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: 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: 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: A wacky science lesson with swearing, The Kaiju Preservation Society is full of humor, heart and just enough tension to keep the pages turning. “We did our job,” Kahurangi said. “We preserved a kaiju.” I don’t know about you, but every once in a while I need a book that’s fun, fast, and […]
The nitty -gritty: A short, bloody tale that explores the thin line between life and death. I don’t often read self-published fiction, but once in a while I do like to see what’s out there, and I’m glad I had a chance to read David Barclay’s The Maker’s Box. This is a weird, gruesome little […]
Bluebird was a blast, and I’m so glad I had the chance to read it. According to the publisher’s description, you can expect “Lesbian gunslingers in space!” And yes, you get all of that, but Bluebird is so much more. Ciel Pierlot has written a thrilling adventure complete with spies, thieves, betrayal, secrets, gunfights, and […]
The nitty-gritty: Catriona Ward raises the bar on her latest psychological thriller, a dark and frenetic tale full of family secrets, blood and pain. I feel her, the old Rob, when I come to Sundial, hiding in the dawn and at the edges of things; the ghost of who I once was. Could I find […]
The nitty-gritty: An excellent sequel, Sisters of the Forsaken Stars delves deeper into the complicated lives of a group of nuns in space. I’m so glad Lina Rather decided to continue her series, and after finishing Sisters of the Forsaken Stars, I hope there are more books on the way. The author takes the idea […]