Book Reviews / C+ Reviews#ownvoices / 1950s / Gothic / haunted house / horror / Mexico / POC / POC author / romantic-elements / socialite5 Comments
Trigger warning: Dear Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Gods of Jade and Shadow, your 2019 fantasy novel, was terrific, and Untamed Shore, your noir thriller from earlier this year was also good. I don’t usually care for horror novels but I have enjoyed gothics, so when I learned about Mexican Gothic, your new ... more >
B Reviews / B+ Reviews / B- Reviews / Book Reviewsbiracial heroine / clones / diversity / epistolary / flashbacks / genre-bender / LGBTQ / murder mystery / necromancer / POC / portal fantasy / queer / Reading lists / romantic-elements / Science Fiction / space travel / story-within-a-story / sword fighter / YA science fiction6 Comments
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty A spaceship crew of six clones wake up in a cloning vat missing twenty-five years of memories. Of their much older previous incarnations, five are dead and one is comatose. Additionally, the spaceship has changed course. It quickly becomes apparent that one of the clones ... more >
A Reviews / A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Reading Lists / Recommended Reads / Top Ten Lists#metoo / #ownvoices / 1870s / 1920s / 1970s / accountant / Agent/Spies/Undercover / arranged-marriage / Asian heroine / Asperger's / audiobook / 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 / LGBTQ / Literary fiction / London / look alikes / mafia / magical powers / Malaysia / martial arts / Mexico / nobleman / Northern Ireland / nurse / POC / POC author / political intrigue / quest / Reading lists / 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 >
C- ReviewsFantasy / hidden identity / look alikes / prince / Regency-based world / romantic-elements / Uncommon Echoes series / unworldly heroine5 Comments
Dear Ms. Shinn, All three novels in your Uncommon Echoes series take place in the Kingdom of the Seven Jewels, where members of the nobility are gifted by the triple goddess with echoes.The echoes are silent doppelgangers who exist in a trance-like state, mirror the actions of their “originals” and ... more >
B Reviews / B+ Reviews / Recommended Readsfamilies / Hidden Legacy / joint review / magical powers / private investigators / romantic-elements / texas / UF / Urban-Fantasy35 Comments
Janine: Wherein Sirius and I discuss the latest Hidden Legacy novel. Let’s jump right. In a world where magic is the key to power and wealth, Catalina Baylor is a Prime, the highest rank of magic user, and the Head of her House. Catalina has always been afraid to use ... more >
A- Reviews / B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / C Reviews / Recommended ReadsFantasy / hidden identity / Impersonation / look alikes / maidservant / Regency-based world / romantic-elements / Uncommon Echoes series14 Comments
Dear Ms. Shinn, When you offered me review copies of three new audiobooks in your Uncommon Echoes series of fantasy novels, I wasn’t sure if I could get to reviewing them in time or even at all, but you suggested that I take them anyway. I’m glad you did because ... more >