Category: review

Cinnamon and Gunpowder: A Buddy Read with Dani

15 May 2019 / review / 5 Comments
Cinnamon and Gunpowder: A Buddy Read with Dani

Format/source: Hardcover/LibraryPublished: June 2013 Publisher: Farrar, Straus and GirouxLength: 318 pages Genre: Historical fictionTarget Age: Adult#OwnVoices: Not applicable★★★ The year is 1819, and the renowned chef Owen Wedgwood has been kidnapped by the ruthless pirate Mad Hannah Mabbot. He will be spared, she tells him, as long as he puts exquisite food in front of her every Sunday without fail. To appease the red-haired captain, Wedgwood gets cracking with the meager supplies on board. His first triumph at sea […]

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Nuanced Characters, Complex Relationships, and a Hidden Horror Make for an Excellent Debut [Review]

13 May 2019 / review / 2 Comments
Nuanced Characters, Complex Relationships, and a Hidden Horror Make for an Excellent Debut [Review]

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman Format/source: ARC/ALA MidwinterPublished: 2 April 2019 Publisher: Disney-HyperionLength: 368 pages Genre: Contemporary speculative fiction (horror/fantasy)Target Age: Young adult#OwnVoices: Bisexuality, depressionContent warnings★★★★½ After the death of her sister, seventeen-year-old Violet Saunders finds herself dragged to Four Paths, New York. Violet may be a newcomer, but she soon learns her mother isn’t: They belong to one of the revered founding families of the town, where stone bells hang above every doorway and danger […]

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Historical Haints Make for a Great Summer Read [Review]

6 May 2019 / review / 2 Comments
Historical Haints Make for a Great Summer Read [Review]

Just South of Home by Karen Strong Format/source: ARC/ALA MidwinterPublished: 7 May 2019 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersLength: 320 pages Genre: Middle grade speculative fiction#OwnVoices: Black girl living in southern USA ★★★★ Twelve-year-old Sarah is finally in charge. At last, she can spend her summer months reading her favorite science books and bossing around her younger brother, Ellis, instead of being worked to the bone by their […]

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Finishing Middlegame Put Me In a Reading Slump Because it is That. Good.[Review]

3 May 2019 / review / 7 Comments
Finishing Middlegame Put Me In a Reading Slump Because it is That. Good.[Review]

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire Format/source: ARC/NetgalleyPublished: 7 May 2019 Publisher: Tor.comLength: 528 pages Genre: Speculative fiction ★★★★★ I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley. Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story. Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power […]

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Something Weirder than Usual is Happening in Logan County… [Review]

30 March 2019 / review / 2 Comments
Something Weirder than Usual is Happening in Logan County… [Review]

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles Format/source: ARC/NetgalleyPublished: 2 April 2019 Publisher: VersifyLength: 305 pages Genre: Middle grade speculative fiction ★★★★  Otto and Sheed are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction. And as the summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little bit more time for fun, even as […]

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