Pride Reads: A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

There are numerous lists (yay!) of amazing books to read during Pride Month, and all year long! Here is one of my favorites!

Available Now

I absolutely loved this story! LOVED IT! If you love fairy tale retellings, especially ones that point out every sexist and problematic element, then is the perfect book for you.

On Zinnia Gray’s twenty-first birthday, she finds herself dying, surrounded by rose petals, at the top of a tower. Now, Zinnia has been dying since the day she was born. Genetic abnormalities caused by environmental pollutions has caused irreparable damage to her body and Zinnia knows she has maybe one more year left to live. After a birthday party thrown by her absolute best friend Charm, Zinnia finds herself faced with a spinning wheel just like a real-life Aurora.

What Zinnia doesn’t anticipate, is finding herself transported to a fairy tale world with another Aurora-like character, Princess Primrose who is destined to fall into a deep sleep for 100 years on her twenty-first birthday.

So what happens when you combine two real-life Sleeping Beauties who don’t feel compelled to follow the story written for them? They set out to write their own.

This is a short little novella that packs a huge emotional punch. I loved this book from the very first page and found myself laughing out loud and cheering on Zinnia and Primrose as they fought for their freedom. I’m a huge sucker for books with awesome friendships and Zinnia finds a fast ally in Primrose but also has the world’s best friend in Charm, her friend since elementary school. They are all fiercely protective of each other and have no problem calling each other on their nonsense. Charm doesn’t let Zin get too down and Zin doesn’t let Charm get too lost in searching for an answer to Zin’s illness. I found myself relating to the overprotectiveness of Zin’s parents and Zin’s need to break away and become her own person with the little time she had left. Some tears were definitely shed during this book but it was easily balanced by all the amazing one-liners and banter between the characters.

A Spindle Splintered is an excellent feminist retelling of one our most loved and problematic fairy tales. It’s subversive, funny, dark, and full of wildly beautiful illustrations.

If you would like to add this novella to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Available now

This book is incredible! Absolutely one of the best books I’ve ever read. Told in alternating points of view, we watch as The Bridegroom falls hopelessly in love with Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada, an incredibly wealthy and enigmatic woman. He’s known from the beginning that he can never ask about her past and is so swept up in his love for her that he manages to never question her until they are summoned to her childhood home to say goodbye to her dying aunt. As The Bridegroom wanders the mansion, he discovers the house wants to reveal secrets that Indigo is desperate to remain hidden.

Indigo’s childhood is revealed to us through the eyes of Azure, her closest friend. Orphaned as a young child, Indigo inherits not just her family’s wealth and business empire, but closets full of designer clothes and jewelry. Together, they crafted spells to take them to the world of fae and spent their days in preparation of becoming fae royalty and a life of immortality.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is hauntingly beautiful. It’s part mystery, part fantasy, and completely engrossing. Chokshi is an incredibly talented writer and has crafted some of the beautiful sentences I’ve ever read. This ended up being far darker than I anticipated, but was so enthralling that I couldn’t put it down.

If you would like to add this amazing book to your collection, you can click on the cover for ordering information.

This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon Associate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

Available Now

I absolutely loved this story! LOVED IT! If you love fairy tale retellings, especially ones that point out every sexist and problematic element, then is the perfect book for you.

On Zinnia Gray’s twenty-first birthday, she finds herself dying, surrounded by rose petals, at the top of a tower. Now, Zinnia has been dying since the day she was born. Genetic abnormalities caused by environmental pollutions has caused irreparable damage to her body and Zinnia knows she has maybe one more year left to live. After a birthday party thrown by her absolute best friend Charm, Zinnia finds herself faced with a spinning wheel just like a real-life Aurora.

What Zinnia doesn’t anticipate, is finding herself transported to a fairy tale world with another Aurora-like character, Princess Primrose who is destined to fall into a deep sleep for 100 years on her twenty-first birthday.

So what happens when you combine two real-life Sleeping Beauties who don’t feel compelled to follow the story written for them? They set out to write their own.

This is a short little novella that packs a huge emotional punch. I loved this book from the very first page and found myself laughing out loud and cheering on Zinnia and Primrose as they fought for their freedom. I’m a huge sucker for books with awesome friendships and Zinnia finds a fast ally in Primrose but also has the world’s best friend in Charm, her friend since elementary school. They are all fiercely protective of each other and have no problem calling each other on their nonsense. Charm doesn’t let Zin get too down and Zin doesn’t let Charm get too lost in searching for an answer to Zin’s illness. I found myself relating to the overprotectiveness of Zin’s parents and Zin’s need to break away and become her own person with the little time she had left. Some tears were definitely shed during this book but it was easily balanced by all the amazing one-liners and banter between the characters.

A Spindle Splintered is an excellent feminist retelling of one our most loved and problematic fairy tales. It’s subversive, funny, dark, and full of wildly beautiful illustrations.

If you would like to add this novella to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links, including Amazon, and I may earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

Available July 6, 2021

Unless you’re a Book of the Month member, it was available as a June pick!

I have never been the biggest King Arthur fan. I love mythology, royalty, and palace intrigue, for sure, but there was always so much focus on the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur himself that the stories always fell a little short with me. Half Sick of Shadows has completely changed the way I look at the lore surrounding the Lady of the Lake and Arthur´s journey to the throne. In Half Sick of Shadows, Laura Sebastian tells the legend of Arthur´s rise to power, but through the lens of the women who made his ascension possible.

Haunted for most of her life by dreams of her own death, Lady Elaine was seen by many at court as a mad woman. Her overbearing and agoraphobic mother only amplified those feelings and made Elaine feel even more alone. When Morgana makes an appearance at court, Elaine finds herself drawn to her boldness fearlessness. After Morgana questions Elaine about her mysterious dreams, Elaine discovers that she is not mad, she is a powerful oracle in need of training and guidance.

With this new information in hand, Elaine finds herself on a magical adventure in Avalon with her new best friends Arthur, Morgana, Guinevere, and Lance. Idyllic days spent learning magic, romping through the woods, and taking part in wild bonfire parties. But the dreamlike days can´t last forever. Told through multiple timelines and Elaine´s mystical visions, the real story behind Arthur´s ascension and the powerful women who stood by his side for years, is told.

I absolutely loved Laura Sebastian´s writing. Sebastian makes you feel like you´re Elaine, writing in your journal or trusting your secrets to a best friend. Sebastian also gives us more than just a feminist retelling, she gives us an intimate look at the relationships between some of the most well known characters in literature. We know that Arthur will go on to greatness, but Half Sick of Shadows shows us the insecurities, the doubts, and the struggles that went in to that journey. Elaine faces even more pressure than Arthur. Every vision is a burden. She has seen how her friends die, how they betray one another, how they hurt, help, and love each other. Every vision leads Elaine needing to make an impossible decision between her friends and one of the greatest prophecies.

As Elaine, Morgana, and Gwen sacrifice their happiness over and over again to ensure Arthur´s rise to power, we see the toll those sacrifices take on them and their friendship. Over and over again, the women refer to their mission of ensuring Arthur´s success, that everything they are doing is for Arthur and Arthur must always come first. You can feel their love and dedication for him, but you can also feel their frustration of having to limit their power and desires in service to their mission. Seeing the way they weigh every decision, every calculation, every effect on their friendships and their lives really showed how vital they were to the success of Arthur and his Kingdom. It´s a really interesting take on the tale and made for a lovely reading experience.

Half Sick of Shadows is a beautiful, haunting tale of friendship, family, and the lengths we are willing to go to protect the ones we love. If you have any interest in King Arthur, definitely add this to your list. You will not be disappointed.

This was offered as an early release from Book of the Month in June. I personally love BOTM and the selection of the books that are offered every month. If youŕe wanting to try it yourself, you can use my link: https://www.mybotm.com/5f24d9c326b8?show_box=true and we´ll both win.

If you would like to add this amazing tale to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Available April 6, 2021

Content warnings for child abuse, suicide, child abduction, child death

Not going to lie, I was in the mood for a book exactly like this when I picked it up and it couldn’t have been more perfect for my mood. This is a deliciously creepy and twisted fairy tale-like story of three sisters who disappear in the blink of an eye from a street in Scotland, only to return one month later with no memory of their time gone. Their story instantly became a news frenzy with the girls at the center of the storm. They were stalked, assaulted, accused of lying, and threatened. When their parents are proven by authorities to have nothing to do with their disappearance and winning a large defamation suit from a newspaper, the girls begin attending an expensive and prestigious private school where the abuse continues. Grey and Vivi quickly leave school to pursue modeling and musical careers, but Iris stays and tries to be both the perfect daughter and perfect student. But there’s nothing perfect about any of the sisters. Upon their return on that cold, rainy night, the girls changed. Their hair turned white and their eyes became an inky black and they developed a constant hunger. The girls know they are strange but only Iris tries to fit in.

Now, ten years after their reappearance, Grey, the oldest of the Hollow sisters is missing. Leaving behind a bizarre set of clues, Iris and Vivi must find their sister before it’s too late for all of them. Along the way, they discover that their connection to the supernatural is far greater than they realized and they are far from the only ones looking for their sister.

I thoroughly enjoyed every single page of this gruesome thriller. It’s dark and twisty and plays with the concept of power so well. These sisters know they are different and strange but it’s so much darker than that. They have the ability to compel people which sounds like an incredible power to have, until it goes too far and makes people obsessed with them. This power helps both Grey and Vivi in their modeling and music careers, but for someone who is quiet and mild-mannered like Iris, it’s frightening. This book is incredibly dark. Very quickly we learn the girls’ father dies by suicide and was obsessed with the idea that the girls were not his daughters. Cate, their mother, is estranged from both Grey and Vivi is hyper protective of Iris. This dynamic makes it incredibly difficult for Iris to maintain relationships with her sisters and she is constantly pulled between the two relationships. All three girls are also incredibly beautiful and they use that beauty to manipulate others. When the girls discover that Grey found where they were held during their disappearance, they also discover more about their time there and it’s the darkest thing possible. I cannot emphasize enough how dark this book is, but if you can handle it, you won’t be disappointed.

This is a fast read. I was immediately engrossed in the story and intrigued about where the girls had disappeared and what happened to them while they were there. I couldn’t wait to see how everything was tied together and how far the author was willing to take this story. Iris and her sisters were great characters. You can feel how abrasive Vivi and Grey found their home life and how much of a mediator Iris plays for the family. Cate, their mother, seems so cold and distant but you soon realize how much she has to cope with and it’s all a defense mechanism. I really liked how the author made Grey’s boyfriend completely immune to her supernatural charm. It made for a great and snarky dynamic between him and the other two sisters.

If you love dark fantasy, twisted fairy tales, and deliciously dark YA, this is definitely one to try. If you would like to add this book to your shelf, you can find ordering information here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Blade so Black by L. L. McKinney

Available Now

Reader Friends, I screwed up. Again. I had access to a smoking good sale last fall and bought a copy of A Blade so Black because the cover was gorgeous and it sounded amazing.

And then it sat on my YA shelf, looking gorgeous, until this month.

Why do I always wait so long to read these amazing books? The world may never know.

A Blade so Black is an action packed, modern retelling of Alice in Wonderland. Alice is 17, I think, attends high school, has an extremely tight knit group of friends, and slays Nightmares in Wonderland by night. Slays with swords and daggers. This is by far the most badass retelling of Alice in Wonderland I've ever read. Now, even though Alice has become a tough Dreamwalker, aka Nightmare killer, she still has an equally tough single mother who is incredibly protective of Alice. For good reason-Alice's father passed away leaving her a single mother and an innocent high school girl named Brionne was shot down by the police near their neighborhood. Mama is justifiably stressed.

I really loved how McKinney gives us a look at how complex being the hero can be. Alice is juggling friends, homework, house chores, and saving the universe. She's also ruining her clothes and shoes without an endless Tony Stark budget to replace them. And those friends of hers? Time runs differently when she crosses over to Wonderland which means she is always looking like a flake and missing out on plans. Sometimes, the most important plans get missed.

The world-building is incredible. It was so much fun to read how McKinney reimagines Lewis Carroll's original world. Classic characters come to life in new and exciting ways, and far more inclusive ways. Alice is a gorgeous, cosplaying black girl with a head full of smarts and the Mad Hatter? A hottie who trains her and runs a pub with Maddi, or that sleepy, slightly drunk critter from the original book. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum? Hottie Russian twins. Lots of hotness in this book.

Overall, this book was just what I was needing: an action packed adventure with amazing characters. I loved this retelling and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book because this one had one heck of a cliffhanger!

If you would like a copy for yourself, you can grab one here:

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As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Also, remember any mistakes and opinions are always my own, even if I bought the book with my own money and just read it last night.

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Available April 30, 2019

If you have ever dealt with postpartum depression, please know that this book deals heavily with this issue.  There is an incidence of potential harm to small children and discussions of mental illness. This book may also be incredibly terrifying for new mothers-there is no way I could have read this in the first year of my child’s birth.  

Little Darlings by Melanie Golding is a chilling, disturbing tale of a new mother, her babies, and an ancient myth that has terrified parents for centuries.  

Following the long and painful birth of her twins, Lauren Tranter is immediately caught up in the constant feeding, changing, and care of her babies.  Exhausted and wrung out mentally, she is devastated to realize her husband has no interest in helping her care for the twins and is overwhelmed by the amount of responsibility now placed solely on her shoulders.  After a terrifying encounter with a woman at the hospital, Lauren is convinced her twins are in danger. Even after the police investigate and find nothing to back up Lauren’s claims, she remains steadfast in her belief that the unidentified woman is after her children.  

Now at home, Lauren cuts off her family from the outside world.  Refusing to leave the house and completely at the mercy of the babies feeding and sleep schedules, Lauren is exhausted and wrung out.  Living on little sleep, bags of chips and cookies, and eventually going so far as to keep her and the babies locked in her bedroom, Lauren is locked in a cycle of fear and paranoia.  Throughout all of this, her husband is only concerned with his own well being and offers criticism, but not help.

After a friend finally confronts Lauren about her behavior and lack of interaction with her friends, Lauren works up the courage to take the children on a play date with the other mothers from her parenting classes.  When Lauren suddenly finds herself waking up on a park bench and the infants nowhere in sight, she becomes hysterical. After the police become involved, dark secrets and betrayals come to light that will turn everyone’s lives upside down.  

This book was absolutely mesmerizing!  I was completely absorbed by every word on the page.  Melanie Golding weaves a magical tale that could be read as horrifying supernatural tale and at the same time, be read as a critical take on the stress and pressure we put on new mothers.  Patrick, Lauren’s husband, is the most worthless piece of trash. He is constantly thinking only of himself, offers no help to Lauren, and can’t tell his own kids apart. When someone finally takes an interest in Lauren’s health and well being, he is instantly concerned about how it will impact him.  Ugh. He’s horrible.

Alongside the story of Lauren, we also have the story of DS Joanna Harper who takes an interest in Lauren’s case and is convinced, even without solid evidence, that Lauren and the twins are in danger.  She is a wonderfully written character that is full of flaws and is willing to break the rules if she feels it’s justified.

This is an excellent book and I highly recommend it for lovers of horror, dark fairy tales, and suspense.  

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.  All opinions are my own.

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