“That dragons are fiercely loyal, and never forget what was taken from us. That eventually, we decide to protect what is ours… and burn the rest.” The second installment of a series tends to be the biggest let down. Not so for the highly anticipated second novel in Tracy Deonn’s The Legendborn Cycle. Bloodmarked (SimonContinue reading “BLOODMARKED – Tracy Deonn”
Tag Archives: YA Fantasy
LEGENDBORN – Tracy Deonn
Before I get into my review of Tracy Deonn’s Legendborn (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2020), I want to recognize that it may be biased and cloaked in an unexpected connection. I was 17 when my father was killed. My acceptance to UNC arrived just under two months later. That August, when I moved into myContinue reading “LEGENDBORN – Tracy Deonn”
THE GILDED ONES – Namina Forna
The cover of Namina Forna’s The Gilded Ones (Delacorte Press 2020) is a work of art from the way the light hits the warrior’s cheeks, to the details in her hair, to the ombre choice of the backdrop. (Having read the book, I wish her hair had been left naturally in the “soft cloud” aroundContinue reading “THE GILDED ONES – Namina Forna”
SKIN OF THE SEA – Natasha Bowen
“Here is a story. Story it is…” Billing Natasha Bowen’s Skin of the Sea (Random House 2021) as Children of Blood and Bone meets The Little Mermaid does it a bit of disservice; just because a book centers around Yoruba spirits (Orisa/Orisha) doesn’t mean it has to be compared to every other book that alsoContinue reading “SKIN OF THE SEA – Natasha Bowen”
LOBIZONA – Romina Garber
There’s a comforting familiarity to Romina Garber’s Lobizona (Wednesday Books, 2020) – there is an elite school for magical beings and a sporting event, and these magical beings walk the world unbeknownst to but a few humans. But the world Garber created, the way she blends Argentinian folklore with the realities of the undocumented inContinue reading “LOBIZONA – Romina Garber”
THREE DARK CROWNS – Kendare Blake
“I will kill my sisters just as easily, Natalia,” Katherine says. “I promise. Though perhaps when I am finished, they will not look like they are sleeping.” Kendare Blake’s Three Dark Crowns (HarperTeen 2016) has been on my radar for a few years, but it only recently made its way to my physical TBR. IContinue reading “THREE DARK CROWNS – Kendare Blake”