Take a mystery featuring an eagle eye detective; an astute sidekick along for the ride; an atmospheric setting that conjures the obscuring, damp chill of pea-souper fog; railway journeys and train platforms; scholarly rivalries; tea and scones; and a soupçon of pining. You might be imagining Victorian London. You might even have had a certain … Continue reading Move Over Sherlock Holmes: The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
Tag: 2SLGBTQIA+
That time Natasha Pulley shattered me into tiny bits and then delicately put me back together again (i.e., I read The Kingdoms)
It’s been a while since I’ve been so emotionally devastated by a book. I realize, in retrospect, that I’ve been doing a lot of comfort reading. Books where, even when bad things happen, I know that a happy ending is guaranteed. I didn’t know of any such guarantee when I started The Kingdoms. I had … Continue reading That time Natasha Pulley shattered me into tiny bits and then delicately put me back together again (i.e., I read The Kingdoms)
Fall 2022 is Outdoing Itself: Forthcoming Fiction Titles to Get Excited About
So. Many. Exciting. Books. October/November is bursting at the seams with titles that I am itching to get my hands on. If I could, I would clear my calendar and hole up with these books until Christmas. Without further ado, here is a list to spur you on to your local indie bookstore. October 25 … Continue reading Fall 2022 is Outdoing Itself: Forthcoming Fiction Titles to Get Excited About
The Necessary Discomfort of the Southern Gothic — But Make it Personal: Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
I thought I was done with summer books for the year, and onto autumn reads. Hence, my dark academia binge. Luckily for me, I read Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo just in time, when the last dog days of summer were still upon us, even as school bells were ringing in the distance. May I … Continue reading The Necessary Discomfort of the Southern Gothic — But Make it Personal: Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
The Nomeolvides women are bound by three things: 1. Anyone they fall in love with vanishes.2. If they leave the bounds of La Pradera, the estate they live on, they will die. 3. They can make flowers grow from their fingertips. Feiwal and Friends, 2017 Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore is a gorgeous fairy tale … Continue reading Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
Furiously Alive: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
A heat wave book if I ever read one. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi is a book that colourfully conjures sun, sweat, and that shimmer in the air on a hot, hot day. Oh, yes, and a little splash of blood, too. Simon & Schuster, 2022 It is … Continue reading Furiously Alive: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
Someone in Time: Tales of Time Crossed Romance
I first heard of this anthology when Catherynne M. Valente tweeted about it back in May. She said: "Please please buy this, I genuinely think my story in it is one of my best, if not my actual best ever." Well. As a huge fan of hers, how could I refuse? And then...and then I … Continue reading Someone in Time: Tales of Time Crossed Romance
A Tonic Against Despair: Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryko Aoki
Content warning: transphobia, abuse, sexual assault One of the perks of having a wildly out of control TBR list is that sometimes you don't remember exactly what a certain book is or why it's on there. You just recognize its title and author one day in the library, and a little bell goes off in … Continue reading A Tonic Against Despair: Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryko Aoki
In Which I Talk at Length About Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow Trilogy, and Eat Sour Cherry Scones
I've been a fan of Rainbow Rowell for a long time. She is one of my all-time favourite comfort-read authors, and Fangirl has long been my number one pick of her books (I wrote one of my first blog posts about it). However, these days the Simon Snow trilogy has elbowed its way to the … Continue reading In Which I Talk at Length About Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow Trilogy, and Eat Sour Cherry Scones
Come for the Intrigue, Stay for the Impeccability: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
In an abandoned royal compound surrounded by haunted birch barrens and a glowing lake, an old peasant woman spins stories. A young cleric listens, and writes records. A magical bird listens, and remembers. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo is a small and perfectly spare novella. In spite of its brevity, it … Continue reading Come for the Intrigue, Stay for the Impeccability: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo