Review of Swordheart, by T. Kingfisher

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Fiction Review, Starred Review 0

Swordheart

by T. Kingfisher
read by Jesse Vilinsky

Tantor Media, 2021. 14 hours, 32 minutes.
Review written December 9, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Here’s a fantasy tale with a self-described middle-aged widow as the main character! That alone would have made the book delightful. (She turned out to be in her late thirties, but still.)

As the book opens, Halla has been locked in her room by her dead husband’s relatives until she’ll agree to marry a cousin with clammy hands. This is all the fault of great-uncle Silas, the only one who’d been willing to take her in after her husband died. After years of caring for Silas, when he died, he left all his money to Halla. Now the relatives insist that she marry the cousin to keep the money in the family.

Locked in her room, Halla realizes that if she kills herself, the money will stay out of their hands and go to her nieces and give them nice dowries. But how does one, in fact, kill oneself? Well, Silas collected artifacts, and there’s long been an old sword hanging on her wall.

But when Halla unsheathes the sword, a warrior appears. His name is Sarkis, and he was bound to the sword over 400 years before. But he’s never had a wielder quite like Halla.

After breaking Halla out of her own home, they go on a quest to get help from the temple of the Rat God, whose priests are sworn to help people in legal trouble. But the journey, both there and back, is full of obstacles and unexpected challenges. And it’s no surprise to the reader that Halla and Sarkis begin to have feelings for each other.

This book was delightful all along the way. Halla is a wonderful character, full of curiosity and always asking questions, sometimes as a way to disarm people who would otherwise be threats. Sarkis, quite naturally, is used to solving problems by cutting off heads or burning down villages. He’s voiced with what I think is a Scottish accent (might be Irish?), and his perplexity with Halla is great fun to experience. And a strong reason I’m recommending the audiobook as a wonderful way to experience this novel.

The priest of the Rat God who travels back with them is a nonbinary person, and it was refreshing how everyone in that medieval fantasy world uses they/them pronouns without batting an eye.

Some of the obstacles they encountered made the story feel a bit circuitous, but in the end I was happier to have that much more time in this world. Although I’m coming to the book four years after publication, I see that a sequel is expected in August 2026, so I feel like I’m right on time.

redwombatstudio.com

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Review of Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine, read by Eden Riegel

Children's Fiction Review, Fairy Tale Variant, Fantasy, Old Favorites, Sonderbooks25, Stand-outs, Starred Review 0

Ella Enchanted

by Gail Carson Levine
read by Eden Riegel

Listening Library, 2000. 5 hours, 42 minutes.
This review written August 25, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Original review posted February 25, 2002.
1998 Newbery Honor Book
Starred Review
2002 Sonderbooks Stand-out: #4 Young Adult and Children’s Fantasy Rereads

To this day, I am proud that I discovered Ella Enchanted *before* it won Newbery Honor. I have a first edition, without the sticker. I don’t know where I got it, but in 1997 I lived in Germany, and I wanted to be a children’s writer. Somehow I got some copies of some publisher catalogs. I was taken with the description of Ella Enchanted – I always love fairy tale retellings – and must have ordered my copy from Amazon. I loved it and was delighted when it won Newbery Honor.

In honor of my 25th year of writing Sonderbooks, I’ve been celebrating #Sonderbooks25. My plan was to reread my reviews of all my Sonderbooks Stand-outs over the years and choose one book to reread from each year. Well, that was a good plan! Instead, I’ve started rereading *all* my reviews and have found the old favorites that my library has on audio and have revisited many. I started at the beginning of 2025, and am still working on 2003. I tell myself it will go more quickly when I don’t have to convert those older pages to phone-friendly format (after 2005) – but hey, the only deadline is my own, and I’m having lots of fun.

It was a delight to enter the world of Ella Enchanted again. At last, we understand why Cinderella let her step family boss her around so horribly – she was cursed at birth with the “gift” of obedience – when someone gives her a direct command, she has to obey.

Gail Carson Levine added many other delightful details as well. It’s a magical kingdom where ogres can charm humans and make you do whatever they want. And it’s also inhabited by kindly gnomes and giants. Ella has a gift of languages, and she gets to know Prince Charmant well before the ball – but he doesn’t recognize her because it’s a masked ball. Besides the romance, the plot involves Ella trying to break her curse.

I put my original review in Young Adult Fiction, but this time around, I have to bow to the fact that despite Ella being a teen who’s old enough to marry, the book is really written for children in the middle grades. The romance isn’t about physical attraction so much as it is about making each other laugh. It all adds up to a sweet story that will make you smile, whatever age you are when you discover it.

gailcarsonlevine.com

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Review of The Polar Bear and the Ballerina, by Eric Velasquez

Fantasy, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 1

The Polar Bear and the Ballerina

by Eric Velasquez

Holiday House, 2025. 40 pages.
Review written November 12, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review

Wordless picture books are hit or miss with me, because it’s not always clear what’s actually happening. And they’re not easy to use in story time. But this one is a grand slam.

The book opens with a group from Harlem Children’s Ballet at the zoo, taking photos in front of the polar bear’s tank. They pose as the giant polar bear swims behind them. One girl has a long red scarf streaming out behind her.

After the other kids move on, the polar bear and red scarf girl have a moment through the glass. She lingers, but has to head to the performance. She doesn’t notice that she has left her red scarf trailing on the floor behind her.

The polar bear notices, though! In a double-page spread with extra panels, we see the bear climb over the fence lining his enclosure and go around to the entrance of the park to go in and get the scarf. He puts on the scarf and makes his way uptown.

There’s a sign on the ticket booth: SOLD OUT! NO POLAR BEARS ALLOWED!

But the girl hears his growl in response and comes running. She gets her scarf from him and brings him to a seat in the auditorium.

And then the girl dances, with a photo of the bear behind her. He is enraptured.

Afterward, he gets to take the scarf back home with him, and he dreams about his new friend.

And it’s all done so beautifully. The graceful lines of the dancers and the sheer size of the bear stand out. My favorite is the page of the bear stealthily getting out of his cage. Or no, wait – it’s probably the spread of the girl gracefully dancing.

There are facts about polar bears at the front and facts about the ballerina at the back. This picture book left me smiling.

ericvelasquez.com

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Review of The Poisoned King, by Katherine Rundell

Audiobooks, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The Poisoned King

by Katherine Rundell
read by Sam West

Listening Library, 2025. 7 hours, 7 minutes.
Review written November 7, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

With Book 2 of the books set in the magical Archipelago, I’m loving this series more than ever. I believe you don’t have to read the first book, Impossible Creatures, to enjoy this one, because it’s a mostly self-contained story. But I highly recommend that you do read the first, because both are wonderful!

This book does start with Christopher, an Outlander Guardian from our world, being summoned back to the Archipelago by Jacques, the tiny jaculus dragon. He’s summoned because dragons have been dying throughout the Archipelago, and they want a Guardian to figure out what’s wrong and save them.

Once he arrives, he gets guidance from a sphinx – who pulls him into the story of Anya, Princess of Dousha. And her story is the story of the poisoned king – for her grandfather the king was poisoned, her father was framed for his murder, and now Anya’s life is in danger because she’s next in line for the throne.

So the adventure in this book is to find out what happened to the dragons and the king, clear Anya’s father’s name, and get vengeance on the person behind all that. The idea is simple, and the adventure is wonderful.

Again, the book is full of impossible, fantastical creatures. I like the Gagana birds who follow Princess Anya around and look after her. We do meet some friends from the previous book, all working for the good of the islands. The eventual plan to make things right is ingenious, and not without danger. And it’s mostly carried out by children – Christopher and Anya.

The narrator of this series is phenomenal as well. He does excellent voices for the many creatures, and his storytelling voice is perfect for the dry humor throughout the book. One example is the chapter title, “A Discovery: Oysters Both Look and Taste Like Snot.” There are also many wise sayings (such as “Fear has wisdom in it, if you treat it well.”), which he declares with wonderful gravity.

I recently finished another Book 2 and was annoyed the story wasn’t done. With this book, I’m delighted it’s Book 2, because it has the feel of a series. I’m hoping for many more grand adventures in the magical world of the Archipelago. If you haven’t visited it yet, here’s another opportunity!

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Review of The Rebel and the Rose, by Catherine Doyle

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

The Rebel and the Rose

by Catherine Doyle
read by Emily Carey and Freddy Carter

Simon & Schuster Audio UK, 2025. 13 hours, 23 minutes.
Review written November 7, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.

The Rebel and the Rose is the sequel to The Dagger and the Flame, romantasies with a very unusual magic system. I’ve gotten spoiled by the recent flood of duologies out there – I was disappointed when this book did not finish the story, but I will want to know what happens next.

At the start of this book, Ransom is now head of the Daggers, and Seraphine lives away from the city of Fantome, making Lightfire that counteracts the Shade the Daggers use in their work as assassins.

But when Sera and her friends go into the city to find out more about a prophecy of new Saints, they’re captured by the King’s Guard, imprisoned – and then forced to work together with the Daggers – and Ransom himself – to kill the two new Saints who have appeared. The one who’s calling himself the People’s Saint has been raising up rebellion against the king.

I thought I knew where this book was going. The king turns out to be an odious and horrible man, and Ransom and Sera are still full of lust for one another. The king doesn’t realize that Sera herself with her new power is one of the new Saints. She wants to find out about the new Saint, and get Ransom to agree to hold off on killing him.

But things go askew when it turns out the People’s Saint is also a horrible person. The resolution of all this will not be simple – and the part that takes place in this volume is full of drama and danger. And yes, more sex and violence and magic.

Something I loved is that there are big coincidences regarding Ransom and the identity of the Saints – and the author can get away with it because the God of Fate is involved. Instead of rolling our eyes at the coincidences, this assures the reader that Fate is messing with him! Plus, the author observes the Rule of Good Fiction that coincidences can get characters into trouble, but never out of trouble.

I’m not sure how they’ll get out of the mess at the end of this book, but it’s going to be interesting….

catherinedoylebooks.com

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Review of Oathbound, by Tracy Deonn

Fantasy, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Oathbound

by Tracy Deonn
read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Andrew Eiden, Hillary Huber, Tim Paige, and Adenrele Ojo

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2025. 25 hours.
Review written July 28, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

25 hours listening to Book Three and the series still is not done! Fair warning about that – but honestly, with the kicker ending to this book, I’m not upset – I want to hear more.

This series is growing on me. I think after listening to Book Three, I’m willing to call myself a fan. I liked the concept of Book One – a Black girl destroying expectations by proving herself to be a part of a magical secret society of descendants of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I thought that was what the series would be about.

But Book Two showed us, right at the start, that of course the white men accustomed to ruling the Order wouldn’t put up with that. And we find out that Bree has another kind of magic from her Black foremothers, and she meets practitioners of that art – all while seeing scenes from Arthur’s life as he, too, tries to control her. And basically Book Two was pretty confusing for me – different kinds of magic, different practitioners, lots of “dreamwalking,” and I wasn’t even sure who Bree was really in love with.

I enjoyed Book Three, though. I didn’t worry about remembering what went on before and got the idea pretty quickly. It seems like she’d established how the different kinds of magic worked in the earlier books, and now it was easier for me to simply accept what’s happening. In this book, Bree is trying to learn to use her power apart from Arthur – apart from all her friends, too. (Oh! Something I appreciated was that Arthur was hardly mentioned in this book. Every single time the narrator said the word “Author,” I couldn’t help myself and said “Arrrthur” under my breath – this happened much less in Book Three than it had in Book Two.)

This book progresses at a leisurely pace – 25 hours! – and I think could have been done without so many viewpoint characters. But I especially liked what’s basically a heist set-up in the last half of the book – and getting to become clear on which one is actually Bree’s love interest.

And there’s a huge kick at the end – that packs a punch precisely because of what you’ve learned during the course of the book.

So, yes, this series is growing on me. Bree Matthews is a character you can’t help but root for. One thing’s for sure – the white patriarchy shouldn’t underestimate her.

tracydeonn.com

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Review of Cat Nap, by Brian Lies

Fantasy, Picture Book Review, Starred Review 0

Cat Nap

by Brian Lies

Greenwillow Books, 2025. 48 pages.
Review written October 9, 2025, from a library book.
Starred Review

Fun fact: I met Brian Lies, because he won his Caldecott Honor for The Rough Patch in 2019, the year I was on the Newbery committee. So I met him at a pre-awards reception and got to talk with him a little bit. Still, these days I am resistant to reviewing picture books, because I’m still trying to catch up on posting reviews I’ve written. But Cat Nap charmed me so much I can’t keep quiet. And between you and me, this book screams Caldecott! (Though you never know what the actual committee will decide.)

Cat Nap is the story of a kitten chasing a mouse through art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There’s a fun refrain:

Does Kitten follow?
Of course he does.

But what makes the book stunning is the art. As in The Three Pigs, by David Wiesner, the cat’s portrayal changes on each spread to match the art where he is currently hunting.

So that would be interesting enough if it were simply different styles of drawing – but Brian Lies actually uses sculpture in many frames – when the cat interacts with a ceramic dog and a mask with a bird. He made actual stained glass windows when the cat interacts with a medieval stained glass pane.

There’s an extensive Author’s Note at the back with the works of art identified. And pictured without the cat. I was awed by these paragraphs from that note:

It would have been easy to create the illustrations in this book on a computer – to take a photo of an original artwork and edit Kitten in digitally. It was a greater challenge, and a whole lot more fun, to see if I could actually make pieces of art that looked like the originals in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and blend Kitten’s headlong pursuit of the mouse into them. Everything you see Kitten encountering and exploring in this book was handmade, using acrylic and oil paints, gouache, ink, plaster, wood, gold leaf, clay, paper, glass, lead, and more. Some of the techniques I used were ones that I’d done before, and some were new to me.

So yes, it could have been done digitally. And now, artificial intelligence even allows us to enter a description of what we want, and in seconds, the computer spits out an image. But wheres the satisfaction in that? The computer created it, not us.

If you like making things, practice. Practice makes better! It takes time to develop skills so things turn out the way you want them to; the way you see them in your imagination – you can’t simply leap ahead and skip all that work. But it’s fun to write stories and to make pictures and build things, and I hope you’ll do these things because they’re satisfying. Focus on the enjoyment you get while your skills are coming along. You can make pretty much anything you want to, if you teach yourself how.

If people before us could do it, why not me? Why not you?

Oh yes, and besides that wonderful Author’s Note, the book gives an engaging story. What’s not to like about a kitten chasing a mouse through entertaining obstacles? I love the way the kitten finds his way back home – the sound of cat food being poured into his bowl.

brianlies.com
harpercollinschildrens.com

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Review of The Dagger and the Flame, by Catherine Doyle

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

The Dagger and the Flame

by Catherine Doyle
read by Emily Carey and Freddy Carter

Simon & Schuster Audio, 2024. 13 hours, 23 minutes.
Review written July 21, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

This is another eaudiobook I decided to put on hold because so many other people had done so. Maybe they were onto something! I saw that the sequel is out soon, and it already has lots of NotifyMe tags in Libby – I decided to see what the fuss is about, and was glad I did.

This is a romantasy with a dash of violence, but a unique set of fantasy world-building. Seraphine has grown up on a farm with her mother, a smuggler of Shade – a magical substance with an affinity for shadows. But the Prologue tells us about a strange experiment her mother didn’t want her to see, when something she did with Shade turned their cat into a monster.

There are two groups in the city that use Shade, but Sera’s mother only sold to the Cloaks. The Cloaks wear cloaks woven and sewn and created with Shade that enable the wearer to turn invisible in shadows. They are a guild of thieves, hired by those who desire their services. Sera’s mother told her to go to them if she is ever in trouble.

So when Sera comes home to find her mother dead, their farm burned, and sees a member of the other guild, the Daggers, standing over her – Sera runs to the Cloaks. She knows she may be next if she can’t find sanctuary. Can she fit in with them and learn to be a thief? She’s used to Shade, but not to wielding it.

After establishing all this, we hear from our second viewpoint character – Ransom, a Dagger who has indeed been tasked with assassinating Seraphine. He’s in no hurry, but finds himself more intrigued by his mark than he’s accustomed to. Daggers actually drink a potion made of Shade. It’s said that drinking Shade eventually eats out their hearts, but they can actually wield shadows and kill with impunity.

And then some monsters start appearing in the city, killing people with much less finesse than the Daggers used – but the same symptoms on their bodies. Does it have something to do with Sera’s mother’s experiments? And then when Ransom tries to carry out his assignment – she discovers the necklace her mother gave her has a strange power.

The history of the city, the guilds, and shade, is all woven into the story. Both characters have strong friendships in their guilds that help guide their actions and choices. It all builds to a crisis that leaves things unsettled, but with a new kind of power to explore. I’m definitely wanting to find out what happens next – coming in September! (And I’m currently in line for the eaudiobook. Note: I think it’s related to the author being Irish, but the ebook and eaudiobook are available to the library before the print book, which comes out in December.)

catherinedoylebooks.com

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Review of The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest, by Aubrey Hartman

Animal Characters, Children's Fiction Review, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest

by Aubrey Hartman
read by Marisa Calin

Hachette Audio, 2025. 6 hours, 28 minutes.
Review written September 19, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

I was not prepared for how charmed I would be by this story of an undead fox. But yes, this book has all the cozy delight of an old-fashioned animal story with a motherly narrator – this one perfectly voiced by Marisa Calin, who has a British accent. Never mind that the main character, Clare, a fox with a lavender tail – isn’t quite dead but also isn’t alive.

Yes, Clare had been killed when run over by a car. But before he found his way to one of the four realms of the Afterlife (Pleasure, Progress, Peace, or Pain), he was offered a chance to train as the next Usher of Deadwood Forest. Since that happened six years ago, Clare has helped wandering souls find their way to the realm where they belong. He is kind and helpful to all souls – though he has a strong prejudice against badgers.

And then the soul of a wandering badger comes to his door – and she fails to make her way to any of the four realms. Her name is Gingersnipes, and she keeps on turning up at his door. Clare is afraid it has something to do with the premonition about him announced by Hersterfowl, a visionary grouse who lives in the neighboring wood. He goes to see her and doesn’t like what he hears, and decides that he will figure out a way to change his fate – which is all going to come to a crisis on All Hallow’s Eve, when all the realms are open, and he usually huddles in his cabin.

But all along the interaction between Clare and Gingersnipes is simply delightful as we learn about their pasts, how they died, and the things they still care about. Clare has a deep fear that, as the local children like to sing, he is a monster. But we come to agree with Gingersnipes that he is a truly good soul.

I’m not sure I can really communicate how much fun this book is. Who knew that an undead fox who raises mushrooms with great care and is kind to every soul who comes to him would make such a lovable character?

aubreyhartman.com

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Review of Somadina, by Akwaeke Emezi

Audiobooks, Fantasy, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

Somadina

by Akwaeke Emezi
read by Nene Nwoko

Listening Library, 2025. 9 hours, 47 minutes.
Review written September 2, 2025, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review

Somadina is a powerful fantasy novel about a girl with magical powers on a quest to rescue her twin. The story is completely rooted in an African cultural world, a refreshing change from the usual white medieval-based fantasy stories I read.

It’s been many years since the Split – when to protect themselves in a war, the magic-users in the community did such powerful magic, the earth split open – and everyone who survived ever since gets a magical gift when they come of age. But Somadina and her twin Jayaike are slow to get their gifts and slow to develop physically, confirming to some in the village that twins are inherently evil and should have been left to die.

But then when their gifts do manifest, they’re surprisingly powerful. When Somadina uses her gift to protect her friend being raped, the result revives the village’s fear that she is evil. Her own mother calls her an abomination. As if that weren’t enough, her twin brother is taken by a man who has appeared in Somadina’s dreams, telling her he’s going to eat their power. Her brother is like another part of her, and Somadina is compelled to find him, which brings its own adventures.

I was glad I listened to this book, because I love the narrator’s African accent that helped me feel immersed in that world. The story is full of mythic elements and comes to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion after the big showdown at the end.

A powerful fantasy tale that is definitely not the same old thing.

akwaeke.com

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