#AudioBookReview: In My Country by Thomas Ha #booksky @thomasha.bsky.social @clarkesworldmagazine.com #sciencefiction #dystopian #shortstoryreview #podcastreview #HugoNomineeReview #bookreview
#BookReview: Valet by LaCrampe #booksky #jplacrampeauthor @sagapressbooks #sciencefiction #robots #artificialintelligence #literaryfiction #relationshipfiction #jeevesandwooster
#BookReview: The Three Coffin Problem by Lavie Tidhar #booksky @lavietidhar.bsky.social @awfulagent.bsky.social #JABbooks #historicalfantasy #vampires #paranormal #shortstoryreview
Stacking the Shelves (708) #STS #StackingTheShelves #TBRshelf #TBR #newbooks #booksky
The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 6-7-26 #SundayPost #NightstandBooks #TBR #TBRshelf #nightstand #booksky
A- #BookReview: Field Guide for the Formerly Villainous by Autumn K. England #booksky @mkengland.bsky.social #autumnkenglandauthor #poisonedpenpress #cozyfantasy #queerfantasy #quozyfantasy
#BookReview: Cash and Gravity by Perrin Pring #booksky #perrinpringauthor @diversionbooks.bsky.social #sciencefiction #spacewestern #dystopian
##AudioBookReview: Six People to Revise You by J.R. Dawson #booksky @jrdawson.bsky.social @uncannymagazine.bsky.social #sciencefiction #shortstories #shortstoryreview #HugoNomineeReview
Grade A #AudioBookReview: The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung #booksky #louisepennyauthor @mellissafung.bsky.social #minotaurbooks #thriller #suspense #politicalthriller #bookreview
My Review: This is the third short work in my personal Hugo Awards reading and this is another story that is interesting and thought-provoking rather than any sort of fun. Which in this case is definitely the point. At first, it reads as if it’s set in a totalitarian country. And it would be an easier read if it were. I mean, it kind of is, but not in the way we think of such things. Because we think that totalitarianism tends towards uniformity of thought - or an attempt to force it.
My Review: At first, this appears to be the story of a “poor little rich boy” as told from the perspective of his ultra-competent, long-suffering personal attendant, the valet of the title. Which is where those comparison to P.G. Wodehouse’s iconic Jeeves and Wooster duo come striding - or strolling as the case might be - right in. But this isn’t Grayson St. Claire’s story. It’s Cy’s story, being told from Cy’s first person perspective. That Cy even has a first-person perspective and the “I” voice to go with it is just a part of what makes the story interesting AND what keeps the reader following along.
The two prettiest covers - and I think they are both pretty instead of merely cute, are The Daughter of the Rebellion, A Kiss of Hammer and Flame and What Happens at Nightfall. (I love the dark blues in Nightfall's cover). The creepy cover award in this stack is divided between Bone of My Bone and Come Sing for the Harrowing. They both give me the shivers - and it's not cold here AT ALL. The books I'm most curious about. or really, whose titles I'm most weirded out by, …
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Today's cat picture is the "after" picture for last Sunday's cat picture. Last Sunday, Luna got caught napping adorably. This picture was taken just a few moments after, after she woke up enough to pose for the camera. She's very aware of how cute she is. VERY. (I adore the way her tail is curling up at the tip!) Current Giveaways: $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Berry Good Giveaway Hop $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Spring 2026 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop $10 Gift Card or $10 Book PLUS EVENT-WIDE AMAZON/PAYPAL PRIZE in…
My Review: I initially discovered Judge Dee - this version of Judge Dee, at least - when I was looking for references to the original, historical Judge Dee after reading The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan. I was curious about Dee as a historical figure, because the context in which the name was familiar was in relation to the Judge Dee mystery series interpreted and written by Robert van Gulik in the 1950s and 1960s, (very) loosely based on the historical (7th century!) Judge Di Renjie who had migrated into 14th century Chinese mystery fiction and eventually 18th century Chinese crime fiction.
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My Review: Oaklin Nettlewood has found themselves on the thorns of a dilemma. I know that phrase is normally HORNS of a dilemma, but not in Oaklin’s case. Not just because of their name, but seriously because they are caught among WAY more than just two dilemmas. They’re working their way through a whole thorny nettlebush of the things, and they’ve just barely gotten started. Oaklin has just taken possession of their new farm, on the outskirts of the friendly, flourishing village of Mossley’s Rest. They are in dire need of a fresh start, and they’re hoping that the new job and the new location will help them get that start, well, started.
My Review: This is the world created by Idolfire AND the world created by its lack. It’s also the story of one scholar’s obsession with history and one rogue assassin’s obsession with her. And, it’s a story about the havoc that obsession can create, both with its absorption and with the damage that its single-mindedness scatters like rain. Let’s unpack that a bit, shall we? Heaven’s Graveyard takes place in the same setting as the author’s earlier book, Idolfire. But this is not a sequel. Instead, this is that same world, centuries later.
My Review: I came into this one kind of expecting Cash and Gravity to both be people. Literally. I was expecting those to be the names of the protagonists. Let me disabuse you of that notion right now, because they’re not. Instead, they are the forces that power the narrative of the story. Gravity, the force of nature. The principle that Earth, or any large mass, pulls things towards it from space. Like lifeboats ejected from dying spaceships. And dropships built to drop from orbit with a cargo of space marines.
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My Review: The Last Mandarin is a bit of a “six impossible things before breakfast” kind of story. Then again, our perspective on the frequently insane events of this tale is named Alice - and she often doesn’t believe what’s happening either, even while she’s in the midst of experiencing it. Especially while she’s experiencing it. The story begins with food blogger Alice Li in the restaurant of one of Washington D.C.’s premier hotels, watching resentfully as seemingly everyone in the room sidles up to the table to pay homage to her mother Vivien.
My Review: Why would you ask a whole bunch of other people, most of whom don’t know you well, or at least don’t know you well NOW, for their input into everything about yourself that you should change? Another question, why would the process to change someone start with asking people who are, mostly, at best, casual acquaintances or frenemies, how a person they may not like should change. What does that say about the society that does this? And why would a person submit themselves to it? Those are just some of the VERY thorny questions being asked in…
