Tiffany Trent

The first book in the Hallowmere series pulls you right in from the very first page. It starts off with a vivid dream sequence that sets the stage for a terrifying and eerie novel of the Civil War and scheming Fey. Trent really knows how to write a gripping story with lush imagery and beautiful prose. "In the Serpent's Coils" has something for everyone. Whether you're looking for historical fiction, fantasy, romance, ghosts and faeries...this book has it all! I know this is technically a show more young adult novel but I think it'll have great appeal for all ages. The writing and story line are more mature than I've encountered in most young adult books. And Trent keeps you guessing until the very end over who young Corrine can trust and what exactly the Fey want from her. A great start to the series! I definitely plan to check out the second installment! show less

THE UNNATURALISTS by Tiffany Trent is an action packed steampunk with a strong heroine and some pretty fantastic creatures. I haven’t read a lot of steampunk, but I thouroughly enjoyed my trip to New London and it’s interesting mix of Victorian era and modern inventions. I definitely liked the addition of so many mythical creatures and the way they played into the story.

Ok so Vespa Nyx. Our heroine. She is kind of awesome. Vespa loves nothing more than working at her father’s Museum, show more even though, as a woman, she should be home thinking of marriage and housekeeping and all that Victorian era type stuff that women of good breeding were supposed to think of. But not Vespa! Even when she’s basically forced to leave the museum, she’s still finding ways to explore what she loves – oh, and not get killed for being a witch. Vespa goes through major shifts in her understanding of how her world works and yet doesn’t refuse to adapt to change. She sees the flaws in her society and the harm they’ve been causing and fights to see it fixed so that her world will not disappear. She’s a pretty tough cookie. Vespa can be a bit stubborn and slow to act sometimes, but for a teenager she’s got a decent head on her shoulders.

The novel’s chapters switch between Vespa and Syrus, and where Vespa is learned and fairly well-to-do, living in polite society, Syrus is a young tinker who sees life completely different – where Vespa lives in a technological city, Syrus’ people live on the outskirts and still remember the creatures who are native to the world New London inhabits, and treats them with respect. The manticore, sphinx, sylphids and all many of magical beings. Syrus knows what he needs to do and he does it. No questions, very little hesitation. He’s loyal and brave and if he’s a little foolhardy, well, he is only about thirteen. It’s understandable.

But it’s not just the characters that make THE UNNATURALISTS such a good story – it’s the details and the worldbuilding. New London is vivid in description and the details that make the book steampunk are so neat. Even with all the mythological aspects, that sense of technology is still present in clock work hearts, automatons and trainyards. It’s all blended so seamlessly together, and Tiffany Trent is wonderful at showing, not telling. The background for New London and it’s history is peppered throughout the story with details only being presented when they directly result from something Vespa or Syrus is dealing with or thinking about.

THE UNNATURALISTS by Tiffany Trent explores a world where the Victorian era meets technology meets magic and it’s engrossing. The bad guys are sufficiently creepy, the love interest dashing yet mysterious and the action flows well. The end seems to rush up on you a bit, but the pace is well maintained and all the bits and pieces of the story start to come together to show Vespa, Syrus, and the reader what’s really been going on in New London. THE UNNATURALISTS is a well written story, and completely memorable. show less

I don’t find underwater ballrooms particularly appealing, but I got this for “Spellswept”, the prequel to Stephanie Burgis’ utterly delightful Snowspelled.

“Spellswept” is about Cassandra’s sister-in-law Amy and it's a lovely story about having the courage to stand up for what you want. For Amy, that's choosing the man she loves rather than making the politically-advantageous match expected of her; for Cassandra, only 13 years old at this point, that’s her ambition of show more studying magic. I liked seeing more of the relationships between Amy, Jonathan and Cassandra, especially more of Jonathan being supportive of his little sister, and gaining further insight into the society they live in.

Y.S. Lee’s “Twelve Sisters” is about the fairytale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, twelve years later -- I am here for stories which subvert and challenge fairytales. I liked the (neurodivergent?) heroine in Jenny Moss’s “A Brand New Thing”. And Iona Datt Sharma's “Penhallow Amid Passing Things” was memorable and beautifully-written, and had probably my favourite of the underwater ballrooms.

Anyway, those were my favourites, but I liked how varied the collection as a whole is -- while some of the stories appealed to me less than others, all of them were interesting and compelling. And I didn’t regret reading any of them, which, come to think about it, isn’t something I can say about every anthology I’ve read. show less

A strong collection of short stories, all of which include an underwater ballroom. Other than that connection, each is pretty unique and they all feel different too. Some are obviously weaker than others, but I finished them all and never felt like that I was rushing through one just to get it done with.

My favorites of the lot were:
- "Twelve Sisters" by Y.S. Lee - a story based on the Twelve Dancing Princesses, only what happens after the story ends.
- "Spellswept" by Stephanie Burgis - it show more helped that I had read the rest of the Harwood Spellbook series, so I came into it already invested in the characters and the world here. It's Amy being terrifyingly competent and beginning to eke out the new paths that she and the rest of the Harwoods blaze onto.
- "Mermaids, Singing" by Tiffany Trent - I want this to be expanded into a full novel, stat. There's so much world building that we didn't see and is only implied, and I am greedy and want more.
- "A Spy in the Deep" by Patrick Samphire - This is the second in a series of Harriet George, spy on Mars during the Napoleonic Wars. There's apparently dinosaurs on Mars? But her simple assignment turns out to be anything but. It's utterly delightful. This reminds me a lot of Carrie Vaughn's Marlowe and Harry short stories. I'll definitely be checking out the first story. show less