Conventional Shadows (2022) Lissa Kasey (A Simply Crafty Paranormal Mystery) Alex and Micah are taking a trip to an anime convention–one that will hopefully go better than the previous convention they went to, which ended up with Alex bringing home a ghost cat. Alex is still learning about crafting, but is more than happy to […]
Death Wins a Goldfish: Reflections from a Grim Reaper’s Yearlong Sabbatical (2019) Brian Rea “It has come to our attention that you have a substantial number of unused days off. Records indicate you’ve never taken a sick day, sabbatical, or leave of absence.” Thus, death has to take a year off work. Publisher: Chronicle Books […]
Broken Soul (2014) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Here is where the story starts to steamroll, with major arcs remaining open at the end of each book. Not cliffhangers, mind you, but major story arcs, like the plotting and machinations of the European Vamps, and why they’re coming to the US. The […]
Witch Hat Atelier 1 (2017/2019) Kamome Shirahama This is a gorgeous comic / manga. Sadly, it is not my jam. Publisher: Kodansha Comics Rating: NR
Moonstruck Volume 1: Magic to Brew (2018) Grace Ellis, Shae Beagle, Kate Leth I’d forgotten this was middle grade to YA, so it was way younger than I was in the mood for. Publisher: Image Comics
Reflection of a Curse (2022) Lissa Kasey (Romancing a Curse) After getting the second story in this series for free last winter, I’ve been getting Lissa Kasey’s newsletter, and in the fall she started sharing chapters of this story in the news letter, and to her Patreon followers. About six chapters in I finally started […]
An Irregular Arrangement A. L. Lester (Border Magic) Set in England in 1920. This is a short story set in the Border Magic world. Tim and Flora are best friends who chose to get married to make things safer for Tim and his lover, Rupert. Val is finally twenty one and ready to leave their […]
Threshold (2013) Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin) Set in Boston and WV in the late 1800s. This wasn’t bad, but Lovecraftian monsters just aren’t my thing. So why did I keep reading? Because it was set in WV, and it featured mining and was actually accurate for those things! I mean, this: By the […]
Valor: Wands (2018) Isabelle Melançon, Megan Lavey-Heaton Editors “The Prince’s New Clothes” by Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton “Mom Knight and The Centipede” by Sara Goetter “The Magnificent Daji” by Alex Singer and Diana Huh “Maleen” by Nicole Chartland “Marie and The Nutcracker” by Emily Hann “The Laughing Queen” by Gisele Weaver “The Princess with […]
Blood of the Earth, Audio Edition (2016) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (A Soulwood Novel) After helping Jane Yellowrock rescue a vampire and abused women from the compound of her former church, Nell Ingram has been waiting for the help Jane said might be coming. Because the church men are becoming more of a […]
Snuff (2011) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) This is the last Sam Vimes book. I’d put off reading it for years, but now I’ve read it, and I’m almost done with Discworld. Vimes has been ordered to take a vacation, but (to the surprise of no one) he managed to find crime while at Sybil’s ancestral home. […]
Black Arts (2014) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Publisher: Audible Studios Rating: 8/10
Widdershins (2014) Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborne & Griffin) Set in New England in 1897 This is a Lovecraftian story–only without all the racism and misanthropy. One advantage of not being able to picture things in my head is that I can read things like this: Its head was worse, however. Thanks to Christine, I’d spent […]
Lore Olympus: Volume One (2021) Rachel Smythe Hades & Persephone, but today. Hades is lonely. But he does have some awesome dogs. Well, mostly awesome. I am very glad this is a web comic, but I need to know what happens and can’t wait until July to find out. Trigger Warnings: Sexual assault Publisher: Del […]
Hexbreaker (2016) Jordan L. Hawk (Hexworld) Set in New York City in 1897. Tom Halloran escaped the death of his family–and his own imprisonment–and became a city cop. But hiding the fact he is a witch is about to become difficult. Hexbreaking was too rare a skill. If anyone found out, they’d want to know […]
Bitter Gold Hearts (1988) Glen Cook (Garrett P.I.) I obviously read this before, because there were passages underlined and I have a review for it. I didn’t remember anything about it though, except that it was a fantasy take on a noir PI, which I generally adore. (See Simon Green‘s Nightside) Garrett is asked to […]
Goblin Fruit (2019) Celia Lake (Mysterious Charm) Set in England in 1924 Lizzie has taken a job for the ministry, hoping it will allow her and her sister to survive–especially since her work during the war hadn’t helped her to get any other jobs. Carillon also does work for the ministry, and keeps a public […]
Possessed by Shadows (2021) Lissa Kasey (Simply Crafty) Alex may be content trying to let his past go, but his brother isn’t. He’d decided to go from police homicide detective, to paranormal detective. I was not a fan. But he didn’t see the same sort of stuff I did, and it seemed to be a […]
Marked by Shadows (2020) Lissa Kasey (Simply Crafty) Micah has a complicated past. But he’s happy where he is now: running a craft shop and spending time with Alexis. Even if the ghost tours can be a little stressful. I watched other ghost hunters, or paranormal enthusiasts as they called themselves, do something called ‘provoking […]
Stalked by Shadows (2019) Lissa Kasey (Simply Crafty) Alexis Caine received a medical discharge from the army after witnessing an attack that the government insisted could not have happened the way he stated. After a stint in a mental hospital, he goes home with his twin, to try and restart his life. My social services […]
Off the Grid, Audio Book (2015) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) A novella that takes place between Black Arts and Broken Soul, and introduces Nell, whose series begins with Blood of the Earth. Security was so much easier in the modern day, with access to so many public records protected by such […]
Blood Trade, Audio Book (2013) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Natchez, Mississippi is overrun with rogues, and the Master hires Jane to come help him solve this problem. But when she arrives, things are even worse than she expected. I hacked in amusement. I am bigger. I like bigger. Would like to […]
The Tropic of Serpents: A Memoir by Lady Trent, Audio Book (2014) Marie Brennan Narrated by Kate Reading (A Natural History of Dragons) This is such a delightful book, and the audio is just as good. if you are likely to be deterred by descriptions of violence, disease, foods alien to the Scirling palate, strange […]
Unseen Academicals (2009) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) I’ve owned this book for years (as well as the following two) but I didn’t read. First, because I wasn’t reading a lot of fantasy. Then, because I knew there wouldn’t be any more Discworld books, and I wanted to save the reading of them. Which meant I never […]
The Heartbreak Bakery (2021) A.R. Capetta Syd is finishing up high school while working full time in the Proud Muffin–the bakery and community space that is a second home for so many LGBT teens and adults in Austin. But when Syd is dumped by their girlfriend, the accidentally bake Break-Up brownies which not only breaks […]
A Marvellous Light (2021) Freya Marske (The Last Binding) Set in England prior to The Great War. Maybe 1906 or 1907. After his parents were killed ina car wreck, Robin Blyth has to pick up the pieces of the life they left him and his sister. “You don’t talk about your parents much.” “I am— […]
Outcrossing (2018) Celia Lake (Mysterious Charm) Set in alternate England in 1922. Rufus returned from The Great War unscathed, to a village that doesn’t understand why he returned when their sons and brothers and fathers didn’t. (T)hey found him even more suspicious and – just wrong, one of the wives had called him. “Nothing natural […]
The Nobleman’s Guide to Scandal and Shipwrecks (2021) Mackenzi Lee (Montague Siblings) Nearly 20 years have passed since Monty (and then Felicity) fled England and their father. In the mean time, their younger brother has grown into an adult–but one with his own problems. Adrian has struggled with his mind his entire life, but after […]
The Quid Pro Quo (2021) A.L. Lester (Bradfield Trilogy) Set in England in 1920 Walter met Sylvia when they were both working at the same hospital at Royaumont. They only got the worst cases here now… had done for a while, since the brass had worked out that the lady doctors had a better surgical […]
The Silver Mark (2019) Sarah Painter (Crow Investigations) This is the second book in the Crow Investigations series. Lydia is still trying to make a living as a private investigator, but right now is still only doing so because her uncle (head of the Crow family) lets her use the space above one of his […]
The Fog of War (2021) A.L. Lester (Bradfield Trilogy) Set in England in the summer of 1919. Dr Sylvia Marks returned to the village where her father had been the local doctor, after the end of the war and her time as a surgeon at Royaumont, where she was later joined by Walter, a nurse […]
Making Money (2007) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) The Post Office is going well (to the surprise of Moist as much as everyone else) and perhaps Moist is getting a little bored. Luckily, Vetinari has ideas. “You Have An Appointment Now With Lord Vetinari,” said the golem. “I’m sure I don’t.” “There Are Two Guards Outside Who […]
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? (2016) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) The third–and seemingly final–book of the Shadow Police series. The story opens with a bank robbery. ‘I won’t tell you!’ she shouted. ‘I can!’ Kevin insisted, pointing at himself. The stormtrooper paused awkwardly again. He obviously had as little idea as she did what Kevin’s weird […]
Faces (2021) A.M. Rose Dorian was born blind, but that blindness came with a gift–the ability to draw the soulmates of those whom he touches. The portrait I draw is the image of the soulmate the way they look when the person sees them for the first time” Hayden knows that soulmates exist–his parents were […]
The Severed Streets (2014) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) When the Secretary of the Treasury is killed violently and inexplicably, Quill’s group is certain the case falls to their remit–even if they are the only ones who know it. ‘We’ve been given access to … advanced sensor … techniques, the details of which we can’t go […]
Thud! (2005) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) I think this might be one of my favorite Discworld novels. Vetinari waved a languid hand. ‘But full carts congesting the street, Vimes, is a sign of progress,’ he declared. ‘Only in the figurative sense, sir,’ said Vimes. It’s coming up on the anniversary of Koom Valley, and things are […]
London Falling (2012) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) Me, to myself. “I haven’t read the Shadow Police series in awhile”. Also me, “It’s really dark.” “I know it’s dark! I read it and listened to it!” “Are you sure you’re up for that right now?” (stomps off in a huff to read London Falling.) Oh. Yeah. […]
Going Postal (2004) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) Moist von Lipwig should not have come to Ankh Morpork. Apart from all those repossessions, bankruptcies, and sudden insolvencies, what had he actually done that was bad, as such? He’d only been moving numbers around. After being sentenced to death, he didn’t quite expect the afterlife to be what […]
Bodyguard (2021) Dassy Bernhard (The Bodyguards) An orphan. With secret superpowers. Who works as a bodyguard. Tang Jun-young had hoped that saving the K-Pop boy band he was guarding flew under the radar, with people paying attention to the musicians rather than the nameless man who saved them. But no such luck, as the chairman […]
“Asil and the Not-date” (2020) Patricia Briggs Ages and ages ago, I got the anthology A Fantastic Holiday Season: The Gift of Stories mostly so I could read the Asil story. Which I loved. The anthology for the second Asil story has been sitting on my wish list forever, but after realizing it was available […]
Thief of Time (2001) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) The auditors are tired of people. Humanity practically was things that didn’t have a position in time and space, such as imagination, pity, hope, history, and belief. They are encouraging a young man to create a clock that will freeze time, to take care of all the pesky […]
A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent, Audio Book (2013) Marie Brennan narrated by Kate Reading After Michael admitted that he hadn’t read A Natural History of Dragons, I decided that would be our next listen. Isabella loves dragons. As a child she got into trouble trying to see one, and her […]
Trailer Park Trickster (2021) David R. Slayton (Adam Binder) Do you know what I hate? Cliffhangers. Do you know what this book had? Yup. A cliffhanger. Adam and Vic have had no chance to work things out, because Adam took off for Oklahoma in an attempt to save his aunt. He didn’t save his aunt. […]
Death’s Rival, Audio Book (2012) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Vampires are getting sick. Which is not something that should happen. And since Jane put her foot in it by calling herself Leo’s Enforcer, she now gets to help deal with the vampire plague. A lot happens in this book. Some of […]
Raven Cursed, Audio Version (2012) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam (Jane Yellowrock) Jane is sent to Asheville NC to provide security for a visit by Gregoire to judge if the Master of Asheville, Shaddock, deserves his own territory, after one of his turned vampires came out of the devoveo in only two years. But […]
Paladin’s Hope (2021) T. Kingfisher (The Saint of Steel) The third book in the Saint of Steel series. Piper is the lich-doctor (think coroner) for the White Rat. He’d worked with several of the paladins of the Saint of Steel in solving the a series of murders. Now it looks like there is another murderer […]
Making Love (2017) Aidan Wayne Carla is a cupid, and she wants nothing more than to go out into the world and find True Love matches for humans. But as good as her aim is, Carla is terrible at seeing possible chemistry between people. A cupid’s arrow only held the Spark of Interest. It got […]
The Truth (2000) Terry Pratchett (Discworld) William de Worde spread the word around Discworld. (T)he rumor came to the ears of William de Worde, and in a sense it stopped there, because he dutifully wrote it down. It was his job. Lady Margolotta of Uberwald sent him five dollars a month to do it. The […]
Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage (2016) CS Poe I love this story. I mean, it’s like someone dared her to put every single trope she could think of into less than 40 pages, and she made it perfect. I was attending a singles’ convention for special people like me to find their forever penguin […]
The Fifth Elephant (1999) Terry Pratchett (Discworld #24) Sam Vimes is about to have something really terrible happen to him. He’s about to become an ambassador. “Let me see if I’ve got this right,” said Vimes. “Uberwald is like this big suet pudding that everyone’s suddenly noticed, and now with this coronation as an excuse […]