Category: Books

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The Runestone Saga: Children of Ragnarok by Cinda Williams Chima

The midlands is home to humans, stuck between the worlds of gods and demons. Odin gave much to learn the future and spent his life trying to avoid it. But the end of his world came anyway. Now the midlands is a barbaric place with very little magic and even less hope for the future.

Reggin Eiklund is a thrall, or slave, to Asger Elder, a demon stranded from the fiery world of Muspelheim. She works as a singer, healer, and seer while Asger travels nearby, always watching. He abuses her and draws out her magic to strengthen his own. She is offered a chance to escape to the mysterious Temple at the Grove, promised safety and a chance to learn about the magic she didn’t realize she had.

Eiric Halvosen is an angry young viking, falsely convicted of murdering his mother and step-father. A rich jarl offers to pay the blood fee if Eiric takes on the job of locating the Temple. As he prepares to leave, his half-sister demands to go with him across the sea, along with an untested stranger willing to learn to sail in return for adventure. And it appears that only with her help will Eiric be able to locate the hidden island where the Temple is located.

This is the first in a series, so much of the book is spent worldbuilding. It is a complicated world, especially for those less familiar with Norse Mythology. (Even the movies about Thor barely touch on the information crammed into this book.) It is slow going. Very slow. As a fan of Chima, I pushed on but I don’t know if my high school students will do the same. The story could be tighter and would appeal to many more readers. It is a slog, even for fans of Norse mythology – and Cinda Williams Chima.

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Punching the Air

by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam

Cover of Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi

Dead to the world 
but somewhere in our souls 
we are both scratching at the walls 
yelling to the sky 
punching the air 
to let everyone and everything know 
that we are in here 
still alive

Amal is sent to prison for a crime he did not commit. Not that anyone is listening to him. He’s black and the victim is white. And in a coma. No one else can clear his name. Now he is in prison and angry. 

On a scale of one to ten
how angry are you?

Eleven, I say

Amal is a reader, an artist, and a poet. He wants to join a poetry class but is too broken to care. The white prisoners are making his life a hell. He doesn’t want to join a black gang. It is only when his crush sends him a letter out of the blue that he grabs onto a tiny bit of hope and of life.

Zoboi make us feel Amal, inside and out. Past, present, and future. Her writing is phenomenal. Give this book to everyone.

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Tears of Frost

By Bree Barton

Spoiler Alert for book one!

At the end of the first book, Heart of Thorns, Mia kills herself in order to spare her sister. In this book, she rises from the dead. Only she is not herself. She has some memories but no emotions including the love she once felt for Quin. Quin has discovered that he has been manipulated by Angelyne and can no longer trust his own feelings, even about Mia. Pilar feels everything, but primarily feels gutted by her mother’s betrayal. The three characters are headed separately to the Snow Queendom of Luumia for answers and assistance. They cannot count on each other but they can trust that no one is telling the whole truth.

The author provides a note at the beginning of the book to warn readers of a potential trigger as one of the characters is carrying the weight of a rape that she thinks is her own fault. This burden threatens to destroy her with guilt and shame.

Published copy provided to WASHYARG for review.

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Into the Crooked Place

by Alexandra Christo

Since the end of the war, Magic Crafters in Creije have gone into hiding. With no crafters, all of the city’s magic has to be recycled. When a new, dangerous magic appears, it is newly crafted; Somewhere there are crafters who still exist. And they are under the control of the Kingpin, the drug lord who plans to rewrite the world’s hierarchy no matter who gets hurt. Wesley is one of the Kingpin’s underlords and Tavia is one of his buskers/sellers. Saxony is an illegal immigrant and former lover of Karam, Wesley’s warrior bodyguard. These four flawed heroes reluctantly join together to defeat the Kingpin and make the realm safe for all. But they each harbor secrets and regrets that may put everything at risk.

Published copy provided to WASHYARG for review

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Angel Mage by Garth Nix

Using icons and magic, Angel Mages can call angels to perform various tasks. Each realm is devoted to and guarded over by an archangel. The kingdom of Ystara was forsaken by its angel, Pallenial, and the inhabitants were forced to run or turn into beastlings with no memory of themselves as they were. Generations later, in the neighboring land of Lutace, the powerful Liliath awakens from a self-imposed sleep as though it were only a day later. She is a skilled magic user as well as an icon-maker with one goal: to return to Ystara and bring back the broken angel Pallenial. In order for her plan to succeed, she needs four descendants from Ystara and the magical connection between them. Henri, Simeon, Agnez, and Dorotea are strangers to each other yet each felt a pull to one another. They became fast friends and companions on the trek to Ystara. Unfortunately, the same element that brought them together may succeed in separating them forever.

Characters are diverse and females are in less “traditional” roles. The story was complete but hopefully Garth Nix will set more stories in the angel mage world.

Published copy provided to WASHYARG for review.

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Incendiary by Zoraida Cordova

King Ferdinand of Puerto Leones has consolidated power over all neighboring countries until almost all are bowing to his might. Except the rebels from the abolished kingdom of Memoria; those who wield forbidden magic. Ren is part of the rebels in the Lynx Unit under the command of Dez, her lover and defender. Her magic is the kind that allows her to take away memories; she spent her early days as a pawn for King Ferdinand turning rebels into husks of themselves with no memory or will of their own. Though she escaped she cannot shake her past.

When Dez is captured by the cruel Bloodied Prince Castian, heir to the crown, Ren infiltrates the castle to finish his task of locating the powerful mind-altering weapon about to be unleashed on them all. She falls back into her former life feigning illness to avoid the inevitable task of clearing the minds of innocent victims while she desperately tries to find the weapon. While searching for clues, she finds support in the most unexpected places and preconceived judgements shattered.

Plenty of twists make this book hard to put down. The characters are multi-dimensional with various motivations and personalities. This epic political fantasy will appeal to fans of Sarah Maas, Marie Rutkoski, and Renee Ahdieh. Looking forward to the sequel.

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The Iron Will of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee

Genie Lo is finding that being the Divine Guardian of the Kingdom of California is more work than expected, especially since she doesn’t even want the job. So is being the captain of the volleyball team, making time for her best friend Yunie, and spending time with her boyfriend, Quentin, the Monkey King. Genie is overwhelmed and when her mother gets sick, she reaches the end of her rope. She doesn’t know who she is, what she wants, or where she wants to go. 

She goes on a previously planned weekend trip to Yunie’s cousin at a local university. It is not at all what she expected.

If I had to say what the biggest difference was between the high school scene and college, it would have been the amount of facial hair on the guys. I mean, this was like a lumberjack meetup being held on a crab fishing boat.

And…

By the time I reached the end of the hall I was fairly convinced that the only way college students could communicate was by taking turns explaining reality to each other.

Genie leaves the party and is outside when Ao Guang, Guardian of the Eastern Sea shows up in the swimming pool next to the dorm. Now it appears that she has no other options but to travel interdimensionally to another plane and face the invisible monster, Yin Mo who has just defeated the great general and his army. On the way, she has to travel with a former enemy and to prove that her friend, the goddess Guanyin is worthy to take the place of the Jade King and rule the Divine Heaven.

This sequel has some great lines and scene-stealing minor characters. Genie and Quentin are going through some relationship adjustments as they mature. Genie is growing as a person and realizing that there is not one path and that her limits might be self-imposed. Recommended for readers who enjoy humor with their fractured-mythology stories.

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Book list: YA Fantasy Series

My nephew’s girlfriend asked for some book recommendations to read while quarantined during this COVID-19 pandemic. I think others might also want some suggestions so I decided to resurrect my blog and publish a few different lists. I am starting with my one of my favorites, YA fantasy series. These also appeal to adults but are marketed to teens. So if you are looking for adult titles, this isn’t your list. And since there are so many great authors out there, I will split up the post and cover a few authors a day with a final pdf on the last post.

These are the first books in their series. Some are duologies, others much longer.

Cover of Flame in the Mist

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

While traveling to marry the emperor, Mariko’s entourage is attacked and all are left for dead. Mariko manages to get away and joins the band of bandits she believes is responsible for the attack. Sequel is Smoke in the Sun.

Cover of Wrath and the Dawn

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Every night a girl is married to the young king and every morning, she is killed. When Sharhrzad’s best friend is one of the girls, she volunteers to be the next bride in order to get close enough to kill him.   Sequel is The Rose and the Dagger.

Cover of Red Queen

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

The color of your blood determines your class: those with silver are the rulers over those with red. When the red-blooded Mare is discovered to have some of the powers of silver-bloods, she is drawn into the palace, the princes,  and all of its intrigue. Series includes Red Queen, Glass Sword, King’s Cage, and War Storm. To be upfront, I’ve only read the first of this series but I’ve included it because my students really like it.

Cover of The Candle and The Flame

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad

Fatima lives in a city of immigrants living cooperatively under the safety of the Ifrit, a race of djinn committed to order and reason. When her friend and mentor dies, Fatima is filled with a unfamiliar power that may threaten the peace she has known. This is actually a one-off! Great to read a story that actually ends.

Cover of Shadow and Bone

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

When common soldier Alina demonstrates unusual powers, she is whisked away from her best friend, Mal, to the city to be trained by the Grisha, the magical elite who serve the king. This series has a Slavic/Russian setting and folktale background. Pretty unique when it was written (2012). Series includes Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, and Ruin and Rising.

Cover of Six of Crows

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Kaz Brekker selects a team of criminals, each with special skills, to break into a fortress within the ice palace of an enemy kingdom.  Set in the same world as Shadow and Bone, this duology features others with Grisha skills. Sequel is Crooked Kingdom.

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The Queen’s Assassin

By Melissa de la Cruz

Book cover

Caledon’s father swore a blood oath to the queen of Renovia and it has passed to him. It will continue through his line until the oath is completed. The queen’s daughter, Lilac, has been raised by retired soldiers in a rural village and has taken the name Shadow. She has some magic but is not highly trained; she also has a crush on Caledon. When he is thrown into the worst dungeon, she makes plans to rescue him and tag along on his real mission. Together they travel to the neighboring kingdom, Montrice, to find those who are plotting war against Renovia.

The world-building is incomplete as this is the first of a series. Plenty of questions are left open, particularly the queen’s motives. Definitely for a less sophisticated reader (middle school) as it is fairly predictable. There is high-class flirting, and most likely off-page sex (a young reader wouldn’t catch it) and no swearing.

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Ashlords by Scott Reintgen

Cover of Ashlords by Scott Reintgen

The ruling Ashlord class ride Phoenix horses – ones that burn up every night and rise again with the sun the following day. A talented rider can add substance to create horses that are tireless, or fighters, or always catch their fallen riders. These horses helped the Ashlords to squash the other classes that live in their Empire- the Longhands who reject the gods and the Dividians who came to raid the land. The Ashlords rule with a tight hand and look forward to The Race every year. A race between riders of all classes. A race that outlaws killing another but not disabling riders or polluting the ashes of the horses. The race this year includes the favorite, a daughter of two former winners; a Longhand riding to start a revolution; and a poor Dividian with a talent for alchemy. Each of these three think they know how to win but as the race begins, they find out they know very little at all.

Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy of this book.