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 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
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PROJECTIONS by S. E. Porter rating: 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐. Once upon a time there was a rich boy who thought he owned a poor girl: this is the story of Gus and Catherine in the novel PROJECTIONS by S. E. Porter (Tor/Macmillan, February 13, 2024), Porter’s first adult novel. Gus obtains magical powers, which make
HUNT ON DARK WATERS rating: 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐. I love pirates, especially sexy ones. I’m not big on sex scenes. If a novel is well written, I am eager to get on with the plot and a blow-by-blow account (begging your pardon) in excruciating detail tends to make me skip ahead. In HUNT ON DARK
BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Audiobook will bump it to 5. This honest, big-hearted orc knows what’s good. Wherever Viv is planted, she blooms. BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST by Travis Baldree (Tor/Macmillan, November 7, 2023) is a prequel to LEGENDS & LATTES (Tor/Macmillan, November 8, 2022), which proved that the Tiktok kids are sometimes
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IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. We’re awash in cynicism. We’re drowning in snark. You know what is missing? Goodness. Pure, unadulterated goodness. When I think of literary goodness, I think of Bishop Myriel, even though I never got all the way through LES MISERABLES, being defeated at Waterloo. And I think
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STARLING HOUSE rating: 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Like Alix E. Harrow‘s other heroines, orphan Opal is a savvy, strong-willed girl. She’s a Kentuckian, so she’s also willing to bend (or break) rules or face down any danger in order to fight for her kin. STARLING HOUSE (Tor/Macmillan, October 3, 2023) is a flipped fairy tale like
Three very good books were released yesterday, March 7, 2023. My rating for all three is 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ . Disclaimer: Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for sending me a copy of Weyward; Edelweiss Plus and Macmillan for sending me a copy of Birnam Wood; and Netgalley and Hachette for sending me a copy of
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