Because of its Christmas “meet cute” and other pivotal scenes that take place at Christmas, I consider the groundbreaking classic The Price of Salt (also published as Carol) to be a holiday book, although much of it takes place at other times in the year. With that in mind, December is the perfect time to read this short novel about two women who meet during the Christmas season in New York City and who find … Continue reading The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith →
I have so many feelings about this book, which hit on more than one of my nerdy passions, most notably the fate of the Lost Franklin Expedition. I expected historical fiction and got a mystery that kept me reading late into the night. Lady Franklin is the wife of Captain Sir John Franklin, an Arctic explorer who disappeared along with his crew. After many attempts have been made by men to find him have failed, … Continue reading The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister →
CW: Child abuse, alcoholism, anorexia Girls of Brackenhill is the kind of Gothic thriller that I love. It’s got supernatural elements, a house that functions as a character in its own right, and an unreliable narrator. This book would have been a solid A except I found the ending a little bit too vague to totally satisfy me. It was so spooky-good that I immediately popped in the mail for Amanda. Hannah Maloney gets a … Continue reading Girls of Brackenhill by Kate Moretti →
I’ve mentioned this book a few times in past features because I’ve been savoring the audiobook for weeks. I usually listen while I’m sewing or cross stitching, but this book is so thoughtful and compassionate that I needed to ponder each chapter as I finished. A lot of this book has been tossed into the long-term back-of-my-mind Crock Pot. I’ll be thinking about pieces of the book, the work it asks of its readers/listeners, and … Continue reading The Art of Showing Up by Rachel Wilkerson Miller →
I adored this book so much, but it’s not a light or easy read. This historical fantasy about three sisters in 1893 does not permit them to take an easy route on their journey towards a decent life. There are two romances, but they are not central to the book, which keeps its focus on the sisters as they struggle for autonomy and power for women in a ferociously patriarchal world. Here’s the plot description … Continue reading The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow →
One of my recent joys has been discovering Malinda Lo’s fantasy YA books. In her novel, Ash, Lo creates a beautiful Queer re-imagining of the Cinderella fairytale, complete with a complex main character, a fresh take on the plot, and gorgeous use of language, description, and world-building. Huntress is sort of a prequel to Ash, but it was written after Ash was published; you don’t have to have read it to read Ash. Here is … Continue reading Ash by Malinda Lo →
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse was a fable space adventure, a homage to both space opera and to fairy tales. The sequel, How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge is not that book. It’s very good, but it’s also very different tonally from the first. This is a sequel which absolutely demands that not only do you read the first book first (I did) but also that either you have a good memory (I don’t) … Continue reading How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge by K. Eason →
I read the first chapter of Spoiler Alert and was sucked into a compulsive reading vortex, becoming annoyed when work or sleep tried to distract me from gobbling up the book. It’s a delightful celebrity romance that treats writing sexy fanfiction as a worthy creative pursuit. It also has a classic falling for your penpal storyline, without the slow burn over correspondence that tends to annoy me. This story of a fanfiction writer who falls … Continue reading Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade →
CW: Suicide, Mental Illness Spooky season is upon us (my favorite season BTW) and if you are in the mood for something delightfully Gothic with horror elements, I recommend The Nesting. This book works perfectly as a Gothic thriller, is deeply creepy, and has an interesting take on environmentalism. The only thing that I wasn’t certain of was the treatment of the heroines’ mental illness. First of all, this is a very spooky book, so … Continue reading The Nesting by CJ Cooke →
TW: Catfishing It’s a bad sign when I look at my list of things to read and review for the month, and think to myself, “I need to read that book next,” and then realize that I’ve already read it. Well Played did not leave a lasting mark upon me. It was an enjoyable book to read and it gave me the chance to attend a Renaissance Faire via imagination in a year when the … Continue reading Well Played by Jen DeLuca →
The Roommate is a sex-positive, contemporary romance debut that has given me something I’ve been searching for : romantic leads who are involved in sex work (minus all of the shame and slut-shaming). I’m happy to say that The Roommate delivered on that front, and the romance was rather cute, too, despite being slightly different than what I was expecting. Clara is having a late-stage rebellious phase. She’s a socialite from a wealthy, conservative family … Continue reading The Roommate by Rosie Danan →
