Should There Be Spice in YA Novels?
I bought a book. Groundbreaking, I know. An avid reader who writes book reviews going to her local Big W, finding a book with an intriguing blurb, buying it and bringing it home. What next? Maybe we'll find out the true identity of Banksy or the local amateur theatre company will do something daring like putting on a performance of The Importance of Being Ernest or ... Yeah, okay. I'm in a silly mood. Anyway, I bought a book. It was a fantasy romance, or romantasy as the genre is better known, it was titled Her Hidden Fire and it was authored by Cliodhna O'Sullivan. It had a pretty, gold foil cover. It was in the Young Adult section, but I'm perfectly comfortable with being an adult who occasionally reads books that are intended for children and young adults. And the blurb suggests that this one could be fun. It promises magic, a hint of romance and a female lead who has magical powers that she well, isn't supposed to have. Then, when I arrived home, I noticed so...