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: The devil, teens and wheat fields collide in Liggett’s latest terrifying story. Once again, Kim Liggett tackles the irresistible combination of teenagers and horror. In her debut Blood and Salt, she set her story in the corn fields. This time the story revolves around wheat fields (OK Kim what’s up with the crop stories??) […]
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: Another winning story from Burgis, filled with political schemes, historical intrigue and plenty of secrets. I really enjoyed Burgis’ Masks and Shadows earlier this year, and so I didn’t hesitate at all when I was offered a review copy of Congress of Secrets. Burgis sets her latest in 1814 Vienna, during the famous […]
The nitty-gritty: A fun and fast start to a series with spaceships, dragons and plenty of action. I do love when publishers decide to re-release older books in order to make them available to a new audience, and when I heard about Dragon and Thief, a book originally published in 2003, I thought I’d give […]
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. […]