Category: 4 stars

STARTER VILLAIN by John Scalzi – Review

STARTER VILLAIN by John Scalzi – Review
Posted September 14, 2023 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 40 Comments

The nitty-gritty: Supervillains are super fun in this laugh-out-loud tale with sentient cats and dolphins, a secret lair and plenty of the author’s trademark social commentary. Scalzi takes on supervillains—sort of—in his latest comedic offering, and boy was this a bunch of fun. I think if I’d read this blind without knowing who the author […]

VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by Isabel Cañas – Review

VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by Isabel Cañas – Review
Posted August 15, 2023 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 26 Comments

The nitty-gritty: Romance, history and horror combine in this well written and dramatic tale. After hearing so many good things about Isabel Cañas’ last book, The Hacienda, I was very excited to dive into her latest. And I can see what all the fuss is about! Vampires of El Norte is an engaging historical romance/drama […]

LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward – Review

LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward – Review
Posted August 14, 2023 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 21 Comments

The nitty-gritty: Truth and fiction blur together in Catriona’s Ward’s latest, a complex tale about death, love and stories. “Friends can break your heart, it seems, just like love.” I never know what to expect from a new Catriona Ward book, other than it’s sure to be complex and different, and Looking Glass Sound is […]

WILDWOOD MAGIC by Willa Reece – Review

WILDWOOD MAGIC by Willa Reece – Review
Posted August 7, 2023 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 17 Comments

The nitty-gritty: Folk magic and relatable characters are front and center in Willa Reece’s latest Morgan’s Gap story. “Community was like wildwood magic, a precious gossamer thing, light and fleeting, which could easily slip from your grasp.” Wildwood Magic is set in the same small rural town of Morgan’s Gap, Virginia that Wildwood Whispers was […]

CAMP DAMASCUS by Chuck Tingle – Review

CAMP DAMASCUS by Chuck Tingle – Review
Posted July 27, 2023 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 26 Comments

The nitty-gritty: Chuck Tingle tackles some big themes in his latest, a fun, entertaining and heartfelt story about being yourself. “This is my parents’ worst nightmare,” I announce, gazing at the living room ceiling with a pillow behind my head. “Their gay daughter and her lesbian girlfriend in a spooky old farmhouse doing drugs with […]

MOTHTOWN by Caroline Hardaker – Review

MOTHTOWN by Caroline Hardaker – Review
Posted June 26, 2023 by Tammy in 4 stars, Reviews / 7 Comments

The nitty-gritty: Caroline Hardaker’s latest explores the pain of transformation and the beauty of becoming one’s true self in this emotional tale of one man’s journey through mental illness and grief. Mothtown is an unusual, dreamlike novel that follows a character named David through childhood and into adulthood as he tries to come to terms […]