2024 book 80

 James S.A. Corey’s Babylon's Ashes

I am still very invested in a lot of these characters, and I bet this all makes for a really compelling tv show, but this book was EXHAUSTING. I lost track of how many POV characters it had, and honestly, lost track of who a lot of them even were. But again, great characters! The plot is mostly just action scenes though and those aren’t always fun to read. I want more diplomacy and politics! I’m gonna take a brief break to rest my brain but I do plan on continuing the series. B/B+.

2024 book 79

 Victoria Goddard’s Terec and the Wild/ 

Taking a quick break from the Expanse series because Victoria Goddard put out a new novella, which is the sequel to this novella, and so obviously I had to reread this one to refresh my memory. It’s the story of the long-lost love of one of the dudes from the Hands of the Emperor books, and the journey he takes when he exiles himself due to his wild magic. This is the first of four, apparently, and hard to judge on its own since it really feels like an introduction. Still, I like everything Goddard writes. 

Terec and the Wall

I’m counting these as one book since they’re both just 52 pages. Like its predecessor, it’s pretty much all vibes until near the end, when Terec has an Unexpected Encounter (or perhaps not, if you’ve read anything by Goddard before) and some plot kicks in. Looking forward to the third. 

2024 book 78

 James S.A. Corey's Nemesis Games

This was interesting, because Holden and his three crew members all are off on their own adventures (which do, of course, collide), which means we have POV sections from Naomi, Alex, and Amos for the first time—very good for their character development. Some of my favorite characters from earlier books also return, which I was obviously psyched about. The political situation in the larger story is really heating up, and I’m intrigued to see where things go next, since now we're like halfway through the series. A-.

2024 book 77

 James S.A. Corey's Cibola Burn

I liked this one a lot more than the third one—it mainly involves Holden being sent to mediate between two groups of colonists on a new planet, and I just found the plot and most of the characters more engaging (two of the POV characters are minor characters from earlier books, on opposite sides of the conflict). I say “most of” the characters because the main villain is very one note and at a certain point I was wishing someone would shoot him so I didn’t have to read any more of his nonsense. On the plus side, I thought Naomi was way better developed in this one (maybe because we're seeing her through eyes that aren't Holden's?). Looking forward to the next one. A-.

2024 book 76

 James S.A. Corey's Abaddon's Gate

I didn’t like this as much as the second one, because all the new characters from that one that I was invested in aren’t in this one (Holden and his crew are in all of them I guess). There are some new POV characters: a guy who's chief security officer on a spaceship (he’s cool); Julie Mao's sister, working on a convoluted plan of revenge against Holden; and a lesbian Methodist minister, which meant a lot of talk about Christianity, which is not my bag. Things do pick up in the second half once all the plotlines come together, and it does get action-packed, but I do hope all these pastors don’t come back. B+.

2024 book 75

 Rainbow Rowell’s Slow Dance

It’s my birthday, and as a birthday treat I read this ARC! I love the way Rowell writes characters and feelings and characters talking about feelings and I knew this wouldn’t disappoint. And it didn’t! Her first adult novel in years is sort of a second chance romance, focusing on newly divorced Shiloh and her high school best friend Cary, who meet for the first time in years at a wedding. And the story flashes back and forth between their high school years, and the adult years they spent apart, and their college years, and them in the now (well, 2006) as they try and figure their shit out. And I do love a book where nice people figure their shit out. Very relatable and vividly drawn characters, as Rowell does so well. So satisfying. A.

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

(I tagged this as LGBTQ because Shiloh is queer, but this is an m/f romance.)

2024 book 74

 James S.A. Corey's Caliban's War

Ok, I did like this one way more, and there were way better lady characters, as I was told. (One is a Martian Marine, the other a powerful politician from Earth, and I love them.) The plot, such as it is, kicks off when a scientist's daughter is kidnapped by nefarious scientists who are tied to the nefarious stuff from book one, and the Rocinante crew are on board (lol) to help get her back, but of course there are wars and politics and PTSD and more to deal with. Plus a baller ending that makes me eager for book three (except I’m taking a quick break before I come back to these!). A-.

2024 book 73

 James S.A. Corey's Leviathan Wakes

I was thinking about starting the Expanse tv show, but I am exactly the kind of person who wants to read the books first, so here we go! There is a LOT going on in this first one, but it mainly involves two characters: the first is a washed-up cop looking for a missing woman (the reader knows nothing good has happened to her), which leads him into a much bigger mystery; the second is an XO on a water hauling spaceship who also gets drawn into the bigger mystery after witnessing several weird attacks on spaceships, and he's just trying to keep his remaining crew alive, but also has started a war? The pace picks up a lot once these characters collide, and there are a lot of surprises for sure. It was still a bit slow and no comment on the women characters (I hear this improves in later books and look forward to finding out). B+.

2024 book 72

 T. Kingfisher's What Feasts at Night

Ok, I liked this one so much more, probably because it’s barely scary and way less gross! (Reminder that I am a GIANT WUSS.) This one finds Alex on their way to their hunting lodge to hang out with Beatrix Potter's aunt, who they befriended in the previous book. But the caretaker has died, and a malevolent spirit may be the cause. Oh, also, Alex is dealing with major PTSD. This one is playing much more with dark folklore instead of monstrous nature, which is way easier for me personally. I also love the characters and the humor, as always. A/A-.

2024 book 71

 T. Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead

Normally I’ll read anything Kingfisher writes, but I’m a giant wuss and the cover of this book scared me!! But she did a reading from the sequel recently and that and the way she talked about the series made me want to read it, so here we are. It’s a take on The Fall of the House of Usher, set in the 1800s in a made-up European country, and involves a solder (from a country where soldiers have their own set of pronouns) going to visit some old friends who are ill. I will say this is not jump scare kind of horror, but it is very eerie and also gross!!! But I do love Kingfisher's writing. A-/B+.

2024 book 70

 Patricia Wentworth's Mr Brading's Collection 

I was in the mood for a mystery so decided to check back in on the Miss Silver series. This was perfectly adequate. Lol. It involves a rich jerk who wants to hire Miss Silver but she refuses! But when he gets murdered she ends up involved anyway. The main characters are a divorced couple who will obviously reconcile by the end, all of the Miss Silver mysteries have a couple that will get together by the end. The mystery itself was interesting enough, and I enjoy reading this, but this wasn’t a fave. B/B+.

2024 book 69

 Effie Calvin's Daughter of the Sun

I did like this one more than the first—as I mentioned, the one thing I really liked in that one was the religion stuff, and this one leans more into that, as it involves a chaos goddess trapped in a mortal body falling for a (lady) Paladin of the sun god. Lol. Very cute. It drags a little in the middle but was definitely a stronger story with even better characters. I don’t think I’ll continue with the series though. B+.

2024 book 68

 Effie Calvin's The Queen of Ieflaria

I wanted to read something light/cute, and this WAS very cute, but not much else. It’s about a young princess who comes to a new country to get married,but her betrothed has died and now the heir is his younger sister, who doesn’t want to rule. Also, dragons keep attacking. So am I here for a sapphic fantasy romance? Yes, and I liked the characters a lot, and thought the stuff with religion was really interesting. BUT the plot and romance are both totally underbaked. It’s frustrating because the writing is good and the bones of a solid story are there, but I really needed it to be way more fleshed out. Still, I’ll give the next book in the series a try bc this world is interesting. B/B+.

2024 book 67

 Grace Curtis' The Floating Hotel

I really liked Curtis' first novel and was excited for this one, which was also super enjoyable! It’s set in a giant spaceship hotel, which has seen better days, and each chapter is from the POV of a different staff member or guest, all coming together to tell the story of a wonderful place. Lots of fun stuff comes up—movie nights, heists, music, etc—but there are also some spies on board, trying to track down a political dissident. Curtis nails the ending, too; this was a very satisfying read. A/A-.

2024 book 66

 Holly Gramiazo's The Husbands

This premise is a bit hard to explain but it’s kind of a magical realism/alternate universe sort of thing, where one evening a woman comes home and a dude is in her apartment; he’s apparently her husband but she isn’t married and doesn’t know him. And then it turns out every time a husband goes into the attic, a new husband comes down, and she’s in a different version of her life. I really liked the narrative voice here and this story was compelling enough that I read it all in one sitting. And I ended up really liking how it wrapped up, too. Recommended if you want something on the lighter side that is still interesting! A-.

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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on April 2nd.

2025 book 65

 T. Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone

Rereading this for book club and it’s just as good every time I read it! Dark, funny, full of great women characters, just so satisfying.

2024 book 64

 Martha Wells' The Gate of Gods

Ughhhhh I LOVE this series and the end of this one is so good and satisfying! I love all these characters so much! I don’t even have anything else to say about this, haha.