Why I Read YA (as an Adult)

Young adult (or YA) books are more popular now than they have ever been, and that’s because it’s not just young adults reading them—it’s adults like me, too. Why do I read YA books, though? They’re not targeted at me, and the protagonists they feature are almost exclusively in their teenage years. It doesn’t make sense for these books to appeal to me, but they do.

Ariadne: Book Review

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Something that I’ve always liked to do when reading by myself is to pause whenever I come to a particularly beautiful line of prose or dialogue and to read it out loud to the empty room. I’m telling you this because, by the time I finished reading Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne, my throat was hoarse from all the talking.

5 Classics Every Fantasy-Lover Should Read

If there’s one type of book that I know I’ll never tire of, it’s retellings. In a successful retelling, the author is able to take a well-known story and turn it into something new—perhaps by honing in on a more minor character, or perhaps by adding their own unique twists. The result is something wonderful: a story that is both new and familiar at the same time.

The Good Luck Girls: Book Review

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One of the problems with books targeted at the YA (young adult) market is that the genre itself is exceptionally broad. Some YA books are written with 12-14-year-olds in mind; others are more suitable for those aged 16+. The thing is, not every book can target both demographics, and, when they attempt to do so, the results can be pretty disappointing.

5 Fantasy Retellings You Need to Read

If there’s one type of book that I know I’ll never tire of, it’s retellings. In a successful retelling, the author is able to take a well-known story and turn it into something new—perhaps by honing in on a more minor character, or perhaps by adding their own unique twists. The result is something wonderful: a story that is both new and familiar at the same time.

Trigger Warnings: Do We Really Need Them?

The suggestion that books should have “trigger warnings” has been around for a little while now. In fact, they’ve actually become pretty commonplace within the online book community. Yet there are still quite a few debates surrounding them, too—do we really need them? Could they put readers off books? Is there a better alternative?

A Crown of Talons: Book Review

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Picking up the sequel to a book you adored can be both exciting and nerve-wracking. What if it lets you down? What if the characters don’t feel the same as they did in the first book? What if it just feels… off? Thankfully, though, I didn’t encounter any of these problems when reading A Crown of Talons.

The Good Hawk: Book Review

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Some books are remarkable because of the stories they tell; other books are remarkable because of their characters. Joseph Elliott’s The Good Hawk is remarkable because it is something new—something that is both brave and unequivocally wonderful.

Circe: Book Review

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Have you ever read a book that is so powerful—and so beautiful—that it holds a special place in your memory? If you have, you’re one of the lucky ones. If you haven’t, perhaps you should read Circe.

A Throne of Swans: Book Review

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There’s nothing quite like opening up a new book and sensing that you’ve just dived headfirst into a fairytale, yet this is exactly the feeling you get from Katharine and Elizabeth Corr’s A Throne of Swans.