A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readschildren's book / found family / friendship / Paris / picture books4 Comments
A boy befriends a baby gargoyle in this magical wordless story in graphic-novel style from award-winning creators Jo Ellen Bogart and Maja Kastelic. Anthony’s house is full of family photos — of his parents’ trip to Paris, his great aunt, and Anthony himself as a toddler, holding his favorite rock. ... more >
A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1970s / body image / Cold War / cynicism / disappearance / disillusionment / government suppression / idealism / legal secretary / Mexico / mystery/thriller / noir / operative / POC / POC author / protest / Silvia Moreno-Garcia / surveillance3 Comments
Dear Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I’ve had mixed success with your books. I loved Gods of Jade and Shadow, your young adult fantasy, liked your sort-of-domestic-noir thriller, Untamed Shore, and didn’t care a bit for Mexican Gothic, the horror novel you came out with last year (I was an outlier; it was ... more >
A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsboarding school / British Indian main character / class differences / competition / diversity / Fantasy / friendship / high school sweethearts / joint review / magical powers / magical school / Naomi-Novik / POC / prickly heroine / prophecy / Scholomance series / students / survival / YA / YA fantasy34 Comments
Jennie: Janine, Sirius, and I reviewed the first book in the Scholomance series (originally slated as two books; now a trilogy). Sirius gave it a C- and said she wouldn’t be reading this sequel, but Janine and I, though we had some reservations, ended up liking A Deadly Education quite ... more >
A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsanimals / Art / Asian / China / Japan / photography / POC authorComments Off on REVIEW: Auspicious Animals by Jun’ichi Uchiyama
The world of mythical creatures born from human imagination. Many imaginary animals believed to be auspicious symbols of good fortune originated in ancient China. The most famous ones are the “Big Four”: the Winged Dragon, the Chinese Phoenix, Qilin (a hooved chimeric creature) and the Spirit Turtle. There are many ... more >
A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readshistorical romance / medieval33 Comments
This is the penultimate book in my Laura Kinsale rereadapalooza – number 11 of 12. I have put off rereading For My Lady’s Heart for sort of complicated reasons. When I read it back in the day, I really did love it – I loved all of the Kinsale books ... more >
A- Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1930s / aristocrats / Business woman / England / First-Person / high society / Historical / self discovery / slow burn / Womens-Fiction7 Comments
In early 1930s England, a young firebrand finds herself on a fraught and dangerous road to independence. In 1931 England, Astra Davies defies all the conventions. Clever, witty, and determined, Astra smokes, drinks, plays a mean piano, and gallivants around London with her beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. But Astra ... more >