libraryperilous browses her own stacks in 2023

Happy 2023, Green Dragoneers!

I'm Diana, and I read mostly science fiction, historical fantasies and mysteries, classics, and middle grade adventures. I also like nonfiction about marine biology, zoology (esp. birds), maritime history, and WWII Resistance movements.

I have three reading goals for 2023:

1) Read each monthly book club pick. My mom always completes our book club's assignments.
2) Read books off my own shelves. I've made a TBR shelf. By coincidence, over 3/4 of the spines have shades of blue on them. The selection looks pretty!
3) No buying books in 2023 until SantaThing (except on September 26th, when the last Cece Rios book publishes.)

Happy reading in 2023 to us all!

Favorite 2022 reads (limited to books published in 2022):

Picture books:

Hot Dog
Night Lunch
Poopsie Gets Lost
The Sea in the Way

Middle grade:

Always, Clementine
Cece Rios and the King of Fears
Duet
Looking for Emily
A Rover's Story

Nonfiction:

Otherlands
The Secret Perfume of Birds
Why Sharks Matter

Fiction:

Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior
Even Though I Knew the End
The Immortality Thief
The Matchmaker's Gift
The Murder of Mr. Wickham
Under Fortunate Stars
The Wild Hunt

YA:

Strike the Zither

Best (and favorite!) book of 2022: The Wild Hunt, by Emma Seckel

After a lackluster few years of science fiction, I'm excited that I have so many 2023 sci-fi books on my radar! In addition to the ones listed below, there are sequels for NeoG, Fractalverse, and You Sexy Thing. In fantasy, there's a standalone prequel to The Priory of the Orange Tree, the next in Chelsea Abdullah's trilogy, plus a second volume in Wesley Chu's War Arts wuxia saga. Edited: the fourth Singing Hills Cycle novella also has been announced.

2023 SFF titles of interest:

Fantasy:

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi (Chakraborty)
The Daughters of Izdihar (Elsbai)
The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill (Miller)
Let the Dead Bury the Dead (Epstein)
The Magician's Daughter (Parry)
Mammoths at the Gate (Vo)
Nocturne (Wees)
On the Nature of Magic (Womack)
Pod (Paull)
Shield Maiden (Emmerichs)
Sun of Blood and Ruin (Lares)
Thornhedge (Kingfisher)
To Shape a Dragon's Breath (Blackgoose)
The Tomb of Dragons (Addison; TBD release date)
The Water Outlaws (Huang)
Witch King (Wells)

Science fiction:

The Blighted Stars (O'Keefe)
Emergent Properties (Ogden)
Generation Ship (Mammay)
Hamlet, Prince of Robots (Wehm)
Hopeland (McDonald)
In the Lives of Puppets (Klune)
The Infinite Miles (Fergesen)
Infinity Gate (Carey)
Karma of the Sun (Boey)
The Mimicking of Known Successes (Older)
The Navigating Fox (Rowe)
On Earth as It Is on Television (Jane)
The Road to Roswell (Willis)
The Shamshine Blind (Pardo)
Some Desperate Glory (Tesh)
The Splinter in the Sky (Ashing-Giwa)
System Collapse (Wells)
The Terraformers (Newitz)
Translation State (Leckie)
Whalefall (Kraus)
Where Peace Is Lost (Valdes)
World Running Down (Hess)

Happy new year and happy new thread!

Happy New Year, Diana!

Happy New Year and new thread, Diana!

Happy New Year and happy reading!

>1 libraryperilous: Oh, oh, oh! That #3 goal is a hard one!

I hope that you have much satisfaction in your reading this year.

Hippo Gnu Ear!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Thread and have a wonderful 2023.

>4 haydninvienna:, >5 norabelle414:, >6 clamairy:, >7 Narilka:, >8 MrsLee:, >9 hfglen:, >10 Karlstar:, >11 pgmcc: Thank you and welcome!

>8 MrsLee: I bought five physical books and three e-books on December 30th and 31st. I'm starting 2023 with crushing guilt. :)

Snapshot of the TBR shelf, January 2nd, 2023:

>13 libraryperilous: I'm not seeing anything. Is it visible to everyone else?

Happy New Year! I hope to continue to be peppered by bookshot here. :)

>13 libraryperilous: >14 clamairy: I do not see a photo.

>14 clamairy:, >16 Karlstar: Sorry, it probably is uploader error. I practically am a Luddite. I used Peter's junk drawer tip and then added the HTML markup.

I'll try to fix it later, but here is a link to the drawer's photo:

https://librarything.com/pic/9589766

Edited: >13 libraryperilous: has been fixed.

>15 Marissa_Doyle: Happy 2023! I shall try to keep my BB gun locked and loaded for you.

Happy New Year, Diana. I'll be ducking BBs I'm sure.

Happy New Year! I hope you achieve your goals and read many excellent books while doing so!

>19 majkia: I imagine we'll be exchanging mutual fire. :)

>19 majkia:, >20 Sakerfalcon:, >21 Bookmarque: Thank you!

1. A Consuming Fire: interesting but flawed YA fantasy about a girl's fierce devotion to her dead sister and her attempts at restoring justice in an unjust world. There are some interesting threads here about heresy, righteousness, and devotion to power vs to kindness and mercy. Those threads are tangled in the general repetitive messiness of this story. It's supposed to mimic medieval devotionals or saints' stories, I think. Since the religious aspect feels sketched in to propel the plot, and not the moral of the story, it doesn't work.

The author writes standalone YA fantasies set in historical periods but with fantastical elements. This is her first true alternate history, and it would have been better as a second world fantasy. I loved her previous novel, A Rush of Wings, but this one didn't consume me in one sitting like RoW did.

Four stars.

Edited: touchstone

Happy new year, Diana! Looking forward to many book bullets from you this year.

>23 libraryperilous: I'll avoid this one, though I also enjoyed A Rush of Wings last year. I found a bargain copy of A Treason of Thorns last year and picked it up -- we'll see if I enjoy it.

>17 libraryperilous: Thanks! That's a good TBR pile. I am jealous of how many are the same size/format! I am surprised at the size of Elantris, I had to look it up to see that it is 656 pages, I guess I got used to his doorstoppers and my memory said it was a 'short' novel.

>24 curioussquared: Thank you! She has a ghost story out later this year that sounds appealing. I hope you like Treason.

>25 Karlstar: Ha, yes! Most of these paperbacks are UK editions, so they've lined up nicely together. I've only read Sanderson's Warbreaker. I'm excited to try Elantris.

>26 libraryperilous: I reread Elantris last year and I think it is possibly my favourite of Sanderson's that I've read so far.

>26 libraryperilous: & >27 Sakerfalcon: I definitely liked it better than the Mistborn series, but I think The Emperor's Soul is my favorite.

>27 Sakerfalcon:, >28 clamairy: He has so many books! And that's not even counting this year's Kickstarter crop.

Edited: numbering

>29 libraryperilous: I haven't read that many. Six, I think...(I don't count the Alcatraz series.)

2. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries: Emily Wilde, prickly dryadologist (scientist of the fae), embarks on field research to Hrafnsvik, a remote North Sea island. Luckily for us, she's keeping a journal of her observations! In Professor Wilde's Europe, the fair Folk are very unfair, and they possess magic bounded by stories and fantastical abilities scientists still are puzzling over. The Hidden Ones, the courtly Folk of Hrafnsvik, are said to be singular, and singularly terrifying. Emily has spent a decade traveling to remote locales in a quest to catalog all species of Folk. She'd love to make a breakthrough discovery to add as the final entry in her encyclopedia. "It takes years for a scholar to master the necessary powers of observation."

Emily excels at writing encyclopedia entries, conducting methodical research, and bribing Folk for information. She is terrible at talking to humans. It's been less than a week, and the whole village already dislikes her—a barrier to collecting folklore for her research. "I would sooner interview a dozen bloody changelings than navigate my way through this thicket of social conventions. I thought to myself that perhaps I should simply avoid conversation altogether going forward, seeing as I always make a mess of it." At least she has her large, elderly dog, Shadow, for company.

Chaos enters her remote cabin when her fellow Cambridge professor, Wendell Bambleby, shows up unbidden to "assist" her with the research. Bambleby is a lazy scholar, but he's a dab hand at making their remote cottage cozy, and he charms the locals in a New York minute. Emily finds him exasperating, but he's also her best (only?) friend. There's more to Bambleby than just a pretty (beautiful, if Emily is honest, which she is) face, and it isn't long before Emily and Bambleby are traipsing about the wintry forests looking for the Winter King's tree.

Naturally, since this is a scientific expedition, adventure, peril, new friendships, and perhaps even romance follow—much to Dr. Wilde's exasperation. "I try to keep these journals professional, yet on this expedition I find myself continually struggling to meet this standard. I blame Bambleby, of course. I suppose one must expect some blurring of the boundaries when one works with the Folk."

Emily is a bit like Isabella Trent or Veronica Speedwell, and Bambleby is a Wildean* dandy crossed with the king of Staryk. A review also mentioned Howl, lol. Anyway, this is an absolutely delightful and charming start to a historical fantasy series. I can't wait for more of Emily and Wendall's adventures. Sometimes these pseudo-scientific historical stories can seem arch. This one nails the tone perfectly, and it has more in common with classic screwball comedies than contemporary rom-coms.** (Hint: Think interesting adventures/beginnings, not happily ever afters.) It's also helped immensely by the fae being creepily unfathomable.

5 stars; a new all-time favorite. The Hidden Ones left a copy of Professor Wilde's journal at my local big-box bookstore, so I snagged a copy. The rest of you mere mortals will have to wait until Tuesday.

NB: Dr. Wilde's footnotes contain a most interesting title, Windermere Scott's I'll Take the Iron Road: A Rail Journey Through the Otherlands. We train enthusiasts can only hope Dr. Wilde's publisher will make this title available at a later date.

*Oscar, not Emily
**Someday I shall write my essay about this

Edited: added a couple of details

>31 libraryperilous: Does it count as a book bullet if I put it on my wishlist?

>31 libraryperilous: On the list it goes! This sounds delightful.

Belated happy new year!

>32 MrsLee: Definitely! Probably the best way to handle book bullets, tbh. :)

>33 curioussquared: I think you will like it! It feels like grown-up DWJ, with a similar blend of fanciful but slightly menacing.

>34 Jim53: Thank you and welcome!

>31 libraryperilous: That could be a direct hit...but a question: the Lady Trent books (well, book--I DNFed the first one) were very nails-on-blackboard to me, mostly because of the main character's unlikeability and smug conviction that she is always right. How does Emily compare?

>36 Marissa_Doyle: I've DNFed the last two Speedwell mysteries for the same reason, and I only liked the Lady Trent book well enough to finish it but not the series. I couldn't put Emily's journal down!

Three differences, for me:

Emily is aware her social graces suck, and she's bummed out about it but soldiers on
The scientific method is part of the story, not a plot device to make Emily seem superior (à la Speedwell)
The writing style is less archly caustic and more 'field notes that spin out of control because Emily has feelings'

Also, she's pretty clueless about a couple of important emotional things, but you can see her recording her observations of these things in a scientific way, and then drawing reasonable but incorrect conclusions from her observations. I had a lot of fun cackling at her later light bulb moments.

If you decide to read it, I'll be super interested in your thoughts! I think Spinning Silver crossed with Diana Wynne Jones probably is Emily's truest vibe.

Edited: added an important word

>31 libraryperilous: I forwarded a link to your post to my daughter Katherine (tokengingerkid, who pops in occasionally). Does that count as a BB?

>31 libraryperilous: Yay! I'll allow it. :) Is it your daughter who likes cozy fantasies? I know I've chatted with someone in the pub about that. This one definitely qualifies, plus the clever and creepy Folk keep it from being twee.

>39 libraryperilous: She liked The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and Legends and Lattes, so yes.

2023 non-SFF fiction titles of interest*:

Historical fiction:

Beyond That, the Sea (Spence-Ash)
Daughters of Nantucket (Gerstenblatt)
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea (Chang-Eppig)
The Edinburgh Skating Club (Sloan)
For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain MacKenzie)
Go as a River (Read)
In Memoriam (Winn)
It Happened One Fight (Lenker)
Miss Newbury's List (Walker)
Moonrise Over New Jessup (Minnicks)
The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen (Charles)

Contemporary fiction:

Best Served Hot (Elliot)
Enter Ghost (Hammad)
The Fiancée Farce (Bellefleur)
The Last Animal (Ausubel)
The Last Beekeeper (Dalton)
Sorry, Bro (Voskuni)
To Have and To Heist (Desai)
The Wake-Up Call (O'Leary)
Weyward (Hart)

*Yes, I am using these posts on LT in lieu of a TBR: much less pressure.

2023 children's titles of interest:

I expect this list to be dramatically ballooned once PW releases their children's announcements in February. I am aware I already look like a glutton.

Middle grade:

The Alchemy of Letting Go (Morrell)
Aniana del Mar Jumps In (Méndez)
Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade (Kenna)
Barely Floating (Rivera)
Bea and the New Deal Horse (Elliott)
Bea Wolf (Weinersmith)
The Big Sting (Delaney)
A Bit of Earth (Riazi)
Call the Puffins! (Howe)
The Carrefour Curse (Salerni)
Cece Rios and the Queen of Brujas (Rivera)
Conjure Island (Royce)
Cookie Monsters (Kendrick)
The Coyote Queen (Vitalis)
Don't Trust the Cat (Tracy)
The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejía (Alessandri)
Far Out! (Bustard)
Field of Screams (Parris)
Finding Treasure Island (Scott-Elliot)
The Firefly Summer (Matson)
The Grace of Wild Things (Fawcett)
Hamra and the Jungle of Memories
Harriet Spies (Arnold)
The House That Whispers (Thompson)
How to Save a Unicorn (Cannistra)
Impossible Creatures (Rundell)
Just Gus (Hoyle)
The Labors of Hercules Beal (Schmidt)
The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor (Hartman)
Lolo Weaver Swims Upstream (Farquhar)
The Lost Galumpus (Helgerson)
The Lost Year (Marsh)
The Magic of Endings (Avery)
Mari and the Curse of El Crodoilo (Cuevas)
Mèo and Bé (Nguyen)
My Not-So-Great French Escape (Burke)
The Night Animals (Juckes)
No Matter the Distance (Baldwin)
Nothing Else But Miracles (Albus)
Once There Was (Monsef)
The One and Only Ruby (Applegate)
The Pearl Hunter (Beck)
Peril at Price Manor (Parnum)
The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow (Dimopoulos)
Ruby Lost and Found (Li)
School Trip (Craft)
A Season Most Unfair (Coats)
Secrets and Sidekicks (Venable)
A Sky Full of Song (Meyer)
The Snowcat Prince (Norland)
The Stolen Songbird (Eagle)
The Takeout (Badua)
The Talent Thief (Thayer)
To Catch a Thief (Brockenbrough)
Turtles of the Midnight Moon (Fitzgerald)
The Unsleeping Witch (Overy)
The Wall Between Us (Smith)
Wandi (Parrett)
When Sea Becomes Sky (McDunn)
Where the River Takes Us (Parr)
The Witch of Woodland (Snyder)
Wizkit: An Adventure Overdue (Scott)
Yesterday Crumb and the Teapot of Chaos (Sagar)

2023 nonfiction titles of interest:

I'm disappointed in the dearth of marine science/biology books. There was a glut in 2021-22. Perhaps the publishing fad is over. :(
NB: My bad. I missed a few. But it still isn't a glut!

Marine:

Around the Ocean in 80 Fish and Other Sea Life (Scales)
Blue Machine: How the Ocean Works (Czerski)
Chasing Shadows: My Life Tracking the Great White Shark (Skomal)
The Killer Whale Journals: Our Love and Fear of Orcas (Strager)
The Lagoon: Encounters with the Whales of San Ignacio (Dorsey)
Many Things Under a Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses (Scheel)
Ocean Bestiary: Meeting Marine Life from Abalone to Orca to Zooplankton (King)

Maritime:

Completely Mad: Tom McClean, John Fairfax, and the Epic of the Race to Row Solo Across the Atlantic (Hansen)
The Ocean Lover's Quotation Book: Celebrating the Beauty and Wonders of the Sea (ed. Corley)
Pirate Enlightenment: Or, the Real Libertalia (Graeber)
The Pirates’ Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship (Simon)
Reading the Glass: A Captain's View of Weather, Water, and Life on Ships (Rappaport)
Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester: The Shipwreck That Shocked Restoration Britain (Pickford)
Tempest: The Royal Navy and the Age of Revolutions (Davey)
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder (Grann)
Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain (Willson)

Zoology and natural history:

Beastly: The 40,000-Year Story of Animals and Us (Carew)
The Cat's Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa (Losos)
Eight Bears: Mythic Past and Imperiled Future (Dickie)
Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird Migration (Heisman)
In Search of Perfumes: A Lifetime Journey to the Source of Nature's Scents (Roques)
Koala: A Natural History and an Uncertain Future (Klode)
The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica (Gracia)
The Lost Rainforests of Britain (Shrubsole)
Nursery Earth: The Wondrous Lives of Baby Animals and the Extraordinary Ways They Shape Our World (Staaf)
Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think About Animals (Preston)
A Wild Promise: An Illustrated Celebration of The Endangered Species Act (Crawford)
A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save Our Vanishing Birds (Gyllenhaal)
The Wise Hours: A Journey into the Wild and Secret World of Owls (Darlington)

2023 nonfiction titles of interest, continued:

History:

Against the World: Anti-Globalism and Mass Politics Between the World Wars (Zahra)
Beyond the Shores: A History of African Americans Abroad (Walker)
Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class (Kelley)
Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon (Sevigny)
Catland: An Unnatural History (Hughes)
Eleanor of Aquitaine, as It Was Said: Truth and Tales About the Medieval Queen (Sullivan)
Elixir: A Parisian Perfume House and the Quest for the Secret of Life (Levitt)
Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction (Olson)
Every Citizen a Statesman: The Dream of a Democratic Foreign Policy in the American Century (Allen)
Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History of Time (Struthers)
Here Begins the Dark Sea: Venice, a Medieval Monk, and the Creation of the Most Accurate Map in the World (Small)
The Madam and the Spymaster: Kitty Schmidt, Reinhard Heydrich, and the Secret History of the Most Famous Brothel in Wartime Berlin (Brenner)
The Peking Express: The Bandits Who Stole a Train, Stunned the West, and Broke the Republic of China (Zimmerman)
Pharaohs of the Sun: The Rise and Fall of Tutankhamun's Dynasty (de la Bédoyère)
Queens of a Fallen World: The Lost Women of Augustine's Confessions (Cooper)
The Search: The True Story of a D-Day Survivor, an Unlikely Friendship, and a Lost Shipwreck Off Normandy (Phillips)
Travellers of the World Revolution: A Global History of the Communist International (Studer)

Other nonfiction:

The Big Con: How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Businesses, Infantilizes Our Governments, and Warps Our Economies (Mazzucato)
The Edge of the Plain: How Borders Make and Break Our World (Crawford)
Edgeland: A Slow Walk West (Swire)
Fairy Poems (ed. Greenberg)
The Granite Kingdom: A Cornish Journey (Hannigan)
Hollywood Screwball Comedy, 1934-1945: Sex, Love, and Democratic Ideals (Halbout)
Iliad (trans. Wilson)
In Search of the River Jordan: A Story of Palestine, Israel, and the Struggle for Water (Fergusson)
It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism (Sanders)
Metropolitain: An Ode to the Paris Métro (Walker)
Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest To Hunt Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars In America (Burton)
Modernism at the Beach: Queer Ecologies and the Coastal Commons (Freed-Thall)
Moving the Needle: What Tight Labor Markets Do for the Poor (Newman & Jacobs)
On Freedom Road: Bicycle Explorations and Reckonings on the Underground Railroad (Goodrich)
Poverty, by America (Desmond)
The Stories Old Towns Tell: A Journey Through Cities at the Heart of Europe (Kohn)
The Wandering Mind: What Medieval Monks Tell Us About Distraction (Kreiner)

2023 children's books of interest, continued:

YA:

The Dos and Donuts of Love (Jaigirdar)
Revelle (Kenna)
Sound the Gong (He)
¡Viva Lola Espinoza! (Cerón)
The Voice Upstairs (Weymouth)

Picture books:

The Animal Song (Howley)
Evergreen (Cordell)
Maurice (Bagley)
Night Market Rescue (Cheng)
O Is for Ocean (Paprocki)
Ray (Latimer)
Tiny T-Rex and the Grand Ta-Da! (Stutzman)
Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem (Stewart)

Mysteries!:

I might read some in 2023. I used to love the genre. I've mostly not had success with it (except cozier historical mysteries) over the last few years. I find it difficult to read books that valorize the police, and I don't really get on with crime or thrillers. Still, quite a few 2023 titles have interesting covers ...

Are there any series you like with new titles publishing in 2023?

Historical:

A Cold Highland Wind (Alexander)
Endpapers (Kelly)
Hungry Ghosts (Hosein)
Last Dance in Salzburg (Conroy)
The Late Mrs. Willoughby (Gray)
The Motion Picture Teller (Cotterill)
Murder in Postscript (Winters)
Of Manners and Murder (Hastings)

Gothic overtones:

The Birdcage Library (Berry)
The House of Whispers (Mazzola)
The Last Heir to Blackwood Library (Fox)
The Light on Farallon Island (Wheeler)
The Secrets of Hartwood Hall (Lumsden)

WWII era (including Resistance and espionage):

Code Name Sapphire (Jenoff)
The Golden Doves (Kelly)
The Keeper of Hidden Books (Martin)
The Librarian of Burned Books (Labuskes)
The Midnight News (Baker)

Contemporary:

Bright and Deadly Things (Elliott)
The Golden Spoon (Maxwell)
Grave Expectations (Bell)
Scorched Grace (Douaihy)
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (Sutanto)

Reserved for additional 2023 titles

Reserved for additional 2023 middle grade titles

Okay, the thread is back in business! Thanks for indulging me as I procrastinate on my job search. New book search > job search.

Edited: back to private on the TBR account. :)

>46 libraryperilous: In answer to your question, Deborah Crombie has a new one coming out in February, called A Killing of Innocents. I read it on NetGalley and liked it a lot. Her series featuring Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are police procedurals, but they don't assume the police are all wise or good. This is one of my favorite mystery series.

It's interesting to see your list; I've read quite a few mysteries, but I don't recognize any of those authors.

>50 Jim53: Thank you! This sounds like a series that matches my tastes well. I look forward to trying one of them.

I've read quite a few mysteries, but I don't recognize any of those authors.

I'm pretty good at finding new titles! I'm not so great at paring them down to a manageable list, lol.

I'm picky about my mysteries, too. Have you tried Tana French? Her main series follows police detectives, but in Ireland, so it's a different vibe to some degree. They're definitely dark but I find them unputdownable every time I pick one up.

And have you read The Thursday Murder Club? I haven't gotten to it yet (hopefully this year!) but it kind of sounds like it might fit what you're looking for.

>52 curioussquared:
Tana French's Murder Squad books are very good. As someone who lives in Ireland I can say she nailed the aspects of Dublin life that come across in this series. Also, her standalone novel, The Wych Elm, also captures Dublin perfectly. Her standalone novel, The Searcher, is in a rural setting and is a disappointment. She has obviously not picked up the nuances of life in rural Ireland as well as she has for life in Dublin.

The Thursday Murder Club is entertaining enough, but not amazing.

>31 libraryperilous: Another hit! I'm adding this to my wishlist!

>53 pgmcc: That's good to know! I've never been to Ireland so can't judge her on that front. I've only read three Dublin Murder books so far, mostly because they're so good that I can't help but savor them.

>52 curioussquared: These both sound great. Thank you!

>53 pgmcc: I think I'll try The Witch Elm. Thank you for this background. Apparently, she lives in Dublin. Maybe she doesn't visit the countryside often.

>54 Sakerfalcon: *whistling as I walk past your wishlist*

>55 curioussquared:
Have you read them in chronological order?

My first Tana French was, The Wych Elm. On the strength of that I went onto In The Woods, the first of the Murder Squad books. I then read The Likeness and have yet to read the rest.

I did read The Searcher, another standalone, but, as I have indicated above, I was a little disappointed. It was quite good, but it lacked the air of environmental authenticity she has in her Dublin based books. Better to avoid it if you do not want to spoil your opinion of her.

>56 libraryperilous: She has quite a varied history in terms of where she lived. You are correct that she settled in Dublin (she lectured in Trinity College) and your suggestion that she doesn't visit the countryside often mirrors the suspicion I have. She is someone who was not born and raised in Ireland, and Dublin in particular, and her capture of the Dublin scene and Dubliners has left me in total awe. She did, however, make one faux pas. She has someone who was supposed to be an ardent Guinness drinker drinking Guinness straight from a can. The rest of the book was so good I decided to give her a pass on that, but it was one thing that jumped out at me and I went, "AAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" It is a testament to how good the rest of the book is that I forgave her that one.

>56 libraryperilous: I hope you enjoy! I also meant to re-recommend T. Kingfisher's Paladins series. They might have too much romance for you, but they're just so delightful, and I enjoyed the mystery element of them as well. She's so good at genre-blending.

>57 pgmcc: I have -- so I'm through In the Woods, The Likeness, and Faithful Place. Broken Harbor is up next. I've loved them all so much so far that I've purchased the rest of her books just on the assumption that I'll enjoy them. I wonder if The Searcher will ring as untrue for me as it did for you given that I don't have the familiarity with Ireland.

Jumping in to echo Pete's assessment of her work - Wych Elm was a better standalone than The Searcher and, gaffes aside, the Dublin Murder squad books are excellent on the whole. Personally I didn't like The Secret Place much because teenagers can be so loathsome and I didn't care for The Trespasser because our main character's shoulder chip just got too much for me. At some point I need a person to shut up and fix their shit already.

>59 Bookmarque:
Well balanced. A chip on each shoulder.

Yeah, I guess it was too big for just one!

Enjoyed your lists of books to look out for! Will have to examine these in more detail. :)

>59 Bookmarque: Ugh, yeah. Chips on cops' shoulders: another reason I don't enjoy crime novels.

>62 LibraryLover23: I aim to balloon fellow LTers' TBRs! :)

3. The Girl in White: Mallory moves to Eastport, MA, a seaside town that celebrates its ghostly reputation with weekly parades and cheesy souvenirs. Mallory's been sleepwalking, and now she's being haunted by an elderly woman dressed in white. Could this be the legend of Sweet Molly? She "didn't just leave Eastport all those years ago. She was chased away by the pain and the unfairness of it all." Once Mallory tells her friends what's going on, the quartet work to root out the source of Molly's rage. "Turns out there's no good way to tell your friends that a spirit is planning to overthrow the town."

This is a cozy yet slightly spooky middle grade novel. I wish the town's seaside location had been even more of a feature. (You know how I am about salt spray in books!) I liked the message: stand up for what's right, then keep standing up even when powerful people don't listen to you: "They don't want to hear this stuff, guys. They don't want to know the truth." I liked the dynamics of the kids' friendship. They work through their disagreements in a realistic way and also joke around with each other. They're resourceful and creative and they really value their friendship.

I don't normally comment on copy editing, but this book had a number of mistakes that took me out of the story. I might just be salty because I applied for an editorial position at this publisher and didn't get an interview.

4 stars.

RIP to an absolute real one. Adolfo Kaminsky obit.

I read about Mr. Kaminsky last year in Ronald Rosbottom's Sudden Courage. So much of the Resistance's most important work was drudgery: collecting paper and ink, forging documents, bicycling lists of Jews who needed assistance to sympathetic volunteers.

Mr. Kaminsky went on, after the war, to forge documents for freedom fighters in many countries.

It's always hard when the best among us leave us. I'm gutted.

>65 libraryperilous: I don't think I've heard of Kaminsky before but wow, what a life. I will be looking for more about him.

>66 curioussquared: My mom emailed me that his daughter wrote a biography of him, Adolfo Kaminsky: A Forger's Life. I hope to read it soon.

4. Lost in the Moment and Found: Antsy's creepy stepfather comes between her and her mother. When he threatens to escalate his behavior, she runs away. She stumbles upon a Door and finds herself in a magical lost and found shop. Vineta (Baba Yaga-like old) and Hudson (magpie) man the shop as they travel through Doors to other dimensions. They stop at novel markets for food while caring for the lost items on its shelves. They're pleased to have Antsy join them because Antsy can open the Doors. Like most magical bargains, this one has its own price, and Antsy loses yet another piece of her innocence when she finds out what she's been paying.

This one hit me harder than the rest of the series. The series is about the loss of childhood innocence, but this one conveys it very strongly, in part because of the painful topic it explores. My heart broke for Antsy and Elodina, the wispy wasp ghost: "I wish I could have flown. I wish you had been warned. I'm sorry." Children should never suffer because of the adults in their lives. Antsy is failed by each parental figure in different ways, and each betrayal costs a piece of Antsy's childhood innocence.

Poignant, with lashings of wonder (like childhood!), and rooted deeply in the knowledge that even sanctuaries cannot fully offer safety, with a bittersweet ending that promises Antsy a way to move forward. I loved the juxtaposition of the Shop and its Doors with Eleanor's school and its door. We also get to see how the Doors operate, and the grimmer undercurrent—that the advantage they take of vulnerable children is its own form of abuse and gaslighting—is explored here with good depth.

I loved Elodina so much. My favorite character in this series. Her childlike resilience and bravery! "I may never fly again, and still there winds I have never tasted, fires I have never seen, and I yearn for them. I wish to be free of this fate that I did nothing to bring upon myself, did nothing to earn. So I will go."

McGuire's content warning is reproduced below for those who may need it:

"While all the Wayward Children books have dealt with heavy themes and childhood traumas, this one addresses an all-too-familiar monster: the one that lives in your own home. Themes of grooming and adult gaslighting are present in the early text. As a survivor of something very similar, I would not want to be surprised by these elements where I didn't expect them. I just want to offer you this reassurance. Antsy runs. Before anything can actually happen, Antsy runs."

4.5 stars.

5. Song of Silver, Flame Like Night: Adequate YA fantasy that ultimately relies too heavily on YA tropes. Lan meets Zen and discovers they're both practitioners of magic, a lost art that's been stamped out by colonial conquerors but that also was abused and diminished by the in-house Hin imperialists previously running the country. Zen takes Lan to a hidden magic school and Lan begins to show her true powers, including a preternatural affinity for crafting qi into Seals. The conquering Elantians also would like to understand Hin magic, and there's a Seal imprinted on Lan's wrist that might hold an important key.

I'm glad I stuck with this, as it became interesting on page 267, when the legendary, long-lost demon gods showed up. Unfortunately, it was a little too trope-y for me to enjoy it fully. I think it would have been better as an adult novel. The author would have had more space to explore colonialism and to build up her magic system. The demon gods also are intriguing, and the book has an interesting spin on power, free will, and how the art of balancing competing forces plays into it all. I'll read the sequel.

4 stars.

6. Station Eternity: Murder seems to happen around Mallory Viridian. Plus, Mallory's perceptions heighten when she's supposed to notice clues. She's made a Jessica Fletcher career out of chronicling her cases, but the latest murder is one too many. Mallory heads into space and finds refuge on a sentient station, Eternity. But then a murder happens, and the station becomes very sick. Whodunnit?

I really enjoyed this mash up of Becky Chambers and Clifford Simak. I hope there are additional mysteries. This one's more soap opera than mystery, but Lafferty does quite a bit of worldbuilding. The next one can be more of a straight mystery. As with Six Wakes, she sketches in something to chew on if readers are so inclined. This time it's defense posture vs diplomacy and whether or not the military should be meddling contra the latter.

4.5 stars

>70 libraryperilous: Ooh, this is on my TBR pile! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'll get to it soon. I liked her UF travel book series a lot but it seems to have stopped after 2 books.

>71 Sakerfalcon: I hope you like it! It's long, and I didn't really get into it until the halfway point. At some point in the last third, it shifted from a 4-star read to a 4.5-star, 'ooh I'll reread this before the sequel comes out' kind of book. The travel books look fun and cute.

7. Tress of the Emerald Sea: cute, YA-ish story of Tress, who leaves her island home to sail the dangerous spore seas and rescue her bb, Charlie. She falls in with a pirate crew and finds herself becoming a bit bolder, braver, and mad scientist-er than she'd ever pictured herself.

I liked the story, the magic system, and the glimpse of life on this ship. I grew to like the characters, although they felt like a bit of an afterthought. I didn't care for the bardic style of telling the story, although I understand why it was told in that style. Also, some of the metaphors Hoid uses are a bit of a reach. I'd previously read Warbreaker, which I remember as having an interesting plot and magic system, rather thin characterizations, and plodding prose. I'm looking forward to getting to Elantris soon, as I did really enjoy the overall fantastical elements and Sanderson's general frenetic creativity.

Thanks to Narilka and clamairy for the book bullet! The illustrations are gorgeous, and I imagine his Kickstarter backers will love this in hardcover. I loved the way the spore "waterworks" at the top of the pages changed color when the different seas were entered. Really, this is a fun and creative maritime fantasy, and I recommend it. :)

4 stars.

Edited: typo and punctuation

8. The Winter Sea: Author Carrie feels pulled to Slains Castle, on the Scottish Coast, while she's writing a novel about the Jacobite rebellion. She finds herself writing pages of a detailed, historically accurate story featuring her ancestor, Sophia Paterson. Might there be a supernatural connection between the two women?

Susanna Kearsley shows up frequently as a Mary Stewart readalike. I can see why Kearsley draws comparisons to both Stewart and the Outlander books. While Kearsley writes beautiful descriptions of the landscape and Slains Castle, she doesn't pull them into the story the way Stewart does. I'll stick with Mary Stewart when I'm in the mood for Mary Stewart. I enjoyed The Winter Sea, although I found the Jacobite intrigues more intriguing than either timeline's romances.

It's always a bit exciting yet jarring to read a novel that has contemporary resonance. The contemporary storyline features a conversation about the movement that led to the Scotland Act of 1998. This was an interesting week to read about that.

Four stars.

Here's a fun Twitter thread on pop history books that historians have to spend time debunking: link.

>58 curioussquared: I missed this rec. Thank you! I've added the series to my TBR.

Edited: numbering

>75 libraryperilous: So many people saying The Da Vinci Code, lol.

>76 libraryperilous: I hope you enjoy!

>73 libraryperilous: Glad you enjoyed it :)

9. Quintessence: Alma moves to a new town and starts having panic attacks. Her parents are kind but a bit smothering. When an eccentric shopkeeper gives Alma a quintescope, she sneaks on the roof and uses it to watch a Starling fall to the earth. From there, clues lead Alma and some new friends to four elements full of quintessence that can be used to restore the Starling to outer space. The kids find themselves sneaking out at night to collect the elements, but Alma can't seem to get rid of her panic attacks or learn to trust her herself again. The Starling is getting weaker and the kids are running out of time. Alma's going to have to figure out how to channel her essential element before the Starling's light burns out.

I read and loved this author's island adventure, The Adventure Is Now, and it has fantastical flora and fauna with plausible evolutionary features. I know she can write science adventures with creative fantastical bits that feel grounded in science. This book's mix of astronomy and alchemy made me uncomfortable, especially on behalf of younger readers. I liked it, overall, but I don't think I'll reread it.

Four stars.

>74 libraryperilous: I've read three of Susanna Kearsley's books. I enjoyed all three, but the one set on Long Island (Bellewether) was my favorite. I guess prefer her ghost stories to the time-travel ones.

Glad you enjoyed Tress!

>80 clamairy: My mom liked it, too, so we probably will read a couple for our book club. Bellewether is intriguing and the cover is v pretty.

10. Nightwatch on the Hinterlands: tenju templar Iari and vakar* diplomat (or spy?) Gaer are stuck on a backwater planet that has an offshoot of the Weep running through it. This tear in the multiverse is, oh, the fault of Gaer's species during a long-ago interplanetary war, and "all the old interspecies prejudices were alive and well." Iari is a bit tired of escorting the voidspit ambassador (spy?) around B-town. Then an artificer is murdered and Gaer (spy? but definitely an arithmancer) discovers that someone is manipulating the math-based multiverse with setat new math. Void and dust! Iari and Gaer are stuck together investigating a crime that reaches all the way from the void into the voidspit Weep, and it may even land them in a setatir political crisis.

You're plunked down in the middle of this and the author trusts you to figure stuff out as you go along. Oh, there's great worldbuilding, but say it's all wrapped up in the good cop-bad cop routine Iari and Gaer have with each other. I loved Eason's laconic writing style (say stream-of-consciousness diary mixed with field notes and recon details filed away for the military report at HQ) and the way Iari and Gaer accidentally start using each other's phrases and speech mannerisms. This is a creative sci-fi mystery with fantasy elements: the mathematics-based multiverse and the arithmancy that manipulates it; the creepy and eldritch Brood that surge from the Weep; the mecha riev that Iari and Gaer realize might actually be sentient. Iari and Gaer's good cop-bad cop routine grows from a grudging partnership to a genuinely tender friendship they're both too crusty to acknowledge (say possible crush, too, although that may be the product of an unfortunate side effect of Iari's nanomecha syn on Gaer's neurochemicals).

This book slaps: another absolute all-timer and it's still only January. Five stars.

*Vakari physiology is a cross between Aandrisk and Aeluon, and the Gaer's homeworld language is Sisstish. The vakari naming conventions seem similar to Reshkitkish and Gaer's chromatophores flash emotions: "Anger, on Gaer's face, was a sunset spangling." I suspect this was an intentional homage on Eason's part. Nightwatch is sort of a gritty, eldritch version of hopepunk. I love these kinds of Easter eggs in sci-fi novels.

Edited: a word

>82 libraryperilous: Ooooh. I enjoyed the Rory Thorne books and this one sounds even better. From your review it feels like Rory Thorne was a fractured fairy tale set in this universe, but Hinterlands is a mystery set in the same world. I'll be looking for this one!

>83 curioussquared: This definitely is a (noirish) mystery with lots of action and an ending that sets up all the political stakes. I loved it, so now I want to read the Rory duology. First, I am going to visit the Nightwatch over Windscar! I'm also curious if Eason uses a similar writing style in the Rory Thorne series. I thought it was very creative.

I'll watch for your thoughts!

Edited: numbering

>84 libraryperilous: It's been a few years, but I think the writing style sounds rather different. I remember Rory Thorne as standard sci-fi prose but with some fairy tale elements mixed in (i.e., once upon a time...). I remember the worldbuilding as being good, but I don't it's quite as "plunk you down in the middle of things" as this one.

11. Uncanny Times: It's late 1913, and the Huntsmen siblings, Rosemary and Aaron Harker, and their hound, Botheration—yes, those kind of huntsmen and that kind of hound—are summoned to upstate New York. An unknown uncanny is murdering residents of a small mill town. The Harker siblings are stumped, but the more they dig into this uncanny's origins, the more they find themselves questioning everything they know about the uncanny and humans' perceptions of them.

I liked this urban fantasy. There was just enough historical detail to interest me, although the action and dialogue often felt modern. It has all the hallmarks of an urban fantasy, despite the historical, small town setting: bickering, slightly sad monster hunters primed for action chasing after an unknown, stronger enemy. The siblings have an affectionate but competitive relationship, and there's a tragic past that may play into further volumes. I'll read the next volume, and I'd recommend this to fans of urban fantasy or occult magic. For my part, my sympathies were with the uncanny themselves, and the development of that aspect was intriguing.

Four stars.

>86 libraryperilous: This sounds promising. I liked the author's Devil's West trilogy a lot, so I'll look out for Uncanny times.

>86 libraryperilous: Direct hit :) I've just put a hold on it from the library.

>86 libraryperilous: that's on my wishlist, but doesn't seem to be available through the library. I have liked some of her other books.

>87 Sakerfalcon:, >88 tardis:, >89 NorthernStar: Enjoy! I haven't read anything else by her, but the Devil's West series is intriguing.

12. A Summoning of Demons: Romy and her friends are summoned by their patron to free his goddaughter from a marriage contract. Things flow from there. Teo's back! The Chimera trilogy wraps up with this one, and it feels more like Carol Berg light than Cate Glass. The demon summoning is pretty intense.

I liked the first two books in this series immensely. I also liked this one, but I wasn't as entertained. I missed the heist elements and the political backstabbing. This one is just sad in places, like you'd expect a Carol Berg novel to be. I did like the jaunty tone of the last couple of pages.

I'm not sure whether this originally was planned as a quartet and the author or publisher changed their minds. It feels like there's room for another adventure, and we didn't get a book with Dumond on the cover. This novel's plot is resolved, but the overall mythology doesn't get wrapped up. Some major questions are answered, but they open up more avenues for political intrigues and heists.

Four stars.

Edited for clarity

January wrap-up:

I read 7 print books and 5 Kindle e-books. All 7 print books were off my TBR shelf. I completed my book club assignment for the month!

I used an Amazon gift card I already had to buy the sequel to Nightwatch on the Hinterlands, and I used the Kindle points credit from that purchase to buy my mom a birthday book, In Place of Fear, by Catriona McPherson. Other than that, no books were purchased.

So far, I'm finding reading much less stressful this year than it's been for the last few years. Sticking to my favorite genres has helped. I DNFed a few 2023 titles from my watch list that were not SFF. I've basically put the watch list on ignore, but I'll leave the titles up here as a cautionary tale and also in case they're of interest to any of my readers. :)

Favorite books of January: Nightwatch on the Hinterlands and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
Honorable mentions: Station Eternity and Lost in the Moment and Found

Best book of January: Nightwatch on the Hinterlands

I received an e-mail update from the Cece Rios author, Kaela Rivera, with the subject line "Sad news about Cece #3." When I tell you that my heart skipped a beat!

Fortunately, her sad news is only that the final book's release has been moved from September 2023 to March 2024. :(

Sweet cheeses... Why would they scare you like that?!

>94 clamairy: Right?!?

DNFing The Spare Man, and pleased to report that the market on screwball noir set in outer space has not been cornered by Kowal. I shall continue with my WIP.

Live look at me reading this hectoring, plodding novel:

>95 libraryperilous: I'll steer clear of The spare man, thank you!

>95 libraryperilous: Interesting, because we generally like similar books, and I enjoyed The Spare Man very much. I can even see re-reading it, if my TBR pile ever goes down a bit. Be interesting to see if my reaction is the same next time.

>97 tardis: I was surprised that I didn't like it, because I remembered that you do and we have similar tastes. It was heavier and less sparkling than I expected. I may finish it and read it as just a regular sci-fi mystery, not a The Thin Man pastiche.

I can even see re-reading it, if my TBR pile ever goes down a bit.

I really love rereading and hope to do more of it this year.

>98 libraryperilous: Sometimes it's just where your brain is at when you read a book. I love re-reading, too, but the library has been delivering holds and I've been buying books, so I need to keep on top of them.

By the way, I finally had to ask my public library to get the second Cece Rios book because they didn't order it on their own. I haven't heard yet if they've approved my suggestion.

I LOVE your use of Nora (Myrna Loy) as she so perfectly sums up your attitude towards said book.

>100 Bookmarque: The dress she's wearing is one of my favorite Myrna Loy outfits, second only to her entire wardrobe in Love Me Tonight.

>99 tardis: Fingers crossed they order the book for you! Alas that we have to wait until next year for the gran final.

>96 Sakerfalcon: Sorry to reverse bb you. :(

13. An Act of Foul Play: Lady Hardcastle's birthday party at the theater is interrupted by an actual dead body on the stage. Lady H and her lady's maid, Flo, are asked by their inspector friend to go undercover and investigate. The acting troupe is the usual hotbed of professional jealousies, theatrical feuds, and merry-go-round love affairs. The detecting duo get some extra fun out of Flo's twin sister, Gwin, showing up for a week's stay and a mini-mystery at the local pub. I do love the way the author works historical and local details into the story naturally. I've noticed that in all three I've read.

This is my mom's favorite mystery series. I've read a couple and enjoyed them, especially Death by the Seaside. This one is a bit less entertaining, because the duo aren't investigating for the Crown. There aren't spy shenanigans. Also, I don't think the author quite left a trail of clues to follow? I saw a separate twist coming, but the murderer was revealed in an offhand remark 75% into the story, so it made the reveal kind of boring. That's not the same thing as leaving breadcrumbs. I also might have missed any breadcrumbs because I read 40% of this novel in a waiting room. The doctor was running 2.5 hours behind, LOL.

Four stars.

>92 libraryperilous: sounds like a really good start to the year.

>103 Jim53: Fingers crossed it continues!

14. The Carrefour Curse: Garnet Carrefour can use stones to work magic, but her mom won't let Garnet meet the rest of the family. When magic summons them to the family mansion, Crossroad House, Garnet discovers she has a unique, extra magical talent. She also discovers that her creepy great-grandfather is draining his relatives' magic to stay alive. And, there's a nasty, invisible Old House on the grounds that kidnapped a girl about Garnet's age twenty years ago.

This was a fun and creepy middle grade mystery, which the author's note says is her homage to Dark Shadows.

4.5 stars.

15. Garlic and the Vampire: Anxious Garlic embraces the safety of living and working in Witch Agatha's garden. It's all she can do to get out of bed on farmer's market day, where she joins all the other fruits and vegetables in selling her lovingly grown, fresh wares. One day: smoke from a nearby castle. Oh dear. Could it be a vampire? The farmer folk are nervous: "Cheese 'n' chives! I'm a blood orange! I'm done for! Oh, grapes! The people in town!" Bully Celery goads the other farmers into sending Garlic to slay the vampire. But, as it so often turns out, even the smallest among us can be brave, and appearances and first impressions can be deceiving.

I adored this delightfully warm graphic novel, which reminded me of both the Peapod Farm series and the Tea Dragon Society books. Another plus: I think I finally understand both the term 'cottagecore' and its appeal. This was such a soothing read, and I loved the quasi-Victorian milieu.

Five stars.

>106 libraryperilous: This sounds great! I see there's a sequel too. Adding to my wishlist.

>107 Sakerfalcon: Ooh, will try to get to the sequel soon. It's such a sweet book!

16. Nightwatch over Windscar: Our favorite loquacious yet mysterious ambassador (spy?) and his favorite silent yet quick-tempered templar are back. This time, they've gone deeper into the hinterlands, closer to the Weep's fissure, chasing down a lead on the separatist cult that almost murdered them in B-town. Things go pear-shaped (of course they do), and the besties find themselves apart and pining, engaged in a mutual BFF crush—while they each find that the more they solve the current mystery, the deeper the voidspit political snarls go.

Sss. This is eldritch hopepunk. Bet. But it's also the story of Iari and Gaer's deepening friendship, and the way their odd couple relationship pulls everyone else into a found family, Fellowship of the Ring alliance. A new alliance for an old evil that's evolving in unexpected ways. This could have been a trilogy, but the author apparently grew frustrated and ended the series with this book. I don't find the ending incomplete, but I want more. (We all want more in book worlds that we love.)

This is a beautiful, unique look at what true, deep friendship consists of: the easiness mixed with tension because you can be honest with each other; the boundaries you set for yourself but want your friend to break for you; the setatir loyalty of it all—and the way it's all a bit lopsided and someone's always the more in friend love but you can't keep a ledger, or bet you'll ruin the whole voidspit thing.

(It's also a kind and compassionate look at immigration and the bravery of this choice: the prejudices faced; the assimilation while you hold on to your own personality and cultural motifs; the way you don't question your loyalty but everyone else does.)

Five stars. I need someone to write fanfic in this universe. I need more Iari and Gaer!!!!

Edited: capitalization error

Oop, I still plan to read The Spare Man this year. Hopefully it works better for me!

My best friend also loved Garlic and the Vampire. I need to get to it soon!

17. Garlic and the Witch: Anxious yet brave little Garlic is off on another adventure. This time, she and her new friend, the Count, fly to a night market in search of bloodroot for the count's vegetarian blood cocktail. Garlic has a new layer of anxiety: She's turning human! Change is scary, and Garlic isn't ready. What if she's even clumsier? What if Carrot doesn't like her as a human? On the other hand, being taller and able to give the Count a real hug would be nice. :)

The first book in this series was a gentle and accurate look at anxiety. This one is a gentle and cozy look at coming of age. Maybe the first one also had this, but this time around I noticed the accommodations the humans have added to their homes for their fruit and vegetable friends. Really great rep!

"I have seen a lot of amazing, beautiful things, though. Things I never would have seen if I hadn't left home. Maybe that's what being human will be like. It'll be scary but not all the time. That wouldn't be so bad."

4.5 stars

18. The Devil's Blaze: What if Holmes and Watson, inspired by the WWII-era Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce B movies, were operating during the war? What if there's a mysterious chemical weapon being used to murder high-ranking British officials? What if Moriarty's in charge of Bletchley Park?

I really enjoyed The Devil's Blaze and raced through it. It's quite sensationalist in places, as befits a tribute to B movies. It also does a good job of depicting the depth of Holmes and Watson's friendship, as befits a tribute to the original stories.

4.5 stars

World Running Down-themed valentines, created by the author Al Hess! My Libby hold on this is coming in at midnight. So excited!

"Our love doesn't need a manual"

DNFing All You Knead Is Love, a disappointing middle grade novel that I thought would be filled with travel, city adventures, and food. Unfortunately, it's best categorized as domestic fiction. Alba, the twelve-year-old protagonist, is dealing with heavy things: an abusive father, a distant mother, her own low self-esteem, and an anxiety disorder. She spends a lot of time running off when anything difficult occurs. She also has an odd 'romance' with a new friend, including a scene where he serenades her under her window. She initially tells him that it's creepy, but then she relents.

Ugh. There's just too much going on in this novel, and Alba sounds like an angsty teenager, not a preteen. Barcelona sounds awesome, though! At least, the smidgen of it we see.

Note that I'm only recording DNFs of books that are on my physical TBR shelf, since those are in my >13 libraryperilous: photo.

>114 libraryperilous: Bummer. I love a good pun title :)

>115 curioussquared: Same. I also love travel adventures and books about bakeries. It also didn't help me get out of my reading slump. :(

Does anyone have any tips on getting out of a reading slump when the problem is lack of concentration and trouble focusing?

>116 libraryperilous: Sometimes an audiobook can help me through a slump like that, paired with chores or a craft or something else I'm doing with my hands, since it requires less actual drive to read each word and the other task I'm doing can occupy the fidgety part of me. Or sometimes if I'm in a slump like that I'll pick up an old faithful all-time favorite book -- something I've read a million times, so it doesn't need as much brainpower since I know it so well, but will still occupy me since it's so good and comforting.

>116 libraryperilous: I'm hoping you'll get some good tips here, for I can use them too. The suggestion in >117 curioussquared: of a comfort read has occasionally worked in the past, but not always for me. Sending virtual hugs and hoping it won't last too long.

>117 curioussquared: I can't tell you how many times an audiobook has helped get me back on track. I can do housework or gardening, and keep what you call the fidgety part (and I call the screaming monkey part) of my brain occupied.

>117 curioussquared:, >118 Jim53:, >119 clamairy: Thank you, everyone. I'll try an audiobook (probably the Serkis LotR!), and I also might reread The Perilous Gard this weekend.

I tend to be a guzzler when I read. I like to finish the book in one go. I have a hard time putting down books even if I get sleepy. The current absence of focus means I'm only making it through a chapter or two at a time.

19. A Quiet Life in the Country: Lady Hardcastle and her lady's maid, Florence Armstrong, retire from an adventurous life in secret service on behalf the Crown. They expect the village of Littleton Cotterell to be peaceful and safe. It isn't too long before they stumble on a dead body in a forest clearing, and then someone else is offed at a posh engagement party. Inspector Sunderland tells them their quiet village is a statistical anomaly, with the highest murder rate in Merrie Olde England. Naturally, Lady H and Flo decide to meddle.

I like this series, especially the found family aspect that Kinsey starts to build in this first entry. I enjoy cozyish historical mysteries, especially those set in England or involving travel abroad. I managed to finish this book, despite the aforementioned slump. :)

Four stars.

There's Really No Wrong Way to Read a Book, courtesy of Molly Templeton on Tor Books' blog.

I'm going to take an internet break for a couple (few?) weeks. I'm struggling to be productive about my job search, lol. I'll catch up on your threads and my reads (many, we hope!) on the flip side. Happy reading!

>122 libraryperilous: Best of luck!!!

>116 libraryperilous: When I start feeling burned out on reading, I go and do something else for a while. I have less reading burnout in the spring & summer when there are lots of other activities that take up time. I think having to take care of other things makes my reading time more precious. I also notice that burnout tends to happen when I am not getting enough rest so I try to sleep more, which usually helps me re-boot.

I hope your reading mojo returns soon.

>119 clamairy: "Screaming Monkey Brain" - LOL!

>124 ScoLgo: You can visualize this primate, yes? Shiny screens have only made the little beast more needy.

>122 libraryperilous: Good luck, Diana!

>119 clamairy: Screaming monkey part sounds pretty accurate, honestly!

>122 libraryperilous: Enjoy your internet break!

>119 clamairy: Mostly chattering monkey in my case, but I know what you mean.

Best of luck with RL, Diana!

Thanks, everyone! I've submitted four applications already. That sounds like a small number, but I also rewrote my CV and cover letter. I'm still tweaking them, but I like the way they look.

>124 ScoLgo: I'm waiting for Opening Day. I always read fewer books during baseball season.

20. Beyond the Burn Line: Hundreds of thousands of years in the future, after humans burned themselves off the Earth, a peaceful raccoon-like people live in a quasi-Victorian era of advancing technology and rigid gender roles. They previously were enslaved by bears, who then suffered from their own mind-altering plague, and the raccoons' society is scornful of scholar Pilgrim Saltmire's suggestion that bears have culture and language. And what are these mysterious Visitor sightings: a conspiracy or first contact? Pilgrim thinks a map might hold the answer to all these questions. Forty years later, Pilgrim's nephew and an ogre investigate a crime tied to the map and discover some things that can't be ignored but will impact their peoples' fragile treaty beyond repair.

I loved this. This has cozy fantasy vibes for most of the book, even though it's squarely sci-fi, with an extra sci-fi twist in the last couple of pages. I especially liked that it's a mystery, wrapped in a scholar's puzzle, overlaid with an adventure, with the map as a MacGuffin (or is it?), and the long-ago uplift of various animals as a red herring (or is it?). McAuley's raccoons are admirably peaceable, but there are rigid social binaries, a rising robber baron class, and vicious prejudices. Two important themes thread in and out of the story: the hope for change that lies in nonconformity and the stubborn patience required to change things.

This book also has two lovely and quiet friendships that end in betrayals: one a personal betrayal and one a sociocultural betrayal. The careful way that McAuley explores his characters' capacity for forgiveness ties in with his overall commentary. While this is a poignant story, it ultimately is a hopeful one. Beyond the Burn Line shares political themes with Keith Roberts' Pavane, but I think McAuley ultimately believes more in the humanity of any peoples and is more politically liberal.

Five stars. Highly recommended to anyone interested in a cozy and thoughtful post-apocalyptic novel.

21. The Terraformers: Three linked novellas that explore how terraforming ecosystems and protecting trophic cascades might work in the far future. Regret to inform you that capitalism survived. Fortunately, so did nonconformity and fighting for one's rights. Newitz uses whimsical romances, ecosystem planning, and coalition building* to explore the long, patient work of building a better society. It's so worth it, and all of their central characters recognize this in different ways. Their characters also seize moments and end up with serious progress in the moment. After all, you can't be neutral if you're a moving (sentient) train. Overall, Terraformers is just a great look at what goes into building a better world while being filled with delights both wondrous and gonzo.

The first novella made me cry because I loved one of the characters so much. I read the third novella, about helping refugees, the same day Biden's administration announced their asylum ban. Look, stories aren't policies. I don't think I did any activism by reading this book, but it helped. I was feeling heartbroken, and I felt a bit hopeful and ready to fight after finishing Terraformers. Stories are such gifts, and it's always a wonder to read one at just the right time. I didn't even know the third novella would be topical until I started it!

Five stars: absolutely delightful, heartwarming, and, while sad in places, ending in a hopeful triumph. We stan a train and cat romance: "As Scrubjay headed south, Moose lay on their back to edit a story; the train carefully angled their body so that the sun always fell on the cat's soft brown belly fur through the windows."

*They do such a great job of showing how being in a coalition is awkward, irritating, and requires everyone to leave a little bit on the table. Of course, everyone also gets something they're fighting for, so it makes the bitter pills easier to swallow.

>132 libraryperilous: I was excited to see that you rated this 5 stars when it showed in my Connections. I just bought it the other week!

Welcome back! Both >131 libraryperilous: and >132 libraryperilous: are intriguing :)

>133 Sakerfalcon: Ooh, bookish serendipity! I look forward to your thoughts.

>134 curioussquared: So, >132 libraryperilous: seems like it might be more your vibe. On the other hand, >131 libraryperilous: is cozy + talking animals ;)

>135 libraryperilous: Good to know!

>131 libraryperilous: You got me with that one. Good shooting.

>137 Jim53: I recommend Pavane as well. :)

DNFing Healer of the Water Monster: I peeked at the back, and Pond (the water monster) dies.

Twitter thread on the author Sanora Babb, whose notes on Dust Bowl migrants were, uhh, co-opted by Steinbeck

Also, does anyone have copy pasta of a recent cover letter they've used that you could PM me? Sans personal info, of course! I'd like to compare mine to one or two. Going back to my job search for the next few weeks: fingers crossed it will be over soon and I can get back to Poasting. Thank you!

ETA: I've found a couple of websites with useful and well-written cover letters, but even those, like Ask a Manager, are overwhelming me right now. Too much competing advice :)

22. The Unicorn in the Barn: sweet middle grade story about two reluctant friends who team up to heal a unicorn in their rural North Carolina woods. I really liked this, and it was a fast read. 5 stars.

23. Unfamiliar: cute middle grade graphic novel about a kitchen witch and her bunny familiar who move into a haunted house. Her efforts to exorcise the ghosts lead her to a merry band of fellow supernatural misfits, each with their own unusual familiars. I didn't love the artwork, but I thought the story line was sweet, and I'm interested to follow along. 4.5 stars.

24. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi: or, the gang gets back together for one last jobadventure, and things go pear-shaped before they even leave the port. And then Amina's demon (presumed dead) husband shows up. Really loved the historical backdrop: the Indian Ocean and its port cities in the 1100s. Such vibrant, cosmopolitan ports! I liked the sidekicks more than Amina or her husband, and I wish there had been more of Payasam, the sweet and scraggly (magical?) kitty. This was funny and made clever use of its scribe-storyteller frame: a good adventure, well told. 4.5 stars.

Edited: forgot one book

>142 libraryperilous: The Unicorn in the Barn and The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi look intriguing! Chakraborty's City of Brass has been on my radar to read for a while.

>143 curioussquared: I ran out of gas after the first two of Chakraborty's heavyweights. YMMV. Peter loves the series.

>144 Jim53: Good to know! I only own the first one so I'm planning to give it a try and see what I think.

>143 curioussquared:, >144 Jim53: I'm not planning on reading this series, partly because I don't like most fantasy enough to commit to a trilogy. But mostly because I read some criticisms of choices the author made in the final book, and it sounds like something that would frustrate me.

>143 curioussquared: I also loved this series, as did my daughter... I think the 3rd book was my least favorite, though. I gave it four stars.

"This was not the faint rustle of the trees at Hy-Brasil, though. It was a surge like the wind from the sea, clear and cold and smelling of far-away horizons. It fluttered Biddy's hair from its knot and stirred the spell in her heart. It felt like the first step of an adventure."

25. The Magician's Daughter: I loved Parry's first book, The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep, so I had high hopes for this one. Readers, I was not disappointed. This is a slow burn, cozyish (but with high stakes) fantasy with lots of literary references and lovely magic. And a rabbit familiar named Hutchincroft.

It's 1912, and sixteen-year-old Biddy lives with the mage, Rowan, and his familiar Hutchincroft, on the island of Hy-Brasil off the coast of Ireland. Rowan often takes the form of a raven and flies off to the mainland, sometimes all the way to London or Edinburgh, in search of little bits of magic he can steal from rich hoarders and use to help poor people. (He also steals jam and clothes for Biddy.) In this world, magic is good and kind and wants to help, but it's vanishingly rare. Things that seem like coincidences in the stories that Biddy loves, like Dickens' tales of orphans made good, are the reflection of a world where magic used to operate. Storytellers refract their worlds, after all, and the world used to be filled with magic that would enact small kindnesses upon people without their knowing it.

Rowan thinks the magic retreated because greedy mages used too much of it too quickly, and so the schisms that filtered magic into the mundane world began to close. Now, a Council of 1%ers hoards what magic is left for their own power, and the fascist who leads the council is consolidating even more power and stealing the small traces of magic that are left. Rowan is a good mage, so he wants to release the magic so that people have a chance, however small, for a better life. Once upon a time, Rowan thought he'd found a schism and a way to reopen it, but it all seems like a fairy tale now. When things come to a head, Biddy goes to London with Rowan and Hutch, and it may be there (or even in the heart of her own wild yet timid courage) that the schism to begin repairing the world will be found.

I loved this and hope the author writes another story in this world, even though that story probably would be sadder. (There are hints that things may go even more wrong with the magic in the next couple of years—it's 1912, after all—but that won't be the magic's fault.) This book was so warm and kind! I highlighted so many passages. I loved it for lots of reasons but mostly for its fierce love of the world and its insistence on trying to repair what you can in your own small way, even if you're just bailing out a sinking ship. I really needed to read that kind of message right now, but there are lots of other reasons to sink into this quiet and cozy story. :)

Five stars.

"As she followed the banks of the Thames, she found herself stopping to look at the great ships bringing in their cargo, the fishermen and women smoking their pipes on the muddy banks, the horses and carts and electric trams rattling through the streets, wary and yet fascinated. It was the way rabbits and mice and small creatures lived, she remembered Hutch telling her once. The world was filled with dangers, and yet they loved it. They wanted to know everything about it."

>148 libraryperilous: Hmm. I was not terribly enamored of The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep but...rabbit familiar? That right there may be enough to make me read it.

>149 Marissa_Doyle: I think it's cozier and slower-paced than Heep. The writing style is E. M. Forster updates the Brothers Grimm and analyzes the Brontës. In other words, my cup of tea. I adored Hutchincroft! ;)

>148 libraryperilous: I was so glad you see that you gave this 5 stars! I bought a copy the other day after standing dithering over it for 5 minutes: "shall I, shan't I?" Your review makes me think I made the right decision!

>148 libraryperilous: Ooh, I saw an author I like gushing over an ARC of this one on Twitter several months ago and jotted it down then. Glad to see you liked it too! (I can't remember who the author was. Possibly Freya Marske.) On the list to acquire.

>151 Sakerfalcon:, >152 curioussquared: I hope you love it! It has cozy vibes but higher stakes than most cozy fantasies.

26. The Mimicking of Known Successes: the gaseous Jupiter setting, made Victorian with gaslamps and trains, was interesting, and I enjoyed the mystery. The main characters' romance put me off, largely because one of them refuses to grow up and the other one decides to change themselves on behalf of their partner. Four stars.

27. Empty Smiles: conclusion to the Small Spaces quartet, and the weakest entry. The ending leaves the kids with more questions about the Smiling Man, but I actually liked that. Growing up's about not knowing everything. Four stars.

28. A Sinister Revenge: Veronica and Stoker both annoy me, and their icky soulmate nonsense is eye-rolling. The mystery was cozy and set on a remote seaside country estate, a setting which I love. So, four stars.

29. Bert and Mamie Take a Cruise: while everyone else's fortunes went down during the Great Depression, Bert and Mamie made a nest egg providing hothouse tomatoes to the still-rich-enough from their Ohio farm. Bert takes a notion to spend some of their dough on a fancy cruise. Unfortunately, it's February 1939, and the ship's a German one. Bert and Mamie are prejudiced (lots of comments about darkest Africa), but they're smart enough to think the Nazis on board are boorish jerks. I liked the cruise ship setting, and the fun's in seeing fish out of water Bert and Mamie foil everyone by listening to gossip. I think the author is setting these characters up to grow quite a bit, so I'm looking forward to the next installment. Chapter epigraphs were taken from the real-life cruise that inspired the author. Four stars.

30. The New Class: early middle grade (really, a chapter book) with ballet bullies and ballet bunnies who save the day. Who among us does not want a bunny to do pirouettes down our arm? Four stars.

31. The Mirrorwood: really unique middle grade fantasy featuring Fable, a girl cursed at birth to steal other peoples' faces. She ventures into the creepy, thorn-infested woods near her home to rescue a sleeping prince. Her cat, Moth, goes with her. Moth can communicate with Fable, and the two are fierce best friends. 4.5 stars.

32. The Glass Witch: chubby Adelaide Goode is self-conscious about her weight and her status as the weakest witch in her family. In a fit of pique, she unleashes a curse on her family and then has to run around her small cranberry-bog town trying to lift it. Enjoyable but on the fluffier middle grade fantasy end. Four stars.

33. The White Lady: Elinor White has retired to the English countryside and lives an isolated life. When her young neighbors are threatened, Linni finds herself using her wartime connections to try to help them. From there, this character-driven story quietly unravels Linni's guilt and gives her a chance to heal. Loved this. 4.5 stars.

34. What Stays Buried: I loved this! It's the perfect blend of spooky middle grade chills, heartwarming lessons, and magic. A family curse means Calista Wynn will lose her magical ability to talk to ghosts on her thirteenth birthday. It's just a few days away, and Callie isn't sure what to do with herself. It's best to go into this book without reading reviews or synopses. There's an early plot development that works best if you go in cold. Five stars. Highly recommended to middle grade fans.

35. This Appearing House: somewhat melodramatic middle grade novel about a girl, recovering from cancer, who conjures a haunted house built of her fears and anger. This is supposed to be a book about healing and moving on from cancer, but the writing is very moralizing. Some of the things Jac experiences in the house clearly are metaphors, but for what aspects of illness? What does a plate full of teeth represent? Four stars.

Edited to correct touchstones

I'm trying not to post personal stuff on my reading thread, but this is too funny not to share.

Last week, I had what I thought was a good phone interview, and I was scheduled for a follow-up interview for today. I didn't receive a link to the second interview, so yesterday I sent an email to my contact, asking them to resend the link and confirm the interview. No reply. I just assumed they'd moved on. Okay, that's fine.

This morning, I received a message from HR that yes, there was an interview today. I replied with a confirmation and spent the morning preparing for the interview and researching the company and its specific software. Five minutes before the interview, I received a generic HR email telling me I was no longer in contention for the position.

Readers, any guesses as to whether or not they had left me a voice mail explaining anything, or whether or not they responded to the message I then sent confirming that the interview was cancelled?

Anyway, I used the 20ish minutes I waited in the group meeting to research a couple of other jobs—not jobs at that company, lol.

>156 libraryperilous: Ugh, so annoying. At least you became aware of that company's red flags before you got any further into the process?

>155 libraryperilous: I'm intrigued by The Mirrorwood, The White Lady, and What Stays Buried. Who's the author of The White Lady? I think your touchstone is going to the wrong place.

>157 curioussquared: Fixed, thanks! The author is Jacqueline Winspear. I was surprised I liked the novel as much as I did. I don't care for the Maisie Dobbs series.

I think you would love both The Mirrorwood and What Stays Buried.

At least you became aware of that company's red flags

Right? This is the most difficult job search I've ever had. I'm expecting it to take longer since I have a large gap + am trying to switch to a new field. Annoying!

>156 libraryperilous: Oh, yikes. :o( I'm glad you're able to laugh!

>159 clamairy: Haha, yes. If I'd really wanted the job, I would have been humiliated. Fortunately, I did not care that much.

36. Murder Through the English Post: American adventuress Beryl and her English friend Edwina live in the peaceful English village of Walmsley Parva, where they run a business as private inquiry agents. Someone dashes the tranquility with a rash of poison pen letters, so the constable calls on the duo to solve the case. Who in Walmsley Parva would be such a worm?

This was silly, and it was repetitive in places. In one chapter, the women question a recent widower. In the next chapter, they question him again, and the dialogue is the same. I assume this was a copy-pasta issue. Don't editors edit anymore?

Four stars.

37. The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejia: Valentina and her brother go through a portal into a mirror Colombia whose citizens have bitter memories of the damage humans caused to their environment. I enjoyed this middle grade novel with a classic adventure feel about it. "Everything felt possible on the back of a dragon slicing through the river." Indeed, and now I want to go to the real Colombia and see all the sights mentioned in the book. 4.5 stars

38. Twitch: Twitch is bullied for his love of birding, but he feels more comfortable in nature than around kids his age. An escaped convict may be hiding in the wetlands near his house, and there's a charismatic man with a camper van whom Twitch keeps meeting. Oh, and Twitch's main bully, Jack, might actually be a friend. I really loved this fast-paced middle grade mystery. Five stars.

39. Frost: somewhat pedestrian early middle grade story about Cassie, who follows Frost the fox back in time to a frost fair. Why? We don't know. Four stars.

It feels like I don't like reading right now. I added both books 37 and 38 to my annual favorites tab on the spreadsheet so I guess I'm still a bookworm. I've DNFed so many grown-up books and middle grade novels the last two weeks! Maybe I read too many Kindle books in a row?

>162 libraryperilous: Twitch sounds very cute!

Sorry reading feels like a chore right now :( Hope things look up soon!

>162 libraryperilous: I sometimes get several rejects in a row and start to get worried. But I always find something to grab me.

>164 clamairy: I think I'm just overthinking it. Also, it would be exhausting for each book to be a five-star, all-time favorite!

>163 curioussquared: Thank you! I might order the next two books in the Twitch series from Book Depository before they shutter later this month. Twitch is the only one available in the US so far.

40. The Frost Fair: I've been fascinated by frost fairs since reading Helen Humphreys' The Frozen Thames, which had such a delicate cynicism to it that the whimsy of the frost fairs almost took on a menace of its own. (I've since read two additional novels by Humphreys, and she's not matched that tone in any of them.) Anyway, this is a cute middle grade fantasy that takes place during the freeze of 1683, where thirteen-year-old Thomasina, grieving her brother's death, finds herself visiting Father Winter at the Other Frost Fair.

The fantasy elements of this book were a little lacking, compared to other middle grade historical fantasies I've read. I thought the book did a good job of showing the superstitions and general milieu of the era. Sweets maker Thomasina makes a new friend, Anne the apothecary's apprentice. They sell medicinal sweets at the frost fair. I wanted more of that side of the story. The bits we did get were tastily interesting.

4.5 stars.

I'm not reading too much. I discovered Neko Atsume and promptly downloaded it on my phone.

I've already attracted Flashy Fran and Peaches likes my yard!

>167 libraryperilous: Oh man, I went through a big Neko Atsume phase like 5 years ago. So much fun.

>168 curioussquared: I received my first memento today. A little obsessed right now!

41. Bea and the New Deal Horse: 1932, and the Bonus Army is on the march. FDR is promising a New Deal if he's elected. Bea and Vivian's father leaves them overnight at the farm of a family acquaintance. Bea feels a kinship with an angry chestnut horse the farm's owner, Mrs. Scott, rescued on a whim: "I could act a lot like this riled-up chestnut when I was unsure of a situation. Or a person." Beneath her bluster, Mrs. Scott is loyal to people she loves. She gives Bea the chance to ride the chestnut, perhaps even finding a place in her heart for Bea and Vivian.

I loved this. I was never a horse-mad girl. I've never even petted a horse, let alone ridden one. I appreciated the way the history of the early years of the Great Depression was woven into this story of a girl, her horse, and the hope that kindness and companionship bring even to grim times. "Some horses are meant to be one-person ponies."

Five stars. This might appeal to readers who liked The War That Saved My Life, The Valley of Lost Secrets, or A Place to Hang the Moon.

>170 libraryperilous: Ooh. I liked 2/3 of the others you listed; now I'd like to read this one and the 1/3 I haven't read!

>171 curioussquared: I think you would like it. I also recommend Parr. She's really good at taking middle grade historical fiction tropes and expanding on them.

42. How to Speak Whale: fascinating and cautiously optimistic look at the advances made in communicating with other species, particularly whales. The author was inspired to set off on this book's journey after a humpback whale breached over his kayak. In the acknowledgements, he apologizes for nicknaming the whale "Prime Suspect."

I won't spoil this fascinating journey for other readers, but each chapter contains a delight. This was a very heartening book to read. Thinking through the implications and where we might grow from here also was awesome.

4.5 stars. Highly recommended.

>173 libraryperilous: Oh, this sounds like just what I need right now. Thank you!

>174 clamairy: I hope you enjoy it. I'll watch for your review.

>175 libraryperilous: I will be starting it tonight. Seems like a perfect follow-up to the quail book.

>173 libraryperilous: Added to my wish list! This sounds fascinating.

>176 clamairy:, >177 MissBrangwen: Most marine biology books are depressing. I appreciated the focus on good things. I hope you both enjoy it!

Ahhhhhh! We have a cover for Emily Wilson's translation of The Iliad: Bookshop

43. The Wager: The follies of empire: or, how to fail upwards while shipwrecking your crew on a desolate island

A small, understaffed fleet of navy ships left England in 1740 on a secret mission to raid a Spanish treasure galleon. The ill-starred voyage met disaster upon disaster, until one of the ships, the Wager was separated from the mission and wrecked on a desolate island off Patagonia. Not too long after the shipwreck, the social order broke down, and deprivation and monomania set in. The crew began to plot an escape from both the island and the captain, with the castaways eventually splitting into factions that set off in opposite directions. When the survivors of these second voyages finally arrived in England, the Admiralty worried that exposing the public to the baser elements of the story would wreck support for their current land grabs.

Infuriating that there were no consequences for the whole sorry mission. "Empires preserve their power with the stories that they tell, but just as critical are the stories they don't—the dark silences they impose, the pages they tear out."

This probably could have been an article in National Geographic, but Grann fills in some gaps and widens the lens to show the larger consequences of empire. In this, he isn't quite as successful as Steven Johnson was in Enemy of All Mankind. Still, the cheapness of life that empire runs on remains heartbreaking. Grann does an excellent job of showing that, and I think this is the first maritime disaster book I've read that doesn't romanticize life at sea.

4.5 stars.

44. Just Gus: Gus, a Grand Pyrenees, faithfully guards his sheep, but he befriends a socially anxious boy, Diego, over the summer. When a bear attacks Gus and injures his leg, he goes to Diego's seaside home to recover. Gus tries hard to fit in, but sometimes his guard habits kick in at the wrong time. Can Gus and Diego find a way to stay together?

Five stars. I loved this author's previous dog story, Stella, and I hoped Gus would get his own story.

45. Secrets and Sidekicks: Katie's catsitting some new cats, and one of them doesn't seem to have an extra-dimensional talent ... yet. Meanwhile, the Mousetress keeps getting blamed for other people's crimes, and nobody believes Katie when she says Mr. B's brother is the disgraced superhero, the Eastern Screech.

Four stars. This is such a cute series, like Neko Atsume but with superpowers, lol.

46. The Storm Keepers' Battle: Fionn and his friends (and frenemies, including his sister and her boyfriend) make their final stand against Morrigan and her undead army.

Four stars. This felt like chunks were missing, probably because this originally was planned as a quartet and ended up a trilogy. I liked it, but I wanted more of the mystical island.

47. The Late Mrs. Willoughby: That ending! This better not be one of those series the publisher cancels before the story wraps up. Also, really great demisexual rep! As for the mystery, it follows comfortable English country house and nosy English village themes, with enough references to the absurdities in both the narrator's asides and the characters' perceptions: "How lucky that her keen interest should also provide some small benefit to her host" and "The prospect of investigating another murder cheered Jonathan far more than was genteel."

Five stars. I love this series. For my reading tastes, the author most comparable to Jane Austen is Mary Stewart. This feels like something Mary Stewart would have written if she'd written historical mysteries set during the Regency. Juliet Tilney reminds me so much of Mary Stewart's heroines.

>182 libraryperilous: Thanks for the plug for the Claudia Grey series. What's one more digital hold?

>182 libraryperilous:, >183 clamairy: I took a BB on Claudia Grey, too.

>182 libraryperilous: I loved, loved, loved The Storm Keeper's Island but haven't continued with the series, partly because I'm afraid that the following books will not meet my high expectations.

>183 clamairy: lol, I have faith you can handle the load!

>184 tardis: I think you'll like it; fingers crossed!

>185 MissBrangwen: I've descended in my ratings: 5 stars to 4.5 and now to 4.

>182 libraryperilous: I think I missed being hit in this post, but only because I haven't gotten around to The Murder of Mr. Wickham yet :)

>187 curioussquared: The dog books are cute too, if you like short middle grade dog books. :)

48. The Curse on Spectacle Key: sweetly spooky middle grade story of ghosts, a dilapidated lighthouse, summer friendships, and science experiments gone supernatural. I really enjoyed this book's vibes and its quick but cozy story. Five stars.

49. The Midnight News: This book probably is literary fiction. It certainly has pretty turns of phrase and focuses on Charlotte's character growth more than anything else. Yet it frames Lotts' coming of age between the pages of a realistic slice of the Blitz's early days, a propulsive psychological thriller with Gothic elements, and a tender young love story. Most of all it's a quietly feminist look at all the ways a society that fancies itself better keeps vibrant, savvy young women (girls, really) in their cold, straitjacketed places.

It's also the story of a friendship that's grown unintentionally apart, with Elena's carefree personality bumping against Charlotte's insecurity and perfectionism. We only see Elena through Charlotte's blameless eyes, and the rift, as it's peeled back, is all the more painful for Charlotte's desperate hope that she was imagining it all. "You don't know, El. You can't. You never lost you." This is the real lesson all vibrant girls need to learn: the world keeps turning even as you make mistake after mistake. Finally, at last, the vibrant girls arrive at their peace, with the understanding that perfection is itself a kind of crime, and that "It's not as though you love a person any less for making a mistake."

I really appreciated how this book takes conventions from the above genres (even the romance novels!) and pulls the rug out from under each one, each sweep of these rugs a new spanner in the plot's works. I was wrong about almost every twist in this book, although I did guess the ending. A note for romance fans: it's an HFN. This made sense to me. After all, there's a war on.

This quote had me cackling out loud: "It's half-empty; it seems that women are not going mad with quite the frequency that they did before the war." Passing strange, innit?

Honestly, this book was an Anne Sexton poem in historical novel form. The author's note indicates Baker was inspired by Elizabeth Bowen, so now I want to read one of her wartime novels. Maybe I don't hate all literary fiction?

Five stars. It's my book of the year so far. Highly recommended.

>189 libraryperilous: You got me with The curse on Spectacle Key! I can't resist a haunted lighthouse!

>190 Sakerfalcon: I hope you like it! I also love haunted lighthouses.

50. Epitaph for a Spy: I read A Coffin for Dimitrios a few years ago and loved it. I've been keen to try more Ambler, and this one sounded interesting. In a little French beach town near Toulon, with Europe on the brink of WWII, stateless Josef Vadassy plans to enjoy the last of his holiday at the hotel Réserve. Instead, he finds himself blackmailed into investigating the hotel's other residents for possible espionage. Vadassy is both naive and arrogant, and he's angry at being stuck in the mess. This is a spy novel, yes, but it's also a closed orbit mystery, with the hotel standing in for an English country house. Mostly, though, it's a character study, with Josef getting to know his fellow guests—all of whom have something to hide under their pleasantries.

Ambler wrote this in 1938, and the detached immediacy makes one feel grubby. Ambler was clear-eyed about what was coming. The understated way he goes about revealing the hotel residents' secrets, from the frivolous to the serious, puts a chill in the air. It's all so matter-of-fact, the ruin that was to come.

I'm eager to read more Ambler. Take a pinch of Mary Stewart's picturesque locales and add Helen MacInnes' political astuteness, but make it left-wingish. Definitely a libraryperilous kind of author!

4.5 stars.

>192 libraryperilous: I have been working my way through Ambler's works in order of publication. I am currently reading A Kind of Anger.

I enjoyed Epitaph for a Spy. I have enjoyed all the amblers I have read.

51. The Remarkable Rescue at Milkweed Meadow: excellent forest friends adventure featuring Butternut the brave (but anxious!) bunny and her dapper robin friend, Piper. If you like these kinds of animal adventures, you probably will appreciate this one, which has echoes of Rabbit Hill and also reminded me of Alice's Farm. Five stars.

52. Open Throat: "this may be their town but we all live in scare city"

Vengeance is mine, sayeth the mountain lion. I absolutely loved this, like a glam slam poetry novel in verse crossed with cli-fi, questioning both gender roles and sentience and wrapped up in a literary fiction bow. The small cruelties of humans and the unkind choices we make are laid bare. Here is a hungry mountain lion, and they care more about the unhoused than we do. They're so tired, so very very tired, and even hungrier. Where do you go when people keep misinterpreting your actions; see you as violent, dangerous; run away instead of helping you? Look, as an extended metaphor it's a bit on the nose. "it's a terrible choice but I'm making it just like a person." I absolutely loved this cougar. Despite the pain and its sad ending, this is a fierce, funny book about survival—and about knowing when standing up for something is worth the price.

"I'm not about to die on an empty stomach what good would that do"

Five stars.

I know I've complained this year about reading slumps and DNFs, but I have read a ton of all-time favorites between the mediocrities!

>193 pgmcc: I'm really looking forward to working through the rest of the prewar novels. I probably will try some of the postwar books too.

53. Witch King: You know, for all its action, potboiler political intrigues, and gory magic system(s), this is a quiet character study of Kai, a fallen demon who's trying to make his way past a band of nasty conspiracists while wallowing a bit in self-pity. I really like how Wells plays with the concept of 'fallen' in this book—both demons and empires. Witch King feels like it was influenced by A Memory Called Empire and maybe even Leckie's Imperial Radch books, and that Wells decided to try her hand at the fantasy version.

I'm not going to comment much further on the political backdrop, because I think it's better to let the plot unspool as you're reading it. I loved both the exploration of imperial politics and Wells' message. Collaboration is key if you want to "unburn" a fallen world.

I also loved Vai, Kai's snarky, sighing and eye-rolling sister. I would read an entire series about Vai, even though she's only on-page for about three pages.

4.5 stars. Great stuff!

Edited: touchstone. Thanks, clam!

>196 libraryperilous: Finally, someone in here really liked it! I'm glad. I am looking forward to it.
Your touchstone is pointing to the wrong book, BTW.

>197 clamairy: I hope you enjoy it! I haven't read her earlier fantasy novels, so I didn't have any expectations. She reminds me of Carol Berg, but funnier and nicer to her characters.

Touchstone fixed. Thanks!

54. Translation State: a missing Presger Translator. It's the eve before the conclave to decide whether Breq and the other AIs are human. (Hi, Sphene!)Things are turning on a knife's edge, and someone (several someones?) may be using the opportunity to stir up a rebellion.

Qven discovers the hive mind of their clade is built on a lie. Adopted Reet may have inherited a cannibalism gene from his colonizer ancestors. Newly-minted diplomat Enae is trying to solve hir cold case before sie runs out of time and the conclave starts. It might not seem like Enae, Qven, and Reet have anything in common, but it turns out they all hunger for an adventure. And they're all decent people in an indifferent empire teetering on the edge of irrelevance.

Expanded pronouns! A glimpse under the Presger Translators' hoods! A diplomatic snarl! Coffee lovers stuck in tea empire space!

This is gleefully, grossly corporeal. Not in a scatological way, but in an "underneath the veneer of civility, we're all lizard brains" way. This also is fundamentally hopepunk. Three wayfarers learn to be kind to themselves, and, in turn, other people (species) begin to meet them where they are. Leckie definitely has been reading Becky Chambers. And Murderbot. There's a fun nod to Murderbot.

Five stars. Loved it and all three of the main characters. And Sphene. Can't wait for the next adventure!

>199 libraryperilous: I'm really looking forward to this one! Glad it was a 5 star read for you!

I really, really need to get to some Leckie soon.

>201 curioussquared: I think you would like her mix of space politics and social commentary. She also writes fun stories. I definitely recommend starting with the OG trilogy.

>200 Sakerfalcon: I hope you like it. I look forward to your review!

55. The Golden Spoon: fun suspense novel set during a baking show's filming week. The closed circle of suspects includes a snobby baking show celebrity, her lecherous costar, and six contestants with secrets and insecurities of their own. The baking show wasn't as front and center as I thought it would be, but there's also a saboteur on the set. This is a fun, fast read.

As with many other books written from multiple POVs, the author doesn't really distinguish the characters' voices. However, she draws from great baking show stereotypes, like the old-fashioned grandmother and the technically precise but socially awkward baker, so you get to know the characters from their baking styles and the personal secrets that get revealed. I mean, I've only watched a handful of one season of the British baking show, and even I recognized all these different bakers.

4.5 stars.

>203 libraryperilous: That sounds like fun. I'm trying to imagine who fits the role of 'snobby baking show celebrity' .

>204 Karlstar: It was fun, and it was refreshing to read a contemporary suspense novel that wasn't a downer or gruesome. Perhaps 'posh' is a better word. The host is meant to be an American version of Mary Berry, who honestly seems like a sweetheart. Maybe there's UK gossip about her that the author drew on.

56. The Kaiju Preservation Society: fun, a popcorn-with-soda B-movie romp involving four new recruits into the Kaiju Preservation Society, an organization that works on a parallel Earth to protect the kaiju and their nuclear ecosystem. It was easy to follow the action as if it were onscreen, although it was a bit info-dumpy in places. This is the first Scalzi I've read and really liked. I'm looking forward to Starter Villain this fall. 4.5 stars.

Edited: grammar

>205 libraryperilous: Thank you, all I could come up with was Martha Stewart and that didn't seem to fit, exactly. Glad you liked Kaiju Preservation Society. I've been keeping my eye on Starter Villain too, though the way he's been talking about it, you'd think it was out already.

>206 libraryperilous: Glad you liked that one too! It was my first Scalzi and the first one that has really appealed to me but it really hit the mark.

The power's been out at my house since Thursday. Fortunately, the library's power was only off one day. I was able to keep my Paperwhite charged and read by Kindle-light.

57. Princess Private Eye: a middle grade rip-off of The Princess Diaries, only with a mystery to solve, not a romance. Fun, and the soft pretzels with berry jam inside them sound delicious. 4.5 stars.

58. Monsters in the Mist: Glennon and his family are four days away from leaving their temporary home on an island in Lake Superior, but Isle Phillipeaux doesn't like to give up its guests. Fabulously creepy. Five stars.

59. The Labors of Hercules Beal: after his parents' deaths in a car crash, Hercules Beal finds support in his Cape Cod community. Also, Pirate Cat and a dog named Mindy. I loved their morning walks to the dunes. I want to live on the Cape! Five stars.

60. The Road to Roswell: Francie gets abducted by a tumbleweed-like alien who may need her help. I loved this madcap road trip through a new Wild West, and I especially loved Indy the alien. Banger of an ending, too, although the author's bio indicates she's working on a sequel to the Oxford Time Travel series at the moment. Five stars.

Oh no! I hope your power comes back soon. The Road to Roswell sounds really good.

>209 libraryperilous: Yikes! I second what >210 curioussquared: said. I hope it's not too warm where you are.

And I just took a bullet for The Road to Roswell as well!

Oooh, >209 libraryperilous: that one -- The Road to Roswell is by Connie Willis! I'm definitely adding it to my list of possibilities for summer reading.

The power and A/C are back on!

>210 curioussquared:, >211 clamairy:, >212 jillmwo: I haven't read any of Willis' other novels, so I don't know if this is up to her fans' standards. But I laughed so hard at the ending that I made myself sweat in my no-A/C-because-the-power's-out house.

>209 libraryperilous: Goodness, since Thursday?? That's a long outage. I'm glad it's finally back on!

And thanks for shooting me with that Roswell BB!

>209 libraryperilous: I just finished The Road to Roswell last night and loved it too, but I'm a total Connie Willis fangirl. Maybe try Crosstalk for a similar feel, or Uncharted Territory. Others of her books are deeply harrowing; she's an amazingly versatile writer.

The road to Roswell is on my wishlist. If both >209 libraryperilous: and >215 Marissa_Doyle: loved it then I ought to move it up fast!

>214 PlatinumWarlock: I was ready for any food that was not fast food. I hope you don't regret running in front of my BB.

>216 Sakerfalcon: I hope you love it too! It would make a good palate cleanser between grim or sad books.

>215 Marissa_Doyle: I may be joining you in the Willis fangirl-dom. I also loved the Christmas novelette I read a couple of years ago.

61. The Dry: interesting contemporary mystery set in a drought-stricken Australian farming community. I liked the main character and the local sergeant. Although Falk's past is sad, he remains a careful investigator, not a lawless one or a dirty cop. I did think the resolution of the mystery was a little bit off. I think the author was trying a little too hard for a twist. This was a book bullet from clamairy.

Four stars.

I'm glad you found it interesting. I'm pretty sure I was shot (several years ago) by Jim53... Or perhaps someone else.

So ... it seems like contemporary mysteries and I might turn out to be friends again, or at least old acquaintances catching up over dinner. I might even be open to a crime novel or two. Any recommendations for books or series from the last ten years or so that really stand out?

No dirty or abusive cops, please. I have Deborah Crombie on my radar, courtesy of >50 Jim53:.

Are you looking for contemporary authors of mysteries or contemporary mysteries? I led a mystery discussion group at my local library for ten years and found these were well-received. (Note: I tend to favor historical mysteries.)

--S.D. Sykes is a wonderful writer of historical mysteries, beginning with Plague Land.
--Abir Mukherjee began a series set in India with the book, A Rising Man.
--C.J. Sansom does a wonderful set of books based in Tudor England; his or her first one was Dissolution.
--A Company of Liars by Karen Maitland is also good (a traveling troupe of players).
-- I enjoyed P.D. James' Death Comes to Pemberley.
-- Catherine Shaw's The Library Paradox.

If you want mysteries set in today's world, you might try:
--Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz.
--Martin Walker has a detective living in France; the opening title is Bruno, Chief of Police. (There's a basset hound in that one.)
--The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault (Very well-done!!)

And of course, I just discovered Katy Watson's The Three Dahlias and I love the fact that she has a map of the house where the murder takes place. (I also love mysteries with maps.)

>218 libraryperilous: besides Debs, I recommend Julia Spencer-Fleming's series beginning with In the Bleak Midwinter, and my friend Ellen Crosby's series featuring Sophie Medina, beginning with Multiple Exposure. I like those better than her wine country mysteries. Also S.J. Rozan's series featuring Lydia Chin and Bill Smith, set in Chinatown, which begins with China Trade and gets better as it goes along.

>221 jillmwo: I loved Bruno, Chief of Police, but beware. It is set in France, so you had better have a stock of wine and cheese when reading them. Bruno is like the Andy Griffeth of his town, but the crimes are serious and modern.

>220 libraryperilous: Presumably then the various stories of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith are too old to qualify (about 25 years)?

Thank you, everyone! These are intriguing suggestions.

>223 MrsLee: I downloaded the first one a few days ago during a Libby browse. It sounds a little like Maigret or the Marshal Guarnaccia books in terms of the crimes.

>224 hfglen: Still a great suggestion. I haven't read any yet. Added to the list!

>222 Jim53: These sound great, and I think my mom would like the Spencer-Fleming series. We might do the first one for our book club.

>221 jillmwo: Contemporary setting. I usually read historical mysteries. I love the Sykes and Sansom series, and your other suggestions are very intriguing, especially Mukherjee's series. I'm also intrigued by the contemporary mysteries you've suggested, especially The Broken Teaglass.

she has a map of the house where the murder takes place.

There's a map? Hooray! (All novels should have maps.)

61. The Wishing Game: When Lucy was thirteen, she ran away to Clock Island, off the coast of Maine, where reclusive children's author Jack Masterson has created a home to match the fictional Clock Island in his books. Thirteen years later, Lucy and three other now-adult fans of the Clock Island books receive invitations to a game. The prize, a valuable manuscript, will give Lucy the money she needs to adopt Christopher, a foster kid who shares her love of the Clock Island books.

This book is super low stakes. I mean, suuuuuuper low. Even the alleged conflict with some book collectors takes up about two pages. This is a middle grade adventure story for grown-up kids. I did wish (ha!) for more actual adventuring. You think from the book jacket you're getting a mix of the Famous Five and The Westing Game, but it's more like Willy Wonka written by a nice cat lady.

I enjoyed it, but: You're on an island shaped like a clock—with landmarks like Tide Pool at Two, At Eight O'Clock We Wish You Well, and Puffin Rock at Three O'Clock—and this barely features in the story! I would visit a real Clock Island.

Four stars.

>226 libraryperilous: "like Willy Wonka written by a nice cat lady" gets my vote for best description of a book this week.

>227 haydninvienna: Thank you. I was rather proud of that one.

Spent thirty minutes today DMing with an Amazon CSR because they are going to charge me for an item I returned. I returned two items from separate orders on one return, which Amazon allows, and apparently the return facility only bothered to mark one item as returned. Instead of being able to cancel the upcoming charge, the CSR has to let my account get charged and then issue me a refund. The CSR can see that the item was returned, but because it was not marked as returned, they cannot do anything. I feel like a jerk, but I even asked them to check with a supervisor, and the supervisor can't override the charge either. It sucks that Amazon treats its CSRs so poorly: Yes, we can see the problem, but the box store won't let us fix it for you, basically.

Anyway, if you are returning items to Amazon, maybe do separate returns for each one, even if Amazon says you don't have to. lol.

Trying a new thing where I save pretty book covers to a folder on my laptop, instead of adding them to my TBR (if they aren't my usual fare)!

62. Dear Rosie: Millie, Florence, Gabby, Claire, and Rosie are inseparable. A car accident takes Rosie away and leaves the other girls behind trying to navigate regular junior high squabbles and their extra, private grief. While the girls love each other, Rosie was the bravest and the one they turned to to solve their disagreements. When Millie finds a sketchbook with the same symbol on it Rosie would draw, the girls set out to solve the mystery. Maybe they can bring a little of Rosie back if they can understand the symbol Rosie liked to draw.

I loved this so much. The bright daily life panels contrast with the warm, brown panels of memories. The girls try so very hard, and they each grieve in their own way. My heart broke for them so many times as they found their way back to each other and found a way to honor their love for Rosie. My grandma died the first week of ninth grade, and the whole school year was so hard. Seventh grade and losing your best best friend? So very, very hard. I also really liked the way younger siblings are portrayed in this story, and the way each of the girls has a different, but loving, home life.

Five stars. Highly, highly recommended. I hope kids who are dealing with grief find their way to this cozy graphic novel.

63. The Paris Agent: While I find both Resistance and espionage during WWII fascinating, fiction centered on those topics often reads as melodramatic or romanticizing to me. (lol, The Rose Code.)

There was suffering, there was death, and those who lived were traumatized. The Paris Agent conveys that, provides an interesting postwar mystery, and offers a gentle look at the imperfect people who survived the war and did their best to move on. This is one of the better offerings in the genre.

4.5 stars.

I thought I would try an audiobook while I'm on the treadmill. Alas, there is a several weeks' hold on the LotR narrated by Andy Serkis (bb from clam, thank you). I've listened to samples of a number of books that interest me, and the narration is ... not good. Apparently most books just are read, not performed? And all the narrators have monotone voices?

>232 libraryperilous: What genre are you sampling? Quite a few of the Audible books I get are narrated by the author, and I find those to be the best. I have gotten a few bad ones over the years, but most of them are great.

>232 libraryperilous: It's a fine balance between making a book interesting to listen to and going over the top. I've found quite a few enjoyable narrators, so if you tell me what kinds of things you sampled, I can tell you who I like that might suit.

>232 libraryperilous: This made me realize I don't really generally track what I thought of a narrator for an audiobook unless I happen to write it in my review. I might look into doing this in the future! There ar definitely audiobooks that are more of a performance, particularly the full cast ones -- maybe look up some of those?

>233 clamairy: Funnily enough, I don't typically enjoy books read by the author as much because I find their actual narration to be subpar to the professional narrators even though their interpretation of the text is of course exactly what they intended.

>234 tardis: Yes, this. I don't necessarily want a theatrical interpretation when I'm listening; I want someone who can tell the story clearly with good inflection and the right emotions, but I don't typically like narration that goes too hard on specific character voices, etc.

>235 curioussquared: I suspect that's because most of the books that I listen to that are narrated by the author are non-fiction. Michael Pollan is a favorite. I think I've listened to at least four of his at this point. And I do a fair amount of the Great Courses. Dorsey Armstrong is fantastic, and so it John McWhorter.

>236 clamairy: I almost never listen to non-fiction audiobooks. Fiction narration by author can work or not. I was unimpressed with Mary Robinette Kowal's narration of her Glamourist Histories series, because her English accent wasn't good enough to my ear. I haven't yet listened to her Lady Astronaut series but since it's predominantly American accents I suspect it will be fine. Some male narrators don't do well with female voices and vice versa.

One author’s voice that suited his novels was John Le Carré. Listening to his reading his works is a joyous experience.

>238 pgmcc: I definitely will try one. I like spy novels, but I haven't read any of his. Do you have a suggestion for a good starting point?

>233 clamairy:, >234 tardis:, >235 curioussquared: Thank you for the tips and comments on your tastes! I think I understand the audiobook format itself a little better now.

>233 clamairy:, >234 tardis: I thought I would start with a contemporary mystery, since both LotR and Master and Commander (read by Simon Vance) are checked out. I also tried some middle grade historical fiction and fantasy, and that did not go well at all. Chipper monotone apparently is not my thing.

>239 libraryperilous: Chipper anything is not my taste! I started and couldn't finish a Mary Roach Audible book I had bought because of the chipper narration. And I waited so long to listen to it that I couldn't return it for a credit either.

>239 libraryperilous:
His third novel, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, was the one that kick-started his tremendous success. That might be a good start.

His first novel is Call for the Dead. I enjoyed that.

Those books were set in the Cold War era, as were his Karla novels which started with Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy. If you want something more recent you could try Agent Running in the Field.

Wherever you start, I hope you enjoy his books.

>232 libraryperilous: Yeah a good audio narrator can make or break your listening experience. I learned the hard way to make sure I listen to a sample when I try new audio narrators.

A series of mystery novels I enjoyed that were narrated by Simon Vance were written by Chris Ewan, the titles all began with "The Goid Thief's Guide to..." then the name of a city. I remember them as fun.

>241 pgmcc: Thank you!

>243 MrsLee: I think I've seen this series in the wilds of the library stacks. It sounds fun and heist-y. Thank you!

>242 Narilka: It was amazing how quickly I started cringing on a couple of the samples.

64. The Housekeepers: This one's getting some buzz, and I enjoyed it. It's a bit of a slow burn, even during the heist, but I enjoyed all the characters and found their motivations interesting. Hay has some sympathy for the rich girl, which I thought was interesting. She's frostily likeable, like an Edwardian Gwyneth Paltrow before she went Goopy.

Anyway: a fired housekeeper puts together a team of other women who hate her former employer. He's dead now, so they decide to rob his daughter of the entire mansion's contents during her ball. The author nails the spectacle of the Edwardian era: the ball is outrageous and outrageously expensive.

4.5 stars

>245 libraryperilous: Very interesting. A revenge heist/ caper mystery. I'm seriously tempted.

>245 libraryperilous: & >246 jillmwo: And Edwardian era, to boot. I am also tempted.

>232 libraryperilous: My hot tip for audiobooks is to play around with the speed. I usually turn it up to about 1.2x. It's not fast enough to be noticeable but I've found it makes them sound less monotone and my mind wanders less.

>245 libraryperilous: That sounds good! Thanks for the BB. :)

>246 jillmwo:, >247 clamairy:, >249 PlatinumWarlock: I hope all of you enjoy it. One quibble: the heist strains credulity (even more so than they usually do), in part because so many people are required to pull it off. I was able to overlook this, but Entrapment is one of my favorite films, lol. I don't mind a completely unbelievable heist.

>248 norabelle414: Thank you! This is a very helpful tip. I'll try it with one of the middle grades and see how it goes.

Edited: HTML

65. The Air Raid Book Club: historical chick lit with a biblio flourish. I stayed up late reading it, because the little village within shouting distance of London proper was full of neat people with interesting taste in books. The story is a little melodramatic at times, but I enjoyed the comfort of the book club and the way everyone did their small part to punch Hitler from afar. Nazis: If you can't punch 'em, read books that help you forget about 'em for a spell.

Widow Gertie Bingham plans to sell the bookstore she co-owned with her husband. Before she can find a buyer, a dear friend asks her to sponsor a Jewish child refugee. Hedy Fischer is 14, stubborn and afraid, but she loves books as much as Gertie does. As the war years drag on, Hedy and Gertie find solace in one another, the bookstore, and the wartime book club they start as a way to distract their customers from the Blitz. I love that their book club read classics but discussed the books like they were bestsellers. The customers all have their own tastes in books, and there's a small running joke about Georgette Heyer. I've had bad luck with Heyer in the past, but Lyons' book makes me want to try Heyer again.

4.5 stars.

66. Force of Nature: second Aaron Falk mystery, and I liked this one better than the first. Falk has a tragic past, but he's a decent guy and careful cop. Falk and his new partner, Carmen, head to a remote hiking area where a whistleblower with whom they were in contact has disappeared during a company wilderness treat. What kind of company makes their employees bond over wilderness survival? Anyway, Falk and Carmen investigate whether there's a connection between Alice Russell's disappearance and their corruption investigation. Flashbacks to the five women on the hike show how civility breaks down the further one gets from civilization. 4.5 stars

67. Exiles: last in the Aaron Falk series, and I loved the closure he gets, as well as the character growth we get. I also loved the Australian wine country setting. I want to visit! Falk heads to his best friend's hometown for the christening of Greg and Rita Raco's baby. The christening has been delayed a year, because Kim Gillespie, a Raco extended family member, disappeared a year ago at a local festival. Her baby, Zoe, was left in a stroller at the festival but there's been no sign of Kim since. Kim's other daughter, Zara, asks Falk to investigate. Falk also finds himself investigating the hit and run death of teenager Joel's father—while growing closer to Joel's stepmom. This is a quiet story of family loyalty, secret feelings, and small town residents who mostly like each other. The phrase 'gone before she was gone' is haunting. 5 stars.

I like Harper well enough to read her two standalones, and then it's on to my next mystery series: currently debating between the Sean Duffy series and the Bryant and May books.

Not familiar with Sean Duffy, but I loved the Bryant and May books.

>253 Marissa_Doyle: High praise! I'll try them next. (I can't wait to get to the Oranges and Lemons one. I love that rhyme—and City of London churches.)

This is the Sean Duffy series: Sean Duffy. I worded it poorly in >252 libraryperilous:, but Duffy is the main character. The author is Adrian McKinty. It landed on my radar because I love the title of book 6: Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly.

>253 Marissa_Doyle: I also enjoyed the Bryant and May series.

>255 MrsLee: Thank you!

68. Heartstopper, Vol. 1: cute YA graphic novel about two teens with mutual crushes becoming more than friends. I'll continue with the series at some point. 4 stars.

Spoilered because there is a curse* word: "You know what, Harry? Fuck you. You're a pathetic, homophobic, self-obsessed dick and I really dislike you."

"I really dislike you" is just the ultimate insult. Like, 'it's not even worth my time to hate you' levels of insult.

*I personally swear like a sailor but am unsure what the pub's rules are regarding this.

Edited to add star rating.

>257 libraryperilous: I'm glad you liked Heartstopper! They are just such sweet books. The TV show is really well done, too, if it ever tickles your fancy -- I'm eagerly awaiting season 2.

>257 libraryperilous: I don't think we have rules about swearing, only about belittling or being rude to other people in a personal way. Does that help? However, there may be people who choose not to read a lot of profanity, so they might ignore a thread if it is full of swearing. :)

>257 libraryperilous: Colorful language is so delightfully... colorful. 😀 I was really careful with my language when my son was young, but once he hit his teens I eased up, figuring he'd heard it all anyway... and then one year he told his dad they should get me a swear jar for Christmas. 🤭🤭🤭 Oooops.

I rather love the fact that the poet Robert Graves wrote a book called Lars Porsena, or the Future of Swearing and Improper Language.

>259 MrsLee:, >260 PlatinumWarlock:, >261 haydninvienna: My mother gets Upset if she visits my LibraryThing profile.

>258 curioussquared: It looks cute. I hope you enjoy the next season!

>262 libraryperilous: :D Since my mom died, I am now the mother who gets upset. Only I don't, because I don't follow my kids on any online sites. ;)

>263 MrsLee: When I was on Twitter, my mom unfollowed me for cursing too much about politics.

>264 libraryperilous:
But what else is one expected to do on Twitter?

69. Dual Memory: right-wing pirates vs mercantilist price-gougers on a post-Anthropocene Arctic island. Oh, and the machines are revolting, but only a refugee artist pays attention to them. Great fun! 5 stars

70. Bea Wolf: beware Grindle, middle-aged, middle management, possessed of fingers that age children. They don't wanna grow up, 'cause if they did, they couldn't be tree house kids. 3 stars; this will appeal to adults who still love Roald Dahl and like epic poetry.

71. The Moth Keeper: quiet graphic novel of a keeper of night moths who longs to live in the sun. 4 stars, not as good or cozy as the tea dragon stories.

72. The Man in the McIntosh Suit: somewhat disjointed noir graphic novel steeped in migrant farmworkers' rights and 20s love songs. I'll read the sequel if it's published. 4 stars

73. Ink Blood Sister Scribe: contemporary fantasy with fairy tale themes and dark academia undertones. Books written in blood that hum like bees, family secrets, and tips for attracting a stray cat. 5 stars and deserving of the hype.

74. The Deep Sky: sci-fi thriller with bird facts, cool augmented realities, community betrayal, and hope. 'Tis the thing with feathers, after all. 4.5 stars.

Edited: touchstone

>265 pgmcc: I guess we could curse about bad books. :)

>266 libraryperilous: I think your touchstone for #74 is pointing to the wrong book. Unless there are Vikings with the birds!

>265 pgmcc: I was going to ask how else could we speak about politics!

>268 clamairy: Fixed. Thanks!

>266 libraryperilous: I'm glad you've found some good books recently. Goodness knows we all need distraction from politics! Ink blood sister scribe is on my virtual TBR pile as I just got it in a kindle deal, and The deep sky is on my wishlist. And you can add a notch to your BB gun for Dual memory!

>271 Sakerfalcon: I was surprised at how fun and humorous Dual Memory is. The main AI sounds like every art history professor's most earnest freshman student. I loved Burke's Semiosis, but I don't remember it as a fun or funny book.

Ooh, I've seen some buzz for Ink Blood Sister Scribe but yours is the first review I've seen from someone whose opinion I trust :) I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for it!

Is anyone on my thread active in fixing LT data? Nora, maybe? This one is above my pay grade. Thank you in advance!

I added The Hurricane Girls, by Kimberly Willis Holt, to my TBR account, and it's showing as a Time Life book on ancient China. I tried with and without the ISBN, 0316326097. I finally was able to get the correct cover to pull by using Amazon's internal code for the Kindle edition, but the LT work seems attached to the incorrect record.

>274 libraryperilous: Here's a suggestion that may have a whiff of the digital equivalent of "percussive maintenance".

Do you have Overcat in your list of libraries that appears on the "Add books" page? If not, add it; I have it as my default source. It polls a number of large libraries that have many obscure books. Having checked that:
1. Delete your "dud"record.
2. Add the book as new, using Overcat as your source. If none of the possibles it offers are the right book,
3. Go to "Add manually", below the list of libraries on the left of the screen.
4. This will bring up a screen that is almost identical to the Edit Books screen. You will need to complete each field that you want to use later, or have data for.
5. Save your hard work (green button near the top, in the left half of the screen)
6. If you keep images of covers and if the record doesn't have one / LT can't find the right one, then
6a. Scan or take a picture of the cover, and save it as a jpeg.
6b. You will probably need to "massage" the image -- crop, adjust contrast, scale to something not so enormous. I use a graphics app called GIMP for that, believing it to be at least as powerful as Photoshop and free.
6c. Call up the record from "Your books". In the menu on the left is an option to Change cover. Click on that, take a look to verify that nobody else has added your cover, and if necessary click on Browse, select your image file and click on Upload. Within a few seconds your record will have a picture of the right cover.
7. You have now completed that task. Well done!

>275 hfglen: Thank you, Hugh!

For this particular title, I added it manually without the ISBN after failing other ways. It still connected the record to the history book, until I tried again using the ASIN for the e-book. (I also experimented with adding the title through Amazon UK, and the same thing happened.) Something about the title itself seems to connect it to the history book. I can splice off the editions of Holt's book, but it's not even showing on her author page. Additionally, the ASIN Amazon entry has the author's last name incorrect. This one is too layered for my limited interest in fixing LT data. :)

I would suggest taking this to the Combiners group https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/460/Combiners%21

They are volunteers who know a lot about how to fix these kinds of problem. Good luck.

>277 calm: Thank you! It's good to hear from you, calm. I hope you're well!

Edited: spelling

>274 libraryperilous: Can you post a link to the book?

ETA: Nevermind, I think I found it. Does this look right? https://www.librarything.com/work/30746720
The two books were combined together, who knows how that happened.

>279 norabelle414: Thank you, it looks great!

DNFing Whalefall: pretentious lit fic full of toxic masculinity. Tbh, most of my anticipated SFF releases from this year have been DNFs. Probably a lesson in there somewhere, lol.

>281 libraryperilous: Will avoid, thanks!

>281 libraryperilous: Looks like that's by the same author as the worst book I ever read (also very toxic masculinity) so good call!

>282 curioussquared:, 283 Happy to take a reverse BB for the team. I skipped to the end to see if the kid learned anything, and the lesson he learns is it was okay for his father to be emotionally abusive because the dad's lessons had some technical value.

>283 norabelle414: I read your review of your experience with the author. Yikes, that book sounds miserable!

75. The International House of Dereliction: sweet middle grade story of a talented DIY girl who moves next door to a haunted house and decides to repair the house and help the ghosts living in it. This was quirky, and the ghosts didn't have enough page time, but I liked it. Four stars.

>284 libraryperilous: That's the same "lesson" from Rotters! This author has some daddy issues.

>286 norabelle414: Ugh. And creepy.

76. Thornhedge: Faerie creature Toadling watches over the sleeping princess in the tower, willing princes and knights-errant to stay away so the spell isn't broken. Many seasons pass, and then Halim, a kind but inquisitive errant knight, arrives at the tower determined to solve its mystery. Halim and Toadling strike up a friendship, but Toadling doesn't know if he'll believe her story.

I liked this, although I found the friendship between Toadling and Halim sweet but a bit thin. Four stars.

>281 libraryperilous: Consider adding it to the 'Not recommended' thread?

https://www.librarything.com/topic/350178#n8154660

>289 Karlstar: Done! Great thread idea!

>290 libraryperilous: We appreciate the efforts to save us all from reading terrible books.

77. The Ghosts of Trappist: fab, fab, fab. Two years have passed since the events of the second book, and D'Arcy and Sapphi still are processing their feelings. (I'm not being flippant, I'm avoiding spoilers.) Doge continues to be the best (robot) dog ever, but I do wish someone would write about a robot cat pet. Lots of threads come together, but the author's note hints at a next adventure, and the ending sets that up nicely. This goes from slice of life in space to sci-fi mystery to military sci-fi adventure, and I loved all of its parts.

Five stars. Highly recommended. If you like sci-fi, I recommend this series for its fast-paced action and found family vibes.

Two minor quibbles: It's odd, to me, in a far future more accepting of gender and sexuality, that only she, he, and they pronouns are used. Also, naming the AI villain ART? I'm sure they did it as a joking homage, but it rankled me, fan of the real ART that I am.

I've met my Storygraph goal of 12 sci-fi books in 2023, so I've upped the goal. I thought it would be fun to tier rank the 12 I've read so far. No shade to any of them, as I DNF FTL if I don't like a book. Books are listed in the order read in each category.

Best: Nightwatch on the Hinterlands; Nightwatch over Windscar; Beyond the Burn Line; The Terraformers; Translation State; The Road to Roswell; The Ghosts of Trappist

Great: Station Eternity; Dual Memory; The Deep Sky

Good: The Mimicking of Known Successes; The Kaiju Preservation Society

The least successful one, for me, was The Mimicking of Known Successes, which I expected to have a better mystery at its core, but it was more of a second chance romance. Don't ask me to pick a favorite favorite, but I will say that I loved the cat and the train in The Terraformers and the arithmancer and diplomat (spy?), Gaer, from K. Eason's series. Oh, and Indy from The Road to Roswell, which has the funniest closing line of a book I've read in a long time.

>293 libraryperilous: I've only read Kaiju out of all your reads this year. I'll have to mine this post for more ideas!

>294 curioussquared: I'd especially recommend The Road to Roswell and The Terraformers based on what I know of your book tastes.

I haven't posted a poem for several months. I stumbled upon this lovely and bookish sonnet today.

"Photo of Melville; Back Room, Old Bookstore"
by Stephen Sandy

I passed him by at first. From the photograph
Peered sepia eyes, blindered, unappeased
From a lair of brows and beard: one not amazed
At anything, as if to have looked enough
Then turned aside worked best for him—as if
Night vision was the discipline that eased
The weight of what he saw. A man’s gaze posed
Too long in the sun goes blank; comes to grief.
That face could be a focus for this back room,
For pack-rat papers strewn as if in rage,
Fond notes unread: each wary eye a phial
Unstopped to let huge Melville out, to calm
The sea of pages; Melville in older age:
The grown man’s sleepy defiance of denial.

I know repackaged classics are marketing ploys, but these are absolutely gorgeous!: Harper Muse editions. I've snagged Persuasion while it's on sale on Amazon for $18.99. I shall report later on the book's interior quality.

>297 libraryperilous: Omg. Take my money.

>298 curioussquared: Right? I think I showed superb self-control and emotional maturity in only immediately buying one instead of all of them.

>299 libraryperilous: I agree!!

>297 libraryperilous: Ooooh!

>297 libraryperilous: Oh wow, those are gorgeous!
>299 libraryperilous: I note your use of the word immediately. Let us know when you return having pondered the situation!

>302 Sakerfalcon: I'm not sure I'll be able to resist the Holmes ... still pondering :)

Quick catch up, mostly because I want to rave about Mammoths at the Gate

78. The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies: Regency mystery in which twin middle-aged spinsters solve crimes against women. Good fun, and the Regency fashion and gossip offset the accurate portrayal of women's status. Five stars.

79 and 80. Marshmallow Pie the Cat Superstar and Marshmallow Pie the Cat Superstar on TV: cute early middle grade novels about a spoiled and lazy cat whose owner takes him to a pet talent contest. Hijinks ensue, and Pie learns a few lessons about friendship and kindness along the way. Five and 4.5 stars.

81. The Water Outlaws: feminist, queer retelling of The Water Margin, with graphic action, scheming officials, and found family. I liked this a ton, but it did feel a bit like an earnest "Hire more female security guards!" story in places. 4.5 stars.

82. Friends and Traitors: book bullet from RuneFirestar: thank you! I've rated both of Peters' other historical mysteries five stars. This was so good, and I loved that the girls aren't friends and are prickly with each other. In fact, my only quibble is that they've become friends in the last chapter with no real effort, but I suppose working together to foil an aristocrat's fascist plot to take over England will do that. Five stars.

83. Rivet Boy: interesting middle grade historical fiction about the building of Scotland's Forth Bridge. Bookish twelve-year-old John Nichol faces down his fear of heights, a gang of bullies, and sabotage. Free on Kindle Unlimited at the moment, and a quick read. Four stars.

84. The Tempest: this one is my favorite, and it held up well on this reading. Five stars.

85. Henry V: I'd only seen Olivier's patriotic film version (made during WWII), so I was amused by and interested in the subtle ways Shakespeare dunks on Henry. Obviously, it's still a nationalistic play, but Shakespeare has some fun questioning the way historical narratives are crafted. Four stars.

86. Nimbus: delightful middle grade cat tale about a black cat, Nimbus, who is separated from her best friend, Fletcher. A theatrical rat, a hedgewitch, the witch's cats, and Hecate help Nimbus find her way home. Cool dreamwalking magic! Five stars. It's a middle grade magical cat book. Of course I loved it.

87. Mammoths at the Gates: returning home; change as loss then renewal; monastery politics; neixin aviary politics; mammoths (of grief) at your doors; memories like pinpricks; and one little neixin's brave and lonely choice. Loss is a thread that binds us. I'm gutted by how perfectly crafted this one is, like a beautifully lacquered nesting box. Five stars.

Edited: goodness, I made a number of typos.

>304 libraryperilous: I have Mammoths at the Gate but haven't yet started it this weekend. Glad to know the author is back on form. (I loved the first one but was less enthusiastic about the second and third in the series.)

>305 jillmwo: It feels more connected to the first novella and is a stronger story than the second and third books. I hope you like Mammoths and I'll watch for your review.

My copy of the HarperMuse Persuasion mentioned in >297 libraryperilous: arrived. Alas, it's an underwhelming product, and I'm going to return it. The cover painting is pretty, but the rest of the book is not exciting. The interior 'illustrations' are the cover reproduced in blue ink and surrounding quotations from the novel. The quotations are not from the facing page, so they have page numbers at the bottom.

This definitely is an edition meant for collecting, not reading. I think people who like books as physical objects and enjoy collecting pretty editions of their favorite titles would like this. For me, it was a little too Bookstagrammy. (Oddly, the font is super readable and larger than you normally get in a classic.)

I've saved images of some of the HarperMuse covers to my laptop's "Cover Delights" folder. The covers definitely are delightful!

88. The Improbable Tales of Baskerville Hall: young Arthur Conan Doyle goes to a boarding school for gifted students and meets many people who will inspire his later books. This is weird. It has steampunk vibes, an immortality machine, and a hatched dinosaur. I think it probably owes more to Conan Doyle's non-Holmes canon, but I've not read any of that. Also not cool that the POC best friends are the ones who grow up to be villains. Four stars.

89. The Mossheart's Promise: fabulous middle grade fantasy about Ary, a fairy who lives in a dying terrarium and in the shadow of her heroic grandmother. Ary discovers that her world is both artificial and moribund because of a choice her grandmother made decades ago. She sets out to make things right, with help from two fairy frenemies, an exiled gecko general, and a brave pill bug BFF. I loved this, especially the pill bug. Super cozy yet pretty high stakes, and it reminded me of Jennifer Adam's fantastic middle grade fantasies. Five stars.

90. The Curious Vanishing of Beatrice Willoughby: another odd middle grade, this one a Halloween mystery set in the middle of a creepy forest in Central European. Six people get invited to a party thirteen years after one of them did something bad to Beatrice. But which one? A storyteller (Chaucer) blunders into the party and his bookish son (Dewey) tries to sort through the clues. This was too quirky for me. Four stars.

91. Twelfth Night: not my favorite of the Bard's comedies, but I really appreciated it on this read. 4.5 stars.

92. Dogtown: a biological dog befriends a mouse and a robot dog at the shelter. This was fine, but I'm a cat person. Four stars.

93. Starter Villain: Fun and funny story of Charlie, a very basic thirtysomething who discovers he's the heir to an estranged uncle's supervillain business. Oh, and Charlie's cats, Hera and Persephone, are spies for the uncle. This was fast-paced and silly, with lots of dunking on billionaires, but I did want more of the kitties. 4.5 stars.

94. Devil's Gun: sequel to You Sexy Thing, and Thing definitely is going through its adolescence. The crew finds itself stuck at a busted travel gate, so they set up a pop-up restaurant. A con artist claims they can fix the gate, and Thing decides this might be a fun scam in which to participate. 4.5 stars.

95. The Navigating Fox: Quintus Shu'al is the only navigating fox in an alternate Roman Empire that's expanded its reach around the world and somehow figured out how to uplift animals. He's sent on a journey by a corrupt priest, but there may be a chance at redemption. I had the highest of hopes for this, and my hopes were exceeded! I absolutely adored this novella, which I can only describe as a poignant yet funny tailtale of double-crosses. A cautionary tale about how coalitions are hard and everyone's a little bit tricksy! Also, a fable about finding one's purpose, and there was a moment about 2/3rds in that absolutely broke my heart. In the end, it's the world that makes the trickster, and the trickster must find their own path. Five stars. This gave me such Beyond the Burn Line vibes, minus the sci-fi twist.

You got me with The Navigating Fox. It sounds delicious.

>305 jillmwo: I am glad to see you are feeding your Elephant Awareness.
#thereisalwaysanelephant

I am intrigued by The Mossheart's Promise and The Navigating Fox :)

>309 Marissa_Doyle: Ditto.

Happy Victober to all who celebrate!

>309 Marissa_Doyle:, >311 curioussquared:, >312 clamairy: I hope you like it! It's different, and oddly sweet in tone. I'm still thinking about it.

>311 curioussquared: I think you would really like The Mossheart's Apprentice!

96. How to Save a Unicorn: Giada the healer is in NYC, completing an apprenticeship, when she learns that her best friend is coming to town because a unicorn has gone missing. Giada and her friends find clues to a sinister corporation's plan. Giada suspects the Streghe del Malocchio are behind things, so she heads down to Olde Yorque to find out. This was a cute sequel, although it was not as rooted to its locale as the first book. 4.5 stars.

97. The Voice Upstairs: I need Laura Weymouth to stay in her historical Gothic era for a loooooong time. This is perfect: the creeping dread, the twists and turns, the realistic romance, the amazing ghosts, the coziness tucked in the story's edges. Weymouth writes savvy and lovely standalone YA. Five stars.

98. The Unsleeping Witch: gingerbread witch Maud has been given extra responsibilities, but she's still insecure about her magic. Her magical mistakes unleash both a long-contained curse and a monstrous princess. Maud, her friends, and her imperfect magic try to fix things, but the Witches Guild and witch hunters are on their trail. I loved the first book in this series, and this sequel is cozy and sweet. 4.5 stars.

This next one is a rant, but I did like the book. This is a case of my particular reader expectations going unmet, not poor writing.

99. A Market of Dreams and Destiny: a talking, matchmaking cat named Bess; bells that peal rhyming gossip or warnings; a dangerous and glittering Goblin Market underneath Covent Garden; a long-ago Treaty between Elizabeth First of Her Name and Queen Titania. Oh, and it's the Victorian era, so the British are still up to their workhouse labor violations and Empire building. Artful dodger Deri is contracted to one of the Untermarkt's chief goblin merchants, and orphan Owain is stuck working unsafe machinery in a London workhouse. Sparks fly when the teenagers meet, but the only way to be together is to win their freedom. Can Deri wheel and deal his way to a labor win?

I loved the atmosphere: the cat, the bells, and oh so deliciously fae market. Unfortunately, the atmosphere is underused. The book also claims to be a Dickensian look at labor, but Deri Mary Sues his way in and solves things with magic. The fiery union leader is made an afterthought. And, the ending kind of upholds the Empire. This would have been a perfect book for me if it had been a little more thoughtful. I adored the trappings of this alternate Victorian London, so I probably will read further adventures if they're written. Four stars.

Edited: Despite the protagonists' ages, this is an adult historical fantasy. It's on the cozier side.

Aside: For someone who is super savvy and doesn't miss anything, Deri strangely overlooks Bess. I mean: Bess, ginger tabby, called 'milady,' all-knowing of the market's destinies? You really don't notice any of it?

I have to wait until June for The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. This is most tedious.

This thread also has become tedious, so I'm continuing it in a new topic.

You got me with The Voice Upstairs and A Market of Dreams and Destiny!

>315 libraryperilous: A market of dreams and destiny is calling to me, despite your caveats.

>318 Sakerfalcon: I think you can safely make that bargain. :)

>317 curioussquared: The Voice Upstairs is excellent YA, in my limited genre experience. :)