Folklore

The Mercies, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

On Christmas Eve 1617, a violent storm blows up suddenly around the remote Norwegian island of Vardo. As their wives, mothers and daughters watch from the shore, forty fishermen, the majority of the male population of the island, are lost to the sea. The women are left to pick up the pieces of their lives and take on additional work in order to survive. Tensions spring up amongst the women, further exacerbated by the rigid position of the church and whispers of witchcraft. Read More »

The City of Brass, by S. A. Chakraborty

I read this book as part of the Reading Women Challenge 2019, for prompt #23: any book from a series. I love fantasy novels, especially focused around magic. Another genre I love is historical fiction, so this book seemed to tie together a lot of things I love and I was really excited to read it. This first book of the trilogy introduces you to the mystical world of djinns, magical beings from Arabian and Islamic cultures, similar to the Westernised idea of genies. Read More »