Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire

April 25, 2025

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire

Nadya was born with only one hand, to a teenage mother who abandoned her right after her birth. Taken in by the nuns at the local orphanage, Nadya flourishes there, developing a knack for choosing the correct child to present to prospective parents. Although she does not consider herself handicapped (she reasons she can't miss what she never had), Nadya accepts that it is unlikely that she will ever be adopted because adults are unable to see beyond the one thing that Nadya is missing. That is, until a pair of American missionaries show up at the Russian orphanage, determined to adopt the most unadoptable child they can find. They take Nadya back to America with them, not because they really want a child but because it is the "Christian" thing to do. Nadya adjusts to her new life, learning English and how her adoptive parents expect her to act and react, and everything seems to be going as well as can be expected. But then Nadya falls through a door at the bottom of the pond behind her house and discovers a whole different world beneath the waters and meets the Drowned People.

Part of the award-winning Wayward Children series. This is a novella that tells the backstory of one of the peripheral characters in the series. Themes include abandonment, physical disability, culture and adoption. I didn't like the ending, but that was because it wasn't really an ending, more like the set-up for a future book, so perhaps we will see more of Nadya. Will appeal to readers who enjoy re-tellings of fairy and folk tales, such as Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik or The Bear and the Nighingale by Katherine Arden.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

There are turtles in this book, a LOT of turtles.

After Happily Ever by Jennifer Safrey

February 10, 2025

After Happily Ever by Jennifer Safrey

For 30 years, the princesses Neve, Della and Bry have been married to the three Princes Charming. But after all that time, they are finding the princes to be not so charming anymore. Life in the kingdom of Foreverness has always been perfect (at least according to the old king and the princes and the men of the kingdom), but following the old king's death, things begin to change and the women of the kingdom decide they will no longer be silent about how they are treated.

What happens after "and they lived happily ever after" at the end of the fairy tale? Especially 30 years on, when the not-so-charming princes and their brides are heading into middle age? The princesses (better known to us as Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty) face some very modern problems: infidelity, fading looks, aging bodies, infertility, the need to be a people pleaser, spouses resistant to change especially in their wives, a new society where people want to step outside assigned gender roles by treated fairly. Plus, the princesses' own origin stories have been rewritten to cast the princes in the most favorable light - the whole awakened-with-a-kiss thing was a pile of nonsense. These are not those princesses that you find in Disney. Will appeal to readers who enjoy strong female characters and a retelling of fairy tales.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

These are not the princesses in the novel

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

May 21, 2024

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

Robert the dragon exterminator hates his job - his dream is to become valet to a prince. When he is called to the castle in Bellemontagne, he quickly discovers that they are infested with dragons. And the dragon vermin must go immediately, before Princess Cerise's prospective groom, Prince Reginald, becomes aware of them. But Reginald has his own problems: his father has sent him on a quest to slay a dragon, a BIG dragon (as one of those "it'll make a man of you" ideas) and he enlists Robert to help him.

It's the Princess Bride meets Terry Pratchett in this fairy tale, with a beautiful princess, a clueless prince, a long-winded evil wizard, and a brave but humble and practical hero who doesn't want to go on a dragon quest, but grits his teeth and gets the job done. It's Peter S. Beagle - what more do you want? Beautiful cover, too. Recommended for readers who enjoy high fantasy or fairy tales.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Jinn-bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

September 11, 2023

The Jinn-bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

Shantiport is a major city that is slowly crumbling into decay due to flooding and political factions. Everyone who lives in Shantiport is trying to find a way to get out, except Lina, who loves the city and wants to save it. When she and her brother Bador, a monkey bot, find a magic lamp complete with jinn who will grant their wishes, they decide to punish the man who killed their father while also saving Shantiport. What could possibly go wrong? Be careful what you wish for.

A retelling of the Aladdin story from 1001 Arabian Nights, which the author tried to marry to Murderbot but not successfully. The first half of the book is some amazing world building, but the second half dragged and I started skimming. The jinn is amusing since before he will grant a wish, he goes through the user agreement and other legalese that we are all familiar with. If you are a hardcore fantasy reader, you may enjoy this but it wasn't for me. I suggest reading Martha Wells' Murderbot series instead.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Dystopian city

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

August 19, 2023

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

David lives with his father, his new stepmother, and his new half-brother. He is a lonely child, desperately missing his dead mother and feeling unwanted by the rest of the family. He loses himself in books, mainly fairy tales, until one night, he wanders into the garden following the sound of his mother's voice, and is swallowed by a tree. The tree turns out to be a portal to another world that David calls Elsewhere. There are familiar fairy tale figures but they appear and act differently than they did in the stories he read. David wants to go home more than anything, but first he has to find the king, who has a book that may hold the answer on how to get there.

Grimm's Fairy Tales (the original gruesome ones) meets the Wizard of Oz. David is on a quest where he meets people who help him and others who try to hinder him. He feels his mother's death is somehow his fault, even though she died after a long illness that sounds like cancer. At the same time, he feels abandoned, and that if he would just disappear, his father could have a new life with his new family.

I read this book when it first came out and decided to re-read it before I get the sequel (The Land of Lost Things). While there is a lot going on here about the psychology of fairy tales and mythology, you can also read the book just for the enjoyment of David's story. The sequel is coming out in the fall of 2023.

A fairy tale cottage

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

June 9, 2023

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

Hazel and her sister Flora Lea are among the children evacuated from London to the English countryside near Oxford during the London Blitz. One day, Flora goes missing, never to be found. The local police believe she drowned in the river near their temporary home. Years later, Hazel is working for a rare book dealer and is about to start her dream job at Sotheby's. Processing new arrivals for the shop, Hazel finds a book filled with modern fairy stories set in a world called Whisperwood. But they are the stories that Hazel used to make up for Flora Lea, and she has never shared them with anyone else. Did Flora write the stories down, and does this mean she is still alive? Does someone else know what happened to the little girl?

A mystery, a missing person, a book about books and stories. This novel appeared to tick all the boxes for me, and I have enjoyed the author's previous books. I like the story at the beginning but then it got long with too many unnecessary side characters and repetitious scenes. I did a lot of skimming, and the solution was okay even if the ending was a little too tidy, and it took a really long time to get there. Maybe I didn't connect with the characters. Maybe I've had enough of World War II fiction for a while. I really wish I had liked it more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

July 2, 2022

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

Zinnia Gray, former Sleeping Beauty and professional fairy tale fixer, is tired of rescuing sleeping princesses. She wishes they'd just solve their own narrative problems. But when she looks in the mirror, a different face looks back at her, and she is pulled into a Snow White story. This time, it's the evil queen  - she found out how her story ends and she wants to find a better ending for herself. She tells Z the story about how she ended up in that particular fairy tale, and Z is shocked to discover that it's not only princesses who are stuck in a story they didn't choose.

A retelling of the Snow White story from the perspective of the Evil Queen. This story turns the traditional fairy tale on its head, and reminds me of the musical Into the Woods (if you haven't seen it, the first act is about traditional fairy tales and ends with "and they lived happily ever after" - the second act tell about what really happens after the princess marries her prince). I enjoy Z's snarkiness. This is the second book in the Fractured Fables series, and it's fun and creative.

A sexier Evil Queen than the usual Disney version

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

October 5, 2022

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Charlie Reade is a high school student who lives down the hill from the neighborhood "psycho" house (every neighborhood had one when I was growing up). A reclusive old man named Howard lives there with his "vicious" dog. On his way home from school one day, Charlie hears the dog barking frantically, screws up his courage and goes to investigate. He finds Howard on the ground, having fallen from a ladder. He calls 911 and offers to care for Radar, who turns out to be a sweet elderly dog, while Howard is in the hospital. He quickly falls in love with Radar and continues to care for her (yes, Radar is a girl) and also for Howard when he comes home from the hospital. When Howard dies a few months later, he leaves everything to Charlie, including the source of his wealth, and Radar. But before his death, Howard tells Charlie a bizarre story about a parallel world where there is a sundial that can turn back time. With Radar's time rapidly coming to an end, Charlie sets out to find the mysterious world and save Radar.

Spoiler alert: Radar the dog is fine at the end of the book. As a librarian, this is the question I am most often asked when there is a dog in a book: is the dog okay?

The first half of the book is really good, with all the things that we love about Stephen King: great characters with well-imagine backstories, a search for redemption and a promise to fulfill, a worthy quest, and a wonderful dog. Second half, not so much. As long as Charlie is on his quest to save Radar, the story is great. Once SK delves into the darker disturbing side of the fairy tale world, it becomes a much different story. It's like King had ideas for two different books and decided to mash them together. I wish he had ended the book with the end of Charlie's quest - it still would have been over 300 pages long.

King said he wanted to write something during the pandemic that made him happy. If the imagery in the second half of the book made him happy, the pandemic went on a little too long. I shudder to think about what goes on in his mind. Stephen King fanatics won't care, they'll read anything he writes. Still, the first half of the book is worth the price of admission.

Love the cover art of Charlie, Radar, and the well.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

January 17, 2022

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

Zinnia Gray has a rare genetic disorder that makes it unlikely that she will live past her 21st birthday. Her BFF Charm decides that since this may be Zinnia's last birthday, she is going to make it the best birthday ever. Zinnia studied fairy tale literature in college, specifically the Sleeping Beauty myth/legend/tale, so Charm creates a sleeping beauty fantasy in the tower of a nearby abandoned building, complete with spinning wheel, flowers, and fairy lights. But when Zinnia accidentally pricks her finger on a splinter, she finds herself falling through the multiverse into the worlds of other sleeping beauties, all as desperate to escape their fates as she is.

This novella imagines that there are countless variations on the sleeping beauty story through every age, past and future. These sleeping beauties are not weak or powerless, but determined to take control of their own situations. They want more than just some preening prince and "living happily ever after." Great cover art.

(No picture of a sleeping beauty, since I couldn't find any pictures except the princess either asleep or gazing starry-eyed at Prince Perfect.)

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan

December 10, 2021

Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan

Megs Devonshire is a scholarship student at Oxford, studying maths. The other love of her life is her younger brother George, who is gravely ill and not expected to live much longer. George becomes fascinated with a book called The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and when he learns that the author, C. S. Lewis, is an Oxford professor, he begs his sister to go see Lewis and find out where Narnia came from.

Megs manages to meet C. S. Lewis (known as Jack in his family) and his brother Winnie, who are two of the kindest men who ever lived. Rather than tell her outright about Narnia, Jack tells her about growing up with Winnie, and Megs brings the stories home to tell George. 

This was one of the most heartfelt books that I read in 2021. Yes, you'll need a box of tissues. It's sad at times but oh so lovely. Megs is the best sister ever. Highly recommended.

C. S. Lewis

The Kilns, C. S. Lewis' Oxford home

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

July 5, 2019

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Casiopea Tun and her mother live with her horrible maternal grandfather and his family, treated as servants even though Casiopea’s mother was once her father’s favorite daughter.  Casiopea longs for a different life, away from her awful relatives, but when she opens a locked chest and lets out what was inside, she gets more than she bargained for.  She embarks on a quest across Mexico with the Lord of Death as he seeks revenge on his fellow supernaturals, while Casiopea strives to figure out her heart's desire.

Really good!  This is a quest story that blends mythology, folklore, and a splash of Cinderella, set during the Jazz Age in Mexico.  Anyone who enjoyed Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik should enjoy this novel.