The Girl in the Steel Corset (2012) Kady Cross Finley Jayne is about to lose her position as maid. The drunk son of the house–a dissolute dandy–has a reputation for taking advantage of maids and other young women in the employ of his house. But when he attempts to take advantage of Finley, he is […]
The Strange Case of Finley Jayne (2011) Kady Cross Finley Jane has just been throw out of her most recent position. After seeing the governess in the house slap one of her charges, Finley retaliates with a punch that quite literally knocks out the woman’s teeth. With trepidation, she returns home–to the bookstore her mother […]
Graceling (2009) Kristin Cashore It took me a couple of tries to get into Graceling, but once I did, I ended up staying WAY up past my bedtime to finish it. Katsa is a Graceling–a person with different colored that denote that she is a gift–a special power. Every Graceling has unique powers, and Katsa […]
Easy (2012) Tammara Webber Wow. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this story. As I started the first chapter, I REALLY wasn’t sure if I wanted to read this story. The book opens with Jacqueline suffering a sexual assault–a friend of her ex-boyfriend attempts to rape her. That’s a pretty heavy start to a […]
Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul (2011) Leanna Renee Hieber This is a YA/Historical/Fantasy/Romance (got all that?). We are reading the journal of Miss Natalie Stewart, who recently left the Connecticut Asylum, where she spent several years, not because she is a lunatic, but because she has been mute since the age of […]
X-23 Vol. 3: Don’t Look Back (2012) Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda, Phil Noto This is (apparently [at least for now]) the conclusion to Laura’s story arc. The first part of the story–pretty much ‘Adventures in Babysitting’ with X-23 I really could have one without. It felt like they needed to shoehorn some action adventure in, […]
So, yeah. I went to put away my new X-23 comics, and instead ended up rereading all the X-23 and NYX books. Oops! The stories written by Craig Kyle were still–far and away–my favorites. X-23: Innocence Lost (2006) Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Billy Tan, Jon Sibal X-23: Target X (2007) Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Mike […]
The Killing Dream (2011) Marjorie Liu, Will Conrad It’s possible I should have paused a bit, between reading X-23: Target X and The Killing Dream, because Target X is really really good. That’s not to say The Killing Dream is bad–it’s just not as good as Target X. Apparently, Things Happened between Target X and […]
Target X (2007) Craig Kyle, Christopher Yost, Mike Choi I really liked the X-23 comics, but for some reason had only read NYX and Innocence Lost. Target X is the same author and storyline as Innocence Lost. We see what has happened to Laura after her escape, and how she has continued to struggle with […]
Hunting Kat (2012) Kelley Armstrong This is a short story that’s part of her existing series. Although this is a self-contained short story, it’s far more a teaser/trailer for other works rather than a story that stands completely on its own. Kat is kidnapped by people wanting to return her to an evil consortium that […]
The Fierce Reads Anthology: A Tor.Com Original (2012) stories by Jennifer Bosworth, Marissa Meyer, Anna Banks, Emmy Laybourne, Leigh Bardugo This is an anthology of five YA stories by five YA authors with books out right now. Which means it’s free. The first story is Anna Banks’ “Legacy Lost.” Grom of Syrena and Nalia of […]
Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron (2012) edited by Jonathan Strahan This is a lovely YA anthology, with some amazing stories by some of my favorite authors. I didn’t love all the stories, but none of them were bad. The theme is young witches coming of age, but the stories are far greater than […]
The Far West (2012) Patricia C. Wrede This is the conclusion to the Frontier Magic Series, that started with Thirteenth Child. Eff is a thirteenth child, a fact which plagued her when she was younger, because her aunts and uncles and cousins believed that she was unluckly. The fact that her twin is a seventh […]
Across the Great Barrier (2011) Patricia C. Wrede The sequel to Thirteenth Child, Across the Great Barrier continues the story of Eff Rothmer. Her twin brother is a seventh son of a seventh son, and a strong magician, but Eff–the old of the two–is the thirteenth child, and she grew up believing she was fated […]
Taken at Dusk (2012) C. C. Hunter Kylie Galen is still struggling to discover who she is. She believes she is meeting her couple who adopted her father as a baby, and hopes they will have answers to her questions, but the meeting leaves only further questions. In addition to questions she cannot answer, she […]
Awake at Dawn (2011) C. C. Hunter This is the sequel to Born at Midnight. Kylie Galen is a supernatural. She doesn’t want to be, and she really doesn’t like the way she doesn’t know what she is and how being a “Ghost Whisperer” sets her apart from the other kids at camp. But she’s […]
Necromancing the Stone (2012) Lish McBride This is a sequel to the YA book, Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, which I really liked. Luckily, I like Necromancing the Stone just as well. Sam LaCroix is still trying to adjust to being a necromancer. And to having a position on the local Council, because he killed Douglas, […]
Hush Money (2010) Susan Bischoff Several months ago I read the story Impulse Control, set in the same world as Hush Money, and really liked it. So I bought Hush Money, and then kept thinking, “I don’t think I want to read this right now.” I don’t know why I do these things. Something happened, […]
Scarlet (2012) A. C. Gaughen “I don’t think I’m in the mood for this book.” A couple days later, “I don’t think this is the book I want to read right now.” Several days later, “This isn’t the book I want to read right now.” A few days pass, “I don’t want to read this […]
Croak (2012) Gina Damico Why why why do I keep picking up books that turn out to be first in a series? I don’t WANT to read first in a series. I want to read stand-alone books. Bah humbug. Lex used to be a good girl, just like her twin Cordy. But then something happened […]
Starcrossed (2011) Josephine Angelini Helen Hamilton lives on Nantucket and feels like the biggest freak on the island. She’s tall. She lives with her Dad because her mom abandoned them when she was a baby, And she can do things that other girls her age can’t do. She tries very hard to fit in but […]
Anna Dressed in Blood (2011) Kendare Blake Cas has inherited his father’s calling–killing ghosts. He has a special knife, and he can sense ghosts, so when ghosts harm the living, Cas and his knife move them along to their next life. It’s a lonely life, and one that has kept him from making friends, but […]
Girl Genius Book 11: Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell (2012) Phil & Kaja Foglio Clanks! Fighting! Even smooching! It’s the latest Agatha Heterodyne book! Rating: 8/10 Published by Airship Entertainment
Dark Frost (2012) Jennifer Estep Gwen Frost is finishing up one last assignment before winter break ends: she and her friends Daphne and Carson are touring a museum looking at magical artifacts important from the wars against Loki and his Reapers of Chaos, as are lots of other kids in her class. But Gwen is […]
Clockwork Angel (2010) Cassandra Clare Tessa Gray has come to London from New York after her aunt dies and her brother sends her a ticket to join him. Unfortunately, there are some unpleasant surprises for Tessa, starting with the fact that the world is not as she knows it, and this underworld is very interested […]
Kiss of Frost (2011) Jennifer Estep Gwen is now mostly settled into the Mythos Academy. She still feels like a fish out of water, but she has friends and is starting to enjoy at least some of her classes. But because she spent her childhood as a relatively normal kid, she now get private weapons […]
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (2011) Catherynne M. Valente This started coming up as recommended for me pretty much as soon as it was published. But it was hardback, and a hardback price even for the Kindle, and it seemed straight-up fantasy, which I just haven’t been in […]
Touch of Frost (2011) Jennifer Estep When I perused the reviews for this story, I almost didn’t get it. Too much sex for a YA the negative review cried. Aw crap, I thought. I hate boinking books, which is one reason why I like YA–much less boinking, and it’s mostly off screen. But it was […]
First Frost (2011) Jennifer Estep Gwen Frost has a Gypsy gift–when she touches things she learns about the people who held those items. In addition to that skill, she has a good dose of curiosity, that eventually shows her things she never wanted to learn. This is a short story, and an introduction to Touch […]
A Conspiracy of Kings (2010) Megan Whalen Turner Although Eugenides makes many appearances in this story, it is about Sophos, the heir to the throne of Sounis. Sophos had disappeared, and this story is told, in large part, as his retelling of what happened to him. As with every other book in this series so […]
Born at Midnight (2011) C. C. Hunter Kylie is having what is justifiably the worst day ever. On top of losing her favorite grandmother and her boyfriend breaking up with her, she comes home from school to discover that her parents are getting divorced. In fact, her father is throwing clothes in a suitcase and […]
Turned at Dark: A Bonus Shadow Falls Short Story (2011) C. C. Hunter Free story that’s an intro to the Shadow Falls series. It obviously worked, since I then got the first book, Born at Midnight. Della Tsang doesn’t believe in ghosts, but she has to wonder, when one night she sees her dead cousin. […]
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2011) Ransom Riggs I liked this right up until I realized it was book one in what will become an ongoing series. I love that the story is based upon found pictures–and that we get to see the pictures. I just hate getting involved in ongoing series when there […]
Ghost Hedgehog (2011) Nina Kiriki Hoffman Jack is in fifth grade and can see ghosts. Unfortunately for him, when his fifth-grade teacher dies, he discovers that ghosts can also see him, and attach themselves to him. I love Nina Kiriki Hoffman’s writing and stories. I love even better that eBooks can make these stories available […]
I Shall Wear Midnight (2010) Terry Pratchett Tiffany Aching is now officially a witch, and is doing her best to be a good witch, and perhaps even counteract some of the stereotypes. But she also has a past, and it looks like someone is riled up about her past adventures with the Wintersmith, and is […]
The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After (2006) Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer Kate and Cecy are once again embroiled in magical mysteries. James is called to investigate the disappearance of a magician who was inspecting the rail lines up north. Thomas and Kate thus get to care for James and Cecy’s brood, and […]
Boneshaker (2009) Cherie Priest I started this book the week Grandmom went into the hospital. Unsurprisingly, it took me a bit to get back to it, as I remembered almost nothing of what I read–not because of the story, but because I was distracted. Briar Wilkes had been married to a man claimed to have […]
Thirteenth Child (2009) Patricia C. Wrede I discovered Patricia C. Wrede’s writing when I couldn’t resist the title, Sorcery & Cecelia -OR- The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. I also read and enjoyed A Matter of Magic. Both are alternate histories where magic is an integral part of the world, however, in Thirteenth Child they live in […]
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (2010) Lish McBride Sam can’t decide what to do with himself, which means that by default he has fallen to the painful default of food service. His life is going nowhere, he’s job is crap, but he has friends, and friends can make anything easier. Even drawing the attention of a […]
The King of Attolia (2006) Megan Whalen Turner The sequel to The Queen of Attolia and The Thief, we see Gen this time from the outside–from the view of a guard who doesn’t like–but yet must work with–Gen. As with previous books, there is a great deal of intrigue, and we’re a step removed from […]
Instead of Three Wishes (2006) Megan Whalen Turner This is an absolutely wonderful collection of fantasy short stories for the pre-teen set. Although some of the stories are dark, they are still fabulous, and far less dark than real life. The story “A Plague of Leprechaun” had a feel reminiscent of Charles de Lint. Someone […]
Kiss Me, Kill Me: A Paranormal Anthology (2011) Definitely a mixed bag. But for 99 cents, it’s hard to complain too much. “Impulse Control” by Susan Bischoff was very very good. It’s about teens with superheroes in a “school” for kids with “Talents”. Or more accurately, it’s little better than a prison for kids who […]
The Queen of Attolia (2000) Megan Whalen Turner I really loved The Thief, so when I realized The Queen of Attolia was a sequel, I wanted to read it, in the hopes that Eugenides would be one of the main characters. He was. And as with the previous book, I could hardly stop reading. Attolia […]
Girl Genius Vol 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse (2011) Phil & Kaja Foglio It was reading Agatha H and the Airship City that made me realize it had been awhile since I read a new Girl Genius comic. (Yes, I know you can read them online, but I just like having the bound […]
Agatha H and the Airship City a Girl Genius Novel (2011) Phil and Kaja Foglio I stumbled across Girl Genius in 2007, and was immediately hooked. Phil and Kaja Foglio publish the Girl Genius comic online twice a week, and then publish a compilation graphic novel approximately once a year. Which is totally not frequently […]
Necromancer: A Novella (2011) Lish McBride One of the things I’m coming to adore about the Kindle (and there are many) is authors can put up short stories and novellas–for free!–to give you an introduction to their work. Which is how I ended up downloading “Necromancer: A Novella” because who is opposed to a free […]
The Thief (1996) Megan Whalen Turner My friend Natalie has been pushing me for quite awhile to read this book. However, I haven’t been in the mood to read much in the way of fantasy, so although I bought the books months ago, it sat unread on my shelf, until last time I saw her […]
A Matter of Magic (2010): Mairelon the Magician (1991) and The Magician’s Ward (1997) Patricia Wrede Kim is almost too old to pass for a boy, which means that when she is offered a significant sum of money simply to break into a magician’s wagon to see if a silver bowl is kept there, she […]
Hunger Games (2008) Suzanne Collins I think what it comes down to is that I don’t like dystopias. And The Hunger Games is a tremendous dystopia. Despite that, I couldn’t put it down, because I had to know what happened. (Thus imagine my frustration when I discovered this was book one of three, and although […]
General Winston’s Daughter (2007) Sharon Shinn Averie is headed to Chiarrin, where her father and betrothed are with the army, which is currently seeking to make the area part of its empire. On the trip over Averie makes friends with Lieutenant Du’Kai, a Xan’tai member of the Aerberelle Army. This means only that as a […]