Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog Short Stories IV
Sold group of novellas—the first three involve various werewolf politics/diplomacy, and the last is more action-packed, as Keziah and Riss follow up on their previous mission involving witches (and which seems to be setting up the three part finale). A-.
Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog Short Stories III
I had started this after Shadow Twin—the first novella is set during that book, but it's everything everyone was dealing with back some, featuring cool werewolf diplomacy—but the other three stories are set during or after Copper Mountain, so I held off on the rest. More cool character moments and chances for development for some of the secondary characters (the cast is pretty big at this point, so that’s nice). A-/B+.
Rachel Neumeier’s Copper Mountain
Good stuff in this volume as the crew prepares to fight a massive demon! Lots of team building and everyone helping each other. The end had some gross parts that I was not super into but otherwise a really enjoyable novel. A-.
Rachel Neumeier’s Shadow Twin
I wasn’t super into this at first, to the point where I put it down and was thinking of abandoning the series for being too dark/stressful (this one involves black witches and demons). But in the second half it had much more of what I like from Neumeier—action, plans, alliances, cleverness, and people depending on each other—and I ended up really enjoying it. So I will keep going! A-.
Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog Short Stories II
Yikes. This was really unpleasant. The first story is Keziah and Amira's backstory and involves a lot of rape and abuse, and the second involves a band of werewolf serial killers/kidnappers/rapists. (The third one involves some hostages at a bank but is much more enjoyable; the fourth involves dark witches taking grandmas hostage and is not as bad as the first two but is still not super fun.) B/B-.
Rachel Neumeier’s Pure Magic
The third book in this series has A LOT going on—a brand new character, a boy who can do the special magic, but doesn’t know anything about the magical world, not to mention rival dog gangs and vampire attacks. Plus reckless teens and YA romance. I did like this—I always enjoy Neumeier’s characters—but there are so many tense action/battle scenes, which aren’t my fave. Like, we know the good guys will win, just get to it already. I wanted to see more homey scenes, like see them interact with the little girl they rescue. Maybe in the next set of stories. B+.
Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog Short Stories
This book consists of four stories (not actually that short) featuring various characters from the Black Dog universe, which is a great way to have some character development/character relationship development. It looks like a few of the books in this series are stories like these, and I liked these four, so I’m on board. A-.
Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog
This is the start of a series by Neumeier that I haven’t read, but she recently wrapped it up, so it seemed like a good time to read it! Plus I love reading big ol' series in the winter. Anyway, I knew this was a sort of urban fantasy story that involved werewolves (or really, dog shifters and also werewolves), but didn’t realize it was YA. It centers on three siblings on the run after their parents are murdered, hoping to find safe haven in the dog shifter group where their father was raised—the eldest is a shifter and his sister has a valuable kind of magic (they also have a super smart human brother but he’s not a POV character). I did think parts of this were a little too slow, but it has some really interesting family/group dynamics, which I always enjoy (and which Neumeier always does well). A-/B+.
Connie Willis' All Clear
Heartbreaking and lovely and beautiful conclusion to Blackout. I just noticed I read these last December too, maybe a new tradition?
Connie Willis' Blackout
After reading a whole series of novellas, I wanted something more in depth, so here I am, back to rereading the Oxford Time Travel series! This one involves a bunch of time travelers doing various projects in 1940 England, when they realize they’re stranded. There are also some bits involving other years of the war, and even though I’d read it before, I didn’t totally remember which were the same characters using aliases. But this time I just let it flow over me, knowing it would all be revealed by the end (of book two). Very satisfying to reread this one.
Seanan McGuire’s Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear
The latest Wayward Children book centers on the backstory of Nadya, who appeared in the first few books. She’s a Russian girl adopted from an orphanage by a pair of American missionaries, who falls into an underwater world full of chill people and talking turtle companions. Another really enjoyable entry in the series. I’m all caught up now, but will definitely keep reading! A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 7th.
Seanan McGuire’s Mislaid in Parts Unknown
This is basically a continuation of the previous two books, dealing with Antsy and the Store where lost things go, as the usual motley gang goes on the run/ends up on a quest. The dinosaur world is a particular standout. A-.
Seanan McGuire’s Lost in the Moment and Found
The eighth book in this series features the backstory of Antsy, a secondary character from the previous book, who ran away from her stepfather and ended up in the world where the lost things go. I am really enjoying this series still, and the novella length allows for the perfect little punch of a story. A/A-.
Seanan McGuire’s Where the Drowned Girls Go
I wasn’t super into this one at first, because the main character is Cora, and there’s a lot more of the fatphobia she deals with, plus she’s in a new school, and it’s all very unpleasant. But by the end I was like WHOOOO YEAH about things. (And Regan from the previous book is there!) I guess that averages out to like an A-?
Seanan McGuire’s Across the Green Grass Fields
This one is actually a stand-alone, featuring a new character, ten year old horse girl who ends up in a land of centaurs, unicorns, and kelpies, where apparently it’s her destiny to save the world. (She’s also intersex—this series has great representation.) Another really good one, and I hope we see Regan again. A.
Seanan McGuire's Come Tumbling Down
I was hoping we’d see Jack and Jill again, and this one starts with Jack coming back to the school to ask for help with a crisis on the Moors, so of course our motley band goes to the rescue. Lots of mad science and skeleton battles ensue. Good times. A-.
Seanan McGuire's In An Absent Dream
This one was really good! It’s the story of Lundy, who went to the Goblin Market as a eight-year-old. It’s interesting to read these stories knowing how they end, but they’re no less satisfying. Great characters in this one especially. A.
Seanan McGuire's Beneath the Sugar Sky
I can already tell I’m gonna tear through these, both because they’re short and because they’re fun. This one involves the daughter of a character who died in book one, demanding they save her mother or else she’ll vanish bc the timelines are messed up. There's also a new student who’s a mermaid! (This was my only issue with the book—the character is fat and keeps dwelling on people being assholes to her about it, and worrying about other people being assholes other about it, and I wished there was a little less of that.) Very fun adventures otherwise. A-/B+.
Seanan McGuire's Down Among the Sticks and Bones
We got the basics of Jack and Jill's story in the first book, but here is the whole thing, beautifully told. I do hope we revisit these characters in another book, because I’m so curious about what happens next. A/A-.
Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway
Sometimes I like to sink into a big series while I’m on vacation, and this seemed like it might hit the spot. I have actually read this first one before, but I thought it was supposed to be a mystery and didn’t think it totally worked as one. Of course, this is actually a whole series about children who have been to magical worlds and come back and have to deal with all that, which is more interesting. I definitely liked it way more with that in mind. A-.
