Tag: YA Fantasy
-
My Thoughts on Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments Series
The Mortal Instruments series has been a beloved fantasy series for me since I was a kid. It probably isn’t far-fetched to say that The Mortal Instruments series built the blueprint of what I perceive to be engaging YA fantasy, and set the bar for my fantasy reads as I moved through my teen years…
-
Cassandra Clare’s City of Heavenly Fire is Everything
It’s been seven months since I posted my review of City of Lost Souls, more than seven months since I last read a book within the Shadowhunter Chronicles. When I picked City of Heavenly Fire up to reread and finish my reviews for The Mortal Instruments series it was like falling into bed after a…
-
My Royal Book Recommendations
On theme for this weekend (for those outside of the commonwealth it’s King’s Birthday Weekend), I have compiled a list of royal book recommendations for you all. Most are YA Fantasy but I have added a few historical fiction recs. Rest assured, these recs are not the same ones I mentioned in my Historical Fiction…
-
William Ritter’s The Dire King – An Ending Rushed?
As the final book in William Ritter’s Jackaby series, The Dire King had a checklist to complete. It needed to wrap up a rather busy but interesting story, tie up plot lines and character arcs, and provide a few conclusions for romantic relationships. Unfortunately, too many cooks spoilt the broth as narrative elements slipped through…
-
Supernatural Adventure and Intrigue Continue in William Ritter’s Ghostly Echoes
Of all the Jackaby books, Ghostly Echoes is my favourite. While it’s been a fun ride so far, this is where things start to get tense and serious for the crew and the narrative is shaped really well, balancing internal and external conflicts as well as relationship developments and tension between characters. It starts to…
-
My Late Review of Rachel Gillig’s Two Twisted Crowns
Several months on from finishing Two Twisted Crowns, I write up my review. I feel, though it was a complete mistake on my part for losing track of what reviews I’d written up and what I hadn’t, that it’s a good thing I’ve sat on this one for a while. With many people reacting to…
-
The Beastly Beauties in William Ritter’s Beastly Bones
Back again with another Jackaby book by William Ritter, this one is the second in the series and oh boy did I have fun reading it. Beastly Bones not only had some great plot trajectory and entertaining prose, but the character development, relationship developments and the fact this book wasn’t focused on either of the…
-
Another Sweet, Eerie YA Dark Fantasy With Small Favors
After reading House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig, I had to pick up more of her work. Her dark fairytale horrors are so vivid and descriptive and when I saw Small Favors I knew I needed to read it. An isolated religious town. An ominous vibe in the air. Bees. What’s not…
-
Let Death’s Assassins Thrive in Robin LaFevers’s Grave Mercy
I read this many moons ago but there is something that’s calling me to reread the His Fair Assassin trilogy. Robin LaFevers’s Grave Mercy is a historical fiction young adult fantasy novel rife with political tensions. In a time when women had no autonomy, Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into…
-
The Hunting Moon – A Sequel I Wish Gave More
I really loved Susan Dennard’s The Luminaries for it’s rich attention to detail and emotive language. I thought that the vibes were all there for an unsettling YA Dark Naturalism, mythical folklore-laced series that would leave the reader eager for more. I went into her newest novel, The Hunting Moon, expecting the same descriptive lushness…