Nico
I really didn't like the writing (especially the first-person and we had it in multiple POVs) and I didn't really like the characters (a couple seem very caricature) but I did really like merger of first contact with Cherokee folklore, and honestly the opening and closing letters hookef me and and satiated me respectively. IRL book club pick, and no one hated it and I do recommend for SF readers, especially for fellow first contact fiends.
3.5 stars. This was a fantastic horror (even with some issues), up until the end. Two radio hosts get a new job, except the radio tower is in the middle of the woods and they very quickly learn the forest is not what it seems. Singing coming from the pipes and the bird with human eyes that relentlessly pecks on the glass are the first clues. It was utterly creepy, at times grotesque, and so good, again until that very random anti-climactic ending. It's the kind of book that if you don't like it at the beginning you're probably not going to like it later.
This novella really hit, even if the speculative was nonexistent for the first third and then a bit random. Phee volunteers to pomp her aunt's Homegoing against her mother's wishes and as pomp she travels to the town her aunt founded. The book is really about a young African-American woman trying to find her independence amongst pressures to marry in the backdrop of South Carolina during the Reconstruction Era. It does touch on some of the crimes, resistance and community of the time and I found its historical fiction elements powerful. Everything about the novella was smooth for me — but I can see how some will wish different parts were fleshed out more — and I devoured the audiobook, which was no doubt amplified by the narration from the phenomenal Bahni Turpin.
This novella started out strong for me, since the alternate history/steampunk vibe of 1817 New Orleans was incredibly captivating. I did hit that wall I can hit with some first-person POVs and it began to feel twee in the writing and the climax unfortunately. Very glad I finally got to it though and I do want more books in this world.
I'm not a Kingfisher fan so I went into this with low expectations. By 25% I was thinking I was going to quit, because there's something about Kingfisher's character narrations that can sound the same to me and is off-putting. However, the mystery of the poisoning had me curious enough to keep going and by 33% I couldn't stop listening, and not too long after I was completely entranced by the story. Best reimagining of a fairytale I've encountered.
3.5 stars. A literary, intergenerational family story with a legitimately disturbing house, but really about the loss of a child, abuse towards women, classism, and revenge. In the beginning of this novella I was lured by the scary house but found myself staying for the contrasting perspectives of grandmother and granddaughter, and I was surprised and satisfied by the anger and unfortunate grief at the end.
3.5 stars rounded up. The novella follows three women, including one witch, in a small town where evil is trying to take over. It was again easy to consume, but it was successful in being able to have some character development and move an interesting plot all the way through. I'll add the sequels to my to-read list for a rainy day!
4.5 stars, rounding to 4 for now? Idk. This was absolute escapist, magical, cozy joy and I needed every second of it. Our MC is a novice who can speak to objects and has aspirations to finally advance in her journey to becoming a mage. After an incident, the High Mage sends her and a notoriously disliked mage to a rural town to inventory objects. It was very cute, and I didn't hate the romance! For folks who read Leong's debut, I think this is sweeter and stronger, and it certainly doesn't follow the same plot formula nor follow the same characters — it is its own novel merely set in the same universe. If folks have read The Spellshop, this is what I wanted that to be but executed perfectly for my tastes and expectations.
Book 3 in the Lamplight Murders series and it was kind of a doozy. I loved this for the bigger world (it is not a closed-circle mystery but instead takes place across the streets of Lamplight), the dark setting and mood perfect for Halloween, and the insane twists Stang has set up for future books. There also seemed to be more vulnerability and depth in following along in the mind of Huntress Agarwal, but the tone is still fun and we get more found-family shenanigans from our recurring characters too.
First, I think this is a great debut, even if I have a few gripes. It's a fast-paced, New Adult urban fantasy centering on a magic-less daughter of a powerful witch family. Everything changes for her when she is called home and soon after is pulled into the kidnapping of an unusual human by her bestie CZ, a vampire also from a powerful family. There were a fair amount of moving parts, mysteries and questions I wanted answers to, and likable characters, so much so that I moved pretty quickly through the audio. My quibbles are that it is marketed as adult, but I found the theme of the dismissed second child and almost all of the writing, especially the cutesy dialogue between characters, to be very young — despite them being 25 and trust fund kids — hence me landing on New Adult and not YA. My other quibble was that I didn't have total buy-in into some of the friendships and romance. But yeah, this is a really good modern urban fantasy that I think will work for folks looking for a quick plot and cutish character relationships, and not expecting deep supernatural lore or character development. I might not continue in the series, it will depend on the description, but if Kvita writes another story I will definitely read it.
I gobbled this up in 36 hours. 4.5 stars rounding up. One of my most anticipated Halloween reads and this was exactly what I wanted. Raised in a family who are caretakers of land where the inhuman are bound, Kate has to manage the campground, make sure campers understand the rules (or risk death), deal with town politics, and occasionally vanquish a new monster trying to claim the campground. Each chapter reads like a monster of the week, but there is a clear story arc that really comes to a crescendo at the end. I've seen this tagged as cozy, but I don't think so because there is a lot of high stakes, tension and death. Highly recommend if you're looking for a no BS MC, cool lore, and scary stories to tell around the campfire.
This was on my radar as a super cute graphic novel appropriate for the Halloween season. It features a sentient garlic named Garlic who has a little adventure to confront a vampire. I had no idea this was a middle grade geared towards the littler side of the littles, but it was cute and probably a great read for the littles. Its themes are about being brave, being anxious and how everyone responds to a bully.
This was just fine...as in just eh. Two hitmen, often of the supernatural, take a job where the money is too good to resist. This was an easy read, and I liked the hitmen's banter and nonchalant attitude about the undead hitman getting hurt, but too easy in both plot and character work - everyone was kind of flat. I would read another installment, with hope that some things are fleshed out a bit more.
LOVED this, very twisty, fast-paced and doing something different with something familiar. Huntress Agarwal arrives at Spindle Manor where a group of patrons are staying the night — but she knows not all is as it seems. The series is like Christie's Perot but in a supernatural world and our investigator is actually a huntress of things that go bump in the night. The series would be an excellent Halloween read for anyone looking for creepy vibes. For folks looking for deep character work this might not work.
This finally concludes The Witches Discworld subseries for me. I'm kinda disappointed! It just wasn't to the level of the others, and is my second least favorite Discworld after Soul Music. Also the fat shaming and poorly written fat female character continued from the Maskerade to this one. Very annoying.
Sequel to Shutter, this was a pretty solid crime paranormal thriller-lite set in New Mexico. With the first book I loved the timeline about our protagonist's upbringing, Dine heritage, and grandmother, and I wasn't so into the crime plot. With this one, I wasn't more into the crime plot than the POV following our killer. Regardless, I enjoyed it and highly recommend the series for folks who already read in the genres.
3.5 stars. I avoided this book because the circus setting always put me off. Now that I've read it, it's not about a circus. It begins as a beautifully told, effed up story about two selfish magicians who raise two children in isolation for the sole purpose of a game and the innocent lives who get entangled into the plays decade after decade. I was hooked by the lush writing and desire to know how the game would end. It began to lose me when it leaned into a romance built on infatuation (vomit) and I felt like I was just being told what was happening by the end, it became less about my connection to these characters.
This is a mystery crime thriller story enmeshed with a mysterious entity “The Strangeness” that links living beings into a sort of hive mind. The writing was great, but I struggled a bit with what the book was. Was it about family searching for and missing their missing loved ones, commentary on SA, or sci-fi in the format of mystery? Overall I liked it, especially because I loved the woods setting, and I would recommend it.
Even though this is technically dystopian science fiction, it really felt more general fiction with a sprinkle of spec fic. It follows a mother who is detained in the near future when her risk score dropped because she supposedly had a dream about killing her husband. Its main theme is around the industrial prison complex, which was compelling, and the last 50% was pretty darn interesting, but the first half was so slow for me and could have been cut in half.