The nitty-gritty: A clever and surprising mystery steeped in myth, Comfort Me With Apples is told in Catherynne M. Valente’s unique style. If there’s one thing I can count on with Catherynne M. Valente, it’s that she always surprises me. Her stories are not your normal, run of the mill variety. Rather, she creates scenarios […]
The nitty-gritty: Five friends come together for a wedding in this spooky, Japanese-themed horror story. Nothing But Blackened Teeth certainly wins the creepy cover of the year prize, but does the story inside live up to the macabre artwork? In many ways, the answer for me is “yes.” Cassandra Khaw’s evocative writing style is perfect […]
The nitty-gritty: Strange and thoughtful, Aliya Whiteley’s latest short story collection is brimming with inventive world building and plenty of heart and emotion. Each time I pick up an Aliya Whiteley book, I’m reminded of just how unique her stories are, and I’m grateful for the hours I’ve spent with her weird but wonderful characters. […]
The nitty-gritty: A fun, laugh-out-loud contemporary take on Sleeping Beauty, with a feminist sensibility, that made me cheer. I’m a huge fan of Alix E. Harrow’s novels, so I was quite curious to see what she would do with the novella format. And I’m happily surprised by how much I enjoyed this! A Spindle Splintered […]
The nitty-gritty: Loyalty, betrayal, secrets and lies, sea dragons, prophecies and much much more, The Bone Ship’s Wake is a fitting end to a brilliant fantasy series. “I will find you, Meas,” he said quietly and he spoke only to the bones of Tide Child. “I must find you, for I fear that every day […]
The nitty-gritty: Fantasy, comedy and sparkling Regency romance blend together seamlessly in Stephanie Burgis’ latest. Stephanie Burgis never fails to delight, and her new fantasy Scales and Sensibility has all the makings of an intriguing series opener featuring—you guessed it—dragons and Jane Austen! Elinor Tregarth and her sisters Rose and Harry were split up a […]
The nitty-gritty: Unsettling, creepy and emotionally devastating, Human Tenderloin is an excellent and varied collection of stories that will haunt you long after they’ve ended. Based on the rather creepy and disturbing cover of Human Tenderloin, I was happy to discover that the stories inside are equally as creepy and disturbing. I’m so glad I […]
The nitty-gritty: Cyberpunk noir and baseball collide in this fast-paced, thoroughly entertaining sci-fi mystery. Is science fiction kicking ass this year, or am I just choosing the right books to read? Either way, I keep discovering amazing new SF authors, and I’ve just added Lincoln Michel to that list. The Body Scout was so much […]
The nitty-gritty: A galaxy-spanning mystery and an unexpected love story, Light Chaser is one of my favorite novellas of the year. I did not expect to love this book as much as I did, and this little novella definitely stands out as a happy surprise of 2021. The cover is pretty generic, and in fact […]
The nitty-gritty: Non stop action and larger-than-life characters make Andrew Mayne’s latest a thrilling, hard to put down series opener. Well, this was a lot of fun! I’ve read and reviewed all four books in Mayne’s The Naturalist series, which focuses on super smart Dr. Theo Cray, a compu-biologist who is really good at catching […]