2022 book 127

 Daniel Jose Older's Ballad and Dagger

So this is apparently the first YA (instead of middle grade) book in the Rick Riordan presents line; I was interested in reading it because of the worldbuilding. It’s set in a neighborhood in Brooklyn where the people who previously lived on a mysterious Caribbean island now live in diaspora, because their island sank fifteen years ago. And the culture is so cool—it was founded by a Sephardic rabbi, a Santero (priest of Santeria), and a pirate! And they took in escaped slaves and European Jews fleeing pogroms and all sorts of other ppl! I was super into all of that. The plot, perhaps less so? The protagonist is a teen boy who only cares about music and feels like an outsider in the culture because he and his parents were often away, but then it turns out he’s the incarnation of one of the island's three spirits, and magic and politics and stuff all come into play. (Plus romance, with the rabbi's daughter who is the incarnation of their goddess of destruction.) I /loved/ the first half, but things definitely falter in the second, and some of the other characters (cool pansexual best friend and her non-binary love interest in particular) are kind of dropped. Still, I am always interested in Jewish fantasy and this is a really fun example. B/B+.

2022 book 126

 Meredith Katz' The Cybernetic Tea Shop

I always like to check out cozy fantasy books, and here we have a cozy sci-fi book for a change! I mean it is /mostly/ cozy. The main characters are a programmer with a robotic hummingbird sidekick, and a robot who kept running her former owner's tea shop after she died, but there is a lot of anti-robot sentiment and her shop keeps getting vandalized (so that is less cozy). They are both asexual ladies and eventually they cuddle and I was here for it. I’ll have to see what else this author has written because this was delightful. My only complaint, as with many novellas, is that I wanted more. A-.

2022 book 125

 Justina Ireland's Mission to Disaster

Another middle grade High Republic book (with weirdly clunky writing, like it was aimed at an even younger audience) featuring the cool young Jedi Knight from the last couple books and her emotion-sensing Padawan, off on a rescue mission when their science nerd friend is kidnapped by the bad guys. (Who are kidnapping kids to serve as recruits or slaves, yikes.) I kind of want to see how the Jedi finally take down these bad guys (I mean assuming the Jedi get a win for once) but I can’t figure out which book comes next! It’s very annoying. B/B+.

2022 book 124

 Justina Ireland's Out of the Shadows

This formed a perfect High Republic trilogy with the previous two books, as characters from both of those team up in this one. I’m not going to even start trying to explain the plot, which is way too convoluted (and I am predisposed to enjoy books with politics and double dealing), but along with our Jedis pals the other main character is a young woman pilot drawn into things—as is her ex girlfriend (who has a giant pet alien cat thing!!). I am super here for space ladies smooching but wished a little more time had been spent on building their relationship up. This just kind of bogged down a little and the end was mildly unsatisfying, but it was interesting to see more of how the Jedi Order got enmeshed into the Republic and its dealings. B+.

2022 book 123

 Justina Ireland's A Test of Courage

I think this is the first of the middle grade High Republic books, so another good starting point. It’s set a little bit after the hyperspace disaster, but still in the early days of figuring out that there’s an enemy group opposed to the Republic/the Jedi and their expansion. But they’re vicious space pirates, so not super sympathetic, especially since the plot here involves them sabotaging a luxury space cruiser, leaving only four children/teens as survivors. Luckily one teen is a brand new Jedi Knight, another is a padawan, one child is a mechanical genius, and the other has survival training, so when they end up on a jungle moon, they just might make it out. There is also a self-actualized droid, which is my jam. This is middle grade so it feels kind of short, but I love Justina Ireland's writing and this was a super enjoyable read. A/A-.

2022 book 122

 Claudia Gray's Into the Dark

I’ve been wanting to get into the Star Wars High Republic books, but they’re like a whole series by a bunch of different authors and it was weird and confusing. And I started the official first one, Light of the Jedi, and was just not into it. But I read enough to get the gist of the precipitating event, and figured I’d try this one, since I like Claudia Gray. And it turns out this is actually a perfect starting point, since it covers some of the same ground, but with other characters. Anyway, the main character here is a bookish young padawan (finally, a Jedi I can relate to), who’s dismayed to learn he’s being sent to join his master at the frontier,  because he’d rather chill in the archives. But when he and his ship (with a small crew and three other Jedi, all POV characters to varying degrees) run into the hyperspace explosion disaster, they end up at a mysterious abandoned space station. Great characters and pacing here, a very satisfying read. A/A-.

2022 book 121

 Seanan McGuire's Be the Serpent

I think this the the sixteenth Toby Daye book, and yet somehow I am still surprised when McGuire raises the stakes yet again. And she raises the stakes in a BIG way this go-round (I will warn you that I cried). I was more caught up in this one than I’ve been in this series for a while, it’s just firing on all cylinders here. It is still kind of hard to remember the backstory of every member of this sprawling cast, but it doesn’t even matter, this is getting to major popcorn emoji territory, and the end has me dying to see what comes next. A/A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.

2022 book 120

 Rebecca Ross' A River Enchanted

This is I think a Scottish-inspired fantasy novel (or at least everyone is wearing plaids), about a young man who was born and raised on a mysterious island full of spirits, and the island is divided in half between two warring clans, and ten years ago he was sent away to be a bard, but now he’s been summoned home because local girls are going missing and they need his help to ask the spirits. Also, he has a little sister his mother never told him about. Other POV characters are his childhood enemy, now the heiress to the clan; her cousin, the captain of the guard; and his wife, the local healer. There is a lot going on here! I was interested in the characters and the magic, though the writing was occasionally overwrought, and towards the end I was finding things very unsatisfying, but there is clearly a sequel in the works. I am invested in several of the characters so I will probably read it. B+.

2022 book 119

 Misha Popp's Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies

This book is kind of weird because it is basically a cozy mystery, except the protagonist is technically a serial killer? So she comes from a long line of magic crafters, and she can bake magic pies full of confidence or concentration or whatever, but she also has a specialized referral service where she bakes pies that will kill horrible abusive men. The author spends a lot of time trying to make this sympathetic/justifiable, and in fact apparently if the man is capable of change he will stop being a horrible abuser, but mostly they just die. But like if that is your deal, be a fucking gleeful vigilante, don’t waffle about it so much! Then we can enjoy a dark comedy about murder pies! It is very weird to have a cozy story about a murderer! (I also had too many questions about the logistics of her murder pie operations.) Anyway, the plot kicks in when a mysterious dude starts blackmailing her, and then she enters a pie baking contest, and she also has a couple of love interests (an apple orchard farm guy and a radical girl college student), so there is a lot going on. I put this down a couple times in the first half but then things kind of hit their stride. Lots of fun and interesting characters in this, I loved the idea of her RV pie shop, but not entirely successful for me. B.

2022 book 118

 Sarah Addison Allen's Other Birds

I generally enjoy this author's stuff; she tends to write southern fiction with a tinge of magical realism. This falls into that category but feels less “women's fiction”-y, focusing less on romance and relatives and more on an eccentric found family (though there is still a hint of romance). The central character is young Zoey, who’s moved into her long-dead mother's condo on a small South Carolina island (known for its candy scene), where she’s determined to befriend the other residents. Except then one dies. And also Zoey has an invisible bird. And also there are a bunch of ghosts hanging around (several of the ghosts are POV characters). I really liked the characters here, and their friendships and kindnesses, but all the plot reveals are very obvious, and the end felt really rushed. I wanted the second half to have a little more room to breathe. (My ARC also had an error where one character starts a new job, but then several chapters later finds out about said job and is then hired, so I hope that got corrected.) Still, a pleasant read, and a good one to add to the cozy fantasy lists. (Oh, except, content warning for very vague references to child sexual abuse, so maybe not.) B+.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.

2022 book 117

 Alice Oseman's Radio Silence

Rereading this for book club. I wasn’t sure I’d be as into it as I was the first time I read it, since it’s been a few years and since I wasn’t super into Loveless. But I was still into it! I’d have read it all in one go last night but I was too sleepy. I mean, the teen angst could have been turned down several notches, but it feels real enough (speaking as a former angsty teen). I like how Oseman writes friendship and how valuable those relationships are. I did wish the secondary characters were more developed, but still a satisfying read.

2022 book 116

 Katy Watson's The Three Dahlias

This was a very fun mystery centered on the three actresses who’ve all played (or are about to play) a famous literary detective created by an Agatha-Christie-ish author, who are all together as part of a fan convention. But when murder and mayhem ensue, they have to band together, channel their character, and figure out what the heck is going on. I loved all three characters and their growing friendship. The mystery itself was a little eh, parts were pretty easy to guess, but still a very enjoyable read thanks to the characters and setting. Looks like a sequel is in the works and I will probably read it. A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on July 21st.

2022 book 115

 Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog

Rereading this for the vibes, basically. I did understand on this reread why half my book club gave up on it—lots of technical talk about time incongruities. But I love that sort of time travel magical science junk, plus I am definitely here for the madcap tone and wacky antics. To say nothing of the cat, lol.

2022 book 114

 Olivia Atwater's Longshadow

I read the first two books in this series last year and thought they were cute, but the third wasn’t out yet,  and reading Atwater's Small Miracles reminded me it existed! Anyway, in this one, the adopted daughter of the couple from the first book gets involved in figuring out who’s behind the death of three high society girls, because it’s clear magic is involved. And perhaps the pretty laundress with ties to the faerie realm that escorts ghosts to the other side will assist her? And maybe she will also figure out that lesbians are a thing? (Lol.) I am super here for queer cozy fantasy, this lost a little bit of steam leading up to the end but I liked the end itself a lot. More fantasy novels with ladies smooching, please! A-.

2022 book 113

 Sangu Mandanna's The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

So this was a very cute 'n' cozy fantasy novel/British rom-com-style book full of found family and magic! It centers on a woman who’s a witch in a world where witches live secret and solitary lives, but she amuses herself making witch-themed YouTube videos. And someone who sees them realizes she has actual magic, and invites her to come and tutor three little witch girls who need to learn to control their powers (they were all adopted from various countries by a witch archaeologist which I one hundred percent took as a Ballet Shoes reference). Anyway. Obviously their main caretaker is a hot, grumpy, Irish librarian, but there is also an adorable elderly gay couple and a cheerful housekeeper around to keep things lively. This was all pretty predictable but it was fun all the same, and sometimes you just want to read something chill and pleasant with witches doing cool shit. A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.

2022 book 112

 R.F. Kuang's Babel

So this has been pretty hyped up, and I was psyched to sink into a 500+-page historical fantasy novel about magic using languages, but this didn’t totally work for me. I was into it at first—the protagonist is a young Chinese boy in the 1820s on the verge of death from a plague that’s killed his whole family, when he is saved by a British academic who's been sending him books and making him learn English all his life (it becomes clear quickly that this is his father, who refuses to acknowledge him and seems to have impregnated the boy's mother for experimental reasons, and honestly that is the bummer vibe of this whole book). Anyway his horrible father trains him up in languages so he can go to the exclusive translation program at Oxford, where he makes friends! Hooray! But everyone is super racist/sexist/colonial to all the non-white students. And then he discovers there's a secret society with more radical political aims in mind… and then things take a darker turn, content warning for violence and torture. I don’t know why this didn’t work for me, I don’t know if I needed it to be more subtle or less of a bummer or what. (But I think that is the point, that is not subtle and IS a bummer.) There are lots of great moments and ideas but it was all a bit disjointed in the second half. And I needed more from the end. I think this book will haunt me for a while but that’s not the vibe I’m looking for right now. B+.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.

2022 book 111

 Christie Golden's Dark Disciple

This Star Wars novel is based on a whole unproduced story arc from The Clone Wars, wherein the Jedi Council sends one of their own to team up with Asajj Ventress to assassinate Count Dooku. But like, this is exactly my problem with all the Clone Wars-era stories: WE KNOW HOW THEY END! There are occasionally nice moments and plenty of cool action moments but there is never a bit of hope, and this mission obviously isn’t going to go well. I will say I had a hard time reading parts of it because Ventress training Quinlan in the dark side involves a lot of animal murder. I thought both characters and their relationship were well written but the end PISSED ME OFF. Time for another one of my “justice for pop culture ladies” shirts. B/B+.

2022 book 110

 June Gervais' Jobs for Girls with Artistic Flair

Well, this book ruled! It’s about a girl who just graduated high school and all she wants is to keep working in her brother's tattoo shop and train to be a tattoo artist herself—but it’s 1985 on Long Island and cool (queer) girl tattoo artists weren’t really a /thing/ back then. I really liked her friendships here, especially with one of the other tattoo artists, and of course I loved her growing relationship with the pretty protege of a local psychic. Just a really enjoyable read full of cute tattoo-style illustrations. A/A-.