TL;DR: This one messed with my brain in the best way.Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Carmen partakes of a play that acts as a drug, and her world is impacted and unraveled along the way. Characters: A delightful mess of love and paranoia. I’m still deciding what happened here! Setting: The... Continue Reading →
Breathe in, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley
TL;DR: Very fun with some unique deaths. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Hannah is trying to recover after the death of her fiancé and agrees to go on a ‘wellness retreat’. All is not well. Characters: A cast of somewhat tropey characters but not the worst. I enjoyed hating some of... Continue Reading →
Milena and Margarete by Gwen Strauss
TL;DR: This is rough to read, but well worth the time. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Readability: A bit dense, it reads slowly and it’s heartbreaking at times. Scope: While showing us the relationship between Grete and Milena we also have a lot of background and political information along with the heart... Continue Reading →
The Midnight Pack by Jasmine Kuliasha
TL;DR: Not a winner for me, this was very flat. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Jericho goes walking to find a rabid animal and surprise, surprise is chased down by Not-A-Werewolf-Wink-Wink Benjamin. Characters: The screen I read this on had more interesting qualities than these characters. Setting: This is set in... Continue Reading →
Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher
TL;DR: A slower starting Kingfisher with fun mirror elements. Source: NetGalley , Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Anya is obsessed with poisons and antidotes and gets asked to help the king’s daughter - creepy mirrors appear! Characters: Kingfisher has a type of character she writes well and this is that character, smart... Continue Reading →
Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones
TL;DR: Surprisingly complicated with some more thrilling elements than scary ones. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: A double feature, this has a young girl hitchhiking and running into the wrong man and then a babysitter fighting a house for her freedom. Characters: These two girls felt very similar, I’m not going... Continue Reading →
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
TL;DR: Chuck Tingle gets better and better every time. Source: NetGalley - thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: How it made sense was so clever, and just weird enough to make sense. Well done Mr. Tingle. Characters: Unlikable but also so lovable. I was cheering for these folks the whole way through. Setting:... Continue Reading →
Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
TL;DR: Cozy and bright, I really enjoyed this one. Source: NetGalley, thank you to the publisher! Plot: A crew of AI bots create and run their own noodle shop in a post-war California. Characters: Unique and fascinating take on what AI could be like one day. Setting: San Francisco but make it post-war with America.... Continue Reading →
Learn My Lesson by Katee Robert
TL;DR: Probably one of the best books I’ve read by this author. Source: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!! Plot: Hercules gets roped into a deal with Meg and Hades Characters: I really enjoyed these three. They had sharp edges but fit well together. Setting: Definitely not the focus but it had some good... Continue Reading →
Volatile Memory by Seth Haddon
TL;DR: This one didn’t quite land for me, but there were some great ideas here. Source: NetGalley , Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: A scavenger finds a mask that will change her life, but it’s messy in so many ways. Characters: We get a pretty one sided view of characters, and the... Continue Reading →