Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger — Review
A review of Etiquette and Espionage, the first Finishing School novel by Gail Carriger — steampunk YA with charm and genuine wit.
Read more →Book Reviews
Book reviews from The Diary of a Bookworm — YA fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, and crime.
Soulless (Parasol Protectorate Series) by Gail Carriger — Review
A review of Soulless, the first Parasol Protectorate novel by Gail Carriger — Victorian steampunk featuring a preternatural heroine who can neutralize …
Read more →Fathomless by Jackson Pearce — Review
A review of Fathomless by Jackson Pearce — a dark YA retelling of The Little Mermaid that doesn't flinch from the original's cruelty.
Read more →Blackwood by Gwenda Bond — Review
A review of Blackwood by Gwenda Bond — a YA mystery that builds on the legend of the lost colony of Roanoke.
Read more →The 80s and Me — Guest Post by C.K. Kelly Martin
Author C.K. Kelly Martin on writing the 1980s from memory, and what it means to set a novel in a decade you actually lived.
Read more →Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric — Review
A review of Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric — lushly imagined historical fantasy set in Venice, for readers who want their middle-grade fiction genuinely …
Read more →The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman — Review
A review of The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman — a monumental historical novel set at Masada, told through the voices of four women.
Read more →There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff — Review
A review of There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff — a satirical YA novel in which God is a teenage boy, and the world makes perfect sense as a result.
Read more →Feline Fridays: Celebrating The Undrowned Child
Feline Fridays marks the publication of The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric — Venice's literary cats and what they carry.
Read more →Sea Wolves Reading Circle — All Things Pirate
A pirate-themed reading circle stop on the Random Magic blog tour — books and lore about pirates and the sea.
Read more →Mermaid's Cove Music Hop — Random Magic Blog Tour
A stop on the Random Magic blog tour featuring a music hop and the folklore of mermaids in fiction.
Read more →Savage Season: A Hap and Leonard Novel, by Joe R. Lansdale — Review
A review of Savage Season, the first Hap and Leonard novel by Joe R. Lansdale — crime fiction that hits harder than it has any right to.
Read more →Feline Fridays Goes European — Meet the Cats of Venice
A celebration of literary cats in European fiction, with a focus on Michelle Lovric's Venetian fantasy series.
Read more →Buying Books for the Middle School Reader: A Holiday Guide
A guide to buying books for middle school readers — fiction recommendations that take young readers seriously.
Read more →Happy Halloween — A Delightful Interview with Michelle Lovric
Halloween interview with Michelle Lovric, author of the Undrowned Child series, on Venice, magic, and writing for children.
Read more →City of Fallen Angels Teaser — The Mortal Instruments
Notes on City of Fallen Angels, the fourth Mortal Instruments novel by Cassandra Clare — and why continuing the series after City of Glass was the right call.
Read more →Clockwork Prince Teaser — Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices
Early notes and anticipation for Clockwork Prince, the second book in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series.
Read more →Giving Me the Creeps — October New Releases Worth Reading
October new releases in YA and fantasy for readers who want their autumn reading genuinely unsettling.
Read more →The Mourning Emporium by Michelle Lovric — Review
A review of The Mourning Emporium by Michelle Lovric — the follow-up to The Undrowned Child, returning to Venice for another layered and atmospheric adventure.
Read more →Practical Jean by Trevor Cole — Review
A review of Practical Jean by Trevor Cole — a darkly comic Canadian novel about a woman who decides to spare her friends from suffering.
Read more →Dexter Is Back in Full Serial Killer Form — Review
A review of Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series — crime fiction built around a serial killer who kills killers, and why it works better on the page than you'd expect.
Read more →Awakening (Darkest Powers #2) by Kelley Armstrong — Review
A review of Awakening by Kelley Armstrong — the second book in the Darkest Powers YA series, and a strong continuation of one of the better supernatural YA …
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