The nitty-gritty: A fast and furious sci-fi adventure/romance with plenty of action and even some emotional character development. Who can resist a cover with a bad-ass female mercenary standing on a pile of books while the world falls to pieces behind her? Certainly not me, which is one reason I was excited to pick up […]
The nitty-gritty: Dark and unsettling, The Year of the Witching is perfect for fans of horror-tinged, dystopian fantasy. You know me, when I see a book with the word “witch” in the title, I’m all over it! So of course I couldn’t wait to read The Year of the Witching, a debut that really impressed […]
The nitty-gritty: A perfect mix of history and mystery, Opium and Absinthe was both engaging and informative. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, so I was delighted to discover that I loved reading about New York City in 1899. Kang builds her fascinating, multilayered story around several historical events: first, the publication of […]
The nitty-gritty: Calvin Demmer offers up a tasty but bloody chocolate box of horrific tales that revolve around holidays. I had seen Calvin Demmer’s collection The Sea Was a Fair Master around, and so when he contacted me to see if I’d be interested in reading his latest short story collection, I immediately agreed. Demmer’s […]
The nitty-gritty: A creeping dread infuses this atmospheric Gothic tale of diabolical family secrets. “The walls speak to me. They tell me secrets. Don’t listen to them, press your hands against your ears, Noemí. There are ghosts. They’re real. You’ll see them eventually.” One of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s strengths is her ability to create an atmospheric […]
The nitty-gritty: A sweet and funny story filled with friendship, family and a little romance. And plenty of sci-fi pop culture name dropping! Bookish and the Beast is another fun entry into Ashley Poston’s lively Once Upon a Con series, where each book takes on a traditional fairy tale and spins it into a modern […]
The nitty-gritty: Another winner from Grace Draven, full of magic, romance, danger and yes, a dragon. I really enjoyed this book, which is the second in Draven’s Fallen Empire series. The story follows a different set of characters from the first book, Phoenix Unbound, but several characters from that book cross over into Dragon Unleashed. […]
The nitty-gritty: An exciting and satisfying conclusion to the series, Chaos Reigning was a ton of fun. I’ve had so much fun with the Consortium Rebellion, and I’m actually sorry that it’s over. Chaos Reigning follows the same format as the first two books in the series but changes up the characters and the plot […]
The nitty-gritty: Creepy and atmospheric, this claustrophobic look at mental illness was surprisingly chilling. She had always loved sleeping and couldn’t understand people who didn’t. It was all of the best things about being dead, but without its permanence. What an unusual story! The Unsuitable is one of those books that blurs the line between […]
The nitty-gritty: Bennett’s complicated magic system dampened some of my enjoyment of this sequel, but the emotional connections between characters and exciting action sequences made up for it. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that Robert Jackson Bennett always delivers a complex, entertaining and emotional story, and I’m happy to say that […]