![]() Wells, Bram Stoker and Nathaniel Hawthorne from a feminist perspective, as well as the historical record of the Jack the Ripper murders. Hyde, Frankenstein, Rappaccini's Daughter, The Island of Doctor Moreau, Dracula and the Sherlock Holmes stories, Goss reimagines the works of such literary greats as Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, H. Drawing on classic gothic and horror creations of the 19th century, such as The Strange Case of Dr. Watson, Frankenstein's monster, and others to solve the mystery of a series of killings in London, as well as the mystery of her own family story. Jekyll, as she meets and connects with the fictional daughters of major literary characters, and works with and faces various famous 19th century literary personae, including Sherlock Holmes and Dr. The story follows Mary Jekyll, daughter of the literary character Dr. Strange Case is the first installment of The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series, and is followed by European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman. ![]() It is her debut novel, though she is an author of many short works. The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter is a 2017 novel by Theodora Goss. Horror, Gothic, mystery, fantasy, historical fictionĮuropean Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman ![]() ![]() The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club ![]()
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![]() ![]() Do I regret it? No.Įven before this book takes place, there was always that sizzle between Jafar and Jasmine in the years leading up to the start of this book.įrom the very beginning Jafar would never do anything to Jasmine without her approval (if you know what I mean) despite him being the “villain”. ![]() Next, I’ll be completely honest and say that yes, I bought this book because of booktok. *clears throat* I would first off like to say that this book is VERY S-P-I-C-Y… so I would just like to throw that out there for all of my YA reader friends who aren’t into these types of books. It’s almost enough for me to be happy…īut a gilded cage is still a prison, and I’ll do anything to obtain my freedom-even betray the man I’m falling for. He sees to my every need, no matter how carnal or extravagant. We know each other-and the dark desires we share-far too well. We fight during the day, but when night comes, we play out every fantasy I’ve never allowed myself to admit to having. I foolishly assume I have a chance to come out on top. In my arrogance, I play right into his hands. On the night Jafar takes everything from my father, he offers me a devil’s bargain-walk with my freedom and nothing else, or attempt to best him and regain my inheritance. Once upon a time, I was a sheltered princess. ![]() ![]() I must be in the minority, there, because my posts on those stories are among the most view posts on this site, even today. Then came her follow-up collection of stories, Vampires in the Lemon Grove, which I really disliked. ![]() I adored her “The Dredgeman’s Revelation” (see the post here), which ultimately became part of her debut novel Swamplandia!, which I didn’t like (see my thoughts here). She is a wonderful writer, so I always read what arrives, but my prevailing reaction has been one of disappointment. Since then my regard for her work has fluctuated. I loved Russell’s debut story collection, published, yikes!, clear back in 2007. ![]() ![]() Russell has been a bit of a fixture in the Fiction Issue, and I’m all good with that. The 2018 Fiction Issue of The New Yorker is out, featuring stories by Lu Yang (see here), Karen Russell, and David Gilbert (see here). ![]() ![]() Most of the characters have flaws in some way, and a couple of them are particularly unlikeable. What’s interesting is that it’s not always easy to know who you should be rooting for. The narrative is presented in the first person, and it jumps around between the characters, in a style similar to Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party and The Guest List. These are the questions we face in this fast-paced page-turner that I read in a single sitting. How are these stories related? What happened more than twenty years ago that will impact on the present day? Something goes amiss and an off-piste skiing session in bad weather goes awry. In a separate timeline we go back to 1998 where brothers Adam and Will are on holiday in the same resort with their girlfriends. Meanwhile, everyone is catered for by a chalet girl in this designer paradise. The lecherous Simon has brought his young wife Cass, their infant baby and a nanny. Ria has come with her husband Hugo, who in turn is hoping to impress Simon so that he might invest in Hugo’s travel business. ![]() In the present day, a wealthy group has gathered in a luxury chalet, and of course there are secrets. Told from several vantage points, and from two timelines, we are taken to an Alpine ski resort. The Chalet is a debut thriller, and it’s a great ride. ![]() ![]() I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. There's no other job I would rather be doing. I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plot I've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). ![]() ![]() ![]() I've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). ![]() ![]() ![]() Readers are likely to prefer one book over the other, but I am sure that if they enjoyed one they are very likely to enjoy the other. Together these books complement each other and give the reader a reasonably balanced view of Italian life over around a 100 years. Stendhal writes dramatically about adventures and high emotions, whereas Lampedusa is far less baroque about it and writes with greater reserve and elegance. The Leopard is set in the South, much of it in Sicily, starting over halfway through the 19th Century and ending in the next one. ![]() The Charterhouse is set mainly in the north, around Milan, Parma, and Lake Como, near the Swiss border, in the first half of the 19th Century. They both are set in Italy and are concerned with court and family life, with politics, and the state of the country at the time they were written. ![]() 4 2 The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal ( P_S_Patrick) P_S_Patrick: These two books have a fair bit in common, though much is different between them too. ![]() ![]() ![]() Shel Silverstein's incomparable career as a bestselling children's book author and illustrator began with Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back. The Giving Tree is a meaningful gift for milestone events such as graduations, birthdays, and baby showers. This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave and gave. This moving parable for all ages offers a touching interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.Įvery day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk.and the tree was happy. So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein. ![]() "Once there was a tree.and she loved a little boy." This classic is perfect for both young readers and lifelong fans. ![]() From Shel Silverstein, New York Times bestselling author of Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic, comes a poignant picture book about love and acceptance, cherished for over fifty years. ![]() ![]() ![]() As Manu catches her breath among these non-conforming Septimus, she discovers they need a revolution as much as she does.īut is she the right one to lead them? After all, hybrids aren’t just outlawed. ![]() ![]() Just as it seems the Cazadores have Manu and her friends cornered, the Coven answers their call for help. As they chase down leads about the Coven-a mythical resistance manada that might not even exist-the Cazadores chase down leads about Manu, setting up traps to capture and arrest her. Resistance.Įnter a world straight out of Argentine folklore.įollowing the events of Lobizona, Manu and her friends cross the mystical border into Kerana-a cursed realm in Argentina-searching for allies and a hiding place. In Cazadora, Romina Garber weaves together Argentine folklore and what it means to be illegal in a timely, intimate, and emotionally powerful narrative. ![]() ![]() ”sugar, spice, & fire” (155-56) The Princess Saves Herself in this One HUD I can’t critique poetry based on poetic aesthetics, but I can tell you that this was both the most upsetting and uplifting collection of poems I’ve ever read. ![]() Most of my books end up moving from Boston to a temporary/permanent home in Minnesota when I finish them, but this one is going to stay with me. I have eight poems marked in it, and I had to put it down once because it made me cry and a few more times because it was a little too real. I love The Princess Saves Herself in this One. ![]() It probably stems from taking IB English classes in high school where we tore poems apart until they were bits and pieces strewn about a room. I ascribe to Russell Baker’s theory of poetry: “I gave up on new poetry myself thirty years ago when most of it began to read like coded messages passing between lonely aliens on a hostile world.” Now, I don’t actually know what Russell Baker considered new poetry and whether or not Amanda Lovelace’s collection would count as coded messages passing between lonely aliens on a hostile world, but I hate poetry. Back cover text: The story of a princess turned damsel turned queenĪ collection of poems that hurt about a woman moving from princess to damsel to queen to you getting down to business… ![]() ![]() If Binti is to survive this voyage and save the inhabitants of the unsuspecting planet that houses Oomza Uni, it will take all of her knowledge and talents to broker the peace.īut even if Binti achieves this remarkable feat, it's not the end of her story. There is more to the history of the Medusae-and their war with the Khoush-than first meets the eye. Now, Binti must fend for herself, alone on a ship full of the beings who murdered her crew, with five days until she reaches her destination. Despite her family's concerns, Binti's talent for mathematics and her aptitude with astrolabes make her a prime candidate to undertake this interstellar journey.īut everything changes when the jellyfish-like Medusae attack Binti's spaceship, leaving her the only survivor. In her Hugo- and Nebula-winning novella, Nnedi Okorafor introduced us to Binti, a young Himba girl with the chance of a lifetime: to attend the prestigious Oomza University. Collected for the first time in a trade paperback omnibus edition, the Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning Binti trilogy, the story of one extraordinary girl's journey from her home to distant Oomza University. ![]() |