The Nomeolvides women are bound by three things: 1. Anyone they fall in love with vanishes.2. If they leave the bounds of La Pradera, the estate they live on, they will die. 3. They can make flowers grow from their fingertips. Feiwal and Friends, 2017 Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore is a gorgeous fairy tale … Continue reading Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
A heat wave book if I ever read one. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi is a book that colourfully conjures sun, sweat, and that shimmer in the air on a hot, hot day. Oh, yes, and a little splash of blood, too. Simon & Schuster, 2022 It is … Continue reading Furiously Alive: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
I first heard of this anthology when Catherynne M. Valente tweeted about it back in May. She said: "Please please buy this, I genuinely think my story in it is one of my best, if not my actual best ever." Well. As a huge fan of hers, how could I refuse? And then...and then I … Continue reading Someone in Time: Tales of Time Crossed Romance
I've been a fan of Rainbow Rowell for a long time. She is one of my all-time favourite comfort-read authors, and Fangirl has long been my number one pick of her books (I wrote one of my first blog posts about it). However, these days the Simon Snow trilogy has elbowed its way to the … Continue reading In Which I Talk at Length About Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow Trilogy, and Eat Sour Cherry Scones
It's a very bizarre thing to find yourself squeeing in the middle of a gut-wrenching and upsettingly graphic story about the bubonic plague. And yet. Here we are. Doomsday Book was published in 1992 and is the first full-length book in Connie Willis's Oxford Time Travel series. It tells the story of Kivrin Engle, a … Continue reading Fangirling with Connie Willis
It feels like a long moment since I've posted about one of my true loves: what Persephone Books terms "neglected classics," penned by female writers. Some may venture to call it vintage "middlebrow" fiction (but others may bare their teeth at them). Today I am delighted to be writing about Margery Sharp, who has somehow … Continue reading A Vintage Delight: The Nutmeg Tree by Margery Sharp
Ah, the literary mystery. I'm not talking about works of literature here; I'm talking about real life mysteries involving books and authors. Classic enigmas, like where did Agatha Christie disappear to for those eleven days? Or, What was the story behind Edgar Allan Poe's death? This particular literary mystery may not be quite on par … Continue reading Janet Dailey and the Curious Case of the Missing Author
Not to state the obvious or anything, but these are trying times. Standing up for what's right, making your voice heard, and thoughtful allyship are all wonderful and important things to practice. And sometimes you also need to curl up in a ball and take care of yourself. Here are some comfort read suggestions if … Continue reading Comfort Reads for Trying Times
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