At Midnight, edited by Dahlia Adler, is a creative, inclusive mix of fairy tale reimaginings from a diverse YA perspective. Some of the stories are funny, some horrifying, but all are inventive and subversive. Different people will of course have different favorites, but my favorite story was “In the Forests of the Night.” In this retelling of “Fitcher’s Bird,” author Gita Trelease creates a bloody, vengeful, feminist and anti-colonialist version of the fairytale set in … Continue reading At Midnight edited by Dahlia Adler →
Tarot of the Divine: A Deck and Guidebook Inspired by Deities, Folklore, and Fairy Tales from Around the World is a gorgeous and thoughtfully composed 78-card deck with a wide selection of stories that fit the meanings of the cards beautifully. I’m enjoying spending time with this colorful, creative deck and seeing all the layers of each card unfold. If you need a brush up on the basics of tarot, check out this review of … Continue reading Tarot of the Divine by Yoshi Yoshitani →
Slippers and Thieves is a clever YA urban fantasy retelling of Cinderella. On the whole, I think this is a conceptually clever story, but the characterization isn’t great, and for goodness sake don’t treat it as a stand alone book. Slippers and Thieves is the fourth book in the Fairy Tales of the Magicorum Series. In this series, magic users exist secretly alongside non-magical users in the modern world. Shifters, fairies, and witches are members … Continue reading Slippers and Thieves by Christina Bauer →
I have a real weak spot for sexy vampires. I also have one for fantasy romance, and another one for romance series where each book is about a different couple but there’s a connected plot arc throughout. So I had high hopes for The Black Lily, the first book in a fairy-tale retelling vampire romance series about humans rebelling against corrupt vampire overlords. Unfortunately, my ultimate reaction was pretty mixed and I have not yet … Continue reading The Black Lily by Juliette Cross →
Is Erin Morgenstern’s The Starless Sea the most anticipated sophomore novel of 2019? Based on the exhilarated book noises on my Twitter feed, the answer is yes. I was a high school freshman when The Night Circus came out and picked it up because it was on my library’s “new and exciting” shelf (thank you, awesome school librarians). I adored it — it was magical storytelling from start to finish. At the time, I made … Continue reading The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern →
I live in the upper Midwest, so I am prepared for some pretty gnarly winter weather. We had all thought spring had sprung when in mid-April we got hit with the second worst snowstorm in our state’s history. I didn’t leave the house for three days except to dig out our dryer vent to keep us from accidently asphyxiating. So what’s a Bitch to do when stranded at home? Make sure you’re stocked up on … Continue reading Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer →
Hunted is a YA adaptation of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale mixed with Russian folklore and featuring an archer heroine. I just heard a bunch of people one-click buy, didn’t I? Hunted is delightful. It’s the BatB adaptation that I didn’t know that I wanted or needed, but that kept me up reading all night. Unlike in many of versions of the fairytale, Beauty (in this case Yeva) isn’t the kindest, gentlest, “good”-est daughter of a wealthy … Continue reading Hunted by Meagan Spooner →
Happy Wednesday! We’re all back from RT16 in Las Vegas and trying to return to our daily routine. (It’s harder than it looks.) Before we begin, a quick housekeeping note from Sarah! She just discovered a horrible filter in place in her inbox that was diverting a lot of the inquiries and requests for recommendations to the wrong folder, and is horribly upset about it. If you’ve emailed her looking for a recommendation or about … Continue reading Links: Tarot Cards, GBBO, The Ripped Bodice, & More! →
