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: A weird, wild ride of a story about five sentient teddy bears who must work together in order to survive in the wide, wide world. Did Buddy have two sides? Did every teddy? He was both magical and ordinary—Made in America but Surface Washable. He had both a Real Silk Heart and Polyester […]
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: A thrilling and thought provoking tale, The Bond had me riveted from start to finish. I waited far too long to pick up The Bond, and I have to admit the upcoming release of the sequel, The Hive Queen, spurred me to finally read it. And wow, I was blown away by this […]
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: A sprawling, epic fantasy with plenty of exciting action, high stakes, and sparkling characters, Ashes of the Sun is a fantastic start to a new series. A race to find a powerful magical artifact, heists, deals, doublecrossing characters and much much more, I had a blast with Ashes of the Sun. This is […]
The nitty-gritty: Flyaway is dripping with style and atmosphere, but the plot and characters fell flat for me. Howling wilderness, my mother had once called the bush beyond town. Dad had laughed. My heart sat high in my chest. I was more alive and more scared than I had been for years. Ahead of us, […]
The nitty-gritty: A lighthearted, humorous “found family” story with plenty of laughs and even a few sweet moments. I enjoyed this unexpectedly humorous and touching novella, even though it didn’t really rock my world. The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is Zen Cho’s ode to the Chinese wuxia genre of martial arts […]
The nitty-gritty: Ambitious and complex, We Ride the Storm, although beloved by many readers, didn’t quite work for me. There has been a lot of hype surrounding We Ride the Storm, and tons of 4 and 5 star reviews on Goodreads. But this time the hype backfired for me, and I ended up really struggling […]