The nitty-gritty: S.A. Barnes’s fantasy debut is a solid series opener with dangerous characters, high stakes and plenty of romantic angst. “And I need you to know that I may not enjoy killing people, but I am very, very good at it.” Despite my middle of the road rating, I really did enjoy Death’s Daughter, […]
The nitty-gritty: Nicholas Binge combines cosmic horror with biting commentary on big corporations in this short and entertaining novella. Nicholas Binge is such a good writer, and Abyss was a fun, mind-bending story with some Lovecraftian horror elements, hence the tentacled creature on the cover. It’s also a cautionary tale of corporate greed and how […]
The nitty-gritty: Intricately constructed and full of surprising reveals and connections, The Girl With a Thousand Faces is an epic, emotional journey of revenge, trauma and forgiveness. “Pain and grief are holes that never fill. We just learn to step around them as we walk.” It’s been a four year wait for Sunyi Dean’s follow […]
The nitty-gritty: A magical cafe is the setting for this engaging fantasy that blends mythology and modern themes. The Café of Infinite Doors has a fascinating premise, but it ended up being a mixed bag for me, mostly because of the characters (I’ll explain more below). I did love the touches of folklore, however, which […]
The nitty-gritty: A high stakes, emotional tale that explores language and communication between species, The Language of Liars is both thrilling and heart-wrenching. “He’d only wanted to understand them. How many Linguists had told themselves that lie? A lie enough repeated until it becomes true.” The Language of Liars is a beautifully written science fiction […]
The nitty-gritty: Lovers of YA dystopian stories won’t want to miss this series opener, a fast-paced, action-packed tale with plenty of surprises in store. The Verdant Cage has been getting lots of great buzz, so I was eager to experience it for myself. And I really enjoyed it, especially the last quarter of the book. […]
The nitty-gritty: A woman must return to the faerie world she was thrown out of in this fun and twisty fantasy debut. Books about faeries and the fae realm seem to be everywhere these days, so it’s nice to come across one that feels a little different. There are familiar elements in The Tricky Business […]
The nitty-gritty: Epic love story meets the apocalypse in T.J. Klune’s latest, a harrowing and emotional tale about self forgiveness and acceptance. If you’re looking for a short but powerful story about coming to terms with your life when the world is about to end, then you won’t want to miss We Burned So Bright. […]
The nitty-gritty: A promising, fast paced debut, Morsel is big on folk horror atmosphere but tried to do too much to be completely successful. Morsel is a strange little book that started out very strong, but at some point it took a weird turn and ended up in a place I wasn’t expecting. And I’m […]
The nitty-gritty: History and magic combine in this engaging debut fantasy story. The Geomagician wasn’t quite what I expected, but I ended up enjoying so many elements, even if there were a few things that didn’t work for me. Debut author Jennifer Mandula has taken a real life figure from history—Mary Anning, an English paleontologist […]