Fantasy – I Think the Cover Was Red …

These are the 100 best fantasy books of all time

November 5, 2020November 4, 2020Posted in General, NewsTagged book lists, Classics, Fantasy, George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Roald Dahl, Tolkein, William GoldmanLeave a comment

If you like rollicking reads about dragons and dwarves or wizards and elves. If you like stories of magical adventures and mystical battles, with or without a medieval twist. If you like tales of fairies and goblins or weird talking animals. If you like marvellous epics set in intricate make-believe worlds where things aren’t always what they seem. Then do I have a book list for you.

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The best fantasy and science fiction books for teens

August 12, 2020August 12, 2020Posted in Junior, YA fictionTagged Amie Kaufman, Aurealis Awards, Book awards, Bren MacDibble, Fantasy, Jay Kristoff, Science FictionLeave a comment

Got a teen or tween who devours books like that weird-arse gobbledok from the ’80s Smiths Chips ads? Then this is your lucky day.

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Review: Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes

April 9, 2020Posted in Junior, ReviewsTagged Fantasy, historical fiction, middle grade, Penny Chrimes, tigersLeave a comment

Tiger Heart by Penny Chrimes middle-grade fantasy fiction

Take a pinch of fantasy, a whack of adventure, a smidge of mystery and a skerrick of historical fiction. Mix them all together and you get Tiger Heart.

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What to read after Harry Potter

January 17, 2020June 3, 2020Posted in JuniorTagged book lists, Chapter books, Cressida Cowell, dragons, Fantasy, Harry Potter, Jennifer Bell, Jessica Townsend, John Flanagan, MA Larson, middle grade, Nick Earls, Philip Pullman, princesses, Ransom Riggs, Soman Chainani, Tolkein, Tui Sutherland, wizardsLeave a comment

Ah, Harry Potter. You brilliant boy wizard, you. Single-handedly responsible for driving gazillions of kids to pick up a book and read. But what about when that kid has devoured all seven volumes – that’s 1,084,170 words btw – of Potter and co’s adventures? What should a kid read next after everyone graduates from Hogwarts and Voldemort finally gets what’s coming to him?

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New YA novel: Deeplight by Frances Hardinge

November 8, 2019November 6, 2019Posted in YA fictionTagged Fantasy, Frances Hardinge, gods, myths and legendsLeave a comment

YA fantasy novel Deeplight by Frances Hardinge

Sometimes a book’s cover is so eye-catchingly perfect that you decide you absolutely must have a copy, even if the story inside is a little ho-hum. That’s not the case with Deeplight. Yes, the cover of Frances Hardinge’s new novel sits slap-bang in the breathtaking basket. Open it up and you’ll soon discover that Hardinge has delivered a mesmerising story to match.

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5 of the cringiest YA books you’ll ever read

August 23, 2019May 5, 2020Posted in YA fictionTagged 1980s, Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance, Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, Sweet Valley High, The Hunger Games, Twilight, Virginia AndrewsLeave a comment

It’s a great time to be alive if you’re a lover of YA lit. So many good reads, not enough hours to get lost in them! But it hasn’t always been that way.

For every brilliant YA novel like Book Thief or Between Us, you can bet there’s a bunch of Young Adult books dripping in cliched plot lines, over-dramatic characters and prose that kinda makes you want to vom. And I’ve devoured most of them.

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