#fantasy – Page 200 – Cannonball Read 17

I would like a copy of the ‘Buggre Alle This’ Bible.

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

January 10, 2019 by narfna Leave a Comment

This is one of those books that are good when you first read them, but get better as you get older. A lot of satire is probably like that, especially comic satire. I thought this book was funny in 2009, but now parts of it made me laugh so hard I was crying. Plus, I did the audio this time, and it made it even better. Martin Jarvis has a nice sense of comic timing, and his voice characterization is great, particularly for Crowley and Aziraphale. (The […]

I liked this??????

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) by Sarah J. Maas

January 9, 2019 by narfna 6 Comments

I was already poised to like this book, past feelings about Sarah J. Maas aside. It’s a Beauty and the Beast/Ballad of Tam Lin hybrid retelling, and unless you make some sort of grave mistake, you’ve already got the outline of the story ready to go (tried and true over hundreds of years and variations), and it’s pretty hard to mess that up. And she doesn’t! I thought the story worked well as a combo B&B/Tam-Lin/original elements mish-mash. The first half is mostly Beauty and the […]

If you love fairy tales

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo

January 8, 2019 by Dome'Loki 1 Comment

I’ve always enjoyed fairy tales and became a bit obsessed once I discovered the darker original Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson collections. This book evokes those tales but the stories have been spun in different and interesting directions, in part because it was created as a volume of fairy tales that the characters in the Grishaverse (the world setting Leigh Bardugo created) would know. In 2012 Leigh’s publisher asked if she would write a prequel story for her first novel Shadow and Bone. But instead […]

I wish for more

The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories by Mahvesh Murad, Jared Shurin, eds.

January 5, 2019 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

I picked up this 2017 collection of short stories because it featured contributions of several writers whose work I’ve reviewed before and liked, and the subject of djinn (or jinn or genies, whatever term you prefer) has been popping up on my radar quite a bit lately. The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories was a brilliant way for me to start CBR11 — immensely entertaining, sometimes provocative, and an entree to the works of writers new to me but whose work I will definitely be tracking down. The stories are a wonderful mix of styles and settings and shed light not only on the nature of the djinn but on human nature as well. The djinn, created by Allah from smokeless fire, are sometimes depicted as tricky and/or evil, but in some ways they are no different from humans.

Damned by high expectations – An ARC review

The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons

January 4, 2019 by KatSings Leave a Comment

Full disclosure up front: This was an ARC that I won in a contest on GoodReads. This book is not released until February. I am a HUGE fantasy nerd. The words “epic fantasy series” make me happy. When I won a contest to read what was touted as the fantasy star of 2019, I was thrilled. Then I read the inside cover where it is described as “Uniting the worldbuilding of a Brandon Sanderson with the storytelling verve of a Patrick Rothfuss”and suddenly I was […]

“We’re meant to go. We’re not meant to stay forever.”

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

January 3, 2019 by esme 4 Comments

Holiday reading is my favorite, and I was fortunate to have a rip-roaring book to tear through this holiday. I was also pleased, per the title of this post, that it ended and it will not continue as a duology or trilogy. Naomi Novik developed an imaginative world populated with interesting characters and an engaging story. I’m quite sure the characters continued living their lives after I closed the book, but I am also happy that all necessary loose ends were wrapped up so satisfactorily. Briefly, Agnieszka […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

Help Our Mission