This guest review is from Crystal Anne! Crystal Anne with An E comes to us from a sunny clime, but prefers to remain a pale indoor cat. She enjoys reading, cross-stitching something nerdy, going to see live music, and playing video games. She works as an autism consultant by day, got a degree in information science for fun, and currently serves on her local library advisory board. … So… What a year this month has … Continue reading Heir by Sabaa Tahir
Strange Beasts is so much fun that the minute I finished the book, I downloaded the audio for my husband to listen to. This is a paranormal adventure meets gothic mystery with a sapphic love story intertwined in all of that. It has shades of Penny Dreadful, non stop action, and it’s just a blast to read. The novel takes place in an alternate Victorian era where paranormal creatures openly exist with human beings. Sam … Continue reading Strange Beasts by Susan J. Morris
This guest review is from Danielle Fritz. Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project. … Continue reading Peaches and Honey: These Immortal Truths by R. Raeta
This book is charming in every possible way. Maggie Chase is a cosy mystery writer. Her parents died when she was 18 and she’s in the process of recovering from finding out her best friend and her husband have been having an affair. Maggie’s pain and lack of confidence are visceral to read. My heart just ached for her. Ethan Wyatt is a Leather Jacket Guy, in Maggie’s eyes: all easy charm and women throwing … Continue reading The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
It Had to be You is a Mr. and Mrs. Smith style romance novel about two assassins who fall in love while also trying to kill each other. It’s a book that I loved, but will either work really, really well for someone or not at all. Neither of the main characters, Jonathan or Eva, are good people—they are both contract killers so that shouldn’t be a surprise—and I think some readers will struggle with … Continue reading It Had to Be You by Eliza Jane Brazier
After I finished Just Playing House, I immediately ran around telling everyone I knew to read it. I’m totally obsessed with this second chance + celebrity romance. It was cozy but with enough emotional twists and turns to keep me interested. Marley is a personal stylist with two goals. She wants to convince the department store where she works to promote her to a personal shopper for the rich and famous. And she wants to … Continue reading Just Playing House by Farah Heron
CW: homophobia After a failed acting career in LA and a recent divorce, Mattie Belman has returned to her tiny hometown in Pennsylvania to teach theatre at the local all-girls Catholic high school. It’s weird enough that she’s thrown into the deep end of Catholicism as a Jewish lesbian, but her life gets way more complicated when the school’s arrogant soccer coach decides Mattie is her new enemy. Jillian Reed is the local hero who’s … Continue reading Loser of the Year by Carrie Byrd
What is the opposite of Dark Academia? Bright Academia? Radiant Academia? Whatever it is, Letters to the Luminous Deep certainly qualifies. This cozy, epistolary fantasy features a slow blooming romance and an intriguing mystery. The world in this novel is predominantly aquatic with only a small landmass being available to humans. People either live on ships, in buildings underwater or on man made islands. Our heroine E (her full name isn’t revealed until the end) … Continue reading Letters to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall
The cover for The Lifeguards is more fitting for a romantic comedy than this twisty, suburban thriller. Reminiscent of Big Little Lies, I think this book is a perfect fit for readers who want suspense and thrills without gore or terror. Focusing on the inner vs outer lives of three women, The Lifeguards follows Austinites Whitney, Liza and Annette. All three live in the same posh neighborhood and their respective fifteen-year-old boys are close friends, … Continue reading The Lifeguards by Amanda Eyre Ward
This Guest Review is from Jen Barr. Jen is an over-educated wonk who likes reading and writing both cool real-life stories and cool made-up stories. To her surprise, she currently lives in Denver, but will always be a Californian at heart. Ed. Note: this book is literally about historical murder, so please be careful with yourself and this review. Emma Southon’s book is a highly readable, incredibly smart, sometimes funny and sometimes heart-wrenching history of … Continue reading A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome
I don’t recall exactly how this trilogy came to my attention. Strangely, it may have been their long titles, which may have signaled to me an Austen-esque voice, one that at the same time did not take itself too seriously. In any case, I was very happy I picked up the first novella, In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation, and from then on I waited impatiently for weeks and weeks before the second … Continue reading In Which Winnie Halifax is Utterly Ruined by Alexandra Vasti
