October 17, 2019
The Hunger (2018) Written by: Alma Katsu Genre: Fiction Pages: 373 (Hardback) Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Why I Chose It: Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. Adding a supernatural element to the story of the doomed, cannibalistic Donner Party struck me as an excellent idea. The premise: A tense and gripping reimagining of one of America’s most fascinating…
October 5, 2019
Welcome, friends! This week we bade farewell to September and started October off with a bang! It’s officially the spooky season and we’ve got some extra things on our plate to celebrate. Didn’t you know? There’s 31 days of Halloween! And we’ve got more than just tricks and treats; we’re talking flicks and drinks, with a special daily guest column…
September 28, 2019
Greetings, dark lords! Hail, horrors! Friends and fiends, hearken to my call: welcome back to the realms of science fiction, fantasy, and horror! We’ve returned with another roundup of the best of Speculative Chic this week, coinciding with the Autumnal Equinox. The veil between worlds is lifting — what strange, unknowable things will you see? Fear not! We’ll keep you…
September 27, 2019
Kushiel’s Avatar (2003) Written by: Jacqueline Carey Genre: Fantasy Pages: 750 (Paperback) Series: Phèdre’s Trilogy Book #3 Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates Why I Chose It: I decided that it was my destiny to read the entire nine book Kushiel’s Legacy series after I found eight of the books dirt cheap at a library book sale. I even made it my…
September 26, 2019
Jade War (2019) Written by: Fonda Lee Series: Jade City #2 Genre: Fantasy Pages: 590 (Hardcover) Publisher: Orbit Why I Chose This: For my 2019 Resolution Project I decided to tackle my fear of long books by reading three super-sized sequels to books I already enjoyed. Jade War is the final of these three books. The Premise: On the island…
September 25, 2019
Geekerella (2017) Written By: Ashley Poston Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance Pages: 337 pages (Kindle) Series: Book 1 of Once Upon a Con Publisher: Quirk Books Why I Chose It: Continuing with the fairytale trend. So, this isn’t exactly speculative fiction, I know, but bear with me because it is entirely about a sci-fi fandom and love in nerd culture.…
September 20, 2019
Magic Shifts (2015) Written by: Ilona Andrews Series: Kate Daniels #8 Genre: Urban Fantasy Pages: 375 (Paperback) Publisher: Ace Why I Chose This: My 2019 Resolution Project for Speculative Chic is to read the books in the Kate Daniels series and finish up with a first read of the final book. I first read Magic Shifts in 2016 and reviewed it at my own blog.…
September 14, 2019
It’s the end of the week and the beginning of higanbana season! Every September in Japan, the beautiful spider lilies bloom in droves. These flowers are also called the Flowers of the Other Shore, and the Other Shore lies beyond the River Sanzu, a river of the dead. Many cultures all over the globe affiliate the autumn season with death,…
September 7, 2019
Welcome back to another week at Speculative Chic! Can you believe it’s September already? I can’t, with what feels like a perpetual summer that shows no sign of slowing down here in Japan. Because of the extended heat and humidity, they’re predicting either a delay in the autumn foliage, or a marked difference in how the leaves change colors —…
September 5, 2019
The Little Shop of Found Things (2018) Written by: Paula Brackston Genre: Historical Fantasy Pages: 307 (Hardcover) Series: Found Things Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Why I Chose It: When you work at a bookstore you see a lot of titles, and often you end up giving them a peek. This one sounded interesting, kind of chill, kind of cute, a bit…