Category Archives: Fantasy

367T: Fantasy creatures sing boy to sleep, get stolen, then rescued

I am looking for a children’s picture book from the late 1970s, early 1980s. The book was on natural/beige paper with brown line drawings. The story was a fantasy where a young boy lives in a small cottage. Every night, flying creatures (birds? harpy-like things?) fly over his home and sing him to sleep. Possibly as the sun sets. They sing the same song every night. The lyrics were along the lines of “Remember my friend of the song of your heart. Remember my friend, for the rest of your life. Love conquers all, for it never grows dim. Love conquers all, for all time”. The book came with a cassette tape and my siblings and I could probably hum the song to this day. One night, the bird things don’t come and sing. The boy gets worried. He hears knocking at his door or window. It is a talking animal or non-human of some sort. He hears that the local monster thing that lives in a cave or mountain through the woods has stolen the bird things and plans to eat them and/or make them sing only for him. The boy says, “We must get them back. We must!”. The boy climbs on the back of a horse or four-legged animal and they race through the woods to the cave/mountain. The boy sneaks into the cave where the bird things are in cages. He releases them somehow and they escape. Not sure what happens to the monster thing. The book ends as the bird things once again fly over his house and sing him to sleep. I want to say that the monster thing is a Gorgon but I’ve maybe conflated Greek myths later on with this early fantasy children’s book. Or, it is a really well known adaptation and this will be an easy solve.

367S: Falling for the Prince of Fae

Contested Fae Romance YA fantasy novel I read in library between 1994 and 2000. Protagonist girl falls for cold and intriguing guy (maybe named Percival? Parsifal?), finds out he’s the prince of Fae and his mother does not consent to their relationship. At some point mortal protagonist saves him or the mother AND him from iron-related trap, thus earning her respect. Cover had small pointy leaves on left side.

367R: The Odd Fae Child

I read this book about 20+ years ago when I was Junior High in the US. It was about this guy who fell in love with a woman from a fae race I believe? I honestly don’t remember that much about it except I think the cover had some art but was green in binding. They had some sort of huge struggle with a type of villain and they ended up together and pregnant. He thought it would be a normal 9 month pregnant like for humans and her race actually had a 3 year gestation. Their baby was a girl who was very different and inquisitive and wasn’t a normal human child. That’s essentially all I remember. If you could help me find it, I would appreciate it!

367I: A Magical Trip

As a fourth grader in 1980, I had a teacher who kept a personal library of paperback books for us children to read when we were finished with all our other work. I read dozens of books in Mrs. Cohn’s classroom.
So assume this book to be anywhere from 1950s-1970s publication, a novel but fairly short. Things I recall:
There were at least two boys on the trip to another world/realm/dimension which they may have accessed via a cave.
Somehow they were equipped with a small wooden box of sausage and cheese. Intending to conserve their rations, they only ate half of each and discovered upon reopening the box that the food had regenerated to the full, original proportion.
They also had a blanket that would cover them both but fold down to pocket handkerchief sized and a “magic” match that could be struck and used again and again and even be stuck in a crevice and (perhaps rotated?) to become bright as a torch.
In one scene they passed a gangrel/beggar/wastrel on the road and as he came toward them he morphed into a well-clad, upright gentleman with a sandwich board or a handbell and advertised some type of ware or service and upon passing, returned to his former low state.

367A: “Meddlers”

I seek a book about a young boy who wakes up in a cave, has night vision and can see “Strings” of fate. Race is called Meddlers, and he’s being hunted due to their laws: “It is law that no meddler may create another meddler.” There’s magic, and the man who’s found him lives in a manor, with a butler named Balfour. He came from Earth, and has an “archive” of knowledge (which is really just a computer) since the Earth was dying. The boy goes and tries to save Earth, starting in the past and eventually succeeding.

366W: Man and Fae Woman Have Special Child

I read this book about 20+ years ago when I was Junior High in the US. It was about this guy who fell in love with a woman from a fae race I believe? I honestly don’t remember that much about it except I think the cover had some art but was green in binding. They had some sort of huge struggle with a type of villain and they ended up together and pregnant. He thought it would be a normal 9 month pregnancy like for humans and her race actually had a 3 year gestation. Their baby was a girl who was very different and inquisitive and wasn’t a normal human child. That’s essentially all I remember.

366U: Fantasy / Swords and Sorcery novel I partially read last year and just can’t remember!

I never finished it but wanted to but the name has completely slipped my mind. Here’s what I remember:
– A tribe of people, warriors and hunters, living in a frozen North. The main character was mixed race, being partially from a race further up north who were blonde and very Viking like, they were at war I think?
– Main character is exiled on some quest after a previous chief dies and leaves, but his tribe is attacked and scattered. He unites a number of his clan and they fight their way to a settlement.
– Whilst traveling the main character meets a wolf, and shares a Kill with it. The wolf follows him around from then on it saves his life a few times.
– There’s a subplot of one of the clan youngsters making his first kill and escaping after a fight gone wrong.
– The settlement is being attacked by those other northerners and those Northerners have a Sorcerer who has summoned a big monster who’s attacking the settlement but the main character and his crew kill it.
It was very swords and sorcery and its really bugging me that I can’t find it. Any suggestions about what it might be would be terrific!
It’s not Wolf Brother, the main character was an adult. For most of the book the Wolf actually didn’t show up a huge amount. 

364X: Fae Dark Romance Series

I read a book series several years ago and I usually have an excellent memory in regards to books, but for some reason I cannot seem to remember this one. It’s an adult dark romance series about Fae or Faries, and only some people can see them. In the first book, there was a woman who could see the Fae since she was little but ignored it until recently (for some reason…). 


There is one Puck-like character in several of the books and he’s meant to be perceived as a bad guy until his book rolls around at number 3/4 in the series when he becomes a good guy (actually was the whole time). I don’t remember his first name but I remember his last name was Black. What’s funny is that I actually read them out of order and I read this one first and went back to read from the beginning, chuckling each time he came up because the mains didn’t like him but I knew he’d be good eventually.


I also remember that there is some kind of a fairy kingdom in another dimension that are really not good people. And in fact the character I mentioned above, Black, I think used to be a kind of henchman for them? And he wanted out, but in order to protect himself and his love interest, he had to make a verbal contract with another Fae which can be tricky because they love to find loopholes, so he went on for a long time trying to cover every loophole he could think of and never breaking eye contact to try to make sure that this other Fae couldn’t hurt them in the future.


I know this is long and I’m sorry I can’t remember more….but is there any chance you could help? I have been wracking my brain for days trying to think of the series but I just can’t remember…

364Q: Young Woman Who Stops River of Time (Solved!)

I am hoping to find a Novel read about 5-6 years ago – thought authors name included “Beatrice” but maybe just “Bea”. thought title included “River” but possibly just an image not actual word River.

Definite ” River of Time” imagery in my head – do recall looking for other titles by the author then,  and finding none or very few.

Story is about a young woman/girl who eventually has a memory of herself in the past stopping time with grandfather whose estate she was (is?) to inherit and she was somehow foiled (by bad relatives ?)

Also a romance line involves a noble neighbor? Friend? Lover? Who is/was older who could not break some type of vow – who also travels into the future with her –  was her best friend maybe as a young woman on her family’s estate (England pre-regency)….does he show up as a cheesemonger in America (Vermont) and that is how they meet in the modern day?

O how I do hope I am not mixing up several storylines

I remember really loving this book – but it is lost to my brain – I would  give a LOT to locate again.

One further detail: The detail about the protagonist’s “time stopping” skill – not revealed until end of novel – an inherited skill from her grandfather as a child in England she finally remembers she can actually freeze time and thereby stop motion…. “Freeze frame” style…  so prevents a tragic death by going back to the second before a murder?  Something to that effect.