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Bliss Montage by Ling Ma
“It is in the most surreal situations that a person feels the most present, the closest to reality.” An ingenious and effervescent collection of surreal stories that will definitely appeal to fans of Kevin Wilson, Helen Oyeyemi, and Hiroko Oyamada. Ling Ma has a knack for blending realistic dynamics and issues with absurdist ones, and,…
4 STARS, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, America, asian american, asian diaspora, belonging, Bliss Montage, books about writers, California, China, chinese american author, collection of short stories, Contemporary, creative writing seminars, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), dreamlike quality, existentialism, female authors, heartbreak/breakups, interconnected stories, Ling Ma, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, los angeles, MAGICAL REALISM, motherhood, NEW YORK, office, parenting, playful style, portal fantasy, pregnancy, published in 2022, read in 2022, short stories, surreal, toxic relationships, unnamed country, weird -
Gallant by V.E. Schwab
Although I remember liking books by V. E. Schwab when I was a teenager the last couple of books I’ve picked up by her left me feeling rather underwhelmed. My reading tastes have definitely changed over the years but I hoped that I would always be able to appreciate her storytelling. I was sold on…
2 STARS, 3rd pov, all girls school, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, england, FANTASY, female authors, Gallant, ghosts/spirits, GOTHIC, hauntings, HISTORICAL FICTION, manor/big house, My reviews, Not Like Other Girls, orphans, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, portal fantasy, published in 2022, read in 2022, reading, slow pacing, style over character, V.E. Schwab, YOUNG ADULT -
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
“Dark, dangerous things happened around the Hollow sisters.” Brimming with beauty and danger House of Hollow is a spellbinding modern fairy tale. Written in a tantalising prose that seems to echo traditional fairy tales House of Hollow presents its readers with a beguiling tale about sisters and monsters. “We were taken. We came back. None…
1st pov, 4 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, atmospheric, AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Contemporary, creepy setting, dark fantasy, england, FAIRY TALES, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, female authors, girlhood, great storytelling, HORROR, House of Hollow, it’s about the *aesthetics*, Krystal Sutherland, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LONDON, MAGIC, MAGICAL DOORS, missing girls, missing persons, monsters, My reviews, MYSTERY, PARANORMAL, portal fantasy, published in 2021, queer, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, road trip, scotland, SISTERS, URBAN FANTASY, YOUNG ADULT -
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
The Hollow Places is a thoroughly entertaining novel that plays around with parallel worlds, portal fantasy and cosmic horror. When our narrator, Kara, moves back to her hometown (Hog Chapel, North Carolina) she is still reeling from her divorce. To avoid sharing a house with her mother she volunteers to work in her uncle’s peculiar…
1st pov, 3.5 STARS, Adult, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Contemporary, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, gay side characters, HORROR, HUMOR, lgbtq+ side, MAGICAL DOORS, monsters, museums, North Carolina, parallel universes, PARANORMAL, portal fantasy, published in 2020, read in 2020, SPECULATIVE FICTION, SUSPENSE, T. Kingfisher, The Hollow Places, weird -
Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire — book review
Although occasionally entertaining, Come Tumbling Down struck me as a rather unnecessary and insubstantial addition to the Wayward Children series. “Once a wayward child, always a wayward child.” Don’t get me wrong: Seanan McGuire’s writing style is as lush as ever. Her prose, with its use rhythm and repetition, echoes that of fairy-tale, lending a…
3 STARS, 3rd pov, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Come Tumbling Down, FAIRY TALES, FAIRYLAND, fairytalesque prose, FANTASY, female authors, lgbtq+, magic school, MAGICAL DOORS, MAGICAL REALISM, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, portal fantasy, published in 2020, queer, read in 2020, science, Seanan McGuire, TOR novella, twins, VAMPIRES, Wayward Children, YOUNG ADULT -
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones — book review
“I’m dying of boredom,” Howl said pathetically. “Or maybe just dying.” Like many, I fell in love with Studio Ghibli’s adaptation of this novel. I consider it a personal favourite and have watched it many times. So once I learnt that it was ‘loosely’ based on a book, I was eager to get my hands…
3.5 STARS, adventure, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, British author, british classics, CHILDHOOD, CLASSICS, curses, Diana Wynne Jones, FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, Howl’s Moving Castle, HUMOR, MAGIC, MAGICAL DOORS, modern classics, playful style, portal fantasy, published in 1986, READ IN 2019, ROMANCE, studio ghibli, Wales, WARLOCKS/WIZARDS, witchcraft, WITCHES -
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern — book review
secret libraries + magical doors + stories within stories within stories = my kind of book “A boy at the beginning of a story has no way of knowing that the story has begun.” This is the type of book that readers will either love or hater. Its playful style and recursive storytelling are definitely…
3.75 stars, academia, Adult, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, big books, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, Erin Morgenstern, FAIRY TALES, FANTASY, female authors, Hyped new releases, lgbtq+, librarians, libraries/bookshops, m/m, MAGIC, MAGICAL DOORS, MAGICAL REALISM, metafiction, New England, NEW YORK, portal fantasy, published in 2019, queer, READ IN 2019, story within a story, The Starless Sea, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow — book review
“Reason and rationality reigned supreme, and there was no room for magic or mystery. There was no room, it turned out, for little girls who wandered off the edge of the map and told the truth about the mad, impossible things they found there.” Readers who have yet to dip their toes in the vast…
1900s, 1910s, 20th century, 3 STARS, adventure, Alix E. Harrow, America, American, books about books, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), FANTASY, fathers & daughters, female authors, HISTORICAL FICTION, MAGIC, MAGICAL DOORS, portal fantasy, published in 2019, READ IN 2019, ROMANCE, story within a story, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, why the hype, YOUNG ADULT -
IN AN ABSENT DREAM: BOOK REVIEW
In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children, #4) by Seanan McGuire ★★★✰✰ 3.5 stars Katherine–never Kate, never Kitty, never anything but Katherine, sensible Katherine, up-and-down Katherine, as dependable as a sundial whittling away the summer afternoons–was ordinary enough to have become remarkable entirely without noticing it. Compared to the previous volumes in this series [book:In an…
3.5 STARS, adventure, AMERICAN AUTHOR, CHILDHOOD, CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, FAIRY TALES, FAIRYLAND, FANTASY, female authors, GOBLIN MARKET, In an absent dream, magic school, MAGICAL DOORS, MAGICAL REALISM, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, portal fantasy, published in 2019, READ IN 2019, Seanan McGuire, URBAN FANTASY, Wayward Children -
Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire
McGuire’s style resonates completely with the fairytales she draws from. Her lyric narration thrums with the magic which she portrays. Her prose is alluring, it carries a melodic repetition that is incredibly compelling. And while she might be paying homage to old tales, McGuire is also creating her own – equally spellbinding – tales. Her…
3rd pov, adventure, AMERICAN AUTHOR, Beneath the Sugar Sky, FAIRY TALES, FAIRYLAND, FANTASY, female authors, friendships, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, MAGIC, magic school, MAGICAL DOORS, mental health, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, portal fantasy, published in 2018, queer, read in 2018, Seanan McGuire, URBAN FANTASY, Wayward Children
luce [is reading] 