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The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

September 1, 2025

adventures

Sometimes all you need in your reading is a raucous tale of adventure and fun and I found it in Shannon Chakraborty‘s novel, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. Amina is a middle-aged woman, a mother, a former pirate who once captained the ship that terrorized merchants and the wealthy alike throughout the Indian Ocean. After a catastrophic trek she retired to her home village ... Read More...

2 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: fantasy, vacation reading

Those Fatal Flowers

January 22, 2025

fatal flowers

While my fascination surrounding the legend of Troy has waned (I can only watch Eric Bana and Brad Pitt in the movie so many times) my curiosity about mythology has not. Those Fatal Flowers is a genre-bending tale of a handmaiden to a goddess who is cursed for her carelessness, but has the opportunity to save herself and her sisters if she can complete a heroic quest. Quests ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: 16th century, debut, mythology

November Reading Wrap-Up

December 2, 2024

november

November. I’ve been cautioned about staying out of politics and overreacting. Thanks for the advice, but it’s my blog and there are times when staying silent is not an option. The good news is that my rage of a thousand suns and despair for the future have subsided. The majority has spoken and now I’ll wait. Wait and see what happens to women, children, seniors, people of ... Read More...

8 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Feature

A Song to Drown Rivers

October 10, 2024

drown rivers

  There is a Chinese folk tale about four sisters so beautiful they could be denied nothing.  One of those sisters is Xishi and in Ann Liang’s novel, A Song to Drown Rivers, she is called upon to use her beauty for vengeance and destruction. For Xishi, growing up in a tiny village in the Yue kingdom, her beauty is auspicious for her parents as it means she may be ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: China, mythology

Bringer of Dust by J.M. Miro

September 16, 2024

bringer

When J.M. Miro’s historical fantasy Ordinary Monsters ended a small band of children gifted with different magical capabilities was under assault as the divide between the world of the living and the dead was being breached by an evil seeking to grow its power.  Now, Charlie, Marlowe, Ribs, Oskar, and Komako are back in the aftermath of their battle, to deal with their new ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: fantasy, historical, horror

Hera by Jennifer Saint

September 13, 2024

hera

  Jennifer Saint’s new novel, Hera is novel about the queen of all Greek mythology. Or to be more precise, the long-suffering wife of king of the gods, Zeus. The novel opens when the Olympians defeat the Titans, the ancient gods who appeared out of Chaos to rule the world. Zeus and Hera are brother and sister and as they and their siblings gather to determine what comes ... Read More...

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: mythology, retellings

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