Bitchery, I feel personally attacked by how good Winter’s Orbit was. I feel that this book could only be the result of someone, somewhere, telepathically spying on me and then tailoring a book directly to my personal interests. I mean, this is a bona fide queer science fiction slow-burn romance with an arranged political marriage, interplanetary political intrigues, a murder mystery, and a creepy and mystical intergalactic bureaucracy that must be placated. This book manages … Continue reading Winters Orbit by Everina Maxwell →
Content warnings: Lots and lots of grief and loss, also death of a secondary character Dearest Josephine is an epistolary novel about grief and coming of age, disguised as a paranormal gothic romance. It is a sweet, clever, beautiful book, and I adored it. In 1820, the recently orphaned Elias Roch meets Josephine DeClare at an inn, and falls instantly and passionately in love. But in the morning, she is gone, and he has no … Continue reading Dearest Josephine by Caroline George →
There’s a theme to The Mystery of Mrs. Christie and it’s, “Maybe don’t fuck with your wife when she invents unsolveable ways to murder people for a living.” In a lot of ways this book is a historical Gone Girl, which normally would be my jam, but I found the suspense disrupted by the fact that this is based on a real event and I already knew what happened. Add to that, we spend a … Continue reading The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict →
When I started Siri, Who Am I? I did not like it. I was grumpy, because I expected some realism and good detecting, neither of which are in this book. Then I settled into the story I was actually reading, which is as enjoyable and sparkly as one of the slushies that the protagonist enjoys. This is a goofy but also sharp romantic-comedy with a lot of references to pop culture, nerd culture, and the … Continue reading Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida →
The Ex Talk is an enemies-to-lovers fake relationship romance set in the world of public radio. It is also something of a belated coming of age story. Shay Goldstein has been working at Pacific Public Radio for ten years, beginning as the ‘wunderkind’ intern, and rising to the role of producer of the station’s flagship show, Puget Sounds. She loves public radio for its ability to tell stories that connect personally with listeners, and for … Continue reading The Ex Talk by Rachel Solomon →
When I first told Sarah I wanted to review The Heiress Gets a Duke, her response was, “But that’s a historical romance.” Yes, correct. Spot on. And, having worked with her for nearly a decade now (whoa!) it’s a fair point. I’ve been open about my aversion to historical romances. It’s not for any personal reasons, but often the tone isn’t for me and I overindulged when I first started in the genre. It’s rare … Continue reading The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George →
This Guest Review is from Rachel C. Thomas. “I’m a freelance writer who lives in Western New York with my husband and a sassy rescue dog named Mieko. I was introduced to the library at a young age and it’s been my happy place ever since. My four favorite books are Dracula, The Haunting of Hill House, The Exorcist, and Interview with the Vampire, which should tell you everything you need to know about my … Continue reading Guest Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab →
Her Kind of Cowboy, from the Tying the Knot in Texas series, promises pit bulls and penguins, and it delivers on the pit bulls and somewhat on the penguins. What it does not deliver is a plausible, coherent, consistent storyline or plausible, in depth character development. Don’t get me wrong, I found it highly entertaining, but a large amount of my entertainment came from pondering the many odd things about it (and a couple of … Continue reading Her Kind of Cowboy by Dylann Crush →
Jane Eyre is in my top ten favorite books and I’m very protective of it. I wrote a short book called Pride Prejudice and Popcorn: TV and Film Adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre, in which I concluded that any adaption can work as long as it stays true to the themes and characters of the source material. The Wife Upstairs is hard to review because how it works on its … Continue reading The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins →
Finding Faeries: Discovering Sprites, Pixies, Redcaps and Other Fantastical Creatures in an Urban Environment purports to be a scholarly reference work on liminal creatures. Part encyclopedia, part practical guide, this book introduces us to more than fifty species of fae, both the well known and the lesser known. The text is adorned with detailed pen and ink illustrations by Miles Äijälä, which are a little reminiscent of antique scientific illustrations of animals. These are very … Continue reading Finding Faeries: Discovering Sprites, Pixies, Redcaps and Other Fantastical Creatures in an Urban Environment by Alexandra Rowland →
The Worst Duke is not deep. It didn’t change my world. However, it does have a pig, a pug, a cat, and a lot of discussion about the many uses of vinegar so color me satisfied. If you like historical romances that are low angst, and made of silly, feel-good fun, you may like this. Anthony Farr, Duke of Radcliffe, had a terrible marriage. His wife died many years ago and his sister, Margaret, wants … Continue reading The Worst Duke in the World by Lisa Berne →
