A Reviews / A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Reading Lists / Recommended Reads / Top Ten Lists#metoo / #ownvoices / 1870s / 1920s / 1970s / accountant / Agent/Spies/Undercover / arranged-marriage / Asian heroine / Asperger's / audiobook / Best of 2019 / best of list / book editor / California / class differences / Contemporary / custody battle / dragons / enemies to lovers / epistolary / f/f / Fairyland / fake relationship / family / Fantasy / farming / friends-to-lovers / gods / heroine in disguise / high-school / historical romance / Hong Kong based world / illegitimate-child / LGBTQIA / Literary fiction / London / look alikes / mafia / magical powers / Malaysia / martial arts / Mexico / nobleman / Northern Ireland / nurse / POC / POC author / political intrigue / quest / reformed hero / Regency-based world / romantic-elements / roommates / saga / single dad / streetwise heroine / Time-Travel / Vietnam / waitress / war19 Comments
I was tempted to make a list of my favorites among the 2019-published books I read this year. In the end I decided to focus on my favorite 2019 reads (first time reads; I didn’t include books I had read / reviewed in prior years) without regard to their year ... more >
B Reviews / B+ Reviews / Recommended Readsfamilies / Hidden Legacy / joint review / magical powers / private investigators / romantic-elements / Texas / UF / Urban-Fantasy35 Comments
Janine: Wherein Sirius and I discuss the latest Hidden Legacy novel. Let’s jump right. In a world where magic is the key to power and wealth, Catalina Baylor is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, and the Head of her House. Catalina has always been afraid to use ... more >
A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / diversity / dragons / f/f / Fairyland / Fantasy / fiction with strong romantic elements / LGBTQIA / Magic / magical powers / Malaysia / POC / POC author / Regency England / SFF8 Comments
Dear Ms. Cho, Three and a half years ago, Sunita and I reviewed your first novel, a regency-set fantasy titled Sorcerer to the Crown. I liked it enough to request an ARC of the sequel, The True Queen. I have to admit, though, that I was a little apprehensive because ... more >
DNF Reviews#ownvoices / Dancer / diversity / heist / hotelier / Jewish characters / LGBTQIA characters / Magic / magical powers / Paris / POC / theft / turn of the century / YA fantasy9 Comments
Dear Ms. Chokshi, A YA fantasy about a heist set in Belle Epoque Paris sounded like exactly my cup of tea, so I happily requested an ARC of The Gilded Wolves after hearing about it. The novel, set in an alternate universe in 1889, begins with a theft. In this ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Need A Rec! / Reading Lists / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / astronaut / magical powers / movie reviews / NASA / Native American / POC / Reading lists10 Comments
Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse This is a fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic world on a Dinetah (Navajo) reservation which has survived at a time when much of the American Southwest has been flooded and is now underwater. Ironically, the reservation is desert-dry and water there is scarce. The ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B Reviews / Book Reviews / D Reviews / DNF Reviews#ownvoices / Eastern Europe / joint review / Judaism / magical powers / moneylender / winter / YA fantasy19 Comments
I believe this is our first four-person review here at DA. Sirius, Jennie, Jayne and myself review Naomi Novik’s Spinning Silver with reactions that run the gamut from “Loved it!” to “Couldn’t finish it.” We hope you’ll enjoy our review. –Janine Janine: Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik’s standalone follow-up to the ... more >