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Japanese Cat Lit and Cosy Cat Fiction
Happy International Book Lover’s Day! This seems like the perfect intersection to talk about our favourite things – animal tales, books, cats (International Cat Day was yesterday) and translated fiction by women (a month long celebration)! Now, you’ve probably seen them everywhere- books with cats on them welcoming you into a bookshop, a night library, a regular library, a convenience store by the sea, a cafe (of the pottery or full-moon or time travelling variety) or a restaurant of sorts. There has been a boom in translated works, namely from Japanese and Korean authors, that feature ‘cats’ on the cover…
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Advanced Reader Copy Reviews with Fox
Aicha by Soraya Bouazzaoui Folklore and History behind the Fiction The setting of the story is based on the Siege of Mazagan (later El-Jadida) in 1769. It was the last port held by the Portuguese under the banner of King Joseph I of Portugal before the Siege of the Sultan which serves as the buildup in the book. Aicha can refer to the folklore character “Aicha Kandicha” a Djinn who looks like a beautiful woman (or woman possessed by a Djinn) with hooved feet that tempts men to their death. The folklore of her being a “temptress” could come from…
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Graceless Heart, Florence and Sculpture Myths
In 15th-century Volterra, sculptress Ravenna Maffei enters a competition hosted by a secretive, immortal family who offer an invaluable boon to the victor. Desperate to win so she can save her brother, Ravenna reveals a rare magical talent—a dangerous act in a city where magic is forbidden. Her revelation makes her a target, and she is kidnapped by the Luni family and taken to Florence, a city of breathtaking beauty and cutthroat ambition. There, Ravenna is forced into an impossible task where failure means certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the family’s enigmatic and merciless heir. Some…
Tales from the Enchanted Forest 