Genre: Historical Fantasy

18th century Egyptian history layered with myths surrounding Cleopatra, Isabel Ibañez’s What the River Knows is part one of her YA historical fantasy duology Secrets of the Nile. Featuring a great balance of mystery storylines, familial relations, romantic banter, and light fantasy elements based on magical objects, this book hits all the right marks and is a well‑crafted YA read. With a solid start and appealing main characters, this book is really fun despite some pacing issues in its back half and a sequel that ultimately does this book no favors. Intended to be a historical fiction book with a fantasy romance story, easily the strongest element of the book for me is the way it successfully captures the sense of adventure reminiscent of stories like Indiana Jones despite having little action. From the moment Inez receives the unfortunate letter in Argentina, the story maintains this great motif of exploration. Whether Inez is exploring cities in Egypt, hiding as a stowaway on a river barge, visiting historic sites, or simply on the run while evading the peeved and exasperated Whitford Hayes, the story has a genuine adventurous spark that makes the book so fun to read. The tone also benefits…

What do a legendary cryptid, gods, angels and demons, the Hundred Year’s War, an immortal arcanist and his succubus housekeeper have in common? Ordinarily nothing at all unless it’s Cameron Sullivan’s novel The Red Winter. An ambitious book mixing together fantasy and historical fiction elements across the board heightened with touches of paranormal horror, the Red Winter is as entertaining as it is imaginative with a unique and quirky tongue in cheek tone. Unexpectedly humorous and endearing while describing French countrymen being viscously torn apart, Sullivan’s storytelling is an incredible vibe made all the more impressive as a debut novel. While its far-reaching story, slow pacing, and complex split timeline approach can make it a challenging read for some, this is otherwise a really fun and off-beat historical fantasy book. At its core, the story behind the Red Winter is one of French turmoil that cleverly provides plausible fantasy origins to mysterious historical events. Presented as a written recollection or memoir of the events by the immortal arcanist Sebastian Graves, the book follows Sebastian and his demon possession “guest” Sarmodel returning to impoverished province of Gévaudan after the deadly events around the famed beast nearly twenty years ago. In addition…

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.…

Lyrical, reflective, poetically beautiful, not to mention a proudly sapphic and historical take on vampires, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a slow and thoughtful literary fiction and historical novel wearing an exquisite paranormal fantasy gown. Very similar in tone and approach to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, this novel is everything one would expect from V.E. Schwab. Spanning over five hundred years and featuring FMC’s of various backgrounds and stories, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a sprawling and meandering narrative that won’t be for everyone, but is sure to please Schwab fans and classy readers. The best way I can describe Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is vibrant women growing from the midnight soil, restricted by a society dominated by men and the roles they are slotted into. The novel covers the life stories of three women in three different centuries and how obstacles and circumstances in their lives led them to a future of being immortal. The recollection of their lives is unveiled in chronological order, starting with Maria in 16th century Spain, Charlotte in 19th Century Britain, and finally Alice in modern day Boston. Coming off Schwab’s most recent…

In the Kingdom of Elben, there is a legend of a god bestowing magical power to a king along with a surrounding barrier that protects the land from invading forces. In order to maintain the barrier, the king is told he must marry and court six queens who each reside over a castle and land. Boleyn, his newest queen of Brynd is enamored by King Henry and is determined to become his favorite Queen and to leave a lasting impression across the kingdom. However, as she settles into her new role and investigates new ways to increase the King and Elben’s magical powers, she uncovers clues that suggest the historic arrangement may not be as it seems. Meanwhile, originally planted as a spy by another Queen under the guise of a lady-in-waiting to Boleyn, Seymour finds herself torn between the familial and royal obligations she’s been tasked with vs her fascination and interest with her new mistress. As Boleyn and Seymour find themselves swept up in the power struggle between the Queens, the trusted associates, and the king himself who’s obsessed with producing a male heir, the two women find themselves in an unexpected alliance as they navigate the political…