allmyprettybooks-new

The 2015 edition of Some of the Best from Tor.com  is now available to download for free to view on your digital readers. To download in PDF, ePub or MOBI format, visit this page on Tor.com

Imaginary Things is a novel of the magic realism genre (which happens to be my favourite). This is Andrea Lochen 's second novel, and has achieved some good reviews on Goodreads, which is why I was drawn to it. Without really being able to put my finger on the reason, I feel a bit let down by this novel. The premise is brilliant: Anna Jennings moves to her grandparents' rural home for the summer with her four-year-old son, David. She begins to see shadowy creatures around David, making her fear for her own state of mind and David's safety. With the threat of David's biological father looming over, Anna needs to understand the mysterious phenomenon in order to protect her son, and learn something about herself. But... Although the story was interesting and worded well, it fell short of capturing my imagination. I couldn't engage with Anna, feeling like an outsider watching through class instead of the active participant I'd hoped for. After around the first h...

The Loney is mostly set around the events which unfold at a Catholic retreat in Lancashire in the 1970's, with flash-backs of the narrator's time as an altar boy, and forwards to the present day through conversations with his therapist. Described as a "slow-burn British horror novel in the tradition of The Wicker Man ", I consider it a fantastic literary debut which will leave you thinking for a long time afterwards. Our unnamed narrator and his mute brother, Hanny, attend the retreat with their parents, devout parishioners and a newly appointed priest, Father Bernard. It has been some years since their last visit, which appears more of a pilgrimage in hope of "curing" Hanny's illness, and the landscape has changed much: it's barren and intimidating presence as much a reflection of a loss of faith as significance for the dreadful events which unfold. Whilst the adults in the party attend to the practicalities of the retreat, the two boys explore the...

I was rather excited to have an opportunity to review The Shapeshifters . Over the past couple of years, I've read a fair amount of (translated) Nordic fiction, and after watching the movie Trollhunter , I should admit an interest in Nordic mythology concerning trolls! The Shapeshifters  presents an engrossing story where myth and folklore blend with reality in contemporary Sweden. It begins in 1978, when a young boy is stolen away from his distraught mother by what she claims to be a giant. He is never seen again. Twenty-five years later, another child goes missing, but this time there is a lead: a photograph taken on a wildlife camera by Susso Myren: granddaughter of a famous aerial photographer. Susso has devoted her life to proving the existence of trolls: a form of the legendary creatures known as Stallo , who can control human thought and shapeshift into animal form. Alongside her quest to prove the existence of these supernatural beings, Susso feels a sense of responsibilit...

Reading When You Reach Me was a pleasant surprise. Not one I would normally have chosen to read, though having seen it recommended by Goodreads in the Magical Realism section (complete with rave 4+ star reviews) I was confident that I'd enjoy a good story at least! Many describe When You Reach Me as a YA title, though MLN readers are probably aware that such genre associations bother me not one bit. It is certainly a coming of age story, complete with the angst of teenage friendship and first crushes. But throughout it is threaded with just the right amount of sci-fi and magic to seem realistic, the type of story I enjoy reading the most. As you read, you might like to imagine this as a film which has absolutely no need for special effects... The story is told in the first person by Miranda, a sixth grader with a deep love of Madeline D'engel's A Wrinkle in Time . A strange homeless man has taken up residence beneath the post box on her street, and her childhood friend doe...

I'd seen this book recommended in various places: the Goodreads Magic Realism shelf, Amazon, and even in Waterstones. Eventually I picked it up, not quite knowing what to expect... And that's the beauty of it! No wonder it ended up on the Oyster list among the top 100 books of the decade so far! My review shall follow shortly. In the meantime, enjoy this teaser trailer and know that all the secrets in the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight...

I am so excited about the release of these deliciously illustrated editions of each and every single volume  of the Harry Potter series! Starting in October 2015 with The Philosopher's Stone , these beautiful editions illustrated by Jim Kay will be available to purchase from Bloomsbury. I'm sure it will make bedtime reading for my children even more enchanting... Learn more (and pre-order) on the Bloomsbury website .