Kate Ross’ A Broken Vessel
The second Julian Kestrel mystery is a complicated one, involving a mysterious letter, an organization that reforms prostitutes, and Dipper’s sister (also a prostitute). Not to mention three suspects! Really fun and lively, despite some dark spots (check content warnings). I am really enjoying this series. A-.
Kate Ross’ Cut to the Quick
Rereading this first book in the Julian Kestrel series (about a Regency dandy!), because I finally got hold of copies of the other three and wanted to refresh my memory. This one involves Julian being asked to be the best man of a guy he’s only met once, which is intriguing, so he goes. And then he finds a dead body in his bed! I remembered bits and pieces of this and so it was still fun trying to puzzle it out. The grumpy doctor was a fave and I hope we’ll see him again.
Leigh Stein's If You're Seeing This, It's Meant for You
When I saw the title, I had to read this--I've seen soooo many TikTok videos that started this way! (My favorite is the person who uses Pokemon cards.) Anyway, this is the story of some wannabe TikTok stars living in a wannabe hype house/crumbling old mansion in LA. There are two POV characters--Dayna, a former entertainment journalist who has a history with the house's owner, and is brought in to help promote the TikTokers; and Olivia, who is secretly there to investigate what happened to one of the former residents, a tarot card reader who's mysteriously vanished. It’s a gothic novel fused onto a novel about social media, and it rules. Stellar characters, a rabbit named Owen Wilson (the rabbit on the cover is NOT right), a little humor and a dose of weirdness—I think this will be a hit. A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
Andrea K. Host’s Gratuitous Epilogue
Does what it says on the tin! Everyone adopts kids, has babies, gets married, goes on vacation, has one big battle, and has happy reunions. Satisfying and gratuitous wrap up.
Andrea K. Host’s Caszandra
Solid ending to an engrossing trilogy—lots going on with alien attacks, saving the world, and adopting (or being adopted by) a bunch of orphans. Maybe the climax is a little anti-climactic but I’m more interested in the characters than in the action scenes anyway. I love this series.
Andrea K. Host's Lab Rat One
The second book in the Touchstone trilogy has more romance/angst (very realistic since it's a teen's diary), but also lots of fighting alien monsters, exploring planets, discovering new abilities, and even a subplot where there's a tv show based on the main character. Very action-packed and fun.
Andrea K. Host’s Stray
Sometimes you just want to reread a book about a teenager who walks into another world—I mean, doesn’t that sound nice right now? Anyway, this novel is told as the diary of a teen girl who walks onto another world, and is soon subsumed in a world full of sci-fi/military adventures surrounded by psychic space ninjas. Very fun and perfect escapism.
Katie Yee’s Maggie; or, A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar
From the description, this isn’t necessarily a book I would rush to read—it’s about a woman, a mother of two, whose husband leaves her (for another woman), and then she finds out she has breast cancer. But people have been SO enthusiastic about it! And it is really good—funny and a little weird and very thoughtful. I loved how much storytelling there was and how much the character thought about the stories she told her kids. Really engaging narrative voice. I did wish the best friend was a little more developed but this was a very good book. A/A-.
Lev AC Rosen’s Mirage City
The latest Evander Mills mystery finds Andy heading down to his hometown of Los Angeles to track down some missing people—but will he wrap up the case in time to get back for the big birthday party his friends are planning?? I liked the case a lot in this one and it has a VERY satisfying ending—in general this felt a little bit lighter/more fun than some of the previous ones—I loved it! A.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in October.
Lev AC Rosen’s Rough Pages
The third Evander Mills book finds Andy investigating a missing bookstore owner who runs a secret gay book mail program, and several of Andy’s friends are on his list. I like the mystery in this one, and the story is even funny at times (it’s got a noir vibe so humor is a nice break). Lots going on and definitely entertaining.
Lev AC Rosen’s The Bell in the Fog
Rereading the first book in this series of course made me want to reread the rest, especially with a new one on the way! This second one finds Andy trying to get his business as a PI going, when his former flame from their Navy days comes to get help because he’s being blackmailed. Pretty solid mystery but I’m honestly here for all the characters! Performer Lee is the best!
C.B. Lee's Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe
As the title indicates, this is a queer YA fantasy romance involving two girls from two different worlds who meet in a coffee shop! Brenda is from our world and is busy with school and a million extracurriculars and is determined to become a climate scientist and save the world! Kat lives in a world full of MAGIC and has a prophecy/destiny that she is NOT into. But how can they date when they are literally in different worlds? And how are their worlds connected? The second half bogs down a little as various mysteries come into play, but the ending was solid and this was super cute and fun. A-.
Lev AC Rosen’s Lavender House
Rereading this for book club—I think it’s an interesting companion to the Cat Sebastian book we read last month—and it totally holds up on a reread, even remembering whodunnit. Anyway, this is a mystery involving a gay man who’s just been kicked out of the San Francisco PD after being busted at a gay bar, because it’s the 1950s and that was illegal then. And then he’s approached to investigate the death of a wealthy and secretly gay woman. It’s definitely the main character who makes this book so compelling— the mystery is solid and the other characters are great too, but Andy is really interesting. The fourth book in this series is out in October and I can’t wait.
Cat Sebastian's You Should Be So Lucky
Obviously when you read something upsetting, your next read should be a cute queer romance! The second book in Sebastian's Midcentury series involves the culture writer at the paper being assigned a piece on a local baseball player. Mark, the writer, is grieving his long-term partner; Eddie, the athlete, is struggling with his game and being in a new city. They have a real grumpy/sunshine thing going on and I was here for it. Sebastian writes such great characters and I was even invested in the baseball team and how they were doing despite not caring about baseball. Just a charming read. A/A-.
Stephanie Reerts' We Loved to Run
This novel is about the six best runners on a women's college cross country team in the early 90s--the perspective switches from the "we" of the team to sections focusing on each of the runners (an interesting group for sure). It reminded me a little of Quan Barry's We Ride Upon Sticks (except without the witchcraft). I did struggle with the second half, which involves a lot of conversations about sexual assault. And it’s all very realistic to the college experience, but if I’d known, I wouldn’t have read this. The parts involving friendship/group dynamics and team camaraderie were great, but I just found the second half upsetting. Not sure how to grade that. It’s very well-written, just not for me.
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A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released in August.
Mizuki Tsujimura’s Lonely Castle in the Mirror
I was once again in a spot where nothing I started to read was grabbing me, which means I have to reread something I know is good. This fit my mood perfectly—seven young Japanese people who’ve all stopped attending school find themselves in a mysterious castle. Really lovely, sad but hopeful too.
