Dahlia Adler’s introduction serves a great way to set the scene for the magical menageries of tales that are to follow. It reminds us of Shakespeare’s enduring influence and in our everyday language, but also acknowledges how the canon only represents certain groups, therefore through reimaginings, we can open our stories to be more diverse and inclusive. The timelessness of Shakespeare’s themes should be reflected in every reader being able to see themselves in his vast range of characters.

Kicking off the anthology is Severe Weather Warning by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, which is inspired by The Tempest. This was a cute, romantic tale with believable tensions and subplots worthy of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies. It’s such a human tale of miscommunication and squandered opportunities. Shipwrecked by Mark Oshiro then follows on and it’s inspired by Twelfth Night. I really loved the representation in this story and how Oshiro deftly wove the different narrators together. Yet again, the wish for communication and romantic entanglements were pulled off so well. This is a really funny, sweet and casually queer story. Next up was Taming of the Soul Mate by K. Ancrum, which was inspired by Taming of the Shrew. Ancrum had such a strong concept and unique way of reimagining the story. You’re left feeling like this is just the beginning of a new tale that would be amazing to see fully expanded in its own books someday.

Continuing this extremely strong anthology was King of the Fairies by Anna-Marie McLemore, which was inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream. As ever, their writing is just so gorgeous and ethereal. The discussion around colonialism, racism, and finding your own community was so impactful too. When the anthology was first announced, I was intrigued to see how The Merchant of Venice would be reinterpreted and I Bleed by Dahlia Adler is such a well-written reclamation of a tale that has roots in strong anti-Semitic ideology and Adler flips the tale on its head, allowing for more three-dimensional and nuanced Jewish representation. We Have Seen Better Days by Lily Anderson (inspired by As You Like It) was an interesting, entertaining, and moving coming-of-age story, while Some Other Metal by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (inspired by Much Ado About Nothing) was both brilliantly cosmic and hopelessly human at the same time. Both perfectly captured the essence of the original story.

Brittany Cavallaro took a different approach with His Invention, which was inspired by Sonnet 147. This was a truly dark and disturbing story, reminiscent of an encased gem attempting to escape from the narrative. Kiersten White’s use of multimedia to convey her retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with an inspired title of Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow, was so interesting and really brought a modern feel to a timeless tale of forbidden love. Personally, Dreaming of the Dark by Lindsay Smith (inspired by Julius Caesar) was a blood-drenched, enthralling ,and dark story that left an indelible mark on my heart. It delved into death, magic, and vengeance in really unexpected and twisted ways.

The Tragedy of Cory Lanez: An Oral History by Tochi Onyebuchi, which was inspired by Coriolanus, was a powerful, timely story that sadly we’ve heard echoed over and over again in the media. The way we saw fragments of Cory through the narratives of others was thought-provoking and left the reader responsible for piecing it together.

Out of the Storm by Joy McCullough, inspired by King Lear, changes the entire narrative of the play from pitting women against each other to slowly exposing Lear as the abusive and controlling tyrant he was. There’s this bond of sisterhood that emerges slowly and cautiously, but it is undeniably there. From there, we dived into Hamlet in Elsinore by Patrice Caldwell, which was an epic, Gothic and empowering tale, complete with supernatural touches and even some vampiric creatures. Continuing the dark theme was We Fail by Samantha Mabry, inspired by Macbeth, which added a completely new dynamic to a story you know so well. Finally, Lost Girl by Melissa Bashardoust, inspired by The Winter’s Tale, was just a gorgeously written story that was beautiful in every way.

Overall, That Way Madness Lies exemplifies the brilliance of modern reimaginings of classic stories. Each tale is a gem in the glittering crown of this anthology, which is one of the best anthologies I’ve read.

That Way Madness Lies is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

Will you be picking up That Way Madness Lies? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Fifteen acclaimed YA writers put their modern spin on William Shakespeare’s celebrated classics!

West Side Story. 10 Things I Hate About You. Kiss Me, Kate. Contemporary audiences have always craved reimaginings of Shakespeare’s most beloved works. Now, some of today’s best writers for teens take on the Bard in these 15 whip-smart and original retellings!

Contributors include Dahlia Adler (reimagining The Merchant of Venice), Kayla Ancrum (The Taming of the Shrew), Lily Anderson (As You Like It), Patrice Caldwell (Hamlet), Melissa Bashardoust (A Winter’s Tale), Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (Much Ado About Nothing), Brittany Cavallaro (Sonnet 147), Joy McCullough (King Lear), Anna-Marie McLemore (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Samantha Mabry (Macbeth), Tochi Onyebuchi (Coriolanus), Mark Oshiro (Twelfth Night), Lindsay Smith (Julius Caesar), Kiersten White (Romeo and Juliet), and Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (The Tempest).

The post Review: ‘That Way Madness Lies’ Anthology, Edited by Dahlia Adler appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera
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Balancing epic and intensely personal stakes, bestselling author Adam Silvera’s Infinity Son is a gritty, fast-paced adventure about two brothers caught up in a magical war generations in the making.

Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers—a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures.

Brighton wishes he had a power so he could join the fray. Emil just wants the fighting to stop. The cycle of violence has taken a toll, making it harder for anyone with a power to live peacefully and openly. In this climate of fear, a gang of specters has been growing bolder by the day.

Then, in a brawl after a protest, Emil manifests a power of his own—one that puts him right at the heart of the conflict and sets him up to be the heroic Spell Walker Brighton always wanted to be.

Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed.

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne
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Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie “Leo” Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, only has one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?

But when Leo’s childhood friend and first love Elliot returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one that got away, the boy Leo’s family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now, he’s the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo’s life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself falling for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.

Honor Lost by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre
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Book 3 in The Honors Series. Start with the first book, Honor Among Thieves.

Space renegade Zara Cole may have finally met her match. Lifekiller—a creature that can devour entire planets is spreading terror throughout the universe, and it seems nothing can stand in the monstrous godking’s way.

Reeling from a series of battles, Zara and her wounded band of allies are going to need a strategy before they face Lifekiller again. Zara’s street smarts may not be enough when their enemy could be anywhere, destroying civilizations and picking his teeth with the bones.

And just when it feels like she’s reached a special place in her bond with Bea and Nadim, an ex from Earth with an ax to grind comes after her with nefarious intentions. With human enemies, alien creatures, and mechanical stalkers on her tail, it’s down to the wire for Zara to save the galaxy—and the people she calls home—before the godking consumes them all.

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow
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Can a girl who risks her life for books and an alien who loves forbidden pop music work together to save humanity?

Two years ago, a misunderstanding between the leaders of Earth and the invading Ilori resulted in the deaths of one-third of the world’s population.

Seventeen-year-old Janelle “Ellie” Baker survives in an Ilori-controlled center in New York City. Deemed dangerously volatile because of their initial reaction to the invasion, humanity’s emotional transgressions are now grounds for execution. All art, books and creative expression are illegal, but Ellie breaks the rules by keeping a secret library. When a book goes missing, Ellie is terrified that the Ilori will track it back to her and kill her.

Born in a lab, M0Rr1S (Morris) was raised to be emotionless. When he finds Ellie’s illegal library, he’s duty-bound to deliver her for execution. The trouble is, he finds himself drawn to human music and in desperate need of more. They’re both breaking the rules for love of art—and Ellie inspires the same feelings in him that music does.

Ellie’s—and humanity’s—fate rests in the hands of an alien she should fear. M0Rr1S has a lot of secrets, but also a potential solution—thousands of miles away. The two embark on a wild and dangerous road trip with a bag of books and their favorite albums, all the while making a story and a song of their own that just might save them both.

The Life Below by Alexandra Monir
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The sequel to The Final Six.

As Naomi lifts off into space and away from a rapidly deteriorating Earth, she watches the world fade away, and along with it Leo, a Final Six contestant she grew close to during training. Leaving Earth behind is hard, but what’s ahead, on Europa, could be worse. The International Space Training Camp continues to hide the truth about what happened to the last group of astronauts who attempted a similar colonization but failed mysteriously. With one shot—at this mission and to Europa—Naomi is determined to find out if there is alien life on Europa before she and her crew get there.

Leo, back on Earth, has been working with renegade scientist Dr. Greta Wagner, who promises to fly him to space where he can essentially latch on to Naomi’s ship. And if Wagner’s hypothesis is right, it isn’t a possibility of coming in contact with extraterrestrial life on Europa—it’s a definite. With Naomi unaware of what awaits, it’s up to Leo to find and warn her and the others.

With all the pieces of their journey finally clicking into place, everything else starts to fall apart. A storm threatens to interfere with Leo’s takeoff, a deadly entity makes itself known to the Final Six, and the questions the ISTC has been avoiding about the previous failed mission get answered in the worst way possible. If the dream was to establish a habitable domain on Europa… the Final Six are about to enter a nightmare.

Twisted Fates by Danielle Rollins
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Book 2 in the Dark Stars Series. Read the first book, Stolen Time.

One past. Two girls. Infinite futures.

As far as anyone in New Seattle knows, Dorothy has disappeared. The stowaway from 1913, the girl that Ash maybe—possibly—could’ve loved: she’s gone. And in her place is bloodthirsty Quinn Fox, silver-haired and vicious. But even though he saw her fall through the anilon their last ill-fated mission through time, Ash can’t stop himself from looking for Dorothy around every dark corner. What he doesn’t know, though, is that the girl he fell in love with is the very same one who is fated to kill him.

As Ash and his friends grow increasingly desperate searching for a way to head off the devastating earthquake threatening to tear down New Seattle for good, Quinn and Roman are working to take down mob boss Mac Murphy, who is attempting to use them to control time travel for his own selfish purposes. When they collide, can they change the course of the future entirely?

Sword in the Stars by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy
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In this epic sequel to Once & Future, to save the future, Ari and her Rainbow knights pull off a heist… thousands of years in the past.

Ari Helix may have won her battle against the tyrannical Mercer corporation, but the larger war has just begun. Ari and her cursed wizard Merlin must travel back in time to the unenlightened Middle Ages and steal the King Arthur’s Grail—the very definition of impossible.

It’s imperative that the time travelers not skew the timeline and alter the course of history. Coming face-to-face with the original Arthurian legend could produce a ripple effect that changes everything. Somehow Merlin forgot that the past can be even more dangerous than the future…

Between Burning Worlds by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell
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Les Misérables meets The Lunar Chronicles in the out-of-this-world sequel to Sky Without Stars that’s an “explosion of emotion, intrigue, romance, and revolution” (Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series).

A thief. An officer. A guardian. All from different backgrounds, but sharing one same destiny…

The planet Laterre is in turmoil. A new militant revolutionary group has emerged calling themselves “The Red Scar” and claiming responsibility for a spate of recent bombings. The infamous rebels known as the Vangarde believe that in order to bring about a peaceful revolution, their charismatic leader, Citizen Rousseau must be freed from prison right away. Otherwise the bloodshed will only escalate.

Soon Marcellus, Chatine, and Alouette all find themselves pulled into battle with extreme consequences.

Marcellus is determined to uncover his corrupt grandfather’s plan to seize Laterre—even if that means joining the Vangarde. Aloutte, trying to unearth the truth about her past, becomes a captive of Marcellus’s grandfather, the general. Chatine, who is serving time on Bastille, hopes to escape the brutal and horrifying reality of the prison moon.

But the failed attempt to break Citizen Rousseau out of prison launches Aloutte, Chatine, and Marecellus into the middle of a dangerous war for control of Laterre. And in the midst of it all is the legend of a secret and dangerous weapon that could mean complete and absolute power to any that wields it.

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
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The first novel written for an adult audience by the mega-selling author of the Divergent franchise: five twenty-something heroes famous for saving the world when they were teenagers must face even greater demons–and reconsider what it means to be a hero … by destiny or by choice.

A decade ago near Chicago, five teenagers defeated the otherworldly enemy known as the Dark One, whose reign of terror brought widespread destruction and death. The seemingly un-extraordinary teens—Sloane, Matt, Ines, Albie, and Esther—had been brought together by a clandestine government agency because one of them was fated to be the “Chosen One,” prophesized to save the world. With the goal achieved, humankind celebrated the victors and began to mourn their lost loved ones.

Ten years later, though the champions remain celebrities, the world has moved forward and a whole, younger generation doesn’t seem to recall the days of endless fear. But Sloane remembers. It’s impossible for her to forget when the paparazzi haunt her every step just as the Dark One still haunts her dreams. Unlike everyone else, she hasn’t moved on; she’s adrift—no direction, no goals, no purpose. On the eve of the Ten Year Celebration of Peace, a new trauma hits the Chosen: the death of one of their own. And when they gather for the funeral at the enshrined site of their triumph, they discover to their horror that the Dark One’s reign never really ended.

Will you be picking up any of these releases? Tell us in the comments below!

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Ari Helix may have won the battle, but there’s still a larger war to be won against the Mercer corporation. Along with Merlin and crew, they travel back in time to the middle ages to try and steal King Arthur’s grail. It’s of utmost importance that they not mess up anything in the timeline to alter the course of history. However, when they come face to face with the original legend, they may not have any choice but to change everything forever…because Merlin forgot that the past can be more dangerous than the future.

This sequel begins very closely to where we left off in Once & Future. We keep that alternating perspective between Merlin and Ari. I will admit that I enjoyed Merlin’s perspective more than Ari’s, but they both have pretty significant character development. There’s so much that I want to talk about with these two but I don’t want to spoil anything! Just make sure to pay VERY close attention to what’s going on while they’re doing their time travel…you’ll see what I mean.

In terms of pace, the story moves quite quickly, but there’s definitely lots to keep track of. It got a little confusing at times because readers will have a lot to keep track of. I think that’s what tends to happen when you’re having to keep track of past and present timelines, as well as what’s going on with each character because of the timeline. There are a few time travel things that I am not completely sure that I understood, but maybe other readers will understand. There was also a reveal that happened in the story that I was not a fan of, but it was because I felt like there might have been a better way for it to be handled. Instead, it felt like it added unnecessary painful character development.

My favourite part of this book really boils down to the romances that continued to develop from the first book. They’re sweet and there’s so much love between them. I definitely did a little happy dance when I got to see a few of my favourite characters get to see each other again. I don’t want to spoil anything, but Ari and Gwen! *heart eyes*

One of the most fascinating things that I enjoyed exploring in this book was the fact that everyone was having to deal with the backwards, misogynistic, and sexist ideologies of a different time. Some of those scenarios aren’t handled in a great manner (depending how you feel about murder), but overall, I truly enjoyed seeing our characters handle these situations with power and grace.

Again, there were aspects of the time travel bits of the story that I didn’t understand, but I did love most everything else. I encourage everyone to read this, because it promotes a world of inclusivity, and taking down corporations that only seek to oppress and enslave. The Arthurian legend was creatively woven in the fibres of this story, and I couldn’t be happier with the way the story ended. I feel like most questions were answered, and readers are treated to a very special moment in the epilogue. I won’t say more, but I definitely encourage you to look out for it. I’m rating this a 7/10. Add it to your TBR, because you won’t want to miss it!

Sword in the Stars is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.

Will you be picking up Sword in the Stars? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

In this epic sequel to Once & Future, to save the future, Ari and her Rainbow knights pull off a heist… thousands of years in the past.

Ari Helix may have won her battle against the tyrannical Mercer corporation, but the larger war has just begun. Ari and her cursed wizard Merlin must travel back in time to the unenlightened Middle Ages and steal the King Arthur’s Grail—the very definition of impossible.

It’s imperative that the time travelers not skew the timeline and alter the course of history. Coming face-to-face with the original Arthurian legend could produce a ripple effect that changes everything. Somehow Merlin forgot that the past can be even more dangerous than the future…

The post Review: Sword in the Stars by Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy appeared first on The Nerd Daily.