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-.
Kelly Murashige's The Lost Souls of Benzaiten
This is about a depressed teen girl who makes a wish at a Japanese shrine (her wish is to be a robot vacuum cleaner lol) and the goddess appears and is like “I’ll help you find the joy in life in the next five weeks!” I will say this wasn’t always predictable, but the second half kind of loses the thread for a while and the ending is maybe too neat. Also, I’m in my mid-40s and not the target audience for a YA book, so YMMV. B/B+.
Natalie Sue's I Hope This Finds You Well
I think I was hoping this would be reminiscent of Rainbow Rowell's Attachments, since it’s about a women who accidentally gains access to all her company's emails/messages, but that is a pretty high bar, I guess. This was fine. The woman is a depressed, bitter, traumatized mess, and parts of this were weirdly tense, even as she starts to fall for the HR guy who’s supposed to be monitoring her. I liked the bits involving her family, and there are some very funny bits when she finds out she’s a coworker's fake fiancée. Normally I like books about people getting their shit together, but this just didn’t totally work for me for some reason. B/B+.
T. Kingfisher's A House With Good Bones
I am historically a T. Kingfisher superfan, but there's a few of hers I haven't read because I am a wuss! This was a kindle daily deal recently though, and then I had it on my kindle, and so I was like, let's try it. And it starts off with so much trademark offbeat Kingfisher humor, as an archaeologist/entomologist goes to stay with her mom....but something isn't right. It’s not too hard to figure out what’s going on, and it does end up being creepy! But it felt a little rushed, I actually think this would have benefited from being a little longer and creepier (on the other hand, I don’t know how much more creepiness I could take). Cool characters and images for sure. B+.
It's about that time again--here are my ten favorite books of 2024, alphabetical by author, links go to my reviews:
Micaiah Johnson's Those Beyond the Wall
T. Kingfisher's A Sorceress Comes to Call
Aimee Pokwatka's The Parliament
Margaret Tabor's Unity Penfold
Rufi Thorpe's Margo's Got Money Troubles
Freya Sampson's Nosy Neighbors
I thought this was going to be a cute British mystery based on the description, but it’s really more of a women's fiction book featuring the POVs of two women who live in the same building--a cranky 70-something and a pink-haired twenty-something who have to come to terms with past trauma. And also their landlord is trying to tear their building down. I was into it at first but it gets really repetitive in the second half with the women alternating between liking each other and saying hurtful things to each other, and then it just jumps to the ending, which is tidy and mildly cheesy. B.
Kate Fagan's The Three Lives of Cate Kay
Yall, this was really good! I had to force myself to put it down and go to bed last night! The eponymous Cate Kay is the VERY reclusive author of a trilogy of bestselling books--which led to a trilogy of blockbuster movies, etc. But only like two people know her real identity. And this book is the memoir telling her whole life story, including chapters from childhood friends, colleagues, ex-girlfriends (this book is very queer), and more. The description says this is a thriller but it totally isn't— it's a really engaging, occasionally messy, and sweet novel. I could quibble and say some of it is too neat or some characters could be more fleshed out, but I don’t want to quibble! I loved this! Apparently the author is best known as a sportswriter, but I hope she keeps putting out fiction. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 7th.
Rainbow Rowell's Carry On
Rainbow Rowell's Wayward Son
Rainbow Rowell's Any Way the Wind Blows
I reread the Simon Snow series (including the story in the Scattered Showers collection) while traveling this weekend; things have been stressful lately and that calls for rereading a favorite series I know will be satisfying, full of magic and action and (queer) romance. So good.
Celia Lake's Complementary
This author writes romances set in a fantasy version of England in the early 1900s, and this one involved ladies so I figured I’d try it. It was a very sweet romance but the plot just like stopped existing after a while (initially it involves the ladies going to investigate magical weirdness at an artists' colony). Like I get that is is a novella and a romance but you gotta have more than “we'll do this thing to solve the problem” and then the next chapter is several weeks later after things presumably got solved. Or at least I like a tiny bit of actual plot in my romances. But still, very pleasant characters and the romance is cute. B/B+.
John Wiswell's Someone You Can Build a Nest In
I've seen this recommended so many times, and I was intrigued.... I saw it described as like "cozy horror" and while there are some funny moments and some sweet moments, this is actually pretty dark.The narrator is a sort of shapeshifting blob creature, who can disguise herself as a human using parts of the people she eats. But then she starts to FALL for a woman who helps her, and has to rethink a lot of stuff! The dark stuff mainly involves the love interest's background, as opposed to monster murder shenanigans (though there is also a fair bit of that). It gets a little slow in the second half but I loved how things wrapped up. A-.
Charlotte Vassell's The In Crowd
I’ve seen this mystery recommended a few times recently—it’s actually the second in the series, but the first didn’t really grab me, so I just went for this one instead (there are a lot of references to the first book but I felt like I got the gist of it). Anyway, this involves a London detective working on two cold cases involving rich British people—there’s also a lot of shady political shenanigans going on. I enjoyed this but there were a few too many coincidences for my taste. I did like the detective and was rooting for him/his romance/his colleague pals. I’d read another involving him. B+.
