Bayou Bytes Blog

Oh, did you want to hear about a mermaid story? No, not the delayed live-action Disney movie remake... I'm talking about the horrifying Jackson Pierce retelling of the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson. Half of this book is so, so good. And the other half is just...okay.  That's actually a great way to describe the main character Lo. Lo is a water nymph-- not explicitly a mermaid-- who dwells with her sisters beneath the ocean waves.  Lo and her sisters used to be mortal human girls before the ocean swallowed them whole-- but their mortal lives, memories, and identities have slowly eroded in the wake of their eternal hedonistic lives that the nymphs enjoy under the sea.  The water nymphs will shed their humanity underwater for as long as it will take. Once a water nymph has shed the last of her humanity, she'll ascend the waves and become part of the ocean. But after Lo rescues a mortal boy from drowning, she begins to realize she's curious about the person she...

What exactly is so valuable about feeling... human? Human beings measure their lives by years, but for the faeries in An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson , a century can go by within a snap of their fingers. Faeries are immortal and impervious to aging, but the inevitable trade-off to immortality is the lack of a full range of emotions and individual expression. Faeries simply exist; most of the time, they exist without feeling anything but simple contentment, displeasure, curiosity, and confusion.  Confusion is their primary feeling about the human world. Human emotion (and any expression of those emotions through art) both fascinates them and confuses them. Fortunately for 17-year-old Isobel, a human girl living in a human settlement near the faerie courts, these immortal faeries are thrilled to grant special enchantments to humans that can create or demonstrate a skill that faeries can't replicate for themselves. Isobel is young, but she's a renowned master of pain...

 All of Us Villains is being marketed as magic meets The Hunger Games , and though I've grown wary of dystopian fiction, it was enough to make me grab the title.  To some extent, this comparison is apt.  Seven kids from Ilvernath's great families compete every twenty years. The last kid standing wins their family exclusive access to the town's hidden well of high magick.  But this year's competition is different. Someone in the know published a novel explicitly detailing the nature of the competition and when it becomes a bestseller, little Ilvernath's big secret becomes front page news.   Even though the seven champions thrown into the ring this year have gone to incredible lengths to prepare for the tournament, things have changed. They're starting to rebel from the inside.  By the time I was done with this novel, I was certain that comparing it to The Hunger Games was selling it short. For a novel with so many characters, they are remarkably disti...

 Like most other people who are interested in Xiran Jay Zhao, I first learned about her when I saw her viral Twitter thread critiquing the details of Disney's Mulan. For her, and for us, it was a perfect accident because she was still in the public eye when her book Iron Widow was announced.   Not only does Iron Widow have an absolutely gorgeous cover, it is a delightful read. Xiran Jay Zhao reimagined China's infamous empress, Wu Zetian, and placed her in a fantasy world at war, where paired pilots command mythological creature mecha. The male pilots are doted upon and celebrated, but their female partners are drained like batteries and frequently die in battle.   Enter Wu Zetian. After her sister is killed by a famous pilot, Zetian joins the fray as a female pilot. And she is determined to take down the system from within.   Iron Widow is the first in a series, so I'm already eagerly awaiting the next installment. The worldbuilding here was well don...

I stumbled upon The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels after putting down several other titles in frustrations. I had never heard of it and went in with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised.  The Wisteria Society is an organization of some of England's most proper and courteous women. They also happen to be pirates. With houses that use an ancient Latin incantation to fly about.  It is absurd and wonderful. Cecilia is a junior member, raised by her aunt and the other Wisteria women, she hopes to be promoted to senior member soon. When Ned Lightborne shows up, admitting he's been hired to kill her, she is delighted. Surely having been deemed important enough to assassinate will prove her worth to the Wisteria Society.  But when the villainous pirate captain Morvath shows up and kidnaps the Wisteria ladies, Cecilia is forced to team up with Ned in order to infiltrate Morvath's flying fortress and rescue her society.  This was a delightful read. It's a charmin...

The Priory of the Orange Tree is one of those novels that has been on my to-read list for a while. Now that I've finally picked it up, I'm sad I ever waited this long.  Priory is a high fantasy tale, spanning a whole world and told from several points of view. Sabran Berethnet is the latest queen of Inys, her line stretches back to the founding of the land and it's said that as long as a Berethnet is on the throne the great and terrible Nameless One will not reawaken.  Ead Duryan was brought to the Inysh court on a mission: get close to Sabran and protect her. But Ead must keep her own past a secret. The people of Inys are devout in their worship of the Six Virtues, and as a member of the Priory, a secret society of mages, Ead could be executed if anyone discovers her true identity.  Far across the sea, Tané comes from a society that worships dragons, the god-like beasts who helped defeat the Nameless One when he last threatened the world. Tané has trained all her life t...

Soraya is a cursed princess. Poisonous, any living creature she touches will die. She's spent her whole life locked away in her castle, while her mother and twin brother travel across the kingdom. But this year, when her family returns to the castle, they bring the promise of change. Soraya's brother will be getting married soon. Not only that, but they caught a demon on their travels, and she's now locked away in the dungeon. If Soraya can meet with the demon, she may learn how to break her curse... Girl, Serpent, Thorn is the first book I've read in a while that really stuck with me long after I finished it. Usually, I finish one story and jump into another, but this one I just sat with it for a little while. And immediately recommended it to three of my friends. This is a wholly original story, crafted like a fairy tale and pulling inspiration from Persian folklore, and it is absolutely worth the read. The story twisted and turned, crushing my predictions and wrappin...

 The Zodiac Starforce is a group of elite warriors gifted zodiac themed powers by the goddess Astra. But they're also a group of teens just trying to survive high school! This is exactly what you'd expect from a zodiac-based super hero story and it does not disappoint. Though the series had a short run, and only two volumes were published, it's beloved online. I had no idea the series even existed until I came across a stray tweet that mentioned it and I was compelled to check it out.  The art style here is especially endearing, it's a cute and colorful style that holds up well and suits the story.  I absolutely recommend this graphic novel for fans of magical girl stories and zodiac enthusiasts. If this title interests you, you can find it here . 

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black The titular Cruel Prince is Cardan Greenbriar-- the youngest heir to the Faerie throne, and the least likely ever to inherit it. It's a good thing he's not favored by the folk or the royals themselves to sit on the throne-- he's a spoiled bully and cruel to the human protagonist Jude for being a mortal girl living among faeries. Cruelty runs rampant in the royal family, however.  "If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse." Identical twin sisters Jude & Taryn Duarte have known their place in the faerie kingdom since they were very young-- and that their ordinary mortality is viewed with contempt. As regular mortals girls living amongst royalty, nobles, and beautiful immortal folk, they haven't exactly had an easy time with the locals. But while Taryn would rather work harder to fit in, Jude can't help but meet their contempt with her own rage and disdain.  And Jude hates the beautiful faerie prince Car...

 Evelyn Perdanu owns of of the most powerful shipping companies in the dying city of Delphinium. Once a rich and successful port, war has cut Delphinium off from most of it's resources and the city is slowly fading. While many of the rich party in an attempt to ignore their slow decline, Evelyn leads a solitary and calculating existence. When one of her ships returns to port, she is horrified to find a mysterious illness onboard.  Despite her efforts, the sickness soon spreads beyond her ship. Infected persons, with an undeniable glint in their eye and manic energy, begin turning up in her daily life. And soon it becomes apparent that she is the common factor. Whatever is driving the infected, it's after Evelyn.  She retreats to the safety of her manor, determined to find answers. A cure if she can, before the whole city is overrun. This is a fantasy horror story, brought to you by the author of The Luminous Dead. Which I have praised extensively, and reviewed here . ...

In this dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Walter breaks down the classic elements to create a drastically different story. Alyce is half Vila, a Fae race known for their cruelty and destructive magic. Alyce isn't thrilled that her powers can only bring destruction, but her life selling petty curses to petty nobles isn't particularly awful.   Until she meets Princess Aurora, the last heir to the Briar throne. Like every woman in the royal line, Aurora is cursed and will die if she doesn't find true love by her twenty-first birthday. Her older sisters have already fallen victim to the curse, and if Aurora doesn't break it the line will end and the kingdom will fall into turmoil. Her parents present her with suitor after suitor in desperation, but Aurora would rather break the curse on her own. And who better to help her than Alyce. If Vila magic is responsible for the curse, maybe a Vila like Alyce is just the one to break it.  I thought that the demand for fairytale ret...

 Dellaria Wells is a gutter witch, a street rat with a decent amount of fire magic. She's not thrilled with her lot, but she's content enough scamming the rich during the day and drinking her worries away at night. But money is tight. When the opportunity to play bodyguard for an Important Young Lady on retreat appears, she can't afford to pass it up. Why a proper young lady should need to be protected, Dellaria has no idea, but it pays well.  On the job, she's introduced to her charge as well as the rest of the bodyguards who have been chosen. It's a particularly threatening group of women, each chosen for her skill in a field of magic. And it includes Winn, an adventurous woman with respectable roots, who immediately takes a liking to Dellaria. The gutter witch realizes that cultivating a relationship with Winn won't just make this job more fun, it could get her out of the gutter for good.  Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry  is a fantasy set in an alternat...

Kappa Rho Nu is the most exclusive sorority at Westerly College. It's also a cover for the most powerful coven of witches in the country. The Ravens  alternates between two different Kappas. Scarlett is a junior from a long line of witches, and in line to be the next Kappa president if everything goes right. Vivi is completely the opposite. She doesn't believe in magic. In fact, Westerly is her chance to get away from her "weird" mother. After joining Kappa kind of by accident, she learns she's actually a powerful witch.  This novel plays into the sorority tropes you'd expect. Scarlett and Vivi make a terrible first impression on each other. And since their relationship is antagonistic, of course they're paired together when Scarlett is assigned to be Vivi's Big. Despite the tropes, it's a fun read, and their relationship does improve throughout the story. Since we're leaning hard into the typical sorority story, of course it needs guys, right?...

 Holly is a young trans vampire, who has recently joined a vast underground colony. Modeling themselves after the honeybee, these vampires dutifully perform their assigned duties and defer only to the Hierophant, their founder. All Holly wants is to be fully accepted, for the Hierophant to give him a new name, which will wipe away the last of his human past and mark him as a true member of the colony.  But the Hierophant seems to be rebuking Holly at every turn, and Holly begins to wonder if this is really where he belongs. The Mellification  was an interesting story. At about two hundred pages, this is a novella rather than a full novel. And though it's a good plot, I think the length counts against it. This story introduces not only Holly, his partner Cain, and the Hierophant, but it also throws in some perspective switches and introduces you to Lila and Claudia -- two vampires locked in an eternal rivalry that dates back to their time as humans. It would have really be...

 Agnieszka lives in a small village, whose closest neighbors are the Dragon's tower and the Wood, a poisoned forest that no one dares enter. The Dragon isn't a beast, but rather a wizard who keeps the Wood's evil at bay and protects the kingdom. Such a powerful man is beyond reproach, so no one objects when he descends from the tower every ten years to choose a woman from the village. No one knows what happens in the tower, but at the ten year mark, the girl returns unharmed, finely clothed, and with a chest full of treasure. He takes a new villager and the cycle starts again.  This year Agnieszka and her best friend Kaisa will be among the women offered. Though there isn't much doubt about this year's choice; The Dragon never fails to take the most beautiful, and Kaisa will certainly be the one.  But when the choice must be made, the Dragon takes Agnieszka.  This is undoubtedly a fairy tale, and Novik admits it was inspired by one, though perhaps not one of the big...

Fans will know that anything bearing Terry Pratchett's name is certain to be entertaining. The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents  is one of Pratchett's YA novels, and though it is set in Discworld, it can be read as a standalone.  Maurice is a peculiar cat, as are the pack of rats that accompany him, given that they can all speak English and read. Though they aren't exactly sure how they gained these abilities, they are inclined to make the best of it - by recruiting a human boy (Keith) and running a pied piper scam in a town called Bad Blintz. The plan seems solid. The rats head into town and cause trouble for a few days, then Keith and Maurice show up, summon the rats away and collect their fee from the grateful townspeople.  But when they get there, they realize Bad Blintz already has a rat problem...a particularly vicious one.  The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents  is not a new book, it was actually published in 2001. But it's a personal favor...

  When The Masquerade comes to Baru's small island nation, she watches as they are slowly conquered and incorporated into the empire. The Masquerade promises to advance the nation with education, technology, and medical advancements...and by stripping the natives of their language, installing a new religion, and hauling off any citizens who are deemed delinquent. When her own father is dragged away, Baru decides to play the game.   Determined to bring down the empire from within, Baru enrolls in school and learns their rules. She quickly rises through the ranks, becomes recognized as a talented accountant, and secures a position deeper in the empire. Every success brings her closer to the emperor, and Baru refuses to be distracted... It is clear from the beginning that this story will be uncomfortable. Not only does Baru witness the atrocities against her homeland, she pushes them aside in pursuit of her greater mission: infiltrating the empire. Dickinson makes it clear t...

Hannah Walsh is a witch, more specifically, an Elemental. One of the three witch Clans, Elementals have an affinity for earth, air, water, and fire magic. Living in Salem, Massachusetts, Hannah and her coven live by strict rules, dedicated to keeping their existence a secret from normal humans.  Hannah thought her summer vacation would be normal by even human standards. She has plans for pool parties and has a job she loves at a local tourist trap. She was even starting to get over her ex, Veronica, after a particularly messy breakup.  But when she attends the end-of-the-year bonfire with her classmates, she stumbles upon evidence of a blood ritual. Terrified by what she's seen, she starts to find evidence of blood magic all over town. Hannah is certain a Blood Witch has moved to Salem, and she's determined to find them before they hurt someone.  But she's not strong enough to do it alone, so she's forced to ask Veronica to help. They'll have to put aside their rock...

A Song Below Water  is an urban fantasy set in Portland, Oregon. Rather than a vastly different fantasy world, Morrow sets us in a parallel reality, identical to ours, aside from the mythological creatures that have seamlessly integrated into human society. The majority of these mythological beings live happily alongside the humans, but the siren is still decidedly other . Perceived as a threat against free will, sirens are feared and ostracized, and must keep their identity secret for their own safety. Tavia is a siren, and only a handful of humans are entrusted with that knowledge. Tavia's closest ally is her best friend, Effie, a human who plays a mermaid at the Ren Faire.  But when a young woman is murdered, the suspect's lawyer speculates that the victim had secretly been a siren. And the world at large becomes more preoccupied with that detail than the murder...  Then, when a notable internet celebrity publicly announces she's a siren, Tavia's world t...

I'll be the first to admit I picked this book up because of the cover. I was immediately  sold on the image of a witch and werewolf trying to make mooncakes.     The witch, Nova, lives in a small town with her grandmothers and helps them run the local magic shop. When her friend mentions sightings of a white wolf in the woods, Nova slips into the forest to check it out. She discovers her childhood friend, the werewolf Tam, is back in town. Tam is on the run and needs Nova's help to defeat a powerful demon. Together, with some charming supporting characters, they tackle the evil in the woods.   Mooncakes  is a really casual read with a cute art style and a traditional plot. You already know where the story is going, but the characters make it worth the read. The authors spent more energy designing the characters and their relationships.The story really focuses on the reunion of old friends, with a side of romance. This young adult graphic novel...