Top 3 Books of 2018 (Lizzie)

Do you ever think about a book and know you read it but can't quite remember what year it was you read it? Well, I'm pretty sure I read these books this year and not last year. If I wasn't sure when I read it, or if it was a short story, I omitted it to make the choosing easier. My list focuses on the fantasy books I read, since this is a fantasy blog. However, I couldn't help but mention some of the other full-length books I loved.

Top 3 Fantasy Books Read in 2018

1. The Restorer (Sword of Lyric)

With adventure, relatable characters, great spiritual truths, and a fascinating fantasy world, this was an unexpected gem. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series, which I bought as a Christmas gift to myself. You can read my review of it here.

2. Tinsel in a Tangle by Laurie Germaine

I loved this book when I came across it in a writing critique group and even remembered to hunt for it years later to see if it had been published. A contemporary YA with a twist, the twist being that the main character is a Christmas elf (well, mostly an elf) living in a fairly modern town (Santa's workshop and elves can have phones and snow mobiles too, after all), it's a delightful, funny romance. Laurie Germaine was a guest on our blog earlier this year. You can read her post here.

3. Masque

Resourceful and witty heroine, strong hero, humor, cleverness, murder, mystery, wonderful British language, and a Beauty and the Beauty-style love curse, Masque was a delightful read. It reminded me of Jen Turano's Ladies of Distinction series, only with an intriguing world of magic rather than the intriguing, though equally foreign, world of 1880s Park 5th Avenue. Masque also gets an award for one of my favorite covers of 2019!

Top Non-fantasy Books of 2018

In no particular order, here are some of my other favorite reads from this year.

1. Where We Belong by Lynn Austin I absolutely loved this historical fiction about the adventures of two sister who educate themselves and travel in a time when that was frowned upon. With romance, exotic locations (Egypt and a monastery in Sinai), and ancient Biblical texts, I loved the history and the characters.

2. and 3. The Silent Songbird by Melanie Dickerston and More than Meets the Eye by Karen Witemeyer Two thoroughly enjoyable books by two of favorite historical romance authors.

4.  No God but One: Allah or Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi My only non-fiction book on the list, I actually read this one twice, which isn't something I do too often. I learned a lot from Qureshi's studies into his former faith of Islam and the faith his research led him to embrace: Christianity. It taught me a lot about who the Christian God is and how he is a God of love and relationship.








5. The Tainted Coin by Mel Starr Another fantastic medieval murder mystery in the Hugh de Singleton Chronicles, only this time with buried treasure and kidnapped ladies to add to the adventure.

Have you read any of these books? Do any spark your interest? What were your favorite reads of 2018?

Top Three Fairy Tale Retellings (Lauricia)

For many of us, fairy tales supply our first taste of the fun of fantasy. At a young age we are introduced to magical adventures in which the good guy always wins, and we explore wondrous worlds with just enough danger to add a sense of urgency while assuring us that, as long as we keep our wits about us, we can overcome any threat.

As we grow older, many of us think back on those stories with fondness. We love to revisit them, but the sense of wonder is gone, replaced with the comfort of something so familiar that we have it memorized. We long to return to the original stories, but we wish they weren’t so well worn. It is this desire that makes fairy tale retellings so popular.

I have yet to write a fairy tale retelling. I worry that I will not do the original story justice, or that my version will come off as hackneyed and flat. However, every once in a while I come across a retelling that I am drawn to read, and I am happy to share my top three most recent discoveries with you.

 Masque by W. R. Gingell

This is a delightful retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" that takes the story in a way readers would never expect it to go. Think Disney’s Beauty and the Beast meets Sam Spade, private detective, set in Regency England. In this version, Isabella Farrah, the daughter of an ambassador, is more interested in getting her man than she is in being rescued. The only problem is Lord Pecus, Commander of the city’s Watch, keeps getting in the way. Well, Isabella actually keeps getting in his way, but if Pecus would just let Isabella have her way, she’s certain she could nab the murderer of one of her oldest friends.  A feisty heroine whose nobody’s fool and witty dialogue highlight this story’s unique blend of the fairy tale and murder mystery genres, making Masque a retelling must-read.

The Firethorn Crown (Firethorn Chronicles, Book 1) by Lea Doue

Before I knew this story was a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", I fell into it in a way that I hadn’t done with any story for a long time. I was pleased with the cast of characters, with the author’s attention to detail, with the way she managed to include all twelve girls without causing confusion, and—most of all—with the love triangle. While love triangles seem to be obligatory recently, Doue handled this one in a gracefully realistic way. As I finished the book, I was already looking forward to the second book in the series.

Waking Beauty by Sarah E. Morin

This is an excellent retelling of "Sleeping Beauty". However, this version examines the story from a unique angle, asking: What happens if, every time Beauty thought she woke up, she found out that she was truly still asleep? Once Prince Charming rescued her, how could he convince her she was truly awake? This story is a cleverly thought out variation of the original with slightly allegoric overtones. The author cleverly challenges the assumptions readers naturally make when thinking of the story and does so with developed wit and poignancy.

Do you enjoy fairy tale retellings? Why or why not? If so, which ones are your favorites?