Fates Divided

Finished November 4

Fates Divided by Jules Bernard

This is the first novel in the Halven Rising series. Set partly in our world and partly in a Fae world called Tirnan, this is a novel that brings the worlds together in an interesting way. Elena is enjoying college, studying chemistry, and becoming friends with her roommate Reese. Her mother left shortly after she was born, and her father died in a farm accident, but she is close to her cousin and grandmother. When she turns eighteen, odd things begin to happen. She sees a classroom where one doesn't exist and her senses seem more acute. When a group of tall blondes take her into an academic area she's not seen before and tell her that she is half-Fae (Halven) and needs to help them with a cure to a deadly disease killing Fae, she is overwhelmed. 

Then she meets Derek, a student who was offered a research opportunity to come to this college, who also has some unusual skills. She finds out that he is also Halven, and he's protective of her in terms of the Fae, who only seem to want what they think she can do.

As Elena discovers who her mother is and feels that going to the Fae world will be the only way to accomplish the task she's been given, she finds that the Fae themselves are divided but most of them seem to agree that Halven are inferior and undeserving of life. 

As Elena and Derek collaborate, others work to come between them and gain power for their own purposes. 

This novel is fast-moving with lots of characters and no clarity on who can be trusted. This series progresses in the combined worlds with each book, but each book is also a stand-alone story around a couple. The world-building is detailed enough for the plot without getting caught up in the details. 

The Iron Knight

Finished May 28

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

I started this series years ago, but got sidetracked at some point. This is the last full novel in the series, with another book that I haven't yet read that has three short novellas that are between the four main books in the series. Here Ash, the Winter Knight has renounced his claim to the Winter throne, leaving his mother Mab, and going in search of how to become human so that he can join Meghan, the Iron Queen as her supporter and protector, as well as lover. He starts off with his rival and friend Robin Goodfellow, also known as Puck, a faerie from the Summer kingdom. Along the way the gather other companions and guides including Grimalkin, the cat. 

He must journey along the River of Dreams to the End of the World, and there he must go through the Testing Grounds to gain his soul and become human. Along the way, there are many trials, that he and his companions must endure. 

This is the story of a quest for something that brings unexpected knowledge and challenges. Ash learns that along with gaining a soul as a human, he must also learn weakness of the flesh, conscience, and mortality. Being human is not what he thought is would be, and he must face the question of whether this is really what he wants. 

I liked Ash, and found the companions interesting and surprising in their own ways. This is a series that is well thought out and feels satisfying. 

The Invisible Library

Finished May 21

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman

This book starts a series, and is a fantasy book with an interesting, for me at least, focus. The library of the title is a place that exists between worlds, as a kind of gateway. It takes up a lot of space, and has multiple rooms, all filled with shelves of books, with nooks where computers exist, for looking things up, writing reports, communicating with others, etc. That's pretty interesting as a construct for me. The idea of nearly endless books is fascinating. The library collects books from different worlds to strengthen the connection with those worlds. The senior librarians determine what books to collect and send junior librarians, like the central character here, Irene, out to get them. 

The worlds are different versions of our world. Sometimes only slightly different, sometimes vastly different. The library tries to keep things in balance. Too much technology can result in a tightly ordered world with no creativity. Too much magic can result in a world of chaos. The world that Irene and the trainee that is assigned to her, a man named Kai, is leaning towards chaos. 

We get a sense of what can happen as Irene finished up a case as the book opens, using her skills and her knowledge of the special Library language to control things. This glimpse is intriguing. 

They arrive in an alternate London through a gate inside an office in the British Library. The book they are seeking is rare and, when they arrive, has already been stolen by someone. The person, a vampire in this case, that bought it recently was killed. They soon discover that they are not the only ones seeking the book, a book of tales by Grimm, and that one of those is a fae. 

The mix of magic and reality is done well, and some of the elements of attack are unexpected, consisting of creatures that we normally don't think of as in the context they appear in, or that fit the context by attack in unexpected ways. 

There is also the idea of dragons as creatures on the side of good. The dragons are on the side of order not magic, and have their own abilities in doing this. There is also an element of peer rivalry between Irene and another librarian, which influences the plotline. 

A book that had me engrossed and amused at the same time. I liked the touches of humour that existed within the book, and the underlying tensions between some characters that were attracted to each other. All together a fun read. 

The Black Witch

Finished January 29

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest

This is the first book in a high fantasy series set in a world similar to our own. The current political situation is only a couple of generations old and unstable. The main character is Elloren Gardner, a 17-year-old who has led a sheltered life. There was a major war going on when she was very young, with her grandmother Clarissa a heroine for the winning side. Gardnerians made a pact with the Elvish people to create a peace, but it came at a cost to many of the other ethnic groups around. Elloren's parents were killed in one of the final battles in the war and she and her brothers Rafe and Trystan were looked after by their uncle Edwin, who brought them up in a remote pastoral part of the country. 

Near the beginning of the story, Elloren is surprised by an announcement from Edwin that she will be joining her brothers at Verpax University, to study to be an apothecary like her mother. Her paternal Aunt Vyvian, at the core of the Gardnerian government is on an unannounced visit and wants to wandfast her to the son of a prominent family.

This is a land of magic, where children are tested for magic at a young age and then classified into ranking based on their magical ability. Many other nations of being have magic as well, magic unique to them. Elloren has been told that she doesn't have magic, but she suspects she might have a different sort of magic. 

As Elloren is immersed into a world of diplomacy, rivalry, and infighting and forced to deal on a daily basis with beings she has had limited to no contact with before, she must navigate this with limited help from others. 

She finds herself living with two others, one a being said to be evil incarnate, of whom no males are allowed to live, and the other a half breed that is outcast by most of her mother's people. She must earn her tuition with labour after refusing to bow to her aunt's will, and work in the kitchens with those who both hate and mistrust her. 

Worst of all, she is the spitting image of her warrior grandmother and people assume she is like her in all other ways as well. 

As Elloren meets individuals of different beings, she finds more in common with them than she does with some of her own people, and she finds herself making choices that will shape her destiny. 

This is a story of a world of prejudice, with a caste system, and betrayal between former allies. It is a world where some are trying to build bridges, while others are planning mass genocide. 

It is also a world of unpredictable magic, of dragons and elves, fae folk and werewolves. A world where maybe anything is possible. 

I found myself totally immersed in this book, and immediately placed a hold at my library for the next in the series. I'm looking forward to seeing what Elloren and her friends get up to next. 

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There

Finished September 23
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente

This is the second book in this children's fantasy series, and I meant to read it after reading the first years ago, but only just got around to it. The first book was The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, and I can't believe it has been eight years since I read it!
The girl in question is September, and she lives her usual life in Nebraska on a farm with her parents. It is World War II, and September's father is away in Europe fighting, her mom works in a factory where they make airplanes, and September doesn't really fit in at school. To be honest, ever since she returned home from her first adventure in Fairyland, she's longed to return, to see her friends Ell and Saturday, and talk again with the Green Wind. It's been nearly a year now, and she is turning thirteen. She's had a lovely birthday and is outside in the fields near her home, looking over the books her father has sent her, when it happens again. A rowboat flies through the air near her, and she chases after it, right back into Fairyland. But this time, things don't feel right.
She's landed in a strange forest, where everything is made of glass, and one of the first things that she notices is that there are no shadows. Now, September knows that last time she had to leave an important part of herself behind, her shadow, but why does nothing have shadows here? What has gone wrong? Is it because of her shadow? She longs to find answers and to set things right again, but as she soon discovers, the problem originates beneath Fairyland, and she must visit the Sibyl to gain access to this world, where things are very different than they are above ground.
As September takes on the problem and realizes the full extent of the trouble, she also makes new friends, but she isn't sure whether she can trust everyone she meets.
Also following the boat into Fairyland are two crows, siblings who find much of interest in this world, and we see snippets of their adventures as well.
I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel and I understand there are now five books in this series along with a couple of smaller stories that fit into this magic world. Great fun!

The Iron Queen

Finished July 10
The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

I started this book quite a while ago, having read the first two in this fantasy series for teens. Somehow it got set aside and I recently picked it up again. It continues the story of Meghan Chase and picks up where The Iron Daughter left off.
Meghan is with her mortal father and Ash working to improve her skills as something has happened to make her ill when she uses fairy magic. She and Ash and Puck have been banished from fairyland, but an emissary is sent to request their return to fight the new Iron King who is bent on destroying the lands of Summer and Winter in Faery forever. They are losing ground everyday, and they believe that Meghan is their only hope to survive. Meghan is unsure of her ability to win, but she is willing to try, with several conditions, including all three having their banishment withdrawn.
Meghan grows over the course of this book, both in her powers and her understanding. There is a lot going on, and characters from the previous books in the series return here.
I liked the various creatures that Kagawa has created for this series, and their abilities and quirks. I like the mischievousness of Puck, and the loyalty of Ash, and I like to see Meghan both have concerns and deal with them. She's an interesting character and a good female character in terms of independence.
As usual, because this is not the last book in the series, the ending does leave you wanting to know more and I know I have the next book here somewhere, so will be digging it out soon.

A Dance Like Flame

Finished April 28
A Dance Like Flame by Tammy Blackwell

This steampunk romance is set in an undefined time that seems to be Victorian and is the first in the Of Magic & Machines series. The central character, Lady Elizabeth Warner (Bits to her friends and family) is being sent off to Scotland to an arranged marriage. Unmarried at 26, she feels that she is a burden to her family. When the train she is on is delayed, and then attacked, she helps to defend another woman, and ends up in the city of Corrigan, a faerie city walled off from the rest of Britain. There she finds herself under the care of Ezra Nash, a man skilled with both traditional and magical healing. She also finds herself companion to his younger sister who has been confined to a wheelchair.
Bits is a woman that doesn't conform to the standards of her society. She is not dainty, blonde, or simpering. She is large, red-haired, buxom, and more interested in metalwork than dancing. She brings her own secrets to the story, defying the norms of the roles society has defined.
This book has quite a few interesting characters on both the good and bad sides. Besides human and fey there are also other creatures, such as dragons.
Lots going on, and I liked how the characters pushed back against what was expected of them in so many ways. 

Roses and Rot

Finished September 25
Roses and Rot by Kat Howard

This tale of two sisters drew me in and didn't let go. Imogen is older than Marin by two years. They lived under the influence of a very controlling mother, one who used not only physical punishments, but verbal and emotional ones in an attempt to keep them under her influence and drive a wedge between them. Imogen has always used her writing to escape her reality, and has had some success with it. Marin is a dancer, with natural skill, but also dedication and constant pressure by her mother to succeed.
Imogen managed to get away more that a decade before this story begins, first to boarding school and then to college, but her mother never stopped trying to draw her back into her sphere of control. Marin has heard about an artists' retreat, Melete, in New Hampshire, where artists apply and are chosen for a nine month stay to focus on their work with the assistance of a personal mentor. She urges Imogen to apply at the same time, partly so the sisters can come back together for the first time in years.
The women discover that Melete is both more than and less than they expected. Strange things happen, they see things that don't seem believable, and they begin to understand that this is a place where the human world and the world of Faerie come together and the Faerie world exacts a price for this opportunity.
Howard brings this world to life, the stardust and the darkness, the giving of power and the drawing of energy. The artists that come here will never be the same, and no one who hasn't been will ever truly understand. And, of course, some of them may never return to the lives they imagined for themselves.
I read this book voraciously, not wanting to put it down until I reached the ending. I cared about the characters and their dreams and wanted to see what happened to them as their stay at Melete progressed and came to an end. A great read.

The Magic Mistake

Finished January 8
The Magic Mistake by Barbara Brauner and James Iver Mattson, illustrated by Abigail Halpin

This book is the second in the Oh My Godmother series aimed at 8-12 year-olds. Lacey Unger-Ware is back and she's also back in the role of fairy godmother.
As the book begins, Lacey and her family are set to attend the civic wedding ceremony for Gina, Lacey's best friend Sunny's mother. But sadly, Gina is stood up, and retreats into depression, staying home in her pajamas and eating cake. Shortly thereafter, Lacey receives a visit from the fairy godmother Katarina. Lacey is invited to attend the Godmother Academy and given an envelope with the name of the person she will be fairy godmother to during her initiation challenge. Lacey doesn't want to leave her family to go to the Academy and resists opening the envelope to accept the invitation. But when the envelope is opened accidentally and she sees the name on the card is Gina, she knows that she must do what she can to help Sunny's mother regain happiness.
A series of mistakes, misunderstandings, and comic episodes take Lacey through the rest of the book, with her best friends Sunny and Paige along as cheerleaders and assistants.
This is a fun series set in a world of magic and wonder. I liked that Lacey's superpower was empathy, and her actions showed that this was a real trait for her. It also showed Lacey and her friends taking responsibility for tasks within their families, and learning about different viewpoints in their school activities.

The Iron Daughter

Finished January 6
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

This is the second book in the series that started with The Iron King. As it begins, Meghan is being held prisoner at the court of the Unseelie as a result of her promise to Ash. But Ash seems to be distancing her, and she isn't sure what to do about it. When the transfer of the scepter of the seasons happens from Summer to Winter, Meghan is hopeful for a change, but instead the scepter is stolen. The Summer faeries are blamed, but Meghan knows it was the iron fey that is responsible.
With her fey powers sealed, Meghan is helpless to join the fight to recover the scepter, or is she? With the help of her friends, and others she didn't expect to assist her, Meghan finds she has new powers she didn't suspect, and they may make the difference in defeating the iron fey in this battle.
Her love for Ash is also tested here, as is her friendship with Puck.
A good read, that definitely moves the story along.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Finished September 30
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente

This children's novel attracted me by the title, but that is just a couple of chapters of the story. September is the name of the girl, and when asked by the Green Wind if she wants to go to Fairyland, she doesn't hesitate. The time is World War II (although not stated explicitly) and her father is off in Europe where the war is, while her mother builds airplane engines. September is quite handy herself, as she proves along the way.
Getting into Fairyland isn't as easy as she thinks, and she finds that there is more than one way of doing it. Once she arrives, she finds that Fairyland itself has undergone a few changes, and the one in charge seems to be a bit of a tyrant, especially compared to the previous well-loved Queen Mallow.
This book talks about losing one's heart and the tendency towards heartlessness in many children, but also the changes that take place as one gets to care about others. September is an adventurous child, but also one who is willing to make friends and take care of those she believes deserve it. She is a good judge of character, and not as heartless as she thinks.
From soap sculpture characters to large dragon-like creatures, from sea creatures to walking lanterns, September finds many interesting friends along her journey. Her actions will bind her to Fairyland in a way she never imagined.
I particularly loved the Wyverary, a creature whose mother was a Wyvern and whose father was a Library. His knowledge is limited to A to L, but very useful still. September herself likes words, and is a reader who "liked it best when words did not pretend to be simple, but put on their full armor and rode out with colors flying."
The Fairyland portrayed here is an interesting one, with certain rules, places that move around, and dangerous forests. A great place for an adventure for a young girl with an attitude.

The Iron King

Finished July 22
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

This is the first novel in the Iron Fey series. Meghan Chase is about to turn sixteen and yet the only ones who seem to notice are her four-year-old stepbrother Ethan and her friend Robbie. Meghan has never quite fit in, something she has felt keenly since her father disappeared when she was six. Now she seems to be noticing odd things like the creature near the computer at school. Ethan is scared of things in his closet and Meghan finds herself wondering what she sees when she looks in too.
When she arrives home from school on her birthday, she finds things changed, particularly her brother. Robbie soon arrives, but when he reveals what she must do to find her brother, she has trouble believing it. Once she arrives in the world of faeries, Meghan learns of the many creatures and dangers awaiting her and finds the truth of her existence, the child of a faery king and a human, someone to be fought after. Her heart leads her both to her brother and towards the mystical faery prince Ash, but will she be able to save Ethan?
Lots of interesting fantasy elements. I always find it interesting to see different authors portrayal of the world of faery and its creatures and this one doesn't disappoint. There is a great story here, with danger, romance, and a girl coming into her own power.

New Fiction with a Touch of Fantasy

Finished September 12
Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin
Having read Werlin's previous novel, Impossible, and loved it, I jumped at the chance for a copy of this book from Penguin. Again we have a teen girl as the main character, and a situation that has more to it than she first thinks.
Phoebe Rothschild is growing up as part of a wealthy, high-achieving family, but she doesn't always feel that she lives up to what her family's standards are. When Mallory enters the scene as the new girl at school, and is different enough that she becomes a target of the popular girls, Phoebe befriends her. The two grow very close, but Mallory is not all that she seems, and when Mallory's brother Ryland enters Phoebe's life, things change again. Phoebe becomes fascinated by Ryland, and he begins to influence her in ways she doesn't always like.
Phoebe has another friend, Benjamin, who has always helped to ground her, and although she only sees him a few times a year, they have a strong friendship.
When Phoebe finds out the true nature of Mallory and Ryland and what they are asking of her, she is shocked and dismayed. As she learns the reasons behind their actions, she isn't sure whether she can do what they want or not. We see Phoebe grow and learn about her self and what she is capable of and what is important to her.
This is a story about friendship, about individuality, and about self-confidence. A great book for teen girls.
Thank you Penguin.

Gentle Read

Finished March 16
An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor, read by Terry Donnelly
This book is part of Taylor's Irish Country series which features Mrs. Kinky Kinkaid as the doctor's housekeeper in the village of Ballybucklebo.
In this book, Kinky is preparing for a Christmas Day dinner, and begins reminiscing about her past. She starts the story by telling a group of village children a story about a ghost, the St. Stephen's Day ghost, from a personal experience when she was fourteen and living down in County Cork. Following this sad story about a young man close to her family, the children leave and Kinky continues to reminisce about her girlhood and young womanhood over the next few years. The reader sees how life formed Kinky into the woman she is now and how she ended up in the village.
Kinky is an endearing character and it is pleasant to see how the young woman was and what her issues were.

Children's Fiction

Finished July 15
What-the-dickens: the story of a rogue tooth fairy by Gregory Maguire
From the author of Wicked, this story for the young crowd is a tale apart. Three young children and their older cousin are stranded in a bad storm. They are running out of food and when the older cousin, Gage begins a story to occupy their time, even the most skeptical of them is interested. The story he tells is of a skibbereen who doesn't do what is expected of him, and yet is someone more of value to his community because of it.
The skibbereen is called What-the-dickens and his odd name is only the beginning of his story. The daring adventures of him and his skibbereen friend Pepper are engaging and the reader, along with the children, finds herself wanting more.
I know my niece will like this one and she will be getting it soon.