B- Reviews / Book Reviewsdeath / grief / investigation / journalist / Memoir / murder / non-fiction / philosophy / SuicideNo Comments
A deeply compelling exploration of the death industry and the people—morticians, detectives, crime scene cleaners, embalmers, executioners—who work in it and what led them there. We are surrounded by death. It is in our news, our nursery rhymes, our true-crime podcasts. Yet from a young age, we are told that ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews / C Reviews / C+ Reviews / DNF ReviewsArtificial Intelligence / clergy / elves / Fantasy / far future / goblins / grief / investigation / kidnapped heroine / LGBTQIA+ / miscarriage / mixed loyalties / murder mystery / pregnancy / princess / Reading lists / spaceship / spousal abuse / steampunk11 Comments
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison I was a huge fan of The Goblin Emperor but not as keen on The Witness for the Dead, the first book in the spinoff Cemeteries of Amalo series about detective/priest/medium-of-sorts Thara Celehar. Hope springs eternal, though, so I requested book two in ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews#ownvoices / Artist / bisexual heroine / Chef / Contemporary / fiction with strong romantic elements / grief / LGBTQIA+ / love triangles / New York City / POC / POC author / tropical island / Womens-Fiction10 Comments
Dear Awaeke Emezi, I’ve been meaning to try one of your books for years, ever since I read Ana Grilo’s review of Pet for Kirkus. The book sounded really good and really different, but somehow, I never got around to reading it. However, when
B Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / C Reviews / C+ Reviews#ownvoices / Asian Americans / California / death / Fantasy / grief / Japan / joint review / Literary Fabulism / near-future / Novel-in-Stories / Pandemic / POC / POC author / Speculative-Fiction12 Comments
Content warnings: Jennie: When Janine suggested we review this book together, I hadn’t heard of it. But the blurb told me it was dystopian, and I have a weakness for dystopian novels even though they don’t always end up working for me. Though it’s billed as a novel, How High ... more >
Book Reviews / C- Reviewsclergy / diversity / elves / Fantasy / funeral / goblins / grief / investigation / LGBTQIA+ / loner / murder / mystery / opera / queer characters / steampunk / traumatic-past16 Comments
Dear Katherine Addison, I am a huge fan of your 2014 steampunk fantasy novel The Goblin Emperor. It was my favorite of all the books I read that year and I’ve read it three more times since. When the novel was nominated for a Hugo, I was thrilled; when it ... more >
Book Reviews / C Reviewsfamily relationships / First-Person / gardening / grief / Los Angeles / mothers and daughters / sisters / Widowed Heroine / Womens-Fiction2 Comments
Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three years—ever since her husband died in a car accident. One mental breakdown and some random suicidal thoughts later, she’s just starting to get the hang of this widow thing. She can now get her two girls to school, show up to ... more >