Review: Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill

February 24, 2019 DeAnne1 Comment

Okay – first and foremost something that has no bearing on my rating at all but must be mentioned – this cover! It is so breathtaking in person and was done excellently. The detail when you really look at it is exquisite.

Now that I have that out of the way, I will be the first person to admit that modern poetry is typically not my thing. A six word sentence broken up into three lines does not a poem make in my opinion. I know a lot of people enjoy that style, but I don’t, so I was a little hesitant heading into this. I was pleasantly surprised that this book of poetry and short stories was a more traditional style while still being modern and I LOVED it.

The way Gill twists the common fairytale themes and looks at them in a different way was so refreshing and beautiful. Her writing at times is so lyrical and descriptive that there were times I literally stopped, had to take a breath, and then re-read. I was often swept away by the imagery that she was portraying and building within these passages.

It was great looking at these stories from a different angle and while the poems and stories definitely lean towards feminism, it’s feminism that speaks of strength and resilience, belief in oneself. I was not expecting to love this collection as much as I did, I thought I would probably enjoy it and have a few that really spoke to me, but I truly fell in love with it. i’m definitely looking forward to picking up other collections and works by Nikita Gill in the future and would definitely recommend checking our Fierce Fairytales.

Happy reading!

Author Spotlight: Ellie Alexander

October 14, 2018 DeAnne2 Comments

Earlier this year while browsing Booktube I was introduced to the Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander. I was instantly intrigued as this series was set in Ashland, Oregon, which is a place near and dear to my heart. I have many fond memories of Ashland and the Oregon Shakespeare festival throughout my life, going to the Shakespeare Festival was a tradition for my dad and I. Needless to say, I was both excited and cautious when I picked up the first book in the series, Meet Your Baker.

This series centers around Juliet, who has recently returned home to Ashland, Oregon to help her mother at their bake shop, Torte. Obviously murder and mayhem ensues and soon Jules is knee deep in the mystery.

I was pleasantly surprised by how vividly Ellie Alexander painted Ashland and how accurate the descriptions of this section of the city were. After reading this first book I was completely hooked. Her writing is descriptive and rich, with humor and playfulness woven in. While reading this book I was completely immersed, not just because of the story but because of how perfectly she painted the atmosphere of Ashland itself. It’s one of my favorite places so I readily admit I’m biased, but that may have also made me a harsher critic if it wasn’t as perfect as it is.

I immediately started collecting the next couple books in the series but as of yet hadn’t had a chance to continue (the TBR struggle is real). I added not only the books from the Bakeshop series to my wish list, but also her other series both under Ellie Alexander, but her other name Kate Dyer-Seeley.

This past week I got an email from my favorite local bookstore, Oregon Books, notifying me of an author event they were having. Imagine my surprise (and delight) when it was Ellie Alexander. My internal fangirl did a little dance and I immediately put it on my calendar. I didn’t know what to expect, but was just excited that I would get to meet a local author whose work I truly enjoy. The event was amazing, the intimate setting allowed us to have a great discussion about her different series, how they came to be, her writing process and more. If I didn’t already want to read everything she had written, this would have definitely made me want to. It was obvious that she puts some of herself into each story she writes and that serves to make her work more inviting and full of depth. Listening to her talk about the places she writes about (all of which she has visited) made me want to visit them all, even those I’ve been to many times throughout my life. I was able to get books from a couple of her other series which I can’t wait to pick up.

I would have recommended her books before meeting her, but after meeting her and getting to spend time with her I want to recommend her even more. If you are looking for a new cozy mystery, definitely check her out. If a bakeshop/food centered mystery isn’t your thing, she has three other series available that focus on other themes. There’s the Pacific Northwest Mysteries (her first series) which center around Meg, who wants to be a serious investigative reporter but ends up working for an outdoor magazine – even though she doesn’t know much about outdoor activities. Her Rose City mystery series centers around a floral shop in Portland, Oregon where our main character Britta works with her aunt Elin. Last (but definitely not least) is the Sloan Krause Mystery series, set in Leavenworth, Washington with a theme of brewing craft beers.

(All cover images link to the Amazon pages for the books)

Be sure to also check out Ellie on her website and her new youtube channel.

Happy Reading!

Anthology Appreciation

September 2, 2018September 2, 2018 DeAnneLeave a comment

Not everyone enjoys anthologies, but they are some of my favorites. I’ve always been a lover of the short story and that love was fostered by some teachers who also thought they were a great medium. In some ways they can be more difficult to write as they must be much more concise and concentrated than a full length novel. In this post I’m going to talk about a few I’ve recently read as well as some of my favorites. All pictures of the covers will be linked to the book’s Amazon page so that you can pick them up if you want to.

Recently I was given the opportunity through NetGalley to read two anthologies which recently came out. They were very different genres and subjects, but I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

Toil and Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft, which was edited by Tess Sharpe and Jessica Spotswood, included stories that represented a number of cultures, mythologies and genres. My detailed review of each story is on my Goodreads so I won’t rehash that here, but I can say that while there were some stories I didn’t enjoy as much as others it was an enjoyable read. It would be perfect for reading not only around Halloween, but anytime during the year.

The other anthology I received on NetGalley was Fresh Ink, which was done in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Having already read Flying Lessons, I was super excited to be able to read this one ahead of time. I wish there were more anthologies like these two as they explore topics and situations that often need to be explored and discussed by wider audiences. Again, I didn’t love every story in this anthology, but it exposed me to a number of authors I had not previously read. That’s another great thing about anthologies, you get to read stories from so many authors who you often may not have read from before.

I have a number of anthologies on my bookshelves, so picking out favorites is not always an easy task. I have anthologies in different genres and with different subject matter, but I’ve chosen a few that I really loved when I read them. My True Love Gave to Me and Summer Days & Summer Nights are collections which were edited by Stephanie Perkins. One has love stories based in the winter while the other is set during the summer (bonus, the story in Summer Days & Summer Nights by Perkins is a continuation of the story she wrote for My True Love Gave to Me and I LOVED them both).

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys and Unnatural Creatures both tackle darker subjects and were both amazing. They are perfect to read closer to Halloween and each have a spooky vibe that I enjoyed immensely. There are some stories in them which are definitely not for the faint of heart. I especially loved that Unnatural Creatures was edited by Neil Gaiman. A lot of the stories in these two anthologies had great twists and were very addictive.

Meet Cute is an anthology purely about the initial interactions between characters that lead to a romance, or the “Meet Cute.” There are some stories in this one that are absolutely amazing and each one leaves you wanting more, but in a good way.