Category: Fantasy

Review: Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel

Title: Hocus Pocus and The All-New Sequel
Author: A.W. Jantha
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Freeform
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 10, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Hocus Pocus is beloved by Halloween enthusiasts all over the world. Diving once more into the world of witches, this electrifying two-part young adult novel, released on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the 1993 film, marks a new era of Hocus Pocus. Fans will be spellbound by a fresh retelling of the original film, followed by the all-new sequel that continues the story with the next generation of Salem teens.

Shortly after moving from California to Salem, Massachusetts, Max Dennison finds himself in hot water when he accidentally releases a coven of witches, the Sanderson sisters, from the afterlife. Max, his sister, and his new friends (human and otherwise) must find a way to stop the witches from carrying out their evil plan and remaining on earth to torment Salem for all eternity.

Twenty-five years later, Max and Allison’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Poppy, finds herself face-to-face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory. When Halloween celebrations don’t quite go as planned, it’s a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches’ latest death-defying scheme.

Review:

In October 1993, Max Dennison’s family moved from California to Salem Massachusetts. That Halloween, Max, his sister Dani, and his crush Allison, released the Sanderson Sisters, a trio of witches. They have to figure out how to banish the sisters from Salem. In part 2, twenty-five years later, Max and Allison’s daughter Poppy also releases the witches. Poppy and her friends defy her parents’ warnings and have to figure out how to save their town from the Sanderson witches again.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the Hocus Pocus movie when I was a kid, so I was going into this book without much knowledge of the story. What I really liked about this movie-to-book adaptation is that it read like a real novel. The thoughts of the characters were included, which wouldn’t have been in the movie. It felt like a complete novel.

The ending of both parts left room for the story to continue. When I finished Part 1, which was based on the movie, I found that it had an open ending, asking for a sequel. The ending of part 2 was such a cliffhanger. I really hope this story will be continued in another novel.

Hocus Pocus and the All New Sequel is a great Halloween read!

What to read next:

B*WITCH by Paige McKenzie and Nancy Ohlin

Witches of Brooklyn by Sophie Escabasse

Have you read Hocus Pocus and The All New Sequel? What did you think of it?

Review: Iron Widow (Iron Widow #1)

Title: Iron Widow (Iron Widow #1)
Author: Xiran Jay Zhao
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Teen
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 21, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain. 

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​ 

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Review:

Eighteen-year-old Zetian signs herself up as a concubine-pilot to avenge her older sister’s death. Girls are paired with pilots, who use their qi power to power their machines and fight the aliens beyond the Great Wall, and the girls are sacrificed for their power. In Zetian’s first battle, where she is paired up with the boy who killed her sister, she surprises everyone when she survives the battle but the pilot doesn’t. Zetian is more powerful than they expected, so she’s paired up with the dangerous Li Shimin, one of the most powerful pilots they have. Now that Zetian has some power, she wants to figure out the reason behind this misogynistic situation to save girls from being sacrificed.

This book definitely lived up to the hype. It was action packed and exciting. The beginning was a little predictable, when Zetian achieved what she set out to do as a concubine-pilot immediately. Soon after avenging her sister’s death, the story picked up and had some surprising twists.

Gender was a major theme in this story. Zetian lived in a misogynistic society where the lives of girls weren’t valued. Girls were sent to the battlefield to be sacrificed during alien battles. However, when Zetian gained some power, with having a high qi rating and having avenged her sister’s death, she was prepared to prevent girls from being sacrificed in the future.

Iron Widow is an amazing fantasy debut!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan

The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker

Have you read Iron Widow? What did you think of it?

Review: The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story

Title: The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story
Author: Charis Cotter
Genre: Middle Grade, Horror, Fantasy
Publisher: Tundra Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 31, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A creepy, mysterious dollhouse takes center stage in this atmospheric middle-grade mystery for fans of Doll Bones and Small Spaces.

Alice’s world is falling apart. Her parents are getting a divorce, and they’ve cancelled their yearly cottage trip — the one thing that gets Alice through the school year. Instead, Alice and her mom are heading to some small town where Alice’s mom will be a live-in nurse to a rich elderly lady.

The house is huge, imposing and spooky, and everything inside is meticulously kept and perfect — not a fun place to spend the summer. Things start to get weird when Alice finds a dollhouse in the attic that’s an exact replica of the house she’s living in. Then she wakes up to find a girl asleep next to her in her bed — a girl who looks a lot like one of the dolls from the dollhouse . . .

When the dollhouse starts to change when Alice isn’t looking, she knows she has to solve the mystery. Who are the girls in the dollhouse? What happened to them? And what is their connection to the mean and mysterious woman who owns the house?

Review:

When she finishes school for the year, Alice finds out her parents are getting divorced and they’ve cancelled their yearly summer cottage vacation. Instead, Alice and her mother travel to a small town so that her mom can be a live-in nurse for an elderly lady, Mrs. Bishop. Alice becomes friends with Lily, a developmentally delayed girl, who visits the home while her mother cleans it. The girls find a dollhouse in the attic that’s a perfect replica of that house. When Alice goes to sleep that night, she wakes up in a dream with a girl next to her. In her dream, she sees a family who lived in that house from the 1920s, and who look just like the dolls from the dollhouse. Then, things in the dollhouse change when Alice isn’t there. Alice has to figure out what the connection is between her dreams and the dollhouse.

This was a really creepy story. There were many similarities between Alice’s story and the story from the past in her dreams. There were train accidents in both stories. Alice’s friend Lily was developmentally delayed, and a girl named Bubbles was the same in her dream. The dollhouse was also an important aspect of the stories. Alice discovered it hidden away in the present storyline, but it was just being built in her dreams. Since the two storylines were quite similar, it was a little disorienting sometimes to figure out what was happening.

There were some more mature themes than I expected in a children’s book. Alice was concerned about her parents getting divorced. In her dream, her friend Fizz was also afraid of her parents getting divorced, and she caused a rift between them. There were also references to alcohol abuse and the death of family members. These mature themes increased the tension in the story.

The Dollhouse is a creepy ghost story.

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Screech!: Ghost Stories from Old Newfoundland by Charis Cotter

Have you read The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story? What did you think of it?

Review: Catwoman: Soulstealer (DC Icons #3)

Title: Catwoman: Soulstealer (DC Icons #3)
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Random House
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: August 7, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

When the Bat’s away, the Cat will play. It’s time to see how many lives this cat really has. . . .

Two years after escaping Gotham City’s slums, Selina Kyle returns as the mysterious and wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She quickly discovers that with Batman off on a vital mission, Batwing is left to hold back the tide of notorious criminals. Gotham City is ripe for the taking.

Meanwhile, Luke Fox wants to prove he has what it takes to help people in his role as Batwing. He targets a new thief on the prowl who seems cleverer than most. She has teamed up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, and together they are wreaking havoc. This Catwoman may be Batwing’s undoing.

Review:

When Selina Kyle was growing up, she had the responsibility of taking care of her sister who has cystic fibrosis. She learned to fight, and made money by fighting for Carmine Falcone, until she was eventually caught and sent away to an assassin training facility. Now, two years later, Selina has returned to Gotham City as the wealthy Holly Vanderhees. She plans on stealing what she can from Gotham’s wealthiest residents. Batman just happens to be out of town, but he’s left his friend Batwing in charge. Luke Fox, aka Batwing, is Holly’s new neighbour and the son of one of the wealthiest families in Gotham. Batwing takes on the newest thief in Gotham, Catwoman, and tries to stop her before she destroys the town.

This is a great origin story for Catwoman. I haven’t read a Catwoman comic, so I was fairly new to the character. What sold me on the story is that she teams up with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, my favourite comic character. Those two villains were Catwoman’s connection to the worst criminals in Gotham, which increased her threatening power.

This story had some serious moments. At the beginning, Selina was taking care of her sister alone as a teenager. Her sister was sick, and they couldn’t afford the extensive medical care she needed. They had an abusive mother who abandoned them and they didn’t know their fathers. This was, unfortunately, a realistic side of the story, but Selina eventually got her vengeance on that society.

Catwoman: Soulstealer is a great DC Comics story!

What to read next:

Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas, Louise Simonson, Samantha Dodge

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Other books in the series:

Have you read Catwoman: Soulstealer? What did you think of it?

Review: A Lesson in Vengeance

Title: A Lesson in Vengeance
Author: Victoria Lee
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Thriller, LGBTQ
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Owlcrate
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: August 3, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Felicity Morrow is back at Dalloway School.

Perched in the Catskill mountains, the centuries-old, ivy-covered campus was home until the tragic death of her girlfriend. Now, after a year away, she’s returned to graduate. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students—girls some say were witches. The Dalloway Five all died mysteriously, one after another, right on Godwin grounds.

Witchcraft is woven into Dalloway’s history. The school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do. In secret rooms and shadowy corners, girls convene. And before her girlfriend died, Felicity was drawn to the dark. She’s determined to leave that behind her now; all Felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and graduate. But it’s hard when Dalloway’s occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget.

It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway, and she’s already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called “method writer.” She’s eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can’t shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can’t say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource.

And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.

Review:

Felicity Morrow has returned to Dalloway School to redo her senior year, after her best friend and secret girlfriend, Alex, died the year before. Her dorm, Godwin House, is rumored to be haunted by the ghosts of five former students who died in mysterious, magical circumstances. Felicity has always been drawn to dark things, but she had to give up her magic beliefs after Alex died. Now, Ellis Haley, a writing prodigy, has moved into Godwin House to complete her senior year. Ellis needs to complete her second book, and she enlists Felicity’s help in researching the ghosts of Dalloway for her project. Felicity can’t help but be drawn to Ellis, until they both take their research too far.

I knew I would love this book as soon as I heard about it! It had a dark, isolated setting in a dormitory of a girl’s school. Their house was separated from the other dorms and close to the woods. The girls didn’t even use cell phones, despite being teenagers, so they were isolated from the rest of the world that way too.

Felicity was a very unreliable narrator, but that kept the story unpredictable. When Felicity would explain certain things or tell a story from her past, it would soon be revealed that it was untrue. Sometimes this can be frustrating in a narrator, but in this case, it made for some shocking twists throughout the story.

I highly recommend A Lesson in Vengeance!

What to read next:

S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett

Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

Have you read A Lesson in Vengeance? What did you think of it?

Review: Spell on Wheels, Vol. 1

Title: Spell on Wheels, Vol. 1
Author: Kate Leth, Megan Levens, Marissa Louise
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 30, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A road trip story. A magical revenge fantasy. A sisters-over-misters tale of three witches out to get back what was taken fom them.

Andy, Jolene, and Claire aren’t your average twenty-somethings. They’re legacy witches making their way through a modern world. When a jealous nonmagical ex breaks into their home and steals a spell that could awaken potentials with magical powers, the witches plan their revenge. Traveling down the East Coast, they must retrieve their powerful stolen artifacts and strengthen their friendship… the big bad is even worse than they imagined. 

Collects Spell on Wheels #1–#5

Review:

Andy, Jolene, and Claire are witches in their twenties. One evening, Claire’s non-magical ex-boyfriend breaks into their house and steals a bunch of their artifacts, including a spell that will awaken powers in someone without them. The three witches have to track down everything that he stole and sold on a witch app, while also figuring out who broke into their home and why he did it.

I love witchy stories right now. This one is perfect for the spooky season. Though the characters are in their twenties, the tone of the story was like a young adult story. There wasn’t swearing or anything too mature, so it would be appropriate for a young adult reader.

This story has a witchy theme, but the illustrations had bright colours. Often magical graphic novels with a dark tone also have dark illustrations, but this one has a brighter tone with vibrant colours. The illustration style reminded me of the Archie Comics I read as a kid, so I liked this style.

Spell on Wheels is a fun, witchy graphic novel!

What to read next:

Spell on Wheels, Vol. 2: Just to Get to You by Kate Leth, Megan Levens, Marissa Louise

Heavy Vinyl, Vol. 1: Riot on the Radio by Carly Usdin, Nina Vakueva

Other books in the series:

  • Spell on Wheels, Vol. 2: Just to Get to You

Have you read Spell on Wheels, Vol. 1? What did you think of it?

Review: Outlaws (Royal Academy Rebels #2)

Title: Outlaws (Royal Academy Rebels #2)
Author: Jen Calonita
Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 1, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The second installment in a brand-new series from Jen Calonita, set in the world of Fairy Tale Reform School! Not everyone born royal is meant to rule… 

After being banished to the Hollow Woods following their discovery of Headmistress Olivina’s secret villainy, a note from an ally urges Devin and her friends to go in search of Red Riding Hood, who they believe can help them figure out what to do next.

Instead, they come across a troupe of fairytale vigilantes, including a former Royal Academy princess, Robin Hood, a pirate named Corden, and more. Alongside their new vigilante friends, Devin and her crew come up with a plan to expose the truth about Olivina to all of Enchantasia, or risk their homeland falling under villainous rule once and for all…

Review:

After Devin and her friends were banished from the Royal Academy after discovering that Headmistress Fairy Godmother Olivina is a villain, they escape to the Hollow Woods. They’re instructed to find Red Riding Hood, who will help them. They end up meeting some other vigilantes who eventually begin working with them to reveal the secrets of the Royal Academy. Devin and her friends have to figure out the smartest way to expose the truth of Olivina before their home of Enchantasia is destroyed.

This fairytale themed story was fast paced and concise. Though there are a lot of characters in the main cast, they’re each distinct and well developed. They all have a fairytale background, and some even have dark secrets that they’re hiding.

There was only one problem I had with this book, but I didn’t count against it in my rating though I thought I should mention it. I read a digital copy of this book from the library, and it had many typos and mistakes. I know there are often a couple of mistakes in a book, but there were many spelling and punctuation errors. It’s especially important for a children’s book to have correct spelling and punctuation, because they are just learning to read. A spelling error can completely change the meaning of a sentence, which even confused me a couple of times. Spelling errors are one of my biggest reading pet peeves, particularly in books for young readers.

Outlaws is a really good fairytale themed story.

What to read next:

Heroes by Jen Calonita

Flunked by Jen Calonita

Other books in the series:

Have you read Outlaws? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: The Keeper of Night (The Keeper of Night #1)

Title: The Keeper of Night (The Keeper of Night #1)
Author: Kylie Lee Baker
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 12, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Death is her destiny.

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.

When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death… only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task—find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons—and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side.

Review:

1800s: Ren Scarborough is half British Reaper and half Japanese Shinigami. Reapers and Shinigami collect souls when a person is ready to die. Since Ren is half Japanese living in London, her British Reaper family and community doesn’t recognize her as one of their own. After two centuries of living like this, Ren decides to travel to Japan to find her true identity as a Shinigami. Her half-brother, and only true friend, Neven, travels around the world with her. When they arrive and meet the Japanese goddess of death, Ren is given a seemingly impossible mission, to hunt dangerous Yokai demons, that will finally give her the acceptance she has always craved.

This was an intense and wild story. Ren and Neven encountered many demons and creatures from Japanese folklore. Ren had learned about some of the demons in her studies of her culture, but some of them were not the same as the tales. Both the British and Japanese soul collectors had their own methods of doing their job, so Ren had to get used to a whole new system. Though Ren felt like an outsider at home in England, Neven became an outsider in Japan, since he didn’t speak the language and didn’t look like the residents. It was an interesting look at if it’s harder to be born as an outsider and never know any differently or if it is easier to choose to live in a culture as a visible outsider.

The ending of this story was intense and fast paced. It left me wondering if the next book will be about Ren, based on where the story left off. I’m really curious to see what the next book in this duology will be about.

The Keeper of Night is a great book with Japanese folklore.

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

About the author:

Kylie Lee Baker grew up in Boston and has since lived in Atlanta, Salamanca, and Seoul. Her writing is informed by her heritage (Japanese, Chinese, and Irish), as well as her experiences living abroad as both a student and teacher. She has a B.A. in Creative Writing and Spanish from Emory University and is currently pursuing a Master of Library and Information Science degree at Simmons University. In her free time, she watches horror movies, plays the cello, and bakes too many cookies. The Keeper of Night is her debut novel.

Have you read The Keeper of Night? What did you think of it?

Review: Witches of Brooklyn (Witches of Brooklyn #1)

Title: Witches of Brooklyn (Witches of Brooklyn #1)
Author: Sophie Escabasse
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Source: Library
Format: Ebook
Release Date: September 1, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

There’s a new witch in town! Life in Brooklyn takes a strange turn when Effie discovers MAGIC runs in the family. 

A middle-grade graphic novel adventure filled with magical hjinks for fans of Phoebe and Her Unicorn and Making Friends. 

Effie lost her mom.

Lost her home.

And now she has to live with two strange aunts who she’s never met before.

Life in Brooklyn takes a strange twist for Effie as she learns more about her family and herself. With new friends who will do whatever they can to be there for her, a cursed pop-star, and her new magically-inclined family — Effie’s life is about to get interesting.

Review:

When Effie’s mother dies, she’s sent to live with her mom’s half sisters. None of them are happy with the situation, but they will have to learn to live with it. However, when Effie’s favourite pop star shows up at the house in desperate need of a cure for a curse, Effie learns that her aunts are witches. Then, Effie’s own magic begins to shine through. Her life takes an exciting and unexpected turn.

This story reminded me of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Effie was sent to live with her two aunts, just like Sabrina. Effie also didn’t know about her aunts’ magic or the powers she would develop, like Sabrina. Sabrina the Teenage Witch is one of my favourite characters so I loved this similarity.

Witches of Brooklyn was a fun middle grade graphic novel! I’m excited to read the next one.

What to read next:

Witches of Brooklyn: What the Hex?! by Sophie Escabasse

The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner

Other books in the series:

  • Witches of Brooklyn: What the Hex?!

Have you read Witches of Brooklyn? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: Luminous

Title: Luminous
Author: Mara Rutherford
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A witch who must learn to harness her power–or risk losing her loved ones forever.

Liora has spent her life in hiding, knowing discovery could mean falling prey to the king’s warlock, Darius, who uses mages’ magic to grow his own power. But when her worst nightmare comes to pass, Darius doesn’t take her. Instead, he demands that her younger sister return to the capital with him. To make matters worse, Evran, Liora’s childhood friend and the only one who knows her secret, goes missing following Darius’s visit, leaving her without anyone to turn to.

To find Evran and to save her sister, Liora must embrace the power she has always feared. But the greatest danger she’ll face is yet to come, for Darius has plans in motion that will cause the world to fall into chaos–and Liora and Evran may be the only ones who can stop him.

Review:

Liora has spent her life hiding her magic from the world. Her skin glows, making her magic immediately recognizable. When Darius, a warlock who works for the King, arrives in town to hunt down mages, he finds Liora. Instead of taking Liora to the capital to work for him, he lets her work for a neighboring witch, and takes Liora’s younger sister instead. Then, Liora’s best friend and first love, Evran, disappears after her sister leaves. Darius has dangerous plans for the future of their kingdom. Liora will do anything to save her sister and Evran, even if it means giving in to Darius’s demands.

This was another great fantasy novel by Mara Rutherford. I liked how fast paced it was. There were a few times when the story was heading in a direction that I thought would lower the tension and slow down the story. However, those parts only lasted a chapter or two, so the story kept its fast pace.

There were a few surprising twists that I didn’t see coming. I had no idea where the story was going to end, and I was really shocked at the ending. I hope there will be a sequel because I want to know what will happen next!

Luminous is a great YA fantasy!

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

About the author:

Mara Rutherford began her writing career as a journalist but quickly discovered she far preferred fantasy to reality. Originally from California, Mara has since lived all over the world with her marine-turned-diplomat husband. A triplet born on Leap Day, Mara holds a master’s degree in cultural studies from the University of London. When she’s not writing or chasing after her two sons, she can usually be found pushin_g the boundaries of her comfort zone, whether at a traditional Russian banya or an Incan archaeological site. Mara is a former Pitch Wars mentee and three-time mentor.

Have you read Luminous? What did you think of it?