Darin Kennedy is the author of over twenty books, including one of my favorite recent reads, The Mussorgsky Riddle. The novel is the first of his Fugue & Fable trilogy. I confess, most of the fiction I’ve been consuming lately has been either in the form of an audiobook or helpfully read to me by …
The Ghost Collector by Allison Mills Genre: Paranormal Age category: Middle Grade Release Date: September 10th, 2019 Review There’s lots of kidlit out there about extraordinary children–children who have magical powers or are secret saviors of hidden worlds or just prodigies of some kind. It’s empowering with a sort of general understanding from readers that …
The Last Atlantian by Mikki Noble Genre: Urban Fantasy Age category: Young Adult Release Date: December 13, 2019 Spencer did not plan to work on her birthday. She didn’t plan a lot of things, but they happened anyway. Like, when she touched a guy and he turned into a gold statue, or when some stranger …
The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu Genre: Speculative Fiction/Short Fiction Age category: Adult Release Date: February 25th, 2020 Review Happy 2020! We’re starting the new year with our first (but definitely not last) review of a short story collection. Although I’m quite familiar with Ken Liu’s name, this book was my first …
What is Urban Fantasy Magazine? The original UFM was a magazine of short fiction, book reviews, interviews, and discussion of the genre. It was put on indefinite hiatus in 2016, and the domain UrbanFantasyMagazine.com expired in 2018. I was the editor for the latter half of its life and re-purchased the domain when it became …
A list of books by previous Urban Fantasy Magazine authors and staff: Emily C. Skaftun Michael T. Banker H.L. Fullerton Samuel Marzioli L. D. Colter Rati Mehrotra Jonathan Maberry Wendy Hammer Eleanor R. Wood David Tallerman Daniel J. Davis Emily B Cataneo Rhiannon Held Mike Resnick Katrina S. Forest Jordan Ellinger & Frances Silversmith
Long Lost by Jacqueline West Genre: Supernatural Mystery Age category: Middle Grade Release Date: May 11, 2021 Review Long Lost tells two parallel stories about two pairs of sisters. Fiona and Arden live in the modern world, and the family has just moved to a new town in the interest of furthering Arden’s promising skating … Continue reading
The Monster Missions by Laura Martin Genre: Adventure Age category: Middle Grade Release Date: June 1, 2021 Review The Monster Missions is a story about two friends, Berkley and Garth, living in an ocean-covered future Earth and helping their families by scavenging what they can from the shells of civilization that have long sunk beneath … Continue reading
Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs Genre: Contemporary Fantasy/Paranormal Romance Age category: Young Adult Release Date: June 1, 2010 Review Forgive My Fins is a lighthearted romantic YA story. The plot is straightforward enough: Lily Sanderson is a half-human/half-human who has a crush on her high school champion swimmer, Brody. She’s totally positive that … Continue reading
Katharine Wibell’s lifelong interest in mythology includes epic poetry like the Odyssey, Ramayana, Beowulf, and the Nibelungenlied. In addition, she is interested in all things animal whether training dogs, apprenticing at a children’s zoo, or caring for injured animals as a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. After receiving degrees from Mercer University in both art and psychology … Continue reading
Lore by Alexandra Bracken Genre: Urban fantasy Age category: Young adult Release Date: January 4, 2021 Review Editor’s Note: This review has been trimmed for mild spoilers and will be updated in a few weeks. This is a book that is designed to feel epic, and it succeeds. In this world, it’s possible to take … Continue reading
The Night Fairy by Laura Amy Schlitz Genre: Contemporary Fantasy Age category: Middle Grade Release Date: February 23, 2010 Review Although I do have the “retro review” label on this one, it is a much newer book than I expected when I saw the style of illustrations and read the first few pages. So many … Continue reading
Dan O’ Mahony has been a lifelong fan of the fantasy genre. It is the home of dreamers and outsiders who do not feel quite at home in the ‘normal world” but know, deep down, that they are heroes at heart destined for epic adventures and great deeds. He currently resides near Chandler, Arizona but … Continue reading
The Hatmakers by Tamzin Merchant Genre: Historical Fantasy Age category: Middle Grade Release Date: February 2, 2021 Review Tamzin Merchant’s middle grade novel tells the story of the magical Hatmakers, who have served the royal family of England for generations. Into each hat, they are able to add magic through various ingredients, always carefully weighing, … Continue reading
Thommy Hutson is a bestselling, award-winning author, screenwriter, producer, and director. A graduate of UCLA, he began his career co-writing the story for the Warner Bros. animated hit SCOOBY-DOO IN WHERE’S MY MUMMY? He followed that with co-writing the concept and additional material for CHILL OUT, SCOOBY-DOO! As an author, Thommy crafted a limited-edition coffee … Continue reading
Slippers and Thieves by Christina Bauer Genre: Modern Fantasy/Fairy Tale Re-telling Age category: Young Adult Release Date: November 26, 2019 Review Slippers and Thieves is the fourth book in the Fairy Tales of the Magicorum series. In this world, certain individuals are born with a life template–a specific fairy tale will apply its rhythm and … Continue reading
It’s that time of year, so here is a list of suggested gifts for the fantasy fan/general nerd in your life. (Amazon Affiliate links) For reviews of home design software, see this list from CreativeBloq.com For Writers For Kids For Budding Board Game Fans And, finally, For Those Who Like Dragons…and Dungeons Continue reading
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Genre: Portal Fantasy Age category: Middle Grade Release Date: September 1961 Review The Phantom Tollbooth holds a special place in my reader’s journey as a kid. It was read aloud to me in fifth grade–a grade when most kids think they’re too old to still listen to read-alouds. It’s … Continue reading