Solid little fantasy read that was a lot of fun, even a riot at times. 

Our protagonist ends up going on a long and pretty wild adventure when he tries to rob a knight, also a handmaiden to the goddess of death, Dalgatha. Full of baudy humor, honor on the part of the knight, and a wild cast of additional characters, this took twists and turns I didn't anticipate. 

Decent read, had to pick it up a few times, as it didn't hold my interest the way I'd hoped it would, but am glad I read it - solid middle of the line for me, but folks who enjoy more traditional fantasy (middle earth, Tolkein and Martin type of stuff) might enjoy more than I did! 

Compelling little thriller, this one. I will admit I did not see the end coming! 

A combination of slasher/final girl story and thriller, this novel follows Quinn, who survived as a final girl a decade prior. After the death of a friend and mentor of hers, another final girl, a series of events force Quinn to recon with her current life, her lack of memory over what happened a decade prior, and to re-evaluate who she holds close. 

Quite enjoyed this one! CWs mostly jive with the kind of novel this is, but do note that drug abuse does not refer to the abuse of illegal/illicit drugs, but prescription ones by a main character. 

My first novel by Wendig, Wanderers is a lot for a chronically ill, disabled person, in a world with an ongoing pandemic (maybe more than one) and folks who choose to no longer believe in it. 

Published in 2019, it’s like Wendig predicted the future. A global pandemic sparked by bat to human contact in Texas, fungal parasitism that caused humans to slowly devolve into dementia, political upheaval and a coup by extremist (and extremely racist and xenophobic) right-wingers, characters using religion to manipulate the masses (and someone behind it who doesn’t really even believe), artificial intelligence deciding who to save, and why. 

I enjoyed the writing, it was clean and polished and well-constructed, but the first 2/3 or so of the novel felt extremely plodding, and like it could have been tightened up quite a bit for a more punchy and impactful reader experience. There was good character development, but not many of the characters felt fully fleshed out/like real people, particularly for a nearly 800 page novel. 

Check CWs, as there are MANY for this novel. 

Pacing: slow/medium. First 2/3 of the novel are quite slow with moments it picks up, final 1/3 or so is medium-paced nearly throughout. 

I’ve had Due on my TBR for a long time and this novel is evidently evidence as to why. 

Based on a real place, where real young men lost their lives, The Reformatory follows young Robert Stevens, Jr, his sister Gloria, and others who love them in the Jim Crow south after the death of their mother (lost to cancer), and their father’s need to leave after his attempt to unionize workers strikes fear into the pocketbooks of white folks in their community. 

Young Robert defends his sister from the untoward advances of a young white man from a former plantation owning family with a swift kick to the knee, but McCormack senior sees the exchange and convinces a judge to send young Robert to the Reformatory, a place reeking of violence and bloodshed, the mysterious deaths of young men behind its barbed wire fences, and more. 

What unveils is a story of friendship created under duress, the ghosts haunting the Reformatory impatiently waiting to exact their revenge on the man representing the system of inequity that led to their untimely deaths, and the horrors hiding under the surface in the Funhouse, the shed, and elsewhere at the Reformatory. 

Read for Indie Ink 2024 judging for the category of Disability Representation by a Disabled author. 

Really appreciated the realistic framing of the protagonist as having processing issues, executive functioning issues, and the purported solution to them in the world of the novel. Interesting world building, and author effectively brings readers into the world they’ve created. 

At times hilariously funny, dark, and plot line of political intrigue/pending civil war between the four royal siblings after the death of their father. 

Rating of novel here is per my personal taste and does not reflect how I scored the novel for the Indie Ink Awards. 

Nice little light SF about someone laid off by the CEO where he’s an executive at the start of COVID who then, by a series of events, ends up with a job offer to work with kaiju on a parallel Earth. Equal parts hilarious and feel good, this little SF novel will keep you turning the pages and rooting for the good guys. 

Picked up for Voyage Out to try to re-engage and the book was so so but didn’t really do it for me/not the right mood. 

Schwab brings readers back home to the world of multiple Londons. Red London’s original Antari, Kell Maresh has been unable to access his power for seven years (since he, Holland, and Lila fought back the literal darkness of Osaron and Black London). Lila trains him in other ways in the meantime aboard her ship, the Grey Barron. 

Meanwhile, a young child queen, Kosika, takes power in White London and foreshadows much to come in this new trilogy. 

In Grey London, things are much as they once were, although Tes, our newest beloved character, gets to meet Ned Tuttle and experience Grey and White London briefly herself as she fights against a coup planned by an organization calling itself the Hand, hoping to murder Red London’s king, Rhy Maresh. 

More swashbuckling, elemental and Antari magic, and adventures through and across the varied Londons will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment. 

Not sure what it was, but this novel felt more all-over-the-place and less compelling than the other two in the series. I love SGJ, and I love Jade, especially, but something just didn’t quite click for me in the same way here. 

There were, nonetheless, some five star moments, lines, and bits that felt pulled straight out of a slasher film. I’m glad Jade gets her well-deserved rest, and hopefully Proofrock, ID does too. 

Wow. What a powerful debut. 

Simultaneously commenting on all that makes the US carceral system the evil that it is, and narrating characters who bring to life the embodiment of hope in a hopeless world, and love in a world of violence, this novel packs quite a punch. 

The added statistics throughout actually made the story more impactful, as it roots readers in the realities of the carceral system and how it doubly harms Black and Brown bodies, as well as femmes, queer and trans folks, etc.