Veronica Speedwell is a dashing lepidopterist and sometimes crime-fighting sleuth in Victorian England. She is one of my favorite all time heroines, even when she behaves badly or won’t own up to her feelings. In A Dangerous Collaboration, the fifth installment in the the Veronica Speedwell Mystery series by Deanna Raybourn, the intrepid Veronica finds herself […]
The English Experience by Julie Schumacher popped up in my library recommendations. The funny synopsis and snappy cover art were reason enough to add it to my TBR list. Upon further investigation, I found it was the third book in the Jason Fitger series; so naturally I had to begin at the beginning […]
I’m Glad My Mom Died is not a book I’d typically pick up. I normally avoid anything with legitimate dysfunction. At the recommendation of my sister, I gave it a try. I’m Glad My Mom Died is an emotionally evocative memoir by Jenette McCurdy, a child actor who rose to fame as a primary cast […]
I adore the steampunk genre, and several years ago I discovered Bec McMasters’ London Steampunk series. Recently, I was surprised to find there was a connected series that I had not read. Unfortunately, it only took me two chapters into the new book to realize I remembered very little about the original series, except for […]
“A quiet bookworm who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper” is an epitaph I would want for myself if I were in an RPG or Urban Fantasy novel. Who am I kidding? I’d want it regardless. As the tagline for The Diamond Eye, my interest was captured immediately and the book shot straight to the top […]
Epic fantasy, by definition, should be epic. It typically involves a grand and sweeping narrative that spans a vast world with many characters, cultures, and conflicts. I find that they are often stories that stay with me forever. That might be good, seeing as they usually require a huge investment in time (and sometimes money, […]
I was looking for snarky paranormal romance/urban fantasy when I came across It’s a Wonderful Midlife Crisis by Robyn Peterman, the first installment of the Good to the Last Death series, in my library’s suggestion list. I enjoyed her previous books, and after meeting the author in person at several conventions, knew her to have […]
White Cat is a charming, modern tale of love and magic written by one of my favorite young adult writers, Holly Black. The first in The Curse Workers series, it is set in a world where magic is real, but only certain people have the power to use it. The story revolves around a young […]
I love testing out a new series. I especially love it when the series exceeds expectations and I end up really enjoying the book. On the recommendation of a friend, I picked up S T Abbey’s Mindf*ck series without any real clue as to what I was reading. From the name I expected […]
Back in 1992, my soon-to-be husband brought home what might have been the thickest paperback novel I’d ever seen, The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, the first book in the Wheel of Time series. As we were both students with full schedules at the time, opportunities for ‘joy-reading’ were few and far between. […]