James

JAMES rating: five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. My favorite book of 2024 so far is JAMES by Percival Everett (Doubleday/Penguin Random House, March 19, 2024), a retelling of Mark Twain‘s classic THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN from the point of view of Jim, Huckleberry Finn’s companion on that legendary raft trip down the Mississippi River. I can’t […]

James Read More »

The Drowning House

THE DROWNING HOUSE rating: four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. When not reading THE DROWNING HOUSE (Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks, July 23, 2024), I felt myself being lured back onto the island setting, almost as if it were a waking dream. Cherie Priest has a way of creating an atmosphere that carves out permanent space in your consciousness. I

The Drowning House Read More »

Image of a girl in a dress surrounded by trees and monsters at the bottom with a golden city at the top on the other side of a wall. Text says "The scariest monsters are the human-shaped ones. Genoveva Demova FOUL DAYS." Cover blurb text: "'A fresh, gritty world bursting with wonderful characters–and monsters galore!'-Allison Saft."

Foul Days

FOUL DAYS rating: four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Set in Chernograd, Bulgaria, FOUL DAYS by Genoveva Dimova (Tor/Macmillan, June 25, 2024) is a fantasy novel with a sassy, rough-and-tumble urban feel (think the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo). Chernograd is split by a Wall in which an evil magical creature is trapped, making passage next

Foul Days Read More »

Pymphomania

I defy you to figure out why British author Barbara Pym (1913-1980) is so darned good. Pym seems to be writing about nothing much at all, and yet she is riveting. She casts some kind of spell. Examine her syllable by syllable. Take her writing apart; it’s far more than the sum of its parts.

Pymphomania Read More »

Image of a hand with painted fingernails holding a jar of cream. Blood is dripping from the hand. Cover blurb says: "'This novel is a blood-stained mirror. What truth will it reflect back to you?'-Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Black Sheep." Text says "youthjuice a novel e.k. sathue"

youthjuice

YOUTHJUICE rating: 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐. HEBE was supposed to give me the heebie-jeebies, but the novel stole its own thunder almost immediately. A slow horror buildup would have been ideal in the gothic horror novel youthjuice by E.K. Sathue (Penguin Random House, June 4, 2024). Sophia is the new Creative Director for HEBE, a cosmetics

youthjuice Read More »

Image of a redheaded woman with a ponytail who has a turnkey in her back. Text says "A Memoir A Well-Trained Wife My Escape from Christian Patriarchy" by Tia Levings."

A Well-Trained Wife

A WELL-TRAINED WIFE rating: four stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. A WELL-TRAINED WIFE: MY ESCAPE FROM CHRISTIAN PATRIARCHY by Tia Levings (St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan, August 6, 2024) is a blunt and staggering account of a woman’s marriage, motherhood, escape, and recovery within the extreme (arguably now mainstream) religious right. You can call it dominionism, you can call it

A Well-Trained Wife Read More »

Image of a beach house deck with chairs and items such as bathing suits and clothes drying on the side of the deck. Another beach house is in the background. Text says "SANDWICH A NOVEL BY CATHERINE NEWMAN AUTHOR OF We All Want Impossible Things." Cover blurb says: "'Sandwich is joy in book form. I laughed continuously, except for the parts that made me cry. Catherine Newman does a miraculous job reminding us of all the wonder there is to be found in life.'-Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake"

Sandwich

SANDWICH rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Don’t tug at my heartstrings, as a rule. It annoys me. I don’t like three-hanky, or even two-hanky reads. One hanky might be okay if there is also humor. SANDWICH by Catherine Newman (HarperCollins, June 18, 2024), is a dead-realistic novel about three generations of family vacationing at Cape Cod.

Sandwich Read More »

The Fox Wife

THE FOX WIFE rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. The term “immersive” gets thrown around a lot, but I rarely get truly immersed in books. Yangsze Choo‘s fantasy novel THE FOX WIFE (Henry Holt/Macmillan, February 13, 2024) had me in its grip from page one. I was there in 1908 Manchuria. The novel is as stunning as

The Fox Wife Read More »

Image of black oval cameo with white feminine hands holding a poppy with dog tags for a bracelet. Text says "The Warm Hands of Ghosts New York Times Bestselling Author of The Bear and The Nightingale Katherine Arden"

The Warm Hands of Ghosts

THE WARM HANDS OF GHOSTS rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. I’ve been waiting for-ev-er. Eons. Okay, five years. But that’s a long time to wait for Katherine Arden. The Winternight Trilogy is one of my favorite fantasy trilogies, hands down. THE WARM HANDS OF GHOSTS by Katherine Arden (Del Rey/Penguin Random House, February 13, 2024) ends

The Warm Hands of Ghosts Read More »