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 […]
Historical
Review: In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King
In the Garden of Monsters brings together art, history, and mythology, all wrapped up in a delightfully fun romance novel.
Review: The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
Synopsis: January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura […]
Review: The Quiet Stillness of Empty Houses by L.V. Russell
Synopsis: Theodora Corvus can hear the whispers of her crumbling family home. She can hear the whispers of Kingsward Manor, her place of employment. She sees the watchers by the lake, black-eyed and waiting. But Broken Oak is silent. Broken Oak is empty. When Theodora takes the job as governess to young Ottoline Thorne, she […]
Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Synopsis: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is […]
Review: A Warrior Still by Shelly Campbell
Synopsis I am a creature of war. A centaurine, to be precise. Before my colt died, I was all gnashing teeth and nerves of ice. Even now, my chest burns for air thick with bravado, my ears long for clanging iron amidst hoof beats, and my nostrils quiver for bitter fear oozing from a thousand […]
Review: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Synopsis: A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and […]
Review: The Petticoat Pirate (Immortal Pirates #1) by C.R. Pugh
Synopsis: Josephine Teversin was fifteen years old when her father was murdered by pirate hunters. She’s the last of her kind—an immortal pirate without a ship or crew, and her magic is unstable at best. It’s 1773, and tensions are rising between England and the American colonies. Rumors of war are running rampant. But immortal […]
Review: Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin
Synopsis Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, […]
Book Review: Scales of Balance (A Vengeful Realm #1) by Tim Facciola
TL;DR: Spartacus meets Game of Thrones. Magic, manipulation, insurrection, and bloody spectacle galore. Synopsis: Peace bought by blood seldom lasts, for vengeance knows no end. The same is true for mortals and Gods alike. Decades, centuries, eras may pass, but the cycle remains. As war and revolution rise again, Zephyrus finds himself at the center […]
Review: The Ministry of Time (#1) by Kaliane Bradley
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK “This summer’s hottest debut.” —Cosmopolitan • “Witty, sexy escapist fiction [that] packs a substantial punch…It’s a smart, gripping work that’s also a feast for the senses…Fresh and thrilling.” —Los Angeles Times • “Electric…I loved every second.” —Emily Henry “Utterly winning…Imagine if The Time Traveler’s Wife […]
Review: Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin
Synopsis In Jazz-Age Shanghai, Jingwen carefully balances a double life of glamour and grit, dancing as cabaret showgirl while also running errands for the city’s most powerful gang. When a series of cabaret dancers are attacked and their stolen faces start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, Jingwen realises that to help save her closest rivals […]