Posted August 31, 2022in Book Review
‘Lute’ Americans becoming European aristocrats is not a new trope; it’s been done throughout literature in a number of different ways. In this lovely, spooky, beautifully written debut, that common plot is twisted and filled with a delicious foreboding. Nina is an American who falls in love with a British
Read More →
Posted August 03, 2022in Book Review
‘Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution’ R. F. Kuang’s Poppy War Trilogy lives rent-free in my head years after I read it, so I picked up her newest book with buckets of anticipation and high expectations. Lucky for me, “Babel” more than met
Read More →
Posted July 06, 2022in Book Review
‘Ordinary Monsters’ This one is a beauty of melancholy and the painful parts of humanity. It is atmospheric and seething with tension and grit with just enough heart to claw its way into your brain. I’ve been thinking about this book daily since I finished it months ago. I think
Read More →
Posted June 01, 2022in Book Review
‘How High We Go in the Dark’ Stories and people connected in surprising ways; the myths we tell ourselves even when reality is breathing down our necks; the absolute power of time. These are just some of the themes that explode from this shining debut book. A plague that ravishes
Read More →
Posted May 04, 2022in Book Review
‘Four Treasures of the Sky’ I just can’t get enough magical realism these days. Lucky for me, there’s a bit of a renaissance happening, and I get to indulge my penchant in some absolutely beautiful books like this one by a debut author who has made her way onto my
Read More →
Posted April 06, 2022in Book Review
‘When We Were Birds’ I can write this review in one sentence: This might be the perfect magical realism novel; go read it. Yejide has a complicated relationship with her mother, to say the least. Bitterness and neglect and a strange family burden crack the mother-daughter relationship beyond repair. When
Read More →
Posted March 02, 2022in Book Review
‘Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas’ Anthropology is not always an accessible topic for general reading. It’s often dense, and despite its subject being humanity, it can seem cold and remote to the general public. Not a small part of this is the historically racist, insensitive and inhumane way
Read More →
Posted February 02, 2022in Book Review
‘Last Night at the Telegraph Club’ I’m such a sucker for well-written, historical novels that don’t feel like historical fiction. Melinda Lo is known for her darkly beautiful stories, and this one hit that note just right. Unexpected romance, a turbulent time in our recent history, and a coming-of-age story
Read More →
Posted January 05, 2022in Book Review
‘Iron Widow’ The wide world of fantasy novels has so much more diversity these days, and I, for one, cannot be more excited about it. “Iron Widow” is just such a story, taking place in an alternate world in which a culture with Chinese influences is haunted by an alien
Read More →
Posted December 01, 2021in Book Review
‘Even Greater Mistakes: Stories by Charlie Jane Anders’ When life is busy, and my attention span is short, I turn to short stories to fill in the gaps of my day. I enjoy a quick punch of a story to curb a bad mood (or heighten a good one). For
Read More →
