Fantasy

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by Saturday Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley. A fantasy-inspired historical fiction story based around one of Florence’s most tumultuous periods in the 15th century, Isabel Ibañez’s debut adult novel Graceless Heart is a romantasy book full of interesting ideas. It features a resilient and independent female main character in a patriarchal dominated era marked by a political power struggle as well as the flourishing of the arts. Beautifully written and full of Italian flavor, the book’s great potential is unfortunately hindered by its uncertain commitment to what it wants to be and inconsistent pacing. I struggled to stay invested in the somewhat sparse story for most of the read before it devolves into a haphazard third act. Cleverly set within one of the Republic of Florence’s most colorful historical periods, Graceless Heart’s biggest asset and noteworthy element is its homage to the Italian setting and the excitement of the Renaissance era that runs throughout the course of the book. From snippets of Italian phrases to its vibrantly described visuals, from the get-go, the book feels distinctive amongst the numerous romantasy/fantasy romance novels constantly being pushed out.…

Atmospheric, imaginative, but most importantly emotionally heartfelt, Don’t Let the Forest In is a stunning book that effortlessly mixes genres to tell its tale of teenage fears, longing, and pain. Blending dark fantasy, psychological horror, and romance wrapped up with a literary fiction touch, C.G. Drews’ novel takes the best elements of each genre and connects them to a grounded, character-centric story that’s as compelling as it is nuanced. Despite being classified as a YA book due to its characters’ ages and high school academy setting, this novel is a master class example of delivering a complex and impactful story without dumbing down its content for its intended readers. Ambitiously written, well-plotted, and featuring an ending that is both devastating and open to interpretation, Don’t Let the Forest In is easily one of the most impressive books I’ve read this year. Before breaking down the book’s more technical elements, there’s a few important points worth mentioning for those that are considering reading this book. Are you a sensitive reader that finds triggers upsetting? I’m not mentioning them specifically for spoilers here but do check your triggers as there are some difficult ones included. How about mild body horror and moderate…

Part Grimm fairytale retelling, part historical fiction, and finally part original fantasy story revolving around witchcraft, Kell Woods’s debut novel After the Forest is an expansive dark fantasy book with an ambitious narrative to tell. Rather than directly retelling its source material, After the Forest instead follows the difficult life of Greta following her and her brother’s experiences trapped by a witch and her gingerbread house. A tense story filled with distrust and suspicions in a rural village, contrary to its classification as a retelling, Woods’s story is largely an original one that merely uses Hansel and Gretel’s fairytale for contextual framework. Creatively constructed with fitting prose, this book was a case of expecting one thing and getting something entirely different that wasn’t for me but was nonetheless an intriguing read outside of its frequent issues of pacing and unfocused plot. Books classified as retellings tend to follow one of two different scenarios that largely determine how the story will be read. The traditional form of retelling is one that mostly retells the original story with a unique spin, modernization, genre-swap, or similar. The other form uses the base story as a launching point for framework purposes only and uses…

Devoid of mortals, the world of Lightfall is filled with vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers boxed in by dangerous and mysterious beings called the Grays. Despite the familiar setup that would typically be used for an action-packed fantasy warfare story, Ed Crocker’s debut novel is instead a sprawling and imaginative epic fantasy story focused on the political power struggle and socio-economic dynamics within the city of First Light’s walls. Full of extensive world-building, Lightfall is an ambitiously imagined novel that has all the right ideas to be a slow burn fantasy mystery thriller. Unfortunately, the presentation and execution of its ideas didn’t work for me, and I struggled with the book’s pacing and narrative. Easily the most impressive aspect of Lightfall is Crocker’s detailed and complex world-building and lore that for better or for worse, makes up the bulk of the novel’s content. Apart from the initial discovery of the First Lord’s younger son is dead, the book’s story falls into a period of relative lull. Preceding the last hundred years, Lightfall’s world and history is full of conflict that is written in great detail. Covering various topics including the origin of the three main groups of immortals, the mystery and…

Is there such a genre as romcomantasy? Despite being a mouthful fitting for this book’s very long title, Brigitte Knightley’s traditionally published debut novel is a light-hearted, nonserious romantasy that’s a lot of fun. Marketed as enemies to lovers, slow-burn romance, the Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is exactly that in addition to incorporating the recent romcom trend of women in STEM within a romantasy wrapping. True to its synopsis and blurb, this book is full of amusing banter by lovable idiots, though much of its advertised romance is purposely left off for its planned sequel novel. While the pacing occasionally drags and its narrative material outside of the banter is inconsistent in quality, the Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is a pleasantly comedic read for those looking for something less serious, passionate, or steamy than the romantasy genre norm. Before I get into my review for this book, there’s an important note to highlight about this book and author. While Brigitte Knightley is well-known for her fanfiction writing, specifically the Harry Potter fanfiction Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love, I’ve seen a lot of confusion and booktok readers criticizing that this…