Age Category: YA

Uptown Oracle Reads… A Ruinous Fate | A Fantasy That Lies With the Luck of the Roll 🎲

A Ruinous Fate by Kaylie Smith (Affiliate Links) Fate does not choose the weak. Fate chooses the ready. Calliope Rosewood is a witch with a long streak of bad luck. Like all witches in Illustros, her fate is directly tied to Witch’s Dice—powerful artifacts that have blessed her kind with limitless magic but also set…
Uptown Oracle Reads… The Stolen Heir | A Fantasy Quest in the World of Elfhame ✨

The Stolen Heir was one of my most anticipated books of 2023, as a fan of Holly Black and it didn’t disapoint. The story itself is a fantasy quest, road-trip style. With Oak, Tiernan and Wren heading off on an adventure, but there’s some tensions here and there, some untrustworthy companions, some deceit going on.…
Uptown Oracle Reads… The Drowned Woods

There’s very clear Welsh influence in the names of places especially throughout the story which was a welcome surprise for me. I believe some of the magic/stories within the world are influenced by folktales from Wales too although I don’t have the knowledge to know which ones. I did love the influence though and would…
Uptown Oracle Reads… Violet Made of Thorns

Violet Made of Thorns is a Beauty & the Beast Retelling with additional magic and many many symbolic roses throughout the story. This is definitely not a direct retelling, and a lot of additional twists and changes are made by Gina Chen throughout the book to make it all that more enthralling.
Uptown Oracle Reads… Little Thieves

fantasy lover. It was a wonderful story with interesting characters, world building and magic systems. Perfect for anyone who’s read Margaret Owen’s previous books like The Merciful Crow.
Uptown Oracle Reads… These Witches Don’t Burn | A Cute Contempoary Fantasy

These Witches Don’t Burn is a contemporary fantasy which focuses on a small coven of witches in Salem. As a whole, the book reads as more of a contemporary in the writing style and some plot points with fantasy elements dotted in as part of the mystery.
Uptown Oracle Reads… The Beautiful

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh (Affiliate Links) In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls,…
Uptown Oracle Reads… The Sisters Grimm | A Unique Retelling of Classic Fairytales

The Sisters GrimmMenna van Praag (Affiliate Links) Once upon a time, a demon who desired earthly domination fathered an army of dark daughters to help him corrupt humanity . . . As children, Goldie, Liyana, Scarlet, and Bea dreamed of a strange otherworld: a nightscape of mists and fog, perpetually falling leaves and hungry ivy,…
Uptown Oracle Reads… Soul of the Sword | A Japanese Inspired Fantasy

One thousand years ago, a wish was made to the Harbinger of Change and a sword of rage and lightning was forged. Kamigoroshi. The Godslayer. It had one task: to seal away the powerful demon Hakaimono.