The nitty-gritty: Six high school friends with magical abilities get into a heap of trouble in Gailey’s first foray into young adult fiction. Sarah Gailey is a rockstar in publishing these days, with no less than four new books published within a span of less than two years. In their latest, they dip their toes […]
The nitty-gritty: A bloody, scary good time, skillfully written and paced, Bent Heavens kept me flipping pages, even though I had some issues with a few elements. I’ve seen some fantastic reviews for Bent Heavens, and so I went into it with high hopes, knowing this was a thriller/horror story revolving around aliens. And without […]
This review contains spoilers! The nitty-gritty: Szpara tackles some big ideas in this edgy, sometimes shocking dystopian, but the lack of concrete world-building, uneven pacing and dubious character motivations left me a little cold. I don’t usually do ranty reviews, but once in a while I read a book that simply demands one. Docile is […]
The nitty-gritty: Dark and magical, You Let Me In surprised me in every way possible and is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Faeries are no fit company for the living; touching them taints you like a disease. I grew like a pale fruit in the shadows, small and bitter, never getting […]
The nitty-gritty: Alma Katsu’s signature atmospheric prose elevates this eerie, domestic thriller set on the ill fated Titanic, with mixed results. The Deep was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2020, and I’m sorry to say it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I was expecting a ghost story set aboard the […]
The nitty-gritty: Lovers cursed by a witch find themselves reliving their lives, over and over, in Constance Sayers’ sparkling and gripping debut. Don’t let the beautiful, ethereal cover fool you. A Witch in Time has some very dark themes mixed in with a romance plot about a trio of people who are connected through time […]
The nitty-gritty: Wormholes, a missing grandmother, relationship drama and even some eldritch god horror infuse this short and lively novella with excitement and heart. Finna was a lot of wacky fun, with some surprisingly thoughtful emotional moments and commentary on identity. I wasn’t sure all these disparate elements would mesh together, but by the end […]
The nitty-gritty: An exciting, fast-paced fantasy debut that will leave readers clamoring for the next book. Wow, this was fun! I believe this is A.K. Larkwood’s debut novel, and I was very impressed. The Unspoken Name is set in a fantastical world where dying cities, sleeping gods, airships, magical portals and more set the stage […]
The nitty-gritty: A lush and evocative story about a young girl’s coming-of-age in Baja California, Untamed Shore was a pleasant surprise. Outside her window, the moon watched her, but it did not judge her. The moon was pure. And she thought of Coyote, who dreamt beautiful yellow dreams and thus created the world. But when […]
The nitty-gritty: Queer Librarians take on the Man in this rolicking, imaginitive Wild West tale. Esther was, she realized, nothing more than a hand of cards in a poker game between these three women. She was only a symbol. She wasn’t the thing they were playing for. And like a bad hand, she could be […]