About stories of all kinds
Blurb for A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody… Continue reading London Calling: A Darker Shade of Magic Review
My sister read this book before I did, and from what she told me I was expecting fluff with a blush of adventure: more or less what it promises in the first chapter, in which the mood is set for “ye olden tale of romance.” I wasn’t expecting to be quite so gutted by existential… Continue reading La Mouette: Review of Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
This book is a whole mood... There was something just off and dream-like about the whole scenario that attempting to describe much of the experience would be really difficult to do without constantly likening or comparing it to something more tangible.
Well, I'm back with a Tuesday (barely) book review after getting creative with my schedule for two weeks. I finished several books in the interval though, which I'm going to try and get reviews out for. First up, a book I began last October and have been intermittently slogging away at since: A Most Mysterious… Continue reading The Liar’s Recommendation: A Most Mysterious Case and Other Works
The pop culture image of Count Dracula, vampire poster-boy, ranges from creepy to campy, spooky to sparkly, demonic hell beast to hot monster boyfriend. Apparently, part of this is due to Bram Stoker’s family, or his “estate,” somehow losing the American rights to the story and characters way back in the early twentieth century. Everyone… Continue reading Stalking Us As We Sleep: Books Inspired by Dracula
It’s been a long, strange road with this series for me—well, that’s a bit melodramatic. It hasn’t been that long. It has been “wondrous strange” though.
The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher MorleyMy rating: 4 of 5 starsI really loved this book on first read—the atmospheric bookshop, the eccentric proprietor, the silly love-story, and the espionage plot shoe-horned in throughout. What’s not to like? Recently when I was skimming through it in search of a quotation, I got caught on so many… Continue reading Judging Spies by Their Covers: The Haunted Bookshop Review
Reading this book just made me want to read the first one again... This is portal fantasy and fractured fairy tales and an original fantasy world and parallel universes and alternate history all rolled into one.
A dying motel with a custom built tower, a night-walking sister who is obsessed with Hitchcock, and a grandmother who tells stories of monsters combine to create a setting ripe for horrors of all kinds.
This book was just what I needed to pick me up from a series of reading disappointments. There haven’t been many new reads I’ve discovered that I really liked instantly and kept me interested and enjoying them all the way through.
Fictitiously Yours 