The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Nona the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, Book 3) Tamsyn Muir, 2022 Premise: Sequel to Harrow the Ninth. Nona doesn't know who she is, but she lives with people who love her and look after her. There are many things she doesn't know, but she doesn't worry about it too much. However, time is running out for a little makeshift family running from the Nine Houses. I loved this book, once I realized it was book 3 of 4, and not the end of the series. I somehow missed the fact that the planned trilogy turned into a 4-book series while this one was being written, so as I approached the end of the book I was seriously confused for a few minutes.  Independent of that, this is a delight. First, we're switching subgenres yet again. Gideon the Ninth is murder mystery/science fantasy adventure. Harrow the Ninth is more horror/sci-fi with a lot of psychological-thriller twistyness. Nona the Ninth is mostly dystopian slice-of-life, intercut with the backstory/exposition I've been waiting

The Angel of the Crows Katherine Addison, 2020 Premise: You've probably heard this story. An injured doctor returns from the war and meets an eccentric detective in need of a roommate. You've never heard it like this.  I honestly forgot this was a Holmes pastiche in the time between putting it on my to read list and starting to read it. So it was rather delightful to realize that I was reading a most unconventional reinterpretation of one of my favorite things, by one of my favorite authors.  Dr. J. H. Doyle (Watson) is our narrator, as usual. The plot is strung together from variations on multiple Holmes tales, adding in a throughline about Jack the Ripper and some other original elements. For me, the repetition of familiar scenarios felt cozy, not like I was cheated at all, plus the old stories are all new again as we hear from characters who had little or no time to tell their stories in the original or find unexpected solutions to the mysteries. Plus, it's set in a del

A Crime in the Land of 7,000 Islands Zephaniah Sole, 2023 Premise: How do you cope with horror? How do you cope when it's your job? How do you explain the worst things to a child? I read a strong recommendation for this book on a favorite author's best of the year list, and soon took the opportunity to read something a little out of my usual genres. This book is half a crime thriller, and half a completely unique work of mythmaking.  The story follows both FBI agent Ikigai Johnson, in her work on a specific case trying to bring a man who preys on children to justice, and her daughter piecing together the story of the case years later. When Ikigai traveled to the Philippines in search of witnesses to the man's crimes, her then-preteen daughter demanded that her mother explain the case that took her so far away.  And eventually she does so as a beautiful work of myth, in which planes are giant birds and boats are powerful turtle spirits and her mother is a warrior called by t

He Who Drowned the World Shelley Parker-Chan, 2023 Premise: Sequel to She Who Became the Sun . Zhu continues her fervent quest to become emperor of all China (while hiding her original gender). The Mongol general Ouyang still burns with his desire to take revenge for the murder of his family. Many other characters are waiting in the wings to interfere. This was an incredibly satisfying and fitting sequel. The most interesting thing, I thought, was that the first book was about gender and identity, contrasting Zhu's ambiguity with Ma's femininity and Ouyang's obsession with not being "really" male. This book is about bodies and identity. The relationship between a person and their body. That can include their gender, but there's more to it. Zhu learns to manage a new physical disability and struggles to maintain her troops' confidence in her, as many people see a physical lack as evidence of some deeper problem. She and Ouyang continue their strained, pain

A Long Time Dead Samara Breger, 2023 Premise: An epic romance. A sumptuous historical love story. A vampire story. So maybe you loved Fingersmith, ( https://bluefairysbookshelf.blogspot.com/2014/03/fingersmith.html ), but thought it would be better with overt supernatural elements.  Or maybe you like the themes of Carmilla and its relations ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian_vampire ), but want a true romance, with hopefully some kind of happiness for the characters.  Well, have I got a book written specifically for you!  A Long Time Dead follows the life and undeath of a Poppy, a cheerful hedonist and (in life) prostitute, who feels drawn to another vampire, the reserved and serious Roisin. They cannot be together for several reasons, most notably because Roisin has sworn to take down her master, the cruel and powerful Cane.  Poppy is a delight. Her adventures through the societies of the undead, her struggles, her general good humor (except for mourning the fact that she can no

Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros, 2023 Premise: Violet's mom is making her go to dragon rider school even though she doesn't want to and it's dangerous. But her sworn enemy is hot. Somehow these characters are not teenagers.  I tried, y'all. I tried to go in with an open mind. The writing isn't terrible, in that the pacing mostly trips along briskly, some of the description is fine, and the exciting bits are sometimes kind of exciting.  But MY GOD. The vapid characters, the complete lack of interesting or believable world-building, and the extremely predictable plot "twists" had me struggling to make it to the end.  You're telling me the hot rebel guy is actually nice, and also on the morally right side? I'm so shocked.  And then the narration awkwardly has to remind us that our heroine is 20, so we can stick in an explicit sex scene.  Y'all. I am not against sex scenes. And these were.... fine? Not terrible. But they didn't progress the plot or