Stephanie Burgis’ A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence
Another very entertaining story, but this one was longer which made it better—more room to breathe. Lots of fun new characters as our protagonist and her vampire husband head to the Black Forest to do some supernatural research, and get caught up in more shenanigans. There’s also a cute lesbian side romance! What’s not to like! Excited for book three (out in October). A-.
Stephanie Burgis’ A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience
Super cute novella about an academic and a vampire tricked/forced into marriage, who have to work together to figure out why (and fall for each other along the way). This absolutely could have been longer, nothing feels rushed but there’s really not much character (or romantic) development. But sometimes you just want to read something quick and fun. B+.
Natalie Adler’s Waiting on a Friend
Sometimes I complain about how sick I am of New York novels, but I am HERE for this gritty 1980s queer New York novel! Our main character is a Jewish lesbian who can see ghosts, whose gay best friend has just died of AIDS, but his ghost has not appeared. And she’s dealing with grief and friends and romance and also there’s a company that is basically like an evil ghostbusters running around and helping to gentrify Manhattan. I’m not trying to make it sound wacky, it’s all really sad and beautiful. Really satisfying ending, too. I’ll be thinking about this one. A.
Rainbow Rowell's Julia at the Drive-In
Normally I don't blog about short stories, but a) it's Rainbow Rowell! and b) I got an ARC from Netgalley so like, there's an obligation there, lol. Anyway, this is a very cute story involving very cute teens at a drive-in! If you like Rainbow Rowell (and I clearly do), you will like this!!
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 23.
Emma Garman’s The Kindness of Strangers
This mystery is set in a boarding house in England in the early 1950s, and everyone has secrets—and that’s before they conspire to cover up a murder! That’s not a spoiler—that happens first thing, and then the story flashes back to the lead up to the death, interspersed with bits of the investigation. Parts of this were surprising, parts were predictable, and I had mixed feelings on the ending(s). But I really did enjoy all the characters! I look forward to whatever Garman does next. B+.
Cat Sebastian’s Hither Page
I was having one of those moods where I’d get twenty percent into a book and then totally lose interest, so I decided to try and reread this instead. Still an entertaining mystery/queer romance set in a small town in England just after WWII, where the local doctor and a spy try and solve a murder. I love all the side characters in this one! It’s a little simpler than some of Sebastian’s more recent stuff but still a good read.
Cat Sebastian's After Hours at Dooryard Books
This was one of my favorite books of last year, and when I saw people talking about it on Bluesky and also couldn't get into anything I was trying, I knew it was time for a reread! Just as charming and like, fulfilling, as the first time I read it. 🩷
Natalie Zina Walschots' Villain
The sequel to Hench is very clearly the second book in a trilogy (or series?). Some great moments, some terrifying moments, but I wasn’t as into it as the first one. Like I finished it and felt pretty bummed out! I will still read whatever Walschots writes and hope for the next book soon! B+.
Natalie Zina Walschots' Hench
Rereading this bc the sequel came out!! I remembered that I liked this but the only detail that really stuck with me was the body horror stuff near the end, but really everything else is so funny and sad and good and action-packed. Perfect narrative voice. If you haven’t read this, it’s about a woman who’s a temp, doing data entry for villains, when she’s badly injured by a superhero. And then starts doing the math on how much damage superheroes actually cause. And this starts a whole villainous journey. Really engaging, I’m so excited to see what comes next.
Juliet Marillier’s Heart’s Blood
I was trying to figure out if Mariller’s new book had a US release date (no) and realized I’d never read this one by her! It’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling, about a young woman on the run from abusive relatives who takes a job as a scribe at a cursed castle. It’s all steeped in Irish folklore and super atmospheric, but super dark at times too. I was into it at first but it dragged in the middle, even with the threat of a Norman invasion. There is just a lot of talk about HOPE lol. I did like that the heroine has to sort out her own past issues and enjoyed that whole section a lot, and really liked how things wrapped up. A-/B+.
CJ Cherryh’s The Pride of Chanur
Really fun sci-fi adventure about the captain of a crew of feline aliens from a matriarchal society who inadvertently rescue a human and set off a diplomatic incident. I like stories with politics and diplomacy and loved the main character here (and was also interested in the translation/communication aspects). Action-packed and great characters. I do want to read more with the characters but the description of book two has me like 🤷🏻♀️ so we’ll see. A/A-.
Sarah Rees Brennan's All Hail Chaos
So I liked, but didn't love, the first book in this series--I think the concept of isekai stresses me out and the protagonist DEFINITELY was stressing me out! But I was all in from page one of this one! All the characters are in more interesting positions and it is laugh out loud funny at parts (I loved all the pop culture references). I did grow impatient with Rae occasionally but Emer and the Golden Cobra/Marius were always awesome, and Rae got some great moments in the second half. Cannot wait for book three. A/A-.
Susan Juby’s Contemplation of a Crime
Another really fun read!! In this one, our Buddhist butler accompanies her billionaire boss (but he’s like, a kind and self-aware billionaire) to a retreat his son is running, to help a group of people with political differences learn to get along, except things do not go according to plan and everyone has to band together to save the day! All the butler pals are back and there are even more dogs in this one! I love this series, I hope more are on the way. A/A-.
Susan Juby’s A Meditation on Murder
The second Helen Thorpe mystery finds our Buddhist butler dispatched to try and sort out a wealthy young wannabe influencer, who is unaware she’s being targeted for internet drama. Lots of good dogs and horses in this one! Great characters again—I was glad that Nigel popped back up—and though the mystery’s conclusion was over the top, I still liked this a lot. Can’t wait to read book three (and then be bereft while waiting for more). A:A-.
Susan Juby’s Mindful of Murder
Absolutely delightful and slyly funny mystery involving a butler, a former Buddhist nun, who is tasked with determining who will inherit her mentor’s upscale yoga retreat … and also reluctantly solving her mentor’s murder with the help of her two best friends from butler school and some other characters (emphasis on CHARACTER lol). I definitely cackled more than a few times, loved the narrative voices here. It also goes pretty deep on Buddhism to good effect! The mystery ends up being solid, too—a very fun read and I’m psyched for book 2. A.
Marta Randall’s The River South
The sequel to Mapping Winter primarily focuses on the teen daughter of the first book’s protagonist, though there are also some POV characters from the first book. I really loved all the characters and their journeys, and this ended in a fairly satisfying way. I do think it needed one more pass with a proofreader or editor—there are some typos and a few awkward bits (or maybe one character is supposed to be perving on a fourteen year old? No thanks). Otherwise a very cool read. A/A-.
Marta Randall’s Mapping Winter
I no longer remember why or when I bought this book or what made me pick it up now, but it was great! Lots of court politics and castle life from the POV of a woman who serves a corrupt, dying lord, and is desperate to escape the court and go off and map unknown places. She’s surly as fuck and also adopts a little boy along the way, it’s a reverse Pedro Pascal situation. Really interesting world-building and a narrative it’s easy to sink into. I’m gonna start the sequel immediately. A.
Tansy Rayner Robert’s Curse of Bronze
Super cute supernatural mystery involving a woman who inherits the family home after her curse breaker aunt is turned into a bronze statue, and she has to figure out who did it, with the help of all sorts of people (a lion librarian, a sort of vampire, a talking teapot, some werewolves, etc). I do think this would have been stronger if it was longer, but I liked it a lot and will be reading volume two when it comes out next month. B+.
Fonda Lee’s The Last Contract of Isako
Lee’s latest is a sci-fi story where a middle-aged woman, a high level operative, has to take One Last Job. The book really harps on her age, like she thinks about her knees, menopause, and/or aging multiple times a chapter. It’s so weird that I actually assumed Lee was in her 20s or something but I looked her up and she’s my age!! Girl! Anyway this was fine, some good twists and lots of great action scenes, but a lot of it draaaaaaaagggggged, like this could have been twenty percent shorter. I was super impatient by the end. B.
