Rutabaga's Reads 2026: Part 12

It is a rare post that features one author. Here is one of those posts. The author is Evie Woods. The first book I picked up caught my eye when I was wandering around Barbara’s Bookstore at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport early spring of 2025.

            The books are in order by publication/US publication date.

The Lost Bookshop (Nov. 7, 2023) by Evie Woods.

<This is a standalone novel.>

Three characters in two timelines have been supporting characters in their own lives. Opaline Carlisle/Gray faces an arranged marriage to a leering man by a misogynistic brother. Martha Winter has fled a marriage filled with domestic abuse, and Henry Field is fanatically searching for a lost bookshop while avoiding his alcoholic and emotionally abusive father. Opaline’s timeline starts in the 1920s and wraps up years after World War II. She’s a progressive woman of her time, opening her own bookshop and becoming a leader in rare book dealings. She also experiences tremendous loss and years of time when life seems to stop (but no spoilers).

            In the present day, Martha has taken work as a live-in housekeeper for Madame Bowden (first name: Eileen). It’s never what Martha would’ve chosen for herself, but she needs work. Meanwhile, Henry’s obsession crosses paths with Martha’s; she originally thinks he’s a pervert trying to peer in her window. He’s merely obsessed with the location of where Martha is living on Ha’penny Lane. Unfortunately, his fanaticism is costing him, not only financially, but in his relationships with others. The characters are all lost, but not all is lost, and the lost bookshop will prove it.

            This adult fiction novel is historical and contemporary with magical realism and splashes of romance. Despite traversing themes of domestic abuse, alcoholism and misogyny, this is an enchanting story that means to transport readers to a spellbinding Dublin that highlights the wonder of books and storytelling. It’s a story meant for bibliophiles that’s delightfully written and has a captivating warmth at its heart. While not always easy to read, it’s an absorbing novel of escapism. There is joy in storytelling and delight in reading books that capture your imagination.

The Story Collector (Aug. 13, 2024/US edition) by Evie Woods.

<This is a standalone novel.>

In present-day New York, influenced by inebriation, Sarah Harper boards a plane bound for the West Coast of Ireland and not to Boston, where her sister and brother-in-law are expecting her. While staying in the modest Butler’s Cottage in Thornwood, she finds the 100-year-old diary of Anna Butler, a teenaged farm girl who’s helping Harold Griffin-Krauss, an American visitor, who’s seeking fairy stories that have been kept alive. Anna translates the stories from Gaeilge (Irish) to English. The American is handsome and well-educated, while Anna and her family are working class. She laments that she has no real hope of catching the eye of Master George Hawley, who resides at the Thornwood mansion with his twin sister, Olivia, their father and all of their finery. That is, until she does. Oh, how tickled she is to have caught the eye of such a gentleman. But is George the gentleman he comports himself as? Will Anna trust Harold enough to share the secret of her older sister? Back in 2011, Sarah is weighed down by her own grief, questioning the wisdom of her hasty choice to fly to County Clare. Fortunately, she meets good folks like Marcus O’Brien (hotel manager), an upbeat sort, and Hazel Sweeney, who appreciates stories of The Good People. Her dad, Oran, is a good man who continues to sort through his own grief. Myth and magic in the everyday are par for the course when in Ireland.

            A standalone that is part contemporary romance and part historical fiction contains elements of fantasy and magical realism with the cottage life lending a domestic fiction feel. I didn’t fancy this tale as well as Woods’ other two books in this compilation, but the magical feel of the story is tantalizing. There is mystery and darkness, yes, but also beauty and light and, of course, the folklore and otherworldliness of fairies. The story is a tale of grief, but it’s also one of new hope, brighter days and the uplifting power of friendship. If this story were set to music, it would be haunting and lyrical, crescendoing at the highest turmoil and in the deepest grief. It is bewitching.

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris (Apr. 8, 2025/US edition) by Evie Woods.

<This is a standalone novel.>

It’s been over a year since Edith (Edie) Lane’s mother passed away. She doesn’t regret helping to care for her mom, but she knows she used her caretaker role to put her own life on hold on purpose. Now life’s staring her in the face in a big, big way and so she accepts a position in a bakery on the Rue de Paris in Compiègne, France, despite lacking strong fluency in French. The proprietor, Madame (Genevieve) Moreau, is disdainful toward her at best, and Edie’s room is the lonely attic at the top of the building, which sits over La Boulangerie et Pâtisserie de Compiègne. Edie wonders if she made a mistake, but after she makes new friends in Nicole and her husband Johnny and meets Hugo Chadwick, life seems more than a sprinkle brighter. The recipe book that Edie finds with a dash of magic in the ingredients spells deliciousness, but a recipe for disaster waits around the corner, and it involves the last person she’d suspect. Going through it also helps her see that she is exactly where she needs to be, not on the bustling streets of Paris, but in a small, locally-owned bakery on Paris Street in an entirely different town. She’s in a magical place where hot cocoa can unlock a precious memory, and a residual mystery resides in the basement.

            While this standalone novel read slow out of the gate for me, it picked up the whispers of wistfulness and whimsy that I felt when reading “The Lost Bookshop,” and then I got lost in the deliciousness of homemade bread and pastries. There is magic in a fresh croissant or a perfectly made macaron. Grief is at the forefront of the story, no matter the façade one puts on. A brave face still has struggles and sorrows, and the story balances that with secrets and sweets aplenty. The novel is a delight to the senses, even when you must use your imagination, and a literary tribute to hardworking, family-owned bakeries and all who love carbs (this includes me). Go ahead and eat a profiterole for luck!

"Warrior of Legend" by Kendare Blake

Warrior of Legend (Oct. 29, 2024) by Kendare Blake.

<This is the sequel novel in a duology.>

<Alert: Potential spoilers ahead.>

The Aristene of Glorious Death bears the name Machianthe, and her Areion is as headstrong and bitey as ever. But Machianthe is still Reed with a new title. She’s meant to guide only those heroes whose glory costs them their lives. She’s already given three lives within a year to the goddess Kleia Gloria, which is an unfathomable pace. Her fellow new Aristene and friend, Lyonene, is in Cerille, defying the goddess by falling in love with her hero. Aristene are meant to guide their heroes and move on, but she’s still with Prince Alsander trying to sneakily lead a coup against his own father. When Lyonene looks into the sacred well, she’s summoned to guide Princess Yngarue to a glorious marriage. She and Reed secretly arrange for Reed to go in her place, but instead of an easy mission as a matchmaker, one of Yngarue’s suitors is Hestion, whom Reed still loves. There’s also an enemy rising who’s a severe threat to the Aristene. Aethiel, the once-queen of Fennbirn Island, watches as her seafaring hero turns into a sea monster and is only able to kill him with her old magic, the magic she’d been born with long ago, when her Aristene magic is subdued. To defeat the enemy, the Aristene are going to need all the allies they can muster, including hotheaded Veridian, their apostate sister. Many Aristene and Areion will fall, but will the enemy, too?

            In a sisterhood of female warriors, there is no shortage of bloodshed and violence. There is a monstrous threat and monstrous gore comes with it. There is tension amongst the Aristene hidden in Atropa from a patriarchal world. Readers are rewarded with a strong, complex YA fantasy that is devastating and satisfying to read in equal measure. It’s grimly entertaining and isn’t without scattered sarcasm to alleviate some of the sequel story’s darkness. As someone who’s known a family horse for over three decades, I appreciate the Areion. Even bitey Silco! Blake’s once-queen of Fennbirn character makes me hopeful that there will someday be a story that connects the current queens of Fennbirn Island and the mighty Aristene.

            Book One: Champion of Fate

"Her Radiant Curse" by Elizabeth Lim

Her Radiant Curse (Aug. 29, 2023) by Elizabeth Lim.

<This is both a standalone and prequel novel.>

There are two Jin’aiti sisters of Sundau in the Tambu Isles. Channari (Channi) is as monstrous as Vanna is beautiful. Channi wasn’t born with a serpent’s face, but Vanna was born with a golden light in her heart. Vanna’s the only person who values and loves Channi. Vanna was supposed to be the sacrifice to the Demon Witch, Angma, a tiger demon, as a newborn, so their mother could live. Angma plans to claim Vanna by her 17th birthday, which is two days away. As if that hasn’t weighed on Channi all these years, Vanna’s set to be married off in a vulgar betrothal contest that lines the coffers of the greedy. Channi vows to defend Vanna, lest she be bought by the horrific King Meguh. When Meguh makes a deal to kidnap Channi, Channi fights over land and sea to reach her sister with her best reptile friend, Ukar (a freckled green snake), and Hokzuh (he’s part dragon, part demon). While Angma cursed her face, it’s the Serpent King who filled her veins with his poison. Meanwhile, Hokzuh has neither the dragon nor demon halves of his heart. He knows Angma claims his demon half (his demon side is kept at bay by his moonstone), but he would not be able to see the golden glow of his dragon half even if he was standing right in front of it. How strong are the bonds of sisterhood when pitted against a Demon Witch and a half-dragon-half-demon desperate for both halves of his heart?
        A Legends of Lor’yan novel, this one’s cup runneth over with a fully-realized world of well-constructed cosmology that is beautiful and devastating. The setting is lush, the fantasy thrilling, and the Southeast Asian folklore is resounding. This fast-paced, action-fueled YA gives us characters to empathize with, courage to praise and explores the dark side of beauty while showcasing how deep the bonds of sisterhood run. For those who’ve read Lim’s Six Crimson Cranes duology, reading this particular character’s story will be heartbreaking and enchanting, in equal measure. Also, this might be the first time I’ve rooted for the slithery reptiles of the world, albeit a fictional one.

"Champion of Fate" by Kendare Blake

Champion of Fate (Sept. 19, 2023) by Kendare Blake.

<This is the first novel in a duology.>

Orphaned after the Ithernan slaughtered everyone else and taken as a sacrifice, it’s no wonder that Reed is all sharp edges and angry sides. She also bites, as does Silco (Silver and Combat), the colt that was also meant to be a sacrifice. Her small fury is noticed by Aster and Veridian, a current and former Aristene, respectively, an order of mythical female warriors. They follow Kleia Gloria, the goddess of glory. They’re immortal, but can be killed. They are the Heromakers. Growing up as the foundling and the favorite, she, Lyonene and Gretchen are training for their Hero’s Trial. They go to Atropa, the home and city of the Aristene, where Reed has been once before, as a small, furious child. Aster has been Reed’s mentor all these years, though Veridian is an apostate.
        Presiding over the Granting Ceremony are Ferreh (the mind) and Tiern (the teeth), the eldest of the Aristene, though they don’t look physically ancient. When she looks into the sacred well, she sees the same face she saw years before, but now she knows her hero is Prince Hestion of Glaucia, younger brother to Crown Prince Belden, and both the sons of King Arik. Glaucia’s king’s men are the fighting elite known as the Docritae. Hestion is handsome and infuriating in equal measure. Together with Crown Prince Alsander of Cerille (Lyonene’s hero), they will join forces to conquer Rhonassus, specifically, Roshanak, its capital. King Oreas cut off the Prophet of Scylloi’s (a.k.a. the Prophet of All) head. The battle looms close, and they discover how disturbed and twisted in mind Oreas has become. Reed learns her cost of pledging to become an Aristene. She has an impossible choice. Her hero or the Order who took her in when she had no one but a bitey colt?
        From the opening chapter, there is no calm in this epic fantasy, duology opener. There is violence, but it gives readers a clear history of Reed’s character. Blake has depicted the characters well, and the world-building gives enough imagery that readers’ imaginations can fill in extra details. The presence of these female warriors shows a strong bond and one as powerful as Wakanda’s Dora Milaje. This is a story at once about friendship and duty, tragedy and myth. There is feminine strength, but also adversity. While there are insinuations, there are no intimate scenes. The story is immersive and diverse, and I will so be there for its sequel.
        LOL lines: “When I die, the jar of my eyes belongs to you,” Sar pledged. “Along with my heart!” This, after Reed unintentionally saves him twice. Furthermore, Sar carries a funerary jar with him, for his eyes if he’s killed, as the Ithernan believe that the eyes hold the soul. To Hestion, they are warlike, but Reed only knows them as murderers.

"The Sinister Booksellers of Bath" by Garth Nix

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath (Mar. 21, 2023) by Garth Nix.

<This is the second novel in a series.>

Mythical trouble isn’t exclusive to London. The focus now is Bath. The booksellers of the Small Bookshop (which isn’t actually small) who police the Old World there keep close watch on the entity that inhabits the Roman Baths, Sulis Minerva, though it’s not that entity that’s the source of the trouble. Right-handed bookseller Vivien finds a sorcerous map amongst the extensive book collection of a deceased bibliophile. When her brother, Merlin, touches a bee from the map, he’s transported into a pocket dimension that’s been taken out of time and must be rescued by his sister and Susan Arkshaw. Susan wants to live a “normal” life, meaning she’d rather not be involved in the Old World, the mythical. But saving Merlin is only the start of the spiral. They need to discover the entity belonging to the map, not for general knowledge, but because the entity has murdered 26 people. The last one, Travis Zelley, was different, for he was also tortured. The Ancient Sovereign of the Alphabet House and her monstrous living statues of Purbeck marble must be stopped before the murderous cycle begins again. Because it’s no secret that A starts the alphabet, and there’s a certain demi-mortal whose surname begins with A...

            While I don’t want to have to battle living statues of Purbeck marble (or any stone, honestly), it’s great to dive back into Nix’s immersive fantasy world in a slightly altered 1983 in Bath, England. This is a remarkable romp that’s intricately crafted with fast pacing, an impressive cast, a complex but wickedly wacky plot and an array of vintage clothes, weapons and vehicles that’s overlaid with suspense as well as snark and humor. This magical madcap adventure has an old-school feel (no cell phones here, folks) and is a clever, thoroughly engaging, pseudo-historical YA novel.

            Book One: The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

"The Left-Handed Booksellers of London" by Garth Nix

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Sept. 22, 2020) by Garth Nix.

<This is the first novel in a series.>

It is 1983 in a slightly alternate London where Susan Arkshaw has recently turned 18 and is set on finding her father. Crime boss Frank Thringley might have answers, but Susan doesn’t get to question him before she witnesses him turning to dust at the prick of a silver hatpin at the left hand of the outrageously attractive Merlin St. Jacques/Upbright (FYI: he’s attractive even whilst donning a dress). Susan’s life is changing for the weirder. She learns that Merlin, a “left-handed bookseller” who belongs to an extended family (clan) of magical fighting booksellers (the right-handed are more the intellectual ones), helps police the Old World (mythical) to protect the New World (modern). They also run several bookshops about London. Susan’s search for her father contains pieces of her mother’s memories of first names and surnames, but none which appear to match the other and may be misremembered entirely. Meanwhile, Merlin has his own self-launched quest: to find the entity who had his mother killed. Together with Vivien, his right-handed bookseller sister, the two of them traverse a path with Susan and find that their quests strangely overlap with one another’s. Now that Susan is aware, it’s as though the Old World is suddenly erupting dangerously into the New. Who is Susan’s father? And why do Old World inhabitants and New World criminals keep trying to abduct her?

            What a fantastical, otherworldly journey of imaginative, mythical proportions! My first story from Nix shot me out of a cannon, so involved in the story was I from the get-go. This YA fantasy is immersive, clever and inventive with its melded fey elements and spectacular bookshops. Susan is wonderfully unflappable, and gender-fluid Merlin is deliciously charming. This adventurous romp is diverse, its magic compelling, the world-building exquisite and the varied personalities so entertaining. I love this expansive, magical London. This tale is an experience!

            P.S. I want to be one of the even-handed.

Rutabaga's Reads 2018: Part 3

For this compilation post, I am happy to present a compilation featuring a few middle-grade books from authors I enjoy. If you have read any of these stories, please add your opinions in the comments below. And, if you have any to recommend – or avoid! – please let me know that in the comments as well!

            Please also beware of spoilers if you haven’t read the previous stories in each of these series. I do avoid spoilers as best I can, so know there aren’t major spoilers. I don’t, say, give away the endings of the stories.

The Empty Grave (Sept. 12, 2017) by Jonathan Stroud.

There is nothing quite like a nighttime masquerade into a heavily guarded mausoleum. Those at Lockwood & Co. are adept and therefore manage to get into the mausoleum undetected. They are looking for the body of a certain someone, and they find a body, but it’s not the one that should be there. And so begins their secretive research (they are being sporadically watched and followed) – “their” being Anthony Lockwood, Lucy Carlyle, George Cubbins, Holly Munro and Quill Kipps. This is on top of their usual jobs from a Lurker in an apartment above a Chinese restaurant to La Belle Dame Sans Merci and jobs in-between. But it’s what they’re researching that may pose the biggest threat to them all. These young operatives will have to survive attacks from foes of both the spectral and human varieties to overcome the real cause of the Problem.

            This group headquartered at 35 Portland Row, London, are an eclectic and crafty bunch. The author has created distinctly different characters with their own strengths and weaknesses. My one bother of the entire series is the lack of diversity. Holly’s character is the only notable one that lends a speck of diversity to a landscape that is both realistic and otherworldly. Having now read all five stories in the Lockwood & Co. series (this being the ultimate story), this is disappointing, as Stroud is so otherwise masterful with this series. It is clever and clandestine, haunted (literally, in locations), humorous and delightfully creepy. Stroud’s writing sucks you into a believable world and spits you back out, though hopefully without being ghost-touched and with all of your appendages intact.

The Ship of the Dead (Oct. 3, 2017) by Rick Riordan.

Thor. Odin. Loki. Valkyrie. Valhalla. Before Riordan’s Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series, that’s about all I could tell you about Norse mythology. But now, the things I know! (Okay, that was an exaggeration, though I definitely know more about Norse mythology than I did.)

            “The Ship of the Dead” is the final book in the trilogy. Do I wish this series were continuing? Naturally. In the first book, Magnus turned 16. While he should have been awaiting his driver’s license, he’d already been homeless for two years, as his only living parent (mom) had been killed two years before. But he had his best homeless buddies, Blitz and Hearth, to look out for him. And at his ripe old age, his life turned into, “Now that you’re 16, there’s a good chance you’ll die soon. Surprise! Have a happy birthday!”

            So Magnus dies and winds up in Valhalla, thanks to a Valkyrie named Samirah al-Abbas. He learns that he’s the demigod son of Frey, the god of spring and summer. In truth, Magnus is a Vanir (gods of nature) demigod, and their afterlife is overseen by Magnus’ aunt Freya (goddess of love and twin of Frey) in Folkvanger. Yet he is in Valhalla, which is the army that serves Odin. He also learns that Blitzen is actually a svartalf (a.k.a. dark elf, but still actually a dwarf) and Hearthstone is an elf. Hearth is deaf, which his father found embarrassing and appalling, and Blitz has an amazing sense of style. Magnus is also armed with Jack (a.k.a. Sumarbrander, the Sword of Summer).

            By the third book, Magnus has his best floormates: TJ (Thomas Jefferson, Jr., a dead Civil War soldier), Mallory Keen (of Irish descent who wields knives very well), Halfborn Gunderson (a berserker) and Alex Fierro (he/she is gender fluid). Much of the time, they spend their days in Valhalla doing battle to the death (whether actual battle, yoga, pottery, etc. – it sounds quite intense) and getting reincarnated. But they also go on quests. In this book, on “The good ship Mikillgulr!” which, as a nickname, is the “Big Banana,” but the better translation means “big yellow.” Magnus dreams of Loki and his nasty ship of the clipped toenails and fingernails of the dishonorable dead, Naglfar, which means, naturally, the Ship of Nails. Yuck.

            Loki, being free, is trying to start Ragnarok. But before they can attempt a flyting with him, they’ve gotta survive Aegir’s vengeful giant daughters, a tveirvigi with another giant, vatnavaettir (water horses), Hearth’s dragon-dad, thrall giants (i.e. giants that are slaves), more giants in general that mean them harm and a meeting with Njord (Vanir god of the sea) and his beautiful feet who also happens to be Magnus’ grandfather.

            Like in Riordan’s other books, “The Ship of the Dead” is full of action and adventure right from the first chapter. I am always impressed by the diversity of characters he creates and appreciate him more for it. Because not only are his characters diverse, they are complex, each with distinct personalities and backgrounds. You never think, “Wow. Halfborn is pretty much the same as Alex.” Nope. Never. And while many of the problems are on a fictionally gigantic scale centering on the end of the world as everyone, including us non-magic mortals, knows it, there are also things that people may relate to. For instance, Hearth and his maltreatment by his father. So what if he’s an elf? Bullying is no small thing, and in Riordan’s world, it extends past the world of humans. This novel is resplendent in its wit and prose, and it never ceased entertaining me.

The Silver Mask (Oct. 10, 2017) by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare.

Magical prison is not like television prison at all. Well, except for the main character being framed and all that. But Callum “Call” Hunt finds himself in the Panopticon until he isn’t. (Thank goodness for a Devoured of fire!) Call has been blamed for a devastating death, and he’s also feared for the soul they think he houses. But Call is just Call. He leaves one prison for another, and he’s tasked to do the unthinkable; it is something that not even Constantine Madden achieved. The power of chaos can work for good, but is so often thought of as wicked, because even in the best of times, chaos magic is destructive. And Call isn’t the only one wielding chaos magic, only the other person wasn’t imbued with it from birth, nor was it willingly granted to him with, say, a chaos mage’s soul. No. It was stolen, and that mage died.

            Just like I would’ve loved an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, so, too, would I have gladly been an aspirant hoping to be selected by a senior mage as an apprentice and to learn at the Magisterium for five years. The fourth story in the Magisterium series, I read through it almost as swiftly as a Devoured of fire can destroy a magical prison. While middle-grade, this series ramped up its intensity.  It’s not about learning how to control and use magic in the Magisterium anymore; in fact, Call’s never there in this story. Life has reached critical mass when it comes to the nature of a soul, the dignity of life and death and what it is to secure true friendship, especially when that friendship is severely tested. Like the others, this story is filled with magic and wonder, and I can’t wait to read what happens next!