarky sense of humor.  Read the rest.

Tainted by Julie Kenner

…. Tainted is quite enjoyable, and I’m looking forward to the two upcoming Blood Lily Chronicles novels. There are enough twists here to set this series apart from the pack, and that’s something to celebrate in this subgenre. Read the rest.

Sins & Shadows by Lyn Benedict

… I really loved the world-building here. Lyn Benedict immerses the reader in a complex setting filled with bureaucracy, gods of various pantheons, and competing agendas. The prose is great too. It’s less ornate than the style she uses in Maledicte and Kings and Assassins, but the simpler style suits the gritty modern setting, and she’s just as good at evoking beautiful or gory images with her words as she is when she’s writing as Lane Robins…  Read the rest.

Midnight’s Daughter by Karen Chance

Meet Dorina; she comes from perhaps the most dysfunctional family in existence. She’s the niece of Dracula, the bastard daughter of Drac’s older brother Mircea. Dracula, Mircea, and their third brother, Radu, are all vampires, and centuries of bad blood lie between Drac and the other two men. Dorina’s own place in the clan is shaky. She is a dhampir, the offspring of a vampire and a human, a creature subject to berserk rages and ostracized from both human and vampire society… Read the rest.

Salt and Silver by Anna Katherine

Blurbs for Salt and Silver use the word “romp” often enough that I was expecting something in the vein of paranormal chick lit. I was surprised, then, by the dark places Salt and Silver goes, and Anna Katherine‘s ability to both scare the daylights out of me and break my heart. Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised, given that the whole story is about going to, well, Hell.  Read the rest.

The Seventh Witch by Shirley Damsgaard

… I enjoyed The Seventh Witch. It has the kind of tangled-family-history plotline that I just love, and the setting is beautiful. Damsgaard does a great job of describing Ophelia and Abby’s ancestral home. The clearing with the stone circle sounds just as gorgeous as it looks on the cover. And I especially loved the climactic scene involving the seven witches, though it could have been longer… I don’t recommend starting with this one — you’ll be lost — but if you’ve missed some books along the way, like I have, you won’t have much trouble catching up… Read the rest.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Charles de Lint said once that the current urban-fantasy novels are highly focused on character, and that readers like or dislike a series based on whether they connect with the protagonist. (I wish I could find that quote!) Based on this, I’m not surprised that Charlaine Harris has, as I write this review, the top three best-selling fantasy titles on Amazon. Disclaimer: I’ve only read this first book so far, and haven’t seen the TV series. But from what I’ve seen, Sookie Stackhouse is a delight. Read the rest.

Darkness Calls by Marjorie M. Liu

I loved The Iron Hunt, and was eagerly looking forward to the sequel. I’m happy to report that Darkness Calls is a worthy successor. This time around, Maxine and her boyfriend Grant are being hounded by a mysterious group of religious fanatics and by a horrifically creepy being who introduces himself as “Mr. Erl King,” a name that will probably be familiar to myth-geeks like me. Seriously, this is one icky villain. I’m feeling nauseous right now, just remembering some of his scenes.  *shudder* Anyway, like The Iron Hunt, Darkness Calls features lots of action, some humor, quirky secondary characters, and plenty of nods to mythology and folklore. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Read the rest.

The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan

What a strange book! Then again, I know never to expect the expected when reading Caitlin R. Kiernan… I finished The Red Tree several days ago, and I’m still thinking about it. I think I probably need to read it again just to make sure I caught everything. It won’t be for everyone, but readers willing to embrace a little ambiguity will be rewarded with a layered, atmospheric tale.  Read the rest.

Hannah by Kathryn Lasky

The other orphan girls at the Boston Home for Little Wanderers fantasize that they are secretly the long-lost daughters of wealthy families, or even of royalty. Hannah harbors no such dreams. What she doesn’t know, however, is that her heritage is the strangest of all. When she is packed off to live in dry landlocked Kansas and falls deathly ill, she begins to realize that she’s not like other girls.  Read the rest.

Demon Inside by Stacia Kane

… In addition to enjoying the exciting, emotional plotline, I also loved Stacia Kane‘s scene-setting in Demon Inside. Her prose is straightforward and unpretentious, and there’s no one phrase that sticks out in my memory, but add it all up, and this is definitely a writer who can paint a vivid picture. I especially liked the demon funeral, which was both creepy and surprisingly beautiful, and the demonic battle played out against a sleepy Christmas scene. Stacia Kane has far surpassed Personal Demons with Demon Inside. I enjoyed Personal Demons, but I never imagined its sequel would suck me in like this. Read the rest.

Tam Lin by Susan Cooper

Anyone who is familiar with the ballad Tam Lin knows it’s a story that is very much for grown-ups, or at least teenagers. Susan Cooper does a very good job here of adapting the old story so that it’s suitable for any age. It requires changing a few plot elements, but the essential spirit of the story remains the same… Cooper wonderfully depicts the feisty Margaret, and successfully adapts the story into something perfect for a little girl’s shelf of fairy tale books… Read the rest.

The Red Queen’s Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov

…as soon as I saw that The Red Queen’s Daughter was about Mary Seymour, and included magic to boot, I knew I had to have this book. Mary Seymour is, historically, a question mark. The daughter of former queen Catherine Parr and her fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, Mary was orphaned and taken in by the Duchess of Suffolk. There are no records of Mary’s existence after the age of about two. Most historians believe she died in infancy, though rumors to the contrary have circulated. Here, Jacqueline Kolosov envisions a happier fate for Mary… Read the rest.

Demon Possessed by Stacia Kane

The title Demon Possessed has a double meaning. On the surface, it seems to refer to the book’s murder-mystery plotline, which involves several characters who may or may not be possessed by demons. But it also refers to Megan, who must decide in this installment whether to become fully “possessed” by Greyson, the demon world, and the demonic side of her own nature. The interpersonal-relationships plotline is the real gem in Demon Possessed… Read the rest.

The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop

Imagine a fairy-tale heroine. You know the type: beautiful, kind, able to charm all the beasties of the forest into eating out of her hand. On the astral plane, she even has a unicorn’s horn. Now imagine that she has enough magical power to move mountains. (Literally.) You might think this is a recipe for the worst Mary Sue in the history of literature, but in Black Jewels, it works… The story builds to a dramatic, moving climax that isn’t the stereotypical Big Fantasy Battle. The plot sags a bit in places, especially in Heir to the Shadows. However, I enjoyed Black Jewels enough that I’ve reread it a couple of times… Read the rest.

Black Magic Woman by Justin Gustainis

… With Black Magic Woman, Gustainis has begun a series which I’ll be following enthusiastically. He uses many of the ingredients that add up to a great ongoing story: a Big Bad to provide an overarching plot, plenty of room for lesser villains to populate individual installments, and a dash of “will they or won’t they” romantic tension, in which the reader is rooting for them to get together but kind of hopes it won’t be anytime soon because the tension itself is so much fun… Read the rest.

Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand

Elizabeth Hand, who famously dealt with the Mother Goddess myth in Waking the Moon and the cult of Dionysus in Black Light, here tackles the subject of the fatal muse: the White Goddess, the lhiannan-sidhe, the Belle Dame Sans Merci. Mortal Love drifts back and forth between several periods of history, between men throughout the years who have fallen under her seductive spell. Along the way there are Hand’s usual lush fruit-metaphors and insect-metaphors and jewel-metaphors, and as always her prose is an intoxicating fever-dream of a read… Read the rest.

The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber

… If you wanted more closure to the romantic plot at the end of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, you’ll find it here. Leanna Renee Hieber gives her hero and heroine a resolution fit for fairy tales… Around the one-third mark, the fantasy plot — previously in the background — takes center stage… Like its predecessor, The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker comes to a satisfying close but leaves room for future stories starring these or different characters. Along the way, Hieber gives us plenty of her lovely, delicate prose, and a few moments that are riotously funny. If anything, I wanted more!… Read the rest.

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King is just plain fun. Julie Kagawa takes sixteen-year-old Meghan Chase on a heroic journey through the lands of Faerie, where she meets a host of vivid characters and crosses unearthly landscapes in search of her missing kid brother. Along the way, she learns a dangerous secret about her parentage, gets caught up in a Faerie political struggle, and finds herself torn between two very different fey boys… The Iron King is a solid debut, and a real pleasure to read. I recommend it to teen and adult readers alike. Read the rest.

Black Blade Blues by J.A. Pitts

Sarah Beauhall, heroine of Black Blade Blues, was a woman after my own heart from the very beginning. Not only is she a lesbian and a blacksmith — traits that set her apart from the Standard Urban Fantasy Heroine — she also attends sci-fi conventions and hangs out with Ren Faire and SCA enthusiasts. This isn’t just a character I’d like to have a beer with. This is a character I feel like I’ve already had a beer with! Like lots of her compatriots in urban fantasy, she does have anger-management issues, but there are reasons for this… Pitts ties up all the necessary ends, gives Sarah some great character development, and sets up a tantalizing plot hook for book two. I’ll be looking forward to it!.. Read the rest.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

After finishing the unputdownable The Hunger Games, I couldn’t wait to see what was in store for Katniss Everdeen and her friends in Catching Fire. As it turns out, quite a lot… Catching Fire ends with a cliffhanger, and a chilling final sentence. There’s a little bit of middle-book syndrome created by the cliffhanger… while Catching Fire doesn’t quite clear the bar set by book one, it was a high bar to begin with. I am looking forward to seeing where Collins takes this series next… Read the rest.

Bast: Bell, Book, and Murder by Rosemary Edghill

Speak Daggers to Her, The Book of Moons, and The Bowl of Night are some of the best fiction about modern witches I’ve seen yet. And the main reason why is the heroine — Bast. In Bast, Rosemary Edghill creates a delightful heroine with a deep belief in the Goddess and magic — and also with a barbed tongue that deftly skewers the politics and foibles of the Pagan community. Even if there had been no plot in these three novels, I would have kept reading just to “listen” to Bast talk. And as an added bonus, there is a plot… Read the rest.

The Shadows of Albion by Andre Norton and Rosemary Edghill

I’ve heard others gripe that this book is basically fluff. Well, yes, it’s light, but that’s part of what I liked about it. I’ve read a lot of serious (and sometimes depressing) books lately, and this one was a much-needed cool breeze of just plain fun. The Marchioness of Roxbury, a vain and vapid woman, is on her deathbed, having failed to fulfill a promise made to the Fair Folk. She lives in an alternate England where magic exists, though it’s subtle. The only way she can keep her word is by switching places with Sarah Cunningham, her double from our world… the adventure is fun and movie-like, and the end leaves me wanting more. Gotta go read the sequel now.

Naamah’s Curse by Jacqueline Carey

At the end of Naamah’s Kiss, Moirin’s lover Bao set out on his own, uncomfortable with the magic that bound him and Moirin together. As Naamah’s Curse begins, Moirin undertakes a dangerous journey to find him. The beginning is on the slow side, focusing on the hardships of winter travel and on Moirin’s stay with a kindly Tatar family. Then, Moirin learns that Bao has done something stupid… Read the rest.

Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling (eds.)

…With many striking entries, Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears is a must-read for fans of dark fairy tales. So, why don’t I like it as much as I liked Black Thorn, White Rose? …While both of these collections include happy stories, bittersweet stories, sad stories, and disturbing stories, most of the entries that impressed me most in Black Thorn, White Rose were toward the uplifting end of the spectrum. They were stories that gave me the warm fuzzies. In Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears, I found that some of the most striking tales were the ones that gave me a twisting feeling in my gut instead… Don’t let this stop you, though; it’s an excellent anthology and a worthy installment in the series. Read the rest.

The Summer Country by James A. Hetley

First, a caveat. Don’t let the pretty cover art fool you. The Summer Country is not a “pretty” book. It’s really more horror than fantasy, full of violence and truly twisted characters. That said, I enjoyed The Summer Country. It stands out, with a few others, as a novel that presents a distinctive and original way of looking at the Otherworld, the faerie realm… Read the rest.

Ill Met by Moonlight by Sarah A. Hoyt

… Ill Met by Moonlight is an amusing romp consisting of a generous helping of Hamlet, set in the world of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, spiced up with fairy-nurse legends, a liberal dose of “Tam Lin,” and a dash of “The Courtship of Etain,” not to mention a ghost scene straight out of The Return of the Jedi. Much of the dialogue is borrowed from the Bard’s words. Occasionally the quoting gets a little heavy-handed, but I felt that it worked for the most part, at least in this volume… Read the rest.

Silver’s Edge by Anne Kelleher

I loved Silver’s Edge. It’s an eyes-glued-to-the-page story of politics and war between three realms in a world not unlike Dark Ages Britain or Ireland. The silver caul that once held the Sidhe, the goblins, and the humans in their own little worlds is missing; now the three races are thrown back together for reasons unknown, and chaos ensues. The story focuses around several young women struggling to survive in this chaotic situation. I loved it — it’s rare that a book about political intrigue really does surprise me and pull the rug out from under my feet. You don’t know who to trust… Few authors can really fool the reader like that. Anne Kelleher can… Read the rest.

Wild Talent by Eileen Kernaghan

… a gently feminist coming-of-age tale with a strong sense of place and time… The greatest strength of Wild Talent is its vivid portrayal of the tumultuous times in which Jeannie lives. The drudgery of rural poverty, the decadence of absinthe-soaked artists, the glamour of the Paris world’s fair, and the spiritual debates among London’s occult circles are all handled with skill. When I finished Wild Talent I felt that I’d paid a visit to the late 19th century, that I’d been right there with Jeannie all along. Also well-handled were the questions of what is “real” and what is not. The book is teeming with the supernatural… Read the rest.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

… I was about to dismiss Swordspoint as fluff until about two-thirds of the way in. While it was entertaining, it seemed to be just a soap opera about the schemes and love affairs of a group of shallow, unlikeable people. But as the plot thickens, the best surprises in the novel are in store for us… at the end you will be rewarded with perhaps the best final paragraph I’ve read in years — about the messiness of life as contrasted with the tidy endings of fiction. A fun, swashbuckling read for a lazy weekend — it isn’t “deep” or very long, but it is entertaining. Read the rest.

Blood Bargain by Maria Lima