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ARC Mini Reviews - His Hideous Heart & The Ten Thousand Doors of January


Happy Tuesday everyone!  Today I'm sharing two ARC mini reviews with you: His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler (available September 10th, 2019) and The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow (available September 10th, 2019).  I received these ARCs from NetGalley in exchange for honest reviews. Read on to see my thoughts of both of these books:


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His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler is an anthology of thirteen classic Edgar Allan Poe tales as reimagined by top YA authors.  Needless to say, Edgar Allan Poe is one of my all time favorites so I had incredibly high expectations for this collection with an all new audience in mind.  I loved that these talented authors have created such unique takes on these classics, some of which are quite unexpected.  It was so much fun to be surprised by where some of the stories were so cleverly taken while still being able to recognize them at their core.  My favorites included The Fall of the Bank of Usher  by Fran Wilde (The Fall of the House of Usher), The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig (The Pit and the Pendulum), It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson (The Cask of Amontillado), A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily Lloyd-Jones  (The Purloined Letter), Changeling by Marieke Nijkamp (Hop-Frog), and The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles (The Oval Portrait).  Of all of these retellings, I was the most excited to see what Fran Wilde made of The Fall of the House of Usher as it's been a long time favorite and luckily her short tops my list of all thirteen retellings.  I can't say I was expecting a sci-fi hacker heist, but it totally worked for me.  Also, out of all of the self-contained stories in this anthology, this is the one where I wouldn't mind a longer novella or even a full-length novel of Mad and Rik's exploits.  Overall, if you enjoy Edgar Allan Poe as much as I do, this collection of some of his most well known tales retold is well worth picking up.  Don't worry if you aren't familiar with the original stories featured here because they are actually included at the back of the book for your enjoyment.  Now I feel like watching some of Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations featuring Vincent Price!


I read this anthology from September 2 - 5, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.



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The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow is easily one of the best books I've read this year. It's one of those novels that makes you wish you could give it all the stars because that's no less than what it deserves. But here I'm am giving it only five - ah, well. I'd say it's best to into this story with little foreknowledge so I won't go into spoiler territory. I will say that it's incredibly imaginative, adventure-filled, and transporting. Harrow's intelligent and clever style, walk-off-the-page characters, and world-building are an absolute a joy to read. I would love to have the ability to explore January's world. If you love books and reading, historical fantasy, and portal fantasy like Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, then I have a feeling you will adore Alix E. Harrow's The Ten Thousand Doors of January.


I read this novel from September 2 - 5, 2019 and my review is also on Goodreads.


What books have you read lately?  Are you planning on reading these titles?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!

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