2024 book 185

 Rufi Thorpe's Margo's Got Money Troubles

Rereading this for book club and it’s definitely going to be on my list of favorite books of the year. I love how it plays with narrative to tell the story of a pregnant college student, her former-pro-wrestler father, and the community she creates through OnlyFans. There is also realistically stressful stuff, like how to raise a baby and take care of yourself as a college student, and the judgement you get for doing OnlyFans, etc. I already know two other book clubbers loved this as much as I do, and one…did not. Lol. Should be an interesting discussion.

2024 book 184

Victoria Goddard’s The Sisters Avramapul

This is actually three novellas/novelettes, but they’re each under 70 pages so I’m counting them as one book for tracking purposes. I’ve read the first two but the third is new, hence a reread.

The Bride of the Blue Wind

In the first one, older sisters Arzu and Pali (the latter a major character from various other Goddard works) go on a quest to rescue their youngest sister from her ill-fated marriage to a Wind God. Great fairy-tale atmosphere, very Bluebeard.

The Warrior of the Third Veil

This is a good read because I love Sardeet and Pali, but there isn’t a ton going on plot-wise. But those are some of my favorite Goddard stories—I like the way she writes families. 

The Weaver of the Middle Desert

The third book finds Arzu and Pali once again going on a visit to their sister, but it’s a chiller trip this time (and involves a beanstalk!). Lots of humor and some mild adventure (other adventures are glossed over, a pity). I did like that this was more from Arzu's POV, since she’s not as present in the other series.

2024 book 183

 Christianna Brand's Green for Danger

Two points of interest: 1) Brand is also the author of the books the Nanny McPhee movies are based on; 2). It turns out I’d already read the first book in this series, back in 2013–I was even madder about the antisemitism then. This second book is way better in all regards, centering on several nurses and doctors at a military hospital during WWII, and what happens when a patient dies suddenly. The mystery was interesting enough and the setting was certainly unusual. I will probably read more in this series after a break for some other stuff. B+.

2024 book 182

 Christianna Brand's Heads You Lose

Sarah Weinman mentioned another book in this series recently, and I'm always looking for classic mysteries, but wanted to start from the beginning. I did almost put this down due to some casual antisemitism, but it seemed limited to one unpleasant character so I moved on, since I was enjoying the writing otherwise (sadly, the casual antisemitism does recur throughout). Anyway, the mystery involves a dead woman and the main suspects are the six friends/relations staying at a house, which is my favorite kind of mystery, but the ending was sooooo ridiculous, like reallllllly silly. Giving this a B.

2024 book 181

 Victoria Goddard's The Hands of the Emperor

Once again I am rereading the 800 page fantasy novel about government reform and making a better world--gee, I wonder why.

2024 book 180

 Ally Carter's The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

I am decidedly NOT into Christmas romances (I'm Jewish), but I am VERY into locked-room mysteries set in fancy English houses, plus mentally I can't handle anything more complicated than a book like this right now. Anyway, this involves two mystery authors who get invited to a mysterious Christmas visit at the home of a VERY FAMOUS elderly mystery writer--who then vanishes from a locked room! The romance was cute, the mystery was solid, this wasn’t very Christmassy besides the setting, and it was JUST what my brain needed right now. Highly recommended if you want an adorable and entertaining book. A/A-.

2024 book 179

 Olivia Waite's Hen Fever

After slogging through a long and slow epic fantasy series, and with the election on the horizon, I needed something LIGHT and FUN to read. Enter this historical romance novel I've been saving for a rainy day, which involves queer ladies and also chickens. (It’s not a hundred percent fluffy—one of the women is a war widow with PTSD.) Anyway, it was just what I wanted, and my only complaint is that it's a novella and could have benefited from more pages developing things. But definitely very fun. A-.

2024 book 178

 Kate Elliott's The Traitor's Gate

Ok, this was super slow and I don’t think it needed to be 900 pages. I was more interested in some characters than others, or course, but some parts reallllllly dragged. The last quarter was solid and I did like the end, even if a lot of stuff that came before was a major bummer. Interesting series for sure but I think if it was more streamlined,it’d have been stronger. B+.

2024 book 177

 Kate Elliott's Shadow Gate

OK, this RULED. I was totally hooked from page one and was honestly mad I had to put it down to go to sleep. A lot of times second books in a trilogy are busy putting pieces into place, but this introduces some new characters, answers some questions, and raises the stakes. A/A-.

2024 book 176

 Kate Elliott's Spirit Gate

This was a slow start for me—I almost put it down a few times, but the characters I was interested in (primarily Mai) kept me going, and I ended up liking it. I’m not going to try and explain the plot, except there’s a shadow on the land, and dark things are happening, and the characters need to come together to try and stop it. I liked the look at different cultures/traditions/religions especially. I do think this could have been shorter and the sections in the first half (especially with Joss) could have been cut down a lot, but the back half moves more quickly and I enjoyed it much more. B+.

2024 book 175

 Alison Espach's The Wedding People

On the face of it, I should be rolling my eyes reading a novel about a depressed, recently divorced, adjunct professor who encounters a hotel full of people celebrating a “wedding week,” but the narrative voice was so immediately engaging AND Christina recommended this to me, so I was actually super into it! I don’t want to say more about the plot, because I enjoyed seeing things unfold without knowing anything about it. Lots of good discussions of books too (the protagonist works on 19th century lit, particularly Jane Eyre). Very satisfying read. A/A-.

2024 book 174

 Eva Ibbotson's A Song for Summer

After reading several dark books in a row, I needed a palate cleanser, so I reread this pleasant and funny book about a sensible English woman taking a job at a boarding school for the arts in Austria. In 1937. It's not a traditional romance, but there is a love story at the heart of it (and the love interest is busy rescuing people from the Nazis, so high five there). I actually had forgotten that the last third is set later, during and after the war, but it’s still somehow a lighter read. Very satisfying.

2024 book 173

 Maggie Thrash's Rainbow Black

There is a lot going on here, and most of it is very dark! It’s basically a thriller involving a woman looking back on her life, starting with when her parents were arrested during the Satanic Panic and accused of being child molesters—and things get grimmer from there. But it’s very readable, and there's actually an interesting queer love story at the center. Compelling stuff. A-.

2024 book 172

 John Bowen's The Girls

What a weird little book! (Complimentary.) I think I thought this would be dark and funny, and parts of it were, but I would describe the narrative voice more as “wry.” Anyway, this is the story of a lesbian couple living in a small town in England in the 1970s, and what happens when one goes on vacation to find herself, and the other sleeps with a young dude and ends up pregnant. Spoiler: what happens is murder. I loved this depiction of village life and Mrs Marshall especially was *chef's kiss*. It was also kind of sad though. :( A-.

2024 book 171

 Kristen Lepionka’s Once You Go This Far

Still love these characters, but I wasn’t really into the mystery here, which involves a woman who dies in a fall, but was it really an accident, and also there’s a creepy evangelical church. It was all very over the top. B.