Tag: Fantasy

Serena’s Review: “The Prince Without Sorrow”

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Book: “The Prince Without Sorrow” by Maithree Wijeskara

Publishing Info: Harper Voyager, March 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: A prince born into violence, seeking peace.

Prince Ashoka is the youngest son of the tyrannical Emperor Adil Maurya. Considered an outcast by his father for his rejection of the emperor’s brutal onslaught against the witches of the empire, Ashoka longs for change. When the sudden and unexpected death of his father leaves the monarchy in disarray, Ashoka is sent to govern a tumultuous region annexed by Emperor Adil that is terrorized by nature spirits—a task many see as doomed to fail. Suspected by a disdainful governor and evaded by distrustful witches, Ashoka must question his rigid ideals and fight against becoming the one person he despises the most—his father.

A witch shackled by pacifism, seeking revenge.

Shakti is a a witch bound by a pacifist code. After witnessing the murder of her aunt and village at the hands of the emperor, Shakti hurtles down a path of revenge, casting a curse with unexpected consequences. Posing as a maidservant in the famed palace of the Mauryas and armed with newfound powers beyond her imagination, Shakti attempts to dismantle the monarchy from within by having the royal progeny ruin themselves and turn their father’s legacy into nothing but ash.

In a world where nature spirits roam the land, and witches are hunted to extinction, Ashoka and Shakti will be forced to grapple with the consequences of to take it for themselves or risk losing it completely.

Review: I have to say, the cover was doing a lot of heavy lifting for me with this one! I don’t know if I even really looked at the summary much before requesting it! It’s such a lovely, unique image, one that definitely stands out from the typical fantasy crowd!

That said, the book didn’t quite live up to my high expectations. On the other hand, what it does have to offer feels very unique to the genre, so readers looking for a new entry point to fantasy fiction may appreciate what this one has to say. I was particularly intrigued by the exploration of pacifism and the building conflict between the main characters with regards to their approaches to moving through this world. We have one character who is actively trying to approach the world in a less violent manner, and another whose life has been one tragedy after another and who feels shackled by the restraints of nonviolence taught to her.

That said, I don’t feel like the author took full advantage of this premise. By the end of the book, I was left wondering if I had somehow missed the point that was trying to be made? But I also suspect that while a lot of interesting questions regarding pacifism and necessary violence were introduced, the author was unwilling to truly stake a position on these issues, which, ultimately, undercut much of what was presented here.

I also thought the magic system itself was fairly wobbly. The witches can’t use their powers without accruing bad karma, but Shakti is seemingly rewarded for doing just this? And then, later in the story, the other witches are also convinced to do away with what we’ve been told is a deeply held moral conviction? It all felt a bit too convenient. Add that on top of several other conveniences (the good guys and bad guys are almost cartoonishly one dimensional at times and very prone to giving speeches that clear up everything for every one), the story telling itself felt shaky. This was compounded upon by some structural issues with the writing like over-use of certain words and unclear metaphors.

All of that said, I do think there are readers for this book! As I said, the themes regarding pacifism were strong (even if I wish more had been done) and I did like the two main characters, which goes far for me. If you’re looking for a new-feeling fantasy novel, this may be one to check out!

Rating 7: There were strong themes regarding justified violence and pacifism, but some of the other story elements tripped up my reading experience in the end.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Prince Without Sorrow” can be found on this Goodreads list: 2025 – Paranormal Romance (Standalones and 1st in Series).

Joint Review: “The Bane Witch”

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Book: “The Bane Witch” by Ava Morgyn

Publishing Info: St. Martin’s Griffin, March 2025

Where Did We Get This Book: ARC from the publisher/Netgalley

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Piers Corbin has always had an affinity for poisonous things – plants and men. From the pokeweed berries she consumed at age five that led to the accidental death of a stranger, to the husband whose dark proclivities have become… concerning, poison has been at the heart of her story. But when she fakes her own death in an attempt to escape her volatile marriage and goes to stay with her estranged great aunt in the mountains, she realizes her predilection is more than a hunger – it’s a birthright. Piers comes from a long line of poison eaters – Bane Witches – women who ingest deadly plants and use their magic to rid the world of evil men. Piers sets out to earn her place in her family’s gritty but distinguished legacy, all while working at her Aunt Myrtle’s cafe and perpetuating a flirtation with the local, well-meaning sheriff to allay his suspicions on the body count she’s been leaving in her wake. But soon she catches the attention of someone else, a serial killer operating in the area. And that only means one thing – it’s time to feed. In Ava Morgyn’s dark, thrilling novel, The Bane Witch, a very little poison can do a world of good.

Serena’s Thoughts

There are a few go-to authors that Kate and I like to joint review, as we’ve both reliably enjoyed their books in the past. This author, I believe, is new to both of us! But we’ve both enjoyed “Practical Magic,” so with a comparable like that, plus the promise of a thriller-like mystery at its heart, we both thought this would be a good candidate to check out!

Unfortunately, for me, this was just ok. And part of that is the simple fact that it skewed further into the thriller genre and away from the fantasy genre than I typically prefer. So that’s nothing against the actual quality of that portion of the story (see Kate’s opinions there for a more reliable source on this genre!), but it does speak to the balance of this book. And I think for fantasy readers, specifically those looking for a read-alike for “Practical Magic,” this might feel like a bit of a let down. Instead, I think the “Gone Girl” reference made a lot more sense, and better fit, tonally, with what this book had to offer. Sure, the witchy stuff was definitely there, but the general plotting and themes fell much more in line, I think, with a thriller than with a typical fantasy story.

I also struggled to really enjoy Piers herself. In the beginning, she comes across as incredibly competent and thoughtful, as one would need to be to successfully pull of faking one’s own death. However, as the book continued, and especially towards the end, she began to make an increasing number of ridiculous decisions that just didn’t vibe with the sort of person we had first been introduced to. Her actions and various plot points felt jammed together in unnatural ways that served to push the story forwards in the direction the author wanted to go, but didn’t necessarily make sense on their own.

For me, this was just an ok read. I didn’t think the magical elements really lived up to my hopes, and I didn’t really connect with its thriller roots. I also struggled to enjoy Piers as a main character. However, readers how are more interested in the mystery and the serial killer angle might enjoy this more than I did!

Kate’s Review

Well, Serena knows me very well, because this one worked for me on many levels! Part of that was the mystery and thriller elements, to be sure, as I love a story with a serial killer and a woman who has to play a cat and mouse game with him. I also liked the suspense that builds up within the book as the story goes on, whether it’s due to the aforementioned killer that Piers is trying to track, albeit against her will, or the stress involving her abusive ex husband Henry and the cops on her tail after her faked death. Heck, I even liked the suspense regarding whether or not the other bane witches are going to accept Piers into their circle. I will say that as we got closer to the end, things went a little bit off the rails, which put a bit of a wrench in the pacing and how I connected to the story, but I thought that the plot itself was strong enough that I wasn’t too put off by it.

But what worked the most for me were the magical systems that Morgyn created for this book, as the idea of a witch being able to consume poison and transfer it to dangerous and deadly men to take them out is SO appealing to me as a horror reader who also loves witchy books. And I actually disagree with Serena a little bit, because I did get “Practical Magic” vibes from this, specifically the darker themes of that movie (I may not be speaking for the book, it’s been awhile since I’ve read it so lets just stick to the film) like violence against women, women taking their power into their own hands in dire circumstances, and the complicated relationships between families where estrangement and trauma is a very real wedge between people. So many of these things really click for me in my witch fiction, and I thought that Piers coming into her own as a dangerous but righteous bane witch was a fun and engaging arc (though I definitely agree that she does make some REALLY dumb decisions in the later third of the novel, no arguments there). And I always like witch stories that work outside the expected box, or outside of what we usually see in the sub-genre, and a bunch of mountain witches using poison magic was VERY fun and not something that I see as much.

Overall I found “The Bane Witch” to be a really entertaining witch tale, hitting all of the notes I had hoped it would.

Serena’s Rating 7: An interesting concept with the poison magic, but I struggled to connect to Piers and wanted more from the fantasy elements in the story.

Kate’s Rating 8: A fun and deliciously wicked witch tale with poison, empowerment, and a unique magical system. Add in a solid suspense vibe and it’s overall a winner.

Reader’s Advisory

“The Bane Witch” is included on the Goodreads lists Vampires and Werewolves and Witches…Oh My! and Poisonous Plant Fiction Titles.

Serena’s Review: “Nightweaver”

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Book: “Nightweaver” by R.M. Gray

Publishing Info: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, March 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Six hundred years ago, Nightweavers, cursed beings with untamed power, claimed the continents for their own. The ocean was meant to be a safe haven for humanity, including seventeen-year-old Aster Oberon and her pirate family. But after Aster’s brother is killed in an epic battle at sea against Nightweavers, Aster and her family are thrust into a new life on land.

When a handsome Nightweaver named Will offers the Oberons protection and work at his opulent estate, Aster is suspicious. As the arrogant and entitled right hand to the wicked prince, Will is everything that she has been taught to hate. But as he shows empathy and kindness, Aster can’t ignore a blooming attraction. And even more, Will opens her eyes to a new There are monsters worse than Nightweavers, monsters who may be behind her brother’s death.

As Aster hunts the creatures responsible, dark secrets threaten to unravel everything she once believed about her family, herself, and her world.

Review: Well, while “The Otherwhere Post” reminded me earlier that YA fantasy can still work for me, unfortunately this book reminded me why I also often struggle with the genre. That’s not to say it was all bad, not by any means. More that I think this is the exact sort of book that will work well for its actual target audience of teen fantasy readers. However, adults who often stray into YA fantasy for their reads may have more frustrations with it, like I did.

Let’s start with some good things! I definitely went in intrigued by the pirate angle of the story. This felt particularly fresh in the current YA fantasy genre, and what bits of this we got were all good. Unfortunately, we get most of the actual pirate stuff in the first 25% of the book; after that the story re-located to the land and spends the majority of the rest of the story there. This seems like a missed opportunity to me, but I did enjoy those bits we got at the beginning. On top of that, there were a lot of different tropes here that readers may enjoy, including multiple love interests, chosen one plots, and various kingdoms that have their own goals and politics.

Personally, I found this plethora of tropes to be counterproductive. Some may enjoy this barrage, but for me, I prefer a more tightly focused story. By the end, the author seemed to be throwing every trope she could find at the wall and seeing what would stick, including a late reveal about the heroine that was so predictable I almost put the book down. In so many ways, this read like too many other YA fantasies I’ve read. It included a ton of things, but didn’t do any of them notably well.

I also didn’t enjoy the main character. She had some strengths, like bravery and such, but she was also clueless to the many obvious things going on around her. Beyond that, the inner voice for this character was simply rather dull. Again, nothing aggressively bad here, but more just bland. Some readers may enjoy her more than I did, particularly actual teen readers. The love interest(s) were equally bland, with some of them disappearing from the page for longer than they were on it, it seems!

Overall, there were some good ideas here, but the entire thing began to feel a bit predictable and mediocre. The author didn’t take advantage of the one truly unique aspect of her story, the pirate angle, and instead pursued story beats that we’ve seen a million times before. The pacing was also incredibly uneven throughout, which left me feeling behind the story at times and, at other moments, as if we hadn’t moved forward at all. Like I said, however, there will be readers for this book! I just think it’s the kind of YA fantasy that reads much better in its actual age range, without much crossover appeal to adults readers.

Rating 7: A YA fantasy that will probably be best enjoyed by actual teen readers; adult fantasy fans may feel underwhelmed by the predictable plotting and rather flat characters.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Nightweaver” can be found on this Goodreads list: YA Novels of 2025.

Serena’s Review: “The Liar’s Knot”

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Book: “The Liar’s Knot” by M. A. Carrick

Publishing Info: Orbit, Dec. 2021

Where Did I Get this Book: from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: In Nadezra, peace is as tenuous as a single thread. The ruthless House Indestor has been destroyed, but darkness still weaves through the city’s filthy back alleys and jewel-bright gardens, seen by those who know where to look.

Derossi Vargo has always known. He has sacrificed more than anyone imagines to carve himself a position of power among the nobility, hiding a will of steel behind a velvet smile. He’ll be damned if he lets anyone threaten what he’s built.

Grey Serrado knows all too well. Bent under the yoke of too many burdens, he fights to protect the city’s most vulnerable. Sooner or later, that fight will demand more than he can give.

And Ren, daughter of no clan, knows best of all. Caught in a knot of lies, torn between her heritage and her aristocratic masquerade, she relies on her gift for reading pattern to survive. And it shows her the web of corruption that traps her city.

But all three have yet to discover just how far that web stretches. And in the end, it will take more than knives to cut themselves free…

Previously Reviewed: “The Mask of Mirrors”

Review: It’s been a hot minute since I read the first book in this trilogy, and I have no excuse! I really enjoyed the first book and some of the late reveals were truly excellent at setting up exciting stuff for the books to come! The best I can say is that, at 600+ pages, each book in this trilogy is quite the commitment. But one of the book boxes I subscribe to is currently doing this trilogy, so it was the perfect excuse to jump back into things!

As this is the second in the trilogy (and the middle of a trilogy that has been complete for a few years now) there will be some spoilers for the first book included in this review. Beware if you haven’t read the first one! These reveals are really better appreciated when discovered on your own read-through!

This book picks up pretty much immediately after the events of the first. I did have to go back and do a decent amount of re-reading to re-familiarize myself, as the story doesn’t waste time recounting too many details from the previous story. But after I settled in, this one was truly a joy to experience. Ren and Grey were excellent in the first book, but each was even better here. The titular “Liar’s Knot” easily applies to Ren and the numerous secret identities that she is attempting to balance. Through these identities, she has her fingers in numerous pies, with information flowing in from many sources. The challenge, of course, is believably transferring and using this information from one version of herself to another. How would a noble woman be aware of the secrets discovered my a masked vigilante? This all serves to highlight the strengths of not only Ren as a character, but the meticulous plotting done by the authors, to piece together all of these storylines and weave them together so intricately.

Grey, of course, is now particularly interesting after the reveal at the end of the last book that he was the Rook. In the first book, with this knowledge not revealed to the reader, Grey seemed to exist more on the periphery of the story. Here he comes fully into his own, with the readers now given a clear look into the magic and mystery behind the Rook. I really enjoyed the history behind the vigilante and the magic involved in it. Rook is very much a character of his own, and the Grey’s management of his identities is both similar to Ren’s (in that he has to manage who knows what about himself) but is also more magically complex: he must not lose himself to the magic of the hood.

I also really loved the romance that developed between these two. The first book briefly hinted at this as a possibility, but it came more through the Rook than through Grey himself. Instead, Vargo and the late Leato both had more romantic groundwork laid in the first book. But between Vargo’s lies and Leato’s, well, death, Grey/Rook easily stepped into the romantic lead role. And, honestly, I preferred him best in this role anyways, so I was excited to see it play out here! It’s probably no surprise that I loved this part of the story so much. I love one and ONLY ONE version of love triangles and it is the classic “secret identity” Superman/Lois/Clark version. And here we had excellent example of this sort of love story at its best, with Ren falling for both Grey and the Rook at the same time. But, importantly, while the authors took full advantage of this set up, they also knew when to give up the ghost and allow secrets to be revealed.

I also really enjoyed that we got to see more from Vargo. He becomes almost a third main character in this book, with a lot more POV chapters devoted to his perspective. He’s an interesting counterbalance to Ren and Grey and it was great learning more about his history (and that of Peabody!). That said, my one quibble with the story came down to a few character motivation moments, and one of the most stark was with Vargo. While I really like the direction this character took, I’m not sure I saw enough in the first book or this one to make sense of Vargo’s decisions? While he and Ren got along well enough, the rather extreme levels of devotion he takes for her, even while their relationship is really poor here due to his lies in the previous book, is a bit hard to buy.

In a similar vein, in the first book I really appreciated the morally grey motivations behind Ren’s con. It made sense for a character with a background like hers. However, this book introduces a magical elements that, while great on its own, seems to muddy the waters with regards to the grey aspects of Ren’s character. Like I said, I enjoy the direction the story is going with the greater conflict here, but I think Ren was a more interesting character when her motivations and decision making were more questionable. She’s already near perfect in many ways, so making her too much of your typical perfectly-motivated heroine can only be a loss.

That said, I loved this book! These last bits about characterization were truly minor quibbles and even often ended up leading into or introducing aspects of the ongoing story that I’m incredibly excited for. I’ll definitely be checking out the next book soon! You know, in the next few months, not years like last time…

Rating 9: Full of twisting secrets and layered lore, this book is even bigger and better than the first!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Liar’s Knot” can be found on these Goodreads lists: High Fantasy Written by Women and Renaissance and Tudor Fantasy.

Serena’s Review: “A Harvest of Hearts”

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Book: “A Harvest of Hearts” by Andrea Eames

Publishing Info: Erewhon Books, March 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Before Foss Butcher was Snagged, she thought no more of the magic-users than did anyone else in her tiny village. Sometimes gorgeous women in impossible carriages rolled into town and took bits of people’s hearts. Everyone knew hearts fueled their magic. But Foss, plain, clumsy, and practical as a boot, never expected anyone would want hers.

True enough, when the only sorcerer in the kingdom stepped from his glossy carriage, he didn’t intend to hook Foss. Sylvester’s riot of black curls and perfectly etched cheekbones caught her eye a moment too long, that was all. Suddenly, Foss is cursed and finds herself stomping toward the grand City to keep his enchanted House, where her only friend is a talking cat and the walls themselves have moods.

But as Foss learns the ways of magic, she realizes she’s far from its only unwilling captive. Even Sylvester is hemmed in by spells and threats. It’s said this sorcery protects king, country, and order for thousands. If Foss wants to free herself—and, perhaps, Sylvester—she’ll have to confront it all . . . and uncover the blight nestled in the heart of the kingdom itself.

Review: I had high hopes for this book based on the unique-sounding summary (plus, who can say no to a cover with an adorable cat silhouette?). Unfortunately, this one started out a bit rough and then never quite recovered. I will talk about some of the good things first though. And primarily among those is the creativity at the heart of the this story. The idea of sorcerers who casually roll through villages and suck up parts of peoples’ hearts to gain power? Super interesting! This book has also been compared to “Howl’s Moving Castle,” and as I don’t think this fully works, there were aspects of the writing that did strike a similar note. Moments of whimsy and small interactions between Foss and Sylvester, some of these did have a certain “Howl’s” vibe to them.

However, for the most part, I didn’t connect with this book. It didn’t start off on a good note, with the very first chapter being essentially a big info-dump from the main character. It was paragraph after paragraph of basic facts about this world. This was made worse by some of the inconsistencies with the writing style for the voice of the main character. She’s meant to be have had a simple upbringing, which the author demonstrated with attempts at “folksy” language. But then some of the exposition would completely conflict with this character style, with Foss conveying information to the reader that it doesn’t seem like she would know (always a challenge with this POV style of writing, but the challenge in and of itself doesn’t excuse the error). Beyond that, this manner of introducing a world and magic system was simply clumsy, at best. From this rocky start, the pacing continued to be a problem, with large lulls happening throughout.

I also struggled to enjoy Foss as a character. I appreciate what the author was attempting to do, creating a character who struggles with self-esteem and self-perception. However, the actual execution of this was, again, very clumsy. Foss would bemoan her own looks and her expectations for a loveless future to such a degree that it felt like she was hitting readers over the head with it. And, from what the reader is given, none of these fears seem based in reality. Yes, people often struggle to view themselves as others do, and this is a believable problem. But the degree to which Foss focused on this aspect of herself was over the top and began to overwhelm any other characteristics she brought to the table.

I was also supremely uninvested in the romance. There wasn’t anything overtly bad here, but Sebastian was such a nothing character that, combined with my struggles with Foss’s self-talk, I couldn’t become invested in their love story. Perhaps others will appreciate these characters more than I did. I think each started with some interesting groundwork, but the story failed to realize them as fully-fleshed out characters.

Overall, this was a very underwhelming read. There were brief moments of light and I think the author could come into her own with future projects. But as it stands now, this book felt underdeveloped with fairly weak characters. Perhaps those fully dedicated to the cozy fantasy subgenre may find this one more appealing than I did, and I’m sure there are readers out there who will enjoy it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t me.

Rating 6: There were some creative ideas at the heart of this story, but weak characters and choppy pacing left me struggling to get through this one.

Reader’s Advisory:

“A Harvest of Hearts” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Realistic Hearts and 2025 Cozy Fantasy Romance.

Book Club Review: “The Princess Bride”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again reading books that have had film/TV adaptations and then comparing the two mediums. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Books: “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman

Publishing Info: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, September 1973

Where Did I Get These Books: own it!

Where You Can Get These Books: WorldCat.org | Amazon| Indiebound

What We Watched: “The Princess Bride”

Book Descriptions: What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be…well…a lot less than the man of her dreams?

As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad’s recitation, and only the “good parts” reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He’s reconstructed the “Good Parts Version” to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What’s it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it’s about everything.

Kate’s Thoughts

Even though I’m solidly an older millennial, I didn’t see “The Princess Bride” until I was in middle school, and didn’t really grow up with it as a result. I know that’s perhaps a bit outside the norm for my age group (clock Serena’s experience below), but I enjoyed it enough for what it was. Because of that I was curious, a few years later, to read the actual book by William Goldman, and have distinct memories of reading it while on a family trip to a rental cabin in Wisconsin. When Serena picked it for our book club book I was interested to re-read it after all these years, as I felt like perhaps I’d have a new appreciation for it. And I was, in general, correct.

What I appreciated a bit more this time was the way that Goldman was kind of sending up sweeping fantasy romances, but it never really felt in a condescending way (at least to me; I know there were people in book club who REALLY didn’t care for his sections). Whether he’d ‘redact’ sections that went way too long focusing on decoration, or food, or he would cut out long and rambling other aspects of the story and the backstory of the world it was set within, it felt like a tongue and cheek chuckle at both sweeping fantasy as well as stuck up academics who try to find meaning in so much only to miss some of the points completely.

But that isn’t to say that the story itself of Buttercup and Wesley and their friends and foes is lesser in book form. I still found the story to be very fun, and I am sure that that is part due to the fact that Goldman himself adapted his book into the screenplay. I also really liked that we got the back stories for characters like Fezzik and Inigo, who definitely have memorable roles in the movie, but don’t have much exploration. As a person who always preferred the side characters to Buttercup and Wesley (blasphemy? Maybe! But damn did Inigo do SO MUCH MORE for fourteen year old Kate…), I enjoyed having the extra exposition.

Overall it was a fun revisit with a bit of a new perspective after all this time.

Serena’s Thoughts

Like many people, I watched and loved the movie before I realized there was a book. I mean, I first watched this when I was quite young, so even if I had known there was a book, it probably wasn’t at my reading level! But once I discovered it, you know I gobbled it right up! And have re-read it a few times since! However, it had been a few years since I went back to it, so after we decided to revisit this bookclub theme, I knew that I wanted to select this as my title. Bonus that the movie adaptation is so great as well!

All of this to say, I have probably very few novel things to say about either the book or the movie other than wild gushing. I do love them both. However, as became clear during our bookclub discussion, while telling the same story, the book and movie are very different things. I’d say that the movie is a fairytale romance first and foremost. However, the book is more focused on its comedy elements. This can be seen in the “story within a story” of “The Princess Bride” itself, as well with the framework and the “character” the author portrays himself as, going back and “adapting” this “classic” work. With those expectations in mind, I think each excels at its goals! The movie includes extra scenes focused on the romance, like the reunion between Wesley and Buttercup after falling down the ravine. And the book adds a lot of comedic content with the inclusion of features like the “Zoo of Death” and more intricate backstories for the side characters.

I do think the movie is probably more approachable to general audiences. The casting is truly perfect, and this version reduces the framing device of the “story within a story” to a few wholesome scenes between a grandfather and his grandson. But if you’re looking for a more detailed version of the story with a stronger focus on comedy (especially a lot of jabs at the publishing and entertainment business), definitely give the book a go!

Kate’s Rating 8 : It was a fun revisit to a high school read with a somewhat new set of eyes. It’s both a fun send up but a well done fairy tale romance as well.

Serena’s Rating 9: I love them both! A perfect example of a story being adapted in two different ways, but succeeding in both.

Book Club Questions

  1. This is a story within a story. how does this framing serve the story? Do you think the central conceit works? What do you make of Goldman as a character himself?
  2. The structure of the story uses a lot of parentheticals and asides. Do these work for you?
  3. The book calls itself a “classic tale of true love and high adventure.” Which aspects of each stood out to you, romance and adventure? Was one stronger than the other?
  4. Goldman also wrote the screenplay for the movie. In what ways did he adhere to or later the original story? Were there bits you would have chanted or included/not included?
  5. Mot of the characters are well established in people’s minds based on the movie versions. Did the movie stay true to the versions seen in the book? Were there any that were better in the books? Better in the movie? Did you have a favorite casting?

Reader’s Advisory

“The Princess Bride” is included on the Goodreads lists Best Books Ever and The Best Fairytales and Retellings.

Next Book Club Pick: “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” by Mary Ann Shaffer

Serena’s Review: “The Otherwhere Post”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “The Otherwhere Post” by Emily J. Taylor

Publishing Info: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, February 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Seven years ago, Maeve Abenthy lost her world, her father, even her name. Desperate to escape the stain of her father’s crimes, she lives under a fake name, never staying in one place long enough to put down roots.

Then she receives a mysterious letter with four impossible words: Your father was innocent.

To uncover the truth, she poses as an apprentice for the Otherwhere Post, where she’ll be trained in the art of scriptomancy—the dangerous magic that allows couriers to enchant letters and deliver them to other worlds. But looking into her father’s past draws more attention than she’d planned.

Her secretive, infuriatingly handsome mentor knows she’s lying about her identity, and time is running out to convince him to trust her. Worse, she begins to receive threatening letters, warning her to drop her investigation—or else. For Maeve to unravel the mystery of what happened seven years ago, she may have to forfeit her life.

Review: It’s been quite a while since I read Emily J. Taylor’s debut novel, “Hotel Magnifique,” but I do clearly remember liking it. So I was excited to see that she was releasing another YA fantasy novel! And I ended up liking this one even more than the first!

There are many things to praise, but I’ll start with the writing quality and the world-building first of all. Taylor writes in a clear, confident tone that easily draws readers into her fantastical world while also centering us around the characters and their own personal stakes. The serious nature of Maeve’s situation was clearly conveyed, while the transition towards more comedic or romantic moments was smooth and natural.

As for the worldbuilding, any time an author attempts to create a secondary fantasy world, there’s a risk of falling into info-dumping holes or unnatural dialogue used as exposition. Not so here. Instead, we are slowly introduced this world, its history, and its magical systems. The nature of the magic was incredibly interesting, and I enjoyed the way additional layers were papered upon the original concept as the story progressed. Beyond this, the history of this world is incredibly important to the story, and as Maeve is attempting to work through the mystery of her father’s life and death, she begins to uncover truths about her world as well. By the end, the magic system and the world itself have been built up by leaps and bounds from the foundations that the book starts with. And then, the bow on top, these are woven together for some great reveals in the very end.

Of course, none of this would work if Maeve herself hadn’t been an excellent character. From the start, her perspective and motives are clearly established, and as she works through the mysteries before her, she never loses sight of what is most important. Further, due to the secretive nature of her childhood, she’s incredibly distrustful, struggling to open up to others well past the point when others would feel secure. I appreciated that this aspect of her nature was so firmly established, even when it worked against Maeve’s own best interests.

I also really enjoyed the romantic subplot. There was a moment early in the book where I was concerned the book was going to go in one direction (I personally struggle a lot with books that hold on too long to secret identities), but luckily it jagged at the last minute. Even with certain secrets revealed, this was still a slowburn romance as these two slowly began to open up to one another with their own various secrets. They had excellent chemistry with each other throughout, however, which made all of their interactions a pleasure to read.

I ended up loving this book! There were several incredibly fresh fantasy elements included and, best of all, Maeve was written as a fully-fleshed out, complex YA heroine, something that I seem to have a harder and harder time finding recently. If you’re looking for a YA fantasy novel to restore your faith in the genre and that it’s still a good fit for you, than this is definitely one to check out!

Rating 9: Breathtaking in its creativity and incredible character work; I especially enjoyed the fantastic main character and the slowburn romance.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Otherwhere Post” can be found on these Goodreads lists: YA Novels of 2025 and 2025 YA Romantasy Releases.

Serena’s Review: “The Blood Orchid”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “The Blood Orchid” by Kylie Lee Baker

Publishing Info: HarperCollins, October 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: from the library!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Since Zilan entered the world of royal alchemists, she has learned that alchemy comes at a price. She has lost loved ones in her search for broader justice against the evil Empress and all she wants now is to find some way to bring them back. Resurrection is her specialty, after all.

In search of the myth of Penglai Island, where it’s rumored life can be fully restored, Zilan starts a new adventure. But when old threats come back to haunt her and the path to Penglai Island means facing down unpredictable, sometimes dangerous, alchemists, she wonders just how high of a price she may be willing to pay.

Previously Reviewed: “The Blood Alchemist”

Review: It’s always nice to jump quickly from a first book in a duology straight into the second. And it was especially useful here, as “The Blood Alchemist” set up a fairly intricate world and complex magical system. Further, this book picks up directly after the events of the first, so I benefited from having those plot lines firmly in my head when I started up this one.

This book is largely made of up a quest by our main characters in search of the mythical Penglai Island, a place so powerful they hope it will solve the ongoing threat of the Empress. Through these explorations, the lore of this world was greatly expanded upon, introducing powerful new uses for alchemy, some to detrimental effect. We also got to spend more time in the limbo-esque afterlife, with Zilan desperately trying to cling to those she loves, both in the land of the living and the dead.

The pacing was quite action-packed, moving quickly from one dangerous alchemist to another. I really enjoyed these little side quests that were sprinkled throughout to tie together the larger quest. However, from a broader view, there were a few of these that felt rather convenient. Penglai Island has been lost (or rumored to not exist at all) for ages, and yet Zilan and co. seem to almost stumble into the answers they need by chance. As I was having so much fun with the story, this didn’t bother me overly much. But the convenience of some of these plotlines was a bit too obvious to completely ignore.

I also really enjoyed the characters, once again. Zilan, of course, was as excellent as always. However, if you had asked which characters I had least interest in spending prolonged time with in this book, I would have answered with her brother and her bully rival from alchemy classes. And well, what do you know? Those two end up being her primary travelling companions and each brought excellent flavor to the story! Through Wenshu, the author continued her excellent exploration of the complicated nature between siblings. Here, Wenshu and Zilan must deal with the repercussions of her choice at the end of the last book; that is, her decision to save Wenshu instead of Hong. A simple choice that reveals numerous insecurities and challenges on both sides. We also see a redemption arc for Zheng, the character I never knew I needed more of! In a surprising turn, this is the character that added the necessary comic relief to a book that, at times, could have been too tragic and dark.

Unfortunately, while the focus on Wenshu and Sheng was an unexpected high point, we didn’t see much of Hong in this book. On one hand, that makes sense. The guy is dead, after all. We get a few scenes sprinkled throughout as Zilan works to keep her hold on his spirit until she can revive him, but I still ended up missing the lovely dynamic we had between these two in the first book. By the end, I was happy with the way things resolved, but I do wish we had gotten a bit more here.

Overall, this was an excellent conclusion to the duology. The overall conflict was wrapped up in a truly creative and unique way, and one that felt earned with various pieces of the foundation being carefully laid here and in the previous book. If you’re looking for a well-written, well-rounded, unique YA fantasy duology, I highly recommend this one!

Rating 8: Expanded world-building, excellent side characters, and a satisfying conclusion! My romance-loving heart felt a bit deprived on the Hong front, but otherwise, this was a great read!

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Blood Orchid” can be found on this Goodreads list: Best books of October, 2024

Serena’s Review: “Swordheart

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Note: Some long-time readers may remember that I reviewed this book 2-3 years ago. Well, T. Kingfisher has seen a surge in popularity since and, as such, many of her back catalog titles are being re-published by Tor/Bramble with new covers and marketing. (I definitely now have to versions of this book, I loved it that much!) As Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors writing today, I wanted to re-surface this review with the updated cover for those who may not be in the know!

Book: “Swordheart” by T. Kingfisher

Publishing Info: Bramble, Feb. 2025

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: Amazon | IndieBound | WorldCat

Book Description: Halla is a housekeeper who has suddenly inherited her great-uncle’s estate… and, unfortunately, his relatives. Sarkis is an immortal swordsman trapped in a prison of enchanted steel. When Halla draws the sword that imprisons him, Sarkis finds himself attempting to defend his new wielder against everything from bandits and roving inquisitors to her own in-laws… and the sword itself may prove to be the greatest threat of all.

Review: Once I discover a favorite author, it can only be expected that you’ll probably see a lot of reviews for them going forward. So as not to just run through them one after another, I’ve been trying to hold off on picking up a new Kingfisher novel until I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a slump. And, for whatever reason, many of my October books were a bit underwhelming. While this was a bummer, it gave me the only excuse I needed, so I immediately jumped back into the world of the Clockwork Boys with this standalone book.

You would think being left a grand estate and all the wealth and prestige that comes with that would be a blessing. But for Halla, the housekeeper turned unexpected heiress, it has lead to nothing but trouble. Hounded by the relatives of the deceased, Halla has all but given up hope of collecting on her inheritance. That is until, when trapped in a cluttered room in a mansion that should by rights belong to her, Halla draws a dusty old sword and finds…a swordsman as well? One who is enchanted to the sword and sworn to protect its wielder for the remainder of their life. But while Halla seems like an easy enough individual to protect, Sarkis, the swordsman, is in for a surprise.

I think it would be a bigger shock than anything if I read a book by this author that I didn’t enjoy. There are enough strengths in her general storytelling ability, her solid characters, and her witty dialogue that it’s hard to imagine a book that felt like a flop. There have been stories I’ve enjoyed more than others, however. So where does this one fit on that scale?

While much of the appeal of this book lay in the strength of the qualities I listed above, there were a few aspects of this story that I found particularly charming. For one thing, Halla is an “older” heroine, coming in with an age somewhere in her 30s. Kingfisher has used several older heroines like this to helm her books, and it’s something I always appreciate. Life and adventure doesn’t only come for twenty-somethings! And, indeed, we get more variety and life experience with an older lead who brings more baggage (both good and bad) to the story. Halla is an unlikely leading lady in that she starts the book out as a bewildered heiress who seems as if she may have been happier remaining a housekeeper for the rest of her life. What’s more, as the story progresses, her romance with Sarkis comes from the perspective of a woman who has already been married once and knows what’s what.

I also appreciated that this was one of the longer books I’ve read by this author. She tends to write books that come in between the 200-250 page count, just enough to be considered full novels instead of novellas, but noticeably shorter than the average fantasy novel out there. On one hands, this is a quality I love as there are so many massive fantasy tomes out there that not only don’t need to be the length they are (and are often worse for it) but the sheer amount of time it takes to read one lengthy novel necessarily limits how many one can get through. That said, I loved being able to settle in to this story a bit more than I have with past, shorter books by this author. I became highly invested in Halla’s journey towards self-worth and Sarkis’s work to restore the humanity he gave up when he became attached to the sword. We learn a lot about their personal histories, so it’s truly gratifying to see them come up against similar challenges here and make different choices.

That said, there came a point around the three quarters mark where I began to feel like the book was quite literally tracing the same road back and forth. This is played for good humorous affect, but the final go around did begin to feel a bit tedious as I began to wish that our characters could finally have something go right for them.

Overall, however, I really enjoyed this book. It was enjoyable and solid in all of the ways I’ve come to expect by this author, and I appreciated the increased page length to really soak in this particular world and these characters and their romance. Fans of this author or for those looking for a cozy fantasy novel, this is definitely a book for you!

Rating 8: Everything you could want from cozy fantasy fiction!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Swordheart” can be found on these Goodreads lists: CozySFF and Above 30 Romance Heroines.

Serena’s Review: “But Not Too Bold”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “But Not Too Bold” by Hache Pueyo

Publishing Info: Tor, Feb. 2022

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: The old keeper of the keys is dead, and the creature who ate her is the volatile Lady of the Capricious House⁠―Anatema, an enormous humanoid spider with a taste for laudanum and human brides.

Dália, the old keeper’s protégée, must take up her duties, locking and unlocking the little drawers in which Anatema keeps her memories. And if she can unravel the crime that led to her predecessor’s death, Dália might just be able to survive long enough to grow into her new role.

But there’s a gaping hole in Dália’s plan that she refuses to see: Anatema cannot resist a beautiful woman, and she eventually devours every single bride that crosses her path.

Review: At this point, I think it’s well-established that I am more than happy to explore some of the weirder corners of fantasy/horror stories. I mean, I loved “Asunder” and that was such a wild ride of world-building! Well, this one starts off weird, gets a bit weirder, and then ends in full weirdness. Starting with the premise, which is the idea that anyone would be willing to work in a house run by a giant spider who is more likely than not going to eat you some day. I’ll just get it out of the way now: if you focus too much on the realities behind whether or not anyone would sign on for the basic premise of this book, you’re probably not going to have a great time. But if you’re willing to go with it, there’s some very interesting storytelling to be had.

I’ll also say, if you have trouble with bugs or spiders, this isn’t the book for you. There is spider stuff everywhere, from people handling and eating tarantulas at any given moment, to the very detailed descriptions of Anatema and just how her human/spider bits meld together. I don’t particularly have a problem with bugs or spiders, so I found all of this to be on the pleasantly creepy side, rather than outright horror. That said, there was a particular erotic dream sequence that was…a lot. More, I found the general concept to be interesting: the ways that the human characters dealt with their day-to-day existence and the almost guaranteed gruesome end that was coming to them.

I also enjoyed the writing style and was impressed with the emotional punch that was packed into a story with such a short word-count, under 100 pages. I was a bit surprised by how central the romance was to the story. I went in with the impression that while there was a romantic subplot, the story itself would be more focused on the mystery. Well, it was the opposite, with the mystery taking up very little page time and the romance making up the rest. I didn’t quite buy into Dalia’s feelings for Anatema, but I do think that this book will find an audience with the monster romance lovers out there!

Overall, this was truly unique read. I’m not sure I can think of anything like it. The writing was incredibly strong throughout, and really, it’s going to come down to your tolerance/interest in spiders whether or not you have a good time with this one!

Rating 8: One of the more unique novellas I’ve read in a long time, deftly mixing horror, fantasy, and, somehow, romance, all into one small package!

Reader’s Advisory:

“But Not Too Bold” can be found on this Goodreads list: All the New Horror, Romantasy, and Other SFF Crossover Books Arriving in February 2025