Tag Archives: fantasy series

Book Review: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold (Wayward Children, #11) by Seanan McGuire

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Title: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold
Series: Wayward Children, #11
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: January 6, 2026
Length: 160 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A fan-favorite character returns in this action-packed instalment of the Hugo Award-winning Wayward Children series.

After Nancy was cast out of the Halls of the Dead and forced to enroll at Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children, she never believed she’d find her door again, and when she did, she didn’t look back. She disappeared from the school to resume her place in the Halls, never intending to return.

Years have passed. A darkness has descended on the Halls, and the living statues who populate them are dying at the hands of the already dead. The Lord and Lady who rule the land are helpless to stop the slaughter, forcing Nancy to leave the Halls again, this time on purpose, as she attempts to seek much-needed help from her former schoolmates.

But who would volunteer to quest in a world where the dead roam freely?

And why are the dead so intent on adding to their number?

In Through Gates of Garnet and Gold, the 11th book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series, we go back to the beginning — sort of — by reconnecting with Nancy, the main character from the very first book, Every Heart a Doorway.

In the world of the Wayward Children, there are doors that lead to other worlds, and children who feel out of place are the ones who tend to find them. But each door comes with a simple warning: Be Sure. Those who are sure may find themselves a new home beyond their doors, a place where they finally fit.

Anyway, wanting isn’t the point. It’s the certainty. The absolute conviction that you’re willing to give up everything you know, everything you have, if you can just go somewhere that you’ll be understood.

When doubts or second thoughts creep in, that’s when children find themselves booted back to their home worlds, no more suited for life where they started from than they ever were. And that’s where Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children comes in, providing a refuge and a found family for children who’ve found and then lost their true homes… and in many cases, are simply biding their time until their door comes back to take them home again.

In Nancy’s case, certainty was never an issue. She’s sure. She knows she belongs in the Halls of the Dead, where the Lord and Lady cherish their living statues — people, like Nancy, who find the absolute stillness of this world a balm and a comfort. Nancy never wants to leave, until the silence and motionlessness of the halls are broken by a violent attack of the unquiet dead. Voracious spirits attack, devouring any life they can find. As the living statues are imperiled, the Lord and Lady send Nancy to seek help. To save her home, she agrees to leave it, and finds herself back at the Home for Wayward Children once again.

Rallying a small group of her friends, they return to save the day, but their quest isn’t as straightforward as they’d hoped. They must find the cause of this disturbance and put it right — but as they do so, Nancy learns more about this world she considers home, and more than she really wanted to know about its rulers and their care for their subjects.

I enjoyed this reunion with Nancy, who’s always been a favorite of mine. I’ve always loved the descriptions of her desire for stillness. It may sound crazy to you or me, but the writing in this series truly allows us inside Nancy’s mind, so we can understand what she needs even while knowing that it would be awful for most people.

Other familiar characters come along on the quest. I won’t divulge too many details, but I will point out that this book is not at all a good entry point into the series. You really do need to know what’s come before in order to grasp the significance of certain characters’ actions.

Somehow, Through Gates of Garnet and Gold didn’t quite deliver the brilliance of the last book (Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear) or others that I consider the best of the bunch. Perhaps that’s because this is a return to a world and characters we’ve already seen, rather than an introduction to some new fantastical world. The plot is interesting enough, but lacked a major punch. I was involved, but not on the edge of my seat.

The ending, while wrapping up this particular quest, opens the door (so to speak) to more questions and new developments. I hate the idea of having to wait a year for the next book!

Fans of the Wayward Children series will absolutely want to check out Through Gates of Garnet and Gold. It’s an engaging entry into a series that always offers surprises and delights. I wouldn’t say it’s the best of the series… but it’s still very, very good.

Purchase links: Amazon – Audible — Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
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Book Review: Green Rider (Green Rider, #1) by Kristen Britain

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Title: Green Rider
Series: Green Rider, #1
Author: Kristen Britain
Publisher: DAW
Publication date: 1998
Length: 481 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Magic, danger, and adventure abound for messenger Karigan G’ladheon in the first book of the New York Times-bestselling Green Rider fantasy series 

On her long journey home from school after a fight that will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G’ladheon ponders her uncertain future. As she trudges through the immense Green Cloak forest, her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves, as a galloping horse bursts from the woods.

The rider is slumped over his mount’s neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king of Sacoridia.

Before he dies, he begs Karigan to deliver the “life and death” message he bears to King Zachary. When she reluctantly he agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission, whispering with his dying breath, “Beware the shadow man…”

Taking on the golden-winged horse brooch that is the symbol of the Green Riders, Karigan is swept into a world of deadly danger and complex magic, her life forever changed. Compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is accompanied by the silent specter of the fallen messenger and hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.

With memorable characters, unique magic, and a story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats, this action-packed, feminist fantasy is a must-read for lovers of the genre.

Where has Green Rider been all my (reading) life? I only became aware of this series in 2023, after stumbling across a promo for a soon-to-be released novella set in the world of the larger series. I don’t know why I wasn’t aware of Green Rider sooner… but I suppose this falls into the category of “better late than never” books!

Green Rider is a high fantasy series involving magic, legacies of ancient battles, rivalry for the throne, struggles between the nobility, merchant, and lower classes, and so much more. Our main character is Karigan G’ladheon, teenaged daughter of a successful shipping merchant. Karigan has just been suspended from school after humiliating a nobleman’s son at swordplay. On her trek home, Karigan encounters a Green Rider — a member of the King’s elite messenger corps — who’s been mortally wounded. Dying in front of Karigan, he begs her to complete his mission. Although she has no training in such matters, she swears to do so, and takes up his green cloak, his mysterious horse-shaped gold brooch, and his horse (whom Karigan proceeds to name The Horse).

Almost immediately, Karigan discovers that her own life is now in danger. She’s pursued by a variety of bad guys, who are clearly willing to hurt or kill her in order to get their hands on the message she carries. But Karigan is committed to keeping her promise, and has the dead Rider’s ghost to encourage her onward when she falters.

Much of Green Rider focuses on Karigan’s journey along dangerous roads, fighting off threats while also meeting intriguing others who seem to wield magical gifts and are willing to offer her help. Karigan learns that wearing the cloak and brooch of a Green Rider imbues her with certain powers — and while she keeps insisting that she’s not really a Rider herself, her actions seem to prove otherwise.

The stakes and tension escalate further when she finally reaches the kingdom’s capitol and finds her way to the court. Meanwhile, scattered throughout are chapters showing a devious plot to overthrow the king, with nefarious parties willing to allow the blackest magic back into the kingdom in order to promote their own power plays. A dramatic, deadly face-off between the forces of good and evil provides a thrilling climax to the story — and the ripple effects are sure to be felt throughout the next books in the series.

Green Rider is an absorbing, complicated book, with intricate world-building and a wide cast of characters. I think I hesitated to start because of the length and size of the book — my edition is an oversized paperback, and it really looks and feels like a doorstop! Fortunately, it’s fast-moving, and I never felt bogged down or overwhelmed.

Karigan is a terrific character, as are so many of the others we meet. I’m curious to learn more about the king and the other riders, and would love to know more about certain of the unusual people Karigan meets during her journey.

A map of the kingdom and surrounding lands would have been helpful! My edition does not include this, although a quick Google search leads to several fan-made versions, as well as a map drawn by the author when book #6 was released.

As for the series as a whole, it currently consists of eight novels plus two shorter works. The eighth novel was just published this week! The main novels are all pretty massive, well over 500 pages each. No wonder I was hesitant about starting!

Will I continue? Absolutely! I loved Green Rider, and can’t wait to see what’s next for Karigan. There’s clearly so much more to explore about this rich fantasy world. Given the length of the books, I’m not sure when I’ll actually dive into book #2 (596 pages!), but at the very latest, it will be a priority read for me in 2026.

Overall, I highly recommend Green Rider, and I’m delighted that I’ve finally taken the time to start this series. A must-read for fantasy fans!

The Green Rider series:

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Book Review: Silver and Lead (October Daye, #19) by Seanan McGuire

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Title: Silver and Lead
Series: October Daye, #19
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: September 30, 2025
Print length: 400 pages
Genre: Urban fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Seanan McGuire’s New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated October Daye series continues as Toby Daye is thrust once again into danger… and this time she has more than ever to protect.

Something is rotten in Faerie. In the aftermath of Titania’s reality-warping enchantment, things are returning to what passes for normal in the Kingdom in the Mists―until it’s discovered that the royal vaults have been looted, and several powerful magical artifacts are missing. None are things that can be safely left unsecured, and some have the potential to do almost as much damage as Titania did, and having them in the wrong hands could prove just as disastrous

At least the theft means that Sir October “Toby” Daye, Knight errant and Hero of the Realm, finally has an excuse to get out of the house. Sure, she’s eight and a half months pregnant, but that doesn’t mean she can’t take care of herself. But with the sea witch offering to stand godmother to Toby’s child, maybe there are greater dangers ahead for Toby and her family than it appears….

Old enemies will resurface, new enemies will disguise themselves as friends, and Queen Windermere must try to keep her Hero on the case without getting herself gutted by the increasingly irritated local King of Cats. Sometimes, what’s been lost can be the most dangerous threat of all.

What can you say about a series that’s now 19 books long… and going strong? Quite a lot actually… but the short version is: The October Daye series remains sharp, exciting, and as immersive as ever — and it’s never too late to jump in! (But start at the beginning, of course.)

In 2023, author Seanan McGuire published TWO new volumes in the series (Sleep No More and The Innocent Sleep), focusing on the same set of cataclysmic events, but told first through the POV of our usual narrator, Toby (October) herself, and then through the POV of Toby’s husband, Tybalt. Both were excellent… and I suppose it’s understandable that we had a two-year wait for another book in the series. (Understandable — hey, get some rest, Seanan McGuire! — but painful as a reader to have to wait to see what happens next!!).

But now, Toby is back! The ripple effects of the disasters from the previous books are still being felt by our beloved characters, in all sorts of distressing ways. Quick recap: Toby is a changeling (part fae, part human), a knight and hero of the realm, and both daughter and niece of First Borns, the most powerful fae other than the big three (Oberon, Titania, and Maeve) themselves. When Titania reemerged into the world and decided to recraft it as she wished, Toby and all those around her were trapped in an illusion that transformed their lives and relationships. Now that Titania’s illusions have been broken, they’re all still recovering from what that experience did to them.

Further complicating Toby’s life, as the book opens, is the fact that she’s in her final month of pregnancy, and her already traumatized family won’t let her do anything — not even get off the couch to grab her own snacks. For a woman who lives her life carrying out dangerous quests, being coddled and confined is beyond frustrating, and while she knows her family is acting from a place of love, she still can’t stand it.

“I’ve got another few weeks of this, you know,” I said. “You don’t want to use up all your fretting on me before the baby even gets here.”

“I promise, I have more fretting in me than you can imagine,” he said.

The action in Silver and Lead kicks off when Toby is summoned to Queen Arden’s court to give testimony against one of the more evil people in the series, the false Queen. Once there, Arden tells Toby that many dangerous artifacts were looted from the royal treasury while Titania’s illusions were in place, and while she’d love to wait until after Toby has the baby to send her back into action, these items could be disastrous in the wrong hands. There’s no time to lose in getting them back. Before Toby can commit one way or the other to this new quest, she discovers that the false Queen is actually someone enchanted to appear to be the false Queen, and that the actual false Queen herself is nowhere to be found.

From here, Toby sets out to gather evidence… cautiously. She won’t endanger herself or the baby; she’s just going to do a bit of detective work on behalf of the realm. Of course, nothing goes according to plan, and she and her household end up in mortal peril, facing unexpected adversaries with truly evil intentions.

The action in Silver and Lead escalates dramatically, and the sense of menace and danger go higher and higher with each chapter. I was on the edge of my seat and practically screaming by the time I got past the first third or so of the book and simply could not put it down. I was terrified for the characters, enthralled by each new development, and scared to death that this was finally something that Toby couldn’t get out of. (Well, I assumed she’d get out of it, as the series isn’t over… but it’s all definitely very tense and frightening!)

At the same time, Silver and Lead is actually very funny at times!

“Look. My hormones are all over the place. Yesterday I burnt a piece of toast and I started crying because what if I’d hurt the bread’s feelings.

Having Toby — eight and a half months pregnant — waddling off on a quest, needing to pee every few minutes, complaining about her aching knees, and in general suffering all the indignities and physical impacts of a late pregnancy is just so incredibly entertaining. This is a woman who’s practically indestructible, and yet people have to help her up the stairs. Good stuff.

The ending of Silver and Lead is quite satisfying, but leaves the door open for yet more drama — because in the world of October Daye, no one gets to just sit and be happy for very long. This book’s main plot is tied up well, but the final pages let us know that bad things — potentially, very bad things — are just around the corner.

As always, I’m left dying to see what’s next… and dreading a year of waiting for the next book.

Silver and Lead is an excellent edition to a can’t-miss fantasy series. I’ll give the same push I give every time I talk about these books: Go pick up a copy of Rosemary and Rue. I’m betting that once you get a taste of October’s world, you won’t want to stop.

As is the custom throughout this series, Silver and Lead includes a novella at the end. This one, Seas and Shores, focuses on Simon, Toby’s father figure — a man with whom Toby has one of the most complicated relationships in the series. The novella is narrated by Simon, and takes place at the same time as the events of Silver and Lead, as Simon heads back to his new home in the Undersea. Seas and Shores is a relatively quiet story, and it’s quite lovely. Simon is a man who’s been through a lot of trauma, and this novella shows the next stage in his attempts to build a good life for himself and those he loves. After the extreme dangers in Silver and Lead, it’s nice to finish on a sweet, happy note.

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Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

Book Review: Installment Immortality (InCryptid, #14) by Seanan McGuire

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Title: Installment Immortality
Series: Incryptid, #14
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: March 11, 2025
Length: 432 pages
Genre: Urban fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Seanan McGuire’s New York Times-bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated InCryptid series continues with a whirlwind adventure….

After four generations of caring for the Price family, Mary Dunlavy has more than earned a break from the ongoing war with the Covenant of St. George. Instead, what she’s getting is a new employer, in the form of the anima mundi, Earth’s living soul made manifest, and a new assignment: to hunt down the Covenant agents on the East Coast and make them stop imprisoning America’s ghosts.

All in a day’s work for a phantom nanny, even one who’d really rather be teaching her youngest charges how to read.

One ghost can’t take on the entire Covenant without backup, which is how she winds up on a road trip with the still-mourning Elsie and the slowly collapsing Arthur, both of whom are reeling in their own way from the loss of their mother. New allies and new enemies await in Worcester, Massachusetts, where the path of the haunting leads.

With the anima mundi demanding results and Mary’s newfound freedom at stake, it’s down to Mary to make sure that everyone gets out of this adventure alive.

It’s been a long afterlife, but Mary Dunlavy’s not ready to be exorcised quite yet.

When you’re on the 14th book in an ongoing series, it feels practically impossible to talk about it in a way that will make sense to anyone who hasn’t been along for the journey. And in fact, even though I have read every one of these books, I needed a serious refresher before feeling ready to dive in. Um, what happened last time around? The details are a little fuzzy…

Fortunately, the narrator of Installment Immortality, ghost babysitter Mary Dunlavy, is just bouncing back from a major trauma and missed quite a bit, so her opening in the first chapter is quite helpful:

All right, this is where I recap. Because we’re dealing with five generations of family history here, and that’s a lot, even when you’ve been there from the beginning. I can’t count on anyone having been here from the beginning anymore, myself included, so I’ll give you the basic shape of things and hope that will be enough to ground you in this glorious ghost story already in progress.

Thanks, Mary!

The first chapter is Mary giving us a speed-recap, and it was just what I needed. (That, plus keeping the Incryptids wiki page bookmarked for easy reference.)

A brief explanation on the series (from my review of one of the earlier books):

The InCryptid series is a big, sprawling, interconnected story about the varied and sundry members of the Price/Healy clan — humans (mostly) who specialize in cryptozoology, the study and preservation of non-human people who live among us here on Earth. The arch-enemies of the Price gang (and all non-human species) is the Covenant, a powerful organization dedicated to hunting down and eliminating all cryptids — ostensibly to protect humans, but really, at this point, it’s more from deeply ingrained hatred and a desire to rid the world of everything non-human.

The series has had several different narrators, most of whom get a couple of books in a row before we move on to the next. Installment Immortality is Mary’s second book, and she picks up right where she left off in the previous book, Aftermarket Afterlife.

The Price-Healy family has inflicted serious harm on the Covenant, and now the Covenant wants payback. They’re trying to get it by rounding up and either destroying or weaponizing ghosts, and Mary’s new boss — the anima mundi, the living spirit of the world — wants it stopped before irreversible damage is done. Mary is tasked with finding these wannabe ghostbusters and doing whatever it takes to shut them down.

Meanwhile, the family is in tatters, having suffered two devastating losses in the last book. No one is operating at full speed, but Mary recognizes that siblings Elsie and Arthur need both a distraction and a purpose, and the three set off on a road trip to carry out her mission.

As we get into the main action of the story, the pace quickens and the stakes get higher and higher. Without going too far into the details, I’ll just say that the suspense becomes intense, and I was on the edge of my seat! You might think that when a main character is a ghost and therefore already dead, there wouldn’t be much risk… and you’d be wrong. Mary faces incredible danger, but her devotion to her kids (yes, Elsie and Arthur are adults, but once Mary has been someone’s babysitter, they’re always going to be her kids, no matter their age) keeps her focuses on her mission and determined to do whatever it takes to protect them.

Installment Immortality is another terrific addition to a great series. It can feel somewhat dense at times — there is A LOT to keep track of. But it’s worth it. With a series this big and sprawling, the mythology and interconnectedness is intense (and seriously, those wikis are essential!), but the emotional payoff of seeing the latest developments for characters we’ve had this much time to get to know and love is really rewarding.

Obviously, starting an ongoing series at book 14 is not going to be a satisfying reading experience. Each book builds upon the one before — so really, the only way to enjoy it is to start at the beginning (Discount Armageddon)… and then keep going!

As for me, I’m all in, and can’t wait for #15!

As with other books in the Incryptid series, this one includes a novella at the end, Mourner’s Waltz. The story features the same main character as in the previous novella, picking up the story several months later. There are strong emotional beats plus a nifty adventure. I can’t talk about it without major spoilers, but it was engaging and lovely… and makes me hope that the next main Incryptid book will bring this character back to center stage.

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Book Review: Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales (Emily Wilde, #3) by Heather Fawcett

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Title: Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales
Series: Emily Wilde, #3
Author: Heather Fawcett
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication date: February 11, 2025
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The third installment in the heartwarming and enchanting Emily Wilde series, about a curmudgeonly scholar of folklore and the fae prince she loves.

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.

Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.

Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

The 3rd book in the Emily Wilde series picks up right where the 2nd book leaves off, but lacks the forward momentum and much of the charm that infuses the earlier books.

In the 2nd book, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, dryadologist Emily Wilde locates the door to her fiancé Wendell’s kingdom (he’s actually a King of Fairie), so that he can return from exile; thanks to Emily outwitting (and poisoning) his wicked stepmother who’d stolen the throne, the kingdom is Wendell’s once again. As Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales opens, Emily and Wendell have reentered his kingdom and are making their way to his castle.

And they seem to spend a very long time making their way… we spend an awfully long time just hearing about them walking through the forest, picking up assorted companions as they march along.

Eventually, the action picks up, and the narrative focuses both on Emily’s adjustment to life in the Faerie world, where she’s quite out of place as a mortal Queen despite Wendell’s best efforts to make her happy, and their investigation of a curse that’s infecting the kingdom. The previous queen is still somewhere in the kingdom, and she’s poured her poison into the land itself. It will take a dramatic, dire action to save the kingdom, and Emily wants to make sure that the cure for the infection won’t end up dooming Wendell.

Emily is a scholar and lives for research, so when action is called for, she heads for the books. One of the lovely aspects of the Emily Wilde books is how Emily relies on her academic research into folklore to provide clues to how to actually survive and solve puzzles while amongst the fae. In this case, she finds an obscure tale of a forgotten fae king that provides clues as to how to beat the old queen — but she is dismayed to realize that there may be no saving Wendell himself. Of course, Emily isn’t someone who gives up in the face of a challenge, and dives deeper into the research and also undertakes a highly risky quest in order to find a solution that saves the kingdom and the man she loves.

As in the previous books, Emily interacts with fae and mortals, and we’re treated to her scholarly tangents about the history, mythology, and sources related to all the various types of fae she meets. While some fae are absolutely terrifying, Emily’s scholarly curiosity sees her through, despite her fear and the dangers of her quest.

The book is told via Emily’s journal entries, which is effective to an extent… and yet, also removes any question about whether Emily herself survives any given situation. She’s writing a record of what she’s experienced, so we also know that she made it through any given danger before we even read about it. Something about the writing style puts the reader at a distance: We’re hearing about events after the fact, and even when the narrative describes an action sequence, it’s action that’s happened to the character already, thus depriving the narrative of a true sense of suspense.

I do really enjoy the world of Emily Wilde, but this third book feels oddly flat. By the end, the stakes and the plot pick up quite a bit, but as a reader, it’s hard to feel the sense of investment or emotion provided by the other two. Obviously, this isn’t meant to be a standalone, but it’s still disconcerting to pick up the book and feel like we’ve started in the middle of something. There’s an assumption that we already know the characters… and yet, the lack of character development is striking. We don’t learn anything further about them, and while we see them in action as the plotlines move forward, they don’t particular feel like living, breathing characters the way they did in the previous books.

I loved the previous two Emily Wilde books, but sadly, this one was only… okay. The 3rd book does a nice job of wrapping up the story and provides a very good outcome for Emily and Wendell. The slow start was discouraging, and it really takes quite a while before it feels as thought there’s any sort of story momentum. Eventually, I felt more involved and enjoyed the last half of the book much more than the beginning.

Readers who’ve read the first two Emily Wilde books will certainly want to read Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales. As the trilogy’s conclusion, this book provides a satisfyingly happy ending, even though the slow pacing means it takes a while for the story to really gain traction and feel likes it’s actually moving.

Taken as a whole, I enjoyed the Emily Wilde trilogy very much and recommend them for anyone who enjoys a good fantasy foray into the world of Faerie… especially when narrated by a grumpy scholar. There’s a lot to love here, and I suspect I might not have felt the slow pace of the third book if I’d read the trilogy straight through… so that’s my reading advice to anyone new to the world of Emily Wilde: Start with the first book, and if it captures your imagination (and I think it will), keep going right away with books two and three!

Reading goals: Series to read in 2025

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Here we are, approaching the middle of January — and that means it’s time for me to think about my plans for reading series in the coming year.

Each January, I typically identify a few series that I want to prioritize in the coming year. At the moment, I only have one in mind that I know I want to read a lot of, or maybe even read all the way through to the end.

Meanwhile, there are a few series (completed or ongoing) that I’d like to at least start. If I like the first book, maybe I’ll decide to keep going… but in any case, I hope to sample a few series starters and then see how I feel.

My priority series to read in 2025 will be:

Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong: I read the first book late in 2024, and can’t wait to clear my reading obligation pile a bit so I can start bingeing more books in this series.

If I somehow manage to get through the remaining six books, I’ll likely want to start the follow-up series, Haven’s Rock… but that’s a big if, and I’m not going to plan on that right now.

Other series to sample or binge in 2025:

The Mary books (Lady Janies series) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows: I’ve now read the three Jane books, and would like to get to all three of the Mary books in 2025… but so long as I read at least one, I’ll feel pretty good.

Green Rider series by Kristen Britain: I’m planning to read the first book, and if all goes well, I hope to continue. I have high hopes — I’ve heard good things!

A pair of duologies round out my list for now — I’ve been wanting to get to these, and hope that 2025 will be the year when I make it happen.

The Stolen Heir duology by Holly Black: Technically, only one of these would be new to me. I read The Stolen Heir when it was first released, but I’d need to do a re-read before reading The Prisoner’s Throne.

Gilded duology by Marissa Meyer: I own hardcover editions of both books (don’t ask!), but have yet to pick them up. Maybe audio will be the way to go.

The “maybe” books:

And now, all my “maybe” choices — these are all series starters that I’m interested in. Maybe I’ll get to some of these in 2025, and then maybe I’ll want to read more from the same series… or maybe not. In any case, here are the other series starters that I’m considering this year, including several that are holdovers from 2024:

  • Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall
  • Pines by Blake Crouch
  • Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
  • Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
  • Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey (because I feel like I absolutely should have read the Valdemar books by now)
  • Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (which, yes, has been on my series-to-read list for several years now, but I haven’t given up!)
  • Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews (one of my holdovers — so if it doesn’t happen in 2025, it’s probably never going to happen)
  • Never Fall for Your Fiancé (Merriwell Sisters, #1) by Virginia Heath
  • Virgin River by Robyn Carr (because I’ve watched every season of the Netflix show, and it’s probably time to check out the original story)
  • Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern, #1) by Anne McCaffrey (because how have I made it this far in my reading life without ever trying this series?)

Are you planning to start any new series this year? If you’ve read any of the series on my list for 2025, please let me know what you thought and if you have any recommendations!

Book Review: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear (Wayward Children, #10) by Seanan McGuire

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Title: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear
Series: Wayward Children, #10
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: Tor
Publication date: January 7, 2025
Length: 160 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Giant turtles, impossible ships, and tidal rivers ridden by a Drowned girl in search of a family in the latest in the bestselling Hugo and Nebula Award-Winning Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire.

Nadya had three mothers: the one who bore her, the country that poisoned her, and the one who adopted her.

Nadya never considered herself less than whole, not until her adoptive parents fitted her with a prosthetic arm against her will, seeking to replace the one she’d been missing from birth.

It was cumbersome; it was uncomfortable; it was wrong.

It wasn’t her.

Frustrated and unable to express why, Nadya began to wander, until the day she fell through a door into Belyrreka, the Land Beneath the Lake–and found herself in a world of water, filled with child-eating amphibians, majestic giant turtles, and impossible ships that sailed as happily beneath the surface as on top. In Belyrreka, she found herself understood for who she was: a Drowned Girl, who had made her way to her real home, accepted by the river and its people.

But even in Belyrreka, there are dangers, and trials, and Nadya would soon find herself fighting to keep hold of everything she had come to treasure.

Adrift in Currents Clear and Clean is the 10th book in Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series, and I’m pleased to say that the series is going strong. In fact, Adrift stands out as one of the best in the series, as far as I’m concerned.

In this 10th book, the story never actually ventures into Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, the setting that anchors the series and creates a connection between all of the books and their characters. Instead, Adrift tells the story of one particular Wayward Child, Nadya, and what happens to her in the world of Belyrreka.

Nadya is not a new character — although, if you’re like me, it might take more than a slight hint to put the pieces together. Readers of the series were introduced to Nadya in the 3rd book, Beneath the Sugar Sky. In that book, Nadya was a student at Eleanor West’s home, having gone through a portal to another world and then been returned to our own. Nadya, like the other characters in the series, was left to yearn for the world that feels like her true home and wait for the day when that world might call her back.

Adrift in Currents Clear and Clean takes us back to Nadya’s origin story. Abandoned at birth, Nadya is raised in a Russian orphanage — a bright child who thrives on caring for the other children and helping them find forever homes.

She was young and sweet and innocent and hard, in the way of children raised in job lots rather than individually; she was doing her best to be a good person, and to figure out what that meant in the context of the world she knew and had and understood.

Born without a right arm below the elbow, Nadya has never felt that she was disabled or missing anything at all; this is who she is, and she manages perfectly well. But at age nine, Nadya is finally adopted herself, by an American missionary couple who see taking in an imperfect child as a good deed. They don’t love her for herself; they love having her as proof of their own goodness.

Nadya’s new life in American is filled with things and luxuries that she wouldn’t have had in the land of her birth, and she knows that she must be compliant and grateful at all times — until the day that her adoptive parents take her to the doctor to receive a prosthetic arm. Nadya doesn’t want it — she’s fine as she is — but her objections don’t matter. She’s forced into wearing the prosthetic, which is clunky and hurts her skin. Now, for the first time, children at school see her as other; she’s not Nadya their playmate any longer, but the girl with the strange fake arm.

Miserable, Nadya goes for a walk to her favorite place, the turtle pond near her home. When she sees a strange shadow on the water that looks almost like a door, she leans in for a closer look, and falls in. Instead of drowning, Nadya wakes on the shores of a strange river in a strange world — and finds a wonderful place where she belongs, finds purpose and connection and true family, and knows that she’s finally home.

Nadya’s life in Belyrreka is wondrous. It’s a world of water — people live beneath the river and the lake, in cities where water has different weights. Some water is for breathing, some for swimming. Heavier water is deeper, and people ride boats and turtles through the lighter water to the dry world above, where they fish and farm and bring back sustenance to the cities. I can understand why Nadya would never want to leave Belyrreka — I would willingly have read much, much more about it.

Of course, if you’ve read Beneath the Sugar Sky, you’ll know that in that book, Nadya is introduced as a girl who returned from a watery world — so Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is a prequel, of sorts, to that book. We read Adrift knowing that Nadya will inevitably be wrenched away from Belyrreka. Seeing her happiness in this world is a special kind of sadness for the reader; we know that her time is limited, even if she does not.

Beneath the Sugar Sky also provides a coda to Nadya’s story in Adrift. When I finished Adrift — with a lump in my throat — I went back to Beneath the Sugar Sky and read the conclusion of Nadya’s part of that story. Without saying too much, I’ll just note that the payoff made my tears go away!

Many readers note having uneven experiences with the Wayward Children series. For me, it’s been generally wonderful all the way through, although yes, some books in the series are more memorable or powerful or affecting than others. We all have our favorites — and now that I’ve read Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear, I can say with certainty that it’s one of the best.

As I’ve said with my review of each books in the series, I highly recommend starting at the beginning and continuing from there. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is a self-contained story that can be read on its own; there are no other characters or plotlines in it that require knowledge of earlier events in the series. Still, I recommend reading it as part of the whole, in order to get the full impact.

Nadya’s story is incredibly moving, and the world of Belyrreka is a delight. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is a terrific addition to an inventive, always-changing series. Don’t miss it.

Book Review: The Dark Is Rising (The Dark is Rising, #2) by Susan Cooper

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Title: The Dark Is Rising
Series: The Dark Is Rising, #2
Author: Susan Cooper
Publisher: Aladdin
Publication date: 1973
Length: 244 pages
Genre: Middle grade
Source: Library
Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

This night will be bad and tomorrow will be beyond imagining.

It’s Midwinter’s Eve, the day before Will’s eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. This will be a birthday like no other. Will discovers that he has the power of the Old Ones, and that he must embark on a quest to vanquish the terrifyingly evil magic of the Dark.

The second novel in Susan Cooper’s highly acclaimed Dark is Rising sequence.

And another synopsis from a different edition:

On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift — that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from domination by the forces of evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical Signs that will one day aid the Old Ones in the final battle between the Dark and the Light. And for the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight.

I finally got around to starting The Dark is Rising sequence this year, after having it on my to-read list for a very long time. Two books in, I’m calling it — I’m done. (At least, for now… although I suspect it’s actually forever).

This may be yet another example of wrong reader, wrong time. Perhaps if I’d read these books with my kids when they were younger, I would have had a completely different experience. But the reality is, reading this 2nd book in the series as an adult was a slog, and I never engaged with the story.

In brief — Will Stanton awakes on his 11th birthday to find out he’s a chosen one. (Hmmm, sound familiar? Keep in mind this book was originally published in 1973, well before a certain other special 11-year-old ever appeared in print). As Will learns, he’s the last of the Old Ones, a group of magically gifted people dedicated to prevent the Dark (forces of evil) from gaining power and taking over. The Old Ones represent the Light, and Will’s role is to gather six signs that together will banish the Dark, at least until it manages to try again.

As an Old One, Will can move through time. Guided by people of his village (including Merriman Lyon, the only character crossing over from the first book) — also secretly Old Ones — he uncovers the signs one by one, encountering nefarious representatives of the Dark along the way. A climactic showdown endangers his entire family and town… and Will is ultimately the one who must save them all.

Why Will? Why can’t any of the other Old Ones find the signs? It’s explained that he’s a seventh son of a seventh son, which is apparently significant, and also that he’s last of the Old Ones (but why is he the last? Don’t know). In any case, Will magically gains all the knowledge he needs to fulfill his role, and the plot centers around his quest to retrieve the signs and defeat the Dark’s attempt to rise.

Honestly? I was bored. I stuck with the book for the sake of seeing how it ended and because I was holding onto the idea of completing the five-book series… but I really had to force myself to finish, so I can’t see continuing.

Maybe it’s just a case of “been there, done that”. Maybe The Dark Is Rising sequence was new and different back when it was published… but at this point, there are plenty of magical quest and chosen one stories available in children’s books, and I didn’t feel that The Dark Is Rising offered me anything particularly unique or engaging.

I’ve heard that the series gets really good in later books, but I don’t think I’m interested enough to see for myself. As I said, this could just be a case of being the wrong reader at the wrong time.

In my review of the first book, Over Sea, Under Stone, I said that I really enjoyed the book and was happy to have read it, but that I’d probably leave it as a stand-alone read and not continue. Having now read the 2nd book, I should have stayed with my first instinct. I do think this series could be very entertaining for kids who enjoy fantasy quests, but as an adult reader, I’m out.

Book Review: Aftermarket Afterlife (InCryptid, #13) by Seanan McGuire

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Title: Aftermarket Afterlife
Series: Incryptid, #13
Author: Seanan McGuire
Publisher: DAW
Publication date: March 5, 2024
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Urban fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Seanan McGuire’s New York Times -bestselling and Hugo Award-nominated urban fantasy InCryptid series continues with the thirteenth book following the Price family, cryptozoologists who study and protect the creatures living in secret all around us

Mary Dunlavy didn’t intend to become a professional babysitter. Of course, she didn’t intend to die, either, or to become a crossroads ghost. As a babysitting ghost, she’s been caring for the Price family for four generations, and she’s planning to keep doing the job for the better part of forever.

With her first charge finally back from her decades-long cross-dimensional field trip, with a long-lost husband and adopted daughter in tow, it’s time for Mary to oversee the world’s most chaotic family reunion. And that’s before the Covenant of St. George launches a full scale strike against the cryptids of Manhattan, followed quickly by an attack on the Campbell Family Carnival.

It’s going to take every advantage and every ally they have for the Prices to survive what’s coming—and for Mary, to avoid finding out the answer to a question she’s never wanted to know: where does a babysitting ghost go when she runs out of people to take care of?

In the 13th installment in the weird and wonderful world of Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series, the Price-Healy family is back… and things are not going well at all.

My recap from the previous book in the series still holds true:

The InCryptid series is a big, sprawling, interconnected story about the varied and sundry members of the Price/Healy clan — humans (mostly) who specialize in cryptozoology, the study and preservation of non-human people who live among us here on Earth. The arch-enemies of the Price gang (and all non-human species) is the Covenant, a powerful organization dedicated to hunting down and eliminating all cryptids — ostensibly to protect humans, but really, at this point, it’s more from deeply ingrained hatred and a desire to rid the world of everything non-human.

The series covers a lot of ground, and as it’s progressed, different family members have had the starring roles in different books. We’ve had books mainly focused on siblings Verity, Alex, and Antimony, and also their cousin Sarah, and their grandparents Alice and Thomas, but Aftermarket Afterlife is the first book where the family babysitter, Mary Dunlavy, is in the central role.

Up to now, Mary has been a featured side character, always present one way or another in the family’s lives, but usually never in more than a few key scenes from book to book. In Aftermarket Afterlife, we’re finally able to experience the Price-Healy clan through Mary’s eyes, and it’s a fascinating journey.

Mary died about a hundred years earlier, but that hasn’t stopped her from carrying out her duties as the family’s babysitter. She may be a ghost, but she’s good at her job! By appearance, she’s a teen girl (with startling white hair and eerie eyes), and her afterlife’s purpose is caring for the children of the Price family… even when those children are now fully grown and have children of their own. Mary can assume solid form (so she can tend the children in her care), but can also discorporate to pass through other dimensions. Most important among her ghostly abilities, she can hear when one of her children calls for her no matter where they are, and can instantly blink out from wherever she is and appear by their side.

In Aftermarket Afterlife, the Covenant is amping up their attacks on cryptid locations in North America, zeroing in on known and suspected allies of the Price clan. It’s only a matter of time before they find the family’s secret compound outside of Portland. The Prices are seemingly outnumbered, but they don’t give up easily, and soon Mary becomes essential to the family’s plan to take the fight to the Covenant.

“Hi. I’m the babysitter. And you scared my kids.”

This book starts a bit slowly, as Mary blips from one point to another, gathering intel and figuring out where everyone is. Pretty much all the family members we’ve come to know over the course of the series show up in this one, so there’s a lot of setting the scene before the action before more sharply focused. By the midpoint, however, it’s full speed ahead. The family suffers some tragic losses, and as they’re left reeling, Mary’s role as caregiver becomes even more important.

I do love this series, although thirteen books in, there is a LOT to remember and keep track of. As the various characters have changed and evolved over the series, and different higher powers have come and gone, the underlying mythology has gotten even more complicated.

“I liked it better when we weren’t all wrapped up in gods and weird divinities,” said Sam.

Honestly, same. There are more godly beings affecting the world of the Incryptid series, and it can be a little mind-boggling at times.

Aftermarket Afterlife is a particularly entertaining outing — I really enjoyed Mary as narrator. Her worldview, as a ghost, is of course quite different from that of the living family members.

You might think being dead would make death easier for me to deal with. You would be so very wrong.

I won’t go too far into plot details. For those who’ve kept up with the series, you’ll want to see it unfold without knowing much in advance. For those unfamiliar with the series, this is all likely sounding like gibberish anyway!

Aftermarket Afterlife is another terrific adventure with the Price-Healy family. I loved getting to see so many of my favorite characters once again, and really enjoyed getting to know Mary so much more through this story. The book ends with the family essentially in the middle of a war against the Covenant, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

As with other books in the Incryptid series, this one includes a novella at the end, Dreaming of You in Freefall, which takes place shortly after the events of Aftermarket Afterlife. There’s absolutely nothing I can say about it without divulging a major spoiler from the main book — but trust me, it’s a really good one, and you’ll want to read it right away.

The Incryptid series is not one to jump into at a random point. There’s so much backstory to learn, so many family members, and so many types of cryptids, as well as an overarching plot that’s been building from the beginning of the series. I do hope more people will read the Incryptid books… but if you do decide to give them a try, start with book #1, Discount Armageddon.

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Book Review: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

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Title: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands
Author: Heather Fawcett
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Publication date: January 16, 2024
Length: 342 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage. Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.

And she also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

Emily Wilde is back! Last year’s Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries was a smash hit — it seemed like everyone was talking about it! Book #2 picks up relatively soon after the first book ended, with Emily and Wendell back in Cambridge, immersed in the world of scholarship and academic competition.

And while Emily is still herself, putting her studies above everything else, she now has Wendell to temper her scholarly obsessions. Her gorgeous Faerie king (and university colleague) is determine to keep Emily comfortable and do what he can to take care of her, even when she clearly doesn’t care much about being pampered. She does care about Wendell, though, and her qualms about accepting his marriage proposal have nothing to do with whether she loves him and everything to do with how dangerous she knows the Fae to be.

When Wendell’s life is threatened and Emily starts receiving mysterious visitations, they set off to the Alps to chase down a lead, hoping to finally locate Wendell’s missing door back to his own Faerie realm. Nothing is easy, though, and there are dangers galore… along with an interesting assortment of both adorable and hideous magical creatures.

This second book is a total delight, living up to the promise of the first and delivering a terrific mix of nerdy scholarship and enchanting magic. Emily is a wonderful main character, following her own path no matter where it takes her, never willing to compromise when a new discovery beckons. (Who knows, maybe she’ll even write a paper about it!)

The adventure is lots of fun, the writing is funny and fast-paced, and the overall atmosphere combines a throwback to Victorian times with a heaping dose of magical intrigue and dangers. I did feel that the climax and resolution of the quest came about almost too quickly, after a lengthy build-up, but I still felt satisfied and engaged when I got to the end, and will definitely be back for more.

The Emily Wilde books are oodles of fun, with terrific characters, a novel approach to storytelling, captivating magical worlds, and plenty of geeky delights. If you enjoy the fantasy genre, you’ll definitely want to check out these books.