A Reviews / A- Reviews / B Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Reading Lists / Recommended Readsalternate Nantucket / contemporary fantasy / LGBTQIA+ / m/m / Magic / plot twists / political intrigue / rape survivor / Reading lists / The Tarot Sequence / traumatic-past / Urban-Fantasy8 Comments
Back in springtime I started fretting how few good 2022 books I’d read. I keep track of these things because I want to have a half decent best-of-the-year list by the end of the year. By early July, I only had two. Less than five books do not a list ... more >
B Reviews / B+ Reviewsanxiety / autism / Contemporary / enemies to lovers / fake relationship / NetGalley / Shakespeare retelling2 Comments
Content notes: autism, anxiety, family conflict, gaslighting, emotional abuse Dear Chloe Liese, I have a confession to make. I haven’t read Much Ado About Nothing. I haven’t seen the movie either. Yes, I am a Philistine. Two Wrongs Make a Right is an homage to Much Ado so it’s probably ... more >
A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsactress / British Indian main character / Contemporary / discrimination / fake relationship / flashbacks / friends-to-lovers / POC / publicity / tabloid journalism9 Comments
Dear Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta, I wonder if your debut novel, The View was Exhausting, was published as romantic mainstream fiction. If so it’s a romance regardless. There’s a central love story with a happy ending and emotional justice. That’s a definition of romance that works for me. The ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads1940s / angels / Chicago / Dark Fantasy / demons / family relationships / Historical / lesbian / LGBTQIA characters / LGBTQIA rights / LGBTQIA romance / noir / Private-investigator / religion3 Comments
C. L. Polk turns their considerable powers to a fantastical noir. A magical detective dives into the affairs of Chicago’s divine monsters to secure a future with the love of her life. This sapphic period piece will dazzle anyone looking for mystery, intrigue, romance, magic, or all of the above. ... more >
A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsdystopian / Literary Fabulism / Literary fiction / Recommended Reads / short storiesNo Comments
Jennie: When Janine suggested reviewing this collection of short stories together, I was only vaguely familiar with the author. I remembered that Janine had mentioned him in our joint review of How High We Go in the Dark, and indicated that Saunders was known for literary fabulism. It was only ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Readsdysfunctional family / family relationships / Historical / historical mystery / John Pickett mysteries series / murder mystery / Regency3 Comments
With a beautiful and clever wife, a growing investigative business, and a baby due any day, former Bow Street Runner John Pickett finally has a respectable life far removed from his beginnings as a juvenile pickpocket in the rookeries of St. Giles. Then his father returns from transportation to Botany ... more >