The nitty-gritty: Another winning story in the Heartstone series, I was once again enchanted by White’s lively storytelling and wonderful world-building elements. One of my favorite things about Heartstone, the first book in White’s Pride & Prejudice fantasy retelling, was the world building. I’m a big P&P fan, but those elements are not what won […]
The nitty-gritty: Tidhar’s latest is a challenging but ultimately satisfying read that deals with histories, both real and imagined. Reading a Lavie Tidhar book is like being in a fever dream. Events, characters, places and impressions swirl around you, creating a sense of unease, or confusion, or sadness. Tidhar pieces the parts of his stories […]
The nitty-gritty: Grady Hendrix’s latest hums with frenetic energy, a dark and dangerous, pulse-pounding love letter to the power of music. A girl with a guitar never has to apologize for anything. I became a Grady Hendrix fan after reading Horrorstör several years ago, and I enjoyed My Best Friend’s Exorcism (although not quite as […]
The nitty-gritty: Lush imagery and beautiful writing make this a stand-out YA fantasy, despite some issues I had with one of the characters. Keeper of the Bees, as I found out after I requested it, is a companion novel to Blackbird of the Gallows, which got lots of rave reviews from the blogging community last […]
The nitty-gritty: Delightfully twisted and disturbing, The Mouth of the Dark is part Tales from the Dark Side, part Poltergeist, and completely bat shit crazy. The launch of small publisher Flame Tree Press caught my attention last month when they were blasted all over the internet—good marketing, guys!—and I was curious enough to head over […]
The nitty-gritty: Full of blatant, over-the-top horror, Hunter Shea’s latest is just what I needed for a quick, summertime read. After reading numerous rave reviews from fellow bloggers Barb and Stormi, I knew I had to try a Hunter Shea book. And Jurassic, Florida was pretty much what I expected: lots of fun, tons of […]
The nitty-gritty: A lovely blend of history and fantasy, The Mermaid is a beautifully written ode to the sea and one of the iconic creatures who lives there. Those eyes were not of the shore, he thought. They were grey as the storm that boiled below them, the constant swirl and crash that was the […]
The nitty-gritty: A disturbing and atmospheric story that had some cool ideas but didn’t quite deliver overall. When I saw the cover of Aetherchrist I just knew I had to read it. I mean, come on! It’s such a cool cover. And after reading this VERY dark novella, I can say that the cover perfectly […]
The nitty-gritty: Newman’s series doesn’t slow down at all in this latest installment, which combines mystery, suspense and plenty of raw emotions. I’ve enjoyed this series so much, and it’s not over yet, thank goodness! All of Emma Newman’s Planetfall books can be read as standalones, although Before Mars does reference events in the previous […]
The nitty-gritty: A fast and furious science-based space thriller with plenty of surprises. The minute I read the synopsis for Obscura I knew I had to read it, and I’m so glad that I did. This was a fast-paced, twisty mystery in space that kept me guessing and scared the pants off me more than […]