Content warning: lots of stabbings, beheadings, poisonings, deaths by burning, drowning, acid, and I’ve probably forgotten some others. Basically, lots of violent death, which will happen when you are having multiple military coups and revolutions and wars in one novel. The Queen Will Betray You is the second book in the trilogy that starts with The Princess Will Save You. It’s very good, but you absolutely should not read it unless you have read the … Continue reading The Queen Will Betray You by Sarah Henning →
Content warning: Torture of a main character. I’m pretty sure that if I start by saying ‘genderswapped Princess Bride where the Princess rescues the stable boy’, about half of you won’t read any further in this review because you will be too busy one-clicking the book. Certainly, that was my reaction when I saw this title appear on NetGalley. And if genderswapped Princess Bride is what you are looking for in a book, you will … Continue reading The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning →
Sea Witch Rising is the sequel to Sea Witch, which was a very loose retelling of The Little Mermaid with an impressive twist. Like Sea Witch, Rising is a hot mess, and, yet, also like Sea Witch, I just gotta have it. There is romance in the story but the book is not a romance. It’s about mermaid witches and an octopus witch and some human witches fighting the Germans and also patriarchy above and below the … Continue reading Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning →
The breathtaking sequel to Sarah Henning’s The Princess Will Save You–a brilliantly-executed YA fantasy homage to The Princess Bride KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE CROWN… After a thousand years of political stability, the realm of The Sand and Sky is up for grabs. Four kingdoms, four rulers vying for the ultimate prize, sovereignty over the entire continent: A ruthless old king spinning webs, whose schemes encompass generations. A widowed queen whose only credo is all kings must … Continue reading The Queen Will Betray You →
The Princess Will Save You is a YA fantasy adventure inspired by The Princess Bride, in which a princess must rescue her stable boy true love, from the acclaimed author of Sea Witch, Sarah Henning. When a princess’s commoner true love is kidnapped to coerce her into a political marriage, she doesn’t give in—she goes to rescue him. When her warrior father, King Sendoa, mysteriously dies, Princess Amarande of Ardenia is given what would hardly be considered a … Continue reading The Princess Will Save You →
NB: This guest post is from Rebecca Pawel, who attends an annual literary festival Semana Negra in Gijon, Spain. She thought this year’s sessions might be of interest to the Bitchery, and I heartily agreed. The panels and conversations this year focused on the representations of violence against women, so TW for that. Thank you for writing all of this up for us, Rebecca! Muchas gracias! Last month Carrie S published an entry about why … Continue reading Guest Post: Gender, Genre, and Representations of Violence Against Women: Report from the Semana Negra →
Abby reviewed this book for the RITA® Reader Challenge, and she had nearly the same reaction as Emily. Plot Summary: Arabella Dempsey’s dear friend Jane Austen warned her against teaching. But Miss Climpson’s Select Seminary for Young Ladies seems the perfect place for Arabella to claim her independence while keeping an eye on her younger sisters nearby. Just before Christmas, she accepts a position at the quiet girls’ school in Bath, expecting to face nothing … Continue reading RITA Reader Challenge Review: The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig →
Time again for hand selling online, when book mastermind Billie Bloebaum from Powells books (conveniently located in the Portland airport!) matches enquiring minds with required reading. Deborah writes: I adored Bewitching by Jill Barnett. I’ve read the rest of her books, some I liked, some I didn’t, but I was looking for another author or book that has the same good sense of humor and adventure. Billie says, “Barnett hasn’t had anything new since 2007 … Continue reading The Bookmatcher with Billie Bloebaum →
