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: The Castle Behind Thorns

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Juvenile, Reviews4 Comments

I enjoyed The Princess Curse by Merrie Haskell, which seemed like a good reason to explore what else she’s written—which brought me to The Castle Behind Thorns. Not as close a fairy tale retelling as I had hoped, but still an engaging fantasy.

The Sundered Castle has stood abandoned and surrounded by a wall of thorns for thirty years, and Sand (Alexandre) has never given it much thought. No one in the village ever has. But one day Sand awakes to find himself inside the castle, inside the thorns, with no way to get out and evidence all around of a bigger mystery than the local story can explain. The earthquake that supposedly damaged the castle can’t account for shredded pillows or anvils wrenched in half. Using his wits and his blacksmith skills, Sand begins repairing items he needs—and some of the repairs work strangely, perhaps magically, well. Most significantly, Sand replaces a fallen corpse on its shelf in the crypt; a few days later, Perrotte emerges, restored to life and anxious to learn what became of her family and her castle. Continue reading “Book Review: The Castle Behind Thorns” →

Blog Hop: Replying to Comments?

On By cherylmahoneyIn Blog Hop5 Comments

book blogger hopThis week’s Book Blogger Hop question: Do you reply to comments on your blog or do you figure folks won’t be stopping back to read your reply so you don’t bother?

I try to reply to comments consistently and in a timely fashion…but rather like my blog reading, it actually tends to happen in bunches when I carve out some time. And I miss comments sometimes too. I tell myself it’s a good exercise in letting go of perfection to allow that to happen…yeah, that’s still something of an internal argument!

But in general I’m pro-comment replies. I know not everyone will see the response, but some of you do—because some of you reply to my replies! I know WordPress helpfully tells WordPress users about comment-replies on other WordPress blogs, so while I don’t keep track of which comments are coming from WordPress users, I do know some replies are being seen that way. Besides, if someone asks a question, even if they don’t see the answer, maybe a later reader will, and will find it valuable!

And I feel like a practice (even imperfect) of replying to comments adds a lot to the feeling that a blog is a conversation, not just a broadcast—and conversation is certainly what I am aiming for!

Thoughts? Comments? I promise I’ll (try to) respond!

Book Review: The Ninja Librarians

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews5 Comments

A few years ago, my book club elected to read Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which proved to be a terrible mistake. I think the book we were actually looking for (although it hadn’t been written yet) was The Ninja Librarians: The Accidental Keyhand by Jen Swann Downey–full of awesome, sword-wielding, time-traveling Lybrarians.

In the middle of the Pen and Sword Festival at their local library, Dorrie and her brother Marcus stumble through a strange door and find themselves in Petrarch’s Library, headquarters of the Lybrarians, who travel through time to defend anyone in danger due to something they wrote or said. Dorrie is convinced this is the work she was always meant for, and Marcus falls hard for a pretty Lybrarian. Although they are taken in on a temporary basis and begin to make friends, there are still suspicions that they could be spies for the evil Foundation, and questions left unanswered about how the doorway appeared in their local library to begin with.

This is an absolute delight of a middle-grade book, perfect for fans of Harry Potter and book lovers everywhere. Although the time is much more compressed than in Harry Potter, the structure is essentially the same, of ordinary kids adjusting to a magical school, making friends and learning new skills, while a darker threat lurks (and occasionally requires secret ventures out into the night to deal with it!) Continue reading “Book Review: The Ninja Librarians” →

Update (and Giveaway!) for The Storyteller and Her Sisters

On By cherylmahoneyIn Novel News6 Comments

Storyteller Cover 1 - SmallI may have mentioned (once or twice) that my next novel is coming out this fall.  And today I have all kinds of cool news to share!

Release Date: October 10th!  Mark your calendar…but don’t worry, I’ll remind you. 🙂

Description: I updated my Novel News page so you can read the back-of-the-book text now.

Giveaway: This one I’m very excited about–I’m giving away two signed paperbacks through Goodreads!  This is an exclusive opportunity to get a copy before the release date.  Enter the giveaway here!  Sorry, U.S.-only due to prohibitive shipping costs (but watch out for some ebook giveaways in October!) And even though you can’t pre-order the book, you can add it to your “To Read” shelf on Goodreads. 😉

Book Review: My Name Is Memory

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, Reviews1 Comment

I didn’t actually plan to read more of Ann Brashares’ books after reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but in the course of linking to her site for my reviews, I happened to read the plot summary of My Name Is Memory—and was far too intrigued to resist!

Daniel has lived many lives, and remembers them all. Starting around 500 AD, he has been reincarnated through many times and places. In his first life, he was part of an army that burned down a village—and killed a beautiful girl in the fire. In later lives, he meets her again and again. He remembers, but she doesn’t. They fall in love more than once, and lose each other again and again, but in all his lives Daniel searches for her, waiting for the lifetime when they can finally be together.

The book is structured with alternating chapters. In one thread, Daniel tells his history through the centuries. The other thread is set in the present day, focusing on Daniel and Lucy, both teenagers, both deeply attracted to each other, but parted when their first conversation goes very badly. Lucy struggles to understand why she’s so drawn to Daniel, and the meaning behind her dreams that hint at past lives. Continue reading “Book Review: My Name Is Memory” →