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From the BLURB:

The graphic adaptation of one of the world's most-loved books

'June, 1942: I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.' 

In Amsterdam, in the summer of 1942, the Nazis forced teenager Anne Frank and her family into hiding. For over two years, they, another family and a German dentist lived in a 'secret annexe', fearing discovery. All that time, Anne kept a diary. The Diary of a Young Girl is an inspiring and tragic account of an ordinary life lived in extraordinary circumstances that has enthralled readers for generations. Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Novel is a stunning new adaptation of one of the greatest books of the last century.

‘Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation’ by Anne Frank, adapted by Air Folman and illustrated by David Polonsky, came out with Penguin Random House in 2018. As of this month – the book is removed and banned from some Florida schools. Because a group of parents linked to the Republican Party, who complained over its ‘sexually explicit’ material, and a suggestion that it minimizes the events of the Holocaust. 

I’ve owned this edition for a long time, as someone who read Anne Frank’s diary when I was about the same age Anne was – 13 – when she started writing it. It’s one of those books that I think fundamentally changed me, and opened up the history of World War II in such a way as to hammer home the horrors of it, for regular people. I’ve seen most of the film and TV adaptations, and can vividly remember being shown the Elizabeth Taylor 1959 film in school. Anne Frank’s Diary, her story, remains one of those that remade me as a human-being, and set my moral compass from an early age. I have deep wells of joy, respect and grief for this book and its author, and I always will. 

I even visited the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam in 2008, a truly remarkable experience I’m privileged and grateful to have marked – because it had been something I’d longed to do since I was a young girl reading this other young girl’s thoughts, feelings, and memories for the first time. While there, I replaced my battered childhood copy with the 60th anniversary edition.  

When I heard that there was a graphic novel coming out, I thought it was a wonderful idea. A way to bring Anne Frank’s story to a new generation – and in vivid, visual colour. Yes, it would be interpreting Anne’s words with images she herself did not draw – but it would add new dimensions to her very personal diary, and make it accessible in an entirely new way and for even more readers; something I think Anne (a great lover of movies and magazines, who cut out images and posters and stuck them to her annexe wall) would have delighted in. 

And this graphic novel is – it must be said – stunning. I should really stop being surprised at how the graphic format elevates and opens up a text; the way it makes for a deeper, more critical intertextual reading because it’s asking you to marry text with images (something we all do on the daily) but the ways your brain has to fire up to connect what you’re reading and seeing, to sometimes realise that the images bely the text … that’s especially true here, and done masterfully. 

For one; David Polonsky is illustrating a great deal of rumour, imagination, and heady cocktails of fear informed by fantasy on behalf of Anne, both before she goes into hiding with her family and after. For instance; when her uncle arrives in Amsterdam from Hamburg, bringing word of how horrific life is for Jews in Germany now. Because this scene and its panels are Anne listening to her uncle recounting his first-person and firsthand experiences of the night of Kristallnacht, and the mass book-burnings; the drawings do reflect what we’ve seen in history books, and from photographs of the time. But very cleverly when the same uncle mentions rumours of a labor camp in Dachau (which he hasn’t seen, only heard about) and where people who are “not German enough,” are being sent - Anne says she can only imagine. And here Polonsky draws on and interprets that imagination – he uses Anne’s Jewish background to fill in the aspects of this horrific rumour that her mind can barely comprehend; and we see a call back to time before the Biblical story of Exodus, with modern-day Jews building a pyramid in the image of The Reichsadler ("Imperial Eagle") being overseen in their slavery by an SS guard. It’s a clever encapsulating of Anne’s currently childlike understanding of the bounds of human cruelty … looking at it with our modern knowledge though; of how truly barbaric Dachau was, part of a Nazi plan to solve ‘the Jewish question’ – this image is also working to signal that people in Amsterdam, upon the German invasion in 1940, really had no idea what was coming. 

This happens again, when one of the ‘annexe angels’ – Miep Gies – who helped the families in their hiding, recounts seeing one of her Jewish neighbours being taken away by soldiers. She also says that she met someone who’d managed to escape from a concentration camp – who tells her that the neighbour has probably been herded into one of the cattle trains to Westerbork … again; at this point, Anne and her family have no knowledge of what happens once these Jews go to the transit and concentration camps. She writes in her diary of them getting little food and water, of the poor lavatory conditions – alongside these musings, Polonsky has drawn an image of people snaking off one of these cattle trains, and lining up for food being served by white-hat chefs – this is as far as Anne’s knowledge and imagination can go, conceiving of terrible conditions. And to see this page is a gut-punch, because it’s so clearly the imagination of a girl who has no idea how bad things can get, will get. Polonsky has put a small dent in Anne’s too-innocent interpretation of what these “camps” can be – by placing gas tanks in the corner, with hoses running to the innocuous bunk houses. But it’s just off the page – in the corner – a creeping sense of dread and foreshadowing. 

Ari Folman and Polonsky has done a brilliant job of condensing Anne’s diary into the quicker pace necessary for a graphic novel – for instance, Anne’s many passages and pages feeling inadequate in comparison to her older, kinder, smarter, more beautiful (to her mind) sister Margot, are eloquently and silently rendered in a page of comedic comparisons between the two – the silence, the absence of text, here also works for the annexe setting, where Anne says they spend much of their day paranoid about not making a noise (and even her pen scratching in her diary sets the other residents on-edge, for fear that they’ll be found out because of it – and even worse, that the diary exists as tangible proof and account of their subterfuge, and that of their co-conspirators and saviours). 

Something else that Folman and Polonsky do exceedingly well here is mapping Anne’s evolution of girlhood and womanhood. Yes, they’ve edited the original diary text and they haven’t included *everything* (because to do so would equate from a text-only of 400 or so pages, to roughly double that becoming 800 pages if they had to diligently interpret all of that and transpose text plus images …)  but they’ve kept in what is most crucial. And Anne’s maturing and explorations of her body, her feelings, and her mind are incredibly intrinsic to the spirit of the Diary, and Anne herself. So they have kept in the passages of her recounting asking her friend Jacque if they could show each other their breasts, and her desire to kiss her – of her saying that she finds statues of female nudes, throw her into ecstasy … they also include her developing a close friendship and romance with fellow annexe-dweller, Peter – while also pining for the boys she used to flirt and go with before the war. 

Why? Why is Anne’s budding sexuality and this sense of self so important to the story? 

the same text, from the 60th Anniversary edition of the Diary

I’d argue because it makes her human. Not some out-of-reach martyr but a regular girl with perfectly normal and relatable thoughts and feelings – who desired to spend a year in London and Paris one day, more than she yearned to settle down and get married … but who died in February or March of 1945 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, at the age of 15.

And this is the true beauty and tragedy of Anne Frank’s Diary. What I first discovered it as a teenage girl, roughly the same age Anne was when she wrote it – the knowledge that a girl who sounded like me; who had the same thoughts, fears, frustrations, curiosities, worries, and desires as me, despite us living decades apart – that that same girl could be vilified and died, all because of her faith … it hits so much harder. She was one person amongst the six million European Jews, and at least five million prisoners of war, Romany, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and other victims of the Holocaust – and to get to know her via the diary, was to lose her. To feel the loss of someone so vibrant and funny, bratty and capricious, talented and brave. It’s almost too much to think of what – and who – was lost in the Holocaust, who was brutally taken and what the world would look like today if this travesty had been avoided. We compartmentalise, to a degree, and think of Anne Frank – one among millions – taken too soon, and what a loss to humanity that is. ‘Anne’s diary ends here,’ are among some of the most tragic words in modern literature. 

Otto and Anne Frank knew the power of her own words too. He knew that his daughter’s diary was one way to put a human face on the tragedy of the Holocaust – because that became Anne’s intention too. In my 60th anniversary edition, the foreword mentions that one night in the annexe and using their secret radio – the families heard Gerrit Bolkestein (a member of the Dutch government-in-exile, broadcasting from London) spoke about wanting to gather eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under German occupation. All eyes turned to Anne (and she recounts this in her diary) – to which she starts going back and adding in passages to what she’s already written, tidying up certain sections, and crossing-out more mundane entries. This creates a second diary, effectively, so we have Diary A and Diary B. 

When Otto Frank returns to Amsterdam – the sole survivor of the annexe – he discovers that Miep Gies has saved Anne’s diaries, never having read them. Otto decides to honour Anne’s wishes, and edits the diaries with the intention of sending them to a Dutch publisher – he particularly edits out real names of people who don’t wish to be included, he doesn’t transpose certain pages about Anne’s mother (whom she had a fraught relationship with) and the more vicious takes she had on the likes of Mrs Van Daan and Albert Dussel (a combination of Anne’s signature quick-wit and quicker temper, made more volatile by living in close-quarters). And because this was a conservative time still, Otto edits out the more sexually-charged passages – since it’s really not the fashion to mention sex at all (don’t be shocked by this – there’s literally a British obscenity trial held in 1960, over the publication of ‘Lady Chatterley's Lover’ by D. H. Lawrence). The version that Otto collates becomes ‘version C’ of the diary. 

The Dutch version is published in 1947, but it’s not translated into English until 1952 (if you want some idea of what a slow-sensation it was, it definitely had a slow-burn, word-of-mouth and rose in popularity). But it absolutely made an impact once it was translated more widely – again in my 60th anniversary edition, a quote from Martin Gilbert (one of the world's pre-eminent historians of the Holocaust); ‘Her story came to symbolize not only the travails of the Holocaust, but the struggle of the human spirit in adversity … Bergen-Belsen was liberated by British troops in April 1945. One of them wrote to me recently: “I was too late to save Anne Frank.” That shows the impact that her story has made, and will continue to make.’ 

And make no mistake; there was power in releasing the Diary, not least because antisemitism and post-war propaganda abounded, and this somewhat combatted it. As much antisemitism as existed in the years leading up to, and during World War II, it didn’t just evaporate with VE Day. And post-war lies started as soon as Germany fell; the idea that regular Germans didn’t know what was happening to Jews and other minorities and intellectuals targeted by the Nazis? A post-war lie. Heck, even upon publication, rumours began that Anne Frank’s diary was a hoax; to the point that when he died in 1980, Otto Frank willed his daughter’s manuscripts – the diaries – to the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, who ordered a thorough investigation into their authenticity … and found them to be the real deal. And in fact from the versions a, b and c a new edition – ‘The Critical Edition’ was released, which also contains biographies of the annexe families and the Frank’s in particular. And it has become a legacy of both the Anne Frank Foundation, and Anne Frank Museum to spread the word of Anne Frank’s life and Diary, to ensure the text is as widely accessible as possible, for all time. 

So imagine my horror when I hear that Jennifer Pippin, the chair of the Indian River chapter of "Moms for Liberty," opposed the graphic novel in Florida school libraries for ‘sexually explicit,’ material and – my blood boiling at this point – an accusation that it “minimizes” the Holocaust. 

Such accusations are baseless and cowardice. It suggests a lack of literacy and common-sense that could only be course-corrected by listening more, and speaking less. But to be clear; Moms for Liberty is a conservative nonprofit that portrays itself as a grassroots parent organisation, but in reality has numerous ties to the Republican Party – and ulterior motives galore. 

This banning and the accusations heaped on the text are not about preserving young, innocent minds or ensuring a robust education about the horrors of the Holocaust. You know how I know it’s not about that? Because after ‘Adolf Hitler,’ Anne Frank’s name is probably the most-associated with the true horrors of WWII and the human travesty and shame of the Holocaust. Anne Frank and her diary have done more to spread awareness about antisemitism (that still rages to this day) and put a human face to the unfathomable grief and horror of that war, than anyone else in human history … It’s not about this graphic novel. There is nothing shameful or sinister in Ari Folman and David Polonsky’s version. 

Moms for Liberty – when that word means; ‘the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behaviour, or political views.’ What a noxious and pathetic lot they are. The only shame here exists for Jennifer Pippin and “Moms for Liberty,” who have more in common with Anne Frank’s captors and tormentors, than with Anne herself. 

The graphic novel is a glorious read that delights in showing the funny, robust, capricious and captivating life of Anne Frank during the darkest of times in human history – bringing her to life for a whole new generation, and in a newly accessible, visual format. ‘Anne’s diary ends here,’ but the lessons of it continue and will reach far and wide – if we fight for it. 

5/5 

 

The Queen's Price by Anne Bishop (The Black Jewels #12)

bought on audio

Synopsis from Goodreads

Enter the dark and sensual realms of the Black Jewels in this sweeping story in the New York Times bestselling fantasy saga of three young women who must navigate life within the powerful SaDiablo family--and come to terms with Witch, the Queen who is still the heart and will of that family.

The Queen's price is to stand against what you know is wrong. To stand and fight, no matter the cost to your court or to yourself. Especially to yourself.

Zoey, a young Queen-in-training at SaDiablo Hall, is wounded...and vulnerable to taunts and criticism. When an opportunity arises to befriend a stranger seeking sanctuary at the Hall, she puts herself and others in danger by ignoring Daemonar Yaslana's warning to back off.

Meanwhile, the witch Jillian's family prepares for her Virgin Night, the rite of passage that assures a woman will retain her power and her Jewels. The trouble is Jillian secretly went through the ceremony already. Now she has to explain the omission of that detail to her powerful and lethal family. And the High Lord of Hell's daughter, Saetien, travels to Scelt to find out about Jaenelle Angelline's sister--and perhaps to discover truths about herself.

With some guidance from Witch, these three young women will learn when to yield because it is right--and when to take a stand, even if they must pay the Queen's price.

8.5/10* * *I am so happy with this book! 
Mostly, because it was a much stronger delivery than the previous two books, but mainly, because we went back in time to Jaenelle's experiences during the war, and it was powerful. 
In the last two books, she was a secondary character as Witch which made her very distant and cold. This book brought her back as a human. I missed those days, because Daemon was much more alive with her at his side. These days he is a father and a ruler and pretty much nothing else which makes for a rigid character. 
I was also laughing very hard at Gillian's conundrum with the virgin night and her newfound friend Brenda who was a force to be reckoned with. A shame, Brenda didn't get more limelight.
The tiger girl side story didn't do anything for me, because she was barely outlined, but the trials in Daemon's Court and Saetien's transformation were very engaging to follow. Surprisingly, her story of redemption, growth and finding herself was gratifying and relatable. She went from a spoiled, lost child to a young, blossoming Queen.
As always, excellent narration on audio. If I misspelled names here, please forgive me, as I was listening to the story rather than reading.What did you think of the story? Do you still follow this series?
Overall, excellent! Very much recommended!

 

From the BLURB: 

Simmering with protest and boundless love, Jazz Money’s David Unaipon Award-winning collection, how to make a basket, examines the tensions of living in the Australian colony today. By turns scathing, funny and lyrical, Money uses her poetry as an extension of protest against the violence of the colonial state, and as a celebration of Blak and queer love. Deeply personal and fiercely political, these poems attempt to remember, reimagine and re-voice history. 

Writing in both Wiradjuri and English language, Money explores how places and bodies hold memories, and the ways our ancestors walk with us, speak through us and wait for us.

it starts with smoke, it always starts with smoke ... 

I was in the city the other day and knew I'd have time to burn, so I took Jazz Money's 2021 University of Queensland Press poetry collection with me, and went to the Fitzroy Gardens to read. 

I am long-overdue in coming to the page here, though I bought the book when it first came out. But I am glad that I waited for the right time and feeling to be open to this remarkable collection - and it did indeed feel cathartic and prophetic to read it when I did, on a bright Melbourne day in the Fitzroy Gardens ... 

And how accurate in a collection about "the tensions of living in the Australian colony today," that I did read it in those Gardens - near where Cooks' Cottage (a house where the parents of James Cook lived, brought from England in the 1930s) presides, in tribute to the coloniser. In the gardens where blue gums were removed to make way for sweeping lawns and ornamental flowerbeds (to look like some place other than here, it seems). Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful but - it's colony. 

And just as Money's collection opens with smoke and the Djab Wurrung sacred birthing trees in Victoria (mother burred at the belly swollen as the great trees come to this place) which the Andrews government bulldozed to make way for a new highway in 2020, ... they - we - lost something, to the colony. To progress and control. Infrastructure and destruction. Money is exploring this constantly in beauty and horror throughout the collection, and it's an absolute powerful and masterful gut-punch. 

Lilac sky swollen 

lights. A slick black car 

on slick black roads. 

 

Stars don't shine in this town 

only satellites 

humankind's wandering wonders. 

I'd rather wish on circuits

than lost black stars 

Outstanding.

 

From the BLURB: 

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Then e created Gender Queer. Maia’s intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fan fiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears. Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: It is a useful and touching guide on gender identity—what it means and how to think about it—for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

'Gender Queer: A Memoir' by American graphic novelist Maia Kobabe came out in 2019, and has been on my radar since then, but I just never got around to getting my hands on it ... until an incident happened at a Queensland (Australian) public library that put the book back in my periphery in a big way; Gender identity memoir removed from Queensland library shelf, referred to classification board

The book is (as of March 26, 2023) still with the Australian Classifications Board (ACB) as far as I know and has been reported by the media here; Clock ticking on 'Gender Queer' censorship decision. And now having read the beautiful deluxe hardcover edition, for the first time ... I can only hope with my whole heart that common-sense and common-good prevails; and some of that bending towards justice happens, because this book is glorious and to deny the opportunity of young readers in particular to find the generosity of Kobabe sharing their story within its pages, would be an absolute travesty. 

Maia Kobabe uses e/em/eir pronouns – also referred to as Spivak pronouns - they are nonbinary, and queer and 'Gender Queer' is the memoir of how they fit the pieces of themselves together like a puzzle over the course of their child and young adulthood. 

What is particularly wonderful and connecting in the story, and makes the possible censorship ban in Queensland (and elsewhere, since the novel has been challenged in many schools across the US too) that much more saddening, is the fact that Kobabe really acknowledges the roles that pop-culture and fandom played in them figuring out who they are. 

I mean; 'Gender Queer' is a veritable *feast* of geekery - I myself was delighted to see references made to 'Strangers in Paradise' by Terry Moore, Archive of Our Own FanFiction writing, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Mont), 'Supernatural,' Tamora Pierce, 'Lord of the Rings,' One Direction, and David Bowie plus many, many more ... and perhaps - ironically, painfully - is the inclusion of how much the 'Harry Potter' fandom meant to Kobabe. It was a desire to finish those novels faster than their mother was reading one-chapter-a-night that pushed them to become a truly independent reader. But a figuring out of themselves via the media they consume plays such a big part in the story. 

Of Bowie's music for instance, Kobabe write; Bowie's music was the first that felt like mine, within a joyous illustration of their teenage-self vibing to the music in the middle of outer-space with the sun blazing as hot as their new passion, a rocket-ship zooming by and planet Earth waiting to welcome them back down with this fundamental new understanding of themselves, that Bowie has just gifted them ... YES! That's exactly what art can do.

Art changes people, and people change the world and I genuinely believe - I know! - that so many kids, parents, guardians, teachers, anyone! would be touched by this novel and have their understanding of gender and the binary lovingly, powerfully expanded through this tender tale. It's Kobabe rifling through their old diaries, fandoms, obsessions, crushes, and painful moments of body-awareness and self-discovery ... so generously gifted to the reader, and I myself was very thankful for the ways that they found to articulate and illustrate the complicated thoughts and feelings they were experiencing. I may not have had them myself, but I feel like I understand them because Kobabe writes with such patience and fortitude, I feel like my sympathy has grown. 

To deny the opportunities this book could bring would be the far greater injustice. It is perfectly aimed at older-teens in the young adult space, and to suggest it is inappropriate would be far more harmful. To all the young people who will see themselves within the pages, and no doubt feel the same sense of galaxy-bursting relief and happiness that Kobabe did upon hearing David Bowie for the first time.

C'mon, ACB - Let the children lose it, Let the children use it, Let all the children boogie ...

5/5

 

Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge by Paul Krueger 

bought on audio

Synopsis from Goodreads

A sharp and funny urban fantasy for “new adults” about a secret society of bartenders who fight monsters with alcohol fueled magic.

College grad Bailey Chen has a few demons: no job, no parental support, and a rocky relationship with Zane, the only friend who’s around when she moves back home. But when Zane introduces Bailey to his cadre of monster-fighting bartenders, her demons get a lot more literal. Like, soul-sucking hell-beast literal. Soon, it’s up to Bailey and the ragtag band of magical mixologists to take on whatever—or whoever—is behind the mysterious rash of gruesome deaths in Chicago, and complete the lost recipes of an ancient tome of cocktail lore.

8.5/10

* * *

This was such a quirky gem, I loved it!

There was pure grittiness and simplicity here reminiscent of Harry Dresden world but also the eccentricity of Genevieve Cogman's Librarians.

The super power here standing against the monsters in the dark are bartenders. So, there is a lot of historical reference to drinks and how they were developed and the historical trivia attached to them. I really, really appreciated it and it enriched the story for me immensely. So reminded me of Librarians!

The characters and the plot are condensed and to the point. This is urban fantasy in its purest form.

Bailey Chen just graduated from a university and is struggling to land a job. In the meantime, she works for her school friend as a bar hand until she uncovers the hidden mission behind the bartenders' frequent cigarette breaks and is tempted to join the team.

Being the perfectionist she is, Bailey uncovers an anomaly and a conspiracy and ends up fighting the established order to save her beloved Chicago from a disaster.

I liked the girl, and all the characters around her made me think of Buffy and her crew with their snark and goofiness at the same time.

This was a surprisingly fun listen, and I am looking forward to discovering more from the author, although I'm not sure if this book was a standalone or there is more in the series.

Overall, definitely recommended. Any fan of the genre would enjoy this read/listen.

 

The Starry Love (2023)

watched on Youku, 40 episodes

Synopsis from MyDramaList

The queen of the human tribe gave birth to twin girls. Respected by the entire tribe, the older sister Qing Kui, who is gentle and kind, is betrothed to the heavenly prince. The younger sister, Ye Tan, smart and cunning, shunned by her own people, is betrothed to the demon prince. Due to a mix-up, the two sisters are married off to the wrong husbands. It paves the way for two beautiful romances and also ignites a conspiracy that shakes the four realms.

(Source: ChineseDrama.info, MyDramaList)

~~ Adapted from the novel "Xing Luo Ning Cheng Tang" (星落凝成糖) by Yi Du Jun Hua (一度君华 ).

9/10

* * *

I loved this so much, peeps! And also cried quite a few times in later episodes. This is a gorgeous xinxia comedy which is quite rare in Chinese drama land. Latest successful experiment which blended comedy with drama was Love Between a Fairy and a Devil last year. If you haven't watched it yet, what are you doing with your life?! Please do! It's amazing. And it was a huge enough hit to get on Netflix. 

The Starry Love takes a classic trope in drama land "wrong carriage, right groom" and turns it into perfection. The prim and proper sister Qingkui who was being prepared to become a heavenly princess all her life is taken into the Void Realm to become the wife of the demon prince, and her rebellious troublemaker of a twin sister Yetan who studied The Void all her life is up in the Heavenly Realm trying to clear the mess she created trying to save her twin from a loveless marriage while dealing with her groom, Youqin, who has a huge stick up his behind and infuriates her so much.

Lo and behold, Tan and Youqin are made for each other, and she is slowly falling for him, while her sister Kui falls for a cunning, manipulative Chaofeng, the third prince, who is pretending to be weak and frivolous while fighting his other brothers for the throne.

When Youqin starts warming up and feeling something for Tan he suddenly dies saving his realm from a disaster he was preparing all his life to deal with, but Tan manages to save shards of his soul to try and revive him later. The fun twist to it, that now she has to find his soul shards as men in Mortal Realm and make them fall for her so they can merge into Youqin again. Much comedy ensues, and kudos to Cheng Xing Xu who had to play 5 different characters and managed to pull this off!

The whole cast was so talented. You really couldn't choose between two sisters, their partners and the supporting characters. Their acting was chef's kiss, especially Chaofeng's assistant with his constant snarky commentary. Also, both main male characters were total eye candy. 

I can only sigh happily and wait to see these talented youngsters in more excellent dramas. They were wonderful!

Trailer

 

Return to the DFZ with a brand new series, introducingBy A Silver ThreadIn the world’s most magical metropolis where spirits run noodle shops and cash-strapped dragons stage photo-ops for tourists, people still think fairies are nothing but stories, and that’s exactly how the fairies like it. It’s a lot easier to feast on humanity’s dreams when no one believes you exist. But while this arrangement works splendidly for most fair folk, Lola isn’t one of the lucky ones.

She’s a changeling, a fairy monster made just human enough to dupe unsuspecting parents while fairies steal their real child. The magic that sustains her was never meant to last past the initial theft, leaving Lola without a future. But thanks to Victor Conrath, a very powerful--and very illegal--blood mage, she was given the means to cheat death.

For a price.

Now the only changeling ever to make it to adulthood, Lola has served the blood mage faithfully, if reluctantly, for twenty years. Her unique ability to slip through wards and change her shape to look like anyone has helped make Victor a legend in the DFZ’s illegal-magic underground. It’s not a great life, but at least the work is stable… until her master vanishes without a trace.

With only a handful left of the pills that keep her human, Lola must find Victor before she turns back into the fairy monster she was always meant to be. But with a whole SWAT team of federal paladins hunting her as a blood-mage accomplice, an Urban Legend on a silent black motorcycle who won’t leave her alone, and a mysterious fairy king with the power to make the entire city dream, Lola’s chances of getting out of this alive are as slender as a silver thread.By A Silver Thread is the first in a new, stand-alone DFZ series set right after the end of Opal's series. There are cameos from old favorites and a brand new cast of charming, sinister fairies you'll love to hate.
Coming out May 2, 2023!Preorder Now!What is this? A new DFZ novel so soon? 

Yes, we are back in everyone's favorite city with a brand-new cast and a whole host of horrifying new problems. It was not my intention to start a new series until the Mary Good Crow books were done, but this idea would not let me go, so here we are.

I am so, so excited for y'all to read this book! It's got everything we love about the DFZ, but from an entirely new angle. It's action packed, and I think the magic is some of the coolest I've ever written. I had an absolute blast writing this book... and the sequel, which is already with the editor. What, I told you I was on fire! I just couldn't stop writing, and now you get more books. It's a win-win!

So does this mean the Western books are on hold? Absolutely not. I'm writing the third Mary novel as we speak. So yes, I am writing two series at once, but given how crazy I've been for these books, it definitely won't be long before they're all in your hands. I've already got two more launches lined up for this years, and next year should be at least two. It feels so good to be writing again after the Covid downturn. I can't wait to share everything I've been working on with you!
By A Silver Thread will launch in all formats (print, audio, ebook, and KU) on May 2. You can preorder the ebook now or wait until launch day for all the formats. Just don't forget to order, because you're going to want to read this book. Thank you so much for being my readers. I can't wait to see how much you'll love Lola's story! 

Yours with extreme enthusiasm,
Rachel AaronMother of Dragons Bethesda's Unpaid Intern

 

Smolder by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake #29)

 *Review copy obtained through Netgalley*

The wedding of the century between vampire hunter Anita Blake and the vampire king of America Jean-Claude is almost here, but an ancient evil arrives in St. Louis and even Jean-Claude’s unmatched power isn’t enough to save them. Only with the return of a lost love can they hope to combat the monster and save their loved ones and every vampire in the country from being consumed by darkness.

Release date March 21, 2023

2/10

* * *

Okey, first hear me out before judging my 1-star review.

First of all, I am a very old fan of this series and I firmly believe that the quality only went downhill after Obsidian Butterfly. But. Since then, I've fully embraced the fact that the b-movie type of quality of Anita's reverse harem world is its own brand. People can love it or hate it but they still read it and get exactly what they expect from it.

Which is why my 1-star rating is fully good-natured. Yes, it was that terrible and yes, I rolled my eyes and enjoyed the predictability of the plot when 90% of action is a big, unending therapy session for Anita and her big bad puppy pile of lovers, and only 10% is an actual advancement of the plot. I read this while being stuck on a long flight and despite not having read the last 4 or 5 books in the series, I have not missed a thing, my dear readers. 

*SPOILER*

Richard is back! And it actually made me feel much livelier. I miss the time when Anita only had him and Jean-Claude to worry about and you didn't need the spreadsheet for the rest of her partners.  Ah, those were the days.... Anyway, get ready for a lot of talking, where the most amusing part of it is talking about feelings while you are in the middle of an emergency sex to ward off an attack (yes, non-fans, I know how it sounds!) and Jean-Claude already asked you a few times to stop yapping and just concentrate on getting bonked.

There is not much else going on, but the ending shows that at least a few chapters of the next book will be fun, cause Anita's family is here for the wedding. And there is a high chance I'll read it just for the hell of it.

Enjoy it or hate it at your own risk, but you have been warned.

 

The Harp of Kings by Juliet Marillier (Warrior Bards #1)

bought on audio

Synopsis from Goodreads

A young woman is both a bard--and a warrior--in this thrilling historical fantasy from the author of the Sevenwaters novels.

Eighteen-year-old Liobhan is a powerful singer and an expert whistle player. Her brother has a voice to melt the hardest heart, and a rare talent on the harp. But Liobhan's burning ambition is to join the elite warrior band on Swan Island. She and her brother train there to compete for places, and find themselves joining a mission while still candidates. Their unusual blend of skills makes them ideal for this particular job, which requires going undercover as traveling minstrels. For Swan Island trains both warriors and spies.

Their mission: to find and retrieve a precious harp, an ancient symbol of kingship, which has gone mysteriously missing. If the instrument is not played at the upcoming coronation, the candidate will not be accepted and the people could revolt. Faced with plotting courtiers and tight-lipped druids, an insightful storyteller, and a boorish Crown Prince, Liobhan soon realizes an Otherworld power may be meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. When ambition clashes with conscience, Liobhan must make a bold decision and is faced with a heartbreaking choice. . . .

8.5/10

* * *

Yes!!! This was about my favourite healer and blacksmith's daughter and an adoptive son. And I had no idea about the connection until I started listening to The Harp of Kings.

What a gorgeous story, like everything else I've listened to from Marillier so far. I feel like her books really benefit from the audio format.

She knows how to weave magic into her stories where even names hold some power over you. 

You can split The Harp of Kings into two main plots. First is the investigation into the disappeared harp, and the second is coming back home into the fae world. I loved both, they were filled with so much love and kindness. I think this is Marillier's greatest skill: to intersperse her fairy tales with bright flashes of light, small kindnesses her heroines/heroes show to strangers like in fairy tales of old, what these acts lead to and the dark forces opposing them.

Overall, a great listen which filled me with warmth, much recommended!

 Just an update to post this really fun interview I did with Tales After Tolkien! Check it out!

 

A League of Nobleman (2023)

Tencent, China, 29 episodes watched on Viki

Synopsis from MyDramaList

Zhang Ping is an impoverished orphan who comes from a provincial part of the country. He has come to Beijing in an attempt to take the civil service entrance examination but must eke out a living by making noodles to sell on the street. While he is unsophisticated in his manners and is something of a dreamer, he is exceptionally perceptive - and also quite nosy. That means he is naturally gifted when it comes to solving puzzles and getting to the bottom of mysteries.

Meanwhile, Lan Jue is a young, well-mannered minister who hides a secret from his youth that he does not want to reveal to anyone. As Lan Jue is going about his business, trying to solve a case, his path crosses with that of Zhang Ping. Despite some misunderstandings, Zhang Ping manages to help Lan Jue solve the case - although the former also inadvertently learns the latter's secret. But this incident turns into the beginning of a remarkable partnership.

The two men develop a close bond - despite their very different backgrounds. And together, they resolve to solve all manner of mysteries, including what really happened to Lan Jue's father - and rid the royal court of corruption once and for all!

~~ Adapted from the novel "The Mystery of Zhang Guo" (张公案) by Da Feng Gua Guo (大风刮过).

8/10

* * *

This is a bromance drama, one of the first ones which was allowed to come out after the new laws came into force in China in 2021 and most of the dramas of this genre got indefinitely shelved. I watched a review which talked about how this drama had to be severely cut so it could pass a review but to be honest I haven't noticed. 

What I did notice was gorgeous filming, colours and sounds. It had a distinctive sense of esthetics and felt at times eery. I might not have loved it, but I liked its mood and mysteries.

The mysteries were beautifully presented, and I loved how most of them identified as magic in the beginning were revealed as tricks to manipulate people later on. 

Also, the pairing of the investigators was classic. A sophisticated, elegant and brilliant politician on one side and a very straightforward, abrupt and without any artistry poor guy on the other side. They messed up each others plans for awhile until they figured out that they are better off working together.

An interesting drama, and by Chinese standards not too long, at only 29 episodes. Recommended.

 

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas ( Crescent City #1)

bought on Audible

Synopsis from Goodreads

Sarah J. Maas's brand-new CRESCENT CITY series begins with House of Earth and Blood: the story of half-Fae and half-human Bryce Quinlan as she seeks revenge in a contemporary fantasy world of magic, danger, and searing romance.

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life-working hard all day and partying all night-until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She'll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose-to assassinate his boss's enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he's offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City's underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion-one that could set them both free, if they'd only let it.

With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom-and the power of love.

8.5/10

* * *

Fabulous world-building but parts of the plot made me roll my eyes hard.

First of all, this very much reminded me of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. There was something of Mac and Barrons in Bryce and Hunt's pairing although this couple is not as dark and complex.

Secondly, I absolutely loved the eclectic mix of species in this urban fantasy. There was everything from angels to vampires and fae. And all of it steeped in magic and technology.

So, a big A+ for the world Sarah J. Maas introduced to the reader. It was incredibly tasty.

As for the plot development, it was not as strong.

First problem. Predictable but not very believable attraction between Hunt and Bryce. It felt too forced to me the way Hunt went from an unfeeling, cold facade to someone with such volatile emotions. It just didn't feel right for his age and experience.

Secondly, his involvement into the conspiracy came out of the left field for me. Like, what? It was like a deux in the machina. Nothing previously led to this particular plot development.

And the last and worst problem was the convenient villain monologue. Really? Someone just stood there and confessed all they did on record. Just their level of carelessness and stupidity was unforgivable. It was a total cope out to me where instead of showing us something we had a literal villain telling us what they did and how they did it. Disappointing.

Still, I enjoyed this audiobook very much, and there was a moment when it even brought me to tears. I bought the next installment in the series and will be listening to it very soon.

Despite minor problems, much recommended.

 

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik (The Scholomance #3)

bought on Audible

Synopsis

Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.

The one thing you never talk about while you're in the Scholomance is what you'll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it's all we dream about, the hideously slim chance we'll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I'm out, we're all out--and I didn't even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother's prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn't kill enclavers, I saved them. Me, and Orion, and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: we saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves of the world.

Ha, only joking! Actually it's gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war on the horizon. And the first thing I've got to do now, having miraculously got out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.

* * *

8/10

I enjoyed this series very much, but I would say that book 1 and 2 impressed me more than book 3. The solution to their problem in the end felt like a bit of a cope out.

 Still, I have loved El, the prickly main heroine from the get go. Naomi Novik excels at writing outwardly dislikeable heroines, grumpy, cynical and sassy, but secretly kind and self-sacrificing.

The best part of the whole trilogy is its world-building. It's excellent and so engrossing, that you can't help but fall into the world of The Scholomance, the Enclaves, the never-ending squabble for power and survival in between. 

Juliet Marillier and Katherine Arden might be more poetic in their writing but Novik takes the reader to darker places and underscores how heavy and twisted the price of magic can be. She is also excellent at blending the modern world into it.

The Golden Enclaves is not without problems, but the series overall is a solid 4 star read or listen. I listen to it on audio and the narrator was fabulous. 

Much recommended, folks.

The Blood of Youth (2022)

Genre: wuxia

40 episodes

Available on Viki

Synopsis

As a disciple of the Lei Clan, Lei Wu Jie can't wait to prove his worth as a hero, but as a novice who has only just entered the martial arts world, the path to becoming a true hero is difficult, at best. Undeterred by the challenges that lay before him, Wu Jei makes his way to the great city of Xue Yue, certain that his time there will mould him into the hero he so longs to be. Unfortunately, his trip to Xue Yue is waylaid by an unfortunate mishap at the Villa of Fallen Snow.

As proprietor of the Villa, Xiao Se has all the looks of a wealthy innkeeper, but he can barely afford to keep the inn open. Struggling with his business, Xiao Se is less than pleased when his establishment is damaged by the antics of a young, wannabe hero. Demanding he makes amends for the damage he caused, Wu Jei can think of only one way to appease the grumpy Xiao Se, and that is to take him with him. With no other options, the two set off together without any idea of what fate has in store for them.

Befriending several people along the way, including Wu Xin, Sikong Qian Luo, Tang Lian, and Ye Ruo Yi, Xiao Se and Wu Jei soon find themselves caught up in an adventure far greater than any of them could have imagined. While facing countless dangers, the group stumbles upon a trail of clues that tie one of them to a battle for the throne that took place over a decade ago. The question is, is the intrepid hero ready and willing to take his rightful place as the leader of the people? And where will the brotherhood go from there?

(Source: Viki; edited by MyDramaList)

~~ Adapted from the novel "Shao Nian Ge Xing" (少年歌行) by Zhou Mu Nan (周木楠).

* * *

9/10

Honestly, this was one of the best wuxia dramas I've seen in ages. And it airdropped right at the end of an already good drama year. 

Gorgeous actors, very good fighting and CGI scenes, nothing boring in the plot, hardly any romance, all of it mostly bromance and very good camaraderie. Aaah, I was enjoying it so much!

Xiao Se is a classic, aloof, wily, keeping all his plans close to the chest, prince. I've seen complains that Li Hongyi who played Xiao Se is not very good at acting but to me he did his character justice.

He might sound selfish and sarcastic but when the situation needs self-sacrificing and bravery he gives 100% back in a spectacular fashion. You can say that the whole plot is circling around helping Xiao Se achieve justice and vanquish the enemies.

He acquires a bunch of very enthusiastic and powerful youngsters in martial world as his friends along his quest who help him fight rival princes.

One of the more interesting and flirtatious characters who work so well in all their bromance glory with him is Wu Xin, a very cunning Buddhist monk.

Sparks fly every time they spend time together, and he is probably the only one who is Xiao Se's match in wit.

There is a lot going on and I can guarantee none of it will be boring. The main villain is a little bit cartoonish to my liking but the other characters do make up for his shortcomings with their own complexity.

Overall, a fantastic Chinese drama recommended to all fans of martial arts universe.

 

The Blighted Bride by Anne Cleeland

*review copy thanks to the author*

Synopsis

It was regrettable, that Kanika of Kerala would have experienced such bad luck, despite being a prized bride. First, the Nizam of Bengal had died, leaving her a wealthy widow, and now—now it seemed that the British East India Company was going to interfere with her next marriage, to one of the powerful Hongs of Canton.

The Company was concerned, it seemed, about her motive for these alliances, and the potential effect she might have on their lucrative opium trade.

As for Kanika, she was also concerned—only she was concerned about the British Commander’s effect on her plans. The more she reminded herself that they were impossibly at odds, the more she was drawn to him. It was a shame, that he was fated to be unlucky, too.

7/10

* * *

Anne Cleeland has a skill of creating of a very intriguing backstory for her characters and then only feeding us crumbs of it. I kinda love it and hate it at the same time.

This is a very fast read, folks. I wish it was a thicker book with more details because come on, how many husbands/fiancés this woman had before? And one was a pirate? I was sold just on that one little detail.

Kanika and James have very good chemistry in this read. They seem to show their appreciation for each other in more things that are left unsaid and not done instead of words, which ends up being much more expressive as a declaration.

Hanh, Kanika's partner in crime is an intriguing man as well. Is he getting his own book, I wonder?

Overall, a nice, easy read. Especially, because it's refreshing for a Regency romance fan to read about events happening outside England. My only regret is that I'd have loved to have a meatier book, heavy on details.

 Today's the day!

When Mary Good Crow came out of the crystal into the arms of her sister, the last thing she wanted was another fight. But war is coming to the Great Plains. With crystal on their side, the Lakota are poised to annihilate the town of Medicine Rocks, forcing Mary to choose between the friends she’s finally found and the family she’s always longed for.

When Rel Reiner accepted her father’s dark bargain to save Josie and the others, the last thing she expected was to survive. But there’s more to the Reiner’s magic than ghosts and bones. Magic Rel will have to embrace if she ever wants to walk in her own skin again.

When Josie Price left the crystal mines one step ahead of death, the last thing she intended to do was quit. But the wolves in town are circling, and with the crystal going crazy and the cavalry riding to war, just finding a way to protect her people might cost her everything she came to Montana to build.

Three women divided by a war none of them wants. But Josie, Mary, and Rel have always been strongest together, and with the world’s magical future on the line, “together” might be the only way anyone survives.

Get your copy now in ebook, audio, print, or KU!

I can’t tell you how excited I am for y'all to read this book! I'm sooo proud of this ending and this series as a whole. If you haven't tried out THE LAST STAND OF MARY GOOD CROW yet, I hope you'll give it a go! This series has been such a wild ride, and I really hope you enjoy it!

This is the first launch for what I hope is going to be a very busy 2023. I’ve got a new DFZ series I’ll be announcing soon along with other fun stuff, so if you're not already subscribed to my New Release Newsletter, I hope you'll come over and say hi! Subscribers always get first dibs on the good stuff, I never share your info, and I only send out emails when I have a new book. No risk, just awesome, so I hope you'll join in!  

Thank you so much for all your support over the years. Enjoy THE BATTLE OF MEDICINE ROCKS, and I’ll see you soon with a new story!

Yours with a hat tip,

Rachel Aaron

Return to the magical West forThe Battle of Medicine Rocks!
When Mary Good Crow came out of the crystal into the arms of her sister, the last thing she wanted was another fight. But war is coming to the Great Plains. With crystal on their side, the Lakota are poised to annihilate the town of Medicine Rocks, forcing Mary to choose between the friends she’s found and the family she’s always longed for.

When Rel Reiner accepted her father’s dark bargain to save Josie and the others, the last thing she expected was to survive. But there’s more to the Reiner family’s magic than ghosts and bones. Magic Rel will have to embrace if she ever wants to walk in her own skin again.

When Josie Price left the crystal mines one step ahead of death, the last thing she intended was to quit. But the wolves in town are circling, and with the crystal going crazy and the cavalry riding to war, just finding a way to keep going might cost her everything she came to Montana to build.

Three women divided by a war none of them wants. But Josie, Mary, and Rel have always been strongest together, and with the entire world’s magical future on the line, “together” might be the only way anyone survives.

 The second book in The Crystal Calamity, coming out February 1!
Preorder Now!What's better for the new year than a new book? How about several new books?

I've been writing like crazy and should have a lot of new titles coming for you all this year, but this first one is a doozy. THE BATTLE OF MEDICINE ROCKS is the sequel to THE LAST STAND OF MARY GOOD CROW and has (I think) the best ending I've ever written. I'm super proud of how it came out and cannot wait for y'all to read it on February 1! 

Even better, we've finally managed to line up all formats to release simultaneously! Whether you prefer ebook, print, or audio book, they all release on the same day. It's everything, everywhere, all at once, and really pretty to boot! Seriously, the print version is gorgeous.

Whatever format you fancy, I really, really hope you enjoy this new entry in the Crystal Calamity. I know Western fiction isn't everyone's thing, but if you haven't given book 1 a try yet, I hope you'll give me a shot. And for those of you already in the know, I can't wait for you to read what comes next. It's gonna be a blast! 

Thank you as always for being my readers and listeners, and I hope you enjoy THE BATTLE OF MEDICINE ROCKS!

Yours with a respectful hat tip,

Rachel Aaron 

 

I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK SUMMARY

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a dreamy reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico.

Carlota Moreau: a young woman, growing up in a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of either a genius, or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: a melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his scientific experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: the fruits of the Doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them living in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Doctor Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite.

THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU is both a dazzling historical novel and a daring science fiction journey.

BOOK DETAILS

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Published July 19, 2022 by Del Rey
Hardcover, 306 pages,
Genres: Historical Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Retellings
My Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars

  Book Review of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Moreno-Garcia sweeps readers into a world of dazzling and horrific scientific experiments in her retelling of H.G. Well’s The Island of Doctor Moreau.

Set against historical Yucatán during a time of conflict and upheaval in 19th century Mexico, the author takes the bones of the original and layers and cuts bits and pieces of Gothic tones, strange sciences and mixes themes of colonialism, exploitation and morality.

Although, I admired what the author was trying to do, sometimes I felt there was too much for the characters to unpack in the story during the time given, and I ended up feeling somewhat disconnected.

Part of the allure and horror of the original story falls into the discovery of Doctor Moreau’s experiments, the strange animals.

Told through the eyes of Doctor Moreau’s daughter, Carlota, readers become aware of just how far reaching her father’s experiments have gone.

The conflict between the hybrids humanism and their innate animal selves is ever present.

This was by far my favorite part of the story. The pain, beauty, and conflict was deftly-woven.

There is a touch of romance, but I believe what Moreno-Garcia would like readers to focus on is Carlota’s lack of autonomy, much like her father’s hybrids and the upheaval and revolt each threatens.

Packed with relevant themes and infused with science fiction horror, I would recommend this to fans of Moreno-Garcia and the genre.

 

"Brimming with imagination, wonderful characters and captivating magic. "

- Novel Notions

The long awaited day is finally here! The fantastic audio book of my newest novel, THE LAST STAND OF MARY GOOD CROW, officially goes on sale today!

If you already own the ebook, you can pick up the audio edition for super cheap! Who said audio books had to be expensive? I get paid the same either way, so there's no reason not to get yourself a deal!

I think Naomi Rose-Mock did a fantastic job with all the characters. I really hope you'll give it a try. Thank you as always for being my readers (and listeners!), and I hope you'll enjoy the audio edition of The Last Stand of Mary Good Crow!

Yours always,
Rachel

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

I received a complimentary ARC from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.BOOK SUMMARY

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

BOOK DETAILS

This little novella is packed with all kinds of gothic horror, dripping in atmosphere and psychological tension. It’s the retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic “The Fall of the House of Usher” that you have been waiting for.

This time around readers are treated to a more fully developed, Madeline Usher. Our growing fear and distress over her strange malady can only be written by the likes of T. Kingfisher’s pen.

Alex Easton, as the retired soldier who visits the home of the Ushers, finds its residents besieged by a strange sickness. Madness surrounds the decrepit manor and it is through this soldier’s eyes that we witness the slow downfall the Ushers.

There are strange lights and zombie-like rabbits infesting the landscape while the ancestral home is literally crumbling apart as if it’s slowly being consumed.

If you have ever wondered what really drove the Ushers mad, T. Kingfisher’s version gives an answer that is filled with all the strangeness and creepiness you could hope for. This is one twisted tale you’ll be sure to love.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
Publication date on July 12th 2022 by Tor Nightfire
Hardcover , 176 pages
Fiction / Horror / Sci Fi & Fantasy
My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars