This review was brought to you in high-definition and surround sound by Crystal Anne with An E. Crystal is a Hufflepuff who works as an autism consultant by day and goes to Library School at night. She reads a lot, she cross-stitches a lot, and is always ready to make someone a reading list. NB: This book is currently .99 digitally for May the 4th! … Guess who’s back? This time with bonus Grogu gifs! … Continue reading Star Wars: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray →
The Nightborn is just a whole heap of fun, and was precisely what I was in the mood for this week. It straddles the genres of high fantasy and romance, and balances these elements beautifully, providing both a satisfying romance and a nicely twisty high fantasy plot. Branwyn is a Sentinel, a magically-enhanced warrior bound to a spirit sword and tasked with fighting demons and other monsters. She is sent on an errand of diplomacy … Continue reading The Nightborn by Isabel Cooper →
Content warning: attempted sexual assault of the heroine Heiress in Red Silk is a book that hooked right into my emotions and gave me what I wanted and needed from a story right now. While it was by no means a flawless romance, I adored the heroine, and there was one scene that hit me straight in the heart. This is the second book in the Duke’s Heiress series, but you really don’t need to … Continue reading Heiress in Red Silk by Madeline Hunter →
I like heists and capers, and I really like art theft stories in particular because sometimes the art itself becomes a massive McGuffin. In a really satisfying art heist story, the interpersonal relationships become more interesting than the priceless whatsit being stolen, and the people and their reasons for heisting provide the narrative momentum. That shift from “steal the thing” to “why are we stealing the thing” can make for a terrific story. With It … Continue reading It Takes a Thief by Sloane Steele →
I have barely ever mentioned the Murderbot series in the past year, so it may have escaped your notice. I definitely cannot adequately transcribe the noise I made when I received an ARC of Fugitive Telemetry, the newest in the Murderbot Diaries. I was in the midst of yet another re-read of the series, and having a brand-new Murderbot story was a delight. And now everyone gets brand new Murderbot to read! In October 2020, … Continue reading Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells →
Usually when I fall in love with a book, I devour it in one giant gulp and at one sitting, and only come back to savour it on a second reading. So Book of Love was unusual for me, in that I loved it, but also kept putting it down because I wanted to make it last longer. The quality of the writing and the sweetness not just of the central relationship, but of the … Continue reading Book of Love by Erin Satie →
Claudia and Shana both love historical romances, but Shana loves Milan’s prickly heroines and puns, while Claudia’s catnip is the cozy charm of Balogh’s love stories, the fewer puns the better. Shana convinced Claudia that To Love and To Loathe’s “enemies to hookup to lovers” storyline would pull us out of our reading slump. She now owes Claudia a million lemon bars because this book was a tropeopcalypse. So much potential, but so poorly executed. … Continue reading To Love and To Loathe by Martha Waters →
I should know better by now than to start a Courtney Milan novel in the evening before I have to work in the morning. I renew my membership of the Bad Decisions Book Club every single time. The Devil Comes Courting was no exception to this rule. Grayson Hunter wants to build a telegraph from Shanghai to the USA, but to do this he will need someone to invent a Chinese telegraphic code. He comes … Continue reading The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan →
I read Second First Impressions at exactly the right time. A big theme in this romance is healing from trauma and coming out of isolation, and at the time I read it I had just scheduled my first Covid shot. This theme resonated so much with me I found myself crying while I read, big fat tears soaking into my pillow, but it was a cathartic cry and it felt good. There were also moments … Continue reading Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne →
Hana Khan Carries On is part epistolary, part coming of age story, and all heart. Hana, aka AnaBGR, an aspiring broadcast producer, podcaster, and storyteller, is struggling on several fronts. There’s the difficulty in breaking into broadcast in general, there’s her racist boss who presumes to be #woke, her family’s struggling restaurant, plus her sister’s risky pregnancy. What she definitely did NOT need on this list was Mr. Silver Shades to come sauntering in with … Continue reading Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin →
TW: Sexual assault Joanna Shupe is one of my auto-buy authors, so I was bummed when The Heiress Hunt fell flat for me. This first book in her Fifth Avenue Rebels series promised a friends-to-lovers romance, which I adore, but the hero’s inability to grow or change left me lukewarm at the end. Harrison Archer is the second son to a tycoon and grew up in a pretty awful household. While his older brother, Teddy, … Continue reading The Heiress Hunt by Joanna Shupe →
