Katherine Harbour's Blog - Posts Tagged "fantasy"

When Phoebe Rothschild meets weird Mallory Tolliver in 7th grade, it's the beginning of a fast and true friendship--but, it turns out, Mallory isn't what she seems. In their junior year of high school, Mallory's beautiful and shady brother Ryland shows up and it isn't a secret to the reader that both Mallory and Ryland are denizens of the world of faerie who are luring Phoebe to her doom because of a pact Phoebe's ancestor made with the faery queen. This isn't the story of a romance, however, but of a friendship, and it is suspenseful and heartbreaking, as Phoebe learns she herself is far from ordinary.

Thorn Jack: A Night and Nothing Novel
Thorn Jack is coming out March 10 in trade paperback, (stay tuned for a giveaway!)so I thought I'd introduce the characters who wrestled the story away from me.

Finn Serafina Sullivan(17-18) Aspiring photographer. Recovering from the death of her older sister.

Jack Fata/Hawthorn (19 forever) A violinist. A member of the Fata family. A Jack, one of the mortal boys or girls (Jills) filled with magic flowers and made into a soldier.

Reiko Fata (19 forever) Eldest daughter of the Fata family. A Fata queen who rules from the art nouveau splendor of the Tirnagoth Hotel.

Caliban Ariel'Pan (21 forever) One of the Fata family. The crooked dog, the crom cu, a lieutenant of the Wolf king.

Sylvie Whitethorn (17-18) Aspiring actress and Finn's friend.

Christie Hart (18) Aspiring poet and Finn's friend.

Sean Sullivan (42) Finn's dad and a professor of folklore and mythology.

Phouka Banrion (19 forever)Fata family's chauffeur and Reiko's lieutenant.

Nathan Clare (18)One of the Fata family and a boy chosen for his beauty and courage to be a Fata sacrifice.

Aubrey Drake(18)Captain of the HallowHeart Ravens football team. One of the blessed.

Anna Weaver (12) The young sister of a Fata victim. An oracle.

Absalom Askew (18 forever)Jack's friend. A Fata and a trickster.

The Black Scissors (23 forever)A mysterious figure, once Reiko's lover. A highwayman/once a tailor, cursed by the Fatas.

Briar Queen will be coming out as a trade paperback, ebook, and audio June 2. Here are a few reviews!
RT BOOK REVIEWS: "Harbour's characters play for high stakes, and the author is not afraid to make her characters pay." http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-rev...

BOOKLIST: "The lilting, whimsical new adult fantasy, balanced by impressively detailed and dark vignettes, is fueled by a gothemo-scenester aesthetic... The magic is mysterious, the drama is aching, and the people are beautiful"

KIRKUS: "Readers drawn to faerie lore will enjoy this lush, romantic tale" https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Harbour makes love, suffering, and sacrifice the most poignant parts of her worlds, and readers with even the barest knowledge of fairy lore and legends will be pulled deep into this tale of sharp magic and its ruthless children" http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0...

Mortal Danger
After a disturbing and humiliating incident of bullying, Edie attempts suicide and is prevented from doing so by a mysterious young man named Kian, who works for higher powers as a sort of agent in devils' bargains. Edie is granted a wish: To be beautiful. In exchange, she must make her tormentors pay for what they've done. What begins as satisfying revenge, however, becomes horrifying, and she learns that the higher powers might not be as benevolent as they seem. (Hint: one of them seems to be a certain one-eyed Norse god.)Mortal Danger is dark fantasy bordering on horror, which I loved. Edie's plight was heartbreaking enough to make me care for her as she attempts to negotiate a maze of the supernatural, along with the intriguing Kian. The fantasy elements were also fascinating. I want to learn more about this phantom world.

The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
A book of short stories, mostly fantasy, with the added bonus of the authors' thoughts and edits in entertaining diagrams, doodles, and notes. And the stories are fabulous, with my favorites being the monster fairy story 'Thomas All' by Gratton; the magic realism of 'The Last Day of Spring' by Stiefvater, and the twisty 'Lazarus Girl' by Yovanoff. Not only is THE CURIOSITIES a fun read, but it's an inspiring guide for writers of YA and fantasy. Any aspiring young writer should definitely read this.

To celebrate finishing Nettle King, the third book in the Thorn Jack series, I'm giving away, to one randomly selected winner, a Thorn Jack charm bracelet, an MP3 audio CD of Thorn Jack (read by Kate Rudd of The Fault in Our Stars), a copy of Faerie Magazine summer edition, and a small signed print of one of my paintings. You can find all the details and how to enter here: http://katherineharbour.blogspot.com/...

Contest ends Sept. 1!

Thunderer
A steampunk fantasy set in an ever changing city, this is the story of a naive young man named Arjun who arrives to search for his lost god in a city full of gods. While a secretive war is waged against its citizens with an air ship called the Thunderer, and a Peter Pan-like boy named Jack leads a rebel band of lost girls and boys, Arjun becomes involved in a secret society of cartographers, intellectuals, and artists who want to create an atlas of the city of Ararat. This is illegal, and soon the wrath of the city's ruler, the Duchess, is turned on them. Then Arjun accidentally catches the attention of one of the lost gods, and soon people are falling victim to its drowning malice. Terrifying and surreal, with echoes of Dickens and Poe, this quest fantasy seemed different from others I've read, in a good way. Like Arjun I, too, became lost in the bizarre city of Ararat.

I'll be attending the RT Booklovers con in Las Vegas April 12-16. I'll be appearing at the YA Spooky Slumber Party, the Bling it On Event, the Giant Book Fair, and the Teen Day Party. My half hour meet and greet is at the RT Club at 10:30 on Tuesday. I'd love to meet anyone at these events if you're coming!

https://www.rtconvention.com/person/k...
https://www.facebook.com/RTTeenDay

As a bookseller, choosing which books to read is nearly impossible. But here are the ones I'm anticipating this summer:

The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim by Shane Peacock




Down and Out in Purgatory by Tim Powers




The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi




Wink, Poppy, Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke




Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu




A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic S. Durbin




Elixir by Ruth Vincent




This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab




Everland by Wendy Spinale




Before the Snow by Danielle Paige




The Devourers by Indra Das




The Muse by Jessie Burton




And I Darken by Kiersten White




The Creeper Man by Dawn Kurtagich




Last Call at the Nightshade Lounge
by Paul Krueger

The Falconer

Steampunk and faeries and a red-haired girl seeking vengeance was a book I couldn't resist. In an alternative Scotland, 1844, Aileana hunts malignant faeries with diy weapons. She's capable of taking care of herself, but her partner in crime is Kiaran, a faery boy trained in martial arts. Her father is distant and blames her for her mother's murder by the evil faery woman Aileana hunts. Aileana's other allies are a childhood friend, Gavin, who can see faeries, and a male version of Tinkerbell named Derrick.

When Aileana learns a seal is breaking and the bad faeries will be entering the world, she and Kiaran try to stop this disaster in a fierce battle.

I loved Aileana. And Kiaran is darkly fascinating. Gavin isn't a distant second either, with his gentlemanly concern and flask of alcohol. And, despite Aileana's mission, it is the aggravating traditions and prejudices of her time that she struggles with as much as her fights against the faeries.