The nitty-gritty: Readers looking for the perfect fantasy/mystery will love Robert Jackson Bennett’s immersive world building and lively characters. “Perhaps it is a wise thing, to prepare for death every day, just as the Empire prepares for death every wet season.” I always love it when the first book in a new series works, and […]
The nitty-gritty: A supernatural revenge story revolving around a dangerous game is the focus of Melissa Albert’s latest, a beautifully written, dark tale with a compelling mystery. “That’s why they were here, eating crap coffee and bad sweets at a rest stop perched like a concrete spider over the highway. So Becca could see what […]
The nitty-gritty: Monsters both supernatural and human populate the pages of this short but thrilling dark adventure tale. I always hear good things about Premee Mohamed’s books, but this is my first experience with her writing. Now I can see what all the fuss is about, because I loved everything about The Butcher of the […]
The nitty-gritty: Angsty, immature characters, overly-dramatic dialog and secrets revealed too soon add up to a disappointing story. It seems February is the month of disappointments, as yet another one of my highly anticipated 2024 releases failed to impress me. I had high hopes for An Education in Malice, especially after loving the author’s last […]
The nitty-gritty: I wanted the gothic creepiness of What Moves the Dead, but instead this sequel lacked the elements that made the first book so good. “This isn’t just a dream, though. It’s the war.” I absolutely loved What Moves the Dead last year, and I was honestly surprised to see Kingfisher had written a […]
The nitty-gritty: Magic, art forgery and heists make up the plot of Gwenda Bond’s latest, a fun mash-up with mixed results. I ended up having a lot of fun with The Frame-Up, despite a few issues with pacing and some of the world building elements. Gwenda Bond has written a magical heist story with a […]
The nitty-gritty: A man gets more than he bargained for when he decides to go after his fiancé in this strange, compelling but uneven sci-fi tale. This was an odd one, folks. The tagline on the cover promises a sci-fi thriller, but “thriller” is not a word I would use to describe The Sanctuary. That’s […]
The nitty-gritty: A short, psychological horror story that is heavy on mood and light on plot. Your Shadow Half Remains is a psychological horror story that takes place after a pandemic-like event, and it’s definitely more “psychological” than “horror,” in my opinion, which is probably why I didn’t rate it higher. I do love Sunny […]
The nitty-gritty: A fascinating idea—cryonics—held my attention, but the plot was confusing at times, as the author kept his readers in the dark far too long. Deep Freeze is a sci-fi thriller about cryonics, and I enjoyed parts of it very much. Saying that, I struggled with the way the story was told, which I’ll […]
The nitty-gritty: Thrilling, romantic and charged with emotion, The Serpent & the Wings of Night is the dark vampire tale you didn’t know you needed. I hadn’t even heard of this book when I was offered a review copy, but a few glowing reviews caught my attention and I agreed to read it. And I’m […]