Marie Sinadjan
Bio
Filipino spec fic author and book reviewer based in the UK. https://linktr.ee/mariesinadjan • www.mariesinadjan.com
Stories (171/0)
Book Review: Takeout Sushi by Christopher Green
Takeout Sushi is a collection of 17 illustrated short stories set mostly in contemporary Japan that explore feelings of belonging, displacement, and the strangeness of everyday human interaction. In an innovative, fast-paced company, a man’s job comes under threat when a team of robots are brought in to replace the HR department. A husband’s search for shortcuts to his domestic tasks goes painfully wrong. Overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, a foreigner takes a weekend break and discovers something other than solitude in the mountains. Marking Christopher Green’s debut adult fiction and inspired by his own experiences, these whimsical slice-of-life tales are full of heart and humour—perfect for fans of Convenience Store Woman and Before the Coffee Gets Cold.
By Marie Sinadjan3 days ago in BookClub
Book Review: The Heart of Winter by Shona Kinsella
Brigit is a young woman living in a Scotland still ruled by tribes and largely Pagan. As Christianity is beginning to find a foothold, Brigit pays lip service to the church, but truly venerates the old gods. She does not support the changing position of women through the teachings of the church. A cool, damp summer and an early winter threaten the harvest. A harsh winter means starvation, so the elders of Brigit’s village panic. They petition Aengus, the god of summer, to protect them. He agrees on the condition that they provide him with a bride. He chooses Brigit and the deal is made without her knowledge or consent. When Brigit learns of this arrangement, she flees into the Highlands to seek out the Cailleach, the goddess of winter. The Cailleach is uninterested in Brigit’s plight; humans have hated and feared her for generations, and she is tired of their complaining. Brigit is not discouraged. She sets up camp outside the Cailleach’s cave and makes offerings to the Winter Queen every day. Aengus comes looking for his bride but cannot approach the cave because he and the Cailleach are opposites. Caught between two gods and finding an unlikely ally in the Fae witch, Nicnevin, Brigit will be tested to her limits and beyond.
By Marie Sinadjan10 days ago in BookClub
Book Review: Little White Hands by Mark Cushen
Almost five hundred years have passed since the Seasons were at war. Half a millennium since Winter defied Spring, and lost. Generations have come and gone, not knowing the bitter freeze and howling snows of Winter ever existed. But now, after centuries of silence, the participants in this ancient struggle have resurfaced and reignited their feud on the doorstep of an unassuming little kitchen boy. Garlan’s dreams of being just like the knights he idolizes may not be as impossible as he has always been led to believe, when he is chased from his home and thrust headlong into the kind of adventure he had only ever read about in books. Setting out on a journey that spans the entire kingdom of Faeland, Garlan will traverse impossible mountains and stormy seas and battle terrible monsters, all to keep the world he knows safe from an enemy who will stop at nothing to bring about a never-ending winter. With a cast of fantastical characters to aid him in his quest, can Garlan overcome his self-doubt and find the courage he needs to rise above his humble station and become the hero he always dreamed of being? The fate of the world rests in his hands.
By Marie Sinadjan10 days ago in BookClub
Book Review: Third Name's A Charm (Anthology)
All good things come in threes. Once upon a time, a group of authors accepted the challenge from a fairy tale name generator. Not just once or twice, but thrice! Volume three of these quirky stories is a collection stories featuring trios and triple threats. In this clean YA anthology, follow the fates of three IVF-manufactured (oops, sorry, potion-begotten) triplet princesses, be enlisted as the third lucky bodyguard to stave off monsters, see if the third wand works wonders for an unlucky mage, try to discover the true name of a unicorn prince, discover why the magical artefacts come in threes and climb towers with thieves to step into abductions of well-known fairytale characters. Don’t forget, with the rule of three, there are always exceptions. Venture into this collection of adventurous stories by award-winning and up-and-coming authors and maybe you’ll be thrice enchanted. All proceeds donated to a charity in support of reading and literacy.
By Marie Sinadjan12 days ago in BookClub
Book Review: Red Runs the Witch's Thread by Victoria Williamson
Paisley, Scotland, 1697. Thirty-five people accused of witchcraft. Seven condemned to death. Six strangled and burned at the stake. All accused by eleven-year-old Christian Shaw. Bargarran House, 1722. Christian Shaw returns home, spending every waking hour perfecting the thread bleaching process that will revive her family’s fortune. If only she can make it white enough, perhaps her past sins will be purified too. But dark forces are at work. As the twenty-fifth anniversary of the witch burnings approaches, ravens circle Bargarran House, their wild cries stirring memories and triggering visions. As Christian’s mind begins to unravel, her states of delusion threaten the safety of all those who cross her path. In the end she must make a terrible choice: her mind or her soul? Poverty and madness, or a devil’s bargain for the bleaching process that will make her the most successful businesswoman Paisley has ever seen? Her fate hangs by a thread. Which will she choose?
By Marie Sinadjan14 days ago in BookClub
Book Review: Undine's Blessing by Tessa Hastjarjanto
A dutiful daughter, a mystical archipelago, and a hidden power waiting to command the tides... Marella spends her days caring for her sick mother and selling her father's fish. Bound by duty and love, she dreams little of adventure. But when her mother must travel to the city for treatment, her father takes her out to sea, despite her fear of water. A storm steers them to Emberrain, home to a tribe of magical nymphs and a place of secrets, where Marella discovers a startling truth: her father is a frequent visitor to these mysterious islands. Soon she learns that Emberrain isn't the only secret he had kept from her. Marella has the power to control water and communicate with aquatic animals. Overwhelmed by the magical but dangerous islands, and the secrets of her father, Marella must learn to harness her powers to save herself and her new aquatic friend before they are separated from their parents forever. Undine's Blessing is a journey of wonder, where fears are faced and mysteries unravel, and a young girl learns that true adventure begins when you dare to embrace who you truly are.
By Marie Sinadjan14 days ago in BookClub
Book Review: Sparks of Bright Matter by Leeanne O'Donnell
When ambitious apprentice chemist and secret alchemist Peter Woulfe is tasked with caring for a mysterious illustrated book, the Mutus Liber, he quickly realises that the grimy underworld of Georgian London is even more dangerous than he first believed. Soon the book is stolen by the light-fingered Sukie and Peter finds himself being pursued by threatening men who are willing to do anything to get the book back. Where in teeming London might Sukie be found? Why is Peter so enthralled by her? And what is it about the Mutus Liber that is so enticing? As the search for the book becomes an urgent game of cat and mouse, it seems that the key to Peter's present dilemma might only be found in half-remembered events from his childhood, and then further back still, in the mists of Irish myth. A spell-binding and unputdownable tale about spirit and matter, love and lust, and reality and magic.
By Marie Sinadjan14 days ago in BookClub
Audiobook Review: We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix
In the 1990s, heavy metal band Dürt Würk was poised for breakout success -- but then lead singer Terry Hunt embarked on a solo career and rocketed to stardom as Koffin, leaving his fellow bandmates to rot in rural Pennsylvania.
By Marie Sinadjan23 days ago in BookClub
Book Review: Wolfsbane by Franklyn S. Newton
One cold winters' eve a bookish witch is closing her apothecary, when a dashing lycanthrope pack leader knocks on the door, looking to speak to her. But as the moon rises, their meeting takes a turn that requires her magical expertise.
By Marie Sinadjan24 days ago in BookClub
Publishing A Multi-Author Anthology
Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino spec fic author currently based in the UK. My friends and I just released Among Thorns and Stardust, an anthology of sci-fi fairytale retellings, and I'm here to share my learnings and findings about the process — mostly in regard to working with Draft2Digital.
By Marie Sinadjanabout a month ago in Writers
Book Review: A Yorkshire Lass by S. Bavey
Farm girl Elizabeth Isle’s childhood is fairly idyllic, set in the beautiful countryside of Yorkshire, England, but before long the Second World War breaks out. Now she must become accustomed to the terror of hiding under the stairs when a bomb siren goes off, the hardship of food rationing, and soldiers trying to steal the family car or falling asleep at the wheel, smashing the farm trailer to smithereens in the process. When war is over a relieved Elizabeth goes to boarding school and thereafter settles into a mundane career. Little does she know that once the war ends, her spirit for adventure will bring about a very different sort of excitement. A Yorkshire Lass: The Early Years is the prequel to Kookaburras, Cuppas & Kangaroos: A Yorkshire Lass Down Under in the '60s.
By Marie Sinadjan2 months ago in BookClub