What do I love best about T. Kingfisher? One, she retells fairy tales. Sure, a lot of people do that, but not in same way she does. She doesn't just "fracture" them or tell the story from a different perspective of a character you already know. She takes the kernel of the story and goes off in an entirely new direction with it. Take "Hemlock and Silver," for instance. From the title, you'd have no idea it was inspired by Snow White. There is, in fact, a character named Snow and another named Rose, and a mirror is definitely involved, and maybe there is a reference to a heart getting cut out. None of these tropes, however, appear in the way the reader expects. The story is told from a fresh, new perspective as well. Anja is a poisons expert who is called in by the king to diagnosis and hopefully cure what ails his daughter, Snow. I love that the main character is a woman who has spent her life perusing a passion rather than a man. She maybe thinks love is of...
Did we all have one of those best friends? The kind that captivated us when we were young, but slowly the veil was lifted and reality set in. Then, years later, you reunite. Is the new dynamic just growing up or…something else? In Nicky Gonzalez’s “Mayra,” the narrator, Ingrid, is invited to a mysterious house in the Florida Everglades to reunite with her best friend from school, the titular character. They’ve drifted apart over the years, each blaming the other for changing. Reunited by Mayra’s boyfriend, Benji, the two women alternately bond and fight about the past and how they’ve changed. Slowly, Ingrid realizes there is something else going on in the house, not just their shifting relationship dynamics. Why is this strange window in this room? How come Ingrid seems to get turned around so easily in the surrounding swamp? Why is Benji doing THAT? The mysteries compound until Ingrid learns a terrible truth. I would peg this is a great horror beach read. It’s gripping and ...