Kat Howard - Roses And Rot (2016)

Today my review of Kat Howard's 'Roses And Rot' is up at Fantasy Faction. This is a glorious tribute to fairy tales, drawing heavily from the Child Ballads but touching on everything from Disney to Shakespeare to tell the story of two sisters who attend a prestigious arts school that has secret links to the world of Faerie. Kat Howard gets the Fae right, which is crucial in these kind of stories, and I will happily compare this book to favourites like Diana Wynne Jones' 'Fire & Hemlock' and Ellen Kushner's 'Thomas The Rhymer'. Read more through at the link.

Sarah Pinborough - The Language Of Dying (2013)

This month I have also reviewed Sarah Pinborough's novella, 'The Language Of Dying'. This is a deeply personal work about an unnamed narrator who is looking after her dying father. Beautifully written and unflinchingly observed, it is a work that defies easy categorisation, but has much that is profound, troubling and refreshingly honest to say about our mortality, and the unexpected courses our lives take. Read more through at the link.

Seanan McGuire - Every Heart A Doorway (2016)

Once again I must apologise for the lack of regular updates. Will try to keep on top of those. Anyway, earlier in the month I reviewed Seanan McGuire's heartwrenching tribute to portal Fantasy and the children who return from magical worlds, 'Every Heart A Doorway', over at Fantasy Faction. I absolutely loved this book, it mashes up genres with glee and interrogates what it is about portal fantasies that makes them so universally appealing, whilst exploring issues of mental health, gender and identity. The end result is beautifully written and exquisitely moving. Read more through at the link.