It’s Friday, which means we’re over at Kirkus! Today it’s Thea’s turn as she reviews the recently released and much-buzzed-about literary speculative fiction novel Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. It’s a beautifully written book, and a compelling psychological thriller with…
February 2014
Joint Review: Nightingale’s Nest by Nikki Loftin
Title: Nightingale’s Nest Author: Nikki Loftin Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy Publisher: Razorbill Publication Date: February 20 2014 Hardcover: 256 Pages Twelve-year-old John Fischer Jr., or “Little John” as he’s always been known, is spending his summer helping his father…
SFF in Conversation is a new monthly feature on The Book Smugglers in which we invite guests to talk about a variety of topics important to speculative fiction fans, authors, and readers. Our vision is to create a safe…
Old School Wednesdays Readalong: Jaran by Kate Elliott
Old School Wednesdays is a weekly Book Smuggler feature. We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when both Ana and Thea were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and Shiny (and often over-hyped)…
Title: Diamonds and Deceit Author: Leila Rasheed Genre: Historical, Romance, Young Adult Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (US) / Hot Key Books (UK) Publication Date: January 2014 Hardcover: 420 Pages One house, two worlds…book two in our sumptuous and enticing YA series…
This review is brought to you in conjunction with Hodderscape and the Hodderscape Review Project: Twenty hand-picked reviewers. Twelve carefully-selected books. One year. Here’s how it works: On the first of every month (or the Friday before, if it…
Announcing Speculative Fiction 2013: Contributors & Cover Reveal
Hello, fellow speculative fiction lovers! We have some exciting news to share with you. As you may know, we are the editors of the 2013 edition of Speculative Fiction: The Best Online Reviews, Essays and Commentary – a collection…
Hello everybody, happy Sunday to all!!! We’ve both been so busy lately with work and that is seriously messing with our blogging mojo so apologies for any missed reviews of late (we WILL catch up, pinky swear). Down to…
“On The Smugglers’ Radar” is a feature for books that have caught our eye: books we have heard of via other bloggers, directly from publishers, and/or from our regular incursions into the Amazon jungle. Thus, the Smugglers’ Radar was…
It’s Friday, which means we’re over at Kirkus! Today Ana reads two short stories in preparation for Hugo Awards nominations “Selkie Stories Are for Losers” by Sofia Samatar and “Of Alternate Adventures and Memory” by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz are both…
Book Review: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina
Title: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass Author: Meg Medina Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, PoC Publisher: Candlewick Publication Date: March 26 2013 Hardcover: 272 Pages One morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates…
Old School Wednesdays is a weekly Book Smuggler feature. We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when both Ana and Thea were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and Shiny (and often over-hyped)…
As you probably know by now, Old School Wednesdays is a new weekly Book Smuggler feature. We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when we were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and…
Title: Grasshopper Jungle Author: Andrew Smith Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult Publisher: Dutton Juvenile Publication Date: February 11 2014 Hardcover: 388 Pages Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the storyof how he and his…
Title: The Glass Casket Author: McCormick Templeman Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Young Adult Publisher: Delacorte Press Publication Date: February 2014 Hardcover: 352 Pages Death hasn’t visited Rowan Rose since it took her mother when Rowan was only a little girl.…
Hello, everyone! HAPPY SUNDAY! Ana and I are currently staging an impromptu-simultaneous viewing of The Faculty (can you believe Ana has never seen it!) – and now taking a quick break for today’s stash! This Week on The Book…
Title: The Twistrose Key Written by Tone Almhjell, Illustrated by Ian Schoenherr Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult Publisher: Dial (US) / Little, Brown UK Publication Date: October 2013 (US) / January 2013 (UK) Hardcover: 336 Pages A striking middle-grade debut…
Happy Valentine’s Day, folks! It’s Friday, which means we’re over at Kirkus! Today Thea is list-making (yes, AGAIN) with romance and science fiction on the brain. Thea lists some of her favorite and anticipated romantic science fiction novels to…
Title: Wake Author: Anna Hope Genre: Historical, World War I Publisher: Doubleday / Random House Publication Date: January / February 2014 Hardcover: 336 Pages Five Days in November, 1920: As the body of the Unknown Soldier makes its way…
Old School Wednesdays: Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken
Old School Wednesdays is a weekly Book Smuggler feature. We came up with the idea towards the end of 2012, when both Ana and Thea were feeling exhausted from the never-ending inundation of New and Shiny (and often over-hyped)…
Grave: Joan Frances Turner on Inspirations & Influences (& Giveaway)
Grave is the newest book by Joan Frances Turner, and the third entry in her Resurgam trilogy. Thea was a huge fan of Dust, book 1 in this zombie saga, and so we were thrilled when we were given…
Title: Hollow City Author: Ransom Riggs Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult Publisher: Quirk Publishing Publication Date: January 2014 Hardcover: 399 Pages Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was the surprise best seller of 2011—an unprecedented mix…
Hello everybody and happy Sunday to all. Thea and I have been knee deep in editorial hijinks, putting together Speculative Fiction 2013. We will soon be able to talk about the awesome table of contents and show you the…
“On The Smugglers’ Radar” is a feature for books that have caught our eye: books we have heard of via other bloggers, directly from publishers, and/or from our regular incursions into the Amazon jungle. Thus, the Smugglers’ Radar was…
Short Story Roundup: The Too-Clever Fox and The Water That Falls on You From Nowhere
It’s SFF awards season! The Hugos and the Nebulas are now open for nominations, and after running through our longlists earlier this week, I found myself appalled at the lack of short stories, novelettes, and novellas I had read…