The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins This was the first of my two short Halloween reads. Like most of my Halloween reads, it wasn’t particularly scary. The story opens with the Countess Narona visiting a doctor in London, and recounting a strange story about her meeting her fiance’s jilted lover. ... more >
Kilian Kildare is a soldier, fighting the witches and vampires who twist the gift of magic into something dark. However tragedy after tragedy have left him struggling—he’s been turned into a vampire, ostracized, and left to grieve alone. An offer to join an elite Army unit should be the answer ... more >
Immigrant. Socialite. Magician. Jordan Baker grows up in the most rarefied circles of 1920s American society—she has money, education, a killer golf handicap, and invitations to some of the most exclusive parties of the Jazz Age. She’s also queer and Asian, a Vietnamese adoptee treated as an exotic attraction by ... more >
CW: sexual assault, incest, infanticide, forced pregnancy, child death, graphic violence, pet death Dear Patricia Briggs, I’ve been a big fan of your books for many years now. In fact, in the hell year that was 2020, I did a comfort re-read of all of the Mercy Thompson world books ... more >
Trigger warnings (spoilery): Dear Patricia Briggs, Wild Sign, your latest novel, is book six in your Alpha and Omega series. The urban fantasy series centers on a werewolf couple, the quiet, deadly Charles and the gentle but stubborn Anna. I’m always up for reading about them, so I eagerly requested ... more >
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson This was my annual “spooky Halloween read.” I have a hard time judging it, having spoiled myself on the twist long ago. I find it hard to believe that this twist wouldn’t have been obvious even if I hadn’t known, ... more >