The nitty-gritty: Two children enter a magical land and learn some hard lessons in this tale-within-a-tale by Seanan McGuire. “People say I look like a girl, but that won’t ever make me one.” Zib blinked. “You’re not? But I thought–” “Oh, I’m a crow girl, but I’m not a girl girl.” The crow girl’s smile […]
The nitty-gritty: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is pure magic, a grand yet intimate and emotional tale of art, love and memories, told as only V.E. Schwab can tell it. A new V.E. Schwab book is always cause for celebration, but this time the celebration is well earned. This might be my favorite of […]
The nitty-gritty: Spooky and unsettling, The Residence is full of subtle, chilling moments that sneak up on you. Do you enjoy atmospheric ghost stories with a literary bent to them? Then you will not want to miss The Residence, Andrew Pyper’s latest. I have only read one of Pyper’s books—The Damned—but I loved it as […]
The nitty-gritty: Fascinating world building and interesting characters make The Bone Shard Daughter a solid debut fantasy. Book hype can be a double edged sword. On one hand, it can call attention to a debut author who might not otherwise get noticed, but it also sets up high expectations for the reader. The Bone Shard […]
The nitty-gritty: Small town secrets and teenagers coming of age meet head-on in Christina Henry’s latest horror story, a book that worked for me on some levels but not on others. To be honest, until about the halfway point, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book much. It’s quite different from […]
The nitty-gritty: A carefully plotted mystery with lots of surprises, a vivid setting, and characters you’ll love to root for. And of course, a rescue pitbull mix named Lucy. I was pleasantly surprised last year when I discovered Deception Cove, the first book in Owen Laukkanen’s Neah Bay series, so I was delighted to find […]
The nitty-gritty: Emily Tesh revisits the strange world of Greenhollow in this atmospheric and otherworldly sequel. There was no one. Black earth and a pink sky; an apple tree all poisonous bright; the stench of rotten meat; and in every direction flat empty land, broken up only by scattered upright stones arranged in discomfiting patterns […]
The nitty-gritty: An exciting, multilayered sci-fi crime thriller with action, intrigue and emotional depth. Thank you to the publisher for inviting me to post a review during the blog tour for Blood World. I had so much fun with this book! If you love sci-fi thrillers that lean more towards crime fiction than sci-fi, then […]
The nitty-gritty: Another fun entry into Ford’s Frost Files series, get ready for earthquakes, snarky characters, an evil genius child, and plenty of sh*t flying around. I had a blast reading last year’s The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind, and I’ve been really looking forward to the sequel. Last week, when I […]
The nitty-gritty: Dark and unsettling, The Year of the Witching is perfect for fans of horror-tinged, dystopian fantasy. You know me, when I see a book with the word “witch” in the title, I’m all over it! So of course I couldn’t wait to read The Year of the Witching, a debut that really impressed […]