reincarnation

REVIEW:  Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

REVIEW: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Dear Ms. Taylor, Your previous novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, was my favorite read of 2011. In it, readers met Karou, a blue-haired art student from Prague who also happened to be the human adopted daughter of monsters. The unfolding of Karou’s story, her history with the chimera, and her connection to the global(…)

REVIEW:  Mariana by Susanna Kearsley (and giveaway)

REVIEW: Mariana by Susanna Kearsley (and giveaway)

Dear Ms. Kearsley, It’s no secret that I love your books. The Winter Sea and The Rose Garden made my Best of 2010 and Best of 2011 lists, respectively, so it’s probably past time that I let one of my DA colleagues have a chance to review you. But when I heard that Mariana was(…)

REVIEW: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

REVIEW: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Dear Ms. Taylor, Your novels have been on my peripheral awareness for a couple years now. I keep meaning to give them a try, but you know how it is. So many books, so little time. Then I heard the buzz surrounding Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I thought it was a great title so(…)

REVIEW: Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day

REVIEW: Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day

Dear Ms. Day: I felt like that there was a kernel of a really great story here but the story I wanted to read and the story I read were at such odds with each other. The story that I felt was trying to be told was of a man who had an enduring love(…)

REVIEW: Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh

REVIEW: Archangel’s Blade by Nalini Singh

Dear Ms. Singh, Archangel’s Blade opens with a flashback in the vampire Dmitri’s POV, one that takes us back to Dmitri’s human life. In the flashback, dark, ruthless Dmitri is revealed to have once, a thousand years ago, been a loving and tender hearted man devoted to his two children and to his wife. Smiling(…)

REVIEW: Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon

REVIEW: Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon

Dear Ms. Pon, I read your debut, Silver Phoenix, when it was first released and enjoyed it. Like Jane, I’m a big fan of multicultural stories and it was wonderful to see a YA fantasy featuring a setting based on ancient China. So I’ve been looking forward to your follow-up for a quite a while.(…)

REVIEW:  The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

REVIEW: The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Dear Ms. Miller, Being a part of what has become known as ‘The Penguin Five’ must build a lot of pressure on you.   The Penguin Five are being shopped as some of the best releases to come from Penguin’s various imprints in the next five months, and your book is the leader of the pack.  (…)

REVIEW: And Falling, Fly by Skylar White

REVIEW: And Falling, Fly by Skylar White

Dear Ms. White: I am a reluctant paranormal reader these days. Everything seems so common that it’s hard to generate excitement.   This book came to me on the recommendation of someone whose previous recommendations had worked out for me and so I took a chance. I was so glad that I did.   This is a(…)

CONVERSATIONAL REVIEW: Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti

Janine: When Jaili (Maili) and I recently found out we were reading the same little-known book from 2008, Dru Pagliassotti’s Clockwork Heart, we thought it would be fun to discuss it here at Dear Author. But first, a plot synopsis: Clockwork Heart takes place in a fictional Industrial Age city-state called Ondinium. One of Ondinium’s(…)

REVIEW: Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

Dear Ms. Pon, I fall into that category of people who wish more fantasy novels set in non-Western settings were available to the general readership at large.   And while I’m it, I want more than just those non-Western settings; I also want the stories of the non-white characters that live in those worlds.     Diversity, multiculturalism(…)

REVIEW:  Egyptian Nights and Egyptian Days by Jennifer Mueller

REVIEW: Egyptian Nights and Egyptian Days by Jennifer Mueller

Dear Ms Mueller, One thing I know is that I’ll always get something new and different when I begin one of your stories. I realize I mention the unusual settings you utilize in almost every review but I appreciate it so darn much that it just has to be said. And this is one of(…)

REVIEW: Enduring Promise by Tempest Knight

Dear Ms. Knight: This novella is about the size of an anthology story and gives you an opportunity to have a full fledged story. Armand is the human servant and lover of vampire Giselle Dubois. A mob comes to kill her and Armand insist’s the Giselle save herself and promises that he will reincarnate and(…)