True Biz

Well, I did not know this was one of Reese Witherspoon's book club picks til I got the notice my hold at the library was ready and saw the stamp on the cover. (A word. I, like many other readers, hate that shit. Get your name/brand sticker off the cover - the cover art deserves its…

it was never going to be okay

The biannual (ish) poetry collection time has come again. I had never heard of this one before and chose it randomly from the poetry available at the library one day while I was shelving. That’s the danger of shelving time – it gives me the time to look through sections of the library with great…

If This Gets Out

Ahhhh the dangers of working in a library. I was checking in books a few weeks ago and this was one of them...and instead of carting it to get it back on the shelves, I ended up taking it home with me. Whoops. If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich “At the…

Nettle & Bone

Shoutout to @staxsonstaxs for the enthusiastic hype for this one. I was getting ready for a trip and was looking for plane reads - this seemed like the perfect mix of fantasy and entertainment and carry-on-friendly sized book. And friends, it was all that and more. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher “If you had learned not…

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven

But that title though! I mean, there really isn't that much more to say here - if you're going to title your novel something that makes me infer that witches and magic and royalty are involved, you'll pretty much ensure that it gets added to my TBR. Also, was I the first person at the library to…

D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding

If this cover doesn’t catch your eye, I really don’t know what to tell you. Haha. But in all seriousness, I was feeling in the mood for a romance and this one was both on my TBR and available on the “new books” shelf at the library. D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia…

Woman of Light

A year or two ago, I read Fajardo-Anstine's story collection, Sabrina & Corina, which was a favorite of mine that year. I loved the grittiness and the homage to land/ancestors and the feminism all mixed together to great impact. Needless to say, I was excited to hear that she was coming out with a full-length…

Light from Uncommon Stars

This book was marketed as aliens/space and violins and donuts and queer and bargains with demons and, honestly, there's nothing there I don't love (or, in the case of the demon-bargains, I at least love reading about them - the demon was my favorite part of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, as you know). So.…

Kaikeyi

I love a good retelling, so I'm here for the overall boom in feminist classic mythology retellings. The Witch's Heart and The Silence of the Girls are both great, and of course Circe is an all-time favorite of mine. So I was super excited to delve into this feminist retelling of a non-Western epic, the Ramayana. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel “Before…

The Arsonists’ City

At long last, my final Aspen Words 2022 longlist read is done. I'm feeling very accomplished and enjoying that satisfied feeling of crossing the last thing off a "to-read" list. Go me! Plus, I ended on a high note, since this was also one of the five shortlist picks. And goodness I can see why.…