Author: cherylmahoney

I'm a book review blogger and writer. I have published four novels, The Wanderers; The Storyteller and Her Sisters; and The People the Fairies Forget; and The Lioness and the Spellspinners. All can be found on Amazon as an ebook and paperback. In my day job, I'm a Marketing Specialist. Find me on Twitter (@MarvelousTales) and GoodReads (MarvelousTales).

Book Review: Lost in Austen

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, Reviews3 Comments

I recently wrote about the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, and today I have another very unusual Pride and Prejudice retelling…Lost in Austen by Emma Campbell Webster. If you’ve heard of the movie by the same name, they’re related but not actually remotely the same. The book is a choose-your-own-adventure through Austen novels.

Written in the second person (you, your), the story begins in the familiar opening pages of Pride and Prejudice, with Mr. Bingley recently moved to the neighborhood and “your” mother eager to introduce “your” sisters to the eligible bachelor. But very soon you start having choices—which path will you take to Mr. Bingley’s house? Will you speak to Mr. Darcy at the dance or remain silent? And as the story goes on…will you accept this marriage proposal or that one? Will you confess your family’s scandal to Mr. Darcy or keep it secret? And in the end…will you achieve your mission of a successful marriage? Continue reading “Book Review: Lost in Austen” →

Numbers Game: 1,000th Post

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations4 Comments

Drumroll and fanfare…according to WordPress, this is my 1,000th post on Tales of the Marvelous! 🙂  Thank you to all you faithful readers who have read 10, 100, 500 posts or even more…if I was talking into a void, I’m sure I would have stopped long ago.

1,000 posts is a LOT of words.  Today, I thought I’d give you a few numbers.  Since beginning this blog, I have posted 468 Reviews, 54 Fiction Fridays with excerpts from my writing, and 56 Blog Hops on bookish topics.  I’ve posted 29 times updating about NaNoWriMo, and 45 times to update you on my writing.  I’ve shared other people’s writing (or at least, clever sayings) with 47 Quotables.

I’ve referenced L. M. Montgomery in 65 posts, J. M. Barrie in 42, Edgar Rice Burroughs in 35, Terry Pratchett in 62 and Star Trek in 78.  I’ve referenced the Phantom of the Opera in 80 posts, including reviews of 7 different versions.

But possibly my favorite number?  All of you have left me more than 4,600 comments.  🙂  Thank you for reading, and for joining the conversation!

Book Review: The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus)

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews, Young AdultLeave a comment

I’m still continuing my way through Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series, and have finished through the fourth one, The House of Hades. The series continues to be excellent fun! Spoilers to follow for the earlier books…

The last book ended with Percy and Annabeth falling into the pit of Tartarus, the darkest, deepest, most horrifying part of the underworld. Their friends must continue their quest to reach the House of Hades and close the Doors of Death, so that monsters can be killed and Gaea, the terrifying Mother Earth, can be prevented from rising up and destroying humanity. Percy and Annabeth, meanwhile, are searching for the Doors in the Tartarus, to complete the other half of the quest and close them from that side.

Let me just say first, while we’re up here at the top near the image–I love this cover.  That’s Percy and Annabeth there, and I love that you can’t really tell who’s holding up who.  Because they both lean on each other throughout the book.  Which always makes for a good romantic pairing. 🙂

All right, on to the text…  This was a big character growth book. Frank, the shape-shifting son of Mars, grows into his strength as a warrior. Hazel embraces new abilities and new confidence.  And Hazel and Leo come to a new understanding that helps resolve their uneasy triangle with Frank—and wise-talking Leo gets a more serious side, and a chance at an eighth-wheel to balance out his seventh-wheel status. By which I just mean he finally gets a bit of romance of his own! Continue reading “Book Review: The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus)” →

Lunar Chronicles Swag!

On By cherylmahoneyIn Ruminations1 Comment

I think we all know I am eagerly awaiting the final installment in Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, Winter.  I’ve posted pretty gushing reviews of the first three books (Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, plus prequel Fairest), which apparently caught someone’s eye…because the publisher recently emailed me to ask about sending a Winter-themed gift.

Not an Advanced Reader Copy, they were quick to clarify (alas!), but I still figured, Winter swag?  Sure, of course I’m in!

And so this fun little gift arrived in my mailbox…

Winter SwagI thought I’d share the fun!  And mention that there’s less than two months left until Winter will be out… 🙂

Web Series Review: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews1 Comment

lbd-cast-posterI’ve watched a number of adaptations of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, but one of the more unique ones is The Lizzie Bennet Diaries—and it’s one of my favorites!

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern adaptation, presenting the story through the video blog of Lizzie Bennet, a college student still living with her parents because she’s saddled with student debt. She has two sisters, incredibly sweet Jane and party-girl Lydia. Best friend Charlotte helps Lizzie with her vlog, chronicling her mother’s obsession with getting her daughters married, and the ups and downs of Jane’s romance with the cute Bing Lee. And how it would all go smoother without Bing’s deeply irritating friend William Darcy.

Like a real vlog, this story is told through short episodes, around five minutes each. They originally came out one or two a week for about a year but can all be found on YouTube now. Make sure you watch a playlist that includes the sub-series, like Lydia’s vlog.  I was also pleasantly impressed by the high quality of the filming (because it’s hard to know what to expect from a faux-vlog) and, for that matter, the acting!

This web series does an amazing job with the modern twists and the portrayals of the characters. They’re recognizably the characters from Austen’s story, but with modern angles. Jane is still sweet as gold but she’s not weak (and she has a career that’s important to her, instead of focusing on nothing but romance). Lydia is perpetually having a wild time and embarrassing her sisters at the local bar. And Lizzie is still witty and endearing but sometimes quick to judge, takes her loved ones for granted at times and makes mistakes. But is very likable too. Continue reading “Web Series Review: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries” →