#buyanegmontbook -- a look back at some of their good books that I reviewed

Saddened by the shuttering of Egmont's US publishing house, and inspired by Leila over at Bookshelves of Doom (because who isn't), I'm joining in the show of support of Egmont authors by looking back at some of the Egmont books I've reviewed over the years.

Anyone looking to travel to Italy and savor delicious food while fighting demons and enjoying a nice bit of romance should quickly read The Demon Catchers of Milan, and its sequel, The Halcyon Bird, by Kat Beyer.   Lovely books, and now I am very anxious about the fate of the next one in the series....(and truly, these books have the tastiest food of any fantasy books I can think of....)

Saving Thanehaven, by Catherine Jinx, is tons of fun for the fantasy game-loving middle grade reader.  It's an adventure set (literally) within a world of overlapping computer games, and it lots and lots of kid appeal.

I myself really enjoyed The Wizard of Dark Street, by Shawn Thomas Odyssey--it's a middle grade fantasy mystery staring a plucky girl with a wild talent for magic....and I am reminded that I have been wanting to read the sequel, The Magician's Tower, for several years now (is exasperated at self).

I am further exasperated at myself after re-reading my review of Human.4, by Mike Lancaster, in which I am so careful not to spoil anything that I don't do any sort of decent job explaining what the book is about.   The one thing I enjoyed in my review was the little aside about my then 8 year old:  "Although I have hopes that things might change by the time I post this review, as of now I am vexed and thwarted; my eight year old finds the cover of this book scary, and keeps hiding it so he won't have to see it. Therefore, it is no longer by the computer where I left it."  I never did try it on my then 11 year old...and now I am wanting to read again myself, and might well try it on my now 11 year old! Unless, of course, he still finds the cover scary.

Frozen in Time, by Ali Sparks, is a really solid middle grade time travel via cybernetic sleep story; I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun rainy day read.

Then there's the Jaguar Stones series, by J. and P. Voekel, the fourth (and happily the final) book of which (The Lost City) is just about to come out.  If you are 12 or 13 and want Mayan fantasy, these are the books for you.  Here's my review of the first, Middleworld, in which I said "the plot is light-hearted, but with scary bits. It was taken to very wild extremes, yet the fantastical, for the most part, avoided the twin traps of jungle-treasure-adventure-stereotype and farce."

And finally I want to mention Brightly Woven, by Alexandra Bracken--an engaging coming of age/romance/fantasy quest story, combining political and magical intrigue with more personal suspense, and a pleasant dash of humor.  She's the same Alexandra Bracken who went on to write the Darkest Minds series, which I didn't read because I was cross about not getting more Textile Fantasy but which I do hope to read someday......