TL;DR: The new Murderbot book, System Collapse, is very, very good and if you were a fan of the other books in the series you’ll likely enjoy this one just as much. A small piece of framework for this review to better understand the praise that is about to erupt: I have been having a lot of trouble reading text. This has been happening intermittently for a few months now, but has been much more … Continue reading System Collapse by Martha Wells →
The Bookshop and the Barbarian is a sweet, funny fantasy/romance story. It’s advertised as “cozy” and it is. It’s pure comfort and whimsy with a happy ending for all. Even the villain has a cozy side. So, if you like cozy stories then curl yourself up with a cup of tea and enjoy. If not, feel free to take a drink every time I type the word “cozy.” Maribella Waters rides into the town of … Continue reading The Bookshop and the Barbarian by Morgan Stang →
Sparrow Hill Road was a 4 1/2 star Top Pick in the May 2014 RT Book Reviews magazine that Amanda and I recapped, and I was curious, in part because I didn’t recognize it. I know McGuire’s other series (Adam really likes the October Daye books) but this one had escaped my knowledge. I found the audiobook, narrated by Amy Landon, at my library, and I inhaled it. I got so much done because I … Continue reading Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire →
The Witch of Wild Things has a romance, but it’s less of a romance novel and more a novel about familial bonds and trauma. It reminded me a lot of Practical Magic, but has its own vibe due to the personalities and histories of the characters, the setting, and the Latinx history of the family. I liked the overall atmosphere of the book and its prickly protagonist, but I thought events near the ending offered … Continue reading Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland →
If you are into cryptids/imaginary beasts/monsters from mythology and folklore, then you’ll find Once There Was to be a real treat. In this story, a teenager named Marjan is left an orphan when her father, a veterinarian, is murdered. Marjan soon discovers that her father had an unusual clientele consisting of magical animals and that she has inherited a gift of sensing their feelings and needs, a discovery that upends her life in every possible … Continue reading Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef →
I’ve written, taught classes, and led panels about Mary Shelley and Frankenstein so often that, at a recent science fiction convention, one of my fellow panelists pointed out, “No matter what the topic is, Carrie, you always end up mentioning how much you hate Lord Byron” and I SO VERY MUCH DO! ASK ME WHY! The point is, I seized upon Our Hideous Progeny with gimmie-gimmie hands and although I will not tell you what … Continue reading Our Hideous Progeny by C. E. McGill →
The Blighted Stars is the first book in a science fiction series that has a strong romantic subplot. There is a creepiness factor that might be unsettling for some readers, and while it didn’t bother me, I would caution anyone with an aversion to zombie movies to stay away. In this sci-fi world, humans have achieved a longer lifespan by “printing” their neural map into a new body when the old one dies. Think of … Continue reading The Blighted Stars by Megan E. O’Keefe →
Red alert people, this is not a drill. The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi is a book about: A woman in her 40s with a bad knee Who is also a pirate queen Who is also Muslim and plying the seas of the Indian Ocean Who lives during the Medieval Period Who is also a mother who struggles with parenting and pirating And who has built a found family without fully realizing it And who becomes … Continue reading The Adventures Of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty →
All of us here at the Pink Palace adore the Murderbot series by Martha Wells, so I was very excited about her new fantasy standalone, Witch King. The biggest thing you need to know about Witch King is that it is very different from Murderbot. If you are hoping for a fantasy version of Murderbot you will be disappointed. The tone is different, the humor, when it exists, is dryer, the scope is different, and … Continue reading Witch King by Martha Wells →
Dear readers, I would be remiss if I did not point out that Cassandra Khaw’s book The Salt Grows Heavy is about what happens when a horror story version of a mermaid teams up with a version of Frankenstein’s monster to burn it all down. It is, in its own blood-soaked, rage-fuelled way, a romance. There may not be many of us for whom this is our jam, but if it IS your jam, buckle … Continue reading The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw →
We have a word among the bitchery: catnip. Catnip in this context is not the plant, it is the trope, or group of tropes that is our personal drug of choice. The Mimicking of Known Successes is a queer science fiction romance/mystery featuring a woman who is of the Sherlock Holmes mode of detective and another woman as the Watson type, although unlike some versions of Watson, this one is intelligent and useful. I understand … Continue reading The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older →
