Review: Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik My rating: 4 of 5 stars Spinning Silver was my introduction to Naomi Novik, and a glorious introduction it was. It has been a very long time since I have been so captivated by a story, by writing, by the beauty of language that it silenced my inner critic and editor. This is a charming and captivating story drawing upon Eastern European mythology and sensibilities, a very female story, which…

Review: The Kingston Cycle, by C.J. Polk

Witchmark by C.L. Polk My rating: 3 of 5 stars A refreshing take on fantasy, set in a world of an aristocratic ruling class which holds not only social and economic power, but secretly magic, while all others are outcasts, and should they show any signs of magical abilities, are consigned to asylums to apparently languish. Polk creates some interesting characters caught in both family and political power struggles, while examining morality. Altogether an entertaining…

Review: Ship of Theseus, by J.J. Abrams

Ship of Theseus by J.J. Abrams My rating: 3 of 5 stars More of an artifact than a literary work, a choose your own adventure for Generation X and Millennials, I found reading the novel as a literary work difficult because there was so much else going on with postcards and maps and memorabilia, lots of distractions which took me away from the primary narrative, and as a result, to my great shame, I found…

Another 5-star review for The Rose Guardian

Goodreads review Friend and colleague, Michéle Laframboise, left this quite astonishing 5-star review of my novel, The Rose Guardian, on Goodreads. I bought The Rose Guardian after reading the opening at the end of in Dreams of the Moon. it was riveting. Intriguing, family tensions at the funerals of the main character’s mother. I had to know more! I bought the book and waited until I had finished some projects before starting to read the Rose Guardian….

Review: In Veritas, by C.J. Lavigne

In Veritas by C.J. Lavigne My rating: 2 of 5 stars I came to C.J. Lavigne’s debut novel through the recommendation of a friend, with expectations I would find this tale one into which I could immerse and engage. But, alas, it was not to be. Certainly this is an ambitious novel in that Lavigne chooses to tell this story from a foreign and difficult point of view, that of a young woman who experiences…