Synopsis: The Palace of Illusions brings readers to a Paris breathless with excitement at the dawn of the twentieth century, where for a select few there is a second, secret Paris where the magic of the City of Light is very real in this enchanting and atmospheric fantasy from the author of The Fairy Bargains […]
Fairy Tales
Review: Cinder House by Freya Marske
Synopsis: Ella is a haunting. Murdered at sixteen, her ghost is furiously trapped in her father’s house, invisible to everyone except her stepmother and stepsisters. Even when she discovers how to untether herself from her prison, there are limits. She cannot be seen or heard by the living people who surround her. Her family must […]
Review: Dance With Me by Livia J Elliot
Synopsis: Dance With Me is a standalone literary fantasy themed around surviving emotional trauma, discovering one’s self-worth, overcoming depression and the toxicity of self-imposed perfectionism. It is told through the story of a ceramic ballerina enchanted to life through elven magic, and is presented as a clean fairy tale fantasy. Review: To step through the pages of […]
Review: Dreambound by Dan Frey
Summary: When Byron Kidd’s twelve-year-old daughter vanishes, the only clue is a note claiming that she’s taken off to explore the Hidden World, a magical land from a series of popular novels. She is not the only child to seek out this imaginary realm in recent years, and Byron—a cynical and hard-nosed reporter—is determined to […]
Mini Reviews by Shaggy #1
I regularly read and review short stories, novelettes, and novellas, and their reviews don’t always feel long enough to have a whole post for them. Even some novel-length books are really fun but don’t have me writing a ton about them besides proclaiming my enjoyment for them. Instead of keeping them completely from you, I […]
Review: The Fright Before Christmas by Jeff Belanger
Synopsis Step into the dark roots of Christmas past where the Krampus punishes the bad boys and girls. Christmas time is truly the darkest and creepiest time of the year filled with devilish creatures lurking in the shadows waiting to get us. Best known is the Krampus who has been the subject of films and […]
Review: Loreland Bestiary by Hope Christofferson
Synopsis An illustrated mythology of the world’s most fantastical creatures. Turn your gaze toward the skiesWhere wyvern, lung, and phoenix fly.As mermaids swim through oceans blue Under Arctic ice, past coral hues. Accounts arise from here and there, Of manticores in hidden lairs, And faeries dance ’round mushroom caps As brownies steal your fabric scraps. But beware the moon and mind […]
Review: Tribes of the Gods Endure by Kay Ni C.
Synopsis Tribes of the Gods Endure is a fictional mythological tale about the concealed mysteries of Ireland and the Irish people. The ancient gods of Ireland have been forgotten for a long time and rarely talked about, but they are shared from one generation to the next by older people in local bars. They are […]
Review: I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
Synopsis From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Unicorn comes a new novel with equal amounts of power and whimsy in which a loveable cast of characters trapped within their roles of dragon hunter, princess, and more must come together to take their fates into their own hands. Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of […]
Review: A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Synopsis: Cordelia knows her mother is . . . unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms—there are no secrets in this house—and her mother doesn’t allow Cordelia to have a single friend. Unless you count Falada, her mother’s beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides […]
Review: Quaint Creatures: Magical & Mundane (A Sideways Tale) by Andrew D. Meredith
Synopsis When a city councilor comes into Quaint Creatures and asks veterinary doctor Norrik Softstep to investigate the magical crate confiscated by his customs agency, the entire staff of Quaint Creatures will need all their skills and knowledge to unravel the troubles threatening the relatively peaceful city of Brightfall. From liches seeking city approval for […]
Review: The Devising (The Dark Oak Chronicles #3) by Jacob Sannox
Synopsis The Third and Final Book of The Dark Oak Chronicles.After all of the victories and the losses, with fortresses toppled and armies broken, a once united human realm has been shattered; its people scattered within unending forests.Dark Oak, former King of the Dryads, stands ready to unleash his forces against not only humanity, but […]