Tartlets, prepare yourself for ALL the things with In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King. I could not put down this novel that blends historical fiction, fantasy, Greek and Roman mythology, Gothic horror, and so much more into an amazing read.
What’s In the Garden of Monsters about?
In the Garden of Monsters follows Julia, a 1940s art model who takes a job posing as the goddess Persephone for famed artist Salvador Dali. Julia, Dali,...
I feel super bad that I’m placing The Jinn Daughter in my DNF column. Because I really don’t think it belongs there.
You know what? It doesn’t belong there. There are a lot of things about this book that I really enjoyed.
I just didn’t enjoy them enough. **cringe**
What’s The Jinn Daughter about?
The Jinn Daughter embraces Middle Eastern mythology and folklore to tell us a story about a jinn – a genie tasked with helping souls...
Many thanks to those of you (there were many!) who told me to read The Bear and the Nightingale. Extra special thanks goes to those who pointed out that I should do so during wintertime. You were spot on about this.
What’s The Bear and the Nightingale about?
The Bear and the Nightingale beautifully weaves together historical fiction and fantasy, truth and fable, new religion and old world magic. There are princes and peasants, house elves...
Christ on a cracker. The Hollow Places is one of the most mind-bending, horrifying books I've ever read. I actually let out a low, guttural groan at one point -- that's how disturbed I was by one passage.
It was wonderful.
The Hollow Places isn't my first T. Kingfisher novel, nor will it be my last. I read The Twisted Ones by her last year and I loved it. The Twisted Ones was fantastically creepy, a stomach-clenching, supernatural,...
I'm just going to come out and say it. **deep breath** A Discovery of Witches is Twilight for adults. **cringes** And y'know what? I liked Twilight better. **ducks as A Discovery of Witches fans throw things at her**
I feel like I've read A Discovery of Witches before... C’mon, people! I can't be the first person to draw parallels between Deborah Harkness’ series and the wildly popular vampire books by Stephenie Meyer. SO MUCH...
The Bone Houses has one of the best first lines I've ever read: "The evening air smelled pleasantly of a fresh grave." I mean, come on. HOW CAN YOU NOT GET SUCKED IN BY THAT? Talk about imagery. Take notes, fellow writers. This is just one example of author Emily Lloyd-Jones's beautiful writing in this young adult historical fiction/ fantasy / horror novel mash-up. What's The Bone Houses about? The Bone Houses follows Ryn, a...
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was another different type of read for me: fantasy. This creative story by V.E. Schwab is rich and complex; it’s detailed and emotional; it’s sweet and exciting. There are SO many things going on in this behemoth of a novel. What's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue about? The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is about a 1700s French peasant woman, Addie, who makes a deal with a demon to escape an...
Umm, could someone please explain A House at the Bottom of a Lake to me? Because I sure as hell don’t get it. Admittedly, that could just be me. This could be another Bunny situation going on, where I’m just not existential enough to understand what I just read. What's A House at the Bottom of a Lake about? This novella by Josh Malerman (of well-deserved Bird Box fame) is a horror story. Kind of. It's about two teenagers row out...
Two people in two days told me to read The Midnight Library, and I'm rather glad they did. I'm also glad that I listened to them. What's The Midnight Library about? This unique, thought-provoking novel by Matt Haig maintains a "road not taken" approach. It's about a suicidal woman, Nora, who's magically transported to the "midnight library," a place where each book contains the story of the life she could have lived if she had...
N0S4A2 is a Christmas book in the way that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. It's a horror novel that just so happens to be centered around Christmas. There are all the entrancing, alluring elements of the holidays that we love: carols, trees decorated with ornaments, and the smell of gingerbread in the air. But, author Joe Hill doles out each charming tidbit with a sinister twist that morphs the innocent into something incredibly dark and...
