Posts tagged with dragons

Aug 21 2023

Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros

2023-08-21-fourth-wing-by-rebecca-yarros

Rebecca Yarros's Fourth Wing is the literary equivalent of an ice cream sundae. It might not be the most avant-garde idea out there, but it's packed with stuff people really like: dragons, a magical school, loads of violence, and some New Adult-level sex and pining. In the hands of a less competent author, this might read like a derivative mess, but Yarros's hell-for-leather pacing and solid characterization keeps the pages turning...

More »

Aug 21 2023

Weekly Book Giveaway: Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros

2023-08-21-weekly-book-giveaway-fourth-wing-by-rebecca-yarros

Our current Book Giveaway is Rebecca Yarros's novel Fourth Wing. A full review will follow shortly, but here's the gist: if you've got any long, boring stretches of time you want to fill on your schedule (like a plane ride), this book is an A+ page-turning distraction machine...

More »

May 21 2018

Weekly Book Giveaway: The Sky is Yours, by Chandler Klang Smith

2018-05-21-weekly-book-giveaway-the-sky-is-yours-by-chandler-klang-smith

This week's Book Giveaway is Chandler Klang Smith's debut novel The Sky Is Yours, which I fully admit I picked due to its awesome cover art. Of course, I've been burned by seductive covers in the past, but hope springs eternal. A full review will follow shortly...

More »

Oct 6 2014

The Smoke Thief, by Shana Abe

2014-10-06-the-smoke-thief-by-shana-abe

I have strong feelings about romance novels. I like stories that don't expect me to buy that the hero and heroine have fallen into deep, everlasting love in a matter of days, stories where the sexual relationship isn't forced or coerced, and, above all, stories set after 1800, where I feel like all the characters are more likely to routinely bathe. Shana Abé's The Smoke Thief is none of these things, so I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed it...

More »

Aug 26 2013

Dragon's Keep, by Janet Lee Carey

2013-08-26-dragons-keep-by-janet-lee-carey

Janet Lee Carey's 2008 novel Dragon's Keep is a fantasy novel aimed at mature middle schoolers—kids hungry for “realistic” historical fantasy (read: everyone has fleas, and there is frequent discussion of urine) but way too young for, say, Game of Thrones. Carey's heroine is Princess Rosalind Pendragon, the subject of an ancient prophecy that suggests that she—the 21st queen of Wilde Island—will be the one to restore her family's fortunes and end a war...

More »

Aug 26 2013

Weekly Book Giveaway: Dragon's Keep, by Janet Lee Carey

2013-08-26-weekly-book-giveaway-dragons-keep-by-janet-lee-carey

Our Book Giveaway pick of the week is Janet Lee Carey's 2008 historical fantasy novel Dragon's Keep, which we're planning on reviewing later this afternoon. I don't care for the cover art, but I was amused to note that the interior hardcover has been textured to look vaguely like snakeskin. I always approve of people trying to get the little details right...

More »

Mar 13 2013

Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman

2013-03-13-seraphina-by-rachel-hartman

Rachel Hartman's debut novel Seraphina won the 2013 Morris Award for YA literature, but the major thing defining the book as “young adult” is its teenage heroine—everything else about it is straightforward high fantasy, suitable for readers of any age...

More »

Jan 6 2008

Dragonhaven, by Robin McKinley

2008-01-06-dragonhaven-by-robin-mckinley

Robin McKinley’s Dragonhaven, her first novel in four years, is a celebration of atmosphere and characterization. It’s an intensely absorbing story, but longtime fans take heed: this book has much more in common with her character-driven vampire novel Sunshine than her earlier, more conventional fantasy novels...

More »