Book Reviews
This is the main category for my book reviews. Every book I've reviewed will be listed in this category. If you wish to fine-tune your search, try searching by a specific category, such as cookbooks, fantasy, historical fiction, etc. (the category list is at the bottom of this page).
-
Book Review: The Timble Family Curse
The Timble Family Curse by Laury Falter My rating: 5 of 5 stars Timothy Timble is having a lousy childhood. Orphaned as a babe, he’s being raised by mean Storka Ickle in a…
-
Book Review: The Places We Sleep
Imagine being twelve years old, a battle-weary Army brat trying to adjust to yet another new school in Tennessee, just about to get your first period... and it's September 11, 2001.
-
Book Review: On Safari in R’lyeh and Carcosa with Gun and Camera
On Safari in R’lyeh and Carcosa with Gun and Camera: A Tor.com Original by Elizabeth Bear My rating: 5 of 5 stars Clever, unexpected story. I thought I knew were it was going……
- Black Authors, Book Reviews, Coming of Age, Realist Fiction, Romance, Suspense and Thriller, Womens Literature, Young Adult
Book Review: Hurricane Summer
Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield My rating: 3 of 5 stars As if coming of age isn’t already one of the toughest transitions a girl has to make, Tilla’s experiencing it in a…
-
Book Review: Come Take Me
Come Take Me: A Celestial Satire by E. M. Skyler My rating: 4 of 5 stars Marshall M. Shmishkiss isn’t enjoying his life, but he’s taking steps to change it. He’s eating healthier,…
-
Book Review: Afro Puffs are the Antennae of the Universe
Desiree Quicho just needs a little downtime from work. She wants to go home, relax, hang out with her friends, make some progress on the house she's building... you know, normal stuff...
-
Book Review: The Case of the Missing Marquess
The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer My rating: 5 of 5 stars After watching the Enola Holmes movie on Netflix, I decided that I quite liked this twist on the…
-
Book Review: Bad Hand (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 3.5)
This queer cyberpunk short for Halloween is a thank you from the author to loyal readers.
-
Book Review: Riverland
Riverland by Fran Wilde My rating: 5 of 5 stars I went into the story knowing in advance that aspects of our protagonist’s home life might be difficult to read. Fran Wilde has…
-
Book Review: Summer Knight (The Dresden Files)
Summer Knight by Jim Butcher My rating: 2 of 5 stars While not terrible, this wasn't my favorite book so far in the series. I found the constant slogging through the political posturing…
-
Book Review: Starfish and Coffee: The SparkleTits Chronicles
Starfish and Coffee by Veronica R. Calisto My rating: 4 of 5 stars Bra-vo! SparkleTits is my kinda superhero. Or, maybe she’s not a superhero, but, she probably is. This uncertainty is part…
-
Book Review: So I’m A Vampire’s Familiar
So I’m A Vampire’s Familiar by Shayna Grissom My rating: 3 of 5 stars So, it seems vampires are real, after all. But, expectations and reality aren’t seeing eye to eye for our…
-
Book Review: The Triads of Ireland
The Triads of Ireland – An Illustrated Collection Written and Illustrated by Olivia Wylie Triads are an ancient Irish form of verse, vaguely similar to Japanese Haiku poetry. Even though these triads were…
-
Book Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman My rating: 2 of 5 stars I’m of mixed feelings about this book, which is something I’ve never said about a Neil…
-
Book Review: Words Fail Me
Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing by Patricia T. O’Conner My rating: 5 of 5 stars One of the best writing advice books around. It’s written in an…
-
Book Review: Jitterbug Perfume
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’ll admit right now that Jitterbug Perfume has been one of my favorite books for many decades. This was about my 5th…
-
Book Review: The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack
With an all-star cast including many big names of the day and a wild plot that spins Burton and Swinburne round and round, this one's a page-turner and eye-popper.
-
Book Review: The Engineer Wore Venetian Red
If you're looking for a summer read, this is it! The 4th installment in the Mysterious Devices series is a doozy.
-
Book Review: The Clockwork’s Orange
The Clockwork’s Orange by E.P. Isaacs My rating: 4 of 5 stars Reading The Clockwork’s Orange gave me a feeling of having found a long-lost treasure in an old trunk in the attic.…
-
Book Review: Aces and Eights (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 4)
The Wildcards catch wind of the possibility that one of the seed banks established before America collapsed might have survived.
-
Book Review: Bird by Bird
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott My rating: 5 of 5 stars I deliberately read Bird By Bird slowly – her ‘lessons’ are short, sometimes just a…
-
Book Review: Call the Bluff (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 2)
Though this is book #2 in the series, I read it last, having read #3 first and #1 second (I know, I know, it's a long story why).
-
Book Review: The Hands We’re Given (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 1)
Exceptionally well-told adventure story that manages to highlight all members of a large, complicated cast, each in their own way.
-
What I’m Reading For Book Lovers Day 2019
I’ll be finishing “Absinthe, Alewives & Alchemy” by Kate Henriott and Ted Jauw today. I met the authors at a Michigan Steam Expo earlier this year, and found them both to be delightful…
-
Book Review: Raise the Stakes (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 3)
It's 2156. Corporations now control the people of what used to be the United States. And they've gone way too far.
-
Book Review: Blood Calls
At first glance, you might think Blood Calls is a vampire novel, but you’d be wrong. At second glance, you might think it’s the story of a boy and his dragon, but you’d…
-
Book Review: Field Guide to the End of the World
This seems to be my month for reading new-old books. “S” by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams looks precisely like a 1949 well-worn library book and is filled with… well we don’t have time…
-
Book Review: The Opening Bell
As a kid growing up on the outskirts of Los Angeles, I can’t say I ever watched wrestling, but I also didn’t *not* watch wrestling. It was often part of the background of…
-
Push It Forward
Indie writer J.B. Garner writes about superheroes, but he is a bit of a superhero himself. In his blog, Musings of a Starving Author, he not only talks about his own books, but…
-
Book Review: The Book Of Speculation
I have to admit that I first became interested in The Book Of Speculation after learning from Goodreads about her over-the-top method of submitting her debut manuscript to publishers. As if writing a book…
