Review: Wicked Fox – Let’s Talk About What Cultural Representation Means

Release Date: June 29th, 2019 Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers Genre(s): YA Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Korean mythology, Family Rating: 7.0/10   It's super fitting that this post is going live during Chuseok weekend (which is totally not planned, by the way, just a happy coincidence). I'm gonna do something a little …

DNF Review: The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep – Wrong Character as the Narrator

Title: The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep Author: H.G. Parry Publisher: Redhook Release Date: July 23rd, 2019 Genre(s): Contemporary Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Stories about Stories, Siblings Page Count: 465 (hardback) Rating: DNF @ ~40%       For his entire life, Charley Sutherland has concealed a magical ability he can't quite control: he can …

Review: All the Bad Apples – Smoky with Old Magic

  Title: All the Bad Apples Author: Moïra Fowley-Doyle Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books Release Date: August 1st, 2019 (UK); August 27th (NA) Genre(s): YA Contemporary, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction Subjects and Themes: Family, Women's Rights, LGBTQIAP+ (lesbian mc, queer side characters) Page Count: 319 (hardback) Rating: 8.5/10     CW: Rape, homophobia, and a myriad …

Five Reasons Why You Need to Read Desdemona and the Deep

Title: Desdemona and the Deep Author: C.S.E. Cooney Publisher: Tor.com Release Date: July 23rd, 2019 Genre(s): Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Fae, LGBTQIAP+ (lesbian mc, trans side character) Page Count: 224 (ebook) Rating: 9.5/10         In Desdemona and the Deep, the spoiled daughter of a rich mining family must retrieve the tithe of …

Blog Tour Review: Rotherweird – Plenty of Weird, Not a Lot of Enjoyment

Title: Rotherweird Author: Andrew Caldecott Publisher: Quercus (US) Release Date: June 9th, 2019 Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Alternate History Page Count: 456 (hardback) Rating: DNF @ ~50%         1558: Twelve children, gifted far beyond their years, are banished by their Tudor queen to the town of Rotherweird. Some say …

Reviews: The Border Keeper & The Phantom Forest – Two Underworld Stories, One Good, One Ehh

Title: The Border Keeper Author: Kerstin Hall Publisher: Tor.com Release Date: July 16th, 2019 Genre(s): Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Underworld, Gods, Demons Page Count: 240 (ebook) Rating: 7.0/10         Vasethe, a man with a troubled past, comes to seek a favor from a woman who is not what she seems, and must …

Review: Missing, Presumed Dead – A Gritty Queer Paranormal Mystery that I’m Side-Eyeing

Title: Missing, Presumed Dead Author: Emma Berquist Publisher: Greenwillow Books Release Date: May 21st, 2019 Genre(s): YA Paranormal, Mystery Subjects and Themes: Mental Health, LGBTQIAP+ (f/f) Page Count: 384 (hardback) Rating: ???         With a touch, Lexi can sense how and when someone will die. Some say it’s a gift. But to …

Broken, Awkward, Incompetent, Mismatched Heroes: Why We Need Them in Stories

I'm not sure what the umbrella term for these types of characters should be. Atypical heroes? Messy heroes? Well, whatever the term, I adore them. And my love grows stronger every time I come across a protagonist who's graduated from the academy of perfect heroes. You know--the shiny put-together ones. The ones whose mistakes are …

Review: Destroy all Monsters – Messy with a Chance of Dinosaurs

Title: Destroy all Monsters Author: Sam J. Miller Publisher: HarperTeen Release Date: July 2nd, 2019 Genre(s): YA Fantasy, Contemporary Subjects and Themes: Mental Health, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 400 (hardback) Rating: 4.0/10       Solomon and Ash both experienced a traumatic event when they were twelve. Ash lost all memory of that event when she …

Review: Last Bus to Everland – Life Sucks But We’re in it Together

Title: Last Bus to Everland Author: Sophie Cameron Publisher: Roaring Brook Press Release Date: June 18th, 2019 Genre(s): YA Contemporary, Portal Fantasy Subjects and Themes: Mental Health, LGBTQIAP+ Page Count: 336 (hardback) Rating: 8.0/10       Brody Fair feels like nobody gets him: not his overworked parents, not his genius older brother, and definitely …