In preparation for the Netflix show, Thea is re-immersing herself in Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse and rereading the Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows books! Today, she tackles the book that started it all: Shadow and Bone. Title: Shadow…
Book Reviews
The last witchdoctor of the Tribal Lands grapples with the history she has been told her entire life, and the truth in this brilliant follow-up novel to Kingdom of Souls. Title: Reaper of SoulsAuthor: Rena BarronGenre: Fantasy, YAPublisher: Harper…
The daughter of two powerful magic-users in a long legacy of witchdoctors strugglers with her lack of power–especially when the fate of the world is at stake. Title: Kingdom of SoulsAuthor: Rena BarronGenre: Fantasy, YAPublisher: Harper TeenPublication Date: September…
In 1950s Mexico, a headstrong socialite embarks on an adventure to save her cousin from a questionable marriage, a potentially haunted gothic mansion, and some twisted family secrets. (And also a lot of mushrooms.) Title: Mexican GothicAuthor: Silvia Moreno-GarciaGenre:…
Naomi Novik is back with a brand new series, and dear readers, I am hooked. Title: A Deadly EducationAuthor: Naomi NovikGenre: FantasyPublisher: Del ReyPublication Date: September 29, 2020Hardcover: 336 pages Lesson One of the Scholomance: Learning has never been this…
Veronica Roth is back with an adult(ish) SFF offering, taking the Chosen One trope to the next level. Title: Chosen Ones Author: Veronica Roth Genre: Speculative Fiction/Science Fiction Publisher: John Joseph Adams / Houghton Mifflin HarcourtPublication Date: April 2020Hardcover: 432…
You thought you were prepared for this book. You were, and I can’t stress this enough, not. You loved Gideon the Ninth. In fact, you may have uttered words like “best book of 2019”, “genius” and “most fun I…
Social Distancing Reads #5: The Last Emperox by John Scalzi
Hello everybody – hope you are all keeping safe. I am lucky enough to be exclusively working from home and as I do so, I am trying to create a mental health routine of comfort reading, writing, going for…
Hello everybody – hope you are all keeping safe. I am lucky enough to be exclusively working from home and as I do so, I am trying to create a mental health routine of comfort reading, writing, going for…
I’ve been doing a lot of reading (and not a whole lot of writing) over the past few months. This has been a bad thing–not writing reviews all the time makes me feel sad but also means I often…
Hello everybody – hope you are all keeping safe. I am lucky enough to be exclusively working from home and as I do so, I am trying to create a mental health routine of comfort reading, writing, going for…
SOCIAL DISTANCING READS #2: Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis
Hello everybody – hope you are all keeping safe. I am lucky enough to be exclusively working from home and as I do so, I am trying to create a mental health routine of comfort reading, writing, going for…
Social Distancing Reads #1: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Hello everybody – hope you are all keeping safe. I am lucky enough to be exclusively working from home and as I do so, I am trying to create a mental health routine of comfort reading, writing, going for…
Title: Oona Out of Order Author: Margarita Montimore Genre: Fiction (Speculative Fiction) Publisher: Flatiron BooksPublication date: February 25 2020Hardcover: 352 pages A remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, even…
Title: Solstice Author: Lorence Alison Genre: Horror YA Publisher: Imprint BooksPublication date: February 18 2020Hardcover: 288 pages A music fest goes wrong in this comic YA thriller as selfie-mad concert-goers wake up to realize their tropical island fantasy is…
Title: Untamed Shore Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia Genre: Noir / Thriller Publisher: Agora BooksPublication date: February 11 2020Hardcover: 304 pages Baja California, 1979. Viridiana spends her days watching the dead sharks piled beside the seashore, as the fishermen pull their…
Title: Scavenge the Stars Author: Tara Sim Genre: YA Fantasy Publisher: Disney Publication date: January 7 2020Hardcover: 336 pages When Amaya rescues a mysterious stranger from drowning, she fears her rash actions have earned her a longer sentence on…
Title: Descendant of the Crane Author: Joan He Genre: YA Fantasy Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company Publication date: April 2019Hardcover: 416 pages Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own.Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk…
Title: The Iron Will of Genie Lo Author: F.C. Yee Genre: YA Fantasy Publisher: Amulet BooksPublication date: January 14 2020Hardcover: 304 pages Genie Lo thought she was busy last year, juggling her academic career with protecting the Bay Area…
Title: Foul is Fair Author: Hannah Capin Genre: Contemporary YA Thriller Publisher: PenguinPublication date: January 16 UK / February 20 US 2020Hardcover: 336 pages Four girls seek revenge on the boys who wronged them, golden boys beware. Jade and…
Old School Wednesdays is a regular Book Smuggler feature. We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when both Ana and Thea were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and Shiny (and often over-hyped)…
It’s that time of the year when I go all “but where has the year gone” etc. You know the drill. This year, I started commuting pretty much 5 hours a day and that means I read SO MUCH.…
Non-Binary Authors to Read November/December 2019
Non-Binary Authors To Read is a regular column from A.C. Wise highlighting non-binary authors of speculative fiction and recommending a starting place for their work. L.X. Beckett is a Toronto-based author, and my recommended starting place for their work is…
Title: Queenie Author: Candice Carty-Williams Genre: Fiction Publisher: Orion Publishing Publication date: March 19 2019Hardcover: 330 pages Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Americanah in this disarmingly honest, boldly political, and truly inclusive novel that will speak to anyone who has gone looking for…
Two more short reviews of two horror reads this Halloween season. Between NOW and THEN: the same family, the same home, different ghosts. Back in 1976, Loo and Bee are the two closest sisters in a family of five…