Why am I passionate about this?
Historical fantasy is my favorite genre, combining my twin passions of history and mythology/folklore. I especially like to read about unfamiliar times, places, identities, and cultures. What I love best about the fantastical is that it allows me to think and write about deep matters symbolically. As someone still discovering my asexuality in middle age, Iâve always identified best with coming-of-age stories, which is why there are so many young protagonists in both my reading and my writing.
Elizabeth's book list on YA historical fantasies with settings to die for
Why did Elizabeth love this book?
I studied Dracula as a university student, so I love the way this book turns the latent homophobia, misogyny, and racism on its head by putting the âBrides of Draculaâ and persecuted East European Traveller community center stage and giving us a tender, sapphic love story.
Itâs set in the fifteenth-century Romania of Vlad The Impalerâhere called the Dragonâwhen people believed in lele (forest spirits) and strigoi (undead). For me, the most memorable setting is Boyar Valcarâs castle, where twin sisters Lil and Kizzy are taken as slaves. The black-and-red uniforms, the cliff-edge pool, and the unforgettable incident with the bite wine put even the Dragonâs strigoi court in the shade.
1 author picked The Deathless Girls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.
Gothic, intoxicating, feminist, darkly provoking and deeply romantic - this is the breathtakingly imagined untold story of the brides of Dracula, by bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave in her much-anticipated YA debut.
'A Chilling and breathlessly paced thriller... Feminism, spirituality, legend and desire are beautifully interwoven in this mesmerising tale of independence and resistance' - The Daily Mail
They say the thirst of blood is like a madness - they must sate it. Even with their own kin.
On the eve of her divining, the day she'll discover her fate, seventeen-year-old Lil and her twin sister Kizzy are captured andâŚ
- Coming soon!