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 […]
The nitty-gritty: An interesting world with lots of potential, Smoke & Summons was a fast-paced story that would have benefited from more cohesive world-building. I ended up with mixed feelings about Smoke & Summons, despite a solid beginning, but overall I did enjoy this book. Holmberg has created a fascinating world where humans are used […]
The nitty-gritty: A slow-paced beginning turns into thrilling excitement at the end, which makes up for some of the more tedious sections. I’ll admit that when I first saw the cover of Breach, I thought it was science fiction. Maybe that’s why I feel like I got off on the wrong foot with this book. […]
The nitty-gritty: I loved the world-building and some of the characters, but the MC Tomas didn’t completely win me over. Reviews for Priest of Bones seem to be all over the map, so I was very curious to see where I would fit in. And the answer to that seems to be somewhere in the […]
The nitty-gritty: Although I didn’t enjoy all the stories in this collection, I’m still a big fan of Mamatas and his unending, quirky imagination, and some of these stories will be hard to forget. I have read and enjoyed a couple of Nick Mamatas’ novels, and I thought it would be interesting to see how […]
The nitty-gritty: Full of blatant, over-the-top horror, Hunter Shea’s latest is just what I needed for a quick, summertime read. After reading numerous rave reviews from fellow bloggers Barb and Stormi, I knew I had to try a Hunter Shea book. And Jurassic, Florida was pretty much what I expected: lots of fun, tons of […]