Fantasy February 2023

Following on from my successful December Reading Challenge, I am attempting Fantasy February in which I will read ten fantasy novels throughout the (worringly short) month of Feb. 

To see the challenge, or take part, you can check out the Storygraph challenge here. 

The Prompts:

1. Urban Fantasy or Magical Realism

Tuesday Mooney Wore Black

Tuesday Mooney is a Millennial goth, raised on Buffy and The X-Files and - of course - The Addams Family. She's now a fairly everyday charity office worker and so when an eccentric millionaire leaves his money to anyone who can complete his scavenger hunt, she leaps at the opportunity. This was a lot lighter on fantasy than the description had me believe, but there was a tiny bit. Overall a fun read with fantastic, lifelike characters.

2. A Book Set at a Magic School that ISN'T Harry Potter 

Every Heart a Doorway

The Home for Wayward Children houses teenagers who visited magical lands - a whole generation of Alices, Lucys and Dorothys - and now cannot handle their mundane lives again. Nancy - who spent decades in the realm of Death - arrives just as a series of grisly murders rock the school. An aching, bone deep sadness runs through this story. Every classmate is a hero or heroine rendered completely ordinary. The book doesn't shy away from the inherent queerness of escaping into a world that understands you, and the helplessness of being rejected by that world too.  See my full review here.

3. A Book About a Magical Creature that isn't a Vampire/Werewolf/Ghost

A Natural History of Dragons

Lady Trent, dragon expert and explore, recounts her early encounters with dragons in a memoir. This is Victorian-esque, as she struggles to be taken seriously in her upper-class womanhood. This is set in a fantasy world, although her home is clearly England and the place she travels to is Russian-esque. The dragons really are the stars here, and yet they are described as ordinarily as whales or any other powerful, mysterious beast.

4. A High Fantasy Novel

Paladin's Grace

Stephen is one of seven paladins who survived the death of their god, leaving them broken and unable to control their beserker rages. When he meets a charming perfumer, he has to wrestle with taking a risk on happiness... and naturally gets caught up in assassination attempts, false accusations, and a serial killer investigation. I will absolutely be reading the rest of this - it was pure joy to experience.

5. A Fantasy Novel by a Non-White Author 

The Cat Who Saved Books

A boy loses his grandfather and shurs himself away in his grandfather's bookshop. Enter a talking cat, who takes him on a fantastical book saving aventure. In truth... I didn't enjoy this. It was more like a long discussion (often lecture) about books rather than a cohesive story. The cat was rather sidelined and the answers were too easy.

6. A Fantasy Set Somewhere Besides the UK or North America 

The Haunting of Tram Car 015

Sequel to A Dead Djinn in Cairo. This book returns to fantasy steampunk Cairo where two young ministry officials are trying to solve the mystery of a djinn who is hiding in the tram network. Meanwhile, a suffragette protest is sweeping the city. This was a short one, and slightly drier than the first story, with a less engaging main character, but it really won me over in the end as all the pieces came together.

7. A Dark Fantasy

8. A Fantasy Novel You've Mean Meaning to Read Longer Than One Year

9. A Queer Fantasy 

10. A Fantasy Novel with a Green Cover

When Women Were Dragons

In 1950s suburban America there was a mass dragoning in which hundreds of thousands of women transformed into dragons and vanished. Alex's aunt was one of them, though no one talks about it because dragons are as feminine and shameful as discussing menstruation over dinner. As Alex grows up she wrestles with that loss, her own sexuslity, speculates why her own mother did not change, and watches in horror as her beloved cousin grows more dragon obsessed by the day. This is in the same category as The Handmaid's Tale or The Power but it's not as angry, more... simmering. This is for women who are bigger on the inside and hungry for life, love, knowledge and adventure. 

Bonus: Anything Else

Tea and Sympathetic Magic

A regency fantasy novel. Magic gets out of control during attempts to woo an eligible duke. This was short, snappy and fun.

 Check out my entire reading list for 2023 (with links to reviews) here.