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…

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…

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.…

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.…

What My Bones Know

First off, this cover is damn gorgeous. Stunning. Second, though this hasn't *yet* taken the world by storm, it should...because it has gotten such comprehensively stellar reviews and after reading it myself, I find I can only add to that praise. Whether it actually is groundbreaking (which it does seem to be, based on the dearth of…

The Reckless Oath We Made

My very first ever book that I posted a review of on this blog was Greenwood's novel All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. It was (is) a pretty controversial read, but it emotionally devastated me. And, as my first review, I really did not have the frame of reference or general practice in critically thinking about what…

Magic for Liars

Another home-shelf backlist read - go me! Honestly, the synopsis for this one, a sort of detective story in a magic school setting, felt absolutely up my alley, so I was psyched to find this is the used section at a local bookstore. I grabbed it so fast...and then got around to reading it a bit…

The Grief Keeper

In my (mostly failing but ever effortful) attempt to read the backlist books on my shelves at home between the myriad newer releases and library holds that just keep coming, I present this success! This was part of a used bookstore haul a while ago; the concept (which I feel like I have also read about…