2021 book 73

 Trudi Canavan’s The Novice

The second book on this series is kind of an improvement; there are several more POV characters, there is a lot of fun library research, there is the start of a cute romance between two dudes. The protagonist has the usual “no one at this training accepts me” but here it’s not because she’s a girl who wants to be a warrior, but a poor girl who has magical talent, and the rich assholes bully her MERCILESSLY. It’s unpleasant. I am interested to see how things wrap up in the finale, though. B+.

2021 book 72

 Trudi Canavan's The Magicians' Guild

The first book in the Black Magician trilogy is kind of slow, but I enjoyed it anyway. It’s about a young girl in the slums who discovers she has magic powers, and now the powerful magicians' guild is tracking her down, because if she doesn’t learn to control her powers, she'll basically blow up and take a city block with her. But like that is the entire first half of the book! You know she's gonna end up with the magicians eventually, so just GET there already. And there's interesting conflict there—they’re all rich snobby assholes (even the non assholes are very classist), and one in particular has it out for her, and he’s very menacing! Plus she has to learn magic stuff! The very end sets up bigger stakes, too. I am hoping the second book is slightly more eventful. B+.

2021 book 71

 Naomi Kritzer’s Chaos on CatNet

The sequel CatNet book is more of a straightforward mystery/thriller: is there another AI, and is it nice or nefarious? There’s also a new POV character (along with Steph and CC), a new friend who's escaped from a cult after the disappearance of her mother, but now her secret girlfriend is ALSO missing. So obviously they have to band together to investigate that, too! I liked reading this a lot—Kritzer says in an afterword that she wrote the Minneapolis she wants to see, and it’s a pretty great version. Lots of queer people, lots of pancakes, lots of tension. I did think it ended kind of abruptly, but thought it was satisfying anyway. A-.

__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on April 27th.

2021 book 70

 Naomi Kritzer's Catfishing on CatNet

Rereading this as a palate cleanser AND to refresh my memory for the upcoming sequel! I've read this several times and every time have felt joy that it is about INTERNET PALS (one of whom is a cat-picture-loving AI!). It starts off as a story about a girl whose mother moves them from town to town, on the run from the girl's abusive father, and the girl starts to gradually make real life friends, etc, and then it turns into a bit of a thriller. But the characters are all so great that it works. I love this book and can’t wait to read the next one.

2021 book 69

 Kiley Reid's Such a Fun Age

I'll be upfront: I did not want to read this book. I know it got good reviews, but I am not interested in contemporary fiction/Issues books right now. (Especially fiction where the book club guide includes THEMED COCKTAILS. But hey, good for a young black woman to get in on the wine mom book club market.) I mean, I already know white women are terrible, I don't want to read a whole book where I'm cringing about it. But of course I am not a /total/ dictator over my own (non-wine-mom) book club, so here we are.

All that is to say that I didn’t really like this book, but not for the reasons I was expecting? I mean, it’s a fine book, just I personally was not into it. Emira and her friends are all really well written, and I’d have rather read a book about them. I have a lot of thoughts about Alix, mainly that she sucked, and her friend Tamra was not remotely believable. I am curious to see what my book club makes of this. I can see why it is so popular with liberal white ladies, certainly. I’m going back to my genre fiction, though. B.

2021 book 68

 Victoria Goddard’s Love-in-a-Mist

The fifth Greenwing and Dart book finds our band of friends snowed in at a stranger's house, where there is a MURDER. There's also a mysterious butler, a burgeoning romance, and A BABY UNICORN. Suffice it to say, I love this book. I know Goddard has been exploring other corners of her world with her recent books, but I do hope she comes back to these characters, because I’m dying to see them at their winter ball (and also to see them band together and triumph politically—but mainly the ball).

2021 book 67

 Victoria Goddard’s Blackcurrant Fool

The fourth Greenwing and Dart book finds our pals on a road trip to check out some scholastic opportunities—and pick up a heretofore unknown relation. Book fairs, nefarious exes, chance encounters, and some astute literary analysis ensue! This one gets kind of metaphysical but in a way I found very moving. And also, it’s all very funny.

2021 book 66

 Victoria Goddard’s Whiskeyjack

I can’t talk about the plot of this without spoilers, so I will just say it is full of MAGIC and MYSTERY and FRIENDS.

2021 book 65

 Victoria Goddard’s Bee Sting Cake

These books are so funny, but also emotional, which is a very satisfying combination. This one has dragon riddles, claiming inheritances, gambling rings, and a very important cake competition. So good.

2021 book 64

 Victoria Goddard’s Stargazy Pie

Sometimes this blog is kind of a burden, because sometimes I just want to reread books without having to think of something to SAY about them! I’ve read this book several times and have enjoyed it every single one, because it’s full of magic and mystery and practical bookstore owners and eventful dinner parties and cults and friendship. I love visiting this world and am starting bool two right now.

2021 book 63

 Victoria Goddard's The Return of Fitzroy Angursell

Back on my bullshit, rereading fantasy novels so I know I will be satisfied with my reading experience. This is actually only the second read of this, so it was still pretty fresh and exciting, as our wayward emperor begins his quest, has hilarious (and less hilarious) adventures, finds some old friends, and encounters some new ones. This is slamming right into Goddard's Greenwing and Dart books, and I can’t wait to see further collisions, whenever the next book comes out (I am pleading with the author to update her website, which is like three books behind at this point).

2021 book 62

 Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop

I am having a hard time articulating my feelings about this book. I mean, it was going to be tough to follow up Red, White, and Royal Blue, so I’m glad McQuiston went in a totally different direction with this one (it’s about a bi girl who falls for a hot lesbian on her subway commute, but she’s been stuck there since the 70s). Here's the thing: this would be an AWESOME movie. A large cast of diverse and quirky sidekicks (including not one, but two, drag queens), a couple of mysteries, subway makeouts, fighting gentrification, etc. But like, it /feels/ like a movie. It’s all too neat and nice. On the other hand, isn’t it awesome to have a super cute and very queer romance novel with a fantastical element? And as the target audience for that, shouldn’t I just get on board? Ok, yes. This IS a super cute queer romance novel. But also, someone should make it into a movie. A/A-.

__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on June 1st.

2021 book 61

 K.B. Spangler's The Blackwing War

I was excited to read the further adventures of Tembi and the Deep, but this book was pretty grim. I mean,  “war” is in the title, but that doesn’t necessarily imply genocidal Space Nazis running scifi Auschwitz. Which is a thing happening in this book. I still like the characters even if I found some of the motivations and politicking confusing, and I will probably read the next one to see what Tembi gets up to. But yeah. Grim. B.

2021 book 60

 K.B. Spangler's Stoneskin

This is the prequel to a series whose first book proper just came out, and I wanted to re-familiarize myself with the world and characters. Also, I like this book a lot and am always happy to reread good books! Anyway, this is a book with a great concept—a sentient energy in the galaxy kind of adopts people who can use it to instantaneously move stuff from anywhere to anywhere, and those people are called Witches. And now it’s chosen its youngest ever Witch, but why? This book has great friends and mentors, Witch school, just causes, politics, everything I love in a book.

2021 book 59

 Genevieve Cogman’s The Dark Archive

The most recent book in this series was fine, if a little darker than some of the previous books. Something I've been waiting to be confirmed was confirmed, there was lots of action, etc. The new apprentice was not as fun as I was hoping but shows promise as a character. There’s a lot of hinting at even bigger and darker plots. I will probably read the next book whenever it comes out, though I think this series might be better as a binge (I am binging book series now too). B/B+.

2021 book 58

 Genevieve Cogman’s The Secret Chapter

The sixth book in this series finds our protagonist and her dragon pal pressured into being part of a HEIST! Lots of fun twists and turns in this one, some fun new characters, and interesting hints toward the future (there’s only one book left but I gather more are forthcoming, and there’s way too much going on to wrap up in one). A-/B+.

2021 book 57

 Genevieve Cogman’s The Mortal Word

The fifth book in this series is super fun and tense, as our band of pals is called on to investigate a dragon murder at a peace conference. Plenty of red herrings and side plotting happening! This is a pretty good mystery as well as a fun fantasy adventure story. I’m fully on board with this series now. A-/B+.

2021 book 56

 Genevieve Cogman’s The Lost Plot

The fourth book in this series finds our protagonist and her apprentice in 1920s America, trying to track down a Librarian who seems to be mixed up in dragon politics. There are also a lot of mobsters, bootleggers, and gun molls running around! Fun and action-packed. B+.

2021 book 55

 Genevieve Cogman’s The Burning Page

All right, this third volume was pretty fun and action packed, I guess I’ll keep reading this series after all! (Though I do hope one thing being hinted at turns out not to be true.) B+.

2021 book 54

 Genevieve Cogman's The Masked City

So I assumed this series was setting up a whole gaslamp London mystery thing, which I'm not particularly into, but instead, in this second volume, the protagonist’s apprentice is kidnapped, and she ends up spending the ENTIRE book in an alternate historical Venice trying to rescue him from fairies. It’s even MORE boring than gaslamp mysteries! I mean there are some fun moments with a drunk fairy girl who wants to seduce heroes, but really, nothing actually happens in this book. I’m going to give this series one more chance, just because I want to get into a series! B.

2021 book 53

 Genevieve Cogman's The Invisible Library

I have actually read this before, but didn’t love it because of the way it wrapped up and never bothered with the rest of the series. But now I am forever on the hunt for fantasy series by women authors, so it was time to revisit! I didn’t remember the details so it was fun to reread; it’s about a woman who works for an interdimensional Library, which sends people to alternate worlds to snatch up rare books. Now she’s on a mission with a new apprentice, but things quickly get way more complicated than expected. Maybe because it was a reread, or just my general state of mind, but I didn’t mind the ending this time, and look forward to seeing the further adventures of our book-loving characters. A-/B+.

2021 book 52

 Tansy Rayner Roberts' Castle Charming

I read a short little novelette by Roberts last night as a palate cleanser; it was super cute but too short for any real character development. So I was psyched to try a full-length novel from her (though this seems like it might have originally been serialized?). Anyway, the story here is set at the titular Castle Charming, home of a certain queen who was famous for her glass slippers, except things went badly not long after, with one of her children kidnapped and the queen ending up in a cursed sleep. Now it’s years later, her remaining children are beyond rebellious, and a new Royal guard, a new young reporter, and a visiting princess all get tangled up with things. And several other fairy tales come into the mix. I really liked all the characters here, plus there’s lots of queer romance and magic and action and meddling fairies. Just a good fun and fluffy time. Just what I needed. A-.

2021 book 51

 Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun

Historically, I’ve been a big Ishiguro fan (though admittedly I could not get into and never finished the novel preceding this one). And also historically, I L O V E love stories about sentient AIs (this book is about an Artificial Friend purchased by an ill fourteen year old girl). But this book left me cold and also bummed me out. It’s like a retread of Never Let Me Go, but the narrator is hopelessly naive and never grows or evolves. (Which is weird, because everyone keeps talking about how amazing and observant she is.) There are hints of an interesting/dystopian near-future society, but the narrator is not interested in these things and so we don’t learn about them. Also, all the people in this book are BIZARRE. Like if your neighbor's (or kid's) robot friend wants to do something strange because it will somehow help her charge, you aren’t going to ask any follow-up questions? (And that is not getting into spoilery territory.) Maybe there is some deep symbolism I’m just not getting, but I don’t know what the point of this book was, at all, except to depress its readers. I mean, some real Giving Tree vibes. B/B-.

__

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

2021 book 50

 T. Kingfisher’s Paladin's Strength 

HOORAY, a new Ursula Vernon book! This is the second of her fluffy paladin romance novels, centered on a small band of paladins whose God died and they’re still dealing with the trauma. In this one, paladin Istvhan is leading a mission to deliver some whiskey barrels—and maybe find out more about those creepy dudes from the last book—when he encounters Clara, a nun determined to rescue her kidnapped sisters (and since they’re the convent of St Ursa, maybe you can guess what secret they’re keeping). Great characters, lots of action, lots of PINING, lots of trademark hilarious moments, plus the occasional reanimated corpse and unsettling rabbit. And sassy nuns. I love it. A.

2021 book 49

 Sharon Shinn's Reader and Raelynx

Solid conclusion to the Twelve Houses series (there is one more book set in this world, but it focuses on a very minor character). Satisfying romance, satisfying magic, satisfying friendships. We finally learn more about the mysterious princess, the long-threatened war finally comes, etc. There is a little bit of rapiness in this one that I could have done without, and it’s all aggressively heteronormative, but I liked pretty much everything else about this. Really a good slew of characters in this series, especially the women. A/A-.

2021 book 48

 Sharon Shinn's Dark Moon Defender

The third book in this series focuses on Justin, the young Rider from the earlier books, who's been sent to spy on the religious sect that's been building an army. There's also a new POV character, a young woman in the convent, from the mysterious clans on the edge of the kingdom (this one is more of a straightforward romance than the first two). So we get more info on them, and more info on the ancient gods and magic, which is the sort of thing I enjoy. We also get to check in with the others from the main band of friends, and as always I appreciate how much this series rests on a group of pals! Lots of cute and cheer-worthy moments mixed in with all the action and impending war. A/A-.

2021 book 47

 Sharon Shinn's Thirteenth House

The second book in the Twelve Houses series focuses more on romance, which I had some mixed feelings about, and I didn't know how Shinn would resolve things satisfactorily. Luckily there are a lot of political plots, magical shenanigans, assumed identities, and dinner parties to help move things along. I love the central band of friends here and liked this protagonist a lot (aside from her taste in men), but I felt kind of ... misdirected?... by the resolution. B.

2021 book 46

 Sharon Shinn's Mystic and Rider

Been saving this Sharon Shinn series for a rainy day, because I was sure I’d like it. And this first volume is great! A small band of people--mystics (gifted with magical abilities, like shape shifting and fire powers) accompanied by a pair of Riders (the king's elite soldiers) set out to investigate rumors of a growing rebellion in the kingdom. Magical adventures, danger, religious fanaticism, political plotting, and a slow-building romance ensue, secrets are revealed, etc. I loved all the characters and their friendships, and can't wait to see where this series goes next. A/A-.

2021 book 45

 Quan Barry's We Ride Upon Sticks

Rereading this for book club, and I liked it just as much the second time (always a relief!). Barry pulls of a story about the 1989 girls' field hockey team in Danvers Massachusetts that's also a story about friendship and teamwork and dreams and identity and witchcraft. Great sense of time and place, and all the characters come alive (especially impressive in a large cast narrated by the first person plural). Can’t wait to discuss this.

2021 book 44

 Kage Baker’s The Bird of the River

The third book in this series is set in the same world as the first two, but focuses on completely new characters. And while it’s not really humorous, it is a gentler fantasy book. It centers on a young girl who, with her mother and little brother, ends up working on a river barge. Adventures, a mystery, and a little bit of romance ensue. Very enjoyable, really liked the characters here a lot. A-.

2021 book 43

 Kage Baker’s The House of the Stag

The second book in this series is actually a prequel, primarily telling the story of the Master of the Mountain, and briefly telling the story of the Saint, and how they got together. While there is still a bit of humor here, this is a grimmer story by far, full of slavery and torture and a fair amount of implied rape. So definitely not as fun as the first one, but I'm hoping the third will be less dark. B/B+.

2021 book 42

 Kage Baker's The Anvil of the World

I liked Baker's Company series a lot, so decided to check out her fantasy trilogy, and I'm SO glad I did. This was funny as hell and super engaging. It's centered on a man on the run who takes a job leading a caravan full of mysterious characters; he's looking for a quiet(er) life but just can't seem to stay out of trouble. Especially when demons etc are hanging about—things just keep getting more complicated. I could have done with slightly less male horndoggery, but this had such good magical family squabbling AND found family camaraderie, what a fun read. A/A-.

2021 book 41

 Kate Milford's The Raconteur's Commonplace Book

I was in one of those moods where nothing I started seemed good, and nothing appealed, and then I gave this a try and the narrative voice grabbed me right away. This is set in Milford's Greenglass House universe, but I never remember the details of those (I should really reread them) and this works fine on its own. It involves a mysterious cast of characters stranded in an inn during a rainstorm, so they all start telling stories (yes, this is basically Canterbury Tales for the middle grade set). But do the stories have a point beyond entertainment? And what secrets are the guests hiding? I admit that I got a few of the minor older male characters confused, but the rest of the characters are amazing and I found this a very satisfying read. A/A-.

__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on February 23rd.

2021 book 40

 Patricia McKillip’s The Riddle-Master of Hed 

Like a lot of the McKillip books I’ve read, this is slow but interesting. I wasn't super into the protagonist, though—he’s a young man who is reluctantly accept his mysterious destiny because it conflicts with his rule over a gentle farming land, and the whole book is just him journeying and changing his mind and journeying some more. I was intrigued by some of the secondary characters, and the end is a big cliffhanger, but I’m not sure if I’ll read the rest of this series. B.

2021 book 39

 Rachel Aaron’s Last Dragon Standing

Solid wrap-up to the Heartstriker series. Parts of it dragged a tiny bit (I swear that like a third of the book is one epic fight scene) but it was definitely satisfying. Lots of good dragon and spirit team-ups. I liked the epilogue a lot and want more stories like that! B+.

2020 book 38

 Rachel Aaron's A Dragon of a Different Color

The problem here is that I am VERY invested in all the dragon shenanigans, enjoying the politics and family relationships and wondering when certain secrets will be revealed and rooting for certain romances and certain friendships--but while I like Marci a lot, I don't really care about her magical adventures on her own. Get your powers and reunite with Julius, already! And I SUPER don't care about the villains of the piece monologuing at length. I was so eager for those sections to be done so I could find out what dragon things were happening. Anyway, eventually it all comes together in a satisfying manner, more or less. Looking forward to seeing how they save the day in the next one. B/B+.

2020 book 37

 Rachel Aaron's No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished

The third Heartstriker book drags a little bit, as new characters (a badass lady general and an arrogant male mage) are added to the mix to complicate Marci's story and provide lengthy bits of exposition. And some of the dragon politicking gets a little old too, though I do still love their complicated family relationships (and of course also love Marci and her magical spirit cat). Great ending on this one that makes me eager for the next! B+.

2020 book 36

 Rachel Aaron's One Good Dragon Deserves Another

The second book in the Heartstrikers series has more cool magic (and magical battles), more dragon family feuds, more psychic dragon plotting, and more FRIENDSHIP. I think one of the reason I like this series is there are soooo many characters who are grumpy-but-secretly-soft which is my FAVE. I mean, obviously I also like the general cleverness and the spunky girl mage and TEAMWORK, but I’m mainly here for dragon cinnamon rolls. A-.

2020 book 35

 Rachel Aaron's Nice Dragons Finish Last

I’m catching up on this series (I think two new ones have come out since I last checked in) and decid ed to start from the beginning, since I didn’t remember anything except that I liked them, and I’ve been in the mood for series anyway. Anyway, this takes place in nearish-future Detroit, after a bunch of magical things happen, and now there's a bunch of magic. Our protagonists are a young dragon from a large clan, who's being punished and threatened with death if he doesn't get his dragon act together, and a young mage whose father was murdered and now she's on the run from the Vegas mob. These characters are both cute and powerful, there's a lot of family squabbling (which I love), lots of fun plotting, the start of a lil romance, hints at big things to come, etc. Plus solid writing, for sure. This is going to be a fun series to get back into! A-.

2021 book 34

 Catherine Wilson’s A Hero's Tale

The final book in this trilogy starts off pretty slow and pretty depressing, but eventually things get more interesting and fun. Lots of cleverness and outsmarting of the enemy and good-hearted-ness. Happy endings for many lesbians. A-/B+.

2021 book 33

 Catherine Wilson's A Journey of the Heart

The second book in this trilogy has battles, political machinations, and romance, but it still somehow feels meditative? I like the protagonist’s narrative voice a lot, and am interested in her friendships and growing skills (slightly less interested in the big romance). This ends in a place where I’m eager to start the third one. A-/B+.

2021 book 32

Catherine Wilson's The Warrior's Path

Despite the title, the first book in the When Women Were Warriors series is the sort of gentle fantasy I like to read. It centers on a young girl who's sent to the house of her mother’s best friend to train as a warrior (in some sort of matriarchal society) and learns about friendship and self control and stuff. I mean, not much happens, or at least the problems are somewhat low-stakes, but I enjoyed these characters and their relationships very much. Looking forward to reading more. A-/B+.

2021 book 31

 Ilona Andrews' Sweep with Me

So the last book in this series is a novella that takes place a couple weeks after the third book, but it’s not about solving the big mystery at all, it’s just a story about some more complicated magical/alien guests! I mean it’s entertaining enough, but seriously?? It doesn’t even get mentioned! I mean presumably another book is forthcoming but it’s just weird that this is specifically set two weeks later but there's no reference to it, even when the mysterious clue-bearing cat makes an appearance (lol). Anyway, enough ranting, this book was fine but unnecessary. B.

2021 book 30

 Ilona Andrews' Sweep of the Blade

I was a little annoyed on starting this one, because it doesn't pick up with the end of the previous book, and instead switches focus to the innkeeper's sister, her daughter, and her vampire paramour, off to his home planet to try and figure out if they should get married. I mean, I did eventually get interested in the plot (alien politics etc) and I love the mother/daughter pair, but also, you can't dangle the solving of the series' overarching mystery and then totally drop the ball! B/B+.

2021 book 29

 Ilona Andrews' One Fell Sweep

I liked this one better than the first two; it starts off with a mission to recover the protagonist's sister and niece on another planet, and then the whole team has to work together to defend a guest from a band of genocidal maniacs. Also, questions about the protagonist's missing parents may be answered! Things get a little melodramatic toward the end, but I liked the family dynamics a lot and that made up for it. B+.

2021 book 28

 Ilona Andrews' Sweep in Peace

The second book in this series finds our innkeeper hosting an intergalactic peace summit, sure, why not. There are a couple of little mysteries and some humorous scenes. I am meh on the romance. This one was also mildly diverting. B.

2021 book 27

 Ilona Andrews' Clean Sweep

I’m still on the lookout for gentle fantasy series to read, and this one about a magical innkeeper seemed like it might suit. But it’s weird? It’s like a paranormal romance, but there isn’t really a romance in this book (a couple of possible love interests but nothing really develops, which I was fine with, they were both alpha male jerks). And it’s not really urban fantasy, because it’s set in a small town in Texas. Also, werewolves and vampires are aliens??? I did like the magic innkeeper and her magical bed and breakfast and her small magical dog, and would in general rate this as mildly diverting. The protagonist has some mysteries in her past so I might read the next one and see how things develop. B.

2021 book 26

 Kristen Britain’s Firebrand

The sixth book in this series has a lot of great characters and interesting plots, but also a lot of rape references and extensive torture scenes. A mixed bag, really. Still, there is an awesome new character, a young serving girl, and the Captain remains a standout (I like seeing a middle aged woman be large and in charge and even get to make out occasionally). I am still uninterested in the central romance but am invested in the love life of the protagonist’s musician pal. Sadly, the next book in this series isn’t out till fall, so I’ll have to wait to see how that progresses. B+.

2021 book 25

 Kristen Britain's Mirror Sight

So after the events of the previous book, our heroine has somehow ended up two hundred years in the FUTURE, where her city is now a bunch of archaeological digs, and while the society is more technologically advanced, it's also now an empire full of slavery, patriarchy, and capitalism (ie BAD). Can she get herself back where she's supposed to be? And how did THAT GUY end up an immortal emperor?? (Yeah, how? It’s like the author forgot to keep this plot thread going.) Meanwhile, her friends back in the past are dealing with voice-stealing spells, changing political situations, and an impending war (though those are all pretty minor plots—this book is almost all set in the future and I think is the stronger for a narrower focus). Anyway, lots of adventure and political rebellion ensue, with the usual content warning for mentions of rape (sigh). B+.

2021 book 24

 Kristen Britain’s Blackveil

The fourth book in this series is a lot, there is just so much going on, with quests into evil forests and magical walls and politics back at court and various villains (a new villain is particularly gross and rapey). I definitely could have done without the gentleman thief from the last book being led on a journey by a magical ring. But I am still invested in many of the characters (the protagonist, her Captain, Estora, and a couple others), even if I’m not sure the plot is really heading in a particular direction. And these long-ass books are engrossing and diverting, if nothing else. B+.

2021 book 23

 Jasmine Guillory’s Party of Two

Rereading this for book club and I liked it just as much the second time! Great characters—a (black) lawyer trying to get her business off the ground meet-cutes with a hot young (white) senator over a discussion of dessert, VERY relatable. I like this a lot because it’s not one of those romances where people are unwilling to discuss their feelings; the conflict here is a legit one and one that needs to be worked through. I also appreciate the focus on criminal justice reform and community kitchens! Plus lots of CAKE.

2021 book 22

 Kristen Britain's The High King's Tomb

The third book in the Green Rider series brings a few new characters into the mix—primarily a gentleman thief and a powerful old woman who is now leading the evil imperial secret society—and brings back a few from the first book as well. Lots more gods and monsters and magic too. I especially liked all the goofy projections of mages, and of course was pleased at the addition of a cat to things as well. I am kind of eh on the main romance but I still like all of the characters and especially all of the interesting women. B+.

2021 book 21

 Kristen Britain's First Rider's Call

Oh my god, there is so much going on in this book, which makes for an exciting read (except for the depressing parts), but then when you want to summarize it you’re just like . . . I mean, this has ghosts, and accidental time travel, and the rise of various evils, and mental and physical battles, and politics, and a little bit of romance, and grief and pain and injury and illusions magic going awry and I don’t even know what all. And that is interspersed with a diary from long ago, chronicling the rise of the first great evil (the evil is IMPERIALISM, and also a mad dude obsessed with magic). I do like these characters though and I guess will keep reading this series? Content warning for mentions of rape and child abuse. B/B+.

2021 book 20

 Kristen Britain's Green Rider

Back to reading epic fantasy series I’ve never read before! This is a solid start to a series, focusing on a young girl who runs away from school after being suspended, only to encounter one of the king's mysterious messengers dying on the road. He begs her to complete his mission (I feel like I’ve read another book with this premise?) and soon she's sucked into a whole new world of magic and intrigue and politics. I will say the first half of this book is one of those endless journeys (though she does meet some awesome characters along the way), but eventually she makes it where she's going and things pick up. Occasionally there is a bit of awkward writing and there is an attempted rape, but otherwise I enjoyed this a lot. It sets the scene with some interesting worldbuilding and makes me psyched to check out the next one. A-.

2021 book 19

 Kristin Cashore's Winterkeep

This is set five years after the events of Bitterblue, and finds our young queen dealing with some heretofore unknown nations that have some magic of their own. There are some returning characters, as well as several new POV characters, including the teenage daughter of a pair of politicians, a giant sea creature, and a psychic fox. I was here for all of that. (I was even more here for the friendly psychic purple seals.) I even thought the romance was cute! A satisfying and diverting read! (Be warned there is some cruelty/abuse of children in this book.) A/A-.

2021 book 18

 Kristin Cashore's Bitterblue

A fourth book in Cashore's Graceling series is coming out, but since it seems mainly focused on Bitterblue, and since I remembered the first two as being a little more violent, I skipped those and just reread this one so things would be fresh in my mind. Of course, while this one doesn't have a ton of overt violence (aside from some assassination attempts), it does deal heavily with people processing (or not processing) trauma from being physically and mentally tortured by their former king, and so there are a lot of /references/ to terrible things. The main thrust of the story is the titular Bitterblue, a young queen who starts sneaking out at night to see what's really going on in her kingdom, befriends some thieves/rebels, and forces everyone to confront their issues. There is also an awesome crotchety librarian. I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is pretty dark for a YA fantasy, but it’s also sort of optimistic? Anyway, I am psyched to get to read more in this world.

2021 book 17

 Penelope Farmer's Goodnight Ophelia

So when I was rereading Charlotte Sometimes the other day, I discovered an ebook by Farmer I’d never heard of, a book written for adults, about a woman reflecting on her life while in the hospital dying of cancer, and decided to read it. And the very first page mentioned Wikipedia and I was like whaaaaaaat. She wrote this book five years ago! She’s been writing books ALL THESE YEARS (Charlotte Sometimes came out in 1969 and wasn’t even her first book)! I am definitely going to be looking for the others. Anyway, as mentioned, this book is the reflections of a dying woman, on her childhood in post-war England with her adoptive father, on her mother who left her, on her own parenthood and career and love life, on the mysteries of her identity, all trucking toward a frankly cringeworthy reveal (there are a lot of hints and the reader will figure it out, but hope they’re wrong). But I mostly loved this anyway? Or anyway, I really liked the narrative voice (hard for me not to love a narrator who loves Nancy Mitford). A-.

2021 book 16

 Aliette de Bodard's Fireheart Tiger

I wanted to read this because I’ve heard a lot of good things about the author, and the blurb compares this to Howl's Moving Castle, which is the sort of story I’m always in the mood for! But the only similarity is a fire spirit; this book doesn't have any sort of humor at all. This is also the sort of novella that needs more room to breathe and more space for character development; a few scenes had me interested in the main romance, but it jumped back and forth with another love interest, and then the conclusion was very quick. Maybe I should take a break from novellas, since they so often aren’t quite enough for me? B.

__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on February 9th.

2021 book 15

 Penelope Farmer's Charlotte Sometimes 

This is one of those books I read over and over as a kid, but it’s probably more meaningful to read as an adult? (Yes, it is the inspiration for the song by The Cure.) Anyway, it’s about a girl named Charlotte, who, on her first night at boarding school, begins changing places with another little girl at boarding school...forty years earlier, during WWI. But it is also about loss, identity, family, and bravery. Classic.

2021 book 14

 Stephanie Burgis' Thornbound

The second book in the Harwood Spellbook series worked much better for me, primarily because there was less exposition so things moved much more quickly, and the story in general was just more satisfying. Here, the protagonist is starting a magical school for girls, but the disapproving government is sending inspectors to watch, and a fairy bargain may cause trouble as well. Can she (and her adorable supportive family) save the school, and maybe their lives? Will she and her new husband ever get to make out? I mean, obviously yes, but the journey to get there is very enjoyable. A-.

2021 book 13

 Stephanie Burgis' Snowspelled

This is one of those novellas that I wish was just a full-length novel, because there are so many exposition dumps! It’s set in a world that is like regency England, except women are politicians and men and magicians, except our protagonist is a woman magician, but she lost her ability to do magic before the events of the story. Anyway, the actual story finds the young woman and her family going to a house party where her ex-fiancé will also be, and there’s an unnatural snowstorm, and a meddling elf lord, and a subplot with a pair of cute young lesbians. I will say I liked the romance here a lot, and loved the family relationships, but the whole elf lord thing is resolved too quickly. Again, this would have been improved if it was longer! Still a super cute and diverting read. B+.

2021 book 12

 Patricia McKillip’s Ombria in Shadow

This is a little bit darker and weirder than some of McKillip’s other works, but I still liked it a lot. It focuses on a small kingdom, and what happens to the ruling prince's mistress, bastard nephew, and little son after he dies, and his ancient and powerful great aunt becomes regent. There's also a whole thing with a shadow city, a mysterious sorceress, and her equally mysterious apprentice. The characters are all great but the plot is kind of convoluted. I loved the ending though. B+?

2021 book 11

 Erika Johansen's Beneath the Keep

I had hoped Johansen would revisit her Tearling world; she ended her trilogy in such an interesting place! But this is a prequel, about the protagonist's mother and Mace and their compatriots. It just feels . . . unnecessary? Like we had gotten pretty much all the relevant backstory already, did we need a whole novel of gory details? Did we need to see how the villains of the trilogy gained power? The only new thread is a plotline about a teen girl leading a rebellion of tenant farmers. This book almost wallows in the misery of the poor and downtrodden (and it is also VERY rapey, like there are not enough content warnings in the world). I mean, it’s trying to deliver a timely political message, which I appreciate, but it is also mainly a giant bummer. An author’s note at the end does hint at more stories in the world—maybe in the better world, in which case I will read them happily. Johansen has great characters, I just am not in an emotional place to enjoy a book this dark. B.

__

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

2021 book 10

 Anna North's Outlawed

So this book is set in a version of the Old West similar to ours, except when a women can’t have a child, she’s assumed to be a witch. And when this happens to our protagonist, a teenager training to be a midwife, she ends up with a gang of (non-binary and lesbian) outlaws! This is a great concept and it starts off really strong, but I needed just a little bit MORE, especially from the ending. Still, really interesting stuff going on here. B+.

2021 book 9

 L.X. Beckett's Dealbreaker

The sequel to Gamechanger is set twenty years later, and primarily focuses on Frankie (the little girl from the first book), now an experimental space pilot, along with one of her spouses. This one felt like it moved a little faster, and I liked Frankie and her cohort and all the AIs, but the villains here are waaaaay over the top. They’re like the cartoonish zombies in the games the characters play. Just gross stuff. That made the book a lot less effective and fun for me. B/B+.

__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 26th.

2021 book 8

 Melina Marchetta’s The Place on Dalhousie 

And here comes the latest book in this occasional series, picking up with the gang in their mid-twenties, as Jimmy finds out he's a father, and the mother of said child is battling over a house with her stepmother (both women are very sympathetic characters). I kind of hope Marchetta keeps revisiting these characters, though I also want to just keep imagining happy endings with little struggle for all of them.

2021 book 7

 Melina Marchetta’s The Piper's Son

Well, once I reread Saving Francesca, obviously I had to also reread its companion novel, which takes place a few years later, as the teens are now young semi-adults. This one focuses on Tom, one of the secondary characters from the first book, whose family is torn apart due to a recent tragedy. (His forty-something aunt, pregnant by an ex, is also a POV character.) I just really love these characters and love books about people struggling through hard times but coming out the other side. Lots of cathartic crying for me with this one.

2021 book 6

 Melina Marchetta’s Saving Francesca

Today there was an attempted coup, where an armed mob busted into the Capitol building in an effort to stop Biden from being certified as our next president. Obviously this was stressful for those of us who prefer a democracy to a white supremacist dictatorship, so I had to bust out the big guns of comfort reading. I don’t know why I find this book—about a teen girl dealing with a new school and a mother suffering severe depression—so comforting, except that it deals with problems in a realistic way and has a lot of really loving relationships, and a sense of coming out of the darkness? Which is a sense I really needed today.

2021 book 5

 Everina Maxwell's Winter's Orbit

My accidental streak of reading queer genre fiction continues with this very fun book, where a scamp of a prince is informed by his grandmother the Emperor that he has to marry his recently deceased cousin's ex-husband for Intergalactic Reasons. They are totally into each other but each thinks the other isn’t, and they take way too long to have an honest conversation, also for Intergalactic Reasons (and for trauma reasons, it’s pretty clear to the reader that the deceased spouse was abusive, though this is not confirmed for a while, but anyway, content warning there). So much ANGST, it’s like I was reading fic! Make out already! But anyway I was totally into these two dudes and their relationship, as well as the intergalactic politics stuff, the little bit of a mystery they’re trying to solve, and the cast of badass lady secondary characters (including an eccentric professor). I mean this is not all fluffy, I don’t want to give that impression, see the parenthetical above, but it has a fluffy core for sure. A/A-.

__

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

2021 book 4

 Nino Cipri's Finna

I’ve been meaning to read this for ages, and since that last book I read was sooo looong, I was looking for something shorter and lighter. This was a ton of fun, centering on a pair of recent exes who work at an ikea-like store, who have to go in search of a missing customer. Except said customer has accidentally wandered through a wormhole! Adventures—and maybe friendship?—ensue. I think I wanted a little more from the end, but it looks like a sequel is imminent. A-.

2021 book 3

 L.X. Beckett's Gamechanger

I am not sure where to even START with this book, because there is SO MUCH going on! OK, it's set in the near-ish future, when the world has gotten its act together and started fixing all the crap that's currently wrong (ie climate change), and also lots of things are digital or whatever (I find a lot of this very plausible even if "McDiznazon" makes me die a little inside). And there is a large cast of characters: a young woman, who's famous for gaming and also is training to be a lawyer; her famous father, a mentally ill musician with a sideline in conspiracy theories; her gaming archnemesis-cum-crush, who is having family issues (and their nine year old daughter, who works for the government); her legal client, who interpol thinks is a sentient AI--or something else??; several actual sentient AIs (which is MY JAM); an interpol agent who fancies himself a hero, etc etc you get it. It's pretty busy but it all works somehow! Super compelling plots, layers of stuff being revealed, a cute lil romance unfolding, and most of all a really fascinating possible future. Very enjoyable. A-.

__

Content warning for mention of rape.

2021 book 2

 CSE Cooney's Desdemona and the Deep

Ooh, I liked this a lot. It centers on the rich, frivolous daughter of a businessman and a crusader type, and what happens when she overhears her father bargaining away tons of lives to the goblin king in exchange for oil. Soon she's on a quest to reclaim those lives, but of course quests through fairy lands are never simple. I especially loved how this wrapped up. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever Cooney has coming up. A/A-.

2021 book 1

 Helen S. Wright's A Matter of Oaths

Always weird to be back at the beginning of my yearly book count, but this was a solid read to start things off! Originally published in 1988, this was reissued a couple years ago (with an introduction by Becky Chambers), and honestly doesn't feel dated at all. It’s about the crew of a spaceship, where some people are sort of connected to the ship to control it and communicate with one another, and the larger political situation between the Guild that controls them and two squabbling Emperors. The ship's commander is a surly woman nearing the end of her career who takes on a new senior hire with a mysterious past. All of the characters were compelling and I really liked how the plot unfolded, though I did want a teensy bit more from the end. But if you want an interesting sci-fi book to read, this one is a winner. A-.

2020 book 245

 T. Kingfisher’s A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

Finishing off the year by rereading another favorite fantasy book! I can’t quite call it comforting, since there's a serial killer, reanimated horses, and corrupt politicians, but it is a sort of heartening read for These Troubled Times, as a teen girl with magical baking skills must save her city (with the help of a little pickpocket and her gingerbread cookie companion). I like the message of this book a lot, very timely indeed.

2020 book 244

 Victoria Goddard's The Return of Fitzroy Angursell

I periodically search on Amazon to see if there's a new Goddard book out, and it was a nice end of the year surprise this time to find one! This one is a sequel to Hands of the Emperor, and finds the Emperor off on his planned quest, to maybe find new friends....and old ones? I have one friend who also reads these and I admit to messaging her, first because the description of the book (and the title) confirms something that’s been hinted at, but also just to say “AAAHHH” several times, because I was EXCITED ABOUT STUFF. If you, like me, have been looking for gentler fantasy books to read, you gotta read Goddard. I love this world. I want to bathe in it like the Emperor does in his Imperial bathroom. A.

2020 book 243

 Martha Wells' Network Effect

The fifth Murderbot adventure is a full length novel, and it is action packed, full of mysterious alien technology and old friends and new friends and creepy hostiles! Not to mention loyalty and rescue efforts and bonding over tv shows. There is a lot going on here but it’s all totally compelling and I can’t wait to see where this series will go next.

2020 book 242

 Martha Wells' Exit Strategy 

So it turns out Murderbot (reluctantly) cares about some humans, and is off on a rescue mission! I have to say, reading all four of these together works better than reading them like six months apart, because they really are one larger story and it’s better when all the details are immediate (like it is way easier to care about characters from book one/remember their significance when you didn’t read it over a year ago). That is to say that I love Murderbot and am greatly enjoying this reread.

2020 book 241

 Martha Wells' Rogue Protocol

In the third Murderbot book, our protagonist sends themself on a reconnaissance mission, but of course ends up helping a new crew of humans and their perky robot. I love how world-weary Murderbot is about saving stupid humans (but also secretly loves them). And I want to hug Miki! Robot pals!!

2020 book 240

 Martha Wells' Artificial Condition

In the second Murderbot novella, our protagonist takes on a new job, investigates their own past, and . . . makes a friend. HEART EYES. Murderbot has a whole gruff with a soft ol heart vibe that I love, and ART is one of my favorite kinds of characters, and their interplay and teamwork gets me every time!

2020 book 239

 Martha Wells' All Systems Red

Decided it was high time to reread some Murderbot! It’s hard not to love a bionic (maybe not bionic, but part human and part not human) security unit who is very sarcastic and just wants to watch some tv shows, dammit, except all these humans need rescuing all the time. This first novella is a great introduction to the character, full of action and badassery and humor. 

2020 book 238

 Arkady Martine's A Desolation Called Peace

The second (and final?) book in Martine's super fun sci fi series is just as satisfying as the first! There are several more POV characters this time around—including a space admiral and the imperial heir—which helps keep things moving and expands the scope of the world a little bit. There is still a lot of politics, but even more tension this time around, due to a new threat. I still love all the characters and their interesting relationships; there’s a great new friendship to root for too. Just a really engaging read, all around. A/A-.

__

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

2020 book 237

 Arkady Martine's A Memory of Empire

Had to reread this so all the details would be fresh for the sequel! Plus I was excited just to reread it, because it is an awesome and satisfying story! There is a cat on me so I’ll just link to my previous review.

2020 book 236

 Anne Tyler's A Slipping Down Life

Well, I think I owe my book club an apology! I picked an Anne Tyler novel for us mostly at random—this one is set in NC, and though I read it years ago, I didn’t remember anything about it. But it’s an early Tyler novel, and it’s a little bit bleak (not to mention kind of racist and fatphobic). I actually see why I liked this reading it as a teen, because it’s about a shy and awkward teenager who becomes obsessed with a local musician and does something dumb (super relatable). Her character arc is really interesting, though, and it ends up feeling satisfying. I guess we’ll see if book club agrees! B+.

2020 book 235

 Patricia McKillip's Solstice Wood

So the reason I stuck it out with that last book is that I wanted to read /this/ one, which is a sort of sequel, though set a couple hundred years later (in current times). This one has more fairies and part-fairies, plus a local crafting guild that uses knitting and sewing to keep the fairies away! Great characters, and a few different POVs keep things moving along. I was kind of eh on how things wrapped up, but liked this one a lot more. A-/B+.

2020 book 234

 Patricia McKillip’s Winter Rose

I’ve really been enjoying reading McKillip’s books, but this one did not do it for me. It’s both really slow and also suffused with a sense of dread, so just really unpleasant to read. It’s one of those fairy tales that’s more on the horrific side of fairy, except nothing really happens in this book! A dude comes to town and stories of curses rise up, and the woods are weird, and the protagonist is lovelorn and her sister is lovelorn, and winter is full of bad things, and it all just goes in circles. Ugh. B-.

2020 book 233

 Elizabeth Knox's Mortal Fire

I really liked Knox's Absolute Book and wanted to try one of her other books, and this one was just an interesting! It’s set in a world very similar to our own, and the protagonist is a math genius teen in 1959, daughter of a famously heroic Indigenous mother. Oh yeah, and she can see things no one else does. She’s being sent away with her older stepbrother and his girlfriend, who are off on an academic research trip, but wants to stay behind to keep visiting her best friend, who is in an iron lung (polio). But when they arrive, things start to seem a little odd, and she's determined to solve it all. There's lots of magic and a little romance (which didn’t really work for me but whatever), and just when I thought things were going to be a big bummer, they got awesome. I will definitely be reading more by Knox. A-.

2020 book 232

 CM Waggoner's The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry

I’m not sure I liked this /quite/ as much as Waggoner's previous book, but it was still very enjoyable. This one is set in the same world, and involves a down-and-out fire witch getting recruited to a band of ladies to protect a young woman before her marriage. I liked all of that a lot, but the second half feels more like it’s spinning its wheels (though that does give the characters time to develop romances and begrudging friendships, all very fun). Bonus points for an absolutely unsettling mouse. A-/B+.

__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 12th.

2020 book 231

 Connie Willis' Take a Look at the Five and Dime

I did not /intend/ to read a Christmas story, but I’m not too mad about it. This novella centers on Ori, a college student who spends holidays with an assortment of former and almost-relatives, including a sort of grandmother who loves to regale everyone with stories of the Christmas she worked at Woolworth's. But now a relative's new boyfriend, a med student, is convinced that the stories about Woolworth's are indicative of a repressed traumatic memory, and wants to study grandma. This was a cute and light read, even if the romance needed a bit more development. Grandma was awesome. A-.

2020 book 230

 Diana Wynne Jones' The Time of the Ghost

I read an essay recently that made me want to reread this (for some reason my iPad isn’t letting me add links, so here https://www.tor.com/2020/12/07/making-the-metaphor-literal-fantastic-reality-in-the-time-of-the-ghost-by-diana-wynne-jones/). It was a lot darker and weirder than I remembered, but also had some great sister moments and an awesome dog. Definitely engrossing stuff, though not one of my particular faves by the author.

Favorite Books of 2020!

Well, 2020 has been a real mess, and I almost entirely stopped reading literary fiction and swerved even more into genre fiction for purposes of escapism. But who even cares, I am not trying to impress anyone with my reading selections, just read things that make me happy. So here are the ten books I enjoyed most this year! 

Quan Barry's We Ride Upon Sticks

Tracy Deonn's Legendborn

Victoria Goddard's Love-in-a-Mist

N.K. Jemisin's The City We Became

Micaiah Johnson's The Space Between Worlds

T. Kingfisher's A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking

Lydia Millet's A Children's Bible

Naomi Novik's A Deadly Education

Natalie Zina Walschots' Hench

Martha Wells' Network Effect

2020 book 229

 Sarah Caudwell's The Sirens Sang of Murder

The third Hilary Tamar book goes a little heavy on the British tax laws, so is slightly duller than the others, though I still enjoyed the narrative voice (and all of the telexes from the silliest member of the lawyer group). B+.

2020 book 228

 Sarah Caudwell's The Sibyl in Her Grave

I accidentally read the fourth book third, but I don’t think it made a huge difference. There is not a lot of plot continuity from book to book, and the characters remain the same. The story here involves a small town, a fortune teller, insider trading, and more lawyers having long lunches. Another very enjoyable read, for sure. A/A-.

2020 book 227

 Sarah Caudwell's The Shortest Way to Hades

The second book in the Hilary Tamar series finds our Scholar (Hilary always capitalizes it bc of pretentiousness, this is not me being sarcastic) caught up with their lawyer pals in the doings of a family with a very complicated will and a potentially very rich heiress. I just think these books are really funny, even when the lawyers are having lengthy discussions of the law. A-.

2020 book 226

 Sarah Caudwell's Thus was Adonis Murdered

Always delighted to discover a new-to-me British mystery author! This series focuses on one Hilary Tamar (gender unspecified), a legal scholar at Oxford who I guess solves mysteries occasionally. In this first one, a young lawyer friend on vacation in Venice is arrested for murder! Can Hilary prove her innocence? The mystery here is fine, what really shines are the (hilarious, dry) narrative voice and the characters. Also, for a book written in 1981, everyone is surprisingly gay and/or libidinous. SIDE NOTE, the author's mother was apparently the model for Sally Bowles in Cabaret, except she was mad about that bc she was in actuality super political, whereas Sally is not. Anyway, an enjoyable read, I look forward to more of these! A-.

2020 book 225

 Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert

This was a super cute romance that I straight up read in one sitting, involving the lead actor of a famous tv show who asks out a cute fat fangirl after jerks are mean to her on twitter. BUT ALSO he is secretly her best friend in fandom, because he writes fic about his own character due to frustration with poor scripts, and if anyone finds out his career will be in trouble! All of this requires the usual suspension of disbelief, but I genuinely loved both these characters and their relationship. (My summary may sound teeny boppery, but both characters are in their late thirties; our heroine is a super smart geologist!) It’s also a very funny book. I’m here for all these nerdy romance novels, for sure. A/A-.

2020 book 224

 Jenn Lyons' A Memory of Souls

This is the kind of series where so much happens that immediately after finishing, I'm like, wait, /what/ happened?? So I wont even try to summarize, I'll just say that I loved reading this, am here for the central  romance(s), enjoy all the family squabbling and magic escapades, and am mad I have to wait months to find out what happens next! A-.

2020 book 223

 Jenn Lyons' The Name of All Things

The second book in the Chorus of Dragons series is a little more straightforward than the first, even if it is full of double crossing! There are two narrative voices, but they’re mainly telling the same story. I’m not sure the framing device works as well in this one, but the awesome new characters making friends with and/or fighting the awesome characters from the first book makes up for it. Great action, great friendships, great gods and goddesses. I’m looking forward to the next one (and also sad that this isn’t a completed series yet). A/A-.

2020 book 222

 Jenn Lyons' The Ruin of Kings

I’m honestly not sure I totally UNDERSTOOD everything that happened in this book (there is a lot of monkey business with souls and mysterious parentage), but it was just the sort of epic fantasy that you can get totally immersed in, and I was definitely totally immersed. It centers on a young man, imprisoned, and he and his jailer are narrating his story from two different points in time, which I thought worked really well as a narrative. Lots of adventure and interesting relationships and very interesting characters and gods and goddesses and demons etc. Anyway, on to the next one! A-.

2020 book 221

 Patricia McKillip's Alphabet of Thorn

It's hard not to like a book about a young girl of mysterious origins translating a magical book, and also there are various powerful sorcereresses and a new young queen and a bunch of historical research. This was a little slow, but was the kind of interesting and gentle fantasy I like, and it wrapped up in a cool way. A-.

2020 book 220

 Maxine Kaplan's Wench

This was a fun book full of magic and adventure, though it didn’t one hundred percent work for me. It starts off with almost an Ursula Vernon vibe, as a tavern owner dies, and the teenage girl who basically runs the place (the titular Wench) discovers it's been requisitioned by the Queen, and goes off on a quest to take ownership. Of course things go wrong pretty quickly, magical artifacts ensue, the friends we made along the way, etc. I actually really liked the very end of this, but the last third needed more character moments for me to totally buy into it (all of the romance is just like, there all of a sudden) and the climactic action stuff felt kind of rushed after all the buildup. Still, I am here for a practical heroine, and this book has a few of them! This seems ripe for a sequel but doesn’t /need/ one, which is always a nice feeling—I’d like to see where these goofs end up next. B+.

__

A review copy was provided by the publisher. This book will be released on January 19th.