Deeplight, by Frances Hardinge
Reread. What can I say, Hardinge’s worlds are so well developed that I fall right into them. I’m beginning to think how all her books that take place in different worlds could possibly be one planet. Wonderful book.
Little Eve, by Catriona Ward
A tiny island with a large house off the course of Scotland, a man creates his own cult indoctrinating his women and children into his mad imaginings. Eve, one of the girls, wants to be his chosen one, but she begins to see that her life on the island is not all she thought it was. Atmospheric and creepy. I enjoyed this one overall.
Yotsuba, volume 15
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Not much to add since I’m so far into the series.
Chilling Effect, by Valerie Valdes
Reread for bookclub. Well, I listened to it. I loved it the second time around, but my friends weren’t as into it. Also, I don’t think I’ve read a book that has so many uses for ‘shit’ and its related iterations. Captain Eva Innocente swears in both English and Spanish. The references to pop culture is absolutely hilarious.
Most Ardently Yours, Freya Sampson
Cute romance about an aspiring writer who inadvertently reads Mr. Darcy out of Pride & Prejudice. Hilarity and romance ensue. This book is a fine escape read.
Prime Directive and Fault Tolerance, by Valerie Valdes
I had so much fun listening to Chilling Effect, I decided to listen to the whole series. SO.MUCH.FUN.
Murder at the End of the World, by Akane Araki
On a completely different note, a murder mystery during the last two months of life on earth. A comet will be destroying East Asia in two months, but Haru is insistent that she get her license in a Japan that has evacuated. One day, she and her instructor, Isagawa, find a murdered woman in the trunk of a car. Isagawa is a former police detective with an overdeveloped sense of justice. Together, the two women go in search of the murderer. I really liked this story. It is asking the question, “How do I find meaning in life when I have an end date for my life and everyone else’s?” A lot of people can’t, while others turn to caretaking, to duty, or to violence.
The Ginghams, by T.C. Kemper
A middle-grade “thriller” that is creepy and uncanny. Joni comes back from summer camp to find some new neighbors who appear to be living in the 1950s. After they start a book club that only reads the self-help book by the father, the community starts turning into copies of the Gingham family. Joni and her friend Tyler try to work out how to turn everyone back to normal.
The Winter Folk, by Jen Julian
Horror, supposedly. I really don’t understand why this book was marketed as horror when it is clearly fantasy with troubling mother-daughter relations. Moth spent winters as a young woman in another dimension serving creatures and monsters. Twenty plus years later, she wants to find her way back in. I don’t have much to say about this book other than it was not what I was expecting and only a so-so read.
Reread. What can I say, Hardinge’s worlds are so well developed that I fall right into them. I’m beginning to think how all her books that take place in different worlds could possibly be one planet. Wonderful book.
Little Eve, by Catriona Ward
A tiny island with a large house off the course of Scotland, a man creates his own cult indoctrinating his women and children into his mad imaginings. Eve, one of the girls, wants to be his chosen one, but she begins to see that her life on the island is not all she thought it was. Atmospheric and creepy. I enjoyed this one overall.
Yotsuba, volume 15
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Not much to add since I’m so far into the series.
Chilling Effect, by Valerie Valdes
Reread for bookclub. Well, I listened to it. I loved it the second time around, but my friends weren’t as into it. Also, I don’t think I’ve read a book that has so many uses for ‘shit’ and its related iterations. Captain Eva Innocente swears in both English and Spanish. The references to pop culture is absolutely hilarious.
Most Ardently Yours, Freya Sampson
Cute romance about an aspiring writer who inadvertently reads Mr. Darcy out of Pride & Prejudice. Hilarity and romance ensue. This book is a fine escape read.
Prime Directive and Fault Tolerance, by Valerie Valdes
I had so much fun listening to Chilling Effect, I decided to listen to the whole series. SO.MUCH.FUN.
Murder at the End of the World, by Akane Araki
On a completely different note, a murder mystery during the last two months of life on earth. A comet will be destroying East Asia in two months, but Haru is insistent that she get her license in a Japan that has evacuated. One day, she and her instructor, Isagawa, find a murdered woman in the trunk of a car. Isagawa is a former police detective with an overdeveloped sense of justice. Together, the two women go in search of the murderer. I really liked this story. It is asking the question, “How do I find meaning in life when I have an end date for my life and everyone else’s?” A lot of people can’t, while others turn to caretaking, to duty, or to violence.
The Ginghams, by T.C. Kemper
A middle-grade “thriller” that is creepy and uncanny. Joni comes back from summer camp to find some new neighbors who appear to be living in the 1950s. After they start a book club that only reads the self-help book by the father, the community starts turning into copies of the Gingham family. Joni and her friend Tyler try to work out how to turn everyone back to normal.
The Winter Folk, by Jen Julian
Horror, supposedly. I really don’t understand why this book was marketed as horror when it is clearly fantasy with troubling mother-daughter relations. Moth spent winters as a young woman in another dimension serving creatures and monsters. Twenty plus years later, she wants to find her way back in. I don’t have much to say about this book other than it was not what I was expecting and only a so-so read.
