The nitty-gritty: Dark and romantic, Tea & Alchemy excels with its Gothic setting and intriguing mystery. I call Sharon Lynn Fisher the Queen of Vibes, and in her latest book, the vibes are off the charts! Tea & Alchemy is full of both cozy and Gothic elements, a combination that works perfectly for Sharon’s style. […]
The nitty-gritty: A powerful and complex tale of revenge, Stephen Graham Jones’ latest is an emotionally draining but ultimately rewarding reading experience. “What I am is the Indian who can’t die. I’m the worst dream America ever had.” No one can write a raw, unflinching account of the Indigenous experience like Stephen Graham Jones can, […]
The nitty-gritty: A highly entertaining debut, American Ghoul excels with standout characters and unexpected humor. You can’t tell from the rather serious cover, but American Ghoul is extremely funny and much more lighthearted than I expected. This is due mostly to the pitch perfect voice of the main character Lavinia, a recently freed slave who […]
The nitty-gritty: Rachel Harrison takes on vampires in this fun, fast-paced story about friendships and sticking together when life gets tough. The short version: Thelma & Louise with vampires. The long version: I’m a huge Rachel Harrison fan, especially since her last book Black Sheep was one of my top five favorite books of 2023. […]
The nitty-gritty: A pounding disco beat is the backdrop to this tightly plotted, inventive vampire tale. Grab your fangs and join the party! Imagine if Louis and Lestat from Interview With the Vampire were gorgeous young female vampires who love to party all night at the disco, and you’ll have an idea of what to […]
The nitty-gritty: Short and sweet with a touch of (implied) spice, A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience is a gothic fantasy treat. Stephanie Burgis is back with a short but delightful gothic fantasy romance with a vampire love interest, and as I do with all her books, I enjoyed this immensely! Margaret Dunhaven has just found […]
The nitty-gritty: Liz Kerin ups the stakes in this excellent sequel, a tense rollercoaster ride of terror and high emotion. Liz Kerin wraps up her dark vampire duology with First Light, a stellar follow-up to Night’s Edge and a perfect end to the series. This is a bleak story, filled with tension and emotion, and […]
The nitty-gritty: Police procedural meets vampires in this exciting horror thriller, another winner from C.J. Tudor. C.J. Tudor never disappoints, and her latest is a great combination of murder mystery, thriller and thoughtful examination of racial prejudice, all set in a remote town in Alaska during one of the darkest times of winter. In Tudor’s […]
The nitty-gritty: Angsty, immature characters, overly-dramatic dialog and secrets revealed too soon add up to a disappointing story. It seems February is the month of disappointments, as yet another one of my highly anticipated 2024 releases failed to impress me. I had high hopes for An Education in Malice, especially after loving the author’s last […]
The nitty-gritty: Thrilling, romantic and charged with emotion, The Serpent & the Wings of Night is the dark vampire tale you didn’t know you needed. I hadn’t even heard of this book when I was offered a review copy, but a few glowing reviews caught my attention and I agreed to read it. And I’m […]