The nitty-gritty: A hilarious fairy tale, both dark and light, full T. Kingfisher’s trademark quirky and lovable characters. The bone dog came alive at dusk. It was not quite completed, but it was close. She was bent over the left front paw when the skull’s jaws yawned open and it stretched as if waking from […]
The nitty-gritty: Interesting worldbuilding clashes with an overstuffed plot and slow pacing, making The City of Dusk a mixed bag. It took me almost a month to finish The City of Dusk, and I almost called it quits several times, but I finally decided to finish it out of sheer determination. As you can see […]
The nitty-gritty: A fast-paced survival story with engaging characters, Gone Dark was a lot of fun and a solid YA thriller. “Don’t cry, Zara. Crying is a waste of water.” I don’t read YA very often these days, but I wanted to take a chance on Gone Dark because it sounded like a pretty good […]
The nitty-gritty: There’s plenty of food for thought in this short horror story that takes the idea of perception and turns it on its head. “It had already started. The world was tipping, its weight shifting, and no one had really noticed how precarious the ground beneath our feet had become. Every image, every video […]
The nitty-gritty: Emily St. John Mandel explores the tenuous boundaries between the past, present and future in Sea of Tranquility, a thoughtful and emotional journey through time. “We knew it was coming.” Once again, Emily St. John Mandel has written a thought-provoking, luminous story about the future, the past, and all the moments in between. […]
The nitty-gritty: Full of effortless humor, imaginative world-building, and complex characters, Stringers is a smart, bold sci-fi adventure—with pickles. “The Chime sounded, like, well, a chime. A really big chime. But still. If there truly was a sound evil enough to destroy the galaxy, wouldn’t it be something like pre-Black Album Metallica, or Justin Bieber? […]
The nitty-gritty: A true crime blogger uncovers some long-buried truths in this stellar murder mystery. This is my first time reading Simone St. James, and I was blown away! The Book of Cold Cases is an intricately plotted mystery with fully developed characters and a twisty plot that will keep readers guessing. The story takes […]
The nitty-gritty: Intricately plotted with nuanced characters, Comeuppance Served Cold is a fun heist story with plenty of surprises. What a nice surprise this was! Comeuppance Served Cold is a wonderful mix of magic and Jazz Age elements, a heist story that takes place in 1929 Seattle. Marion Deeds has captured the essence of the […]
The nitty-gritty: An ode to fandoms and the nostalgia of 1980s fantasy films, The Shadow Glass drips with magic, humor, perfect pacing and thrilling adventure. “Jack, didn’t you hear Brol’s story? The Shadow Glass was stolen from the kettu castle, Nebfet was enchanting it when Zavanna found her…none of that happened in the movie. We’re […]
The nitty-gritty: Cosmic horror, shocking violence, colorful characters and black humor come together in Alan Baxter’s follow-up to The Gulp, a delightfully dark bunch of tales that will put you on edge—and keep you there. “There’s interesting and there’s fucked, mate. Nothing good ever came out of Gulpepper.” Is it possible to be fond of […]