fantasy Archives

Oasis

"The desert . . . . it’ll devour you whole if you display any sign of weakness." Author: Katya De Becerra While I was reading Oasis, Trav and I were housebound by the Snowcrete, so a book set in a lovely hot desert with supernatural overtones sounded like the perfect way to break the ice and free me to adventure, if only in my mind. It starts, as these things inevitably do, with a band of young friends, freshly graduated from high school and looking for their last hurrah before going off to separate colleges. Alif is our main character. Her [...]

Frances Carden2026-04-09T17:50:16-07:00April 9th, 2026|Tags: book of the month, book review, botm, fantasy, legend, read, reading, ya|

Enemy Within, The

Ravenloft's Take on Jekyll and Hyde Author: Christie Golden In a true case of wrong time / wrong place, Sir Tristan Hiregaard, a nobleman and ruler of Nova Vaasa, does the right thing and yet is blamed for a terrible crime he did not commit. Ravenloft’s forever formidable Vistani clear him of the crime through mystical means, but a rouge in their order, Rozalia, is sure that he remains guilty. Already dabbling in the blackest of magics, Rozalia cooks up a curse even she cannot quite handle, and a new dark lord is born. Soon, a mysterious figure named Malken [...]

Frances Carden2025-11-08T15:34:18-07:00November 8th, 2025|Tags: book review, Christie Golden, dark fantasy, fantasy, horror, Ravenloft, read, reading|

Thirteenth Child, The

“I couldn't have a lifetime, but I could have this moment.” Author: Erin A. Craig Hazel’s parents never wanted her. As a matter of fact, they gave her to The Dreaded End as an infant. Since then, they have none so patiently waited for this thirteenth child of theirs to be taken by the Dreaded End, her supposed godfather. But he never comes. And so Hazel waits for him, year after year, unwanted, unloved, un-celebrated. On her twelfth birthday, after watching her closest brother be given to the dissonant Fractured Ones, The Dreaded End finally comes for Hazel and whisks [...]

Frances Carden2025-09-22T11:22:22-07:00September 22nd, 2025|Tags: book review, botm, fantasy, read, reading|