Kate Elliott’s The Witch Roads
This is the sort of long epic fantasy that I enjoy reading but don’t particularly have anything to say about. Very interesting world and characters, I did not care about the little bit of romance and wished there was less of it. This is the first in a duology and the second is out in November (and seems like it will involve court politics!), which is cool. A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 10th.
Emily Tesh’s Some Desperate Glory
Rereading this for book club and it’s totally the sort of book that is even better on a reread (and this was one of my favorite books of whatever year it came out, so that’s saying a lot). Here’s my initial review.
Malka Older’s The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses
HOORAY for a new Mossa and Pleiti book! This one starts a bit odd, something is up with Mossa, but soon we’re involved in a mystery where an academic friend is anonymously accused of plagiarism. I loved everything about the pettiness of academia here, though the mystery itself is kind of whatever. Still, I mainly read these for the characters and loved their relationship in this one (and seeing Pleiti with her friends), and the story moves at a quick pace. Another very entertaining outing and I can’t wait for more! A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
John Wiswell’s Wearing the Lion
There are soooo many Greek myth retellings now that normally I wouldn’t bother, but Wiswell’s first novel was interesting and cool, and this grabbed me from the first line, which finds Hera calling Zeus her “dipshit husband” lol. Anyway, this is a very smart take on Heracles and his Twelve Labors, and of course Olympus and its gods, told in the alternating POVs of Hera and Heracles. I was totally a child way too into Greek mythology and really enjoyed this. It’s funny and tragic and has an amazing found family. I did think it was kind of slow, but nothing wrong with that! A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Stephen Spotswood’s Murder Under Her Skin
Not sure if it was the book or my brain, but I wasn’t as into this second one. It involves the murder of the tattooed lady from the circus Parker used to work at, and her old mentor the knife-thrower has been arrested, so of course they have to go set things straight! But the mystery felt like it was just spinning its wheels until near the end, when I correctly guessed almost all of it. I mean, it was fine, and I do plan on reading the rest of the series, but first I’m going to get back to my ARCs. B+.
Stephen Spotswood’s Fortune Favors the Dead
Oh hooray, it’s a new mystery series (to me) to get into! This one involves a young woman who is the assistant detective to a famous lady detective in 1945 New York. (The narrator is the assistant, she has a circus background, she is very queer, and I love her.) Solid mystery involving the death of a wealthy woman in a locked room after a seance, and really great characters. I really liked this and can’t wait read the next one. A/A-.
Janelle Brown’s What Kind of Paradise
I feel like I’ve read several books with this basic premise—a girl raised in isolation with her paranoid father who is obviously keeping secrets from her—but this is a pretty solid entry in the genre. It’s set during the 90s dot-com boom, which was a fun nostalgia trip. I liked this enough to read in one sitting, but did find parts of it overwrought. I think this author usually does mystery/thrillers, but this feels like more of a coming of age story with some weird/bad stuff happening offscreen, and also thoughts on technology. Shrug emoji? A-/B+.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Rachel Hartman’s Among Ghosts
I’m a huge fan of Hartman’s, and this was another great one from her! It involves a boy who can see ghosts, and dragons and spies and assassins, and a bunch of extremely cool girl ghosts, and nuns, and stories, and it’s funny and sweet and sad and wonderful! (I started trying to explain the plot but got lost in the weeds a little, but the story itself is straightforward.) I think this is a standalone but I do hope these characters pop up again sometime. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Karen Dukess' Welcome to Murder Week
This was fun! It’s about a thirty something woman who discovers that her recently deceased (and mostly estranged) mother had purchased a murder-mystery-themed vacation for the two of them in a small town in England. Since she’s unable to get a full refund, she decides what the hell, and is off to solve a mystery with her teammates, a cool gay man (trying to figure out his life) and a romance novelist (and new divorcee). (There’s also a couple of Jewish middle-aged sisters from Pittsburgh, one of whom is a lesbian, and obviously now I want to take a vacation like this, lol.) But of course there are ACTUAL mysteries afoot—why did her mom book this trip?? Is the hot distillery owner into her or is he playing a part? Will they solve the fake murder and win the competition???? Very sweet and satisfying story, I think this will be a great summer read! A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in June.
Sherwood Smith’s Treason’s Shore
The conclusion to the Inda series was fine? Again, lots of great character moments, but I still don’t care about sea battles and the ending dragged a lot. I did like this series but will be glad to move onto something else. B/B+.
Sherwood Smith’s King’s Shield
I was a little less into the third book in the Inda series, because it’s a lot of journeying to war and then fighting in war. It’s also more straightforward than the first two books. Still, I am very invested in the characters and there are some really great moments in here between all the trudging around on horses. Looking forward to the next one. A-/B+.
Sherwood Smith’s The Fox
This book was like 800 pages long and soooo much happened but also some parts were soooo slow? There is a lot of business with fighting pirates and I did get tired of it after a while. But I remain invested in all these characters and can’t wait for book three (I’m hoping for more court politics and diplomacy in that one). A-.
Sherwood Smith’s Inda
I’ve really enjoyed the other books by Smith I’ve read, so decided to try one of her earlier series. It’s interesting to see which sorts of plots/settings she’s interested in that have recurred across series (ie nilitary academies), as well as the way she always turns the story in its head! The story here involves the eponymous Inda, the younger son of a prince, being sent to military academy in the midst of all sorts of political intrigue. But there are lots of other POV characters and I loved the women in this world (I also love Inda!). I do love stories with this level of political plotting and I hope the good guys triumph soon (but it’s a four book series so who knows lol). A/A-.
Sydney Graves’ The Arizona Triangle
This was WAY too dark and fucked up for me. I was more or less enjoying it for a while, it’s about a PI who’s hired to find her missing childhood best friend, but the reveal was so upsetting and gross that I deeply regret reading this.
Sharon Shinn's Summers at Castle Auburn
I needed a comfort reread and this one is always satisfying--a great coming of age story as a girl who spends summers at the titular castle with her (legitimate) older sister slowly learns about court intrigue, how the world works, and about justice. Also there is a lot of friendship and a little bit of romance. And herbcraft and healing! Good stuff!
Shelly Jay Shore’s Rules for Ghosting
Reread for book club. I actually liked this a little more the first time I read it—there is SO MUCH going on here (see my previous review) and yet somehow it feels really slow at times (too much of Ezra’s ruminations). Still, a sweet story with a lot to discuss. Interested to see book club reactions!
Kevin Wilson’s Run for the Hills
I generally like Wilson’s work, and while this wasn’t my /favorite/ of his, it was definitely an enjoyable way to spend some time! The plot here is basically a woman is running her farm when a guy comes and is like, the dad who left when you were a kid? He did the same thing to me, and I’m your older brother! Also, he did the same thing a few more times! Let’s take a road trip cross country and meet our siblings! And they do. It’s funny and sweet and sad, really great characters. I wished for a little more from the end but in all this was a really nice read. A/A-.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in May.
Sherwood Smith’s The Sage Empress II
Solid second half of the story of the Sage Empress’ rise to power—great characters for sure, though I did think this was a little slower. Still, all I want these days is to be in some other world and this was an enjoyable one to spend time in. A-.
Sherwood Smith’s Sage Empress
I’m guessing the girl in this book is going to grow up to be the Sage Empress mentioned so often in the Phoenix Feather books, but there’s a sequel still to go! Anyway, this has lots of what I like—court politics, action, friendship, learning—as a little girl from a noble family grows up watching the court around her, at least until things take a turn and she’s suddenly on a different path (this did feel a little repetitive of the Phoenix Feather books but I still enjoyed it). Looking forward to the second half of the story. A/A-.
Sherwood Smith’s Tribute
This is set in the same world as the Phoenix Feather series, which I liked a lot, but hundreds of years earlier. The primary characters are a little girl who leaves home to be trained as a musician, and her elderly music master teacher (love a book with old ladies as main characters!) though various princes and princesses become POV characters eventually. I was loving this even before lots of unexpected action happened in the second half, but it all leads to a really nice ending. Just what I needed to read right now. A.
