Lev AC Rosen’s The Bell in the Fog
Rereading the first book in this series of course made me want to reread the rest, especially with a new one on the way! This second one finds Andy trying to get his business as a PI going, when his former flame from their Navy days comes to get help because he’s being blackmailed. Pretty solid mystery but I’m honestly here for all the characters! Performer Lee is the best!
C.B. Lee's Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe
As the title indicates, this is a queer YA fantasy romance involving two girls from two different worlds who meet in a coffee shop! Brenda is from our world and is busy with school and a million extracurriculars and is determined to become a climate scientist and save the world! Kat lives in a world full of MAGIC and has a prophecy/destiny that she is NOT into. But how can they date when they are literally in different worlds? And how are their worlds connected? The second half bogs down a little as various mysteries come into play, but the ending was solid and this was super cute and fun. A-.
Lev AC Rosen’s Lavender House
Rereading this for book club—I think it’s an interesting companion to the Cat Sebastian book we read last month—and it totally holds up on a reread, even remembering whodunnit. Anyway, this is a mystery involving a gay man who’s just been kicked out of the San Francisco PD after being busted at a gay bar, because it’s the 1950s and that was illegal then. And then he’s approached to investigate the death of a wealthy and secretly gay woman. It’s definitely the main character who makes this book so compelling— the mystery is solid and the other characters are great too, but Andy is really interesting. The fourth book in this series is out in October and I can’t wait.
Cat Sebastian's You Should Be So Lucky
Obviously when you read something upsetting, your next read should be a cute queer romance! The second book in Sebastian's Midcentury series involves the culture writer at the paper being assigned a piece on a local baseball player. Mark, the writer, is grieving his long-term partner; Eddie, the athlete, is struggling with his game and being in a new city. They have a real grumpy/sunshine thing going on and I was here for it. Sebastian writes such great characters and I was even invested in the baseball team and how they were doing despite not caring about baseball. Just a charming read. A/A-.
Stephanie Reerts' We Loved to Run
This novel is about the six best runners on a women's college cross country team in the early 90s--the perspective switches from the "we" of the team to sections focusing on each of the runners (an interesting group for sure). It reminded me a little of Quan Barry's We Ride Upon Sticks (except without the witchcraft). I did struggle with the second half, which involves a lot of conversations about sexual assault. And it’s all very realistic to the college experience, but if I’d known, I wouldn’t have read this. The parts involving friendship/group dynamics and team camaraderie were great, but I just found the second half upsetting. Not sure how to grade that. It’s very well-written, just not for me.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
Mizuki Tsujimura’s Lonely Castle in the Mirror
I was once again in a spot where nothing I started to read was grabbing me, which means I have to reread something I know is good. This fit my mood perfectly—seven young Japanese people who’ve all stopped attending school find themselves in a mysterious castle. Really lovely, sad but hopeful too.
Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Adventures of the Demonic Ox
The latest Penric and Desdemona novella features, as the title indicates, a demonic ox. I really liked that this one also had POVs from Penric’s daughters, who were growing up and trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Just another really pleasant and enjoyable story. A/A-.
Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love
I've been watching Outrageous (the Britbox show about the Mitfords) which just made me want to reread this! What a satisfying novel—funny and sad and bittersweet. I think even without knowing which things were inspired by the author’s life, this is such a classic novel about the pre-WWII/WWII years in England.
Annalee Newitz’s Automatic Noodle
I’m pretty much the target audience for a book about robots starting a noodle restaurant in near-future post-apocalyptic San Francisco, and this was a pleasant, light read. It does touch on more serious subjects, but it never really goes into depth on anything. I wasn’t super invested in it but it’s nice if you want to read about robots who care deeply about noodle texture and flavor (I do!). B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
Rachel Neumeier's Hedesa
Neumeier's latest is the start of a planned trilogy from the POV of Tano, and I love seeing his growing confidence in this (and how everyone is helping him get more confident! These characters are the opposite of toxic masculinity!!!!). I was all in for the first half—the second dragged occasionally. I think the Tarashana characters are prone to long speeches that I am not super into. Still, I am intrigued at some stuff that happened and looking forward to more of the story! A-.
Rachel Neumeier's Tasmakat
This one was really fun to reread! Everything moves along at an excellent pace, and even though there's a lot of traveling, there's not much time spent on the slog of the journey, which I REALLY appreciate. SO much happens that it feels like several books in one--satisfyingly epic. Neumeier also nails her conclusions and leaves me feeling so delighted.
Rachel Neumeier’s Tano
This one was a little bit stressful to reread as it deals a lot with Tano’s abusive father and his cohort, plus there is a lot of JOURNEYING which I have little patience for. But the end third makes up for it! Really great friendships and learning and growing.
Rachel Neumeier’s Tarashana
This is the book that introduces Tano, who I think is the main character in the new book, so I definitely wanted to reread it, but parts of this are really slow. I mean all the characters are AMAZING and I love all the relationships (family and otherwise), and all the magic stuff is interesting, so it’s not a big deal. I’m just more interested in the inter-tribal relations in the second half than in the mystical journey part.
Rachel Neumeier’s Tuyo
There’s a new book in this series coming out, which is a perfect excuse for a reread! I just love books where people unite to solve problems and fix things and make friends and improve the world. I mean, also there’s a lot of magic, and good and evil sorcerers, and culture clashes, but it’s all so interesting and warm-hearted.
Mia McKenzie's These Heathens
This book is about a small-town Black teenager in 1960 who asks her favorite teacher to help her get an abortion--and her teacher takes her up to Atlanta to stay with a rich Black childhood friend, where they hobnob with all sorts of atheists, Black celebrities, civil rights leaders, student activists, and (gasp) gay people, totally expanding the girl's worldview. It’s a little bit facile but I think would be a hit with book clubs. B/B+.
