fantasy Archives

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

Prince Cardan's Childhood Author: Holly Black In the in-between land while fans processed the conclusion of The Queen of Nothing and prepared for The Stolen Air and Oak’s supposed rise to the throne, this little illustrated fairytale came along. Here, we shift the focus away from Jude’s complicated rise to power and love him/hate him lust for Cardan to concentrate on the flawed faerie prince himself. Told from his prospective, this slim tome highlights key moments in Cardan’s life and his liminal status, stuck between coldly evil price and something softer, something more sympathetic that survived the courts and his elder [...]

Frances Carden2023-05-17T13:51:27-07:00May 14th, 2023|Tags: Faerie, fairy, fantasy, Folk of the Air, Holly Black, read, reading, reviews, ya|

Hell Bent

Journey to Hell for Redemption Author: Leigh Bardugo What do you do when your mentor and secret crush is literally in Hell because of your actions? If you’re Alex Stern, the bad girl with a past and a gift for seeing the dead, you’ll do anything to rescue Darlington, including opening a portal to Hell in the middle of Yale. Guilt is a powerful motivator, after all, and Alex has enough blood on her trembling hands. Hell Bent begins a few months after the ending of Ninth House. The Board of Lethe has settled the mess, hidden the bodies, invented a [...]

Frances Carden2023-05-17T14:10:35-07:00May 14th, 2023|Tags: book review, fantasy, horror, read, reading, reviews|

Queen of Nothing, The

Of Snakes, and Exiles, and Queens Author: Holly Black The rise to power often results in a devastating fall. No one knows this better than Jude Duarte. She is back, exiled in the mortal world, a queen in name only. Her secret marriage to Cardan – and everything it was going to ensure – is now more than useless. It’s a cruel joke. The final parry in a game played for keeps. And Cardan won. Jude’s depression won’t keep the wolf from the door, however, and her stint in the world of faerie with The Shadow Court, an amalgamation of assassins [...]

Frances Carden2023-03-18T12:11:29-07:00March 18th, 2023|Tags: book review, Faerie, fairy tale, fantasy, fey, Holly Black, read, reading, ya|