Tag Archives: Tanya Huff

Funny New Fantasies: Monsters of Ohio and Saved by the Spell

3 Nov
Cover of Saved by the Spell by Tanya Huff, author of Direct Descendant. Features a classroom with desks and chairs facing an ominous eye on the black board with rays spiral fourth from it.

I often enjoy romantasies, but sometimes you want a fantasy with less romance and more humor, here are two great new picks for those looking for laughs.

Monsters of Ohio
by John Scalzi
I have enjoyed several of Scalzi’s previous novels some of which we read as part of the library’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Discussion Group. Scalzi pokes some loving fun at his home state with Monsters of Ohio, a tale of contemporary fantasy, about a man returning to his hometown and along with the fellow townspeople being forced to confront Lovecraftian inspired horror along with the problems of modern blue collar suburbia. The story shows though that sometimes the true monsters are the ones that might look the most normal on the outside. It does a great job of satirizing modern American life and having known people who had to deal with factory and other layoffs, this story resonated. There is also something hopeful in the books tagline “People Change.” If you enjoyed Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country or Scalzi’s The Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain, then be sure to check this one out.

Saved by the Spell
Tanya Huff
Saved by the Spell is the funny new fantasy from Tanya Huff. Imagine Buffy the Vampire Slayer from the teacher’s perspective. At a magical arts boarding school in Canada, Abigail has a new class of incoming 9th graders and on top of the usual drama one of the students in her homeroom shows the signs of being a hero, but when disasters start happening around the potential hero, it also becomes clear there is also a budding villain. Much of the humor comes from sly meta-fiction references to other dark academic works as well as seeing normal teenage school issues with the addition of magic; acne breakouts seem a lot less stressful compared with turning into an elephant. Since I have several friends and relatives who are teachers and worked for a bit as a substitute and teacher’s assistant myself, I felt the depiction of teaching was very accurate (with an addition of a little magic). Added to this is the mystery of who the villain is and Huff has plenty of red herrings that kept me guessing till the end. If you enjoyed her previous novel, Direct Descendant, then this story should be a delight. Huff is always one of my favorites!

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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Moreish Queer Romances: Direct Descendant and The Pairing

2 Apr

Direct Descendant
by Tanya Huff
Tanya Huff’s fantasies are always enjoyable. I loved her mystery series Blood Ties about a human detective losing her eyesight and a vampire who assists her; the TV show was also lots of fun. I also enjoyed her Gales and Keeper Chronicles fantasy series. This sweet stand alone novel keeps with Huff’s ability to combine interesting likeable characters with humor along with some dark fantasy elements. Direct Descendant is a sweet lesbian romance story about Cassidy Prewitt, a baker, living in a town out of a Lovecraft story where eldritch horrors are ugly cute and children learn to hunt shadows with marshmallow skewers. The basic idea is what if your ancestors made a dark pact, but you just want to sleep in late and not use your power to control the world. When a beautiful women comes to investigate a mysterious disappearance though it will set things in motion that will require Cassidy to find her own inner strength. This is a page turner, a perfect read if you need cheering after the cold, dark winter months. I didn’t want to put it down as I read it over a long weekend.

The Pairing
by Casey McQuiston
I had enjoyed one of Casey McQuiston’s previous novels, One Last Stop, so was curious to check out The Pairing which promised a second chance romance set against a fabulous food travel adventure. Theo and Kit where childhood friends before falling in love and then breaking up right before their big culinary tour of Europe. Of course when they are given vouchers to book the trip at another time, both wait till the last possible moment, which means they will be on the tour together after spending years apart. I like that we are seeing more bi representation in romance and this one takes time to explore it more in depth with its two bisexual/pansexual main characters. I also enjoyed how we see things from first Theo’s and then Kit’s perspective which gives a more complete view of their relationship and feeling for each other. Beyond the romance and friendship, also delightful were the scrumptious description of the food and learning about the different destination they visited. This was another page turner, that was hard to put down.

Written by:
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager

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