The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb, Book 1) Tamsyn Muir, 2019 Read to the end...  Premise: Gideon has been trying to escape the Ninth House since she was a child. Now her only way out might be to accompany her nemesis Harrowhark in her quest to become one of the Emperor's chosen necromancers. But the trial to become a lyctor is far from safe for necromancers and their bodyguards. I know, I know, I'm late to the party here.  I can nitpick about some intentionally anachronistic word choices that were a smidge too tone-breaking for me. I could point out that at the end of the book I still understand almost nothing about the structure of this Empire, how big it is, what it means that the Emperor "resurrected" the Houses, how the Houses are even supposed to work.  But little of that matters.  Gideon's sarcastic, hilarious voice carries you through the beginning and the light exposition about the bonkers uber-goth-necromancers-somehow-built-a-society setting, and then t...

We Could Be So Good Cat Sebastian, 2023 Premise: Nick has worked hard for his newspaper job and his safe, small life. But when the boss's son Andy blows in, sparks fly, and suddenly new, previously unthinkable things may be possible.  I have in the past been somewhat unsatisfied with Cat Sebastian's romances. They aren't bad, just a little light on tension and stakes for my taste. I heard some strong recommendations for this new one, however, so I decided to check it out. I'm happy to share that I'm glad I did.  The 1950s NYC setting already sets this apart from most of the LGBT historical romances I've read. It feels well researched; I could see and feel Nick's rickety fire escape and his family's Italian neighborhood, Andy's fancy inherited penthouse, the bustle of the newsroom, and the chill of the waterfront.  The book makes the most out of switching protagonists, diving deep into their perspectives and emotions. This both helps them feel like d...

A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, Book 1) Naomi Novik, 2020 Premise : El attends a school for magic-users. Only the school is probably trying to kill them, and it'll take more than dedication to learning to survive. Despite having enjoyed many of Novik's other books, I avoided this one for a few years. Anything where the opening pitch is "school of sorcerers" is getting some serious side-eye from me, and I figured it was YA-ish, and I find YA tedious or disappointing 90% of the time.  In this case, I ran across some more info about the protagonist on Tumblr that piqued my interest. El's name is really Galadriel because her mom is a hippie witch. She has a talent for dark and deadly magic so strong that it basically amounts to a curse. (As in, it's very difficult for her to, say, cast a spell to help a flower grow, but she would find it incredibly easy to poison an entire countryside.) She's trying to keep both these facts (her mom and her power) from be...