#23’s Result – Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Well! Piranesi turned out to be just what I expected, and also not at all what I expected. The cover, description, and initial pages gave me the impression this would be historical fiction. It isn’t, but that is mostly a moot point. What I didn’t expect was how neatly this would fit into the dark academia genre. When I first read this book’s […]
September’s Result – His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik Now, this was an unanticipated delight! It had been on my TBR for some years because of my love for Uprooted and Spinning Silver. The early 19th century historical setting deterred me from picking it up. Happily, I can now thank everyone who voted for this book for introducing me to the world of Temeraire 😄 My hold finallly came in […]
July’s Result – The Familiars by Stacey Halls I don’t need much to enjoy a story set in the medieval period. The Familiars focuses more on gentry than what I usually read, but with its exploration of women’s medicine and witchcraft, I was content throughout most of the story. I found it a little dry going at times, as the plot is mostly carried forward by Fleetwood riding around and […]
June’s Result – The Circus of Stolen Dreams by Lorelei Savaryn There seems to be a niche of middle grade books that really isn’t for me. These books involve a speculative fiction journey by the protagonist, the journey being an allegory or avenue for resolving some challenge in their ‘real’ life. The speculative elements often feel to me extremely contrived and limited in imagination, there only to serve a particular […]
January’s Result – The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson This ended up being my second Sophie Anderson read in three months! I read The Castle of Tangled Magic in October 2022 as part of Cybils judging. The House with Chicken Legs, however, had been on my TBR for over four years. I think I can confidentally say at this point, having read Anderson’s debut and her latest, that […]