Tag: fantasy

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The Queen’s Thief: The Best Fantasy Series You Probably Haven’t Read

“Eugenides,” I nearly stuttered, “was the god of thieves. We are all named after him.”

The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner

If you’d asked me a few years ago what my favorite series was, I’d have said Harry Potter without a second thought. But about five years ago I stumbled upon a story that has challenged HP’s spot as my number one pick. The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner is nothing at all like J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, but those two series are tied for the top place in my heart and on my bookshelf.

I’ve been hesitant to write this post because I consistently fail to do these books justice when I pitch them to friends. The problem is that it’s hard to explain just what makes these books so genius while also being vague enough to not give away the plot. Suffice it to say that in the world of The Queen’s Thief, nothing is ever as it seems and everyone is lying.

This six-book series takes place on the Little Peninsula, a fictional Mediterraneanesque land whereon three small countries, Eddis, Sounis, and Attolia, jostle for prominence. The looming threat of invasion by the larger Mede Empire, and of a prophesied volcanic eruption, forces these countries to put aside their disparate goals and work together to preserve their independence. If you like political intrigue, this series is chock-full of it.

The fulcrum of the series is a thief named Eugenides, Gen for short. He’s the charmingly annoying, unreliable narrator of the first book in the series entitled simply The Thief. In The Thief, Gen is quite young, but we get to watch him grow throughout the series and come into his own. Of all of the characters in literature, Eugenides is one of my favorites. He’s a study in contradictions. He’s ruthless, but he can be surprisingly tender. He’s a genius who often plays the fool. He can be petulant, obnoxious, and sometimes plain ridiculous while simultaneously earning the respect of his countrymen. And his love story is one of the most unique that I have ever read.

The series boasts two powerhouse lead female characters—Irene and Helen. Irene, the cold, beautiful, pitiless queen of Attolia, is known for having poisoned her husband at their wedding feast. (He totally deserved it, though.) She’s maintained her power in the face of tremendous opposition from the Attolian barons and political maneuvering of foreign ambassadors. She’s the kind of woman who acts decisively and does what’s necessary.

Helen is also a queen, but her kingdom is the tiny mountain nation of Eddis. Where Irene maintains a white-knuckled grasp of her power, Helen keeps hers easily. Her people love her. She has the loyalty of the nobility, the commoners, and the army. She’s not an attractive woman. She’s more comfortable in armor than in a dress. She’s short and stocky, her nose is crooked, and yet she’s described as having a smile that most people would do anything to see.

Irene and Helen are examples of the “strong female character” done remarkably well. They’re depicted as human beings with rich inner lives, complicated relationships, and unique goals and desires. They’re queens, both literally and figuratively, and they wear their power much more comfortably than the men in the series.

Sophos is the last of the four main characters. He’s the disappointing heir to the kingdom of Sounis, a gentle young man who would rather study history than war. He’s the ultimate “cinnamon roll” character. You just sort of want to take him home, and it’s sometimes difficult to watch him come to terms with a world that’s often crueler than he’d like it to be.

The cast of supporting characters is just as loveable and interesting. Megan Whalen Turner has the knack for doing a lot with a little, and the short time we spend with some of the more minor characters (Costis, Kamet, Pheris, etc.) is enough to make us as invested in their stories as those of the lead characters.

Aside from the characterization, this series boasts an incredibly intricate plot. If you don’t read the books twice, you’ll probably miss half of what’s going on. The books are enjoyable on the first read, but the second (or third, or fourth) reads are so much fun because you find things in hindsight that you didn’t notice the first time around. This series relies a lot on misdirection and double entendre. On the first read, you experience the rush of seeing the plot unfold; on the second read, you get the thrill of being in on the secret.

Beyond that, the world-building is exquisite. Again, the author does a lot with a little. Without giving exhaustive descriptions or clunky info dumps, she introduces a whole pantheon of gods and goddesses, several political systems, and four distinct cultures. Truly, Megan Whalen Turner could give a masterclass on creating realistic, fleshed-out civilizations from thin air.

I hope I’ve made my case well enough that you want to read this series. The fact that it’s not more widely known is criminal. Read it. Read it in the correct order:

Resist the temptation to look at spoilers. I promise you that Megan Whalen Turner will take you on an incredible journey.

Happy Reading!

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The Forbidden Wish, Jessica Khoury

“Give me thy hand,” said the Queen, “and let us be friends. For does not the poet say, one true-hearted friend is worth ten thousand camels laden with gold?”

This the Jinni pondered, before replying, “The poet also says, woe to the man who befriends the jinn, for he shakes hands with death.”

The Forbidden Wish (pg. 12)

While modern English has only one word for love, the ancient Greeks had several. Eros is the kind of romantic, heady, passionate love that we tend to find in YA romance novels. It’s the kind of love that is intoxicating and often dangerous. Of course, we all need a dash of eros in our lives. What’s life without a little romance? But there’s another kind of love. Philia. Philia is platonic love. Fraternal love. It’s the kind of love you feel for your closest friends. It’s the love that turns strangers into family. And though The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury certainly has its share of eros, I believe that the core of this book is philia. At its heart, this is a book about friendship.

The Forbidden Wish turns the story of Aladdin on its head. It transforms the princess into a cloak-and-dagger freedom fighter. Aladdin remains the lovable thief of the Disney film, but he has a vengeful streak that I thought really rounded him out as a character. The jinni, a girl in this version of the story, is an embittered creature of smoke and flame nursing 4,000 years’ worth of pain and regret. Zahra, whose jinn name is Curl-of-the-Tiger’s-Tail, Smoke-on-the-Wind, Girl-Who-Gives-the-Stars-Away (isn’t that just lovely?), winds up bound to Aladdin when he takes possession of her lamp, and she helps him become a prince in an effort to avenge his parents. Throughout their time together, the two form a deep friendship that turns into something more. But, though Aladdin and Zahra’s romance is pivotal to the story, Zahra’s friendships with other women in the story are just as important.

When Aladdin first meets Zahra, he quickly learns that she is known in the annals of history as the Fair Betrayer, a jinni who double-crossed a mighty queen and brought about the ruin of an entire civilization. We find out, of course, that there’s more to the story, but Zahra was involved in the death of her dearest friend, and the pain and joy of that friendship are as central to Zahra’s character as her status as a jinni. It is the love she bore Roshana, the queen, that makes Zahra wary of becoming attached to Aladdin. She has hurt a human she loved before, and she lives in fear of destroying another. It was a nice departure from the tired YA trope of a young woman who doesn’t believe in love because she doesn’t have time for it or doesn’t think it’s important. How many YA protagonists have we read who are “different from other girls” because they think romance is stupid? That isn’t Zahra. She believes in the power of love and she is terrified of that power. In her 4,000 years of experience, love has only ever resulted in destruction.

The other beautiful example of philia is the love between the princess, Caspida, and her “Watchmaidens.” They’re a group of young women who serve a dual purpose as her handmaidens and bodyguards. They fight fiercely and they love fiercely. The bone-deep friendship they show for one another, and for the princess, struck me as the kind of thing I wish I could see more of in literature, especially YA literature. There’s no competition among these friends. They don’t begrudge Caspida her role as princess, nor do they jockey for position at her side. These are friends that have lived their whole lives together and, if they die, they will die together. The author makes it clear that their trust in one another is absolute. In media, female friendship is often portrayed with a healthy dose of gossip and backstabbing. In The Forbidden Wish, every example of female friendship is pure and unadulterated. It was a joy to see.

In the end, Zahra is able to triumph, and she gains the strength to do so through love for Aladdin and love for her friends. Having once failed her dearest friend, Roshana, she finds the power within herself now to save herself and everyone she cares about. The friendship she lost, once the source of so much bitterness, becomes the catalyst for her to make different choices this time around.

I enjoyed this refreshing take on the Aladdin story. There’s a lot more to it than what I’ve talked about here. There’s political intrigue, magic, terrific world building, and adventure. But most of all, there’s philia.

Happy Reading!

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The Beautiful, Renée Ahdieh

“Didn’t you know, darlin’?” he drawled. “All the best saints are sinners.”

Renée Ahdieh, The Beautiful

Having absolutely loved this book, I was surprised, even shocked, at the numerous bad reviews on Goodreads. I’m honestly baffled, and I’m here in defense of The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh.

The Beautiful is what Twilight might have been if it had been written by a competent author, if Bella had a personality, and if Edward wasn’t an abusive creep. I unapologetically loathe Twilight, and it’s colored my feelings about the whole vampire genre. So when I picked up The Beautiful, I didn’t have high hopes. Mostly I just wanted something a little different, and I thought I’d give it a try. I definitely didn’t expect to love it the way I did. I devoured it.

Renée Ahdieh had me with this sentence from the first chapter –

“Night had seeped through the water, like a dark stain across organza.”

I remember thinking what a vivid description that was. I could see the lowering of the sun, the shadows spreading across the water. What’s more, we find out later that Celine, our protagonist, previously worked for one of the best dressmakers in Paris. That beautiful description of a stained organza is the kind of thing that would make sense to someone familiar with fabrics. Right away, we’re getting insight into the way Celine thinks.

Description is one of this novel’s strong points. The author paints a world with her words, and I found myself vividly imagining the New Orleans of Ahdieh’s fantasy. From the smell of beignets from a boulangerie to the trembling bougainvillea on a shuttered terrace, the author really brought New Orleans to life for me.

Additionally, I found the characters to be multi-layered, interesting, and likable. The trouble with YA novels is that the young women are often one-dimensional, thinking only about and existing only for their romantic partner. (I’m looking at you, Bella Swan, you bland, miserable waif.) In Celine Rousseau, we have a protagonist who, sure, has a love story, but also has her own stuff going on outside of her relationship. In this novel, we see Celine come to appreciate her mixed heritage, something she’d been taught to be ashamed of and to hide. We sit with her as she ponders sin, guilt, remorse, and absolution. We join her in coming to terms with the events that led to her fleeing Paris for New Orleans. On top of that, Celine has a skill set as a dressmaker that is valued and marketable. She sometimes accepts help from others, but she certainly doesn’t need anyone to make her way for her. She’s portrayed as competent, intelligent, and level-headed, even in the face of challenging circumstances, and she exercises a tremendous amount of agency.

Similarly, Bastien is a solid character in his own right, separate from his relationship with Celine. And he gets bonus points for not being a misogynist. One of the first things that draws Celine to him is the fact that he treats her as an equal. During their first meeting. he swears in front of her, and she ponders the fact that her father had always told her that curse words weren’t meant for female ears. But here’s a young man who curses in her presence, just as he would if she were a man. She’s appalled, but she also appreciates the fact that he doesn’t treat her with kid gloves. Throughout the novel, Bastien recognizes Celine’s strength and competence. He fights with her, he threatens her, but he never condescends to her or orders her around.

This is, in my opinion, what makes their relationship work. Because the author gives Celine and Bastien stories separate from one another, I am able to see why they like each other. Sometimes YA authors write about the protagonists as though they’re The Lover from Shakespeare’s The Seven Ages of a Man. (“And then the lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad made to his mistress’ eyebrow.”) We read about their feelings of love, usually ad nauseam, but we’re left completely clueless about what they actually like about one another, aside from their mutual physical attraction. Ahdieh doesn’t make that mistake with Celine and Bastien. They spend enough time together that we’re able to see clearly why they’re drawn to one another.

There are a pair of scenes that stick out to me as demonstrating this pretty well. Don’t worry, there’s nothing super important in these scenes, so no real spoilers here. In the beginning, Celine is sitting with her friends Pippa and Annabelle at a booth selling items they’ve made. One of the girls laments the fact that they’ve worked the whole day and haven’t sold much. Celine jokes that maybe they should try making their money at night. It’s a bawdy joke, and innocent Annabelle doesn’t get it, but it shows us that Celine has kind of a raunchy sense of humor. In a later scene, Celine meets Bastien, and they’re bantering. She poses the question “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” and Bastien remarks that the rooster must have come first. Celine is simultaneously surprised and delighted by the off-color joke, and gives a genuine laugh. These two scenes set us up to see Celine and Bastien as a pair. They’re both a little rough around the edges, with the same sense of irreverent humor. Ahdieh does this several times throughout the book, and it lends a lot of credibility to the relationship.

The world-building itself left a little to be desired. I feel like Ahdieh will need to explain a lot in the sequel, The Damned. There were definitely things that needed elaboration. Things that I still have questions about. But overall, I was satisfied with the answers I got, and I’m confident that more will be explained in The Damned.

I enjoyed the ending simply because it surprised me. Throughout the novel, there is a string of murders, with Celine as the thread that apparently links the victims together. She spends the whole novel trying to lure the murderer out of the shadows so she can confront him, and I spent the novel pretty confident I knew who the murderer was. It seemed obvious, but I was completely wrong. I love being caught off guard. The ending tied up most of the loose ends, but it left me with several more questions that I’m dying to have answered.

I also really appreciated the diversity of Ahdieh’s characters. New Orleans, as a southern port city, was a multi-ethnic and multi-racial place in the late 1800’s. But the author also doesn’t portray New Orleans as some sort of colorblind, post-racial utopia. There are several tense, racially charged scenes, specifically one in which some local boys are reluctant to do business with Bastien because he keeps company with people of various races. He lets them know, in no uncertain terms, that their racist sentiments are unwelcome, especially as he, himself, is of mixed heritage. Similarly, Arjun confronts several British characters with their ingrained imperialist attitudes, challenges their claims that they don’t benefit from a racial hierarchy, and chafes at the restrictions placed on him because he is Indian. I was glad that Ahdieh didn’t shy away from addressing the very real issue of race relations, even though it wasn’t the focus of her story.

There was just so much meat here, along with a truly fun story. I’m annoyed that my library doesn’t have The Damned yet, but considering it was just published at the beginning of July, I suppose I’ll have to cut them some slack. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on it as soon as I can.

Happy Reading!

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In Depth with Timecaster Chronicles Author R.L. Perez

A fall through time. A reckless witch. A war of monsters.

“The cauldron’s rattling intensified until a small funnel cloud formed within, swirling the ingredients into a sickening tornado. Thunder roared overhead, and a flash of lightning elicited a startled shriek from my lips. More flashes of lightning. It grew closer and closer until I swore the next bolt would electrify me.

White light consumed me. Thunder blasted in my ears and into my skull. I couldn’t see or hear anything. Wind tore at my skin and hair and clothes until I was so dizzy I knew I would collapse.

I screamed, but it was lost in the storm.”

R.L. Perez, Twisted by Time

I was lucky enough to be an early reader for the first novel in R.L. Perez’s new Young Adult Fantasy series, the Timecaster Chronicles. Twisted by Time follows Desi Campbell, a young witch who wants nothing at all to do with the magical world. When she tries an unfamiliar spell to sneak away to Miami for spring break, she accidentally sends herself to Cuba, one hundred years in the past. In trying to figure out how to return home, she finds herself embroiled in a war on two fronts – The Spanish-American War, and a war between witches and demons.

Twisted by Time is a fun, fast-paced young adult novel. There’s a little bit of everything – action, romance, monsters, betrayal, and even a bit of history. It’s pretty clean with regards to language and sexuality, but be aware that it can get a bit dark at times. I mean, there are two wars going on.

I reached out to R.L. Perez to tell us more about her debut novel and its sequel, Devoured by Darkness.

Timecaster Chronicles author R.L. Perez

How long have you been writing, and what got you started?

Ever since I learned how to write as a kid, I’ve written stories. It started as stacks of notebook paper folded over and stapled. I usually retold whatever fairy tale or Disney movie I was currently obsessed with, and it always had hysterically awful drawings to go with it. As I grew older, the stories became more mature but were also loosely based on whatever I was reading at the time. In high school, I finally created my own unique stories and participated in my first NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – and I’ve been doing it almost every year since then.

Where did you get the ideas for the Timecaster Chronicles from, and why was it important to you to tell this story?

The bare bones idea I had was to write about a witch who time traveled (this was inspired by an episode of Charmed). I didn’t know what time period to write about, so I asked my husband (the Cuban), and he suggested Cuba during the Spanish-American War.

So many time travel stories involve European settings or highlander romances, and I wanted this one to be different. I’ve never heard of a Cuban time travel story before, so I knew this one would be pretty original. I was also excited to write about it because my husband’s family is Cuban, so it gave me the opportunity to explore his culture.

The Spanish-American War was such a short moment in history that it’s not often touched on. To me it seemed like a pivotal event, especially for my husband’s ancestors, that deserved to be told. 

What made you want to make the Timecaster Chronicles your first published series?

I have several finished novels, but none of them resonated quite so much with me as the Timecaster Chronicles. I dabbled in science fiction, but it wasn’t a good fit for me. I had other stories that weren’t quite so fleshed out. But I’ve always loved fantasy and time travel, and when this idea came to me, I couldn’t shove it to the side like I had all my other stories. It was practically begging to be published.

Why did you decide to publish indie instead of traditional?

I struggled with this decision for a long time. I always assumed if I went indie, I wouldn’t be successful. I’m an introvert and didn’t know the first thing about marketing. I assumed I would fail. I worked on my science fiction novel and tried getting that picked up by an agent. For two years, I polished my novel and sent it to beta readers and critique partners and editors. I attended writing conferences and met with several agents. So many liked the idea of my story, but when I sent it to them, they decided it “wasn’t for them”. It was such a lengthy process – most agents take 6 months or more to respond after you send a manuscript.

At some point, I realized I might never get published if I kept this up. I found a group on Facebook called 20booksto50k and was astounded by the success I saw there. Thousands of authors are wildly successful at publishing and make a comfortable income – some make even more than traditional authors do because they don’t have to pay the publisher or agent a cut of the royalties. I was inspired. I liked the idea of having complete control and doing things my way – the book title, the cover, the story, the characters, the publishing timeline, etc.

So I took the plunge, and I’m so glad I did. I might not be filthy rich (yet haha), but I have a strict timeline and I’ll be pumping out books ten times faster than a traditional publisher would. Eventually, it’ll make me a lovely income. But for now, I’m happy to have my story out there and make my dream come true.

What is your favorite part about the writing process?

The writing! Outlining is fun and gets me excited, but the really fun part is writing those juicy, heart-stopping scenes and then reading it over and thinking, “Did I write that?” 

Did you plot the entire series out from the beginning, or did you have a general outline and let the characters lead you?

A little bit of both. In general, I’m a fierce outliner. I usually have an extensive overall outline as well as several chapters mapped out before I get started. But as I write, sometimes the story changes and I find myself altering the outline. But I can’t write if I don’t have a direction to go, so that first outline is critical.

Twisted by Time was set in Cuba, but Devoured by Darkness will take place in the Philippines. Why the Philippines?

During my research, I discovered that the Spanish-American War began in the Philippines and then moved to Cuba. Then the U.S. returned to the Philippines to claim the country as a result of the treaty after the war with Spain. I thought it was fascinating and a little-known tidbit of history that I wanted to touch on. Cuba and the Philippines were both under Spanish rule for about five centuries, and they were both fighting for their own independence. But the U.S. fought with Cuba and against the Philippines, and I wanted to highlight that contrast.

Who was your favorite character to create, and why?

My favorite character is Kismet. I didn’t expect her to play such a monumental role, but as I wrote the story, I knew she had secrets and a dark past. The more the mystery unfolded, the more her backstory came to light. She just has the coolest timeline. I wrote a prequel novelette about her and I plan to write another at the end of the series as well. 

In the series, Desi is a dancer. Why did you choose dance as her creative outlet?

A critique partner read an early draft of mine and pointed out that Desi needed a hobby – her character was too stale and didn’t have enough of a drive. I made her a dancer because she needed a hobby that was physical so she could apply it to hunting demons. It also helped her to be more carefree, which in turn helped Oliver to let loose as well. 

What do you think readers will enjoy most about the Timecaster Chronicles?

I think readers will enjoy the time travel. It takes you for a wild ride! More than one occurrence of time travel takes place, and as the mysteries unfold it all comes together and makes for a pretty incredible adventure. 

Lastly, when does Devoured by Darkness launch?

Devoured by Darkness launches on August 7!

Thanks to R.L. Perez for taking the time to share her thoughts about her new series, publication, and the writing process. I’m looking forward to grabbing a copy of Devoured by Darkness in August! If you enjoy the Young Adult Fantasy genre, go ahead and check it out!

Twisted by Time is available now as an eBook. You can find it on Amazon here, and it’s free with Kindle Unlimited.

Devoured by Darkness will arrive both as an eBook and in paperback on August 7, 2020! It’s available for pre-order now.

Bound by Blood, the final book in the series, will be published on September 6, 2020. Check it out here.

And, if you want to keep up with R.L. Perez and her future publications, you can follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Did you read Twisted by Time? Let me know what you thought about it in the comments!

Happy Reading!