The nitty-gritty: Romance, humor and thrilling action combine in this fun sci-fi series opener. “I know all about you, Temperance Reed, and you’re a calamity waiting to happen. It’s my job to mitigate the damage.” Calamity is the first book published by Tor’s new Bramble imprint, which focuses on SFF romance, and judging by how […]
The nitty-gritty: An impressive, well-rounded debut, These Burning Stars is a must read for fans of intricately plotted and character driven stories. It was touch and go at first, but These Burning Stars ended up being a huge success for me. This is science fiction, but the story almost reads like epic fantasy. Think Fonda […]
The nitty-gritty: A twisty, tension-filled story about a dysfunctional relationship, My Darling Girl has some surprises in store for readers who like a bit of the supernatural in their tales. I always hear great things about Jennifer McMahon, so I’m very glad I finally got to read one of her books. My Darling Girl was […]
The nitty-gritty: Lina Rather combines cosmic horror and a fascinating historical time period in this engaging and uplifting tale. A Season of Monstrous Conceptions is an immersive story set in 1675 London with some wonderfully creepy cosmic horror elements. I loved Lina Rather’s Our Lady of Endless Worlds series, so I was curious to see […]
The nitty-gritty: Fans of eerie, gothic fiction will not want to miss The Daughters of Block Island, a contemporary thriller dripping with atmosphere. “She looks back to see White Hall looming behind her like a haunted house. Like a nightmare. Like the cover of a horror novel. It bares its teeth, beckons her through the […]
The nitty-gritty: Cottagecore turns bloody in this uneven slasher/romance. I’ve been looking forward to another book by Delilah S. Dawson ever since I read and loved The Violence. Bloom seemed promising, with it’s beautiful but disturbing cover, but unfortunately this was just OK for me. Maybe the novella length had something to do with that, […]
The nitty-gritty: Two paranormal mercenaries for hire try to outwit a demon in this short but lively story with plenty of humor and heart. This is my first Richard Kadrey book, and I’m not sure why I waited so long to check him out. The Pale House Devil is a fun, funny paranormal story with a […]
The nitty-gritty: Vivid imagery, body horror and the terrors of parenthood combine in this bizarre and heartbreaking mystery. “You looked like a ghost in your sonogram. The second I saw the foggy outline of your lima bean body, I remember wondering to myself, Is this boy gonna end up haunting me? Your mother thought you […]
The nitty-gritty: Supervillains are super fun in this laugh-out-loud tale with sentient cats and dolphins, a secret lair and plenty of the author’s trademark social commentary. Scalzi takes on supervillains—sort of—in his latest comedic offering, and boy was this a bunch of fun. I think if I’d read this blind without knowing who the author […]
The nitty-gritty: Horror, music and nostalgia combine in surprising ways in this chilling debut. “A sound unlike anything any of them had ever heard bloomed through the air like black ink on wet paper. It no longer came from the PA speakers; it came from everywhere. It came from the floor, the ceiling, from the […]