B- Reviews / Book Reviews / C+ Reviews#ownvoices / dreams / Emperor / experimental novel / Fantasy / goddess / LGBTQIA+ / m/m / POC / POC author / quest / resistance/oppression / second-person POV4 Comments
Dear Simon Jimenez, Your debut novel, The Vanished Birds (2020), is one of my favorite science fiction novels of recent years. It earned an A from me when I reviewed it and made my Best of 2020 list. I’ve been waiting with bated breath for the release of The Spear ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviews1910s / Baba Yaga / Dark Fantasy / fairy tale / friendship / Historical Fantasy / quest / Russia / teens / Witches / World War I / YA fantasy / YA romance / Young-Adult3 Comments
It’s 1919, but in Edenfall, Pennsylvania, the Great War is not over — not for Vasilisa, at least. Papa is presumed dead, Mama is being courted by an absolute ogre, and now Babka, her beloved grandma, has had a bad spell. Or has she fallen under one? Only the Old ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Reading Lists / Recommended Reads / Top Ten Lists#metoo / #ownvoices / 1870s / 1920s / 1970s / accountant / Agent/Spies/Undercover / arranged-marriage / Asian heroine / Asperger's / audiobook / Best of 2019 / best of list / book editor / California / class differences / Contemporary / custody battle / dragons / enemies to lovers / epistolary / f/f / Fairyland / fake relationship / family / Fantasy / farming / friends-to-lovers / gods / heroine in disguise / high-school / historical romance / Hong Kong based world / illegitimate-child / LGBTQIA+ / Literary fiction / London / look alikes / mafia / magical powers / Malaysia / martial arts / Mexico / nobleman / Northern Ireland / nurse / POC / POC author / political intrigue / quest / reformed hero / Regency-based world / romantic-elements / roommates / saga / single dad / streetwise heroine / Time-Travel / Vietnam / waitress / war19 Comments
I was tempted to make a list of my favorites among the 2019-published books I read this year. In the end I decided to focus on my favorite 2019 reads (first time reads; I didn’t include books I had read / reviewed in prior years) without regard to their year ... more >
A- Reviews / Recommended Reads#ownvoices / 1920s / Fantasy / gods / love story / Mexico / POC / POC author / quest / strong heroine17 Comments
Please note: The following review contains some spoilers. Dear Ms. Moreno-Garcia, It was the setting of your new fantasy novel, Gods of Jade and Shadow, that first caught my attention. I had never read a book set in 1920s Mexico before. This one also promised to feature a young woman ... more >