Category: Reading Challenges

  • TCO Reviews: The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

    TCO Reviews: The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

    I love stories about magic. I love stories abut mystery. And I love stories of adventure. So when I came upon The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft, I knew I had to give it a try. (Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the gift copy!) The Hexologists follows a wife-and-husband duo of adventurers, the Wilbys, who…

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  • TCO Reviews: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

    TCO Reviews: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

    Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies is an Autumn book in spirit, but not in practice. Despite the academic vibes, the book actually takes place over a dark, frigid, Norwegian winter. But the latest entry in the series, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is a perfect fireside material. (Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for…

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  • An introverted adventurer: Emily Wilde and pushing boundaries

    An introverted adventurer: Emily Wilde and pushing boundaries

    The start of Fall is, for me, inextricably linked with Academia, not just because it’s the start of school. When the wind gets nippy there’s no better place to escape than a library, full of books and blankets. Warm sweaters and overcoats are Peak School Vibes. And the candles of Autumn decor seem to mesh…

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  • TCO Reviews: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

    There’s nothing like a good Evil Villain scheme to get Autumn well on its way. As the leaves turn and the wind gets nippy, it seems like the world itself is starting to plot against us. And while I may not be able to impact the earth’s movements around the sun, I can at least…

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  • TCO Reviews: Board to Death by CJ Connor

    TCO Reviews: Board to Death by CJ Connor

    The exploration of the small-business cozy mystery continues, with a different “flavor” of the subgenre. We’re moving from an ode to independence in Color Me Murder to a more nuanced look at the small business experience (and some of the other beats that ride along). And Board to Death, a recent release by CJ Connor,…

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  • Cozy capitalism in Color Me Murder

    Cozy capitalism in Color Me Murder

    OK, so the hiatus has gone on a bit longer than expected, but I am planning to be SOLIDLY back. The good news is, I’ve been doing so much reading in the interim, and so I’m very very excited to share some great new reads with all of you. This week, we’re going full entrepreneurial…

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  • A Caribbean Mystery, Part 2: Social capital and social awareness

    A Caribbean Mystery, Part 2: Social capital and social awareness

    Summer in the Bay Area is cold and foggy – I literally walk to work in a puffer jacket. And so I’ve been looking forward to escaping into the BBC (1989) and iTV (2013) adaptations of A Caribbean Mystery. Who could fault hours and hours of palm trees and ocean vistas? Well… maybe me, as…

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  • A Caribbean Mystery, Part 1: Compare and contrast, setup and payoff

    A Caribbean Mystery, Part 1: Compare and contrast, setup and payoff

    The Summer of Scandal continues with perhaps one of my favorite Miss Marple stories: A Caribbean Mystery. This one has it all – an exotic resort setting, a unique Marple challenge, and so many rich people behaving so, so badly. Affairs? Got ‘em (multiple!). Gossip? Got it. And it wouldn’t be a Miss Marple book…

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  • TCO Reviews: Thief Liar Lady by D. L. Soria

    TCO Reviews: Thief Liar Lady by D. L. Soria

    The Summer of Scandal continues, and in this review we’re taking the downstairs to the top of the house. I love a good fairy tale retelling, and I love a good con, so I was extremely excited to get a gift copy of Thief Liar Lady to read. (Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine!) The story…

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  • TCO Reviews: A Most Agreeable Murder

    TCO Reviews: A Most Agreeable Murder

    I was lucky enough to find not just books but ARCS for my Summer of Scandal! For this week’s edition of “rich people behaving badly”, we’re rewinding to the Regency era with A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales. (Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the gift copy!) I was so excited to sit…

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