If you’re looking for a gothic romantasy that’s a fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, this book is for you! Pre-order The Musician and the Monster today!
The Musician and the Monster: A Gothic Beauty and the Beast Retelling (The Castamar Duology Book 1)
Expected Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Genre: Gothic Romantic Fantasy
Forbidden love ☑️ Morally grey MMC ⚔️ Determined heroine Music is powerful Slow burn to steamy ❄️ Wintertime 鹿 Gothic vibes ❤️啕 Hurt/comfort ️ Touch her and ✨ Magic Masquerade
Music says things words never can. I love you. I miss you. I’m sorry I killed you.
Every night, Ceridwen Kinsley plays music on her rooftop for the spirit of her dead mother. A peaceful if odd ritual, until she witnesses a murder by something not quite human. The monstrous encounter earns her notoriety within the city and a visit from the reclusive Lord Protector Drystan Winterbourne.
Charged with protecting the backwater city of Teneboure by the king, Drystan is failing at his task, and he can’t afford another slip up. But when fate and the very monster he means to conquer bring Ceridwen to his notice, he seizes the opportunity and presents her with an offer: play music for him at his manor in exchange for the money her impoverished family desperately needs. Music eases the strain of his magic, and who better to hire than the woman whose tunes he secretly listens to at night?
At first, Ceridwen is put off by Drystan’s unkempt appearance and harsh demeanor, not to mention the odd ailment that plagues him. But as he embraces her passion for music and she draws the recluse out of his lonely tower, the two develop an unlikely attachment. Class lines begin to blur as fearful indifference shifts to unexpected desire, and Ceridwen yearns to help Drystan subdue the monster as well as provide for her family. However, the monster prowling the night isn’t their only enemy, and as terrible secrets come to light, protecting those they love may risk their lives and their hearts.
This retelling of Beauty and the Beast incorporates themes and motifs from Phantom of the Opera, and is set in a gaslamp fantasy world with strong gothic vibes. It should appeal to fans of romantic and atmospheric retellings and fairy tales by authors such as Hannah Whitten, Tessonja Odette, and Stephanie Garber.
Megan Van Dyke is an award-winning fantasy romance author with a love for all things magical and romantic, especially fairytales and anything with a happily ever after. Many of her stories include themes of family (whether born into or found) and a sense of home and belonging, which are important aspects of her life as well. When not writing, Megan loves to cook, play video games, explore the great outdoors, and spend time with her family. Megan currently lives with her family in Florida.
My thoughts: this was a really enjoyable re-working of Beauty & the Beast, yes he does still have a fabulous library, don’t worry.
Ceridwen (there’s quite a few Welsh names here) is a flautist and nightly plays the flute into the air – to her dead mother’s spirit. Overheard by Lord Winterbourne, he becomes captivated by the music.
After she’s attacked by the terrifying creature haunting the town, his Lordship visits her family and offers her a job playing for him, only she can’t leave his home, not even to visit her family. She agrees, his fee will help her sick father and allow her sister Bronwyn to stop worrying so much.
You all know how it goes, there’s a few added twists to the tale, which make it more interesting a read, and a chance for Drystan to make amends and save the kingdom.
It’s a really clever, inventive re-imagining, as the author does so well, and I really enjoyed it.
We are thrilled announce that both Beauty and the Blade and Little Red Shadow by S.C. Grayson are now available!
Beauty and the Blade (The Talented Fairy Tales Book 1)
Publication Date: January 5, 2024
Genre: Gaslamp Fantasy/ Fairy Tale Fantasy
Most London socialites dream of marrying for love or status, but Contessa’s wedding is about justice—and revenge.
Nathanial Woodrow is known on the streets of London as the Beast, leader of the fearsome Lion gang who mark their victims with three slashes on their face. Since her mother was found dead with the signature slashes years ago, Contessa has wanted nothing more than to see her murderer brought to justice. However, the Beast has been impeccable at maintaining his façade as the high society Mr. Nathanial Woodrow, and nobody has been able to gather enough evidence to convict him. When the Beast unexpectedly asks Contessa’s father, the Chief of the Royal Police, for her hand in marriage, Contessa and her father hatch a plan to bring him down from the inside.
As Contessa enters the lion’s den in search of evidence to convict the Beast, she finds that not everything is as she once thought. Her father’s work, hunting down Talented that use their magic to rule the criminal underworld, is thrown into question with each glimpse of the kind-hearted man beneath the mask of a hardened gang leader. As Contessa navigates her search for justice, she finds herself questioning what side she’s really on, and why she finds herself drawn to a man she’s supposed to hate.
Little Red Shadow (The Talented Fairy Tales Book 2)
Publication Date: January 5, 2024
Genre: Fairy Tale Fantasy Romance/ Gaslamp
The Wolves are out for blood, but Scarlett doesn’t intend to let them catch their prey.
When Scarlett’s friend Georgette starts receiving death threats from the Wolves, a powerful street gang, she sets out uncover why they want a prominent socialite dead. As a Talented gangster herself, Scarlett goes undercover. Instead of a hardened murderer, she discovers the charming younger son of a Duke, Benedict Pearce, is the would-be assassin. Clearly not a killer at heart, Scarlett decides to trust the handsome rogue, and they join forces to put a stop to the Wolves mysterious machinations and save her friend.
As the pair begin their investigations, as well as a fictitious courtship to throw the Wolves off their trail, Scarlett must reckon with a past she prefers to keep hidden. Benedict, constantly jovial and flirtatious, slowly chips away at the shadows Scarlett has built around her heart.
Still, as the search uncovers deeper levels of deception, their ruse becomes increasingly dangerous. When facing down the Wolves, Scarlett is forced to confront how far into the shadows she is willing to go to protect the ones who have her heart.
Circe goes YA in this unapologetically feminist retelling of the Medusa myth steeped in Indian mythology, a YA epic fantasy addition to the Rick Riordan Presents imprint.
All monsters and heroes have beginnings. This is mine.
Sixteen-year-old Manisha is no stranger to monsters—she’s been running from them for years, from beasts who roam the jungle to the King’s army, who forced her people, the naga, to scatter to the ends of the earth. You might think that the kingdom’s famed holy temples atop the floating mountains, where Manisha is now a priestess, would be safe—but you would be wrong.
Seventeen-year-old Pratyush is a famed slayer of monsters, one of the King’s most prized warriors and a frequent visitor to the floating temples. For every monster the slayer kills, years are added to his life. You might think such a powerful warrior could do whatever he wants, but true power lies with the King. Tired after years of fighting, Pratyush wants nothing more than a peaceful, respectable life.
When Pratyush and Manisha meet, each sees in the other the possibility to chart a new path. Unfortunately, the kingdom’s powerful have other plans. A temple visitor sexually assaults Manisha and pushes her off the mountain into a pit of vipers. A month later, the King sends Pratyush off to kill one last monster (a powerful nagin who has been turning men to stone) before he’ll consider granting the slayer his freedom.
Except Manisha doesn’t die, despite the hundreds of snake bites covering her body and the venom running through her veins. She rises from the pit more powerful than ever before, with heightened senses, armor-like skin, and blood that can turn people to stone. And Pratyush doesn’t know it, but the “monster” he’s been sent to kill is none other than the girl he wants to marry.
Alternating between Manisha’s and Pratyush’s perspectives, Sajni Patel weaves together lush language, high stakes, and page-turning suspense, demanding an answer to the question “What does it truly mean to be a monster?”
When guests arrived, Sita shooed Manisha and Arya behind the lattice walls, into a secret hallway between the grand hall and the wall facing the kitchens and residences. Manisha frowned but didn’t argue. After all this time, she still couldn’t interact with guests. It didn’t matter. She didn’t like socializing anyway.
She covered her head with her jade-tinted dupatta, slipping into the cool recesses. The latticework inner wall allowed the girls to view the grand hall while remaining hidden from guests.
“Who do you think is here that’s so important?” Arya asked, nearly poking her nose through a swirl-shaped hole in the marble wall. Billowing light from the hall cut through the carvings, covering her in an illuminating pattern of light and shadow.
“Why do you ask that?” Manisha countered, peering through the carved holes.
“Sita only hides you away when there’s someone important, or had you not noticed?”
The giggles of younger girls in the hidden hallway reverberated off the walls, their bare footfalls padding away as Arya shushed them. At least someone was having fun. Sita never bothered to use the darkened walkways, so this was probably the only place where the girls could play without being scolded. Manisha was tempted to join them, to run again, to laugh, and to let go of the shackles of proper etiquette.
A hush fell over the girls, drawing Manisha’s attention back to the hall.
Three guests entered the main room like giants, faces hardened, postures rigid, and bodies sculpted by brutal battles.
Manisha picked up on two pairs of soft, bare footfalls trekking across cold floors, and one pair of footsteps so muted, they were nearly imperceptible.
An apsara led the trio to offer prayers at the innermost shrine, the shadowy door inside the crystal pikes.
The apsara told them, “It is said that the ancient ones were born during the creation of the Akash Ganga. From the great sky river came both devas, the wise ones, and asuras, the monsters which you slay. The ancient ones came to us from the glimmer of faraway stars to battle the asuras who had escaped the faraway darkness. I suppose you must have a connection with them, since you battle on our behalf.”
Two men nodded with an acquiescent hum, but the third was silent.
They knelt on red-and-gold pillows in front of the central altar. The light cast from the diya sprayed against the contours of their faces, sharpening the angles of their jaws like a fine blade. The quiet one, the tallest of the three, was just a boy.
Many boys had visited over the years, typically sons of noblemen and diplomats, even royalty—cousins of princes, mostly. They escorted their families. This one, however, arrived with commanding officers dressed in formal uniforms. Maybe he was the son of a famed commander?
Manisha was so focused on the guests that she startled when a strange magnetic pull drew her attention to the boy. A sense of curiosity. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Flustered? Annoyed? Guarded? All three?
Arya clutched Manisha’s wrist and pulled her away, whispering, “Don’t get distracted by boys.”
“I—I would never,” she muttered. “Who is he?”
Whispers and excited conversations bubbled around them as all the girls glued themselves to the carved gaps to watch.
“They call him Pratyush. He’s a famous warrior.”
Manisha scrunched her brows, confused. “But he’s just a boy.”
Arya shrugged. “All warriors start out as boys. This one must be strong. The men he’s with look like commanders, so he must be important.”
Manisha intended to look away but couldn’t seem to move.
The boy was handsome. Broad-shouldered with long black hair, the top half of which was tied back. So young and yet so commanding. Everyone flocked around him as if he were the most important person in the hall. The men he was with, the apsara at his beckoning, even Sita and the Head Priestess had come to greet him. More than that? He was allowed to light the prayer diya, an act reserved for the highest-ranking men and the apsara.
Instead of leaving the delicate holder on the altar as most would, he picked it up and… broke it. The fragile clay shattered in his hands.
A look of shock crossed his face… and just about everyone else’s. The girls behind the wall gasped, their eyes bulging as the centuries-old antique crumbled in his palms.
Had any of the girls broken something so precious, Sita would’veexiled them, kicking them off the floating mountains with nothing more than the clothes on their backs.
What would she do to this famed warrior boy?
Sita’s face flared red, her lips pressing into a tight line. She fell to her knees to collect the destroyed remains from the floor.
Manisha cracked. A bubble of laughter tore through her. She immediately covered her mouth.
Arya shot her an incredulous glare, as if she’d been personally offended. Manisha cleared her throat. Only to end up cackling. She hadn’t laughed since she’d arrived at the temple. She, in fact, didn’t think laughter was even permitted by Sita.
Sita’s look of horror and utter disbelief, tangled with the inability to do a single thing, was a moment to behold. But add a commanding warrior gaping at his mess like any other awkward boy… well, Manisha couldn’t help it.
She was now covering her mouth with both hands, cackling up a muffled storm.
Her laughter must’ve escaped because Sita glared daggers of wrath at the lattice wall. All the girls took three careful steps away from Manisha.
The boy, whose face had been flustered, went from embarrassed to indifferent as he, too, looked at the lattice wall splattered with Manisha’s laughter.
Sita, the Head Priestess, and the host apsara had gathered every last speck of the broken diya holder, reverently holding the pieces in their hands. The commanders shook their heads, rattled. Yet all they did was give the boy a pat on the back as if saying, This is why we can’t have nice things.
“We should get to the kitchens to help with supper,” Arya whispered, ushering the younger girls out of the walkway before they suffered Sita’s wrath.
Manisha knew she should go, too, but she was rooted in place, unable to remove her stare from the boy. He kept glancing at the lattice wall. There was no way he could possibly see her, not with how the marble carvings had been designed to conceal persons in the recesses. But his intense focus made her question if he could.
She walked to the end of the hallway. Yet, when the boy looked up, his gaze immediately found her. She walked back, toward the entrance. Again, he found her. How was this possible?
When the prayers ended, the warrior boy meandered toward the sweets. A table and a wall were the only things separating them. He picked up a diamond-shaped kaju katli, made from the pistachios growing in the courtyard and dusted with edible silver.
He popped the entire sweet into his mouth and glanced over his shoulder. Then he dragged his gaze across the lattice wall until his eyes landed on Manisha. She stilled in the shadows.
He had the strangest-colored eyes, lavender and poetic. Such a stark contrast against dark brown skin and the harshness of warrior-worn clothes.
“It’s not nice to laugh at someone, you know?” he said, his voice scratchy. He couldn’t be older than sixteen.
How could he pinpoint her so easily?
“I know you’re there,” he added, the corner of his lips tipping upward. Suddenly, he seemed less like a grumpy warrior and more like a regular boy. “I smell your rose oil hair perfume and hear the crunch of a leaf under your foot.”
She scowled, not having felt anything beneath her steps. But when she gingerly lifted her left foot, there it was… a leaf.
Sajni Patel is an award-winning author of women’s fiction and young adult books. Her works have appeared on numerous Best Of the Year and Must Read lists from Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Apple Books, AudioFile, Tribeza, NBC, Insider, and many others.
My thoughts: Medusa meets Indian mythology sounds like an odd mix but works surprisingly well in this YA fantasy about men and monsters.
Manisha is a nagin, an ancient line descended from goddesses with an affinity to snakes. After her people are almost wiped out, her family send her into hiding. Forced to pretend to be a faithful temple servant, she encounters a young man, Pratyush, a renowned monster killer, who just might be her destiny, or her fate?
After a terrible incident ends with her broken and blooded, thrown out from the temple, Manisha vows to find her family. Aided by a snake sidekick, Noni (the cuddliest giant serpent ever), she heads in the direction of home, making new friends along the way.
Pratyush is also on a journey, and when the two paths collide, decisions must be made.
I really enjoyed this book, I loved Manisha, she’s a wonderful protagonist. I liked playing spot the Greek mythology mixed in with the Indian, and the way the two very different cultures had been blended so well. The tiny hint for what’s to come in book 2 has me excited already!
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
We are thrilled to present the gorgeous cover for Invoking the Ruin by Shoshana Rain. Pre-order this beauty today!
Invoking Ruin (The New Olympus Book 3)
Expected Publication Date: February 20, 2024
Genre: Romantic Fantasy/ Greco-Roman Mythology
Atê:
I’m on the run. I’ve kidnapped a god, injured my sister, and stolen the one weapon that can end all of god-kind. Now, all of Olympus is hunting for me, determined to bring me to heel for the sake of their own peace and comfort.
But I’m one step ahead of them. Dionysus is mine, and I’ll do anything to stay in the lead, even release the one goddess they’re all afraid of.
All to keep him.
Dionysus:
Atê thinks she has me where she wants me, vulnerable, hers. But I’m not as helpless as she thinks I am.
I have a choice now: to help my family bring down the impetuous goddess, or continue to play the little puppet in her schemes. But I have my own plans for Atê, a long standing feud between us I will see ended.
I’ll bring her to her knees.
Invoking Ruin is a full-length, medium-burn, standalone fantasy romance with a guaranteed HEA. It contains steamy scenes and is an opposites attract romance. It is the third and final book in The New Olympus series. While it is a standalone, reading the previous books will provide the best reading experience.
The House of Atreus is spiralling into self-destruction—a woman must find a way to break the family curse. Queen Clytemnestra’s world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself. Tormented by her loss, she vows to do all she can to protect the children born from her unhappy marriage to Agamemnon. But when her husband casts his ruthless gaze towards the wealthy citadel of Troy, his ambitions threaten to once more destroy the family Clytemnestra loves. From one of Greek mythology’s most reviled characters—a woman who challenged the absolute power of men—comes this fiery tale of power, family rivalry and a mother’s burning love.
Susan C Wilson has a degree in journalism from Napier University and a diploma in classical studies from the Open University. She has worked in such environments as the Scottish Courts and the Scottish Parliament. As a writer she loves to explore what makes us human: the eternal motivations, desires and instincts that cross time and place. She also aims to make ancient stories resonate with a modern audience, through historical fiction and contemporary retellings. Her debut novel, The House of Atreus: Clytemnestra’s Bind was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition 2019 and will be published by Neem Tree Press in June 2023. This is the first of an epic trilogy and explores the Greek myth of Queen Clytemnestra from a feminist perspective.
My thoughts: Greek tragedy is full of unhappy women and tragic families, the House of Atreus is particularly full of terrible deaths. Atreus murdered his nephews and fed them to their father, who brought an army to tear down Atreus. Agamemnon and Menelaus’ avenged their father’s murder and seized the throne of Mycenae, but then Agamemnon did something terrible in order to garner a fair wind for the attack on Troy – yes that one.
This book follows the story of Agamemnon’s wife, the unhappy Clytemnestra. Her first husband, Tantalus, is murdered by Agamemnon (his cousin) as is her infant son, and she is forced to marry their killer. Menelaus marries her sister Helen, who eloped to Troy with Paris and started off that whole war.
Agamemnon is not kind or loving, not to his wife or their children. He’s a bully and a killer, so it’s no surprise Clytemnestra falls for his foster-brother, with whom she plots his downfall, should he survive Troy.
The play cycle The Orestaia (named for their son Orestes) is where this story is most familiar to me – from studying it at uni many years ago, and of course from The Iliad. So it was interesting to actually get Clytemnestra’s perspective. She’s a character in these earlier works, but like most Greek women in the poems and plays, she’s mostly silent. Things happen to her, she has little agency.
This book gives some of that back to her. It’s a violent, bloody story but that was the world she lived in. One where murder and revenge play out in every day life.
Her love for her children, Iphigenia, Electra and Orestes, as well as her murdered infant son, are what sustain her through her horrible marriage to Agamemnon. It will be interesting to see how the author chooses to tell the next part of this bloody and brutal tale.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
We’re celebrating the release of Mourned by Men this week, and if you love fantasy mixed with Greek mythology, you are going to want to read it!
Mourned by Men
Publication Date: December 12, 2023
Genre: Historical Fantasy/ Greek Mythology
Her mother told them they were daughters of a god. But can the children of gods hurt? Can they die and fail like any other mortal?
Penthesilea knew her life was different. Growing up on the lush island of the Amazons, she and her sister lived on the cusp of two worlds—the warlike one of men and the soft and mothering one of women. But Amazonian girls learn to fight, to defend their home, to battle their enemies. They are neither soft nor cold, neither fully female nor male in their traditions. However, the outside world breaks their peace, and Pen finds her sister drawn to the men outside in a way she herself cannot understand. When tragedy befalls the sisters, Pen and her warrior women journey to Troy, the site of the legendary war between friend and foe, where the Amazon queen must decide between tradition and a new sort of life that only she can define.
The Trojan War made famous Hector, Achilles, and Aeneas, but there are also Penthesilea and her Amazons and a host of legendary characters, their stories stripped of magic and deus ex machina, bared to the world as simple men and women, struggling against the often-deadly fates foretold in myth.
Katie Frendreis grew up in Chicago, reading mythology and illustrating her own fantastical adventures. This is her first published novel. She earned her BA in Classical Civilization from Loyola University and has worked in such diverse places as museums, dance studios, and funeral homes. Collecting hobbies like some people collect stamps, she also draws, paints, teaches tap dancing, and trains as an aerialist. She currently lives just outside Chicago with her husband, an adorable fruit bat/dog, a massive collection of books, and a rather large Lego community in her basement.
My thoughts: Penthisilea (her name means “mourned by men”) is the queen of the Amazons at the time of the Trojan War, and according to Homer, dies on the battlefield. Interestingly her warrior women fight for Troy, honouring a long connection between King Priam and her mother.
Greek mythology is littered with terrible men, and this story has several – Paris spoilt son of Troy who quite frankly should know better than to steal the wife of a belligerent Greek king – Menelaus (another terrible man), then there’s Heracles (wife killer, child killer, reason a lot of people end up dead), Theseus (general shit) who marries her sister Hippolyta, has a son with her (Hippolytus) and then decides he wants a different wife. Hippolyta’s terrible death, defending him, doesn’t stop him from being a terrible person either.
Penthisilea only really likes Priam, his son Hector and Hector’s killer, her enemy the Greek hero Achilles, who treats her with respect. Otherwise she’s not keen on men. Can’t really blame her.
This is a really interesting retelling of the life of another incredible character from Greek mythology to file alongside those of Circe, Penelope, Medea and Ariadne (another of Theseus’ victims).
We’re celebrating the release of Steel and Stone this week! Make sure you grab a copy today!
Steel and Stone (Cursed Kingdoms #2)
Publication Date: October 24
Genre: NA Fantasy/ Fairy Tale Retelling (Sleeping Beauty & Hades & Persephone)
A princess with a secret and a cursed kingdom to save.
A mysterious illness has decimated the kingdom of Stonewall, snatching the king and queen’s lives. The barren Stone Keep is left in Princess Aurora’s hands, sustained only by the Steelborn’s coffers.
But Aurora wants more than her kingdom’s survival. And to lift the curse that burdens her kingdom, she must dive into the Netherworld and beg for the Dark Prince’s help. The catch is, none who’s traveled to the Realm of Death has ever made it back.
Can she outwit the Dark Prince, and escape his island? And given the chance, will she want to?
A broken prince striving to risk it all in the name of true love.
When Aurora broke Prince Phillip’s heart, he vowed never to set foot in the Stone Keep. But when a coup rises against the crown of Whitehaven, the threat of war reopens his old wounds. Phillip must warn the kingdom of Stonewall.
Chaos ensues upon his arrival as Princess Aurora is dragged to the Netherworld, kidnapped by a dark god. To rescue the princess, Phillip will need his captain’s help, as they plunge into a journey riddled with dangers—the worst of which is facing the Lord of the Netherworld himself.
Will Phillip’s valiant heart conquer Aurora’s and defeat the god of death?
Steel and Stone is the second book in the Cursed Kingdom series, packed with old gods, valiant heroes, and morally grey heroines. If you like Enemies to Lovers, Hades and Persephone’s mythos, and twisted fairytales, you’ll LOVE Steel and Stone!
Silvana G. Sánchez is the USA TODAY bestselling author of sinfully addictive dark fantasy new adult novels Ash and Snow, Steel and Stone, Written in Blood, and more paranormal and fantasy romance stories, including the Vesely Academy series. She lives in Mexico with her husband, son, and two adorable Shih-Tzus she calls her dragons. When not plotting away in her writing den, she’s known to poke eyes in her practice as an ophthalmologist.
A queer revisionist retelling of the story of Hercules, for fans of The Song of Achilles, A Thousand Ships and Ariadne.
This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures… everyone’s favorite hero, right?
Well, it’s not.
This is the story of everyone else:
Alcmene: Herc’s mother (She has knives everywhere)
Hylas: Herc’s first friend (They were more than friends)
Megara: Herc’s wife (She’ll tell you about their marriage)
Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc’s labours (He never asked for the job)
His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims
It’s time to hear their stories.
Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.
My thoughts: I am a massive myths and legends geek, one of those it’s best not to get started, and I’ve enjoyed most of the retellings of recent years. These stories are designed to be recycled, retold, respun for a new age, for a long time most of them existed only in oral form. (Oops, see what I mean, special interest off!)
Hercules (or more accurately Herakles as the letter ‘c’ doesn’t exist in Ancient Greek but ‘k’ does) is probably the most famous Greek hero and one people frequently get wrong (I blame Disney – their Hercules is nothing like the myth).
This Herc, as read by his friends, family and lovers, is every bit as awful and blood soaked as much Greek tragedy. He murders his wife and children, and his punishment is those infamous twelve labours. Except in completing them, he becomes a hero. A selfish, rather stupid, often very drunk, hero. He joins Jason’s Argonauts, only to bail out before they get anywhere near the Golden Fleece, he may even be the cause of the Trojan Wars (although he dies before he can make that situation any worse).
We never really hear from Herc, only secondhand, but it’s enough. He doesn’t come out of this well. His fits of rage, his drinking, his unfaithfulness, his bad behaviour. If he was a 21st century man, he’d be in prison.
But it is interesting to have all these different views on him – some from people who love him, who think they understand him, but can they really? He believes he’s cursed by Hera, being one of Zeus’ many, many illegitimate children, but can he really blame all the death around him on the gods and not accept that he’s a thug?
Phoenicia Rogerson (who has the best first name) has created a rich and vibrant world, with its many tiny island kingdoms, its heroes and villains, gods, monsters and strange happenings. She brings it all vividly to life, and even though the language is modern, you can tell these are ancient stories.
Thank you HQ for sending me a beautiful hardback copy, you can Pre-order yours now, and it’s available at the end of August.
Ten captivating stories of adventure and resilience celebrating LGBTQ+ characters, published as an illustrated collection of queer classics for the first time.
These are the fairy tales that history forgot – or concealed. Tales in which gender is fluid and where queer stories can have a happy ending.
From the humble sailor who finds his handsome prince to the transgender market girl who becomes queen, from Europe to Asia via the African savannah, LGBTQ+ folklore researcher Pete Jordi Wood has combed through generations of history and adapted ten unforgettable stories, each illustrated by an artist who shares heritage with the culture from which the stories were born.
Pete Jordi Wood (he/him) is a British author, illustrator and screenwriter from Cornwall, U.K. Pete has written original drama for Channel 4 and the BBC and was a recipient of The John Brabourne Award from the Film and Television Charity. He describes himself as a ‘fairy tale detective’ who has dedicated himself to the academic study of queer folk tales, myths and legends.
My thoughts: what a great book to start Pride Month off with, ten stories from around the world collected here in this beautiful book. Each story has an LGBTQ+ protagonist and they’re illustrated too.
From modern day Benin (then the Kingdom of Dahomey) to Russia, China, India and beyond, these are traditional tales featuring characters that are either explicitly Queer or could be read as such.
Modernising the language but not altering the content, making them more accessible for younger readers as well as folklorists means this is a collection that could sit easily alongside a collection of Grimm tales on either a child’s shelf or a researchers. Or just someone like me, who loves fairy tales and folklore (and ok, I do have an academic background in this) but any reader would find these enchanting.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 finalists and one overall winner. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website http://www.bbnya.com or Twitter @bbnya_official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the @Foliosociety (if you love beautiful books, you NEED to check out their website!) and the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads.
Perhaps you know the myths.
Furious, benevolent Gods.
A tree that binds nine realms.
A hammer stronger than any weapon.
And someday, the end of everything.
But few have heard of me.
Looking back, it’s easy to know what choices I might have made differently. At least it feels that way. I might have given up on my title. Told my father he was useless, king of Gods or no, and left Asgard. Made a life somewhere else.
Maybe I would never have let Loki cross my path. Never have fallen in love.
But there’s no going back.
We were happy once.
And the price for that happiness was the end of everything.
Cat Rector grew up in a small Nova Scotian town and could often be found simultaneously reading a book and fighting off muskrats while walking home from school. She devours stories in all their forms, loves messy, morally grey characters, and writes about the horrors that we inflict on each other. After spending nearly a decade living abroad, she returned to Canada with her spouse to resume her war against the muskrats. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing video games, spending time with loved ones, or staring at her To Be Read pile like it’s going to read itself.
Epilogues for Lost Gods is the sequel to her debut novel, The Goddess of Nothing At All.
Find her on Twitter, Tiktok, and Instagram at Cat_Rector
Or visit her website, CatRector.com
My thoughts: I do enjoy a mythic retelling, and this, from the point of view of the Norse goddess Sigyn, wife of Loki, goddess of Fidelity, is really good. Daughter of Odin, but not one of his favoured children, she falls in love with the Trickster god and has two sons with him.
Their life together is not easy, Loki still has to work for Odin, and the All Father is not a kind master. Sigyn has no idea what fate has in store for her family, but a lifetime of cruelty and mocking is wearing and her love for her fellow Aesir is limited.
It is Ragnarok that brings Sigyn and Loki together the most, their punishment and the redemption the end of the world offers her.
Lots of research has clearly gone into the writing of this book and the little details, like the use of Icelandic words for the Jotun language, add flavour and depth to the story. It takes a while to get going, drawing you in slowly to the love that blossoms between the two main characters. Much of their life together is quiet, raising their children. But as Loki defies the gods, and draws events to their violent end, things shift and Sigyn has to choose her stand. A clever, well written and enjoyable retelling of this old story with a fresh modern perspective and voice.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 