FoundFamily

Text says: "The Madstone a Novel Elizabeth Cook Author of The Which Way Tree." Cover image shows a woman on horseback with two children on horseback, a boy and a girl. They are on a dirt road that stretches into the foreground with trees on other side. In the background is a huge sky with a sunset. The cover blurb says, "'The Madstone is a treasure: a brilliant, beautiful page-turner . . . Both a poignant love story and a riveting road novel–I devoured it.'–Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Double Bind."

The Madstone

THE MADSTONE rating: 4 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐. I’ve fallen for another western: THE MADSTONE by Elizabeth Crook (Little, Brown and Company/Hachette, November 7, 2023). The madstone of the novel’s title is not just a talisman with reputed healing power: it is a symbol of found family, a mother’s determination to protect her children at all costs, […]

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Image shows a green female ogre holding a bun, carrying a sword and an an open book, a rat with a quill pen and a notebook, and a pet that looks like a dog with an owl head. They are all in a bookshop. Text reads: Bookshops & Bonedust Travis Baldree New York Times Bestselling Author." Cover blurb says: "'A warm hug of a book.'–T Kingfisher on Legends & Lattes."

Viv on How to Live

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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Cover image of a red house and tree houses in a forest. Subtitle says "A real boy and his heart. No strings attached.” Author tagline is “New York Times Bestselling author of The House in the Cerulean Sea.” Text says "In the Lives of Puppets TJ Klune."

In the Lives of Puppets

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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