“Here be witches and wayward girls grown into lonely women spooked by the wind.” I recently finished Alice Hoffman’s The Invisible Hour, and for me, it just fell short. Imagine my surprise when I opened Willa Reece’s Wildwood Magic (Redhook 2023 – thanks to the publisher for the finished copy!) and found myself faced withContinue reading “WILDWOOD MAGIC – Willa Reece”
Author Archives: Tommi Powell
THE TEACHER OF CHEOPS – Albert Salvadó
Next installment of Tommi Reads the World – still in the As. Country: AndorraTitle: The Teacher of CheopsAuthor: Albert SalvadóLanguage: CatalanTranslator: Marc Brian DuckettPublisher: Indie Published (2012) The tiny country of Andorra has thus far proved the most difficult to find a selection of fictional works translated into English. Nearly every other reader also seeking toContinue reading “THE TEACHER OF CHEOPS – Albert Salvadó”
THE INVISIBLE HOUR – Alice Hoffman
“Trick your enemy, do what you must, believe in enchantments, save yourself.” Alice Hoffman’s The Invisible Hour (Atria Books 2023) is a slim, magical novel that smells like apples and fall. It’s also my first Hoffman work. (I know – that’s surprising considering my love of magical realism and of the movie Practical Magic.) TheContinue reading “THE INVISIBLE HOUR – Alice Hoffman”
FAIRY TALE – Stephen King
I’ve been reading Stephen King since the mid-nineties – devouring his works when I was in middle and high school. (My senior picture is of me reading The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.) My favorites are Bag of Bones and Desperation, but I also have a special love for The Tommyknockers (which may or mayContinue reading “FAIRY TALE – Stephen King”
SHIELD MAIDEN – Sharon Emmerichs
It’s been years since I’ve read Beowulf. I remember when Seamus Heaney’s translation came out and the hoopla over him being a poet and not a scholar. His version is known for being both poetically beautifully and historically accurate, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bang-up job. I’m no stranger to the lore, though I amContinue reading “SHIELD MAIDEN – Sharon Emmerichs”
THE BOOK OF CHAMELEONS – José Eduardo Agualusa
In my ever-constant desire to devour the world, I’ve decided to commit myself to reading a work from every country. I anticipate the journey to take several years as I intend to only read a couple from the list (which I’m slowly curating!) each month. I’m starting with the As. Country: AngolaTitle: The Book of ChameleonsAuthor:Continue reading “THE BOOK OF CHAMELEONS – José Eduardo Agualusa”
THE LAST ANIMAL – Ramona Ausubel
Jane said, “If we go, we can visit the iceman. Which is as close as we can get to visiting your dad.” Vera was helpless against this. She looked at her hands, small and pale. She did not know what they would reach for in her life, what they would make or take apart. Now,Continue reading “THE LAST ANIMAL – Ramona Ausubel”
THE FRACTURED DARK – Megan E. O’Keefe
After raving about the first book in Megan E. O’Keefe’s The Devoured Worlds series, I couldn’t wait to dive back into space with my favorite out of this world duo, Naira and Tarquin. The second book in the series, The Fractured Dark, releases TOMORROW (9/26/2023), and I am so grateful Orbit sent me an earlyContinue reading “THE FRACTURED DARK – Megan E. O’Keefe”
THE FRAUD – Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith’s White Teeth was barely in paperback when it showed up on a syllabus for one of my classes at UNC in 2002. Smith’s debut had a lasting impact, and, for over twenty years, I have read her novels as they were released. Unpopular opinion, but The Autograph Man (2002) is my favorite. Smith’sContinue reading “THE FRAUD – Zadie Smith”
THE BLIGHTED STARS – Megan E. O’Keefe
I didn’t have crying over a spaceship on my 2023 reader’s bingo card, but Megan E. O’Keefe’s The Blighted Stars (Orbit 2023) was a pleasant surprise. This space opera is nonstop action, pulling the reader along before you can even catch your breath or gather your thoughts. And it’ll make you cry over a spaceship.Continue reading “THE BLIGHTED STARS – Megan E. O’Keefe”
A Girl Named Tommi 