BLOODMARKED – Tracy Deonn

“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”

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”