The nitty-gritty: Lam’s latest is harsh look at what our own future could be, full of thrilling action and interesting morale questions, but the uneven second half made this a mixed bag for me. Goldilocks has a fantastic premise and uses one of my favorite sci-fi tropes: leaving our dying Earth and striking out to […]
The nitty-gritty: A bloody, scary good time, skillfully written and paced, Bent Heavens kept me flipping pages, even though I had some issues with a few elements. I’ve seen some fantastic reviews for Bent Heavens, and so I went into it with high hopes, knowing this was a thriller/horror story revolving around aliens. And without […]
The nitty-gritty: Alma Katsu’s signature atmospheric prose elevates this eerie, domestic thriller set on the ill fated Titanic, with mixed results. The Deep was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2020, and I’m sorry to say it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I was expecting a ghost story set aboard the […]
The nitty-gritty: A solid follow-up to An Easy Death, unfortunately I wasn’t as wowed by this book as other readers. I really had high hopes for this book, since I loved An Easy Death so much, but I felt the plot in this sequel lacked the excitement and punch I was looking for. Don’t get […]
The nitty-gritty: A fast-paced mystery with plenty of creepy moments, Ghoster gets off to a strong start but ends up a little too WTF for my taste. This is probably going to be the most disappointing book of the year for me. I absolutely loved The Last Days of Jack Sparks, and I’ve been waiting […]
The nitty-gritty: Evocative world-building combined with an overstuffed plot left me with mixed feelings about this YA fantasy debut. I had read some glowing reviews of The House of Salt and Sorrow, so I jumped into this with rather high expectations. Unfortunately, even though there is a lot to love about this book, as a […]
The nitty-gritty: A thrilling, fast-paced beginning lost steam for me near the end, but up until about the three-quarter mark I really had a lot of fun with this book. I enjoyed the hell out of this book—up to a point. And then things really started to go wrong for me. It’s almost as if […]
The nitty-gritty: Decadent writing and lush imagery make this a feast for the senses, but as a story it didn’t quite work for me, I’m sad to say. I’m afraid this book and I got off on the wrong foot. Otherwise how do you explain the fact that every review I’ve seen has been a […]
The nitty-gritty: An atmospheric, dreamy tale based on the Green Man myth that lacked a cohesive plot, but had some wonderful moments nonetheless. This was an odd little tale that I enjoyed, although it didn’t completely capture me the way I was hoping, which is the reason for my middle-of-the-road rating. Tobias Finch has lived […]
With so many mixed reviews flying around, I was both anxious and excited to dive into Wicked Saints. On the surface it seemed like exactly the kind of book I love, with a Gothic sensibility, horrific elements, blood magic, warring religions and even monsters. And the verdict? I was pleasantly surprised by this book, and […]