An Unseen Attraction (2017) K.J. Charles (Sins of the City) Set in London in 1873 This is a MM boinking book. Clem Tallyfer is the keeper of his brother’s lodging house in London. It’s how he makes his living–surviving on the sufferance of his brother. He’s also different, and that makes things even more difficult. […]
Opal (2018) Maggie Stiefvater This is a short story set after the conclusion of the Raven Boys story, The Raven King. Although Adam and Ronan are in the story, it is all from the point of view of Opal, the dream creature that Ronan brought into the world with him. In dreams, Ronan was always […]
The Raven King (2016) Maggie Stiefvater Believe it or not, I preordered this book and got it when it was published. And then proceeded to not read it. Why? Because I knew this was the last book in the series. Because we’d been told from the very start that Gansey was going to die. As […]
The Custom of the Army (2010) Diana Gabaldon Set in London and Canada One of the things I loved about the story was the brief glimpse of Hal (much of the book is set in the Americas). his brother often did take his daughter out, with the feeble excuse that the child needed air. His […]
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon This is not a novel. This is three novellas: “Lord John and the Hellfire Club” is set in London in 1757. “Lord John and the Succubus” is set in Germany in 1758. “Lord John and the Haunted Soldier” is set mostly in London in 1759. […]
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon This is a boinking book, but it’s also a book about family and justice and doing what is right. Although I find Hal (John’s brother) sometimes rather difficult, I think in this book I truly begin to like him. Hal relaxed a bit at […]
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon Set in London in 1757. I’m have to different mysteries on hold to borrow from the library, and in the meantime, I started about twenty different books and none of them appealed to me, so it was time for a re-read. There were a couple things […]
Paper Doll (1993) Robert B Parker Spenser is hired to look into the murder of the wife of Louden Tripp, who is presented as an ideal wife and mother–a pillar of society without a blemish. Except that she was brutally murdered. So Quill recommends Spenser to look into it. And we meet Lee Farrell for […]
Shadowhouse Fall (2017) Daniel José Older This is the second book in the Shadowshaper Cypher series. Sierra is coming to terms with being the Lucera and leading a team of Shadowshapers. She’s also learning that all of this is going to be far more dangerous that they could have guessed, because The Sorrows–the House of […]
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? Audio Edition (2016) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch Quill’s group is in trouble. After events in the last book, Ross is abrely acknowledging Costain’s existence, Quill is obsessed with the sign outside Hell, and Lofthouse is finally looking into resolving her own problems. The three other members of his team […]
The Severed Streets (2015) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch (Shadow Police) Even though I *knew* the big surprise of this story, it still came as a shock when it happened. This is an amazing entry into this series, and the narrator continues to do a fabulous job. Published by Audible Studios Rating: 9/10
The Furthest Station (2017) Ben Aaronovitch My current theory is that the reason the previous novel took so long to come out was because it was too long, and a lot had to come out, and that material has made up the comics and this novella. Sounds good anyway. This is a Rivers of London […]
Who Killed Sherlock Holmes? (2016) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) This is the third Shadow Police book, and finds the group in sad shape. The three other members of his team were standing apart from one another, looking off in different directions, like they were an indie band posing for an album cover. Quill is troubled […]
A Perilous Undertaking (2017) Deanna Raybourn Set in London in 1887. The second Veronica Speedwell mystery finds Veronica and Stoker preparing for an expedition–until their benefactor breaks his leg tripping over his giant tortoise. This leaves both cranky with each other until a new mystery is dropped in their laps. Veronica is summoned to the […]
The Hanging Tree (2017) Ben Aaronovitch I just went back and checked, and I pre-ordered this August 2015. The publication date of this book got pushed back a lot. Yes, there were three (almost complete) comics published in the interim, but I know that didn’t appease a lot of people. Me? I’m good with it. […]
A Curious Beginning (2015) Deanna Raybourn Set in London in 1887 This had been on my wishlist for awhile, because although I found her other series vaguely annoying (both not so annoying that I didn’t read multiple books) this seemed right up my alley. As the city prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee, Veronica […]
Battle Hill Bolero (2017) Daniel José Older This is the sequel to both Midnight Taxi Tango and Salsa Nocturna. You don’t have to have read Salsa Nocturna for this, but you really really should. Events have come to a head, and Riley and Cyrus and many other ghosts are in open rebellion against the Council […]
Ghost Girl in the Corner (2016) Daniel José Older This is set after Shadowshaper. Tee has received a grant to take over the publishing of the Bed-Stuy Searchlight–the local paper that had been run by Manny. She has three other teens to help her: Mina, Rafael, and Coruscant, although the woman from the group that […]
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson (2016) Patricia Briggs I really do like this short story collection. Pleasingly, Patricia Briggs is good with short stories, which makes this collection all the more enjoyable. Silver Fairy Gifts (previously published in Naked City) Gray (previously published in Home Improvement: Undead Edition) Seeing Eye (previously […]
The Severed Streets (2014) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) Well done, Paul Cornell, well done. He turned round and saw that he’d encountered the long legs of a man in black jeans, black T-shirt and black leather jacket who was sitting in a discreet corner of the bar, his mobile phone in his hand. He had […]
Midnight Taxi Tango, Audible Version (2016) Daniel José Older, read by the author The second Bone Street Rumba book is as much about Kia as it is about Carlos, and that’s one of the things I especially love about it. Kia is a teenage girl, bored with school, tired of being cat-called, and working for […]
Tremontaine: Season One Volume One (2016) by Patty Bryant, Joel Derfner, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Ellen Kushner, Malinda Lo, Racheline Maltese and Paul Witcover Let me explain… No, let me sum up. There is a book called Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner that is one of my favorites–a comfort read. After Swordspoint came The Fall of the […]
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson (2014) Patricia Briggs Interspersed with the novels, I read the short stories in Shifting Shadows. Patricia Briggs is quite good at writing short stories, which is why re-reading is such a pleasure. Silver Fairy Gifts (previously published in Naked City) Gray (previously published in Home Improvement: […]
Shadowshaper (2015) Daniel José Older I think that Daniel José Older is now made it to my Must Buy list of authors. I have adored everything I’ve ready by him, and I also cannot WAIT to give this book to the teens in my life. Sierra Santiago wants to spend the summer painting, working on […]
Midnight Taxi Tango (2016) Daniel José Older First things first: that is an absolutely MARVELOUS cover. I LOVE it. It’s (obviously) not Carlos, who was the main character of the first book (and who is a main character here, never fear) but is Kia, the high school student who works at Baba Eddie’s botánica and […]
The Custom of the Army (2012) Diana Gabaldon Why do I like Lord John so much? “The world is chaos and death and destruction. But people like you— you don’t stand for that. If there is any order in the world, any peace— it’s because of you, John, and those very few like you.” And […]
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon This is a collection of three stories–novellas, really rather than short stories: Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John and the Succubus, and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier. “Lord John and the Hellfire Club” Set in London in 1756, prior to Lord John […]
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon Set in London in 1758. This is not my favorite Lord John story, although events that happen here are both the culmination of past mysteries, and the impetus for events in later stories. “But your brother is not now Duke of Pardloe?” Despite himself, […]
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon Set in London in 1757. This is the first Lord John book; his first novella is “Lord John and the Hellfire Club” which you can find in Lord John and the Hand of the Devils. This is a re-read for me–something about Lord John’s stories just […]
Foxglove Summer Audible Version (2015/2015) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith OMG I LOVE KOBNA HOLDBROOK-SMITH SO MUCH! (SWOON) ahem. I love this series, but I love Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s narration EVEN MORE. Peter Grant is somewhat despondent about the events that occurred at the end of the last book (not that he’ll admit it) so […]
London Falling, Audio Book (2014) Paul Cornell narrated by Damian Lynch (The Shadow Police) I really liked the audible version of London Falling. Detective Inspector James Quill is heading the investigation (which includes undercover officers Costain and Sefton) to take down crime lord Rob Toshack. Intelligence analyst Lisa Ross has personal reasons for wanting Toshack […]
Foxglove Summer (2014) Ben Aaronovitch When dealing with the law, having a mysterious past is contraindicated. I love this series so much. We return again to Peter Grant, police constable and apprentice wizard. He is still trying to deal with the results of the last case he worked–the one where his co-apprentice and friend Lesley […]
Whispers Under Ground Audible version (2012/2012) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith I am enjoying listening to this series so much. I tore through all the available books when I first came across the series, and have been waiting impatiently for the next book in the series, but the narration by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is such […]
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (2014) Maggie Stiefvater I knew this was not going to end cleanly. I KNEW it. But I read it anyway, because OMG I love this series. This book begins a few weeks after the last book ended. Maura is missing, Blue and the Raven Boys are getting ready to start school, […]
Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson (2014) Patricia Briggs As I’ve mentioned previously (and repeatedly) I love short stories. They’re a hard thing to love sometimes, because there are so many poorly written ones out there. Luckily for me, Patricia Briggs tends to do them well, so I didn’t hesitate to pick […]
Moon Over Soho: Audible Version (2011/2012) Ben Aaronovitch and Narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith It’s quite possible I’ve fallen a little bit in love with Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, for the way he reads Ben Aaronovitch’s Peter Grant books. The story is good–I thoroughly enjoyed reading it–but listening? Amazing. He is really good at the voices and the […]
Midnight Riot (2011/2012) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith I’ve had audio books that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed before, but until now, I’d not had the experience of a reader making a book better. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith did that. He is amazing. He did various accents that made each character distinct and they all sounded different. Even […]
London Falling (2012) Paul Cornell (Shadow Police) I started reading, and briefly thought I had entered in the middle of the story. I hadn’t. It was actually the beginning, but for the characters, they believe they are in the end game. Two cops working undercover to take down a crime lord, the DI running the […]
The Dream Thieves (2013) Maggie Stiefvater Right. Now I know why I put off reading this, even though I pre-ordered it. It’s book two in a projected four book series. (sigh) However, once I started listening to Raven Boys, I had to finish re-reading it, and then I had to read The Dream Thieves, because […]
Swordspoint (1987/2011) by Ellen Kushner (Author, Narrator) with Dion Graham, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Nick Sullivan, Simon Jones This review is of the audio recording of Swordspoint. Please check my review of the book Swordspoint for my thoughts on the story rather than the recording. First, Ellen Kushner is the narrator, and like the recording […]
The Privilege of the Sword Audio Book (2012) Ellen Kushner (Author, Narrator), Barbara Rosenblat, Felicia Day, Joe Hurley, Katherine Kellgren, Nick Sullivan, Neil Gaiman This is a review of the audio book. If you’d like a review of the story itself, that can be found here. Audio books take quite a while for me to […]
A Plague of Zombies (2012) Diana Gabaldon This was originally published in the anthology Down These Strange Streets, and is the story that made me look for other Lord John stories. Lord John (now Lieutenant-Colonel Grey) is sent to Jamaica to look into the unrest there. The governor had requested the military after a rebellion […]
The Custom of the Army (2012) Diana Gabaldon Another re-read. After a duel at an electric eel party (These used to be a Thing! Fascinating!) Hal decides it’s best if Lord John puts himself out of the way for awhile, so when his presence is requested in the Americas, to testify in a Court Martial, […]
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (2007) Diana Gabaldon This novel falls between the novellas Lord John and the Succubus and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier. Which makes for slightly complicated reading if you want to read in order, since the two novellas are in the same book. There are two story […]
Lord John and the Hand of Devils (2007) Diana Gabaldon Another re-read. I enjoyed these the first time around, and I’m enjoying them just as much the second time around. This is NOT a novel, this is, instead, three novellas. Because, apparently, this is as close to a short story as Diana Gabaldon can get. […]
Lord John and the Private Matter (2003) Diana Gabaldon I’m in another mood where I don’t know what I want to read, so I instead chose to re-read something I enjoyed. This time it was Lord John and the Private Matter. Lord John Gray is a Major in the British Army. Additionally, as next oldest, […]
The Privilege of the Sword (2006) Ellen Kushner I’ve been listening to the audio book version of this, when I reached a point where I gave up and started re-reading (from the beginning) on the Kindle. Mind you, I’m still listening to the audio version, but it had been too long since I’d read the […]
Midnight Riot (2011) Ben Aaronovitch Peter Grant wants to be a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Unfortunately, his tendency to be distracted looks like it’s going to head him into the Case Progression Unit. Until one night he comes across a witness to a crime no one else has talked to. Too bad that witness […]
Swordspoint: A Melodrama of Manners (1987) Ellen Kushner I love this book. As I’ve said before, this isn’t a fantasy in the usual sense of the genre. There are no magicians or mystical creatures. There is no magic, except the magic found in the expert storytelling. Here is our introduction to Richard St Vier: The […]
In Sea-Salt Tears (2012) Seanan McGuire The Luidaeg has been a complicated character throughout the October Daye series. This story gives us a glimpse of the relationship between the Selkie and The Luidaeg. The only way a selkie can become a true fey is to inherit one. But there aren’t many skins, so most selkie […]