Kelly Barnhill, new Victoria Goddard, and a few other things I've been reading

It's been three months since my last post: I'm not sure if that's because I've lost interest in blogging, or I haven't read much that made me excited to talk about, or life has just gotten really busy with other interesting things to occupy my mind and time. Or a combination of all three. But I'm not ready to call it quits yet, so here are a few short reviews of a few things!

The Girl Who Drank the Moon was on everyone's blog for a while when it came out, and I finally read it, and it's as awesome as everyone said! Very original: lots of folk-tale elements and the narration has a fairy-tale feeling to it, but there's a modern sensibility behind everything—there are no unexamined tropes here. Very pointed critiques of human behaviour and society. Interesting, complex characters; unusual in that the adult characters are more prominent than the titular girl, and we get lots of different POVs, so I don't know how that will work for younger readers. Felt similar to some of T. Kingfisher's not-exactly-for-young-people novels, like A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking and Minor Mage. Whimsical and hopeful while unflinching about the damage people can do to each other. Beautiful writing.

The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, by Anne Ursu, is another middle-grade novel that's been widely raved about that I finally got around to reading. I love Ursu's writing, and this one didn't disappoint. Similar themes to Girl Who Drank the Moon, actually: standing up against evil that persists because of false beliefs deliberately perpetuated by those in power to make sure they stay in power. (Hmm. That doesn't ever happen in the real world; I see no relevance to our current state of affairs. Ahem.) Girl power and friendship. Pretty dark story, actually—misogyny isn't fun to read about—but I promise it has a happy ending!

The Redoubtable Pali Avramapul is the next installment in Victoria Goddard's hugely epic Nine Worlds series of series, and I loved it! My second favourite after Hands of the Emperor, I think. It made me go back and reread The Return of Fitzroy Angursell, and with this book (and Petty Treasons, a novella) I have fallen completely in love with Fitzroy. Also Pali! Full review on Goodreads , but the TL;DR is go read this book! (After you read Hands and Return, though.)

And speaking of Victoria Goddard, I also thoroughly enjoyed Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander, which is an event in Hands of the Emperor told from Buru Tovo's point of view.

Nettle and Bone is T. Kingfisher's latest, and it is her trademark dark, funny, weird, folk-tale-ish story of unlikely heroines defeating evil with cleverness, unexpected magic and sheer stubbornness. This one is definitely adult fairytale—trigger warning for abuse—but not horror. (I can't read her horror!) I'm never disappointed in anything this woman writes.

I also read a couple of new novels in Rachel Neumeier's Tuyo world: Keraunani, which is a fun romantic adventure starring Esau, and Suelen, set right after the events of Tuyo and introducing a new character and a new, fascinating magic: the surgeon-dedicate. (I love the covers for this series!) 

Oh, and I don't seem to have mentioned her newest Death's Lady series on my blog (how is she so prolific?? the woman is a writing machine!). It's reverse-portal fantasy starring a psychiatrist and a woman warrior, and it's every bit as good as Tuyo with a different vibe. (My Goodreads reviews here and here.)The latest in that series, Shines Now, and Heretofore is a fun exploration of one of the minor characters in the main trilogy (I love the way she does this in her series: returning to the world we loved and seeing a new perspective on it.)

You may notice that I haven't been very adventurous in my reading: I've been mostly sticking to authors I love. Maybe I'll start exploring outside my box now: is there anything you think I should read that I might not otherwise try?

Tuyo, by Rachel Neumeier

You may have noticed that I'm a big Rachel Neumeier fan, so when I heard about Tuyo I was more than moderately excited. New story in an entirely new world! And she's so good at making worlds!

I did not anticipate how intensely I would adore this book. Ryo captured my heart from the moment we meet him kneeling in the snow tied to a stake, and I was unable to put the book down after that. I think it might be safe to say this is now my favourite Neumeier novel. It turns out I have some buttons, and Tuyo pushes all of them. In no particular order, things I loved about this book:

Intriguing world-building. Neumeier always creates fascinating fantasy landscapes and, even more important, believable societies to inhabit them: given the constraints of this landscape and these laws of physics/magic, what society would work to deal with them? Tuyo is set in a world divided by climate: the vast, snow-bound, moon-ruled winter lands and the gentle, fertile, sun-ruled summer lands. And I believed entirely in the Ugaro of the winter country and the Lau of the summer country—and in the reasons for their conflict.

Learning about a culture through fish-out-of-water characters. The two main characters are both competent and respected in their own country and confused and inept in the other, and this makes for a humorous and organic way to explore the world.

Military stories. I do not know why I enjoy these: I who have never held a weapon, never taken a martial arts class, believe strongly in peace and diplomacy and think war is a dumb way to solve problems. But it makes for great plots! I loved the two military societies: the tribal Ugaro with their harsh but fair laws governing conflict; the Roman-esque Lau with their orderly hierarchy and comradely soldier culture. I particularly loved watching characters from each society come to appreciate and value those from the other. And I was glad the fighting was not the main focus of the plot, even though there were some great action scenes. I love it when a conversation is more intense than a swordfight.

Heroes with integrity. I love plots that explore what honour is and the conflict of characters determined to do the right thing but not sure what that is. Ryo and Aras are on opposite sides of a war; they are loyal to different countries and believe in different goals; but they are both honourable men who keep their word. I loved watching Ryo negotiate between his duty, his loyalty and his word. I loved how oaths are used in Tuyo: so powerful.

Loyalty and trust. These are themes that stir me deeply, and Neumeier deals with them especially well. One of the main reasons I love the Black Dog books so much is the relationship between Ezekiel and Grayson Lanning—so many punch-in-the-guts moments between them—and the main relationship in this book is possibly even better.

Bromance. See above, re: loyalty and trust. All the feels here. I will not spoil who the bromance is between, but it's the best.

Interesting explorations of women in society. Love it when fantasies try out different ways of imagining women's roles, because, hey, it's fantasy—why wouldn't you?! I enjoyed what Neumeier did with women in the Ugaro society, and the contrast with the Lau and how the characters dealt with it. Female characters didn't play a huge role in this novel, but they were awesome!

Loved the world, loved the characters, am happy to know she intends to write more about them!

Shadow Twin, by Rachel Neumeier

I'm astonished to see that I've gone a whole month without a blog post. (You, I'm sure are less astonished, given my complete inability to conform to any blog posting schedule.) Partly it's because my writing time and energy has been going into my WIP, so that's good, but partly it's because I haven't read much I feel like reviewing (I haven't read much, period, and a lot of it has been rereads.)

I'm going to be lazy and cross-post my Goodreads review of the latest Black Dog book, because it should be on my blog, too.

A bit of an intro: the Black Dog series is a modern paranormal about werewolves, with an interesting take on them: being a Black Dog isn't infectious, it's genetic, and into some Black Dog families are born the Pure, who have magic that can help black dogs control their demon halves. Without the Pure, black dogs are savage hunters who kill without thought. With Pure magic, they can live peaceably with each other and with humans. Dimilioc is a civilized Black Dog house constantly at war with stray black dogs and vampires. Three siblings—Pure Natividad, human Miguel and black dog Alejandro—come seek refuge with Dimilioc when their parents are killed by a particularly nasty black dog pack. Interesting relationship and power dynamics ensue, intercut with exciting magical battles. There's romance, but family is what these books are all about.

There are now three novels and two short-story collections, and the story isn't finished yet (yay!); another short-story collection is coming next. Start at the beginning, and don't neglect the stories, as they contain key plot and character development. (I actually think I like the short stories best, because they're so focussed on characters; the novels are from Natividad, Miguel and Alejandro's POVs, and the short stories allow us into the other characters' heads, so we can fall in love with them, too.)

Here's what I posted on Goodreads about Shadow Twin (no spoilers, but it's a review for those who've read the other books, since you won't want to start with this one):

A great birthday present! [I celebrated by dropping everything and spending my entire day reading this!] Everything you want from a Black Dog book, with a focus on Miguel and Alejandro coming into their own. Some great scenes where Miguel is right about everything, and some great scenes where he isn't! Alejandro develops his relationship with Grayson and establishes more clearly his position in Dimilioc. There are new characters, with all the interesting power dynamics that entails. Colonel Herrod gets a major role. (Justin and Keziah are off-screen for this adventure, sadly.)

The plot of the Black Dog books is always the same—nasty, evil demonic threat appears, black dogs fight back, get almost defeated, and then Natividad comes up with some innovative form of magic to save the day. The magic is always interesting, and follows enough rules so that it isn't just *handwave magical solution*, and Natividad is always fun to watch as she blunders by instinct and ridiculous fearlessness into her latest invention.

But the reason I keep rereading these books is the characters and their interactions. Neumeier does such a good job of exploring power, authority, loyalty, trust, and she makes you care about all the characters so much—the scenes between Ezekiel and Grayson kill me every time, and there's a great one in this book. Also family: it's great to see Natividad and her brothers' unbreakable bond continue, and also for them to begin to feel that Dimilioc is their family now. Yeah, there's the odd throat that gets ripped out or head that gets thrown across a room (that one really deserved it, trust me!), but really this is a book about relationships, and about what it means to be civilized, and to be a family.

Favourite quotation:

Miguel added, "God, I need a bath. And a big cup of coffee." Alejandro frowned at him. "You need twelve hours' sleep and the hearts of your enemies on a plate."

Have you tried the Brookside dark chocolate candies with acai or pomegranate or whatever centres (because that makes them totally nutritious, right??). I cannot stop eating them, just like I cannot stop reading these books. More sophisticated than your typical candy, and with, you know, anti-oxidants and, uh, stuff.

Rest of the Cybils shortlist

Last week I posted about four of the seven books shortlisted for the 2016 Cybils YA Specualtive Fiction award, and now I'll tell you about the other three. Illuminae was the winner, (follow the link to see all the winners), but I really think all seven books deserve attention. And it was wonderful how diverse they were in style, theme, genre, characters and authors. A great representation of the impressive things going on in YA spec fic these days.

Keeper of the Mist, by Rachel Neumeier, is a fairy-tale-type fantasy about a magical kingdom under threat from its magical neighbours. I'm a big fan of Neumeier, so I was thrilled to see this one on the list. It has an engaging heroine: Keri the baker who is suddenly chosen to be the Lady of Nimmira (everyone knew she was the illegitimate daughter of the Lord, but no one expected the magic to descend on her) and has to rise to the occasion. The strength of this book is in the relationships between Keri and her Bookkeeper, Doorkeeper and Timekeeper, who have to figure out how to use their strengths to protect the kingdom, and between Keri and her older brothers, who think they could do a much better job than her but have to work with her and learn to trust her. Friendships and family bonds (and a little bit of romance) in a beautiful and original fantasy setting.

Labyrinth Lost, by Zoraida Córdova, is often called a Latina Alice in Wonderland. It starts in the real world, where Alejandra is about to come into her powers as a bruja. But Alex wants to reject her magic because of its potential for harm. When she disrupts her Death Day ceremony, her family are all whisked away to the magical realm of Los Lagos, and Alejandra has to travel through its strange, dangerous landscape with a boy she doesn't trust in order to rescue them. I really liked the depiction of a multi-generational family, with all the tensions and warmth of a normal family, plus magic to complicate things. Los Lagos is beautiful, surreal and frightening, and the magic is fascinating to me, based as it is on Latin-American mythologies I'm not familiar with. It has a great first line: "The second time I saw my dead aunt Rosaria, she was dancing."

The Door at the Crossroads, by Zetta Elliot, is a time-travel novel that connects post-9/11 New York with the Civil War era and the draft riots. It's the second book describing Judah and Genna's struggles to find each other after being transported back in time and encountering slavery and the people fighting to end it. It works as excellent historical fiction, highlighting a number of unfamiliar (to me) aspects of the time period (had you ever heard of the free black community called Weeksville? Worth looking up, it's pretty cool!) while being a tense story of modern teens encountering the brutality and humiliation of slavery and the sacrifices of those trying to free them. Judah and Genna are both well-drawn, engaging characters, and the writing is vivid and sometimes heartwrenching.

Happy New Year! Mountain of Kept Memory, by Rachel Neumeier

Happy 2017 to all of you!

One of the exciting things that happens on Jan 1 is the announcement of the Cybils Award shortlists. If you're looking for good childrens/YA books to read, these lists are a great place to start. This year I'm judging the YA Speculative Fiction category, so I get to read all seven of these books and discuss them intensely over the next few weeks with my fellow judges. (If anyone has any tips on how to get a bunch of images to line up neatly in Blogger, I would welcome the advice!)

Thanks to the Round 1 judges for an appealing and very diverse list to judge amongst! I can't say anything more about them until we make our decision and announce a winner.

So, in the meantime, I'll review another new Rachel Neuemier novel that came out this year.

The Mountain of Kept Memory is "technically" an adult book (Neumeier's words), I suppose because the characters are older than typical YA protagonists, but I think it totally works as YA. That gorgeous cover is just perfect for it: conveys the really beautiful world-building—kingdom in peril, prince and princess trying to save it—but with a hint that this isn't your typical magic kingdom fantasy, because it isn't.

Oressa is one of my favourite princess characters yet. In the opening scene she is crouched uncomfortably in a hiding place so she can overhear the King and his counsellors decide that the best way to placate an invading prince is to marry her off to him. I love that she is clever and subtle, afraid to be noticed, but defiant enough that she will have none of this. She and her brother come up with their own plan, which might count as treason depending on how you define treason ...

I love the relationship between Oressa and her brother Gulien. I love the way royal family dynamics are so true to families everywhere but with nation-changing implications. One of the things Neumeier is very good at is having multiple characters with conflicting agendas, all of which you can empathize with and get invested in. Even the really bad guys—they have plans that make perfect sense given their understanding of the way the world works. And the interplay between everyone's different understandable motivations makes for an interestingly twisty plot. It can't be possible that everyone you've come to care about actually gets what they want in the end!

Another thing Neumeier does well is invent original magic systems that are cool and interesting and make complete sense. I particularly enjoyed the is-it-magic-or-is-it-technology fantasy elements in this one. The Keiba and her mountain were very cool, and the kephalos is an awesome character. (I can't tell you anything about the kephalos without spoilers, sorry!)

There's a little bit of highly satisfying romance, but mostly this is a coming-of-age story (two, actually): a prince and princess each discover the role they were meant to play, and then choose to make the sacrifices necessary to accept that role. (I think my favourite kind of plot involves characters making hard choices that allow them to become who they really are.) It's a standalone (another mark in its favour), but I would grab a sequel if she decided to write one.

White chocolate gingerbread blondies: a really delicious square that I tried to make for Christmas this year and utterly failed (sometimes it doesn't matter what size the pan is, and sometimes it really, really does). Have to try again.

Mini reviews: Wexler, Leckie, Walton, Black, Neumeier, Bujold

I'm so behind on my reviewing! I blame summer and my ridiculous tomato plants. I'm going to do a few quickies, mostly of adult stuff I've read this summer, and then list the Middle Grade/YA books that I intend to review very soon.

Django Wexler: The Thousand Names, The Shadow Throne, The Price of Valor. The first three of what looks like five books in The Shadow Campaigns series, these are a lot of fun. The first one is very military—lots of details of battles and strategy—with some interesting fantasy elements mostly at the end. The second one is political manoeuvring and spying, and the third is basically the French Revolution, with demons.

I'm in it for the characters: Winter is my favourite, the girl disguised as a boy who joined the army and proved to have a pretty good knack for soldiering. Raesinia, the princess fomenting revolution, didn't grab me as much at first, but I liked her plot line, I really liked her faithful maid/spy/bodyguard, Sothe, and Raesinia grew on me as she grew as a character. I loved the new person introduced into Winter's life in book 2, and the way that plot plays out. And, of course, how can one not love Marcus; he's just such a nice, competent guy continually being thrown into the deep end and figuring out how not to drown.

So far the books have been good at having their own internal plot arcs, so each book feels finished even though the overall story isn't done. I don't think it's too spoilery to say that by the end of book 3 we still have no idea what Janus is up to!

No content I wouldn't let my 13-yr-old read. I recommended the series to my nephews who have just finished Wheel of Time.

Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice and Ancillary Sword. Such a great concept, such a wonderful character. I reviewed Justice on Goodreads here. Sword was simpler in structure and didn't have the big emotional reveal of Justice, so wasn't quite as mindblowing, but I was still compelled by Breq's story, I loved the writing, and I am anxiously awaiting Ancillary Mercy.

I think content is okay for teens, but it would take an experienced reader to get through Justice.

Jo Walton: Tooth and Claw. Because, Victorian novel-of-manners starring dragons. How could you not want to read it? The high-society family drama is compelling enough I would have enjoyed it even if they weren't all dragons, but Walton does such a good job of cross-breeding dragon biology, psychology and mythology with British class structure, she simultanously makes you believe completely in the dragons and brilliantly satirizes the British. I was gasping in admiration the whole time I read it. What an accomplished writer. Oh! And she's Canadian! (This makes #2 of 13 Canadian books this year.)

Holly Black: The Darkest Part of the Forest. I read this and enjoyed it, and then two months later when I noticed it on my TBR list, I had completely forgotten reading it. Not sure what that says. Once I jogged my memory I remembered liking the modern setting and the way the Forest and the fey world is integrated into it. I loved the character of Jack, the changeling, and I liked that the prince character's development wasn't predictable. I guess the verdict here is a good read but not as memorable as other Black stories (Coldest Girl in Coldtown still makes me shiver a bit when I think of it.)

Kind of sounds like it might be Middle-Grade, but it's definitely YA.

Rachel Neumeier: Pure Magic. Second book in her Black Dog series, which happily she has decided to continue publishing on her own even though the publisher of the first book went defunct. (I just hope she keeps her promise even though she has like five other books she's working on at the moment: this woman is seriously prolific! Not that I'm complaining; I'll read anything she writes. I just want to maintain a certain level of fan pressure so she knows we want book three of this series. Soon. Please?) Pure Magic is a thoroughly satisfying sequel. More of Natividad, Miguel and Alejandro, more Ezekial and Keziah, more threats to the Dimiloc black dogs, trying to maintain civility and order despite being seriously outnumbered. A great new character: Justin, who is completely new to all this magic and shapeshifting and isn't sure he wants anything to do with it. Everything I loved about Black Dog, lots of action, more character development, and plenty of scope for more story in this world. (Book three? Soon? Pretty please?) I will say I thought Black Dog was tighter; there were times in Pure when I rolled my eyes a bit and thought "we get it already, just get on with it." But I still loved it.

Lois McMaster Bujold: Penric's Demon. A novella that felt like a very long short story, set in the same world as Curse of Chalion, but different country and time period. Great character study. I enjoyed being back in the world, and I loved Penric. I thought the pacing was a bit odd: slow development and then rushed climax. When I got to the end I thought, "Oh, it's the end already?" One reader said he thought it felt like the first third of a novel, and I agree that it does feel like the setup part of her novels. But it's also a complete little arc unto itself, so if she never continues Penric's story, I won't feel cheated. It's like a little unexpected treat.

Coming soon: complete reviews of more books that I really loved:

Naomi Novik: Uprooted

N. K. Wilson: Dandelion Fire and The Chestnut King

Susan Juby: The Truth Comission

Eva Ibbotsen: The Dragonfly Pool

Black Dog short stories, by Rachel Neumeier

It's been a dry month for blogging. I've started a number of books that I didn't finish, and finished a number of books that I thought were okay but not amazing enough to blog about. But I recently downloaded something onto my ereader that I can enthusiastically recommend:

Short stories set in the world of Black Dog, Rachel Neumeier's very fun take on werewolves (sort of) and witches (sort of). You can go here for Neumeier's explanation of the stories. There are four stories, plus a sneak peek at Pure Magic, (second book in the Black Dog series), which I haven't read because I don't want to tease myself too far in advance of the book coming out. (I think it's coming out next month, though, yay!) Plus a detailed explanation of the genetics of black dogs and Pure women! (In case you were wondering how one family could have a black dog boy, a human boy and a Pure girl. It's all quite scientific.)

Each story is a little vignette that develops a few characters and lets you know a bit of what's been going on since the end of Black Dog. Natividad and Miguel adjust a little more to life with the Dimilioc black dogs. Thaddeus gets more of a measure of the Dimilioc Master, Grayson.

I particularly liked the prequel story about Ezekiel. Great insight into his character. I'm quite excited to see how his storyline develops in Pure Magic.

If you haven't read Black Dog, I would say the first two stories might not mean much to you, but the second two would be a good introduction to the world. If the word 'werewolf' puts you off, I should emphasize that black dogs are not werewolves, and this is not a ParaNormal Romance. I'd call it more alternate-world fantasy—like Robin McKinley's Sunshine, which you can't describe by saying it's about vampires—it's in this world, modern day, but there just happens to be a genetic mutation that causes some people to turn into a huge wolf when they get mad, and gives a few people the power to calm the wolf.

What Black Dog and its stories are really about is family—great sibling dynamics—and about power, trust, loyalty. There are violent action scenes, but it's the relationships that are at the heart of both the novel and the short stories. The world-building is excellent, the setting is gorgeously rendered, and there's lots of humour.

Chocolate pecan tart.

Um, I actually haven't read very much this month

Blogging has taken a back seat to writing this month, which for me is good. (What's not so good: it's taken me all month to write one scene. It's an important scene, but wow, I'm slow.)

I went to New York last week and as always I brought a bunch of new things I wanted to read on my iPod. But sometimes the discomfort of airports and flying and strange hotel rooms makes me turn to comfort books, and I ended up almost completely rereading Sherwood Smith's Inda series. Not in order. I kept searching for favourite scenes, and reading them, and then reading forward, and then deciding I wanted to compare a scene with an earlier scene, so reading the earlier scene, and then going forward from there. It was an odd way to read a book, but it made me appreciate even more her skill at weaving complicated plots with only the most necessary, dramatic scenes; at describing battles and sailing and ship battles so well it feels like you're there; at developing vivid, realistic, wonderful characters. I love Inda passionately (imagine him and Miles Vorkosigan together at a dinner party!); I love all of them: Tau, Jeje, Evred, Fox (she has a supernatural knack for names). I would recognize any of them if they came around a corner. The series is brilliant.

A couple of books on the iPod I did get around to reading this month, as I work my way through my new favourite authors:

Rachel Neumeier's Black Dog: three orphaned teens from Mexico flee to Vermont seeking the help of the formidable Dimilioc clan of werewolves, knowing the Dimiliocs will want Natividad for her Pure magic, but not sure they'll let her brothers live. Loved the characters, loved the scenario, loved the family interactions, the pack interactions, loved the winter setting. Thoroughly enjoyable. Had a satisfying conclusion but I'm looking forward to the next one (I think it's supposed to be coming out soon?)

Andrea K. Host's Champion of the Rose: Soren is chosen, quite against her will, to be the King's Champion. But there hasn't been a king in two hundred years. Then a legitimate heir to the throne shows up, but he really, really doesn't like Soren. Court politics, complicated international relations when the neighbouring country is Fae, interesting explorations of free will, duty, loyalty. I thought there were some wonderful conflicts that were resolved a little too easily, but Soren is a great character and I quite enjoyed this very unique take on the rightful heir storyline.

Also read Kate Milford's Greenglass House, which I really liked. I'll review it on Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday.

#AMonthofFaves: Fave new-to-me authors I discovered in 2014

Kirsten at We Be Reading has been following this meme hosted by Estella's Revenge all month, with daily prompts to make various lists of favourite books from the past year. It's generated some awesome lists on people's blogs, so it's worth checking out (if you want to add a ton of things to your TBR!)

I'm not nearly organized enough to a) do that much blogging and b) look back and analyze my reading all year. (People count the books they read? In categories?? People have reading goals and measure their progress toward them???? My reading does NOT work like that!)

But this prompt (from Dec 9, so I'm only 10 days late) really works for me because it's been a great year for finding new authors. And it doubles as a chance to quickly review a lot of my travel reading.

I'll even divide it into categories for you:

YA Fantasy:

Rachel Neumeier  —  After really enjoying The Floating Islands and The City in the Lake (the only two books available at my library), I decided to buy The Griffin Mage trilogy to read on the plane. Was not disappointed. Yet another original magic system; awesome griffins; heart-breakingly complex characters whose stories interweave with each other over the trilogy; beautiful descriptions; Neumeier's trademark ability to create intense conflict without anyone being an actual villain, because everyone has such good reasons for what they're doing (even if they're griffins who want to wipe out all the humans). Excited to read her more recent stuff: no more waiting for the library to get them, Neumeier is now on my "I fork out hard-earned cash for anything she writes" list.

Katharine Eliska Kimbriel  —  So far I've read the first two of her Night Calls series—spooky witch stories set in an alternate frontier America—and I love the characters and the setting. Kindred Rites has seriously scary evil sorcerers that Allie gets kidnapped by and runs away from, with some nice realistic surviving-in-the-winter scenes. As with Night Calls, the details of every day life are immersively vivid, and the magic just seems like one more realistic detail. I've got the third book to read yet, and I also picked up the first book of an interesting-looking sci-fi series, Fires of Nuala.

YA Sci-Fi:

Andrea K. Höst  —  The Touchstone Trilogy was so much fun. And All the Stars is just as much fun: it's a sort of Invasion of the Body Snatchers /Host/ Animorphs story (did you ever read the Animorphs? I thought they were awesome!). An implausible premise but she makes it feel so real. I doubt a huge spire is going to appear in every large city in the world, dispersing dust that kills lots of people but (slight spoiler if you want to be surprised by what happens) gives some people superpowers and then allows unbodied aliens to take them over and use them in dominance challenges—but if that ever did happen, we would all react exactly the way Höst describes it. Great use of the Sydney, Australia setting, great cast of diverse characters. So far I've liked Höst's sci-fi better than the one fantasy I tried—Medair had an intriguing premise and was compelling enough to draw me along, but I felt as though the most interesting things were happening in the flashbacks, and I really wished she had told the story in the order it happened; I'd be more invested in it that way. So I haven't read the sequel yet (also because the blurb makes it sound like it's going to be sad, and I don't want a sad ending! So maybe I'm more invested than I'm willing to admit!). But she's such a good writer that I'm willing to try another of her fantasies, especially since her books are on sale on Kindle for .99 right now! (Quick, go snap up the Touchstone Trilogy!)

Fantasy: (I was going to say Adult Fantasy, but that would give entirely the wrong impression!)

Patrick Rothfuss  —  Finally decided to see what all the buzz was about, and I'm with the majority on this one: he's an amazing writer and I wish he'd hurry up and finish the third Kingkiller book! (But I'm willing to wait if it means it's going to be as good as the other ones.) Traditional magic kingdom fantasy with a great protagonist and just really good writing. Here are links to my Goodreads reviews of The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man's Fear, and The Slow Regard of Silent Things (which would be on a Top Ten Books that Blew My Mind list (the Dec 16 prompt), were I to make one).

Jo Walton  — I first encountered her name in a review for her non-fiction work, What Makes This Book So Great, a collection of her Tor reviews of science fiction (which I still haven't laid my hands on). I went over to Tor.com to see what sort of things she was writing, and have been following her ever since. She's incredibly widely read, and smart, and snarky in a compassionate way, and she just has this angle of view on things. So when I saw that she had recently come out with a novel (Among Others), I figured I'd like it. I did (link to my review). Then I tried her alternate history Small Change trilogy, and was wildly impressed. I've got Tooth and Claw on my iPod now (Victorian novel plot and setting, but with dragons. What's not to like?!), and I'm waiting until I have the time to devote to it to get My Real Children, which sounds amazing. If you want a quick taste, she has a number of short stories online in various places, including a couple of Christmas ones on her blog.

Uncatagorizable in a sort of steampunky way (but for sure not steampunk):

Max Gladstone  —  Maybe it's too soon to put him on a favourites list, since I've only read one book, but Three Parts Dead would also go on that hypothetical Books that Blew My Mind list, so I'm fairly confident that I'm going to keep liking the Craft Sequence books. Also, look at those covers. So gorgeous; so colorful, and by that I mean notice the different colors of people on them. It's like he's writing books about humans or something. Quite radical. And I love the titles even more after reading this post explaining his chronology. (Also I'm liking Max Gladstone more after reading it. Smart, funny guy.) (Of course, now I can't decide which book to read next, since apparently it doesn't matter.)

The City in the Lake, by Rachel Neumeier

I'm on a roll: this is another beautifully written book by a writer who really knows what she's doing. Also, more high fantasy, since I seem to be on a bit of a kingdoms-and-magic kick. If you like Robin McKinley, Sharon Shinn, Juliet Marrillier, Patricia A. McKillip, you will like Rachel Neumeier.

The City in the Lake is magical and evocative, full of the sort of imagery that resonates with unstated meaning. But it's also grounded by real, practical characters, who have grown up with this magic and understand (to greater and lesser extents) how it works. This book spills over with enchantment but it isn't about the magic. Yes, Timou learns how to be a mage, but it's not really a coming-into-one's-magic story, since she masters it fairly early on. It's a quest of sorts, to find a missing prince, but the finding of the prince happens fairly easily, too. It's more of a finding-out-who-you-are-when-it-comes-down-to-the-wire story. It's about the choices the characters make, and how they face the consequences of those choices. I think those are my favourite kind of stories.

My favourite character is actually the Bastard. He's complex and ambiguous and has the most difficult choices to make, and I think he's as much a main character as Timou. My second favourite character is Jonas. He doesn't get as much POV time as the other two, but he's so patient and unassuming and I think he makes the biggest sacrifice. Timou is dogged and smart and doesn't let crushing grief or disappointment get in the way of saving the kingdom. Perhaps I connected the least with her because of her ability to shut away her emotions, which was essential to letting her use her powers against the sorceress. I did like the way her magic worked.

The romance is understated but very sweet. Relationships of all kinds are explored: siblings, parent-child, friendship. Trust, loyalty. The stuff that really matters.

Not everything is explained. We learn enough about how the kingdom works to understand the peril it's in, but I could have spent a lot more time reading about the City, and the forest, and mirrors, and the tigers on the bridge, and the difference between magery and sorcery, and . . . . I remember this being a complaint of mine about The Floating Islands. But actually it's a strength, that her books are only as long as they need to be, and they leave you feeling as though you've only brushed the surface of the world and there's so much more to be discovered.

Blueberry cupcakes with lemon cream cheese icing.

In The Shadow of Blackbirds, by Cat Winters, The Oathbreaker's Shadow, by Amy McCulloch, The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier

I had three half-finished posts in my post list (actually four, but one of them is a MMGM, so look for it next Monday), and I decided to throw them all together and do another quick Wrap-up of Recent Books Read (I just decided to make that a thing), because it's DWJ March over at We Be Reading and I'm missing out on Diana Wynne Jones fan opportunities! So, moving right along:

I hope Cat Winters negotiated a good deal on the movie rights to this book, because it's going to make an excellent movie. One that I will never watch, because it will be too scary! (I can deal with spooky-scary in books, just barely.) Yes, In the Shadow of Blackbirds is all about spirits and seances, but the spookiest part is the very real historical setting: 1918, in the middle of World War I and the Spanish Flu epidemic. Everyone is wearing medical masks and eating onions in a panicked attempt to keep themselves safe from a disease no one can escape. Dead bodies piled up beside the street. Maimed soldiers coming home from war. Creepy! (There are awesome photos from the period throughout the book which add to the atmosphere.) The plot was interesting, kept me guessing, and I really liked Mary Shelly Black: she goes through a convincing coming-of-age while solving a mystery and coming to terms with change and loss. Quite sophisticated writing for a debut novel, I thought.

I've got another Canadian author for you! The Oathbreaker's Shadow is an ambitious first novel with a very different fantasy scenario and a desert/steppe Mongol-inspired setting.

I don't want to give away too much, but the underlying idea of oaths being bound by magic so that an oath breaker is magically punished has a lot of potential. And the story starts with two boyhood friends who swear an oath of loyalty to each other . . . well, you can see where this is going.*

Raim is a pretty swoon-worthy main character, and I liked the potential love interest (no spoilers here!). I loved the hidden city of Lazar.

There were some first-novel awkward bits, and the magic system hasn't been explained well enough yet, but I'm engaged enough by the story to want to read the second book.

I went looking in my library for Rachel Neumeier because I'd heard a lot about House of Shadows. When I found The Floating Islands, the title and cover convinced me I'd love this book even if I hadn't been interested in the author. I was right.

Loss, betrayal, longing, choices, mistakes, consequences. Noble sacrifices, humility, generosity. These are a few of my favourite things in books, and The Floating Islands has them all. Dramatic scenes where characters challenge each other and reveal their true essence. Characters who desperately want something, and find out they can have it, and then learn the cost. People who can fly. Then there's the titular floating islands. Awesome setting! (What is it about that concept that's so compelling? It makes no sense, but do you remember the ones in Avatar? Amazing.) Loved the islands, loved the relationship between cousins Trei and Araene, loved Araene's taste/scent-based magic, loved Trei's friend Ceirfei (swoon!). (Wasn't a huge fan of all the unpronounceable names!) I would have read a lot more description and explanation, but I liked the fast pace—it was efficient; it gave me everything I needed. I'm definitely reading more of Neumeier!

*Coincidentally enough, I just read Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier, which centers around a similar plot point. Wonderful adult fantasy; my first by Marilllier, though I've been intending to try her for a while. It's in my TBReviewed pile now.