The nitty-gritty: A gentle, contemplative tale involving a journey, a robot and tea. This was my first Becky Chambers book, and of course now I want to go back and read her Wayfarers series. What a delightful, feel good story this was! Chambers packs a lot of heart, humor and wisdom into less than 150 […]
The nitty-gritty: Lush, beautiful writing couldn’t quite make up for a lack of consistent pacing, so unfortunately this book didn’t quite work for me. I’m sad to say I really struggled with this book, although there were elements I really enjoyed, so in the end, this was a mixed bag for me. For the Wolf […]
The nitty-gritty: Violent and disturbing, To Dust You Shall Return is a relentless but compelling mystery about a small town full of big secrets. She thought of Kate, and finally understood her sister’s misery outside of Harlow. All the Jarvis girls had done was trade one brand of fear for another, and the fear’s beating […]
The nitty gritty: Complex worldbuilding, intimate characterizations and brutal action make The Shadow of the Gods a must read for epic fantasy fans. “We all live with death’s talons in our shoulder, her breath on our neck.” – Elvar I’m happy to finally check John Gwynne off my fantasy bucket list! And I have to […]
The nitty-gritty: Come for the thrilling mecha battles, stay for the cute romance! Hard Reboot was a lot of fun! You might expect from looking at the cover that the story is chock full of mecha fighting goodness—and you would be partially right. But there is a lot more to this little story, and the […]
The nitty-gritty: A bawdy, irreverent and joyful adventure, The Blacktongue Thief is an excellent start to an exciting series. When listening for danger, one must never mistake silence for safety. Color me surprised and delighted by Christopher Buehlman’s traditional fantasy debut! I wasn’t sure what to expect but I did not expect this. Buehlman takes […]
The nitty-gritty: An inventive retelling with a pop music beat, The Album of Dr. Moreau is a funny, heartwarming surprise. I once made the mistake of telling an Englishman my story, and he turned it into a novel. What do you get when you mash together The Island of Doctor Moreau, a famous boy band […]
The nitty-gritty: Come for the characters, stay for the pulse-pounding action! The Last Watch is an excellent debut with heart, humor and thrills galore. A scrappy band of misfits sent to the outer reaches of the galaxy to protect humanity from a dangerous enemy; a newly recruited member of the team who is trying to […]
The nitty-gritty: Meticulously crafted and mind-bendingly creepy, Whisper Down the Lane is a riveting page-turner that’s hard to put down. Whisper Down the Lane is an extremely unsettling, paranoia-fueled psychological thriller that takes its ideas from some real life events and twists them into something new and horrifying. I wasn’t sure what to expect from […]
The nitty gritty: Dark and atmospheric, All the Murmuring Bones is an intriguing blend of fairy tale and mystery. Love is a barbed hook and family the line to which it is tied. It digs deep, and sometimes trying to remove it entirely does more damage than simply leaving the obstruction beneath the skin for […]