Romantic Parvenu

Book Review: Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

July 27, 2013

In a story that is complex and masterfully told, Juliet Marillier retells Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans and/or the Brothers Grimm’s The Six Swans in a way that is beautiful and haunting. On an intellectual level, I enjoyed this book ...

read article

Book Review: Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler

July 2, 2013

Portraying infidelity in fiction is one thing. But doing what Holly Schindler did in this book—endorse and reward it—is this whole other thing. Playing Hurt made me absolutely livid. Livid. Because this book is about a girl who cheats on her ...

read article

Book Review: The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George

June 30, 2013

Weighing in at just under 1000 pages, The Memoirs of Cleopatra is not exactly light reading. It’s an involved, dense, slow novel that requires patience and attention. I think it’s ultimately rewarding, though at some points I had to stop and ...

read article

Book Review: Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

June 18, 2013

I’ve heard good things about Julie James from multiple sources, but right now I’m not looking forward to ever reading another novel of hers. Practice Makes Perfect was offensive, not to mention boring, and I am completely underwhelmed by this as ...

read article

Book Review: Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham

June 11, 2013

I think there’s a line where “fun read” becomes “ridiculous read”, and Reunited most definitely crossed that line. Graham’s story about a three girls driving halfway across the United States to see their favorite band had a lot of potential, but ...

read article

Book Review: Winter of Fire by Sherryl Jordan

June 7, 2013

Winter of Fire is an unconventional middle grade (or very juvenile YA) novel. In it, Sherryl Jordan tells the story of a special girl who overcomes her own slavery and strives to make the world a better place. This is fantasy with hints of ...

read article