leandrathetbrzero's Reviews (412)

↓ Similar Reading Experiences ↓

 

A young woman discovers she’s a child of the sea forced to live out her days on land; two princesses are left on a desolate moon to battle to the death; and, a farmer falls in love with an ancient monster he is meant to slay. These are just a few stories featured in this collection. Written by Latinx authors whose roots range from Central and South America and beyond, these pages are rich with Latin American cultures, folklore, and languages. And the diversity does not stop there. Reclaim the Stars features LGBT+ characters and romantic relationships, including nonbinary protagonists, polyamory, and more! 

While I have my personal favorites within this collection, I am grateful that I own the book so I can return to any of the stories whenever I choose. The world-building across the collection is impressively sophisticated for narratives set with a short-story scope. I’ve heard that science fiction and fantasy are particularly difficult genres to condense to short form work, but this collection makes it seem effortless! From space travel to brujas and magia, this is the perfect book for any speculative fiction lover.

I highly recommend this collection to YA and adult readers alike, especially if you are looking to find some sci fi or fantasy writers who may be new to you. I have already added a few novels by writers featured in Reclaim the Stars to my TBR wishlists because I cannot wait to enter their imagined worlds again. 

 ↓ Similar Mansion Murders ↓

Much mystery and awe surround Mr. Martin Greenough and his Bostonian estate. When he is discovered murdered on his seventy-fifth birthday with the mansion filled with his relatives, all benefiting from his death, the police call on Inspector Kane to untangle the events leading up to his birthday celebration. It soon becomes clear that no one is telling the truth, and no one is completely innocent.

I received Roger Scarlett’s Cat’s Paw as part of my monthly subscription with the Mysterious Bookshop. Each month, I am sent the newest addition to the Otto Penzler American mystery classics collection And, without fail, each package brings me such joy! Fun fact about Roger Scarlett: this is a pseudonym used by same-sex couple Dorothy Blair and Evelyn Page. The duo wrote five mysteries together, following the amazing triumphs of Inspector Kane. Cat’s Paw was my first experience with Kane, but hopefully not my last!

While I prefer my detective to be an active participant throughout the entire narrative, I respect Blair and Page’s nonconventional choice to only include Inspector Kane at the beginning (post-murder but pre-solution) and then at the end (with final interviews before the reveal). The middle section of the novel rewinds to the days leading up to the murder as guests arrive and tensions steadily rise. This design forces the reader to gather their own clues and deductions as Kane’s right-hand man, Underwood, narrates the events without interruption. In a way, I felt like I had stepped into the shoes of the detective rather than watching the mystery unfold through the eyes of a sidekick character.

For the most part, we as readers should come to our own solution before Kane steps in to reveal the culprit(s). In the book’s introduction, written by Curtis Evans, Roger Scarlett’s books became popular in Japan as “authentic” (i.e., fair play) detective fiction after World War II. And Cat’s Paw is no exception. The writers 100% play fair, and the solution is within reach of the reader. I can attest to this fact as I correctly answered the questions “Whodunnit?” and “Whydunnit?” With that said, I do believe there is a good level of complexity to this narrative. Everyone is a believable suspect with motive and lies galore, not to mention the red herrings carefully placed in our way. 

My only critiques for this story are (1) the slow pace, and (2) I wanted more space devoted to Anne, the determined, money-savvy niece who took no sh*t from her ruthless uncle Martin. I definitely recommend this if you are in the mood for a mansion murder setting!

 

 As a young man wanders beneath the canopy of a maple tree in the early twentieth century, a thirteen-year-old girl traipses through that very forest nearly a century later. Meanwhile, a woman makes her way through the Oklahoma City Airship Terminal in 2195. These three individuals are connected by a strange phenomenon, an unexplainable torn seam in time. It becomes the goal of Gaspery-Jacques Roberts and the Time Institute to figure out exactly what this strange rip in the timeline means.

After reading Station Eleven, I was hungry for another Mandel novel in my hands. Hence, I pre-ordered Sea of Tranquility at the beginning of 2022. She has a very unique writing style that features metafiction, often placing stories within stories, and overlapping character timelines. In both books that I have read by her, pandemics are experienced and heavily discussed by characters. For obvious reasons, this inclusion in her work is topical as much as it is critical. In many ways, Sea of Tranquility especially (since I read Station Eleven pre-pandemic) expresses and investigates ideas that have been weighing on my mind as well. It is little surprise, then, that Olive Llewellyn’s perspective, that of a novelist whose best seller is pandemic-related, was my favorite to follow.

There are so many details – both large and small – that I enjoyed in this narrative. Gaspery’s interactions with humans from a very different, earlier time felt quite believable and humorous. His observation on handshakes as an archaic practice abandoned long ago made me laugh. It also made me hope for this to become a reality! I loved the snippets extracted from Olive’s lectures and interviews as she moves from city to city, territory to territory (i.e., the U.S. is no longer the U.S.), for her book tour. As ironic as it is that she is discussing pandemic trends throughout history while a new pandemic is sneaking up on them all, I found this extremely relatable because this happened to us just two years ago and suddenly entire countries were mandating lock downs. I also appreciated the cli-fi elements; with each time jump, the terrain and resources become scarcer and scarcer until colonies are settled on the earth’s moon and even further out in the solar system. It’s terrifying because it is believable. 

This story explores time travel, the questioning of our own reality, and one’s fight for *humanity*. Sea of Tranquility is a fast-paced novel that tugs at your heart strings in a similar way that a distant violin’s strings haunt many a character between its pages.

For more bookish content and fun, check out my Booktube @ Leandra the TBR Zero and Instagram @greatgraydays_booksreviews

↓ Similar Reading Experiences ↓
1. E.J. Koh’s The Magical Language of Others 
2. Jazmina Barrera’s On Lighthouses
3. Leslie Jamison’s The Empathy Exams

While I have read every Harry Potter book and watched the movies inspired by them, I was never a Potterhead or HP fangirl. In fact, I started reading the books long after seeing many of the movies in and out of theaters when I was in high school. My love of the series has since then been dampened by JK Rowling’s openly expressed transphobia. Therefore, when a friend and coworker mentioned she was reading Evanna Lynch’s memoir, The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting, I showed polite interest – mainly because Luna Lovegood was my favorite character in the series. By the end of the conversation, however, my friend and I agreed that I would borrow the library’s copy once she returned it herself.

In her memoir, Lynch reflects on moments in her childhood that shaped and affected her inquisitive, creative mind. She gives her readers insight into the beginning stages of developing an eating disorder (ED), the many modes of treatment attempted to lead her toward recovery, and how she continues to support her own mental health and happiness as an adult. Among the many aspects of this book that are brilliant, Lynch has made me more aware – of myself and my own childhood, of those who live with an ED and how I might best support them, and of the many treatments that exists, some more harmful than others. Most importantly, Lynch reminds us of the person who often becomes overshadowed by their ED.

Lynch has one of the most honest, relatable authorial voices I have ever experienced. Her opposition toward womanhood and her refusal to grow up during childhood put words to paper of feelings I recall having myself but I was never able to exactly articulate them. While this is a memoir recording Lynch’s childhood, I believe it speaks to many of us and how we felt growing up. With that said, some of the darkest moments that Lynch shares humbled me and my own issues with body dysmorphia, my own turbulent relationship with food and mental health. Lynch does not write this book to alienate anyone, however, whether you have lived with an ED or not. She simply reflects on the progress, the setbacks, the treatments that supported her recovery and those that harmed it. She speaks openly and beautifully about her experiences, and I greatly appreciate her decision to invite us into her darkness.

 “…the problem lies not in the search so much as in the definition of perfection, which is a beautiful female who will integrate seamlessly into a man’s life.”

Charlotte Holmes continues to defy gender norms as she solves yet another ingenious mystery in this second installment in the Lady Sherlock series. Not to mention, the number of strong, determined heroines are deliciously plentiful! A pleasure to return to this world 😊💕

Since solving the intricate Sackville case, the clients coming to Sherlock Holmes have mysteries of a more domestic nature, according to the latest gossip column. While many of Sherlock’s confidants find the suggestion offensive, such as Mrs. Watson and Livia Holmes, Charlotte Holmes knows the article invites lower profile paying clients to request her assistance.

One person she did not expect to request Sherlock’s help is Lady Ingram, the woman unhappily married to Charlotte’s long-time friend Lord Ingram. Lady Ingram enlists Sherlock to search for a man whose illegitimate birth prevented her from originally marrying him when she was young. This missing person, Charlotte discovers, is her half-brother, Myron Finch. 

My favorite character to follow this time around was Livia Holmes, Charlotte’s older sister. She meets a mysterious suitor, and their chemistry was great! Beyond the sweet romance blooming, I appreciated the parallels drawn between Livia and Charlotte. Both are very clever yet, while Charlotte feels quite comfortable exiled from High Society, Livia is more emotive and sensitive to the pressures placed on her as a young woman. The latter also endeavors to compose a Sherlock Holmes tale, and I just love that the original Watson’s roles has been split between Mrs. Watson and Charlotte’s sister. 

 ↓ Similar Reading Experiences ↓

 

Judith Potts wants for nothing in her independent lifestyle. At seventy-seven years old, Judith loves her job as a crossword setter, busies herself with jigsaw puzzles and swimming in the Thames River, and keeps certain memories in her past well-buried. She’s perfectly happy. That is, until she discovers her neighbor with a bullet in his head. And this is only the beginning.

I absolutely adore this dream team of amateur sleuths made up of a crossword setter, a dog walker, and the vicar’s wife. And D.S. Tanika Malik as an honorary fourth member. These characters are well-developed, diverse in their motivations and backgrounds, and brilliantly supportive of each other. None of this surprises me because the book’s author, Robert Thorogood, is the creator of Death in Paradise, one of my favorite detective TV series. The storylines and characters in this TV series are rich in their complexity, so naturally The Marlow Murder Club would be no different.

The dialogue is sprinkled with clever theories and epiphanies. And the characters are wicked funny throughout. I loved the many positive examples of women supporting women, and their growing friendships feel extremely believable. This is a book to read for the characters as much as it is for the murder mystery.

Speaking of the mystery, Thorogood is certainly no amateur! Each time yet another person is found murdered, the plot thickens and our protagonists are forced to dig a little deeper. Admittedly, I predicted the solution quite early on, but I had no problem reading until the end to be sure I was correct. Spoiler: Think 

Strangers on a Train.

  In 2022, I have read way more mysteries than I have in past years, so I am beginning to wonder if I am simply growing accustomed to the genre’s twists and turns. (1) I already bought my physical copy, (2) I will 100% be recommending this book to fellow mystery lovers, especially those who loved The Thursday Murder Club, and (3) I fully intend to return to Marlow if/when Thorogood invites us with a sequel!

 

 While the house party at Donwell Abbey was larger than the Knightleys ever intended, only one guest arrived uninvited. And that guest was none other than George Wickham, the well-hated Jane Austen villain. The other guests come from the mind of Austen as well: the Darcys, the Brandons, the Wentworths, the Bertrams, and a young Tilney hoping to experience a bit more of the world. As the narrative progresses, the characters realize that most have secrets to hide or connections to Wickham they would wish to forget. When Wickham is discovered murdered, the one responsible for his death must be one of the houseguests. Could your favorite Jane Austen character be capable of murder?

My previous experience with the brilliant mind that is Jane Austen is embarrassingly sparse. I have read Pride and Prejudice twice, both times as an academic requirement, and only finally read Sense and Sensibility as a buddy read with my friend, Phoebe, in late 2020. The single unread Austen title sitting on my TBR shelves is Emma. Needless to say, after reading The Murder of Mr. Wickham, Claudia Gray’s Janeite ode, I am dying to get better acquainted with such characters as Emma Knightley and Anne Wentworth. I am living proof that you can enjoy this 1800s murder mystery in the English countryside without reading (much of) Jane Austen, but I will also emphasize how fun it was when I did understand the subtle nods that Gray includes to these characters’ pasts. 

My favorite characters by far originated from Gray’s mind, however! Juliet Tilney and Jonathan Darcy, son of Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy, are the story’s duo sleuths. As Jonathan has an alibi and Juliet appears to be the only person without a doubt unrelated to Wickham in any way, the two youngest houseguests team up to solve the murder. Their chemistry is just brilliant. After a rocky start to their acquaintance, it was a pleasure to watch their relationship bloom into a genuine friendship…and maybe something more romantic. An aspect of their dynamic I especially loved is Juliet’s patience and acceptance of Jonathan’s “eccentricities.” I am not certain of Gray intentions when creating Jonathan Darcy, so my own interpretation may be wrong, but I felt that he could be categorized as a neurodivergent character. A lovely, underrepresented group that deserves more examples in today’s literature!

The mystery was admittedly slow-paced at times, but I personally appreciated the amount of time Gray invests in her characters’ personal affairs. The complexities are many, and I felt in no rush to leave Donwell Abbey. The added tension was certainly that a much loved Austen character killed a much hated one, and the former would possibly be sentenced to death for their deed. Whether you are a tried and true Janeite, someone who has dabbled in the Austen universe a tad, or knows nothing going into the novel, you are guaranteed to become heavily invested in these characters.

This is an honest review in exchange for an advanced reader’s copy of Claudia Gray’s The Murder of Mr. Wickham via Netgalley. The official publication date is 3 May 2022. I’ve already pre-ordered my physical copy! Go get yours today! 

 

Robert Westland has less than a week to live before his execution when he finally decides to fight for his life. Claiming his innocence in the murder of his wife, Robert hires a lawyer and hands him a note received a couple weeks earlier. It’s from a mysterious man, M.G., who claims to have evidence that proves his alibi on the night of the murder. Also in the note are directions on how to find this witness. By the next morning, private investigator Bill Crane flies into Chicago from New York City with the task of finding the true killer. As bullets fly and more bodies begin to fall in the chase to prove Robert’s innocence, it is up to Bill and his rag-tag team of sleuths to uncover the truth before it is too late.

I entered this book very excited and hopeful because while I wasn’t really a fan of the only other hard-boiled mystery novel I had read (Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress), I hadn’t met a Penzler Classic that I didn’t like. I was also eager to learn more about this genre after taking a film class last semester which introduced me to film noir (a genre that grew from hard-boiled lit). Alas, I finished Headed for a Hearse very disappointed but not for the reasons you may assume typical of a disappointing mystery. 

The mystery itself is complex and well-detailed, and I had a lot of fun designing my own theory (correctly, I might add!) along the way. And that is must makes this such a poor reading experience for me! I adored the mystery, but I could not properly enjoy it for the overt racism and voyeurism happening consistently throughout the book. This author includes in both dialogue and narration derogatory slurs aimed at BIPOC, AAPI, Italians, Jewish people, and probably those of other demographics I have failed to list. He also sexualizes and objectifies women, describing them favorably or not so favorably depending on how they match the societal expectations of the time period. Even during the reveal scene, Latimer could not provide his readers the solution without having every single man in the room described as staring at Miss Brentino’s face and body.

Less objectionable but equally frustrating is the belligerent drunkenness of the hired private investigator Bill Crane. In the last book I read, Craig Rice’s Eight Faces at Three, there is also enough alcohol to make it a main character but I forgave this because (1)  it added to the fun of the already likable characters, (2) the wrongly-accused innocent was not a week away from going to the electric chair, and (3) none of these kooky characters were professional sleuths. They are concerned friends stumbling around in search of the solution. Meanwhile, in Headed for a Hearse, the characters AREN’T very likable (which isn’t a deal-breaker for me, by the way), the wrongly-convicted man IS days away from death, and Bill Crane IS a professional detective hired to solve the case.

I am sad because I did thoroughly enjoy the mystery yet I cannot see myself picking up another book by Jonathan Latimer readily. These problems with racism and sexism specifically do seem to be among the typical ingredients of hard-boiled narratives. So be weary if you decide to dip your toes in this genre any time soon! 

Imagine waking to all of the clocks in your home having mysteriously stopped at 3 o’clock in the morning, the house deserted with the exception of your old, miserly aunt. But then you discover that your aunt is dead with a pen knife stuck in her chest. This is the living nightmare that Holly Inglehart finds herself in, and everyone – even Holly herself – cannot help but think the girl went mad and slayed her oppressive aunt for money and freedom. One person is certain of her innocence, however. Jake Justus, the manager of Holly’s new husband and band leader Dick Dayton, feels it in his bones that she has been framed. And he hires old friend John J. Malone, defender of the typically guilty, to save her from the electric chair. 

I swear that with every American cozy mystery I read, I become more and more certain that these authors were just trying to create the wildest, most absurd yet hilarious, mysteries to ever exist. First I thought this about John Dickson Carr and Vincent Starrett, and now Craig Rice, born Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig. She is a very new author for me. Her novel, Eight Faces at Three, is the first in her John J. Malone series. The Mysterious Bookshop chose this book for one of its April book clubs, and I am so thrilled that it influenced me to splurge and purchase the Penzler Classics edition. There is so much to love about this mystery, and here’s to hoping my review does it justice!

Rice does a wonderful job setting up her readers in Chicago during the dead of winter. The icy roads and low temperatures do not stop this novel’s characters from participating in the fast life: benders, beer for breakfast, and serious hangovers. I swear alcohol in its many forms acts as an additional character! Naturally, this adds to the action and pure chaos that ensues as what becomes an actual squad of amateur detectives drive all around Chicago chasing down leads and participating in some shady business themselves in order to find the real murderer. Setting the mystery aside for the moment, I just loved being immersed in the time period with its big bands and scandalous newspaper headlines. We still have newspapers today, yes, but access to the news through our devices lessens the chance that you will buy a paper and see “HEIRESS KILLS AUNT IN THE NIGHT” on the front page.  

My favorite aspect of the novel is its clever, eccentric band of characters. John J. Malone is a grumpy lawyer with gray morals and snark for days. Jake Justus is the character we follow most as he is the most active and ready to enter battle at any time. He is also equally irked by and obsessed with the Inglehart’s next-door neighbor, Helene Brand. It may be enough to divulge that she is introduced to the characters barging into the room, wearing blue silk pajamas, a fur coat, and galoshes as she declares that Aunt Alex deserved to be murdered. Genuinely the gem of the narrative, Helene is witty and brave, but she is also thoughtful and reflective. I adored her as much as Jake does! The humor in the dialogue and the narration is off the charts. One of my favorite lines comes almost halfway through the narrative. After breaking Holly out of jail, Holly and Helene are learning a new knitting stitch from Mrs. Fraser, the woman housing the fugitive, as Jake looks on:

Inside, you will encounter a jailbreak, a kidnapping, bribery, and near-death experiences! Rice artfully blends elements of cozy mystery AND hard-boiled detective fiction, keeping the reader on their toes from beginning to end. A whirlwind mystery, and an author I cannot wait to get to know better! 

 Toward the end of 2021, I spent an afternoon perusing numerous “Most Anticipated Books for 2022” lists. One of those lists happened to include Anonymous Sex, a collection of 27 erotic stories by 27 authors. The list of authors featured are given to the reader, but none are attributed to any specific story. Hence the choice in title! An added piece of the fun is to try and identify which author wrote which spicy story!

I was especially interested after seeing authors like Tea Obreht and Louise Erdrich as participants in this project. Not to mention the many other published, award-winning authors included. As romance is among the genres I rarely read but hope to explore more this year, I thought it would be a fascinating opportunity to go even further out of my comfort zone and support this collection’s editors, Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, in their effort to push back against the taboo of erotica and prove it deserves a proper place in literary fiction.

It took me over a month to finish the collection, but that is because this is a book you want to savor, reading a few stories at a time. To give you just a taste of what this collection incorporates, stories range from realism to science fiction, from ghost sex to virtual sex, from queer sex to straight sex, from married couples to flings long gone. I was especially impressed by how current events like COVID or the publication of this very collection itself found their way into these stories. My personal favorites include (but are not limited to): arousing encounters on planes, a Rapunzel fairy tale retelling, the history of a woman’s sex life told Benjamin-Button style, and a cowboy-esque romp on a train with an outlaw. And, yes, these are just the tip of the iceberg!!

Not only does the anonymity in this collection make a great guessing game for readers, but I think it allowed the authors more agency to experiment or write about a topic they may have been hesitant to put to paper with their names attached. It also gives them the chance to write in a different genre, from a different perspective, or in a different time period than what may be expected of their usual work. I have 100% zero regrets in buying this book, and I highly recommend you support this collection and get a copy ASAP!