#merciful crow

The signs of fall are all around. Leaves are swirling, gathering in roads and sidewalks. Darker mornings and evenings. The rain and wind bluster through in violent downpours. Halloween is this weekend, and Island Books has had a spooky reads table set up all month long, as well as a great display back in kids with Halloween reads for all ages. But whenever I’m asked about psychological thrillers or horror recommendations, I don’t have much to offer, big scaredy-cat that I am. 

However, there’s more than one genre that incorporates elements of horror, and I find I’m very comfortable with the dark, spooky, and downright macabre when it comes to fairy tale retellings and fantasy novels. Ghosts, blood, and evil spirits -- I don’t bat an eye as long as it’s set in some other place and time, preferably long ago and far away.

If you happen to be of my persuasion when it comes to reads of the spookier sort, here are three recent releases of fairytale retellings and fantasy that dip their toes in the darkness.

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

After reading and loving Alix E. Harrow’s two other books, The Ten Thousand Doors of January and The Once and Future Witches, I was excited to pick up her newest novella. I’d already come to expect Harrow’s clever writing and feminist voice. What I didn’t expect was the way she enters into the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. Instead of being pure fantasy, we begin in present day with Zinnia Gray on her 21st birthday, chronically and terminally ill. When she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel during her hilariously Sleeping Beauty themed party, she’s transported just in time to interrupt another “Sleeping Beauty” from enacting her own cursed spinning wheel moment. Zinnia finds herself caught in this other world, trying to find a way home, while helping Princess Primrose escape her own curse. The writing is funny, sharply observant, and subversive. I love the way Harrow dissects the various iterations of the Sleeping Beauty story, the connection she draws to Zinnia’s medical condition, and the way she keeps her characters fighting to free themselves from the roles others proscribe for them. Physically, the book itself is beautifully designed, with cut out illustrations throughout from “Arthur Rackam’s original illustrations for The Sleeping Beauty, fractured and reassembled by Greg Collins.”(back jacket copy). A fractured fairy tale indeed. For anyone wanting a quick read (you could probably read it cover to cover in an evening) that gives no quarter to the patriarchy, this is the novella for you.

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Local Seattle author Margaret Owen’s Little Thieves would be an excellent book pairing with A Spindle Splintered. I’d already loved her The Merciful Crow duology and was looking forward to seeing how she handled a retelling of The Goose Girl fairy tale. Owen loosely refers to the original story, and the greedy servant who takes the place of the princess with a magic string of pearls is our heroine. Vanja is a scrappy, savvy thirteenth daughter of a thirteenth daughter, trying to outrun her so-called bad luck. Given up by her mother to the Low Gods of Death and Fortune, we initially meet Vanja as she uses her disguise of being the princess Gisele von Falbirg to steal jewels from the wealthy in the midst of a lavish party given on her behalf. But when Vanja also inadvertently steals a protective ring from another Low God, she is cursed to little by little turn into the gems she covets unless she makes up for what she has stolen. Not only that, but Gisele’s erstwhile fiancé has suddenly returned. Vanja needs to find a way out of the curse and out of the wedding and, ideally, out of her country all together. Owen intersperses the story with short “tales” that illuminate Vanja’s past, headed by lovely illustrations done by Owen herself. While the story has the feel of a heist caper, it also doesn’t shy away from exposing stiflingly pervasive misogyny, using Vanja’s sarcastically observant voice. A diverse cast of characters adds to the relevance. Vanja isn’t the only one with past trauma to reckon with and Owen handles these moments with great tenderness and sensitivity. Humorous, heartbreaking and completely engaging throughout. Little Thieves is perfect for Six of Crows fans.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

Author of store favorites An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns, Margaret Rogerson has a new dark YA fantasy set in a world inspired by medieval France. In the land of Loraille, after an event called The Sorrow, those who die by tragic means will rise from the dead as malevolent spirits, unless the bodies are specially cleansed. This is the work that Artemisia is training to do as a Gray Sister. But when her convent is attacked by an army of possessed soldiers, Artemisia is forced to defend her fellow sisters by wielding a powerful relic, and waking an ancient powerful spirit called a revenant. By doing so Artemisia makes a tenuous partnership with the revenant and is thrust into a battle to save the people of her country from the ever increasing spirits and possessed that are mysteriously overrunning Loraille. Rogerson lightly evokes Joan of Arc in the character of Artemisia. She struggles to understand how to channel the power she now possesses, and discern who to trust while she and the revenant try to untangle the darkness infesting their land. As the story unfolds, we learn more about the early trauma that shaped Artemisia and the tentative threads of relationship between her and the revenant begin to address and heal some of these wounds. The veteran fantasy reader will appreciate Rogerson’s detailed world building. I found the twists and turns of the plot kept me guessing to the very end. And while the conclusion was totally satisfying, I’m still looking forward to a promised sequel, due out next fall!

For anyone wanting a slightly spooky read, generously seasoned with humor, and perhaps a touch of snark, I hope one of these books piques your interest!

Happy February! We made it through the first month of 2020, congratulations to all of us.

Currently reading The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen. I can totally see her wanting me to fangirl about Fie and Tavin but I’m actually 100% interested in Jasimir ✨ I might have taken some liberties regarding their clothes and Tavin for once isn’t glamoured. PLUS, JAS CUTTING HIS GORGEOUS HAIR?? CAN’T REMEMBER, DIDN’T HAPPEN!

THE FAITHLESS HAWK

by Margaret Owen

The Merciful Crow #2

(Henry Holt, 8/18/20 7/28/20)

9781250191946

Add to Goodreads

Purchase from Indiebound

Some Little Thieves doodles because I’m totally not hyperfixating (ft. The Merciful Crow because I wanted to draw a crossover)