Earth and Skye

Blood Upon My Lips by Laurell K. Hamilton

This was kind of a confusing novella. Which, considering I found out after I read it that it’s the condensed version of a novel… kind of completely makes sense. And, even though it wasn’t completely sensical, it was a fun, smutty kind of journey. And one that I would like to discover more about. There was just enough information to enthral me, but not enough to make me feel like I really knew what was going. Which, for a curious girlchild like myself, was the perfect little teaser.

Percy Jackson: The Ultimate Guide by Rick Riordan

This is a quick, easy read. A great little companion to the rest of the Percy Jackson series, but not one that I’m likely to want to pick up again and again. It was just a cute little overview of Greek mythology. And since I’ve read many other books on the Greek pathos, this was a little too PG for my tastes.

Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil by Kim Harrison

Ivy’s framing of Art is mentioned a number of times in the Hollows graphic novels, and Dead Witch Walking. Enough so that I was intensely interested in the why, the how and the every single moment of why she would do such a thing. Especially considering it is so at odds with the character that I’m steadily falling in love with as I read my first full length novel in the series. This novella explains her motives absolutely perfectly.

Blood Crime by Kim Harrison

I finished off Blood Work feeling really tense. Although I know that Ivy and Rachel must have a good, ongoing relationship after this first case, I still was seriously concerned for Rachel’s health. Blood Crime helped to continue on this origin story where you understand a little more of Ivy’s obsession and dark past. It also highlighted the strength of Rachel and the potential fun and sass of future cases.

Uncle Tompa by Midori Snyder

I love when you read a poem and it makes you want to dive right into the subject matter and find out more. The fact that this poem featured a trickster from folklore just tickled my fancy all the more. It was actually incredibly sad that it was only two pages long.

Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington

I watched the movie Rabbit-Proof Fence years and years and years ago. But I only recently found out that it was actually a book. Written by the daughter of Molly, the girl who made all of the strong decisions in their journey. Which of course meant that I had to buy the book straight away. And sink my teeth and brain into this amazing journey. Something that made me uncomfortable to read about, but not as bad as I thought it would make me feel.

Iphigenia in Aulis by Mike Carey

I really thought that this story was going to have a much, much happier ending. I thought that Melanie would be able to find a new family, a world beyond her restraints. It didn’t end like that. And it didn’t make me think that she had a happily ever after. But I still completely loved this story. In a way, the not-so-happy ending made me love the story even more than I would have if Melanie got her happily-ever-after.

Spellhorn by Berlie Doherty

I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for years. It was a book that my mum has had for a long time, and it slowly migrated to my shelf across time. So I thought it was probably about time to pick it up and see why I had kept it on my shelf, untouched for all of these years. And, although it wasn’t the ground shattering story I was hoping for, it was still a fun little adventure. Something that was a little bit different to my usual read. And one that I really enjoyed.

Conjuring Max by Carolyn Crane

I really liked the technopagan spin to this storyline. Over the years I’ve read a lot of spins on witchwork and magic. But surprisingly none that use computers as the linchpin of the magic. Especially not coding which can bring the dead back to life…and I ate it all up. Which means that I have to exercise self-control (yet again) to not buy the following novels.

Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells by Delia Sherman

As an introduction to Gaslamp fantasy, this was kind of fantastic. And the fact that it was a short story written by an author that I’ve already kind of fallen for… well, that was sort of perfect. After all, this story mixes magic, sexism and a healthy dose of pride and power. Actually, the voice which told the story was one that I immediately connected with and didn’t ever want to leave.