Tag: Lists

Serena’s Favorite Reads of 2022: Picks 10-6

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Another a year, another almost impossible task trying to each choose our Top 10 Reads of the year! For me, the word “favorite” is an important part of this list. As I go through the last year’s worth of reading, I often found that some books would strike particular chords within me more deeply than others, even if, quality-wise, another book might be stronger. Of course, this just makes it all that much harder to put them in any order. But here it goes! Today I’m going to countdown my favorites reads, ten to six. And since it’s the end of the reading year, don’t forget to enter our “12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!”

10. “The Bird and the Sword” by Amy Harmon

“The Bird and the Sword” Review

Amy Harmon is one of my best new finds as far as authors go this year. She and T. Kingfisher probably share the distinction (you’ll see the latter on this Top 10 list as well!). That being the case, I read and reviewed several of her books this year, greatly enjoying them all. But this was the one I chose for this list as I think it was my most enjoyed read of the lot. Harmon is definitely an author who mixes weighty topics alongside her more fantastical, and I think this one struck the perfect balance. There was romance, there was magic, there was fortitude in the face of grim odds. It’s just a solid, stand-alone fantasy novel. There’s a second book set in this same world that I’ve been holding on to for a rainy day. We’ll see if that one shows up on next year’s list!

9. “The Murder of Mr. Wickham” by Claudia Gray

“The Murder of Mr. Wickham” Review

I was approached about participating in a blog tour for this book, and man, am I glad I did! While we all know that Jane Austen fans can fall on the more snobby side when it comes to adaptations of their beloved originals, as one of said snobs, I’m not above admitting when someone has done a fantastic job! Gray not only creates two solid original characters, but somehow manages to represent every single Austen hero and heroine to near perfection, even zeroing in on some relationship dynamics that were only barely hinted at in the originals. Truly, it’s an impressive feat. There are also numerous Easter eggs for Austen fans who really know their stuff.

8. “Half a Soul” by Olivia Atwater

“Half a Soul” Review

I love fairytales and I love historical fiction. So of course I’m going to love a combination of the two! Especially when the fairytale is an original story featuring a young lady who has, shocking!, half a soul! And while much of the story is light-hearted and romantic, Atwater also focuses in on some of the social struggles going on during this period of history. I went on to read two other books by Atwater over the summer, each of which I enjoyed in their own right. But this first one still sticks with me as the best of the three. Fans of historical fantasy should check out all three, but this one most of all! I’m giving away an ARC version of this one in our “12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!”

7. “Eversion” by Alistair Reynolds

“Eversion” Review

While I definitely read a lot more fantasy fiction than science fiction, it seems that every year I read a book that slaps me around the side of the head reminding me that I really should check out more science fiction. This year, that book was “Eversion.” Reynolds is known as a pretty great science fiction author, but I hadn’t gotten around to reading one of his books until Orbit sent me an ARC of this one. And it was so great! I really don’t want to say much about it at all, because I think it’s one of those books that’s best read completely unknown. There are so many layers of secrets upon secrets and reveals upon reveals, that you’ll be glued to the page from start to finish! I’m also giving away an ARC version of this one in our “12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!”

6. “Spells for Forgetting” by Adrienne Young

“Spells for Forgetting” Review

It’s well known on this blog that I’m a big fan of Adrienne Young. I’ve read a good number of her books, and I don’t think I’ve given a poor grade to any of her stuff. So I was intrigued to see her coming out with an adult contemporary fantasy. Contemporary fantasy can be very hit and miss for me, but in the hands of Young, I should never have feared. Put together a small town romance, a cold case murder of a teenage girl, and magic very akin to the sort found in “Practical Magic,” and you have yourself a winner and a place on this list!

So that’s ten through six. Next time I will give a countdown of my top five. What have been some of your favorite reads of 2022?

Kate’s Favorite Reads of 2022: Picks 10-6

Another a year, another almost impossible task trying to each choose our Top 10 Reads of the year! Like past years I won’t be including re-reads, sometimes my opinion of a book could change and evolve after I had read it, so some surprises may be up near the top, as well as perhaps a book or two that didn’t make my reviews on here initially due to genre limitations. But here they are, ready for a countdown! And since it’s the end of the reading year, don’t forget to enter our “Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway”! Today I’m going to countdown my favorite reads, ten to six. 

10. “In Every Generation” by Kendare Blake

“In Every Generation” Review

As I mentioned in this review, 2022 was a bit of a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” nostalgia trip for me, and it ended on the highest note with this new series by Kendare Blake. Buffy Summers was such a formative character for me in high school, but my very selective preferences and opinions regarding characters (and the asshole creator) made revisiting the original content a bit sour. So seeing Blake be able to create a new set of characters to make her own, while bringing in well loved characters from the original series (including my beloved Spike), was a true joy. We are now following Willow’s daughter Frankie as she comes into her own as the first Slayer-Witch, and seeing her come into her power as well as find her own group of Scoobies to help her. It was such a fun and nostalgic read!

9. “Kismet” by Amina Akhtar

“Kismet” Review

I found this book to be such a fun and addictive read this year! Whether it’s the biting satire of the wellness industry to the creepy cultl ike aspects to the incisive look at covert and overt racism in the wellness movement, “Kismet” is both suspenseful and at times very humorous. A young woman decides to leave her home with her abusive aunt in favor of moving to Arizona with her wellness mentor and closest friend. But when she gets there, people in the small community start dying strange and violent deaths. I do love some good satire, and this book has that and more. I was so praising of it my Aunt actually picked it up, and she too really, really enjoyed it. Just a fun thriller all around.

8. “Ghost Eaters” by Clay McLeod Chapman

“Ghost Eaters” Review

Scary ghost imagery fans, look no further. The first full horror title on this list was read in a purposely darkened hotel room by a crashing Lake Superior, and the ambiance was on point. After her ex boyfriend dies (shortly after she set a boundary in regards to helping him escape rehab), Erin is plagued with guilt. So when she hears of a drug called Ghost that can supposedly let people see the dead, she takes it in hopes of closure. Instead, Erin is seeing ghosts everywhere, and when they start seeking her out, her life starts to fall apart. This is both a scary ghost story, but also a deeply upsetting story about guilt, trauma, and addiction. And it really, really got under my skin.

7. “Goddess of Filth” by V. Castro

“Goddess of Filth” Review

Witches continue to be my jam, horror sub genre wise, and I have really enjoyed V. Castro’s stories that center on the Latina experience. So obviously combined that makes for a kick ass, feminist witch story that ALSO decolonizes Western ideas of possession and demons. After a spell leads to the possession of their friend Fernanda, a group of teenage wannabe witches decide that they have to help their friend. But as they observe Fernanda’s behavior while possessed, they start to realize that perhaps this ‘demon’ isn’t the invasive and evil thing that their community and religion has made it out to be. Feminist, unique, anti-Imperialist, “Goddess of Filth” is a creepy and empowering novella.

6. “The Hacienda” by Isabel Cañas

“The Hacienda” Review

Gothic horror stories are absolutely perfect for the winter months, and one of my favorites of 2022 was “The Hacienda” by Isabel Cañas. It doesn’t matter that this one takes place in a warmer area, it will still send chills down your spine! Beatriz has married a local hacendado named Rodolfo, not because she loves him but because the marriage can bolster her and her mother’s safety during turbulent political upheaval. But when she gets to his hacienda, it’s clear that there is a VERY angry ghost still lurking on the property, and she has to turn to a local priest/secretly practicing witch to try and cleanse the house of the spirit. Much like “Goddess of Filth”, “The Hacienda” also has themes about colonization and Imperial violence, and it also has a very scary ghost story at its heart that will be sure to keep people up at night. I really, really loved it.

So that’s ten through six. Next time I will give a countdown of my top five. What have been some of your favorite reads of 2022?

Another Take: Fall 2022

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Don’t just take it from us, other readers like these books, too! And we have decided that we would like to showcase other reviewers and bloggers that have their own thoughts and feelings about books that we have loved. Here are a few of the books we’ve enjoyed recently and what other bloggers have to say about them.

“Eversion” by Alastair Reynolds

From the master of the space opera, Alastair Reynolds, comes a dark, mind-bending SF adventure spread across time and space, Doctor Silas Coade has been tasked with keeping his crew safe as they adventure across the galaxy in search of a mysterious artifact, but as things keep going wrong, Silas soon realizes that something more sinister is at work, and this may not even be the first time it’s happened.

In the 1800s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it’s up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

Ancillary Review of Books

The Quill to Live

SciFi Mind

“Spells for Forgetting” by Adrienne Young

A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love.

Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings.

But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery.

The town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

Grim Dark Magazine (5 Stars)

Caffeinated Reviewer (4 Stars)

These Lyrics and Lines (5 Stars)

“Poster Girl” by Veronica Roth

WHAT’S RIGHT IS RIGHT.

Sonya Kantor knows this slogan–she lived by it for most of her life. For decades, everyone in the Seattle-Portland megalopolis lived under it, as well as constant surveillance in the form of the Insight, an ocular implant that tracked every word and every action, rewarding or punishing by a rigid moral code set forth by the Delegation.

Then there was a revolution. The Delegation fell. Its most valuable members were locked in the Aperture, a prison on the outskirts of the city. And everyone else, now free from the Insight’s monitoring, went on with their lives.

Sonya, former poster girl for the Delegation, has been imprisoned for ten years when an old enemy comes to her with a deal: find a missing girl who was stolen from her parents by the old regime, and earn her freedom. The path Sonya takes to find the child will lead her through an unfamiliar, crooked post-Delegation world where she finds herself digging deeper into the past–and her family’s dark secrets–than she ever wanted to.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

Tor

Utopia State of Mind

Kirkus

Book: “House of Hunger” by Alexis Henderson

Book Description: Marion Shaw has been raised in the slums, where want and deprivation is all she knows. Despite longing to leave the city and its miseries, she has no real hope of escape until the day she spots a peculiar listing in the newspaper, seeking a bloodmaid.

Though she knows little about the far north–where wealthy nobles live in luxury and drink the blood of those in their service–Marion applies to the position. In a matter of days, she finds herself the newest bloodmaid at the notorious House of Hunger. There, Marion is swept into a world of dark debauchery–and at the center of it all is her.

Countess Lisavet, who presides over this hedonistic court, is loved and feared in equal measure. She takes a special interest in Marion. Lisavet is magnetic, and Marion is eager to please her new mistress. But when her fellow bloodmaids begin to go missing in the night, Marion is thrust into a vicious game of cat and mouse. She’ll need to learn the rules of her new home–and fast–or its halls will soon become her grave.

Kate’s Review (Rating 10)

Books, Bones, & Buffy Review (3.5/4 Stars)

Utopia State of Mind

Carole’s Random Life (4 Stars)

Book: “Such Sharp Teeth” by Rachel Harrison

Book Description: Rory Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby’s father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she’d put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked.

Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She’s unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver–and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She’s changing into someone else–something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she’s putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?

This darkly comedic love story is a brilliantly layered portrait of trauma, rage, and vulnerability.

Kate’s Review (Rating 8)

The Reading Cafe

The BiblioSanctum (4.5/5 Stars)

Cats Luv Coffee

Book: “Ghost Eaters” by Clay McLeod Chapman

Book Description: Erin hasn’t been able to set a single boundary with her charismatic but reckless college ex-boyfriend, Silas. When he asks her to bail him out of rehab—again—she knows she needs to cut him off. But days after he gets out, Silas turns up dead of an overdose in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia, and Erin’s world falls apart.

Then a friend tells her about Ghost, a new drug that allows users to see the dead. Wanna get haunted? he asks. Grieving and desperate for closure with Silas, Erin agrees to a pill-popping “séance.” But the drug has unfathomable side effects—and once you take it, you can never go back.

Kate’s Review (9 Rating)

Jenn’s Bookshelves

Ginger Nuts of Horror

Books, Bones, & Buffy (4.5/5 Stars)

Highlights: November 2022

Kate weeps for the end of the Halloween Season, but now we are in November and we are barreling forward towards the winter holidays, where food and family rule and the cold weather in Minnesota starts to close in. Snow is pretty, but snow is also cold. Hopefully we still have some time to wait, and while we do we have some books that we are looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “Saint” by Adrienne Young

Publication Date: November 29, 2022

Why I’m Interested: I don’t know if I can properly express just how much I hate this cover. Honestly, if I didn’t know that Adrienne Young is an established author with a good number of well-received books under her belt already, I’d glance at this and think it was one of more poorly designed self-published books I’ve seen. That aside, however….this is the prequel to the “Fable” duology and tells the story of her famous father, Saint, and of her mother, a woman who died before Fable’s own story began. I’m really excited to see the love story play out between these two characters. Though I’m a bit hesitant, as it’s always kind of a bummer to read about character who you know are going to hit up against tragedy hard in their future.

Book: “Raven Unveiled” by Grace Draven

Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Grace Draven is another author whom I’ve really enjoyed reading. I’ve gone through a lot of her back catalog over the years, but it has been especially fun reading her “Fallen Empire” trilogy as it’s come out. We’ve seen a lot familiar romantic pairing tropes covered and covered well. And like the first book, this romance is one of my favorites: enemies to lovers! It also features two characters who were introduced in the second book (to varying extents between them) and whose conflict was built into that book. After meeting them there, I was primed with excitement to see how their story would play out here, with Gharek, the late Queen’s “fixer” essentially, chasing after Siora, the woman who used to care for his daughter but whom he now sees as the person who betrayed them. Can’t wait to check this one out!

Book: “Tread of Angels” by Rebecca Roanhorse

Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Why I’m Interested: I’ve really been enjoying this author’s “Between Earthand Sky” series, so she’s become kind of a no-brainer for lists like this. She comes out with a new book? It’ll probably end up here. But this novella also sounds particularly interesting, following the story of a young woman setting out to try and save her sister who is accused of murder. Add in fallen angels, demons, and a strange new world, and this book sounds like just my cup of tea. Not to mention, November is a busy reading month for me; there are so many great upcoming books that I couldn’t fit on this list! That being the case, I’m happy to get my hands on a novella every once in a while.

Kate’s Picks

Book: “White Horse” by Erika T. Wurth

Publication Date: November 1, 2022

Why I’m Interested: You know how much I love a good horror story, especially if there are ghosts involved, and “White Horse” by Erika T. Wurth is getting a lot of hype in the horror community from people I trust. Kari has been perfectly satisfied with her metal music, her horror novel collection, and sitting at the local bar The White Horse a few nights a week. She tries not to think of the mother who left her when she was two days old, or her father’s accident that threw her into a caregiver role. But when her cousin Debbie brings Kari a bracelet that once belonged to her missing mother, Kari starts seeing the woman’s ghost, as well as visions of other, scarier things. Kari is determined to find out what happened to her mom, and to try and stave off whatever monster has come along for the ride.

Book: “Wayward” by Chuck Wendig

Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Back in 2019, Chuck Wendig wrote a pandemic thriller/dystopia story called “Wanderers” in which a fungus based disease took out a huge majority of Earth’s population. And then a year later we were in the midst of an actual real-life pandemic, and while it wasn’t as deadly as White Mask by any means, it still turned the whole world upside down. And now we have the sequel, “Wayward”, and I have to say it’s an achievement of my own anxiety and mental health that I could pick up an 800+ page book about a pandemic raged America. The town of Ouray is home to the former sleepwalkers, Shepherds, and Black Swan, the AI that predicted world’s end. Benji is a well respected member of the community, Shana is awaiting the birth of her child after being in stasis for years, and Matthew is barely hanging on. But then Black Swan starts acting strange, and its followers are becoming more fervent. Soon Ouray doesn’t seem as utopic as it once did. I smell a cult, guys, and that sounds awesome.

Book: “Five Survive” by Holly Jackson

Publication Date: November 29, 2022

Why I’m Interested: I really loved Holly Jackson’s “Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” Trilogy, so it was a no brainer that I absolutely needed to read her next YA thriller novel “Five Survive”. Her stories are so addictive and fun, and this one goes in a whole different direction than what we saw with Pip in that previous series. Six friends are on an RV road trip hoping to meet up with friends for a relaxing and fun vacation. But when the RV’s tires blow, they are completely confused as to what could have happened, since the road looks clear. Then they realize that someone shot them out, and is watching them with a gun. The shooter says that they want a secret that one of them is hiding, and that person had better come clean, or else people will die. Soon the friends start questioning who they really are to each other.

What new books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!

Highlights: October 2022

Fall is officially here, and Kate’s season has arrived. Beyond all of the spooky reads to be found, we are both planning what our kids will be for Halloween while, more importantly, planning how we can steal most of their candy for ourselves. Hey, they’re still toddlers, we’re just being good parents by preventing tiny cavities! But we’re also both looking forward to pulling out all of the cozy blankets and curling up with some great reads. Here are a few we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “The River of Silver” by S.A. Chakraborty

Publication Date: October 11, 2022

Why I’m Interested: This book of short stories has been released in audiobook format for a bit now. But it’s just now releasing as a physical book and so I’m including it here now since this is the format I prefer to read for this series. I’m very excited to return to this world, and the book description promises a nice balance of perspectives between fan favorite characters, characters we’ve only seen in the background, and a couple of completely brand new faces. Given how sprawling this world and history is, I’m sure there are plenty of stories to be mined, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store!

Book: “Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove” by Rati Mehrotra

Publication Date: October 18, 2022

Why I’m Interested: While most fantasy fiction readers have read a ton of European medieval fantasy, what’s more rare is medieval fantasy set in other parts of the world. So with this story coming in as a fantasy version of medieval India, I was definitely interested from the get go. I also really like this cover. It’s not doing anything super flashy, but it speaks to my old-school fantasy loving self somehow. I’m a bit concerned by the book description which lists our teenage female protagonists as “the best guardswoman ever,” as I’m on record as having a major eye-roll problem with this particular trope. But we’ll see if Mehrotra has a new take on some of this.

Book: “Princess of Souls” by Alexandra Christo

Publication Date: October 11, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Speaking of covers, this one reminds me strongly of “The NeverEnding Story” and its intertwined snake pendant. That aside, I was able to nab an ARC of this from ALA, so I’ve been eagerly waiting for my chance to pick it up. It’s sold as a Rapunzel-inspired story following a young woman with the ability to steal souls. I’m not quite sure where the Rapunzel stuff gets into this (even reading the full Goodreads description, I’m not sure), but I do love a good fairytale retelling, so I’m quite hopeful!

Kate’s Picks

Book: “Malice House” by Megan Shepherd

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

Why I’m Interested: This was one of my ARC highlights from ALAAC22, as it had been on my radar for a few months by the time I was headed to the conference. Chuck Wendig was singing its praises and that was good enough for me! Haven is an aspiring illustrator who returns to her author father’s seaside estate, Malice House, after his death following a long battle with dementia. While staying there she finds a hand written manuscript of a book he never published, and as a horror collection it’s a creepy departure from his literary works. Haven thinks that it could be the key to jump starting her illustration career, and begins to draw the creatures from its pages. But then strange things start happening, ranging from scary noises at night to people dying in town. Her father had always said the house was haunted, and now Haven may be living her own horror story. This Gothic horror novel is sure to scratch a haunted house itch!

Book: “Such Sharp Teeth” by Rachel Harrison

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Rachel Harrison has been a must read author for me ever since her debut “The Return”, and then the tonal shift between that scary story and her whimsical witch tale “Cackle” showed her versatility. Now she’s taking on the werewolf story, and I am very, very excited about it. Rory has returned to her small hometown after her twin sister Scarlett begged her to come be with her. Scarlett is pregnant and recently single, and Rory, though she hates her hometown, drops everything to be with her twin. But one night after bar hopping at the old haunts, Rory is attacked by a ferocious creature, leaving a weird injury that bleeds silver. Now Rory is starting to notice weird changes to her body and personality, which only get worse as the full moon gets closer. After transforming into a werewolf, Rory is determined to keep those she loves safe… and determined to figure out if she can break this werewolf curse. Harrison always has snappy feminist themes in her books, and I expect this one will be the same!

Book: “Jackal” by Erin E. Adams

Publication Date: October 4, 2022

Why I’m Interested: This was a book that ended up in my email box from the publisher, and while I hadn’t heard of it until then, I was immediately taken with the description. It has so many elements that I love: missing people. Small town secrets. Social horror themes. “Jackal” sounds like it could be more of a thriller, but my gut feeling is that this book is going to be scary as hell. Liz is returning to her rural Pennsylvania town after years of being away. Being one of the only Black people in Johnstown was incredibly difficult, but her childhood best friend is getting married, so she’s willing to return for that. But then the bride’s daughter Caroline goes missing. And it’s not the first time a young Black woman has disappeared in this town, as Liz remembers one from her youth who did as well, as was found dead with her heart removed. As Liz looks into it, she finds a disturbing pattern of Black girls missing and murdered. Liz is desperate to find Caroline before it happens to another one. I’m bracing myself for scares and probably lots of heartbreak with this one.

What new books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!

Highlights: September 2022

Summer has basically come to an end, and that means that Fall is here. For Kate this is great news, as it means the spooky season is nearly upon us. Serena isn’t as optimistic about the change in season, as that can only mean that Winter is coming. But before the cold really sets in, we have plans for the Fall, and that means that we also have some new books we’re looking forward to!

Serena’s Picks

Book: “Foul Lady Fortune” by Chloe Gong

Publication Date: September 27, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Kate nabbed a copy of this one for me at ALA this year, so it’s a given that it would end up on my highlights list for this month! I haven’t read the previous duology, a reimagining of “Romeo and Juliet,” but it sounded like this would be approachable even to newbies. The story follows Rosalyn, a character originally introduced in the first duology, a young woman who has devoted her life to trying to make amends for previous betrayals by working for her country as an assassin. But her life takes a shift when she finds herself assigned not to an assassination job but to go undercover as a spy alongside one of the most infuriating young men she’s ever met. I love both assassination and spy stories, so I’m very excited to check out this book.

Book: “Notorious Sorcerer” by Davinia Evans

Publication Date: September 13, 2022

Why I’m Interested: This is one of those cases where I’d pick up this book based purely on the title alone. It also has two of my favorite fantasy things: alchemy and magical libraries. It’s the story of a young street rat turned low-level alchemist who accidentally performs a magical feat far beyond his supposed capability. Now with more attention than he knows what to do with, Siyon doesn’t know who or what to trust. And things are about to get much, much worse when a threat arises that calls into the question of his entire world. I received an ARC for this in the mail, and definitely excited to see what it has to offer!

Book: “The Golden Enclaves” by Naomi Novik

Publication Date: September 27, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Obviously! I mean…obviously! And here’s where I reveal the extreme spoiledness that I’ve now become accustomed to: I have to wait for the book to actually release before getting to read it, as I haven’t found any eARCs available anywhere! I mean, I get it. This is the third book in a popular series; not like you need much word of mouth to drive sales on this one. Or…is it because it ends tragically and all of the reviewers will be too busy crying under their covers to post reviews early anyways? I’m so excited. I’m so nervous.

Kate’s Picks

Book: “The Weight of Blood” by Tiffany D. Jackson

Publication Date: September 6, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Tiffany D. Jackson is a must read author for me, and given that “Carrie” is one of my favorite Stephen King novels, the combination here is too rife with possibility to pass up. Maddy is an outcast at her school who has always passed for white, but when an unexpected rainstorm outs her as biracial, a racially charged bullying attack goes viral. Hoping to avoid being seen as racist, the school community decides to finally integrate the Prom, and Maddy is asked by a popular Black football player to attend at the behest of his white girlfriend… And you can probably guess where things go. Jackson reimagining “Carrie” with social themes of racism, colorism, and identity is inspired, and given how well she’s done with horror in the past, hopes are high for this one!

Book: “I’m The Girl” by Courtney Summers

Publication Date: September 13, 2022

Why I’m Interested: “Sadie” was a gut punch of a read, and I love how Courtney Summers has a no holds barred approach to her YA fiction in that she takes on dark topics and doesn’t sugarcoat, trusting her readers to be able to process and handle the themes she presents. “I’m The Girl” is her newest thriller, and I’m sure I will be steeling myself for it. Georgia is a teenage girl who has always known she is beautiful, and that if you wield your beauty it can be powerful. She wants to work at the local luxury resort, knowing it is good money, and that she could achieve what her mother, a former ‘Aspera Girl’, never did. But when she is hit by a car, and then finds the body of a thirteen year old girl thrown from the vehicle, she is entangled in a web of privilege, opulence, power, and danger. This was a much anticipated ALA grab for me, so it had to make the list.

Book: “Ghost Eaters” by Clay McLeod Chapman

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Another ALA grab, though this one was autographed by the author himself (and he was a delight! He complimented my Motley Crüe tee shirt, in spite of the fact it was a clear indicator of last day fatigue, clothing effort wise)! I’ve been hearing deeply scary things about “Ghost Eaters”, so that makes me VERY excited for this book. After refusing to pick up her on again, off again boyfriend Silas from rehab, Erin thinks that setting this boundary will be far more healthy for them both. But after Silas ends up dead of an overdose shortly thereafter, the guilt is almost too much. Then, Erin hears whispers of a drug that allows you to see the dead, and that Silas had started messing with it, she wants answers to alleviate her guilt, and tries the drug herself in hopes of closure. Instead, terrifying visions of angry spirits start to plague her. Just in time for the Halloween season, and I’m definitely going to showcase it during this year’s Horrorpalooza!

What new books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!

Another Take: Summer 2022

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Don’t just take it from us, other readers like these books, too! And we have decided that we would like to showcase other reviewers and bloggers that have their own thoughts and feelings about books that we have loved. Here are a few of the books we’ve enjoyed recently and what other bloggers have to say about them.

“The Stardust Thief” by Chelsea Abdullah

Book Description: Loulie al-Nazari is the Midnight Merchant: a criminal who, with the help of her jinn bodyguard, hunts and sells illegal magic. When she saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land—at the cost of sacrificing all jinn.

With no choice but to obey or be executed, Loulie journeys with the sultan’s oldest son to find the artifact. Aided by her bodyguard, who has secrets of his own, they must survive ghoul attacks, outwit a vengeful jinn queen, and confront a malicious killer from Loulie’s past. And, in a world where story is reality and illusion is truth, Loulie will discover that everything—her enemy, her magic, even her own past—is not what it seems, and she must decide who she will become in this new reality.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

The Lily Café (4/5 Cups/Stars)

Simone and Her Books

Super Star Drifter (4.5/5 Stars)

“Half a Soul” by Olivia Atwater

Book Description: Ever since she was cursed by a faerie, Theodora Ettings has had no sense of fear or embarrassment – a condition which makes her prone to accidental scandal. Dora hopes to be a quiet, sensible wallflower during the London Season – but when the strange, handsome and utterly uncouth Lord Sorcier discovers her condition, she is instead drawn into dangerous and peculiar faerie affairs.

If Dora’s reputation can survive both her curse and her sudden connection with the least-liked man in all of high society, then she may yet reclaim her normal place in the world. . . but the longer Dora spends with Elias Wilder, the more she begins to suspect that one may indeed fall in love, even with only half a soul.

Serena’s Review (9 Rating)

Blogging with Dragons

Howl’s Moving Library (5/5 Stars)

One Book More (4/5 Stars)

“The Darkening” by Sunya Mara

Book Description: In this thrilling and epic YA fantasy debut the only hope for a city trapped in the eye of a cursed storm lies with the daughter of failed revolutionaries and a prince terrified of his throne.

Vesper Vale is the daughter of revolutionaries. Failed revolutionaries. When her mother was caught by the queen’s soldiers, they gave her a choice: death by the hangman’s axe, or death by the Storm that surrounds the city and curses anyone it touches. She chose the Storm. And when the queen’s soldiers—led by a paranoid prince—catch up to Vesper’s father after twelve years on the run, Vesper will do whatever it takes to save him from sharing that fate.

Even arm herself with her father’s book of dangerous experimental magic.

Even infiltrate the prince’s elite squad of soldier-sorcerers.

Even cheat her way into his cold heart.

But when Vesper learns that there’s more to the story of her mother’s death, she’ll have to make a choice if she wants to save her city: trust the devious prince with her family’s secrets, or follow her mother’s footsteps into the Storm.

Serena’s Review (8 Rating)

Mom with a Reading Problem (5 Stars)

The Story Sanctuary

The Canid Cover (4/5 Stars)

Book: “Things We Do in the Dark” by Jennifer Hillier

Book Description: When Paris Peralta is arrested in her own bathroom—covered in blood, holding a straight razor, her celebrity husband dead in the bathtub behind her—she knows she’ll be charged with murder. But as bad as this looks, it’s not what worries her the most. With the unwanted media attention now surrounding her, it’s only a matter of time before someone from her long hidden past recognizes her and destroys the new life she’s worked so hard to build, along with any chance of a future.

Twenty-five years earlier, Ruby Reyes, known as the Ice Queen, was convicted of a similar murder in a trial that riveted Canada in the early nineties. Reyes knows who Paris really is, and when she’s unexpectedly released from prison, she threatens to expose all of Paris’s secrets. Left with no other choice, Paris must finally confront the dark past she escaped, once and for all.

Because the only thing worse than a murder charge are two murder charges.

Kate’s Review (8 Rating)

Vilma Iris (4.5/5 Stars)

Read This, Not That (5/5 Stars)

The Fiction Addiction

Book: “The Devil Takes You Home” by Gabino Iglesias

Book Description: Buried in debt due to his young daughter’s illness, his marriage at the brink, Mario reluctantly takes a job as a hitman, surprising himself with his proclivity for violence. After tragedy destroys the life he knew, Mario agrees to one final job: hijack a cartel’s cash shipment before it reaches Mexico. Along with an old friend and a cartel-insider named Juanca, Mario sets off on the near-suicidal mission, which will leave him with either a cool $200,000 or a bullet in the skull. But the path to reward or ruin is never as straight as it seems. As the three complicated men travel through the endless landscape of Texas, across the border and back, their hidden motivations are laid bare alongside nightmarish encounters that defy explanation. One thing is certain: even if Mario makes it out alive, he won’t return the same.

The Devil Takes You Home is a panoramic odyssey for fans of S.A. Cosby’s southern noir, Blacktop Wasteland, by way of the boundary-defying storytelling of Stephen Graham Jones and Sylvia Moreno-Garcia. 

Kate’s Review (9 Rating)

Considering Stories

Horror Bound

Crime Fiction Lover

Book: “The House Across the Lake” by Riley Sager

Book Description: Casey Fletcher, a recently widowed actress trying to escape a streak of bad press, has retreated to the peace and quiet of her family’s lake house in Vermont. Armed with a pair of binoculars and several bottles of liquor, she passes the time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the glamorous couple who live in the house across the lake. They make for good viewing—a tech innovator, Tom is rich; and a former model, Katherine is gorgeous.

One day on the lake, Casey saves Katherine from drowning, and the two strike up a budding friendship. But the more they get to know each other—and the longer Casey watches—it becomes clear that Katherine and Tom’s marriage is not as perfect and placid as it appears. When Katherine suddenly vanishes, Casey becomes consumed with finding out what happened to her. In the process, she uncovers eerie, darker truths that turn a tale of voyeurism and suspicion into a story of guilt, obsession and how looks can be very deceiving.

With his trademark blend of sharp characters, psychological suspense, and gasp-worthy surprises, Riley Sager’s The House Across the Lake unveils more than one twist that will shock readers until the very last page.

Kate’s Review (8 Rating)

Eat, Live, Travel, Write

Opinions of a Wolf

Chick Lit Central

Diving Into Sub-Genres: Forensic Mysteries

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

We each have our own preferred genres of choice. Kate loves horrors and thrillers, really anything that will keep her up at night! And Serena enjoys escaping through hidden doors into realms of magic and adventure. We also read mysteries, historical fiction, graphic novels, etc. etc. And that’s not even counting the multitude of sub-genres contained within each greater genre. In this series, one of us with present a list of our favorites from within a given sub-genre of one of our greater preferred genres.

While I mostly review historical mysteries and detective mysteries on this blog, I’m also a huge fan of forensic mysteries. It’s actually a favorite subgenre for both Kate and I. Honestly, at this point, she’s probably more caught up on some of our favorite series than I am, considering the pivot I’ve made in recent years for my reviews here. But what is a forensic mystery?

While the detective mystery is the ruler of the mystery genre, with the story following a detective of some sort (lots of variation for how official this title is), forensic mysteries have exploded in the last 30 years or so, challenging this norm. The popularity of shows like “CSI” and “Bones” can perhaps be attributed to some of this increased popularity. Those examples alone do most of the work defining what makes forensic mysteries stand out: the stories will typically follow a scientist of some sort who is involved in solving crimes by close examination of evidence and expert interpretation of those nuanced facts. You have a lot of coroners, medical examiners, anthropologists, etc. Due to the nature of this type of evidence and work, most forensic mysteries rate high on the gruesome scale, with detailed explanations of anatomy and murder methods. While not exclusively so, the leading characters in this subgenre are often female, serving as a nice balance to the still male-dominated detective mystery genre.

As I’ve said, this subgenre has exploded in recent years. So my list here is just scratching the surface of what’s to be found. There can also be a lot of overlap between forensic mysteries and other subgenres. Let’s take a look at a few!

Book: “Deja Dead” by Kathy Reichs

Having mentioned “Bones” in my introduction, I couldn’t not include the long-running book series on which the show is based. Like the show, the story follows Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist. But really, that’s where most of the similarities end. This Brennan has a daughter, a precarious marriage, and, while she does have a few friends, no where near the level of quirky scientist lab friends that she has in the show. There is a character who Booth is loosely based off, but the romance is nothing like the show, with this character not even being a romantic interest at certain points. But Temperance herself is largely similar, being a very analytical and scientific individual. She also has a strong sense for justice which can get her caught up in crimes that then end up striking close to home. This is a long-running, current series with book number 21 coming out just last month.

Book: “The Crossing Places” by Elly Griffiths

Similar to the previous title, this is another female-lead forenstic thriller/mystery series. In this case, the lead is Dr. Ruth Galloway, a forensic archeologist. As such, her expertise is in bones, thus there is often a lot of cold cases involved in stories. This first book involves the discovery of a set of bones that are suspected to be those of a young girl who went missing years before. But this crime won’t stay in the past, and when another girl goes missing, Dr. Galloway finds herself dealing with a very real killer. Again, this is a very long-running series, with the most recent book involving Galloway’s experiences of the pandemic lockdowns.

Book: “The Bone Collector” by Jeffery Deaver

As a change of pace, this series follows a male lead. The series begins by introducing Lincoln Rhyme, once a well-known, respected criminologist. But he’s been out of the game for a while after an accident turned his life upside down. He’s drawn back into the game, however, when he is personally challenged by a diabolical killer. He must team up with a police detective and solve the complicated forensic mystery laid out before him. This one is a nice change of pace in that the lead has an expertise in criminology, opening up the series to cover a wide variety of various forensic techniques and clues. This series has been running since 1997, so you can guess as to its length so far…

Book: “The Lost Girls of Rome” by Donato Carrisi

Time for stand-alone options, for those not ready to commit themselves to double-digit-long series! This book offers a nice mix of genres, including several nice nods to historical elements that become integral parts of the mystery. The lead is a young widow and forensic analysist who, while trying to uncover the truth in her husband’s death, finds herself caught up in mysterious forces that trace back through Rome’s long and twisting history. While touching on the details and analysis that is at the heart of all forensic mysteries, this one has a lot to offer for fans of lots of different types of books. Plus, like I said, it’s not as much as a commitment as some of the other series on this list!

Book: “Postmortem” by Patricia Cornwell

Like the Temperance Brennan series, this is another cornerstone in the forensic thriller/mystery genre, so it is only fitting to finish up this list with it. This series follows Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner whose close eye and keen sense of justice sees her caught up in one investigation after another (seriously, this series started back in 1990 and the 26th book in the series came out this year, so…). This book is also often credited as the first book in the now popular forensic thriller/mystery subgenres. It’s also not a stretch to imagine that its success also helped build up the ever-popular, numerous, numerous forensic TV shows like “CSI” and the ilk. It’s definitely a must for fans of this subgenre (along with the Brennan series, this it the other series I regularly read, for what that’s worth!).

What forensic thrillers/mysteries do you enjoy reading?

Highlights: August 2022

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Hot, hot, hot. Have we mentioned that it’s been hot? But while Kate eagerly looks forward to the cool weather of the fall and the Halloween Horrorpalooza, Serena somehow remains sad to think of the hot weather going away. But either way (one of us sensibly staying in the AC indoors and the other sweating it out in the sun) we still have a lot of books to get through this summer. Here are a few we’re looking forward to this month!

Serena’s Picks:

Book: “Soul Taken” by Patricia Briggs

Publication Date: August 23, 2022

Why I’m Interested: I’ve been a faithful reader of the Mercy Thompson series for several years now. With all of that time, I’ve seen all of the highs and lows of the series. Currently, the series has been on a bit of a streak with some fun stories one after another. But that always makes me nervous that the trend could collapse at any moment. This story, revolving around an urban legend (a murderer with a scythe) that seems to have come to life, sounds kind of strange, but who knows? There also seems to be an emphasis on the local vampires, and as that is a particularly interesting supernatural group in this series, I’m excited to see what more there is to learn!

Book: “Wildbound” by Elayne Audrey Becker

Publishing Info: August 30, 2022

Why I’m Interested: I really loved last year’s “Forestborn.” It was one of those surprise hits where I really had no expectations going in, but by the time I had finished, I just loved it. It didn’t end on an outright cliffhanger, but it was right up to that line. So I knew when I saw this one coming out this summer that I’d be right at the front of the line. This time, it looks like the POV will be split between Rora and her brother, Helos. I’m not sure how I feel about that, as I really enjoyed Rora as a single narrator and Helos was not the most likeable character ever in that first book. But who knows? Either way, I’m excited to see this story wrapped up.

Book: “The Drowned Woods” by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Publication Date: August 16, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Ever since devouring “The Bone Houses” a few years ago, I’ve been stalking Emily Lloyd-Jones’s Goodreads page for news of another book from her. So I was beyond thrilled when I saw this book lined up to come out this summer. Even more exciting, I nabbed an ARC copy at ALA! Talk about a win! This book has been marketed as “Welsh Atlantis” and I have no idea what that means, but I’m excited. Really, I would have been excited if this had been marketed as “a book about a puddle of mud,” but a vengeful mage, a deadly assassin, and some sort of heist sounds right up my alley!

Kate’s Picks:

Book: “Shutter” by Ramona Emerson

Publication Date: August 2, 2022

Why I’m Interested: We all already know that stories about people who can see/communicate with ghosts are very much my jam, and that I have an enjoyment of crime procedurals as well. So when you take those two things, add in examinations of police corruption, and make it all from an Indigenous perspective, I am going to be 100% on board. I was lucky to snag “Shutter” by Ramona Emerson at ALAAC22, and I have been eager for it. Rita is a photographer who works for the Albuquerque police department, who has been able to see ghosts ever since she was a little girl growing up on a Navajo reservation with her grandmother. When a victim named Erma realizes that Rita can see her, she is hellbent on making Rita figure out what happened. But it gets Rita caught up in a dark underbelly of cartel violence as she reluctantly investigates. This has been a can’t wait read for 2022 and it’s finally here.

Book: “Kismet” by Amina Akhtar

Publication Date: August 1, 2022

Why I’m Interested: Far be it from me to be any kind of wellness or spiritual healing kind of person. The closest I get is the occasional bath bomb in the tub after a long day. But I am VERY interested to see what Amina Akhtar does with this culture, as she is known to be a balls to the wall thriller author. Ronnie has spent her entire life in Queens, living with an repressive aunt and wondering if she has any choices for herself. When she meets Marley, a self help influencer, they click, and Marley convinces her to leave her life behind and move with her to a wellness loving community in Arizona. Ronnie is excited to start over… until other wellness aficionados in their community start dying over the top deaths. Soon Ronnie starts fearing that their wellness based community is anything but. This seems like it could be raucous and fun.

Book: “The Devil Takes You Home” by Gabino Iglesias

Publication Date: August 2, 2022

Why I’m Interested: This has been on horror lists all year long in terms of most hyped and most anticipated, which is a strong argument on its own, but I read Gabino Iglesias’s previous book “Coyote Songs” and found it strange and unsettling, so that pushed it into ‘must read’ territory. Mario never imagined he would be a hit man, but when his young daughter was diagnosed with childhood leukemia, he had to take on this dangerous profession to pay the ever mounting bills. After she dies, Mario is left broken and despondent. When a friend approaches him with a very dangerous job, but one that would make him debt free and allow him to start over, Mario accepts. But their job takes them not only into the violent world of Mexican cartels, but also into otherworldly horrors that only progress as their mission goes on. Iglesias is a quickly rising star in the horror novel world, and this one will surely be on many horror fans lists this year.

What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!

Not Just Books: July 2022

While we do love us some books, believe it not, we do have a life outside of reading. So to highlight our other pop culture interests, on the last Monday of each month, we each will highlight three other “happenings” from the last month. Big events on favorite TV shows, new movies we’ve watched, old movies we’ve “discovered,” etc. Pretty much whatever we found of particular interest outside of the book world during the last month. Share your own favorite things in the comments!

Serena’s Picks

Netflix Show: “The Umbrella Academy” Season 3

This is such a weird, weird show. And I love it so much. It’s one of those shows where you literally can’t guess what’s going to happen. And even if you try, you’re probably off by several degrees of insanity. This season, however, also really hit towards all of the feelings. The crew has been through a lot, and when they find themselves in the middle of a third apocalypse in the same number of weeks, they all react in very different ways. On top of that, the new version of the world they are existing in never had an Umbrella Academy. Instead, they have an entirely new group of powered individuals called the Sparrow Academy. And they’re not fans of our time-travelling dysfunctional family. If you like wacky shows about crazy families, this is definitely one to give a shot!

Movie: “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”

We waited until this came out on Disney+ to get to it. And while I think that some of the more crazy action sequences would have benefitted from a big screen, for the most part, I think this was the right choice. Don’t get me wrong, this was a fun movie in and of itself. But there were also some story choices that I was bewildered and disappointed to see (I’m looking at Wanda’s entire arc here). And Dr. Strange seemed often like a side character in his own movie. I’m also starting to feel a bit confused and concerned about exactly where Marvel is heading with all of these stories. I feel like every single movie I’ve seen from them recently has ended with its own, unique cliffhanger that points to a different big bad and different overarching conflict. At least with Thanos, as long-heralded and slow-coming as he was, we knew where we were headed. Now? I mean, pick any one of the five bread crumb trails, and best of luck to you! That said, Marvel fans should probably check this out, just in case this is, in fact, a precursor of things to come!

Movie: “Encanto”

I’m rather behind my Disney/Pixar watching. I haven’t seen the last several, in fact, since “Frozen 2.” But my kids listen to Pandora Disney almost every day, so I pretty much had pieced together this movie’s story purely by the ability to sing all of the songs in entirety. But on the plane ride back from ALA 2022, this came up as one of the options. Plane rides are stressful at the best of times, so I figured that that was the time for a happy Disney movie is ever there was one. And this movie was everything I expected it to be: fun, funny, and full of great music. I do have to say that I’m a bit sad to not see any romantic storylines in the last several movies that Disney has put out, and I’m bit confused by the decision. But this was still an enchanting film about family and self-acceptance and it was a great way to pass the time on the plane.

Kate’s Picks

TV Show: “Only Murders in the Building”

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez are back for more Upper West Side hijinks in this darkly funny and utterly charming show about murder and secrets in a snooty apartment building. I only recently picked up the end of Season 1 (for whatever reason I fell off even though I liked it so much), and it was just in time for Season 2! I wasn’t sure how they could believably make a Season 2 happen, but they did. Picking up immediately at the end of Season 1, Bunny, former head of the Arcadia Board, was found dead in Mable’s apartment, and she, Oliver, and Charles are the prime suspects. But once they were released with a warning, they decide that not only do they need to clear their names, they now have fodder for Season 2 of their podcast! Martin, Short, and Gomez continue to have great chemistry, and the show is suspenseful, funny, and still super bittersweet when it wants to be. And the new mystery is just as intriguing as Season 1, which is a bonus!

Film: “Compulsion”

This is an entry that isn’t new to me, but it had been a LONG time since watching it. When my favorite podcast did a series on the notorious murderers Leopold and Loeb, they mentioned this film, which I had once been super into because of a adolescent fascination with the case. For the unfamiliar, they were a pair of hyperintelligent teenage killers who murdered a fourteen year old boy just to prove they could, but were caught because one dropped his glasses at the scene of the crime. A media frenzy ensued. This is an adaptation of that story, and it is pretty well done. Not only are the two killers well portrayed (Dean Stockwell is the Leopold character and he’s intense!), but Orson Welles is their attorney, who is based on progressive lawyer extraordinaire Clarence Darrow, who defended the teenagers in real life. My friend Mark and I watched this on my patio and it held up after all the years I hadn’t watched it. And Welles gives a fantastic monologue about the hypocrisy of the death penalty that is SO damn good, which is very heavily based on Darrow’s actual closing arguments.

Film: “Last Night in SoHo”

So this is kind of funny as I had been looking forward to this one, but then I heard some not so great things about it and decided to hold off. And THEN my Terror Tuesday group wanted to watch it, so I figured why not, and ended up really enjoying it! Part mystery, part horror story, part coming of age, it follows Eloise, a young fashion design student who moves from her small town to London for her studies. When she seeks out independent lodging, she rents a run down flat, and as she dreams she starts having visions of a mysterious woman named Sandie. Sandie wants to be a star, but falls into an abusive relationship and starts being pimped out. And then is perhaps murdered. Eloise wants to solve what happened to Sandie, but the visions become more disturbing and more violent as other specters start to haunt her as well. I thought that the imagery was really striking, and while Eloise was a bit of a drip I really liked Anya Taylor-Joy as Sandie. It’s unnerving and posh and creepy and supremely entertaining.