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 […]
The nitty-gritty: Delightful and charming from start to finish, A Widow’s Charm melds magic, high stakes and relatable characters into a story that perfectly balances comedy and romance. A Widow’s Charm surprised me in so many ways, and I ended up absolutely loving it. First, I thought this was going to be a contemporary fantasy, […]
The nitty-gritty: Despite a solid story idea and plenty of tension, Crawlspace didn’t deliver on the horror. Crawlspace had so much potential, but unfortunately the execution did not work for me at all, which resulted in a slow paced space thriller with very little scares. It was also bogged down with page after page of […]
The nitty-gritty: An ambitious debut that combines history, magic, mythology and thrilling action, The Red Winter is a heady mix of horror and humor. “What a night of monsters it was for the good people at the Bow and Brace.” I’ll admit The Red Winter isn’t the kind of book I usually pick up, but […]
The nitty-gritty: An intriguing mystery, tangled interpersonal relationships and a fascinating futuristic world make this sweet, humorous story a must read. I’m enjoying this series so much! Nobody’s Baby is the second book in the Dorothy Gentleman series, revolving around a generation ship on the way to colonize a new planet and focusing on various […]
The nitty-gritty: Lindy Ryan’s latest horror-humor mash-up successfully mixes the grittiness of a slasher with the heartfelt emotions of friendship. “Barb, sliced apart in the parking lot. Mom, cut open on the closet floor. And now me, with my dead mother’s face in my new master bedroom.” Lindy Ryan won my heart with her Bless […]