Review: Silver and Lead

Silver and Lead by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After a couple of years’ hiatus following that big double header a couple years back, Seanan McGuire brings back her best protagonist for her 19th adventure in the Faerie knowes of San Francisco and beyond, where the pieces left behind by Titania’s alternate universe spell still need to be picked up. Namely, the theft of a good number of royal artifacts. And also the fact that Toby is pregnant now, and missed several months of that while under Titania’s evil spell. And the fact that the Luidaeg wants to be the baby’s godparent (an unnerving proposition to say the least.) While McGuire’s other worlds have been unhooking me as a reader during Toby’s hiatus - I’m especially looking at InCryptid with its increased emphasis on the cuckoos and how, unintentionally or otherwise, they include almost every negative autistic stereotype you can think of - it’s Toby’s world I’ve been looking forward to returning to the most. And on the 19th novel in the series, McGuire again delivers a fast paced, rollicking adventure worthy of any Faerie kingdom’s treasure.

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Review: The Chronicles of Viktor Valentine #2: What Lurks in the Shadows

The Chronicles of Viktor Valentine #2: What Lurks in the Shadows by Z Brewer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If I remember correctly, Pibling Z announced this series with only two books to start, but reading this quick little all-ages thriller makes it clear that there has to be at least one more to resolve certain cliffhangers. As a loyal Z Brewer Minion Horde reader almost all the way back to the beginning of their career, this book gave me flashbacks to the original Chronicles of Vladimir Tod something fierce, with Viktor having to deal with not only friendship drama with Damon, but Alys as well. Not to mention Joss McMillan being back in the picture to train Alys as a Slayer, October still refusing to speak to Joss even though she's married to his cousin Henry...and, of course, Lilith being Lilith and lurking on the periphery with her unknowable, mysterious schemes. And it happens that I read this book on the same evening when I cracked open a bottle of Sprite Vanilla Frost, so similarly named to the Prairie Frost which Viktor drinks at times in this book. While I didn't get to read this one at Halloween (due in large part to my having moved in October of this year), hopefully if Book 3 comes along at Halloween next year, I'll be able to properly read it during that season...

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Review: A Daughter of Fair Verona

A Daughter of Fair Verona by Christina Dodd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another surprising new find in the mystery section of the Washington County library system, this is the first of a speculative new series of quasi fantastical historical thrillers set in medieval Italy and focusing on Rosaline, daughter of Romeo and Juliet, who faked their mutual suicide and broke free of their feuding families to start a family of their own. It’s a bizarre combo of Shakespearean wit and Rosaline’s twentysomething snark to lend the prose a modern twist or two. Naturally, literary professors would be liable to shit their pants reading this - I’m especially picturing David Strathairn’s character on A Man on the Inside - but for the rest of us, it’s a promising start to a new series, and while it doesn’t quite stick the landing, I’m still glad to have Book 2 on my shelf already.

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Review: One Final Turn

One Final Turn by Ashley Weaver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fifth and final mystery in this series finally goes to Lisbon as its predecessor promised, and also resolves the longest standing family mystery cliffhangers going all the way back to Book 1. While each book is a relatively short one, and the time frame in which the whole series takes place feels shockingly short as well, it still earns its place as one of my new favorites with all the drama that comes with it - including the ever shippable Ellie and Ramsey romance. Tropey it may be, but Weaver uses her tools well, and this series now gets itself an ave atque vale after so much binge reading from the library.

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Review: Empire of the Dawn

Empire of the Dawn by Jay Kristoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dear Mister Kristoff:

Fuck.

My.

Face.

Review: The Impossible Fortune

The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Thursday Murder Club returns after a brief hiatus for the fifth mystery in the series, and this one’s a 3.5 rounded up to 4 in large part because returning to these characters is a stark reminder that Osman utterly goofed it by pivoting to We Solve Murders and its much more annoying cast of characters last year. By now, this series is so well lived in that I’m much more invested in them than ever, even Ron whom I disliked so much at first. This book does a great job picking up the pieces after the personal tragedies of The Last Devil to Die, and reminding us all of how much life goes on even when another big crime is right around the corner.

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Review: Locked in Pursuit

Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The fourth Electra McDonnell promises quick resolution to the dramatic reveal from the very end of the previous book, and delivers there. What it doesn’t deliver on as much is its promise of traveling to Lisbon, capital of the neutral (though still fascist) Portuguese state, as part of Major Ramsey’s ongoing investigations into Nazi spycraft. Luckily, the ending of this book suggests there might finally be more travels to Lisbon in store, but it also ends on a personal low note for Ellie. Which makes me hope more than ever that the final book ends the series as satisfactorily as it deserves…

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Review: Every Spiral of Fate

Every Spiral of Fate by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tahereh Mafi’s fourth book in her lavish Persian style fantasy series - now being marketed more heavily than ever as romantasy these days - takes everything on the drama scale up a few notches to the greatest effect yet. From a long awaited and long dreaded wedding to an expedition across the most far flung reaches of the empire, leading to some revelations I didn’t see coming…let’s just say that while Mafi planned this book as the penultimate in the series, it would also make just as much sense as the finale. Which makes me really wonder what kind of surprises she has in store for our heroes in the fifth book…

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Review: Playing It Safe

Playing It Safe by Ashley Weaver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Electra McDonnell’s third mystery is a bit more of an adventure as Major Ramsey brings her to the northern English port city of Sunderland, away from the ongoing London Blitz (it’s still 1940 here in the timeline). While there’s still a bit of Nazi bombing threat to this important shipbuilding harbor, the Nazis’ true intentions here are far more insidious, as they’ve started counterfeiting national ID cards to help their spies blend in. Once Ellie learns how to spot these fakes, she needs to infiltrate the local social circles and find ways to sneak into everyone’s purses, because as the bodies start to mount, everyone in town is a suspect. Engaging in its mystery and romance alike, this book truly earns its way back to four star territory with its huge cliffhanger ending that completely turns Ellie’s world upside down.

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Review: The Key to Deceit

The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The second novel of five in the Electra McDonnell series is all too brief, but still quite classical in its stylings, as Ellie and her family get swept into another assignment from the utterly straitlaced Major Ramsey: a dead woman with some very interesting jewelry found on her body. The setting remains very unique for this genre, amidst the Blitz, although since we’re still in 1940 here, it leaves me to wonder how far in the timeline Weaver will ultimately get by the time of the fifth and final book. But hey, the chemistry between Ellie and Ramsey sparkles as much as it did in Book 1, and that, I’m certain, will have a very satisfying ending by the time I reach that final book.

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Review: Red City

Red City by Marie Lu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s easy to look at Marie Lu’s adult debut and think it might still be more teen friendly at the start, since we begin by following our two protagonists Sam and Ari from a very young age when they were both immigrant children in Angel City (the DC Comics-like alternate Los Angeles of this book). But it becomes very clear, very quickly, that once we we move into their grown up lives, they really do deal with grown up concerns.

Review: The God and the Gumiho

The God and the Gumiho by Sophie Kim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Set in the fictional Korean city of New Simsi, somewhere in the middle ground between the human world and the underworld, in 1992, is this combination of romantasy and mystery. Not really the cozy kind, but it’s a fast paced combo of love story and bizarre murder, following two figures from Korean folklore secretly pitted against each other despite their growing feelings - a fallen god serving as a grumpy cop, and a once murderous fox spirit now serving as a grumpier coffeehouse owner (and ironically, the first thing we know about her is that she hates the smell of coffee.) Unsurprisingly, this one proved to be a very fast read, done in one sitting.

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Review: A Peculiar Combination

A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I recently found the fifth (and final) book in this series on the new book shelf at my new library, and luckily they had the entire series upstairs in the mystery section. This book introduces us to Electra “Ellie” McDonnell and her family of master thieves, who get caught on a heist during the Blitz…except it’s an important test posed by Major Ramsey, who needs a safe cracker of a certain skill level to liberate important documents for the war effort. This one takes place in the early days of WWII, but it feels quite relevant to now, focusing not only on the effort to foil the Nazis, but also to foil the enemies domestic as well as foreign. I’ve already got the remaining four books in the series waiting in the wings, but I have a few more books to read first before I move on to Electra’s second story…

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Review: Three Bags Full

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s a pretty dark story overall, with a bit of surprising blood, but it also feels cozy since it’s a mystery from the point of view of a very concerned flock of Irish sheep. They’re smarter than your average livestock, thanks to George the shepherd actually reading to them (and flying in the face of all the anti intellectuals these days who discount the power of reading.) I first saw the sequel to this book at the library in my new hometown, and thankfully they had this first book in stock as well so I could try it out. Imagine my surprise when I find out that there’s a film adaptation planned for next year, with Oregon-based director Kyle Balda (from Illumination Studios) helming the project, and Craig Mazin of all people writing the script. This could be an interesting one to see in theaters for sure…

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Review: A Steeping of Blood

A Steeping of Blood by Hafsah Faizal
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hafsah Faizal concludes her second duology in grand fashion, shifting away from the tea and the Six of Crows heistery in favor of saving Ceylan, among other nations, from the dreadful colonization efforts from the Ram and the East Jeevant Company. In that respect, this book plays out with a bit of inspiration from Pirates of the Caribbean, with vampires instead of undead sea monsters. And as the story wears on, an Arawiyan artifact comes into play, revealing the true depths of the Ram’s ambitious colonial depravity. It’s a bittersweet ending to this series to be sure, but it wouldn’t be a grand drama of tea and blood otherwise to bid it a proper ave atque vale.

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Review: Her Deadly Game

Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I first picked this book’s sequel up in Vancouver without realizing it was the second in the series, but since I was about to move to Beaverton, I decided instead to place both books on order there. Funny that this ended up being one of my first library books in Beaverton, and it name drops my new hometown. Not the first time Dugoni’s done that…well, sort of, since one of the early Tracy Crosswhite books takes place in a fictional Washington town that’s based on White Salmon, and I didn’t live there, but I worked there. But this book, the first Keera Duggan legal thriller, largely takes place in Tracy Crosswhite’s Seattle (Faz being one of a few of her colleagues to cameo as courtroom witnesses), and while the actual case is a bit of a twist in a very downer way, it’s the family drama - the hella Irish family drama - that keeps me more invested and ready to start on the sequel right away.

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Review: A Dead Draw

A Dead Draw by Robert Dugoni
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Robert Dugoni’s latest Tracy Crosswhite story wouldn’t be out of place on Rizzoli & Isles, as it’s highly reminiscent of Rizzoli facing off against her age old nemesis the Surgeon and his Apprentice. Except this time, it’s largely the Apprentice analogue, Erik Schmidt, getting out of prison on a technicality, allowing him to pose a serious threat to Tracy’s family and her old hometown of Cedar Grove. Especially a singular young woman named Lydia, who is autistic, but no less gutsy for it. It’s not the first time Dugoni has written an autistic character in the Tracy Crosswhite series, but this time I’d say he did a better job. Though Lydia’s “infomercial” stimming walks the fine line of stereotype, in his notes at the end, Dugoni acknowledges that he’s spoken to autistic people who appreciated his depiction of the spectrum, and how he feels a certain commonality with our community due to his own disability as a stroke survivor. It’s too bad I moved out of Vancouver, because I know he’s scheduled to visit as a guest of the local library this weekend, and I could’ve told him my thoughts in person too.

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Review: The Invisible Parade

The Invisible Parade by Leigh Bardugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At this point, it’s safe to say that Bardugo has truly written for all ages, now that she’s collaborated with John Picacio on this lovely and moving picture book. I’d almost forgotten about it, however, until I popped into Powell’s in my new hometown of Beaverton and saw this book almost perfectly front and center on a display for Hispanic Heritage Month. And now that Día de Muertos approaches, this book’s rumination on grief and how it affects children is perfectly timed, and I hope as many school librarians get to read this to as many kids as possible.

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Review: To Clutch a Razor

To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

V-Roth returns with her second novella of dark Polish magick and monsters. I said after reading When Among Crows last year that that book was simply too short to really capture its full worldbuilding potential…well, be careful what you wish for and all that. Not that this book was bad - it was still a pretty good exploration of this extended family of creepery and Halloween appropriate chills, all in a bite sized Dresden Files package - and incidentally, if I remember correctly, Dymitr’s part in the ceremonies of Empty Night shares its name with Jim Butcher’s projected final Dresden novel, capping off a planned apocalyptic finale trilogy. And then there’s the John Wick of it all too, particularly drawing inspiration from the sequels and their depiction of Wick’s extended family of death angels. While this series continues to annoy with its tantalizing but all too brief glimpses of its demimonde, paired with oddly interchangeable POV’s (a longtime flaw for Roth, well documented), Roth always deserves praise for weaving in the diverse influences on Polish myth and culture, from old Slavic to Orthodox to Catholic and, of course, Jewish.

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Review: This Inevitable Ruin

This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Okay.

I’ve had enough.

I’ve had absolutely enough of this overblown, bloated, neverending nonsense.

This must be what it’s like when non-Marvel fans see the MCU continue to exist, because at this point all I’m seeing is a pile of stupid immature jokes, increasingly unlikable characters, the Random Events Plot to end all Random Events Plots…seriously, how the hell did this series get so fortunate to be plucked from obscurity, reissued in mass market hardcovers big enough to be used as weapons (and taking all the quality paper while even Dan Brown has to print his newest hardcover on Bible thin paper…)

At least Dinniman himself seems like a good dude. But my God I can’t handle his writing anymore.

I’m done.

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Review: The Executioners Three

The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Susan Dennard’s recent shift into modern YA fantasy and mystery didn’t really work for me with The Luminaries, but her newest novel, a standalone mystery novel set in 1999, works far better for me. Perhaps it’s the creepy atmosphere perfect for the Halloween season, helped by the fact that the book takes place somewhere in New England (well, it’s not for certain, but I’d guess that the French nature of the old Village Historique places this one in Maine specifically) and features tons of X Files and Buffy references, right down to the protagonist sharing her last name with Buffy’s iconic actress. It’s a throwback in a lot of ways, but with more relatable characters and vibes on point throughout, this has proven by far to be Dennard’s best work during her extended hiatus from the Witchlands…a hiatus soon to end at long last with the long delayed grand finale of her signature saga.

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Review: Lessons in Magic and Disaster

Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this one more. I’ve been reading and enjoying Charlie Jane Anders for years, and normally I really love her work, but this one was just a bit too messy for me. Though, to be fair, Jamie, her protagonist, does confess to being quite a messy person, but those around her are often just as messed up if not more so. And I’m not just talking about the post truth trolls feeding her and her family into the ever hungry right wing outrage machine, but also about the family who continues a cycle of generational trauma, still a very common theme in fiction these days. I’d probably have liked this book more if it had focused more on the secrets of 18th century literature, because it’s clear that that’s one of Anders’s special interests, and was easily the most fascinating part of the book by light years. But this is not that book, and yet because it’s Anders, I’ll be generous and round up from 2.5 to 3 on this one.

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Review: Among the Burning Flowers

Among the Burning Flowers by Samantha Shannon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Samantha Shannon’s having a very prosperous year in 2025, with both this book and The Dark Mirror on tap. A new standalone story in the world of Roots of Chaos, this book is more of a deep dive into the Spanish- and Italian-inspired land of Yscalin, a lovely but volcanic place where Draconic threats are always lurking, and feeling a bit too close to home these days. I expect Shannon’s Italian research for The Dark Mirror helped fuel much of this book, atmospherically. Long enough to be a novel in its own right, but short enough to stand out compared to the massive books Shannon usually writes in this series, it’s a great intro to this world for newcomers - or those who forgot just how great this series was to begin with.

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Review: The Secret of Secrets

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s Robert Langdon.

I’m in.

Dan Brown hasn’t published a thriller since before Covid, but it’s clear, reading this book, that he’ll never change as a writer. And yet, that doesn’t make him any less compulsively readable than ever. Dipping into all his greatest hits from 20 or so years ago - oddly esoteric science, a killer with a warped personality (to the point of cultural appropriation, passing off as the Golěm - Czech spelling and all - of old Jewish legend), and leading up to some big reveals incidentally previously discussed in The Da Vinci Code and other Langdon adventures. No spoilers, but let’s just say after this novel, there’s one more reason for me to want to nuke the entire Neuralink from orbit.

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Review: The Coffee Shop of Untold Stories: Tsubasa’s Café

The Coffee Shop of Untold Stories: Tsubasa’s Café by Firdaus Ahmed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, Firdaus Ahmed gifts us a story about a singular cat…but as much as Tsubasa would have you believe it’s all his story, there’s more to it when you consider the humans he’s known in his many years. Especially Jo, the young woman come to York to write a book, and Ryu, the elegant owner of the café bearing Tsubasa’s name. The intertwined legacies of these characters makes this small book so much stronger than you would expect - strong like the Eclipse Mocha, the one drink on Tsubasa’s menu that would almost certainly be my go-to. (And thankfully now that autumn is here, the café at my work has added a seasonal Mexican Mocha, the closest I’ll be able to get to the Eclipse. I think I shall treat myself and imagine it’s Ryu and Tsubasa’s hospitality, including their very fair prices…because to paraphrase this book, the café isn’t for profit, it’s for what the people want. And need.)

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Review: The Art of Legend

The Art of Legend by Wesley Chu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s been a while since we left off on The Art of Destiny, and Wesley Chu now returns with the conclusion to the trilogy, where we see exactly how this epic journey will end when the prophecy’s terms have already been broken. Except they may just un-break in time to be fulfilled, and while the series doesn’t end quite as strongly as I was hoping for, it doesn’t lose Chu’s signature sense of action or humor - the latter best represented by Qisami, my fave character all along. To this series, I now bid ave atque vale, especially since we’re still waiting for Chu to finish his trilogy of collaboration with Cassandra Clare…

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Review: Katabasis

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

R.F. Kuang continues her dark academia era with a new standalone fantasy novel about two embattled, embittered grad students reading Magick at Cambridge, forced to follow their eminent (and eminently unlikable) advisor into the underworld because without him, their careers will never get started. And boy howdy is Professor Jacob Grimes one of the most disgusting characters Kuang has ever created - and considering her propensity for highlighting historical war crimes and the incurable racism of certain assbite people, that’s saying something. It also says something that racial issues are on the back burner at best in this book, when it’s been Kuang’s bread and butter for years. This one is a slow burn in hell, at times a real slog because it’s very clear that Grimes (a rapacious, womanizing, plagiarizing shit-for-brains) doesn’t deserve to be saved, and Alice and Peter deserve better than to force themselves through supernatural peril to save him. But the sunk cost fallacy and all that. And all the philosophy that Kuang can lob at us, because that’s also her bread and butter. And speaking of food and digestion, I was surprised to see Crohn’s disease incorporated into the narrative - that condition gets very rare representation to the best of my knowledge. I know a few people who might appreciate this book just for that…

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Review: The Raven Scholar

The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As the beginning of a new epic fantasy trilogy, this book couldn’t decide if it wanted to be dark academia or magical competition, so why not both? Well, more accurately, it’s a magical competition mystery with a touch of dark academia at the core, helped by the word “scholar” in the title. After all, it requires reading a lot of in universe legends in order to understand what is happening as the gods’ chosen champions compete to see who will be the next emperor. In that sense, it’s got a bit of Gideon the Ninth in its DNA too - and funny how I’m seeing more of that lately while we wait endlessly for Tamsyn Muir to finally publish the fourth and final novel in that series, with a sequel gap of three years and counting…but I digress.

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Review: The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands

The Cautious Traveller's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Take Murder on the Orient Express by way of Chloe Gong, who as I remember set one of her novellas on another version of the Trans-Siberian Express, but with a bit more mystery and a bit less magic. Add in the cosmic creepery of Annihilation, but this time with a storyline that can actually be followed, and a strong, if on the nose, railway metaphor for capitalism and unchecked development and scientific hubris. Mix thoroughly, and this is the alchemical result.

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Review: The Jasad Crown

The Jasad Crown by Sara Hashem
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can see now why it took Sara Hashem so long to bring us the sequel to The Jasad Heir, because she caught the duology train like so many other writers and concluded her series with a great big doorstopper, almost 700 pages long. This one book could’ve easily been two for a total of a trilogy, but the duology trend, it really does have its own gravity. But for one of my favorite romantasy series (though Thea Guanzon’s books still take the chocolate cherry cake), it’s a suitably bittersweet ending, especially in the actual ending which catches up with certain characters weeks, months, years, and finally a decade after all the action is said and done. I hope to see more from Hashem soon, but for now, it’s ave atque vale to Jasad and her ever warring neighbors.

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Review: Bones at the Crossroads

Bones at the Crossroads by LaDarrion Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Back we go to Caiman U for more magic, mayhem, and murder…and thankfully this, unlike way too many second books in YA fantasy, is NOT a duology conclusion, because that ending demands resolution expeditiously. This book picks up in the new fall semester at Caiman, with Malik reeling from a metric ton of betrayals, quickly figuring out that those in authority don’t have his best interests at heart (or anyone else’s but their own)…and yet, he’s also able to cement his friendships with the likes of Elijah, Savon, and D Low (the latter two seeking to make history as Caiman’s first ever Queer Homecoming Royals, upending decades of homophobic practice), and he’s finding himself drawn to a new love interest, Dom, who seems like the perfect lady for him…but then, so did Alexis, and look what happened there, eh? All I can say is that Williams is nothing if not a dramatic storyteller, and after all the twists and turns of this book, it may take more than one new novel to wrap it all up. But I’ll be ready to read all those books when they come.

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Review: JanIus: Enter the King

JanIus: Enter the King by D L Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

D.L. Hannah continues the JanIus trilogy with a second book that ramps up the medical, family, and political drama to new and truly diabolical levels. As much as Justin, Fawn, and all the doctors at the clinic which Fawn now runs are all on a mission for much needed equity in these worlds, malevolent forces have their way of sneaking in when people’s guards are down, and that evil is taking on its most manipulative form yet. Extra gripping in its mystery elements, this one builds up with twist upon twist in its last few chapters, and it’s very hard to predict where the third and final book of the trilogy will go. But since this book was delivered a full week ahead of schedule, I might just see about ordering the third book straight from Hannah’s website, rather than wait till after my projected move to a new apartment in October as I was afraid I might have to do…

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Review: Fateless

Fateless by Julie Kagawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Julie Kagawa returns with an action-packed start to her latest original YA fantasy series, set in a desert world perpetually baking under two suns, where a young thief must team up with a mysterious elfin assassin (iylvahn, his race is called) to stop a zealot or two from raising the very evil that doomed the world in centuries past. In that respect, this book is syncretic of the likes of Six of Crows, Nevernight, Dune, and Gideon the Ninth, with the typical propulsive pace of Kagawa’s work. While I’m a little less sold on the romance aspect on this one, I’m hoping to see the next two books very soon (and yes, this one better be at least a trilogy. I mean it.)

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Review: The Lion Women of Tehran

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’d been meaning to read this one for a while, but it somehow slipped my notice until I happened to find it on a library shelf in Portland. If I’d read it in 2024 when it was first published, it would’ve absolutely topped my list of best books of the year. This beautiful and powerful historical novel spans decades in Iran and America, first in the time of the Shah, then the Ayatollah. I’ve long been fascinated with the cultural riches of Iran (the artwork! The architecture! The religions! [Yes, plural.] and the food!!), and it’s beyond shameful that the country has been in the grips of authoritarian evil for as long as it has. Elaheh (aka Ellie) and Homa start as such inseparable friends, until family and political forces drive them apart (dear God is Ellie’s mom an insufferable witch, although she definitely becomes more sympathetic over time.)

Review: Terror at the Gates

Terror at the Gates by Scarlett St. Clair
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another damn fine entry in the romantasy canon, this one heavily bastardizes the Old Testament with its setting in a modern neon Nineveh. It’s kind of a mashup of Crescent City and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, with a touch of Guardians of the Galaxy and also Dungeons & Dragons in its DNA, the latter stemming from the consistent presence of a strange gelatinous substance which becomes associated with the sites of demonic killings. Also, St. Clair is well versed in the lore of Lilith and how she connects to similar legends in cultures both current and historical, so this book taught me more about her than any other to date. Naturally, this one is already in the ranks of books where, in my own books, my characters get to see them as proper bloody movies yet.

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Review: JanIus: Pawns

JanIus: Pawns by D L Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

D.L. Hannah returns to her interplanetary saga with the long awaited third arc that picks up roughly where the original trilogy left off. Dr. Justin Ascensio leaves an increasingly fascist-polluted America (where analogues of Trump and Musk try to force their gaudy and technocratic brands of evil on the country, and the world) to take a position on the world of JanIus. Here, he proves a very popular new doctor, in part because he makes it a point of rejecting the corruption, violence, and misogyny of current physician Dr. Azini. (I’m not a doctor, but I’ve worked in clinics for several years, and let me tell you, some of Justin’s methods of tearing down abusers and wrongdoers are serious wish fulfillment for me.) When we’re not following Justin, we’re following Fawn Azini, the not-so-good doctor’s daughter, who aims to be a doctor herself despite her father’s hateful insistence otherwise…if she can survive Platirian-style training first. (Yes, lots of fave characters from Platirius and Coldarius make welcome returns.) While I may have some of my future reading delayed while I make preparations to move, I’ve already got my preorder in place for Book 2, Enter the King…from Hannah’s own website, now that she’s got her own sales portal up and running!

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Review: Tusk Love

Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don’t really know jack about D&D. As much of a geek as I am, I never played it, so there goes a lot of my nerd cred I guess. lol. I also don’t know jack about Critical Role, but I guess this book is part of that universe? But what’s most important to me is that it proves once again why, of all the romantasy writers in the biz, Thea Guanzon is the one I keep returning to with every new book. She’s the true queen. Not Sarah J. Mass. Certainly not Rebecca Yarros. It’s Thea Guanzon, and while we wait for the long planned conclusion to The Hurricane Wars, Guanzon now gives us a more lighthearted medieval fantasy love story, playing like a milder Beauty and the Beast with a well done Grumpy x Sunshine pairing, spot on class commentary, and some of the most tasteful spice you’ll ever have the pleasure of reading.

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Review: Among Ghosts

Among Ghosts by Rachel Hartman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rachel Hartman returns to the world of Seraphina with a new and very unusual kind of story in this universe: a ghost story. It’s very different from Hartman’s previous books in that it features a male protagonist, one who’s younger than either Seraphina or Tess - which might help explain why the cover looks a little more MG than YA, but it’s still a pretty dark tale at its core. Perhaps it bites off more than it can chew story-wise, but it’s still a worthwhile addition to Hartman’s canon. Especially for the opening scene of an idiotic rich boy, his equally dumb muscle, and young Charl sneaking into a very haunted old dwelling. Some horror movie tropes deserve the coffin, but this ain’t one of them.

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Review: Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As with Addie LaRue, this latest standalone dark fantasy from V.E. Schwab, spanning the centuries, is one that's a classic for the ages, but I'll never want to read it again. Just like Addie LaRue, this book focuses on a set of three women throughout history who fall for a dreadful curse - and in this case, they're all linked by one vampire that started it all. Schwab marketed this book as being her book of "toxic lesbian vampires," and while it's very clear that it's about lesbian vampires pretty quickly, the toxic aspect doesn't make it clear until much later, as our two historically deceased vampires show different reactions to how they have to hurt and kill other women in order to prolong their own undead existences. Given Schwab's notoriety for writing quite unlikable characters, I'd say this time, she does a great job of making them sympathetic first.

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Review: The Republic of Salt

The Republic of Salt by Ariel Kaplan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ariel Kaplan returns with the second book of the Mirror Realm Cycle, following Toba, Naftaly, Elena, Barsilay, and all the Maxim cohort on a journey away from Rimon to Zayit - the Olive Gate, a city corresponding to Venice in the real world. As with the previous book, the characters aren’t really the most interesting - though Barsilay far and away shines as my fave - but the richly detailed magic system, rooted in Jewish legend with elements of fae and djinn - continues to make this book stand out even as it suffers from a touch of middle book syndrome. Naturally, there’s a pretty rough cliffhanger to endure on this one, and I’m really hoping to get Book 3 next year to wrap up this prospective trilogy. Or more, if Kaplan’s imagination (fertile as it is) calls for it. And I hope it does.

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Review: Isles of the Emberdark

Isles of the Emberdark by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sanderson’s latest Secret Project, released as part of his fundraiser for the leather bound edition of Words of Radiance, follows in the footsteps of The Sunlit Man as it delves into the far future of the Cosmere. Expanding on his previous novella “Sixth of the Dusk” with the title character one of many in focus, Sanderson also sets up a future clash between Roshar and Scadrial in particular, planting seeds for what to expect in the upcoming future arcs of Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive. While this book proves long and meandering, and at times difficult to maintain interest in, it’s one scene in particular that bumps this up from 3.5 to 4. And as you can imagine, it’s another one of Hoid’s greatest hits, that wily old trickster God (no seriously, that’s how I’ve come to see him at this point.)

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Review: The Listeners

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Maggie Stiefvater gives us her adult fiction debut in a book that plays like a World War II version of The Magic Mountain, set in Appalachia. Inspired by true events, Stiefvater tells the story of June, a hotel manager forced to accept Axis diplomats as unwanted guests in her fancy hotel most famous for its healing sweetwater (actually pretty foul tasting, but the local folks swear by it all the same.) While the book does suffer from Stiefvater’s usual issues that have plagued many of her YA books - dreamy prose masking thin plot, most of the characters are less than likable - I can imagine this particular story would work far better as a movie to really immerse viewers in a gothic atmosphere. Especially gothic in the literary sense, since it shows our government coddling diplomats from then enemy nations in a way that almost would make sense today, given that our country has been hijacked by traitors who would give comfort to our enemies just to make a quick buck.

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Review: Ten Incarnations of Rebellion

Ten Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The latest novel from Vaishnavi Patel shifts away from the ancient settings of the original Hindu legends which she typically adapts, in favor of a more modern but still historical (or, more accurately, alternate historical) setting that still takes inspiration from the same Hindu legends. In this new timeline, it's the 1960s going into the 1970s, and India remains a British colony decades past the point where she gained independence in real life, due in large part to the British stamping out Gandhi and other leaders of the independence movement with even greater violence. By this point in the timeline, the city we know as Mumbai has been burned down and rebuilt as British Kingston, with the colonizers pitting all the local ethnic and religious groups against each other...until such time as Kalki, Fausha, and their friends and families can slowly rise up and overthrow their oppressors. It's a slow burn, especially for a short book, but it's quickly become my new favorite of Patel's for numerous reasons.

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Review: These Vengeful Gods

These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gabe Cole Novoa brings us his latest dark YA fantasy, this time shifting away from his historical settings of the last few years (two books of piracy and magic, and his retelling of Pride and Prejudice with a transmasculine protagonist.) Now, he takes on the fantasy dystopian style, bringing in a lot of his stylistic hallmarks - queer-centric cast, Latin American inspired setting (not every character is Hispanic, but many of them are at least coded as such), sharp social commentary about class division and genocide (protagonist Crow being one of the last living descendants of Death, whom all the other gods betrayed out of fear), and also disabled rep, with Novoa incorporating elements of his own autoimmune disorder into Crow. I feel like this book will get a lot of comparisons to Aiden Thomas’s The Sunbearer Trials, but my comparison is that, having been disappointed with the second book of Thomas’s duology, this book gets right in one what Thomas couldn’t quite pull off in two. It’s a very worthy addition to Novoa’s bibliography, and while Crow is a new favorite of mine among his protagonists, Chaos takes the cake as my fave overall in this book, easily.

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Review: Badlands

Badlands by Douglas Preston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fifth Nora Kelly novel feels like a throwback to some of Preston & Child’s best scary stories, especially way back in their earlier days like in Still Life With Crows. It also verges on X Files territory, particularly with its emphasis on the ruins and artifacts of Indigenous peoples in New Mexico, from the Chaco to the Ancestral Pueblo to the Gallina, and of course the Navajo, with an old woman of that tribe getting a laugh out of Nora and Corrie’s clumsy attempts at speaking her language. Though they aren’t Native Americans, Preston & Child take great care to depict various tribal cultures past and present with sensitivity, which is more than I can say for the ultimate villains of this book. Without spoilers, let’s just say there really is a special hell for cultural appropriators and they deserve it.

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Review: Anji Kills a King

Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It starts with Exactly What It Says On The Tin, and builds from there. And where it builds is to Anji getting abducted by the Hawk, one of the five assassins tasked with protecting this land, except she's a crabby old lady past her prime physically. Mentally, though...she's gotta stay ahead of her fellow Menagerie members, especially if she's to claim the bounty on Anji all for herself. While this book is, for some reason, hyped as a piece of grimdark fantasy akin to Joe Abercrombie, it does one thing right that Abercrombie's always failed at for me - it's kept me interested in at least one character. Two, technically, but definitely one over the other. For some reason, while Anji is ostensibly the star of the show, Hawk is a far more interesting and dynamic character to me. That said, by the time this book ends, it's pretty clear that Anji is the true lead, and yet she's still part of something bigger for the second book to explore in greater detail...

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Review: A Burning in the Bones

A Burning in the Bones by Scott Reintgen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The trilogy ends with a tale as old as time: a plague comes, and those in power seek to weaponize it for their own ends. The in universe politics get quite complicated on this one, because no one knows who’s gonna get sick, who might be immune, and what the effects on society at large will be…except for the fact that there is going to be a seismic shift in power no matter what. And then there’s the dragons to think about, dragons that are supposed to be officially extinct, but they, like life in Ian Malcolm’s iconic line…uh, finds a way. While this book was a much slower read than its predecessors, it’s no less gripping for it, and Reintgen sticks the landing very well, and very unexpectedly too.

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Review: A Whisper in the Walls

A Whisper in the Walls by Scott Reintgen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second novel of Reintgen’s Waxways trilogy shifts away from dark academia in favor of a dark apprenticeship as Ren enters the service of House Brood, with the goal to take them down from within. Pretty classic setup, but there’s more to the story than that, as another family wronged by the Broods in the past, House Tin’Vori, prepares their own long game of revenge. Dahvid Tin’Vori, in particular, is a great anti-hero/anti-villain (really, he’s just morally extra gray here) with the ability to draw magical powers from tattoos, similarly to Adrian in Marissa Meyer’s Renegades series. But it also depends on the skill of the tattooist, and his current artist Cath really has her work cut out for her as she needs to get these tattoos just right for Dahvid. It’s another blazing fast read, but the finale’s gonna need to take its time to savor, due to its length and subject matter…

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Review: A Door in the Dark

A Door in the Dark by Scott Reintgen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first book in a YA fantasy trilogy that somehow slid under the radar despite coming from the same publisher that used to present all the Cassandra Clare books, from an author who’s long been skilled at sliding under the radar with good material. I happened to see the complete trilogy on a shelf at B&N, so my mission, and I choose to accept it, is to read them all. This first book is a very unusual combination of subgenres: dark academia and survival thriller. It also taps into the romantasy enemies to lovers trend a bit, but it’s my hope that these leads stay enemies in the end, because like a lot of such lead characters, they’re an anti-ship for me. In this case, purely because Ren has strong personal reasons for wanting to bring down Theo’s ill gotten gains. Luckily, I’ve already got Book 2 ready to start today.

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Review: Never Flinch

Never Flinch by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had high expectations for this one, even after I was a little less impressed than I'd been hoping for with Holly, because Holly Gibney is a fan and creator favorite for a reason. But here we have Holly's latest case - or, more accurately, cases. There's a lot going on in this book, and it's so convoluted that it proves very difficult for the whole story to coalesce cleanly, and even King himself admitted that this one was hard to write for many reasons. What it all boils down to is, there's a mysterious killer stalking Holly's hometown of Buckeye City (finally it more or less confirms my longstanding headcanon that Holly lives in Ohio), and the Robinsons are involved with the upcoming return concert of long-retired soul singer Sista Bessie. While Holly is away bodyguarding for a controversial feminist speaker of a similar vibe to Susan Day in Insomnia, she's also having to contend with a stalker who turns out to be two personalities in one body, one male, one female, both toxically manipulated by Evangelical preachers with dirty money up the wazoo. The Psycho-like quality of this character in particular feels like it's King's way of reminding his Constant Readers that after his heavy moralizing in Holly, he really isn't a perfect leftist at all, never has been. But he's still a liberal at heart, exactly as expected for a man of his always-welcome anti-Trump, anti-Evangelical convictions, the latter being what shows much more in this book.

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