Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett
A witches Discworld novel and one that I hadn’t read before. It is always a pleasure to fall into Terry’s wonderful, weird Discworld. In this one, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg work to keep the fae world from gaining access to their world, while Magrat gets ready to marry the king while questioning herself and her magic. There is also a wonderful substory involving Unseen University wizards. Not my favorite witches story, but still fantastic.
Illuminations, by T. Kingfisher
Another book by an author I always love to read. In Rosa Mandolini’s world, artists with a little magic can create artwork that also serves as protections, curses, or can come alive. Rosa’s family has a long history as these artists, but have fallen on hard times. When she finds an ancient box in the storage room and opens it, she unleashes a tiny monster that begins to terrorize her family home. With the help of a sometimes friend and a painting of a crow come alive, she has to capture the monster. It’s always a delight to read any of Ursula Vernon’s work. She’s amazing.
The Unmaking of June Farrow, by Adrienne Young
An Appalachian town, a family of women with a curse, and a woman determined to break it so that her own future daughter will be able to live her own life. In June’s family, women lose their minds starting at an early age. June has just lost her grandmother and is now starting to see things that aren’t there, particularly a door. When she realizes the door is real and she goes through it, she really begins to understand what the curse means. A bit of time travel, a bit of time looping. A fun read but not one that I’m likely to recommend.
Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry
This was one of my mom’s favorites as a kid and she recently reread it, then handed it to me to read. It’s a nice story and really made me want to visit that part of North Carolina/Delaware. The wild horses that this book is about are still there on Assateague island. The language and attitudes of the kids are dated in a way that is particular to the 1940s and 1950s, but overall an interesting story of a wild horse and its colt.
Harvest House, by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Somewhat of a ghost story, this YA book reads more like middle grade to me. Muskogee native Hughie lives in a small town in Kansas with his family. After making a new friend at the start of the school year, they volunteer to help create a haunted house attraction in town. But it’s the part of town where women are often stalked by a creepy man. It’s also supposed to be haunted by the ghost of a young Indian woman. Hughie and his friends start investigating the rumors after a friend is harassed by the stalker, all leading to a haunting confrontation on Halloween night. Overall, a good story with well-developed characters (that were a little too nice and optimistic). Not scary at all.
The Box in the Woods, by Maureen Johnson
Stevie Bell is back! After the original Truly Devious trilogy, this is Stevie’s first standalone mystery. I missed her. She’s such a great character. In this installment, she takes on a forty-year-old unsolved group murder at a storied summer camp. She brings along several members of her crew and together they investigate a horrible crime. I absolutely recommend this book, and you can read it without reading the others, but why would you want to start on book 4? This is such a fun series.
Killing Me, by Michelle Gagnon
This is a weird, twisty thriller/mystery. Small-time con artist Amber thought she had put crime behind her when she went to college to get a degree in psychology. But just a few months shy of graduation, she is kidnapped by a serial killer … and is somewhat rescued by a vigilante who kills the killer. Unfortunately, Amber (not her real identity) has to flee before the FBI can look into her history. She makes it to Las Vegas through a series of uncanny coincidences and stumbles upon the mystery of another serial killer who is profiling sex workers. Turns out her vigilante savior is also on the case and Amber’s involvement has just made finding the killer easier and far more dangerous. This one has a ton of dark humor and absolutely great characters. I want to befriend them all—though my life has been much too easy to really connect with any of them.
Gentrification is Inevitable and Other Lies, by Leslie Kern
I’m officially a Leslie Kern stan now. After reading her last book, Feminist City, my eyes were open to a whole new way of looking at urban, social geography. (Not that I even knew what that was before reading the book.) This book is jam-packed full of great history, great ideas, and great frustration. I learned so much about the underlying issues that goes into gentrification and how thorny an issue it really is—without any simply solutions. She does offer suggestions ideas about counteracting gentrification, which ends the book on a hopeful note.
Busman's Honeymoon, by Dorothy L. Sayers
The last of the Harriet Vane books in the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. Peter and Harriet are finally married and go to a rural home they’ve just purchased to spend their honeymoon. Only the house isn’t ready for them, no one seems to know that they were coming, and the original owner seemed to have left in a hurry…until he’s found dead in the basement. So the honeymoon is put on hold while the pair investigate this very twisty murder. This series is always fun and I really enjoy the characters’ interpersonal relationships.
A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers
Reread, but first time listen. I really loved the audio book. This is one of my very favorite comfort reads and the narrator was just so good. The way she made each character distinct was a delight. I will definitely be looking up more of Rachel Dulude’s work. (OK, I just looked and she has done tons of romantasy, some mystery and regular romance.)
A witches Discworld novel and one that I hadn’t read before. It is always a pleasure to fall into Terry’s wonderful, weird Discworld. In this one, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg work to keep the fae world from gaining access to their world, while Magrat gets ready to marry the king while questioning herself and her magic. There is also a wonderful substory involving Unseen University wizards. Not my favorite witches story, but still fantastic.
Illuminations, by T. Kingfisher
Another book by an author I always love to read. In Rosa Mandolini’s world, artists with a little magic can create artwork that also serves as protections, curses, or can come alive. Rosa’s family has a long history as these artists, but have fallen on hard times. When she finds an ancient box in the storage room and opens it, she unleashes a tiny monster that begins to terrorize her family home. With the help of a sometimes friend and a painting of a crow come alive, she has to capture the monster. It’s always a delight to read any of Ursula Vernon’s work. She’s amazing.
The Unmaking of June Farrow, by Adrienne Young
An Appalachian town, a family of women with a curse, and a woman determined to break it so that her own future daughter will be able to live her own life. In June’s family, women lose their minds starting at an early age. June has just lost her grandmother and is now starting to see things that aren’t there, particularly a door. When she realizes the door is real and she goes through it, she really begins to understand what the curse means. A bit of time travel, a bit of time looping. A fun read but not one that I’m likely to recommend.
Misty of Chincoteague, by Marguerite Henry
This was one of my mom’s favorites as a kid and she recently reread it, then handed it to me to read. It’s a nice story and really made me want to visit that part of North Carolina/Delaware. The wild horses that this book is about are still there on Assateague island. The language and attitudes of the kids are dated in a way that is particular to the 1940s and 1950s, but overall an interesting story of a wild horse and its colt.
Harvest House, by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Somewhat of a ghost story, this YA book reads more like middle grade to me. Muskogee native Hughie lives in a small town in Kansas with his family. After making a new friend at the start of the school year, they volunteer to help create a haunted house attraction in town. But it’s the part of town where women are often stalked by a creepy man. It’s also supposed to be haunted by the ghost of a young Indian woman. Hughie and his friends start investigating the rumors after a friend is harassed by the stalker, all leading to a haunting confrontation on Halloween night. Overall, a good story with well-developed characters (that were a little too nice and optimistic). Not scary at all.
The Box in the Woods, by Maureen Johnson
Stevie Bell is back! After the original Truly Devious trilogy, this is Stevie’s first standalone mystery. I missed her. She’s such a great character. In this installment, she takes on a forty-year-old unsolved group murder at a storied summer camp. She brings along several members of her crew and together they investigate a horrible crime. I absolutely recommend this book, and you can read it without reading the others, but why would you want to start on book 4? This is such a fun series.
Killing Me, by Michelle Gagnon
This is a weird, twisty thriller/mystery. Small-time con artist Amber thought she had put crime behind her when she went to college to get a degree in psychology. But just a few months shy of graduation, she is kidnapped by a serial killer … and is somewhat rescued by a vigilante who kills the killer. Unfortunately, Amber (not her real identity) has to flee before the FBI can look into her history. She makes it to Las Vegas through a series of uncanny coincidences and stumbles upon the mystery of another serial killer who is profiling sex workers. Turns out her vigilante savior is also on the case and Amber’s involvement has just made finding the killer easier and far more dangerous. This one has a ton of dark humor and absolutely great characters. I want to befriend them all—though my life has been much too easy to really connect with any of them.
Gentrification is Inevitable and Other Lies, by Leslie Kern
I’m officially a Leslie Kern stan now. After reading her last book, Feminist City, my eyes were open to a whole new way of looking at urban, social geography. (Not that I even knew what that was before reading the book.) This book is jam-packed full of great history, great ideas, and great frustration. I learned so much about the underlying issues that goes into gentrification and how thorny an issue it really is—without any simply solutions. She does offer suggestions ideas about counteracting gentrification, which ends the book on a hopeful note.
Busman's Honeymoon, by Dorothy L. Sayers
The last of the Harriet Vane books in the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. Peter and Harriet are finally married and go to a rural home they’ve just purchased to spend their honeymoon. Only the house isn’t ready for them, no one seems to know that they were coming, and the original owner seemed to have left in a hurry…until he’s found dead in the basement. So the honeymoon is put on hold while the pair investigate this very twisty murder. This series is always fun and I really enjoy the characters’ interpersonal relationships.
A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers
Reread, but first time listen. I really loved the audio book. This is one of my very favorite comfort reads and the narrator was just so good. The way she made each character distinct was a delight. I will definitely be looking up more of Rachel Dulude’s work. (OK, I just looked and she has done tons of romantasy, some mystery and regular romance.)
