“All Shook Up” by P.N. Elrod

November 21, 2019Book ReviewEasy Reading, Humour, Music, My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, P.N. Elrod, Paranormal Fantasyskyebjenner

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Title: “All Shook Up”
Author: P.N. Elrod
In: My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (P.N. Elrod)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Humour, Music, Paranormal fantasy
Dates read: 27th October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: Frankie looked at the Elvis guy, her jaw dropping.

The Elvis impersonator at the wedding she’s catering gets a little bit too into his routine. But there is something deliciously attractive about him that makes her want to get to know the crazy a little better…

This story is a little crazy and different. It’s kind of intense, super fun and features Elvis. Which, of course, immediately makes me think of my Mum. Because she is completely Elvis obsessed. A bit like the Grandmother in this story… a woman who is just deliciously enthralled by the long-dead entertainer. I actually thought that in this story he had been bought back to life… but it was still just an impersonator.

Although this is a wedding story, it’s one that is about the caterer, not the bride. I’ve been to many, many weddings, but mostly as the wait staff. So it was nice to read a tale that I could relate to the lead a lot more. I’ve never been a bride, but I’m aware of all the difficulties and intricacies of working a wedding. Trying to feed the masses and (sometimes) not laugh at the amusing antics of the bridal party. It made this funny, cute and sweet story so, so, so much more relatable than most of the wedding stories I’ve read.

One of the parts I loved most about this story though was the fact that it featured the power of music. I’ve always found music to be an intense pathway through which to experience human emotion. And this story takes it just that little step further… in making it a pathway to help people adjust their emotions for the sake of others. For the sake of the marriage which is just about to begin.

<- Dead Man’s Chest Review

The Wedding of Wylda Serene Review ->

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Year’s End by Jhumpa Lahiri

November 20, 2019Book ReviewContemporary, Family, Jhumpa Lahiri, Race, Unaccustomed Earthskyebjenner

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Title: Year’s End
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Family, Race
Dates read: 26th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2008
5th sentence, 74th page: For the last two years of my mother’s life, when she was always in and out of the hospital, we had gone nowhere, taken no trips for pleasure apart from those occasional walks along the beach.

Kaushik is faced with a father that’s moving on and a new year. In the mean time he’s remembering a past that they shared. A past filled with regrets, sorrow and a handful of fond memories.

This story connects into Once in a Lifetime. It is about the boy that Hema admires from afar, and the reasons behind his weird behaviour. Actually, the whole behaviour of his family to hers. And the aftermath of his mother’s illness. It’s a haunting tale about trying to move on, but not quite being able to do it.

This tale of moving on to a new future and finding a new place in a changing world is always difficult. When your past is haunted by loss that is never discussed, and a separation from family and culture it just makes it all that more difficult. It’s hard enough to move on to a new future when things are sitting well in life. It’s far more difficult when there’s a broken family that can’t quite be repaired.

I don’t come from a broken family (thankfully), so it’s difficult to understand what that feels like. Yet, Lahiri’s words are still haunting enough that I feel like I could begin to understand. The loss, grief, confusion and guilt leap from the pages and strike you immediately in the heart. Just like good, contemporary writing should.

<- Once in a Lifetime Review

Going Ashore Review ->

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The Coyote Road edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

November 20, 2019Book ReviewCarol Emshwiller, Caroline Stevermer, Carolyn Dunn, Charles de Lint, Christopher Barzak, Delia Sherman, Elizabeth E. Wein, Ellen Datlow, Ellen Klages, Ellen Kushner, Holly Black, Jedediah Berry, Jeffrey Ford, Katherine Vaz, Kelly Link, Kij Johnson, Kim Antieau, Michael Cadnum, Midori Snyder, Mythology, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Pat Murphy, Patricia A. McKillip, Richard Bowes, Short Story Collections, Steve Berman, Terri Windling, The Coyote Road, Theodora Goss, Tricksters, Will Shetterlyskyebjenner

Title: The Coyote Road
Author: Ellen Datlow, Terri Windling, Pat Murphy, Carolyn Dunn, Steve Berman, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Christopher Barzak, Delia Sherman, Richard Bowes, Ellen Klages, Patricia A. McKillip, Theodora Goss, Charles de Lint, Katherine Vaz, Caroline Stevermer, Midori Snyder, Michael Cadnum, Ellen Kushner, Elizabeth E. Wein, Kim Antieau, Will Shetterly, Kelly Link, Holly Black, Carol Emshwiller, Jedediah Berry, Jeffrey Ford, Jane Yolen & Kij Johnson
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Mythology, Short story collections, Tricksters
Dates read: 11th March – 24th October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: She handed me a message, one that read I was to be married to a stranger.

Coyote. Anansi. Brer Rabbit. Trickster characters have long been a staple of folk literature – and are a natural choice for the subject of the acclaimed Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling’s third “mythic” anthology. Twenty-six authors, including Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Charles de Lint (Little (Grrl) Lost), Ellen Klages (The Green Glass Sea), Kelly Link (Pretty Monsters), Patricia A. McKillip (Ombria in Shadow) and Jane Yolen, have crafted stories and poems drawing from cultures and traditions all over the world – each surprising, engrossing, and thought provoking. Terri Windling provides a comprehensive introduction to the trickster myths of the world, and the entire book is highlighted by the remarkable decorations of Charles Vess.

The Coyote Road, like its companions The Green Man (winner of the World Fantasy Award) and The Faery Reel (a World Fantasy Award Finalist), is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary fantastic fiction.

This collection took a long time to read. Yet, I absolutely adored it. Mostly it took a while to read because there were so many short stories filling the pages, and whenever I finished one, I often went searching for more stories by the authors I was discovering. My wishlist has grown by leaps and bounds since starting this collection.

Like many of the Ellen Datlow collections lining my shelves, the theme and collected authors in this are brilliant. Each and every story is perfectly curated to match into the theme of Tricksters. Often in surprising and confusing ways. After all, the prefect trickster never does what is expected, and many of the stories in this managed to take me by surprise.

I would suggest this collection to anybody who loves short stories, fantasy, mythology, tricksters… really I would just suggest it to almost anyone. There are sad stories and happy ones. Insanely complex tales and ones that are so beautifully simplistic. Definitely one of those collections that I’m going to read again and again.

<- The Cinderella Game Anthology

One Odd Shoe ->

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Red as Blood by Tanith Lee

November 19, 2019Book ReviewEasy Reading, Fairy tales, Red as Blood, Retellings, Tanith Leeskyebjenner

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Title: Red as Blood
Author: Tanith Lee
In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee) & Forests of the Night (Tanith Lee)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales, Retellings
Dates read: 24th October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Wildside
Year: 1983
5th sentence, 74th page: Bianca laughed.

Lee shows us a perfectly good stepmother, whose Princess stepdaughter reeks of evil.

I love villain retellings of stories. This is one of those perfect ones in which the “good guy” is actually a terrifying villain and the villain is the “right” kind of woman. This short story was a fantastically unique take on Snow White. I’ve read a few retellings of this story. But none have an evil Snow White, they’re just misunderstood queens generally.

This is the first retelling of a fairy tale that features Christianity. Unlike many stories which have the Christian faith and the transfer into this faith, it wasn’t done in an overpowering way. Just a mention of a cross or two and the devil’s allergy to the cross. Or at least, that’s how I read it. I liked that it used something that frequently happened, but in a positive light, instead of a good Christian women taking over, she saved her step-daughter from a horrible fate, and stopped her from ruining their kingdom.

I loved the way that this story went full circle. It began in the same place as the beginning, but with a more positive outcome, a better, more congenial relationship. It’s always nice when stories go full circle, but with a far more positive outcome. One that hints at a happily ever after.

<- Paid Piper Review

Thorns Review ->

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The Vital Importance of the Superficial by Ellen Kushner & Caroline Stevermer

November 19, 2019Book ReviewCaroline Stevermer, Ellen Kushner, Gaslamp, Queen Victoria's Book of Spells, Science Fictionskyebjenner

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Title: The Vital Importance of the Superficial
Author: Ellen Kushner & Caroline Stevermer
In: Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Gaslamp, Science fiction
Dates read: 24th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Tor
Year: 2013
5th sentence, 74th page: I play the pianoforte, but only very indifferently.

A series of letters tell the story of an experiment gone awry, and the power of magic that ties everyone together. Will there be a happy ending to the letters that they share with one another?

This was such an interesting way to write a story – it was all written in letters between the characters. Rather than a proper prose, each moment of the future, past and present was outlined in people’s words and communications to one another. It made a completely unique and enjoyable experience. One that I really wasn’t expecting. And definitely a newer format to me… it’s always fun to find a unique way in which a story is told!

The Vital Importance of the Superficial is kind of nuts, but it was still a great tale. One that I look forward to reading again in the future. Every letter, every moment reveals more about the characters and the past. More about the story that is unfolding in a way that I was quite enthralled to experience. After all, it was a very different way to tell a story that was unique and not quite what was to be expected. All based in a great Victorian era.

The writing and style of this story was very reminiscent of Jane Austen and other similar writers. Not just in the way it was written, but the proper language shared between the characters. That, and the fact that everyone seemed to find love and completion in the end. A partner that was in front of their eyes the whole time…

<- We Without Us Were Shadows Review

The Jewel in the Toad Queen’s Crown Review ->

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The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod by Philip Jose Farmer

November 18, 2019Book ReviewAlien Sex, Aliens, Lust, Philip Jose Farmerskyebjenner

Title: No Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod
Author: Philip Jose Farmer
In: Alien Sex (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Aliens, Lust
Dates read: 24th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: ROC
Year: 1990
5th sentence, 74th page: You got too much invested in the Mafia and General Motoers, I say you gotta kick the money habit too.

If you like Tarzan, you probably won’t like this story… this is a far darker and more twisted version than what Disney led you to believe.

This short story kind of ruined Tarzan for me. It was disturbed, kind of disgusting and really, really weird. Not something that I plan to ever read again. Not the kind of story that I would allow my children to read. But also way more realistic than the Disney version I know (I haven’t got around to reading the classic yet). Which is probably why I found it so sickening – the realism made me go “huh” this is what probably happened, not the nice version with Jane.

One of my favourite things about this short story was the cadence with which it was written. There was a lilting sense to the words. Something that definitely surprised and thrilled me. And also kept me reading, when, in many other circumstances I would have decided to put this aside. After all, I don’t really want my childhood favourites to be destroyed by an incredibly weird story.

Actually, to be honest, this story is just weird. Uncomfortable, filled with bestiality and just downright weird. Which I’m starting to get very used to in this collection… they’re all weird, unusual and not quite what I want to read. But also something I can’t put aside and forget about…

<- The First Time Review

Husbands Review ->

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The Evolution of the Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change by Kij Johnson

November 18, 2019Book ReviewEasy Reading, Kij Johnson, The Coyote Road, Trickstersskyebjenner

Title: The Evolution of the Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change
Author: Kij Johnson
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Tricksters
Dates read: 24th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: Voices in assent: pats remembered.

What would we do if dogs could suddenly talk? Would we still be able to love them unconditionally, or would we suddenly realise that love isn’t everything?

I read this story while I had my dogs curled up on either side of me. Which seemed kind of… suited. After all, this is a tale about dogs learning to use words and gaining yet another level of individuality. Although, as is often pointed out, the dogs are still our loyal companions. They still love us. They can just communicate a little better.

The mini chapters within this short story were really interesting. They each started with a dog story, ones that all felt familiar, both in a positive light and negative light. Then, they flipped back to present day and the trials which the dogs in this story were facing. It was a little tragic in many cases, but it also highlighted the plight of dogs the world over. Actually, my biggest confusion about this was the fact that I didn’t really know how the theme of tricksters fit in until towards the very end of the story.

Coyote is one of the most famous tricksters of folklore. So it was fun to find that he came into this full circle with his canid cousins. After reading a tale that made me question my own relationship with my dogs, it was nice to return to the trickster theme. What a way to finish off a collection of trickster tales.

<- Kwaku Anansi Walks the World’s Web Review

The Cutting Game Review ->

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Paid Piper by Tanith Lee

November 17, 2019Book ReviewDark Fantasy, Fairy tales, Retellings, Tanith Leeskyebjenner

Title: Paid Piper
Author: Tanith Lee
In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Fairy tales, Retellings
Dates read: 23rd October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Wildside
Year: 1983
5th sentence, 74th page: And Raur’s image would be taken out of its sanctuary, though veiled – the Lime Treeans were only permitted to look at him face to face on special occasions – and up and down the byways on the shoulders of his priests.

The Piper has come to help the small town celebrate their yearly festival. But, when they refuse to stop worshipping a false god, he quickly turns cruel.

The Piper has always kind of freaked me out from fairy tales. No matter how much the tale has been Disney-fied, it’s still kind of dark and twisted. After all, it’s a man that steals an entire town’s children and skips off into the sunset with them. Plus, I find the sound of a flute a little haunting and creepy.

Tanith Lee takes that creepy aspect of the original fairy tale and makes it a little more plausible. It’s still entirely creepy, still makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable. But, now there is sympathy for the piper. And understanding for his actions, no matter how dark they are. It’s this ability to turn something that I thought I knew so well that drew me into this collection completely. And now I can’t wait to continue onwards with the Red as Blood collection.

Paid Piper is a little melanchology, quite a bit dark and a really nice read. The perfect fairy tale retelling to read just before bed time… if you want to be slightly unsettled, but not entirely freaked out. Although, I think that that’s mostly because of the true creepiness of the original fairy tale.

<- Red as Blood Collection Review

Red as Blood Review ->

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Dead Man’s Chest by Rachel Caine

November 17, 2019Book ReviewMy Big Fat Supernatural Wedding, Paranormal Fantasy, Pirates, Rachel Caine, Urban Fantasyskyebjenner

Title: Dead Man’s Chest
Author: Rachel Caine
Series: There Be Pirates #1
In: My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (P.N. Elrod)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Paranormal fantasy, Pirates, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 23rd October 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: “Then why parade me around like this?”

Cecilia thinks that she’s finally found a man worth her time. But, after just a few months he wants to get married on a pirate ship. Things quickly turn from romantic to downright wrong as her adventures progress.

I really wasn’t expecting this kind of wedding. I knew that something was bound to go wrong because it’s in a collection of stories about supernatural weddings, and they’re never simple. But I really wasn’t expecting cursed pirates, a con man and being thrown overboard.

One of my favourite moments about this story is when the bad guy realises that he’s got the wrong Cecilia. It’s more than a little awkward, and just downright hilarious. Especially when he’s gone to so much effort to gain some money… and then finds out that he needs to make amends, and quickly if he wants to survive. It made it quite hilarious to realise that after much careful planning, the “bad guy” had totally buggered everything up.

This story has a very Pirates of the Caribbean feel to it. From the plain fact that there are pirates, to the single woman aboard, right down to the curse placed upon the crew. It was like a funnier, cuter version of the famous movie franchise. But, I think that I like this one much, much better.

<- Something Borrowed Review

“All Shook Up” Review ->

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West by Edith Pattou

November 16, 2019Book ReviewEast, Easy Reading, Edith Pattou, Fairy tales, Romanceskyebjenner

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Title: West
Author: Edith Pattou
Series: East #2
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fairy tales, Romance
Dates read: 24th September – 21st October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Novel
Publisher: Hougton Mifflin Harcourt
Year: 2018
5th sentence, 74th page: Abruptly he veered right, away from the sea, and came to a small house.

When Rose first met Charles, he was trapped in the form of a white bear. To rescue him, Rose traveled to the land that lay east of the sun and west of the moon to defeat the evil Troll Queen. Now Rose has found her happily-ever-after with Charles—until a sudden storm destroys his ship and he is presumed dead.

But Rose doesn’t believe the shipwreck was an act of nature, nor does she believe Charles is truly dead. Something much more sinister is at work. With mysterious and unstoppable forces threatening the lives of the people she loves, Rose must once again set off on a perilous journey. And this time, the fate of the entire world is at stake.

It’s taken me an incredibly long time to get to this book. As soon as I saw that North Child had a sequel, I ordered it and waited eagerly for it to arrive on my doorstep. But, since I get easily distracted, I kind of forgot that I had it, and it got put to the side. I’m kind of regretting that decision now. This was a wonderful sequel, and I loved being swept all the way back into the world of Rose and Charles.

Although I’m a big fan of happily ever after, I also find them a little unrealistic. This story takes that idea, and tells you what happens after the happily ever after. What happens when the loving couple have gotten married and travelled off into the sunset together. Because, in real life, there aren’t any happily ever after, neat endings. There’s just life. In all of its wonderful glory.

When I was a kid, I never thought of the princesses, the heroines and the girls who filled my story having children after they got married. That was just not something that they were likely to do. But now, I absolutely love the fact that this story is not just about Rose and Charles’ love for one another, it is about their child as well. Or, rather, children. It’s about saving not only their love, but the product of their love and finding a way back to one another. Even when the odds are completely stacked against them. In fact, there were moments in this story that I seriously questioned whether or not Rose and Charles would ever find their way back to one another… which is probably why I read the bulk of this story in two days…

West is the story that you need to read as an adult. I think that if it had’ve come out when I first read North Child, it just wouldn’t have meant as much to me. But now, I’m in my own relationship that is after that headrushing first moments. It’s the parts after that initial love that I find all the more precious, and this came across perfectly in West. But, as a teenager, I didn’t really want to think about the day in and day out of a relationship, I wanted the romance and the immediate love. Now, my favourite part of this story is when Rose says that it doesn’t matter what comes next, as long as they’re together.

<- More Edith Pattou reviews

North Child Review ->

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Earth and Skye

The ramblings of a bibliophile.

“All Shook Up” by P.N. Elrod

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Year’s End by Jhumpa Lahiri

Image source: Bloomsbury

The Coyote Road edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling

Red as Blood by Tanith Lee

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The Vital Importance of the Superficial by Ellen Kushner & Caroline Stevermer

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The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod by Philip Jose Farmer

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The Evolution of the Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change by Kij Johnson

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Paid Piper by Tanith Lee

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Dead Man’s Chest by Rachel Caine

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West by Edith Pattou