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The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings
“This is the story of the witch who refused to burn. Some people said that there was power in her blood, a gift from her ancestors that she could endure.” Megan Giddings’s sophomore novel is highly evocative of those The Handmaid’s Tale inspired dystopias where readers are presented with a near-future where women—sometimes men—live in…
1st pov, 3.25 stars, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ART/CREATIVITY, atmospheric, beautiful prose, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, dystopia, FANTASY, female authors, female friendships, feminism, forgiveness, GRIEF, HORROR, identity, ISLAND, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, MAGIC, Megan Giddings, Michigan, missing moms, missing persons, missing women, mothers & daughters, My reviews, MYSTERY, near future/alternate reality, PARANORMAL, published in 2022, queer, read in 2022, reading, social issues, SPECULATIVE FICTION, SUPERNATURAL, the female malaise, The Women Could Fly, trauma, witchcraft, WITCHES -
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
“Fear of death is a powerful weapon.” Remote Control is Afrofuturism at its best. Nnedi Okorafor seamlessly blends folklore elements and aesthetics with sci-fi ones, delivering a unique and intriguing piece of speculative fiction. Set in Ghana, Remote Control opens in medias res: the appearance of Sankofa, a fourteen-year girl, and her companion, a fox,…
3.5 STARS, 3rd pov, Adult, afrofuturism, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, Black & Black heritage authors, Booklr, curses, DEATH, dystopia, FANTASY, female authors, FOLKLORE, futuristic, Ghana, KIDS WITH POWERS, myths, nigerian american author, NNEDI OKORAFOR, NOVELLA/SHORT STORY, POWERS, published in 2021, read in 2021, Remote Control, road trip, SCI-FI, SPECULATIVE FICTION, survival, TOR novella, travel, witchcraft -
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 -
Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater — book review
Okay, I loved it even more this second time around. This book is full of Stiefvaterisms (in the best possible way). “This is going to be a story about the Lynch brothers.” The very first line of Call Dawn the Hawk echoes that of a fairy tale and Maggie Stiefvater demonstrates just how impressive a…
3rd pov, 4 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, adventure, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, brothers, Call Down the Hawk, cambridge (us), cars, Contemporary, declan lynch, dreamers, Dreams, england, FANTASY, favourite authors, female authors, FOLKLORE, friendships, gay, great storytelling, Harvard, heist, henrietta, Jordan Hennessy, KIDS WITH POWERS, lgbtq+, m/m, Maggie Stiefvater, MAGIC, magical swords, Massachusetts, occult, PARANORMAL, POWERS, published in 2019, re-reads, READ IN 2019, road trip, Ronan Lynch, series that went downhill, tarots, the raven boys, the raven cycle, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, virginia, Washington DC, witchcraft, YOUNG ADULT -
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – book review
“Bow all your heads to our adored Mary Katherine.” In recent years Shirley Jackson has experienced a kind of renascence. Perhaps because of Netflix’s adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House or possibly thanks to contemporary authors (such as Donna Tartt, Neil Gaiman, and Stephen King) who have credited Jackson as their inspiration, enhancing her…
1950s, 1st pov, 20th century, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, ALIENATION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, blackwood manor, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, class, constance blackwood, creepy setting, fairytalesque prose, favourite authors, female authors, GOTHIC, House As Character, Kafkaesque, manor/big house, merricat blackwood, modern gothic, MYSTERY, occult, psychological, psychopaths, published in 1962, re-reads, read in 2016, read in 2017, read in 2018, READ IN 2019, read in 2020, read in 2021, SHIRLEY JACKSON, SISTERS, surreal, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, unreliable narrators, village, WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, witchcraft -
The Oracle of Cumae by Melissa Hardy — book review
“I listened as Sibylla told me for the third or fourth or fifth time, about something that happened to her a thousand years ago and that might have been funny then, but, clearly, you had to have been there.” The Oracle of Cumae is a humorous tale that might appeal to readers who enjoyed Neil…
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Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson — book review
“Dearest dearest darling most important dearest darling Natalie—this is me talking, your own priceless own Natalie.” Alice in Wonderland meets The Bell Jar in Shirley Jackson’s much overlooked Hangsaman.The first time I read this exceedingly perplexing novel I felt confused. Although Hangsaman shares many similarities with Jackson’s more well known novels (yet again we have…
1950s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 5 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, academia, Adult, ALIENATION, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, atmospheric, campus, cheating, coming of age, dark academia, dark humor, DEPRESSION, female authors, female doubles, feverish, hallucinations, Hangsaman, HISTORICAL FICTION, MAGIC, MARRIAGE, mental health, Natalie Waite, psychological, published in 1951, re-reads, READ IN 2019, read in 2020, read in 2021, SHIRLEY JACKSON, SUSPENSE, tarots, terrific prose, toxic relationships, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, unreliable narrative, witchcraft
luce [is reading] 