The nitty-gritty: Upbeat, funny and thoughtful, The Teller of Small Fortunes is as cozy as a warm pastry and a cup of tea. “Small fortunes are wispy, delicate things—not like greater fortunes, whose lines are etched deeply and will not be moved for love or for money.” This book came along at the just the […]
The nitty-gritty: The Birds and Alien but with giant cicadas, The Swarm is not for the faint of heart and should be read indoors with all the windows firmly closed. If you’re not a bug person, you might want to think twice before picking up The Swarm. On the other hand, if you’re a fan […]
The nitty-gritty: A relentlessly paced survival story, Run is a violent thrill ride from start to finish. Run was originally self published back in 2011, and I’m so glad the publisher decided to reissue it this year. If you’ve read more recent books by Blake Crouch, you’ll see how far he’s progressed as a writer […]
The nitty-gritty: A highly entertaining debut, American Ghoul excels with standout characters and unexpected humor. You can’t tell from the rather serious cover, but American Ghoul is extremely funny and much more lighthearted than I expected. This is due mostly to the pitch perfect voice of the main character Lavinia, a recently freed slave who […]
The nitty-gritty: Rachel Harrison takes on vampires in this fun, fast-paced story about friendships and sticking together when life gets tough. The short version: Thelma & Louise with vampires. The long version: I’m a huge Rachel Harrison fan, especially since her last book Black Sheep was one of my top five favorite books of 2023. […]
The nitty-gritty: In her latest fairy tale retelling, T. Kingfisher once again proves she’s the master of dark fantasy with a healthy dose of heart and humor. T. Kingfisher is one of the most consistent writers I know, and I always enjoy her stories immensely. A Sorceress Comes to Call is no exception, a delightfully […]
The nitty-gritty: Josh Winning mixes slasher horror and cancel culture in his latest, an entertaining blend of elements with layered characters and plenty of blood. Heads Will Roll was lots of fun, even if there were a few story elements that didn’t make sense. This is yet another entry into the “camp slasher horror” sub […]
The nitty-gritty: A haunted house story with literary flair and unexpected emotion, Ghost Mother is the must-read ghost story of summer. “People said to me, “I am sorry for your loss,” and they were kind to say that, they were right, it was a “loss,” but somehow I always heard it in my head as […]
The nitty-gritty: Short and sweet with a touch of (implied) spice, A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience is a gothic fantasy treat. Stephanie Burgis is back with a short but delightful gothic fantasy romance with a vampire love interest, and as I do with all her books, I enjoyed this immensely! Margaret Dunhaven has just found […]
The nitty-gritty: An ultra slow-burn story made this a tedious read in the beginning, but the fantastic ending was worth the wait. “Something quiet but catastrophic had happened inside them all through that terrible night. Something had changed, irrevocably. They all had realized, in their own way, that they were either going to die in […]