Tag Archives: Fantasy

Mayowa and the Sea of Words

by Stephen | Leave a comment

Chibundu Onuzo. Bloomsbury Children’s, (288p) ISBN: 9781526661005. Middle Grade, read 14/05/25, Paperback ★★★★☆

Mayowa and the Sea of Words

Mayowa and the Sea of Words

I’ve got to admit when I received this I was a bit trepidatious as the cover reminded me of so many book in the past several years and the blurb reminded me of a couple of books I had read and enjoyed in the past.

I needn’t have worried as the story of Mayowa and her growing ability to channel emotions through jumping on books, or as her Grandad calls it logosalting (yes I know, a bit of a mouthful) turned into an amazing adventure with appropriate baddies.

This is the first of a new series which explores this power and follows Mayowa as her skills develop and a good first book it is.

Mayowa has always been told by her mum and dad not to jump on books and not to copy Grandpa Edwards, but circumstances conspire to have her staying a summer with him and this is where she learns about her family secret (on dad’s side anyway), logosalting and how it has been used in the past for good and evil and that it should only be used if it causes no harm.

Mayowa and her Grandpa (Baron Edgerley) get involved in foiling nefarious racist bigots from getting a piece of legislation through parliament that would mean refugees would be left to drown if they capsized, this is being pushed through by evil logosalters who shouldn’t exist according to Grandpa.

Lots of adventures, training montages, upsets, evil twins, new friends, and family, always family makes this a well-paced read that you don’t want to put down. Read it in three commute sessions and would have read it in one long sitting if given half the chance.

“These aren’t the droids you’re looking for.”

The end was exciting and satisfyingly left a lot open for book 2, especially mum’s side of the family, I think…

I received this from Bloomsbury Children’s in exchange for an honest review.

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The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic

by Stephen | 2 Comments

edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane. Titan Books, (384p) ISBN: 9781835410912. Romantasy, read 23/04/25, Paperback ★★★★★

The Secret Romantic's Book of Magic

The Secret Romantic’s Book of Magic

I knew I had to get a copy of this as soon as I saw it, I even know where it’s going to go in the shop as soon as it’s released!

An anthology of 12 short stories from some of the best writers in Romantasy at the moment, what could go wrong?

Nothing, that’s the answer, absolutely nothing!

I’ve got to admit I stormed through these stories as each was perfect in itself making the book as a whole irresistible.

I loved them all; the twists of traditional tales, forays into worlds known and unknown, enemies to lovers, all of it.

This is the perfect book to have and dip into now and again, as each short story deserves attention, but you could like me consume it all in two sittings looking forward to going back to savour the stories once again.

I think my favourites must be: The Larkspur, The King’s Witch, and San’t Marten’s Book of Mild Melancholy, though this is really splitting hairs as I enjoyed them all.

I’m really hoping the finished product has pink sprayed edges and a keyhole cut in the dust cover as going full on is what this book really deserves.

I received this from Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

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Wolf Siren

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Beth O’Brien, HarperCollins, (320p) ISBN: 9780008642013. Middle Grade, read 05/04/25, eBook ★★★★★

Wolf Siren

Wolf Siren

I was immediately drawn to this by the cover designed and drawn by Ayesha L. Rubio, I’ve always been a sucker for Red Riding Hood tales and I love seeing how people handle them.

This is Beth O’Brien’s debut, and what a debut it is, confident and strong, full of beautiful magic, wolves, and reasons why the patriarchy sucks.

Red lives in a village surrounded by a forest, one no one really goes in any longer as the wolves have turned from the hunted to the hunters and any man or boy who goes in the woods is killed.

Though women and girls are left unharmed they aren’t allowed to go in the woods either, this is done to control by the men who resent their freedoms and want to curtail them as much as possible.

I really don’t want to give too much of the story away as the twists and turns are wonderful as they unfold, there are secrets all around, jealousies, entrenched power, magic, wolves, and lots of changes. This keeps you powering through as you are desperate for the next revelation.

But the woods are full of magic, trees that can help or hinder, wolves with secrets, women who’ve been exiled for their craft, and a story that needs to be told to balance out the narrative told by the men in the village.

This is one of the best books I’ve read that talks normally about menstruation in girls and this is a key part of the storyline, this change in a woman’s body is used really well in the story, again not going to give why away…

The main character being visually impaired was done so sympathetically and honestly and the acceptance of this by others around her was really strong, there was also a moment of signing in the book which was just part of the story which really worked for me.

Altogether this was one of the strongest middle grade debut’s I’ve read for a while and now I really want to read what comes next from Beth O’Brien

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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A Wizard of Earthsea: A Graphic Novel

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Ursula K. Le Guin, Fred Fordham. Walker Books, (288p) ISBN: 9781529526264. Graphic Novel, read 01/04/25, Paperback ★★★★★

A Wizard of Earthsea

A Wizard of Earthsea

I’ve loved the Earthsea saga for almost as long as I’ve been reading and still have my editions from the early 70s as some of the first books I ever bought.

So it was with some trepidation that I asked for a copy of this adaptation into graphic novel form.

As the tale of A Wizard of Earthsea is so well known I won’t really talk about the story apart from to say that the adaptation of the tale has really kept the most important parts of the book and relied on it’s form as a graphic novel for the atmosphere and to make what few words there were give weight to the story properly.

Fred Fordham takes the concept of light and dark and the balance between them and illustrates this so well (fair warning some of the panels are very dark and need good lighting to read properly)

As we journey through Sparrowhawk’s travels and coming of age we explore all the main locations of his various developments and adventures, the meeting with the dragon Yevaud is especially exciting, but there is nothing lacking in this adaptation and I was forever waiting for the next location or episode with pure excitement.

I absolutely loved this adaptation and am so up for Fred Fordham to adapt the rest of the series. This really is a must buy for all fans of Earthsea.

I received this from Walker Books in exchange for an honest review.

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The Café at the Edge of the Woods

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Mikey Please, HarperCollins, (48p) ISBN: 9780008639013. Picture Book, read 26/03/25, Paperback ★★★★☆

The Café at the Edge of the Woods

The Café at the Edge of the Woods

It was really nice to see an illustrated picture book win the prize this year, especially seeing the huge growth in comics and illustrated stories for children happening right now.

Written in a nice rhyming scheme that takes full advantage of some of the funner words used throughout playing on the fact that we all like a bit of gross and a bit of silly.

We accompany Rene in following her dream of opening a cafe that serves fine cuisine and she works hard for it, and eventually sets up a cafe at the edge of the woods.

Eventually with the help of Glumfoot the waiter and some unexpected twists and turns her dreams come true, though to get there the story becomes so silly.

Full of rich illustrations that bring to mind Fungus the Bogeyman, with a lot of energy this is a perfect read for all ages and would be a great class read or something to make you laugh at night.

A lovely book about going for your dreams, team work, and friendship.

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The Salt Grows Heavy

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Cassandra Khaw, Titan Books, (128p) ISBN: 9781835413517. Horror Fantasy, read 11/03/25, Paperback ★★★★★

The Salt Grows Heavy

The Salt Grows Heavy

A dark retelling of the Little Mermaid tale, as dark as the oceans abyss.

I’m really enjoying all these dark retellings of fairy tales and this is one of the best so far as it takes the whole idea to another level and adds in the threads of other tales with a distinct Slavic feel of bones and death.

It is a tale of two souls who’ve been transfigured by their makers, moulding them into what they desired rather than letting them be who they were. The plague doctor and the mermaid, the marionette and the siren.

Fleeing the destruction of her prince and his kingdom the mermaid and the plague doctor come up a village of children and saints, playing games of blood and immortality.

It is a bleak story, with great writing that pulls you into the mind of the mermaid, into those depths of her lost past and her gradual desire to be herself once more, but in doing so we see her actually take on some of the dressings of the old tale as she falls in love and is willing to sacrifice the ocean for that true love.

The saints were really well developed characters that explored the cost to others of powerful men desiring infinite power, and how it dehumanised those who searched for that power. It also looked at the cults that can grow up around that search for power, though those who worship will never share in the power if ever found.

This is the second Cassandra Khaw novella I’ve read recently and both were really good and took their subject and played with the tropes of those traditions and found something new and chilling to say. Looking forward to reading more from Cassandra.

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