Tag: historical fiction

Kate’s Review: “Boy With Wings”

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Book: “Boy With Wings” by Mark Mustian

Publishing Info: Koehler Books, March 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an ARC from the publicist.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: What does it mean to be different? From Mark Mustian, founder of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music and award-winning author of the international bestseller “The Gendarme,” comes the new Southern gothic novel, “Boy With Wings”.

Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back, frightening his neighbors and leaving him struggling to find a home. Johnny ends up in a “freak show” traveling the 1930s South, where he bares his back to onlookers who come to gape and fawn. Is he a horror or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life?

As Johnny comes to grips with his uniqueness, he embarks on a journey of love and finds the miracles that give our lives meaning. Mustian’s thrilling and emotional story of self-discovery is perfect for book clubs and fans of historical fiction.

Review: Thank you to Books Forward for sending me an ARC of this novel!

Though I fell off watching “American Horror Story” awhile ago (I think the last season I watched was “1984”), one of my favorite seasons (along with “Coven” and “Hotel”) is “Freakshow”. It was such an interesting topic to cover a freak show traveling in the American South in a post-WWII era, letting us get to know the characters and seeing the complexities within their characters and the abuses that they faced from society. I have always enjoyed a story like this, and when “Boy With Wings” ended up in the inbox I was absolutely interested in giving it a go because of that. A kid named Johnny Cruel comes of age with wing-like deformities after loss and trauma, finding his place in a traveling carnival? Why yes, that does suit my fancy!

The reason this book was so enticing to me was because of the carnival/freak show factor, as the history of traveling carnivals and freak shows is SO fascinating to me. Look, I’m the gal who absolutely loves a story about a band of freaks in a freak show BECAUSE of the idea of Othering, dehumanization, and so called ‘freaks’ finding companionship and community against the odds and the prejudices of society. And I thought that this aspect of the book was great, with Johnny becoming a star due to his deformities, feeling like he belongs even though he is being exploited by leader Tiny Tot as she makes money off of his oddities. I loved the way that Mustian shows the tenuous connections that Johnny had with other members of the circus, be it Tiny Tot’s daughter Winifred, with whom he falls in love , or Sheila, who takes him under her wing and is ultimately punished for it. I also just loved the depiction of the Great Depression Era, and felt that we got a good sense for the time and place with the hardships that everyone was feeling, especially the Black people in the Jim Crow South. Though this does lead to some very difficult to deal with moments, including racism, ableism, violence, and misogyny, all of which is depicted pretty honestly here, so know that this book definitely comes with a lot of trigger warnings.

I will say, however, that there were some structural choices that took me a bit out of the book as I was reading it. For one, we had some pretty big time jumps that split the story into different parts, and some pretty big gaps in Johnny’s experiences. Given that it was implied in at least one of these time jumps there were some pretty big developments, I was a little bummed that we didn’t get to spend as much time in these segments of his life. I don’t usually need things spelled out for me TOO much when there are time jumps, but in this book I think that the character development could have been strengthened if we had delved a little bit more, especially in that time between his time at the work camp and the traveling carnival. And along with that we had a structure that would flip flop between a third person Johnny chapter, and then a first person perspective chapter of one of the players in his life during that time. I liked the Johnny chapters just fine because it felt consistent, but the first person perspectives were hit or miss, compounded by the fact that each person only got one shot at it. Had the characters all popped a bit more or felt fully fleshed out it could have worked better, but some were interesting (Elias and Winifred stood out) while others were a bit flat.

If we had stayed with the freak show for the majority or even all of the story this would have worked better for me, but that being said I really enjoyed the time and place and themes of found family and coming of age in “Boy With Wings”.

Rating 7: A bittersweet historical fiction fantasy about an outsider looking for his place in difficult times. I do wish the pacing hadn’t been as choppy as it was with the time jumps and multiple perspectives, however.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Boy With Wings” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Circus/Carnival Books”.

Kate’s Review: “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter”

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Book: “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones

Publishing Info: Saga Press, March 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: A chilling historical horror novel set in the American west in 1912 following a Lutheran priest who transcribes the life of a vampire who haunts the fields of the Blackfeet reservation looking for justice.

A diary, written in 1912 by a Lutheran pastor is discovered within a wall. What it unveils is a slow massacre, a chain of events that go back to 217 Blackfeet dead in the snow. Told in transcribed interviews by a Blackfeet named Good Stab, who shares the narrative of his peculiar life over a series of confessional visits. This is an American Indian revenge story written by one of the new masters of horror, Stephen Graham Jones.

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this novel!

The time has finally come! We have another horror novel from Stephen Graham Jones! Jones is one of my favorite authors and any of his works are automatically most anticipated on my reading list at any given time, and this time we have “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter”. Jones had tackled slasher stories, folk horror, meta commentary, werewolves, and many more, but this time he’s once again doing something new: he is taking on a historical fiction western for this tale of terror. Oh, and also vampires. I may not be as big of a western gal, but vampires? OH YES THAT IS VERY MUCH MY JAM. And with Jones at the helm I had really, really high hopes. And once again, they were basically met because Jones is a master of the genre.

First, the structure. This is an epistolary horror/historical fiction/western novel, which is a hefty endeavor, but Jones tackles it with ease. We have a few perspectives, most of which are diary entries of a Lutheran Pastor named Arthur Beaucarne, or transcripts of a ‘confession’ by a mysterious Blackfoot named Good Stab who claims to be a vampire. It’s a slow burn at first, as we find out how Good Stab was turned into a vampire, as well as his quest for vengeance against United States soldiers for the pain and suffering that it brought down upon the Blackfoot people, the community that he was from in life. It’s a bit of a mix of reliable vs unreliable with these two men as they cobble this story together, and the epistolary style makes for a more impactful device as revelations come into clarity.

Next, I want to talk about the vampire mythos in this book. I really loved what Jones did with the world building here, as not only does it have some classic vampire elements, with blood sucking, sun sensitivity, immortality, and a descent into more feral impulses when taking the vengeance that is owed. But one of the things that stood out that made this feel more unique was that Good Stab, when trying to feed, will take on the elements of whatever creature he is feeding upon. When he, in desperation, drinks from a buffalo for example he proceeds to grow two black horns in his head. I thought that was so creative and it made the vampire themes stand out.

But what really stands out is how incredibly in depth and unflinching this story is when it comes to the manifest destiny and western expansion era of the United States, and the genocidal violence that came with it when it came to the Indigenous People across the nations. When we are learning about this time period as children in this country, in general, there are a lot of framings of heroism, grit, and steadfast ambition that built this nation from sea to shining sea. I know that when I was in grade school we learned this with SOME sprinkles of the violence against Indigenous populations (in Minnesota at my prep school we did focus on the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 in sixth grade for a unit, but even then it was pretty whitewashed), but overall it was more ‘woo, Oregon Trail, pioneers!’ at the heart of it. This book forces the reader to confront the horrendous violence that the United States military and government perpetrated against Indigenous populations, with and anchor being the Marias Massacre and the trauma and loss Good Stab endured as a member of the Blackfoot people even before he became a vampire. Jones doesn’t feel a need to cushion the blow for his readers, nor should he. And its not just in the way that he portrays the horrific violence and the fallout, but also in how Good Stab’s perspective uses terms and names from his own vocabulary as opposed to Western words (a lot of this is seen in how Good Stab refers to animals), with no reference page or glossary to be found. It made for complicated reading, but it was a fantastic choice. The real life unflinching historical horrors were so, so disturbing, and it’s important that we acknowledge the real history of this country, now more than ever, and Jones doesn’t sugar coat any of it, while also making it an emotional and devastating gut punch.

“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” is harrowing and engrossing, heavy and necessary and another great horror tale from Stephen Graham Jones. I continue to be incredibly impressed and in awe of his horror storytelling prowess.

Rating 9: A dark horror western that takes on trauma, loss, and retribution against the violent colonial system that is the United States, “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” is another evocative winner from Stephen Graham Jones.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” is included on the Goodreads lists “2025 Releases by Indigenous Authors”, and “Horror Books 2025”.

Serena’s Review: “The Trouble with Anna”

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Book: “The Trouble with Anna” by Rachel Griffiths

Publishing Info: Gallery Books, March 2025

Where Did I Get this Book:

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: A tart young woman and an arrogant lord collide in this flirty, sexy, and remarkably modern historical romance, perfect for fans of Bridgerton.

Anna didn’t intend to ride in a high-stakes horse race or start up a betting ring. She certainly didn’t mean to find herself in so many darkened corners with Lord Julian Ramsay, quarreling and kissing. But when her grandfather’s strange will stipulates that Anna must marry or she’ll be left broke, there’s nothing she won’t do to win her fight for independence. Even go head-to-head with Lord Ramsay, with her own heart as the prize.

Review: It’s been awhile since I’ve delved back into the historical romance subgenre. It’s one that I have really loved at times and really struggled with at others. But this one also peaked my inner “horse girl” heart, so I thought it would be a great one to check out!

While it didn’t quite hit the way I wanted it to, there were still several strengths to be found. The author’s writing style was very approachable while also (mostly) reading as appropriate to the time period it was describing. While some of the dialogue walked right up to the line of modernity, the story was written in such a way that this sort of casual style of speaking between characters seemed to fit. It was very “Bridgerton” in this way. I often prefer books that adhere a bit more strictly to the language styles of the time, but I felt that this more casual approach worked here.

I also really enjoyed the parts of the book that focused on Anna’s love and deep knowledge of horses. Her character had a few other weak points, but she was at her best in all the scenes that had to do with her management of the horses and stables she’s hoping to protect. One of my favorite scenes was a small moment where Anna correctly comes down hard on Lord Ramsay when he undermines her authority in front of her employees. Again and again, we see that Anna knows what she’s talking about in this area, and Ramsay quickly comes to respect this about her. If things do go a bit in a wild direction as the story continued with this horse plot line, it was still fun enough to keep me reading.

I also liked the original set up between Anna and Lord Ramsay, with the use of the inheritance being tied to their marriage for reasons that neither of them understand. Unfortunately, the way that this romance played out was one of my primary struggle points (not a great thing for a romance novel!). Here, we had a good example of how hot/cold romances can go wrong. First, these two are written as uninterested in or intimidated by one another. Than they quickly fall into lust and spend several on and off page moments making out about it. Then of course there are troubles. Then more making out. Than a big rift. And of course, ultimately, the happily ever after.

Some of this is to be expected from romance (the equation with the 75% of the way through conflict before the happily every after is almost a given at this point). But I was particularly not sold on how quickly they went from strangers to making out early in the book. And, strangely, it was mostly make out scenes all around, many simply being referenced as having happened off page. Now, I don’t love books that are taken over by spice scenes typically and I definitely don’t need an incredible amount of focus on this. But this read as strangely PG, almost? Something just felt off here.

Overall, I thought this was a fun enough read, though it seemed to struggle the most in its depiction of the central couple’s romantic arc. The writing was compelling and fun, so I was able to whip through it quickly, so I think it will appeal to many readers. Especially those who are looking for less spicy options!

Rating 7: I enjoyed Anna herself quite a bit and her commitment to her horses and estate, however I struggled more with the romance, which is never great in, you know, a romance novel.

Reader’s Advisory:

“The Trouble with Anna” isn’t currently on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Must Love Horses.

Kate’s Review: “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls”

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Book: “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” by Grady Hendrix

Publishing Info: Berkley, January 2025

Where Did I Get This Book: I received an eARC from NetGalley.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.

Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who knows she’s going to go home and marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.

Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood.

In Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the author of How to Sell a Haunted House and The Final Girl Support Group delivers another searing, completely original novel and further cements his status as a “horror master” (NPR).

Review: Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

I am always so excited when Grady Hendrix has a new horror book coming out. I have enjoyed basically all of the books he has written and the way that he can create narratives with some humor, some heart, and some genuine horror moments. He always feels so genuine in his books, and I always feel like I’m on pins and needles waiting for a new one. And now it’s finally time for him to take on witches and witchcraft!!

I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. (Source)

Clearly my expectations were high, and I will say from the jump that they were a bit upended, but not in a bad way at all. This is perhaps Hendrix’s least obviously scary story, as the witchcraft is definitely present and it does have moments to shine. But at its heart “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” is less about actual witches and covens and spellcasting, and more about finding power within when powerless, and the injustices of violent misogyny towards vulnerable women.

First let’s talk about the witchcraft themes, as we all know how much I LOVE a witch story. And I mostly liked it in this one! I love the idea of a witch posing as a librarian in hopes of finding more women to empower and bring into a Coven, and I really liked the way that it shows Fern, Zinnia, Holly, and Rose find a crumb of power in their powerless situations as pregnant teenagers in an oppressive unwed mother’s home in Florida. The magical systems are interesting and the spells cast are engrossing and at times nasty, and I found the Coven led by librarian Miss Parcae to be equal parts compelling and in some ways sinister. Mostly due to Miss Parcae herself, who really felt like Agatha Harkness in the way she is grey as hell in her characterization. And of course there are themes of being careful what you wish for as four teenage girls who are desperate start to use magic they don’t really understand or comprehend. I do kind of wish that Hendrix had been a little more willing to lean more into the idea of the witchcraft even at its most destructive being a necessary wickedness in the face of the oppression and violence and harm that the teenage girls were suffering at Wellwood. I definitely understand making things less black and white and I always appreciate messy answers or difficult answers in stories, don’t get me wrong. But I think that the absolute horrors that these girls, many of them children, were enduring, as many were in real life during the times before Roe vs Wade was implemented, could have had some more vengeance thrown at them. Especially since in real life this kind of vengeance wasn’t doled out to those who deserved it nearly as much as it was in this book. And still isn’t being doled out at times.

And that brings me to the aspect of this book that I think worked the best for me, and that is the very realistic portrayal of the way unwed pregnant women and girls were treated by society during the time period, and the realistic portrayals of pregnancy and birth. And all of the horrors that come from those things. Fern, Rose, Zinnia, Holly, and all the girls at Wellwood home are dehumanized, insulted, shunned, and shamed by most of the people who work there, being implied to be whores, or stupid, or bad, with no actual reflection on their circumstances and the various steps it took to get them there (and for many of them they were victimized in various ways leading up to their pregnancies by other people, and very much so the men who impregnated them). The absolute rage I felt for all of these girls and the way they were treated was incendiary, and the horrific circumstances so many of them dealt with was just heartbreaking and horrifying. And with continued attacks on reproductive rights in this country with an uncertain future about how far that is going to go really just hits that point home in this book. On top of that we have two very different but very graphic depictions of childbirth in this book that felt very real, and didn’t hold back in the portrayals of both the clinical and unnecessary things that were done in a hospital birth, as well as the way things can go wrong in a home birth setting. If you have triggers associated with birth, and pregnancy loss, I would definitely say proceed with caution. I know some people think that birth scenes shouldn’t need trigger warnings because they are ‘natural’, but I don’t subscribe to that as it can be VERY traumatic, and this book doesn’t shy from that.

All in all, I really enjoyed “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls”. It has anger, it has magic, it has hope, and it has heart.

Rating 9: Filled with magic, friendship, and raging against sexism and misogyny that continues to seep far beyond the setting, “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” is a witchy and unrelenting story that reads like a refusal to go back to the past.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” is included on the Goodreads lists “Witches, Goddesses, or Nuns”, and “Witchy Books for Autumn”.

Book Club Review: “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. Re-visiting some of our past themes, we’re once again reading books that have had film/TV adaptations and then comparing the two mediums. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King

Publishing Info: Thorndike Press, 1982

Where Did I Get this Book: the library!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Suspenseful, mysterious, and heart-wrenching, Stephen King’s extraordinary novella, populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, tells a powerful tale of crushing despair and liberating hope through the eyes of Ellis “Red” Redding. Red’s a guy who can get you whatever you want here in Maine’s corrupt and hard-edged Shawshank State Penitentiary (for a price, of course), but the one thing he doesn’t count on is an unexpected friendship forged with fellow inmate Andy Dufresne—an inscrutable one-time banker perhaps falsely convicted of brutal, calculated murder who will go on to transform everyone’s lives within these prison walls.

What We Watched: “The Shawshank Redemption” movie

Kate’s Thoughts

When we opted to revisit our “Adaptations” theme for our Book Club, I knew that it was finally time to subject my lady pals to some Stephen King. I didn’t want to throw them into the deep end of King’s horror landscape, as I am one of the few people who really loves straight up horror in the group, but I did want to showcase his writing style. So “Rita Hayworth and Shawkshank Redemption” made the most sense to me. One, the movie is a classic, one that I’ve seen many times as it’s one of my husband’s favorites (I really love it as well). And two, it’s a great taste of King is a small package that can be easily taken on even by those who don’t particularly like horror. It was my second time reading it, and I loved it just as much this time around. I think I loved it even more than my first read.

Oh how I love this story. It’s so simple, so straightforward and matter of fact. King has such a way with creating characters who just speak to the reader, and I really adore Red’s voice and the way that the story really brings to life Shawshank, the prisoners, the horrific circumstances and systems at play, and the importance of hope in the face of hopelessness and finding your community you can find solace within. What I really love about this book is that King creates an objectively thrilling story with high stakes and lots of potential for drama and tragedy, but it flows so well and is so compelling as we learn about Andy and Red and their friendship in a quiet and calm kind of way. Yes, there are moments of terribleness, where people are lost, where people die, where lives are basically over and suffering within the walls of this terrible prison and the sociopaths who run it. But there are also moments of humor, of light, of camaraderie and joy. King finds the complexities in Red and Andy (while Andy still remains a bit of a mystery, which just adds to the compelling aspects of this novella), and really makes it so as a reader you connect with them both and hope that they make it to Zihuatanejo and away from Shawshank Prison. I think that on my first read I considered myself more a fan of the movie while still loving both. But this time around the theme of hope, and the grittiness and ambiguity of hope, really resonated with me. I now think I like book and film the same.

“Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” is a fantastic story. A masterpiece from Stephen King.

Serena’s Thoughts

I’m probably the stereotypical reader of this book, in that I had watched the movie years ago but never got around to reading the actual novella until now. That said, I’ve really enjoyed all the Stephen King books I’ve read (I leave his true horror books to Kate and just skim along through the more thriller/fantasy stuff) so I had high hopes going in. And I wasn’t wrong! I absolutely loved this book!

For being such a short book, it’s impressive just how much is fit into this small number of pages. Not only do we have the actual prison break itself, but the story also thoroughly explores the horrors of the prison system, its inner workings and societies, and how, even over decades and decades, much of this remains unchanged. On top of that, the story follows two incredible characters. First, the narrator, Red. And then, through his eyes, we meet Andy. It obviously all comes down to Red’s voice, as had that not connected with readers, the entire book wouldn’t have worked. Through him, we get a window into the lives of these inmates. He’s both empathetic of the horrors, but also incredibly straight-forward and frank about the realities of simply going on in the face of it all. We also come to understand the biggest challenge of prison life: maintaining any sense of hope in a hopeless place.

What stood out for me between the book and the movie (though there were many things, and I can’t get to them all here) was the depiction of Andy. I think the character worked incredibly well in the movie, but after reading the book, I can also see how Andy was given the “Hollywood treatment.” The book version is actually even more compelling, giving us a glimpse of an incredibly smart, complex, and unique man. While the Andy of the movie had some of your typical “movie magic” hero moments, the Andy of the book shone more in his steadfast unknowability. Even Red, his best friend, admits to feeling as if he only ever scratched the surface of what’s going on in Andy’s head. And by the end of the book, the reader feels the same way.

This was an excellent book! If you’ve watched and enjoyed the movie, I definitely recommend giving this one a go! It’s a short read that you can finish up in one sit-down and is well worth the time its given.

Kate’s Rating 9 : Even better the second time around. This book is filled with heart, tragedy, and hope, and it really shines, showing off King’s skills as a writer across multiple genres.

Serena’s Rating 9: A whopper of a punch packed in such a small book, exploring the horrors of prison life and the perseverance of the human spirit.

Book Club Questions:

  1. What were your thoughts about the book being about Andy, but being from Red’s perspective? How do you think it would have been different had it been from Andy’s?
  2. We find out from the first pages that a lot of these characters (outside of Andy) are very much guilty of the crimes they committed. Did that affect the narrative and how you felt about them as characters?
  3. What did you think King was saying about atonement and imprisonment within the walls of Shawshank? About isolation and community? Grudging acceptance of abuse and resistance?
  4. Zihuatanejo is the end goal for Andy after he leaves Shawshankl and becomes a place that Andy and Red hope to meet up in someday. What do you think Zihuatanejo symbolizes for these two men?
  5. The movie and the book have some clear differences. What were some that really stood out to you? Did you find any preferable over the other?
  6. In the book our narrator Red is a white man of Irish descent, but in the film he is played by Morgan Freeman, a Black man. How do you think changing his race changes the context of the character of Red?
  7. In the movie it’s clear that Red made it to Zihuatanejo and was reunited with Andy, but in the book King opts to leave it open ended whether he makes it to the beach to see his friend. Why do you think King wanted to make it more ambiguous?

Reader’s Advisory

“Rita Hayworth and Shashank Redemption” can be found on these Goodreads lists: World’s Greatest Novellas and I Only Watched the Movie!

Next Book Club Pick: “Delicious in Dungeon” Vols. 1 & 2

Kate’s Review: “Mr. Jones’s Smoking Bones”

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Book: “Mr. Jones’s Smoking Bones” by Iqbal Ali & Priscilla Grippa (Ill.)

Publishing Info: Iqbal A. Comics, March 2023

Where Did I Get This Book: I received digital copies from the publicist.

Where You Can Get This Book: Amazon | Shopify

Book Description: Barzakh, an Indian man with a grudge against the British Empire, travels to London seeking drugs to alleviate the pain of losing his friend Elisa and to fulfill a personal quest. However, he becomes embroiled in a mystery surrounding the death of a notable gentleman, supposedly caused by a smoking skeleton.

Review: Thank you to Iqbal Ali for sending me digital copies of this comic series!

I’m always really eager to read books and stories about the obsessive way that the Victorians focused on occultism and the mystic sides of death and ghosts. It’s just a topic that has fascinated me for a long time, and the Victorians were so hardcore and weird about it that it adds a whole new layer to the already spookiness of death, ghosts, and hauntings. But it’s rare that I am presented with a tale that turns that on its head and makes it even more compelling, so when I was offered to read Iqbal Ali’s comic series “Mr. Jones’s Smoking Bones” and it did, indeed, have a more interesting hook beyond the usual ‘Victorian Brits love a good séance!’, I was very, very interested to check it out. While Volume One is the most accessible volume of the series, they were kind enough to send much of the storyline as it stands now, and oh wow. It was really, really fun and as unique as I had hoped it would be.

The main setting is Victorian London, where occultism is incredibly popular, the British Empire in India is thriving even as the East India Company is falling away, and India native Barzahk has resentfully arrived in London in the shadow of a personal matter involving his friend Elisa. Elisa, who has recently been murdered and had been a member of a powerful secret society that experimented with traveling to other planes known as The Aether. It’s a mouthful, and it’s only the beginning. I love the occult and mysticism angle, as this stuff was SUPER popular during this time period in England, and Ali uses it really well to craft a creepy horror mystery with wandering ghosts, secret societies, and a mysterious smoking skeleton who has a deadly connection to Elisa and her death. As Barzahk is reluctantly pulled into investigating the deaths of powerful British men connected to Elisa, the Crown, and secret societies, we find lots of classic occult horror moments with a compelling narrative and mystery at its heart. I also really loved that it turns this kind of story on its head, with an Indian man as the protagonist when so many other Victorian occult stories are very western centric. I also loved the flashbacks to Barzahk’s work with Elisa back in India, as we get to see moments involving the horrors of the Raj and the English rule in India and how it affects Barzahk and his community.

And jumping off of that, what I liked the most about this series is the underlying theme on the British Empire in India and the way that the horrors of colonialism rained terrors onto India and its people. Barzahk is our protagonist whose resentment towards England is wholly understandable, and Ali isn’t shy about showing the violence and corruption perpetuated by the Crown as well as The East India Company. I also LOVED the fact that at the end of every issue we get a really comprehensive but easy to digest historical note about Imperial Britain and its relationship with India during the Victorian Era (as well as other pertinent facts like the occult and other facets of British society). I have a vague knowledge of some of the finer details of these things, as I’ve read a fair number of books that tackle themes like this, but I really loved the way that Ali would pull out the historical details as related to the story and highlight them. I felt like I learned a lot about the history and the context, and was able to see how this history informed the story in both broad ways as well as minute ones. As someone who used to work in a history setting with a specific focus on the Victorian Era (mostly in the U.S., but we did address the influence of England on American society as well), I live for these kinds of tidbits and lessons from the past and how it still resonates today.

And finally I quite enjoyed the artwork by Priscilla Grippa. It’s fairly realistic in design, but also has some really creepy depictions of the aether and the ghostly beings that haunt Barzahk as the story goes on.

(Souce: Iqbal A Comics)

Overall I enjoyed “Mr. Jones’s Smoking Bones”. It’s resonant of classic throwback historical comics with an occult twist, but takes it a few steps further to make it all the more unique and all the more unsettling. If you can get it, I highly recommend you do!

Rating 8: A creepy and rich historical horror story that tackles ghosts, trauma, and the evils of colonialism.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Mr. Jones’s Smoking Bones” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but if you enjoy historical dark fiction/fantasy by by Alan Moore like “From Hell” or “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” this would be a good fit.

Kate’s Review: “Earthdivers (Vol. 3): 1776”

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Book: “Earthdivers (Vol.3): 1776” by Stephen Graham Jones & Davide Gianfelice (Ill.)

Publishing Info: IDW Publishing, December 2024

Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.

Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound

Book Description: Join or die! New York Times best-selling author Stephen Graham Jones and artist Davide Gianfelice are back in action for the next chapter of their heart-pounding historical sci-fi slasher Earthdivers!

A team of time-traveling Indigenous survivors had one goal: save the world from an American apocalypse by sending one of their own on a suicide trip to kill Christopher Columbus and course-correct world history.

Mission accomplished? Maybe not. Blood is still soaking into the sands of San Salvador as Tad’s friends suffer the consequences of his actions—and their own slippery moral rationalizations—620 years in the future. Faced with a choice to watch the world crumble or double down on their cause, the path is clear for Seminole two-spirit Emily: it’s personal now, and there’s no better time and place to take another stab at America than Philadelphia, 1776.

But where violence just failed them, she has a new plan: pass as a man, infiltrate the Founding Fathers, and use only wit and words to carve out a better future in the Declaration of Independence. No need to cut throats this time…right?

The next chapter of the critically acclaimed sci-fi epic is here in Earthdivers Vol. 3. Collects Earthdivers #11–16.

Review: So I didn’t realize that “Earthdivers: 1776” was going to be the last volume in the “Earthdivers” series until I was reading it and it kind of clicked for me. And while I’m sad that this intense and always creative historical fiction/Science-Fiction series has come to an end, I’m pretty thrilled that Stephen Graham Jones got to see his vision through and bring this story to life. When we left off in “Ice Age”, Tawny had gone back to, well, the Ice Age, and we hadn’t seen what had become of Emily, who had disappeared into the cave at the end if “Kill Columbus”. Well for those who were wondering about her, I have great news! It is finally her time!

Given how much I enjoyed Emily in the past volumes, I was very much looking forward to her story in 1776 as she tries to take on rewriting history by infiltrating the Founding Fathers on the dawn of the Declaration of Independence. I also thought that her approach was an interesting contrast to those of Tad and Yellow Kid and his theorizing, and really matched up with how her character was portrayed in the first volume when we got to know her the most. Jones takes this arc to explore the hypocrisies of the Founding Fathers of this country as they interact with a disguised Emily and treat her as less than due to her skin, as well as exploring the nuances of Benjamin Franklin when he becomes an ally to her on her mission. I really enjoyed their back and forth, and the way that this storyline plays out made a lot of sense and really paid off. But we also had another aspect of the time travel system suddenly become apparent in this final volume, as previous travelers start falling from the sky in the 2100s storyline, their dead bodies being returned to their time after their deaths in the past. This was such a shocking twist and development, and it really added to the overall Sci-Fi system.

I do kind of feel like the ending was really sped up. Maybe sped up isn’t the right phrasing, but while we got some pretty in depth explorations of the Columbus storyline, the Ice Age storyline, and the 1776 storyline, I thought that the final arc, with Yellow Kid and Sosh, while incredibly powerful, was a bit less in depth. But that said, I didn’t feel like that took away from their story, as the two of them find themselves in two separate times, with Sosh specifically in a potentially neverending timeloop at Wounded Knee and being killed over and over again, only to come back. The chaos and the endless violence she is subjected to is unrelenting, and it’s a bleak but evocative commentary on how Indigenous people have to keep on fighting for their lives against colonial violence. Yellow Kid’s story was a bit less clear to me, but Sosh’s was so well done I wasn’t as bothered by it.

Overall, I thought that “Earthdivers: 1776” was a satisfying end to an incredibly creative and engaging Sci-Fi series. Stephen Graham Jones continues to bring us very enjoyable and engaging genre fiction.

Rating 8: A solid and satisfying end to a historical fiction time travel epic.

Reader’s Advisory:

“Earthdivers: 1776” isn’t on any Goodreads lists as of now, but it would fit in on “Time Travel Fiction”.

Book Club Review: “The Familiar”

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We are part of a group of librarian friends who have had an ongoing book club running for the last several years. Each “season” (we’re nerds) we pick a theme and each of us chooses a book within that theme for us all to read. This June we celebrated our 10 year anniversary of book club. So in celebration of that milestone, we are re-visiting authors we read way back in those first few years of our book club. For this blog, we will post a joint review of each book we read for book club. We’ll also post the next book coming up in book club. So feel free to read along with us or use our book selections and questions in your own book club!

Book: “The Familiar” by Leigh Bardugo

Publishing Info: Flatiron Books, April 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Edelweiss+

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to better the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the bored nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the line between magic, science, and fraud is never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santangel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

Repeat Author: Leigh Bardugo

Kate’s Thoughts

As someone who really has enjoyed Leigh Bardugo’s works I was very excited to read “The Familiar”. For one, it’s another adult book by her, and I absolutely loved “Ninth House” and still need to read “Hell Bent” (gahhhh it’s been so long since it came out!). I actually read it last summer while we were in San Diego, but was more than happy to save up my opinions for Book Club (as I knew around the time I was reading it that Serena was going to pick it). And like “Ninth House”, I quite enjoyed it.

For one I really loved the time period and place, as I don’t really have much working knowledge of The Spanish Inquisition outside of a short unit we did on it in high school, and that was so long ago that my memory of it was fading. But I really enjoyed how Bardugo captured the time, the fear, and the desperation of Luzia to hide herself, until she realized that her powers could actually be something that would show her power, which then fed into her ambition. I also really liked the magical system, because it was complex enough to feel unique, but not so much that it would alter history to make it unrecognizable and unrealistic to be within our world. And finally, I really enjoyed the themes of what makes these kinds of powers ‘miracles’ vs ‘witchcraft/Satanic’, and how those definitions are really more about who gets to decide these things and the motives for how these labels are placed.

“The Familiar” is a grim yet gorgeous work of historical fantasy. Bardugo is such a talent.

Serena’s Thoughts

I’ve already written a raving review for this book, so my thoughts won’t be anything new! That said, in reading it again now six months later, a few things did stand out to me. In particular, I continue to be impressed by how well Bardugo balanced a number of different genres, all with their own typical tropes and plot points. We have the intricate and specific details of historical fiction. The whimsy and tendency towards surprising solutions to complicated problems found in fantasy fiction. And the drama and slow-build of romance. Each was done well and none out-shone the others.

The side characters also stood out more for me in this read. I remember reading this the first time and expecting Valentina, in particular, to only be used as an introduction point to Luzia and her story. But this time, knowing the greater roles that some of these side characters play, I was better able to appreciate the care that went into crafting these sub-plots. While both Valentina and Haulit have much less page time than Luzia, they each still offered unique windows into the lives of women during this time period (much of which seems as if it would be fairly accurate, regardless of the addition of magic).

I also remain impressed that for a story that can be incredibly dark at times, that Bardugo managed to wrap it up in a satisfying way, with a happy-ish ending for our main couple. What’s more, she did this without resorting to deus ex machina magical solutions. Yes, magic was involved, but it was the sort that had been thoroughly explored before and was simply used in an unexpected and creative way.

So, yeah, I still really loved this book! Given its blending of many genres, I also think its the sort of book that will appeal to many readers and will definitely be recommending it this holiday season!

Kate’s Rating 9: An awe inspiring and at times grim historical fantasy, another triumph from Leigh Bardugo!

Serena’s Rating 10: Still just as great as last time!

Book Club Questions:

  1. This story blends fantasy with historical fiction. How well did it manage this balance? Particuarly, what did you know about Antonia Perez and the Spanish Inquisition before reading this and how well do you think these historical events were woven into the story?
  2. As for the fantasy aspects, what did you make of the magic that makes up this world? Particularly the distinctions made between accecptable magic and the sort that leads to heresy and witch burnings?
  3. What did you make of the love story and particularly Santangel? Do you think Santángel was a good man? Do you think she loves him because he’s good in some respects, or in spite of it?
  4. We are introduced to several different women who have approached the challenges they’ve faced in different manners: Valentina, Haulit, and Luzia herself. What stood out to you about these three, particular Valentina and Haulit?
  5. Much of Luzia’s inner life deals with her thoughts regarding ambition versus invisibility. Various other characters gave her their own thoughts on these topics. How do you think ambition and invisibility played a role in Luzia’s choices and perhaps also Santangel’s?
  6. Luzia’s Jewish heritage and religious persecution play a major role in the story. Did anything stand out to you with this theme?

Reader’s Advisory

“The Familiar” can be found on these Goodreads lists: Jewish Fantasy Genre and Historical Fiction With a Dash of Magic.

Next Book Club Pick: “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King

Serena’s Review: “Murder in Highbury”

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Book: “Murder in Highbury” by Vanessa Kelly

Publishing Info: Kensington, October 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from ALA!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Less than one year into her marriage to respected magistrate George Knightley, Emma has grown unusually content in her newfound partnership and refreshed sense of independence. The height of summer sees the former Miss Woodhouse gracefully balancing the meticulous management of her elegant family estate and a flurry of social engagements, with few worries apart from her beloved father’s health . . .   

But cheery circumstances change in an instant when Emma and Harriet Martin, now the wife of one of Mr. Knightley’s tenant farmers, discover a hideous shock at the local church. The corpse of Mrs. Augusta Elton, the vicar’s wife, has been discarded on the altar steps—the ornate necklace she often wore stripped from her neck . . .   

As a chilling murder mystery blooms and chaos descends upon the tranquil village of Highbury, the question isn’t simply who committed the crime, but who wasn’t secretly wishing for the unpleasant woman’s demise. When suspicions suddenly fall on a harmless local, Emma—armed with wit, unwavering determination, and extensive social connections—realizes she must discreetly navigate an investigation of her own to protect the innocent and expose the ruthless culprit hiding in plain sight.

Review: I’m always so nervous when a new Jane Austen re-imaging comes out! Of course, I know I will have to read it, but there is so much potential for failure. Austen’s characters are so classic, her tales so iconic, and her style of writing so specific, that it’s very hard for modern authors to properly capture the certain “je ne sais quoi” of the entire endeavor. I’ve read many failures over the years. At the same time, there have been some true gems as well! So, with much trepidation, I nabbed a copy of this while at ALA over the summer!

Well, before we get into details, I’m pleased to report that this one falls solidly in the “great” category as far as Austen re-tellings go! It does an excellent job of not only recreating the basic essence of the main characters that make up “Emma,” but it also does not fall into the trap of too much fan service. Instead, there is a solid and unique mystery at its heart that holds up well, even without the Austen setting and references!

I’ll get to the mystery in a bit, but first off, the primary concern going into any “Emma” variation is how well the author manages to capture the titular character herself! Emma is one of the most beloved of Austen’s heroines (I imagine much to Austen’s surprise as she is well-known for questioning whether any reader would love this heroine as much as she did), but she is also notoriously difficult to get right. She’s smart, confident, and fiercely defensive of those she loves. But at the same time, she can be thoughtless, impulsive, and quick-tongued.

Here, the author made the wise decision to set the story after the events of the original book. Not only does this allow the story to read fully as its own, but it also allows the author to benefit from the growth that Emma went through in her story. Here, she is a happily married woman. So while many of her traits are the same, they are also tempered with the experience that comes with the lessons she originally learned. Like the original, this character was a blast to follow throughout the story. Her nosiness and enjoyment of theorizing about the lives of others pair perfectly with a would-be amateur sleuth. I particularly enjoyed her growing distain for the men in charge of solving the mystery.

I also really liked the romance between her and Knightley. Obviously, all Jane Austen novels devote very little time to the characters after the love confession or marriage, so one of the primary points of interest in books like this one is getting a sneak peak at what the couple could be like afterwards. And I really like what we got here! Knightley’s loving bewilderment for his wife comes through strongly, as well as Emma’s respect for her husband, even if she often disregards his advice. It’s all very wholesome and works perfectly for the sorts of characters we know these two to be.

As for the mystery itself, I thought it was pretty good. There were a decent number of red herrings, and, as I mentioned earlier, I liked a few of the original characters who were brought into to deal with solving the murder. That said, it did become fairly obvious rather early on who was behind it all and even their motivations. But that still didn’t reduce my enjoyment, as I was happy to just exist in this world and follow Emma along through all of her exploits.

I thought this was a romp of a time and I couldn’t be more pleased to now have two series (I believe this is the first in a series) of Jane Austen mysteries that are managing to capture the spirit of the originals so well! I think most Austen fans will be likewise charmed by this tale!

Rating 8: Who knew that Emma would make an extraordinary sleuth? Besides, herself, of course! A wonderful historical mystery that is sure to please Janeites everywhere!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Murder in Highbury” isn’t on any relevant Goodreads lists, but it should be on Jane Austen Mysteries.

Serena’s Review: “Tomb of the Sun King”

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Book: “Tomb of the Sun King” by Jacquelyn Benson

Publishing Info: Crimson Fox Publishing, October 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: Netgalley!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Archivist and suffragette Ellie Mallory always dreamed of putting her scholarly skills to work in the ancient sands of Egypt. She never imagined she would be doing so in order to save an object of legendary power from a batch of ruthless villains. Racing baddies to an arcanum of Biblical proportions is only one of Ellie’s problems. Her hopelessly academic and perpetually mortified step-brother, Dr. Neil Fairfax, is about to learn that she’s been gallivanting around the globe with his danger-magnet best friend, Adam Bates—the roguish surveyor for whom Ellie harbors increasingly complicated feelings. Add the petite and terrifyingly fearless Constance Tyrrell to the mix, and Ellie either has a crack team of artifact-saving experts to hand… or a recipe for disaster. Together, they’ll need to follow a trail of three-thousand-year-old clues from the necropolis of Saqqara to the temples of Luxor and beyond, where the ruined capital of a heretic pharaoh hides a secret with the potential to upend history. To keep an earth-shattering magic from falling into the wrong hands, Ellie will need to pull out all the stops—even if that means resorting to fisticuffs, ignoring proper archaeological processes… and facing a terrible choice between doing what she knows is right or breaking her own heart.

Previously Reviewed: “Empire of Shadows”

Review: I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was super excited when I realize that the second one was slated to be released only a few months later! While I love fantasy and romantasy, I do feel like I’ve been running into more and more books recently that feel like carbon copies of one another with a rather paint-by-numbers approach to characterization and plot. In this way, this historical adventure series has felt like a breath of fresh air!

While I remember comparing the first book to the 90s movie “The Mummy,” I have to say that this one really leaned into that vibe by relocating our characters to Egypt itself. And, of course, curses and other such hijinks immediately ensued! Like the first book, I enjoyed the detailed work that went into some of the historical and cultural aspects of the story. While Egyptian history and mythology is more widely taught here in the U.S., than the ancient cultures of South America that were explored in the first book, there is always still room to explore just how pernicious much of the early archeology that took place there truly was. It wasn’t the primary focus, but the story did a good job of highlighting just how corrupt much of the process became, straying far from scientific and educational purposes.

However, at its heart, this book was full of adventure and the continued build of the slow-burn romance between the two main characters. One of my criticisms of the first book was the pacing of the story, especially in the first quarter. Here, the book is better served for having our two main characters already travelling together, allowing the story to set off at a break neck pace and never really let up!

Ellie and Adam also continued to be excellent main characters, and their developing love story is just as sweet in this second go-around. As they are both fairly stable characters, as far as it goes, I was pleased to see the book introduce a few side characters, namely Ellie’s friend Constance and her brother (and Adam’s friend) Neil. While Ellie and Adam are the foundational core of the story, these two additional characters added a bit more zing to the affair. For their part, the villains remained fairly one-dimensional and straight-forward, but I think this choice worked in conjunction with the overall tone of lighthearted adventure that makes up this book.

There were a few word choices that began to bother me as I read, however, feeling a bit too modern for the book. While I know the word “guy” was around at this time, it began to feel overused and a bit anachronistic at times. I don’t know for sure, but from reading other books written around this time period, I just don’t think it was used nearly as casually or as often as we see it in the modern time. Perhaps I just got hyper fixated on it, but I couldn’t stop noticing how often men were being described as “that guy over there” and the like.

Overall, however, I really enjoyed this book! Everything that I enjoyed from the first book was back again here, and I think the story settled into its pacing a bit better this go around. Fans of the first book should definitely check this one out. And if you’re in the mood for a read that feels unique from much of what is currently being produced, definitely give this one a go!

Rating 8: In many ways, Ellie Mallory feels like Amelia Peabody’s natural successor, and I’m living for it!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Tomb of the Sun King” isn’t on any Goodreads lists, but it should be on Popular Indiana Jones Esque Books.