The nitty-gritty: A dark and twisty, different kind of love story, where things are not at all as they first appear. Like everyone else on the planet, I heard all the marketing noise about the big twist at the end of Behind Her Eyes, via the #wtfthatending hashtag. I guess as far as marketing schemes […]
The nitty-gritty: A magical and thrilling adventure into the world of dreams. It looks as if someone has attempted to build a clock but did not know when to stop. It is a cataclysm of clockwork parts in synchronized motion arranged in the shape of a frigate. The ship has no sails, barely any hull […]
The nitty-gritty: A clever, inter-dimensional homage to Lovecraft & Co., with lots of action, snark and humor. So here’s the thing. When I set off after the guy who stole the spear, I really didn’t expect to end the night chained to an altar in the ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral while my blood is […]
The nitty-gritty: An imaginative Pride and Prejudice retelling that will delight readers with its incredible world-building, deft characterizations and thrilling action. When I heard this book described as “Pride and Prejudice with dragons,” my first reaction was “Yes!” But then I thought, “Huh? That sounds…weird?” This was an odd book for me because of the […]
The nitty-gritty: A short but emotional story about life and death, with ghosts and witches and cats. And rats. We talk about the knives in her kitchen. She agrees to lock them in the closet for the night. Too readily: she’s not a knife girl, not Vicky. I listen to the despair and weariness in […]
The nitty-gritty: An fantastic, action-packed follow-up to Time Salvager, full of complex characters and relationships, and yes, some time travel! I’m always happy to read a Wesley Chu book, especially since he’s the author of one of my favorite science fiction series, the Tao books. And I always love when a favorite author ventures out and […]
The nitty-gritty: A strong concept that should have worked, but for this reader, there just wasn’t enough emotional connection for me to enjoy the story. Alex was a survivor. Alex wanted the fix, and that was the deal, the box of Turkish delight to sweeten the work of professional betrayal: half a century. Standard offer […]
The nitty-gritty: Weird and wild, this is one alien invasion story you don’t want to miss. “Give him a change of clothes,” says Oyin Da. She code-switches into Yoruba where her speech is not so devoid of emotion. “I’m not going to see potential adversaries smelling of meat.” “Touch these clothes and you die,” I […]
The nitty-gritty: A strange, sometimes violent and unexpectedly emotional thriller about a family unable to cope with tragedy. I have to admit the blurb on the dust jacket of this book initially grabbed my attention because a) it’s by Stephen King and b) he mentions one of my favorite books EVER—The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. […]
The nitty-gritty: Another page turner from Emma Newman, an addictive mystery full of twists and turns, set in a future full of scary possibilities. I enjoyed Planetfall last year, which I read during Sci-Fi Month 2015, but I was stunned by how much more I loved After Atlas, a “companion” novel which takes place in […]