Love is a War Song is a fun sunshine/grumpy/fish out of water romance with a New Adult feel. While the romance is fun, the cultural representation is what sets this novel apart from others. Here’s the publisher’s plot description: Pop singer Avery Fox has become a national joke after posing scantily clad on the cover of Rolling Stone in a feather warbonnet. What was meant to be a statement of her success as a Native … Continue reading Love is a War Song by Danica Nava →
I am always looking for new female voices in crime fiction, and I picked up Leona: The Die is Cast with every expectation of being thrilled. It’s a Scandinavian mystery about a series of baffling bank robberies and it features a diverse heroine. It turns out that this book was not at all what I was expecting, and in order to articulate that, I’m going to need to spoil some things. If you want to … Continue reading Leona: The Die is Cast by Jenny Rogneby →
TW/CW: sexual assault. I enjoyed The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson, mostly because it tackles a subject that is dear to my heart: why is traditionally-female created art (think quilting, embroidering, knitting) labeled “a craft” and of less than value than male-produced art? As a historical novel, a full third of the narrative I found to be unnecessary, which meant there were parts of the book I had to slog through … Continue reading The Gown by Jennifer Robson →
I first heard about Kiss the Sky at RT where the author described it as the story of two people falling in love while climbing (and surviving) K2. I’m pretty sure Amanda tweeted a photo of me one-click buying it right there. I love disaster/survival stories, especially stories set in extreme locations. I’ve read a lot of non-fiction about K2 and Everest (which is now unfortunately a literal poo disaster). I’m fascinated with the Dyatlov Pass … Continue reading Kiss the Sky by MK Schiller →
The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert made me feel really good. It was the read I needed for a crappy day and it went down like a hot cup of tea followed by a cookie. The pacing was a little off at the end, but my appreciation for an emotionally-fluent hero let me overlook that. Also the heroine wears a Dolly Parton tee shirt to bed and fuck yea, Dolly Parton. I do want to add … Continue reading The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert →
Tempest by Beverly Jenkins is a mail order bride historical romance that’s light on internal conflict but heavy on awesome heroines and world-building. If you want a romance that doesn’t have a ton of emotional angst, but does have a heroine who accidentally (kind of) shoots her intended the first time she meets him, this is all your catnip. It’s also the third book in the Old West series, but can easily be read as a … Continue reading Tempest by Beverly Jenkins →
Wrong to Need You is a novel that is so engrossing, so engaging, that as I was reading it I didn’t realize that at that very moment in time, I was being peed on. Yes, that’s right. Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai is so good that it will keep you from noticing you’re sitting in urine. There’s a story here (obviously) and you’ll get it, but first I need to talk to you about … Continue reading Wrong to Need You by Alisha Rai →
Not Your Villain is the second book in the Sidekick Squad series by C.B. Lee. This YA series is set in a semi-post-apocalyptic future (much has been destroyed, but many areas are still doing fine). In this world, some people have super powers. In order to follow Not Your Villain, you need to have read Not Your Sidekick. In the first book, Not Your Sidekick, Jessica Tran struggled with jealousy when she didn’t manifest powers … Continue reading Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee →
Given the cover art, the characters, the presence of brujas, the series name Brooklyn Brujas, and the summary, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion I’d like this book. It was a stunning and powerful mix of all my catnip. I like witches, I like young women coming into their power, otherworldly or otherwise, and I like the unique sense of family that arises with groups of women practicing said power. Now that I’ve read it, my anticipation … Continue reading Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova →
The first third of this novel is very slow, almost glacial, and the remainder flies with nonstop, eye-widening, what the hell did I just read seriously what. I think that change of pace is deliberate given what happens in the story, but I’m still debating whether the pace and the plot worked for me. The book opens with Sally and Peter’s wedding. Sally is happy but calculating, and sneaks away to deal with her mother, who … Continue reading Please Release Me by Rhoda Baxter →
I had a cold recently and while it did not constitute a major health crisis, it did give me an excuse to watch some television. Six hours later I’ve seen all of the first season of AMC’s Into The Badlands and although there are flaws galore in the show, the martial arts scenes are simply sublime on a visual level. Rather than write a review, I’d like to focus on where the story goes right and … Continue reading Into the Badlands: The Importance of Emotion →
