fantasy

‘A Fire in the Sky’ by Sophie Jordan is the start of a new romantasy series for adults with…dragons

/ Pamela Kramer

Sophie Jordan is not only a prolific writer; her creativity spans genres. In this new romantasy series, “A Fire in the Sky,” she returns to a fantasy world filled with dragons, witches, and other magical creatures. The world that she creates will enchant new readers and bring back fond memories for those who have read the Firelight series that inspired her to create this prologue which is, due to some steamy scenes, very adult in nature. In this new series, dragons have disappeared from the skies of this alternate world, killed by mankind. And after the dragons were all slain, or so people thought, the people killed the witches. But as we find out in this story, and to our delight, not all dragons nor all witches were murdered.

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‘My Vampire vs. Your Werewolf’ by Paul Tobin gets an enthusiastic thumbs up from my grandson

/ Pamela Kramer

This review will be short and sweet. “My Vampire vs Your Werewolf” by Paul Tobin is a middle grade chapter book about, no surprise here, vampires and werewolves. My grandson, an avid reader and lover of the horror genre, devoured this in one sitting. It’s a clever concept in which an organization called the Crafters Guild sends children out to find lonely monsters and get them in shape for fighting. Apparently monsters like to fight each other.

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‘Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II’ by Adam Gidwitz is both charming and chilling

/ Pamela Kramer

Adam Gidwitz is a much loved children’s author whose fabulous tales have taken readers young and old from Grimm’s fairy tales (“A Tale Dark and Grimm“) to the Inquisition (“The Inquisitor’s Tale“) and now to WWII in “Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II.” This historical fiction also contains Gidwitz’s trademark fantasy twist with two mythical creatures who accompany main character Max as he travels from Berlin to London as part of the Kindertransport, which took Jewish children from Germany to countries where they stayed in foster homes until the end of the war.

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‘The Lies Among Us’ by Sarah Beth Durst is a thoughtful fantasy

/ Pamela Kramer

Award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst’s new novel, “The Lies Among Us,” is a bit of a mystery at first. We are taken aback as we meet Hannah, the first person narrator, when she is inside her mother’s casket just before burial. That’s our first clue that Hannah isn’t a flesh-and-blood person. We quickly learn that Hannah’s mother has just died, leaving only Hannah’s sister Leah. And Leah can’t see or hear Hannah, so basically, Hannah is alone for the first time in her life.

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‘Boy of Chaotic Making’ by Charlie N. Holmberg is the 3rd book in the Whimbrel House fantasy series

/ Pamela Kramer

The first book in the Whimbrel House series was so wonderful and complete, it might have seemed impossible that author Charlie N. Holmberg could create a sequel as compelling and gripping and touching as that first novel. Well, now we have the third novel in this fantasy series, “Boy of Chaotic Making,” and this story is just as lovely, filled with the same characters we have come to admire for their strengths and their failings, and with a plot that definitely keeps us guessing.

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‘Once There Was’ by Kiyash Monsef is a beautiful and compelling young adult fantasy

/ Pamela Kramer / 1 Comment

Instead of “Once upon a time…” the fairy tales that we read in Kiyash Monsef’s wonderful fantasy novel “Once There Was” begin with different words. When the main character Marjan’s father, who was from Iran, told her the childhood tales about mythical creatures, he started the stories with “Once was, once wasn’t…” The first story is about a trapped unicorn saved by a young girl; that encounter changes the young girl and the lives of some of her descendants. We learn that Marjan is one of those who descended from that girl.

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‘Inheritance’ by Nora Roberts is the first in her new ‘The Lost Bride’ trilogy

/ Pamela Kramer

There’s a reason Nora Roberts is one of the most beloved authors of women’s fiction, and her newest release is “Inheritance,” the first in The Lost Bride trilogy. The story begins about 200 years ago with the prologue, where a newly married Poole bride is brutally murdered shortly after her wedding. The narrative then moves. to the present and we meet main character Sonya MacTavish. She is about to find out that her fiancé is cheating on her. She provides clues that the guy she’s marrying is definitely no Prince Charming, so it’s actually a relief when she finds proof that he’s not the guy she wants to spend the rest of her life with.

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‘Beaky Barnes and the Devious Duck’ by David Ezra Stein is clever, funny, and filled with life lessons

/ Pamela Kramer

Usually I prefer to review picture books as a group, but my grandson loved “Beaky Barnes and the Devious Duck” by Caldecott Honor winner David Ezra Stein so much that he insisted on taking it home with him after reading it. When I asked him specifically what he loved about it, he said that it’s just really excellent. But he (and his grandfather) loved the humor. They loved the sneaky acts and the deviousness. They loved the characters. And they loved the plot.

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‘Mixed Up’ by Gordon Korman is another brilliant middle grade novel: how important are our memories? (Discussion questions included)

/ Pamela Kramer

“Mixed Up” is a typical Gordon Korman novel; typical because it’s both very accessible and very brilliant. Korman’s books are legendary (among teachers and students) because they are almost unique in their ability to provide a plot that moves rapidly with plenty of action, yet at the same time offer us thoughtful issues to consider — in every story. His newest release accomplishes all that.

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‘The Enchanted Hacienda’ by J. C. Cervantes is a charming and beautiful fantasy

/ Pamela Kramer

Summer flowers are magical, and in “The Enchanted Hacienda,” J. C. Cervantes makes that idea a reality. The Estrada women have magic running through their veins, and that magic is most apparent at their flower farm in Mexico, where they grow flowers that are “just” beautiful and flowers that perform beautiful magic. Their gift originated with an Aztec goddess named Mayahuel, who promised that if they would carry out her legacy, each of their female descendants would be blessed with the power to “grow mystical flowers, create enchantments, and to forever protect love, passion, and beauty.”

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‘The Poisoner’s Ring’ by Kelley Armstrong is the second in her time-travel mystery series

/ Pamela Kramer / 1 Comment

In Kelley Armstrong’s second book of the “Rip Through Time” series, we see that Mallory Atkinson is still adjusting to being thrust back in time to 1869. In the current time, she had been a homicide detective in Canada, but somehow went back in time while visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh. Luckily, she ended up in the body of a maid who worked for an unusual family, the head of which is interested in crimes and who runs a funeral business. His sister is a chemist with whom Mallory has become friends.

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