Jamie Lackey

Any retelling of Pride and Prejudice has an extreme amount of expectation placed on it as a retelling of one of the most beloved novels to exist, and one of the best romance novels ever written. Any novel striving for the goal of an engaging, well done, insightful retelling that both adds to the plot while not reducing any of the beloved elements of the initial novel has set an extremely high bar for itself right out of the gate. I often find these retellings to be in one of two camps the show more first being badly done and lackluster, the second being engaging and having brought something new to the story. I was glad to find this novel to be in the second camp.

When I first picked this novel up, I found the setup of the first two/three chapters to be a touch of a drag and the world building to be more than a bit in my face with establishing this as the same world as the initial novel but with magic being tolerated and real. However, I found that very quickly after the set up in about chapter three or four the story went into the engaging and delightful area with it quickly becoming a read, I was unwilling to put down. The author did a wonderous job of taking the plot points of the novel and breathing new life into them, from making the youngest sister a man and giving the romance there new life, to making Kitty and Mrs. Bennet feel like more complex women with goals of their own.

Overall I would recommend this novel to you if you enjoy:
- Witches and well done magic systems
- Pride and Prejudice retellings
- Regency Romances
- LGBT novels
- Multiple POVS
- Complex FMC's

I received an advance review copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased. show less

What a gorgeous novella! I started it, thinking to read a few pages, then had to finish the whole thing in one setting. The flow is effortless, the feel incredibly cozy and warm and good. This is a book is nestle into when the real world is awful, for a necessary reminder that people aren't so bad.

The story follows three viewpoints: that of an apprentice witch convinced of her ugliness and lack of lack, a lord's son who is tactless and ignorant, and a Forest God, recently reborn as a hare. show more These three beings come together and change and grow, even the God. I especially love the maturity that the human characters display at the end, defying the usual happily-ever-after trope. It's truly heart-warming. I'd love to write something like this, because wow, does it evoke the deep feels. show less

NOTE: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion of the book.

This book contains 19 short speculative/SF stories that include everything from family, semi-sentient AI (Fluffy the cleaning bot is absolutely adorable!), odd-ball aliens, space exploration, clones, assassins, alien invasions, zombie fungi, to a whole range of other strange and wonderful combinations and original ideas. The writing is beautiful and concise, the stories original and show more thought-provoking. The stories contained in this book are also more uplifting and hopeful than many current SF/F stories out there. I enjoyed this book a great deal. show less

Pleasant quick read

This is a nice little fairy tale about love and personal responsibility. It takes about half an hour to read. The characters are likable and plausible and the point of the story is morally correct.

I received a review copy of "The Forest God" by Jamie Lackey from Air and Nothingness Press though NetGalley.com.