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TCO Reviews: The Starseekers by Nicole Glover
Faithful readers already know I have a huge love of both mystery and fantasy novels. I love reading and writing about these genres, particularly when entries feature complex characters and social settings to match. What might be less familiar are my STEM roots. My father is a professor in the department of engineering; my mother,
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Letters from the Reading Perch: New Year, new pages
I love the fresh feeling of a new year. Yes, it’s a totally arbitrary date, not tied to anything physical—but the feeling of turning a new page, a blank canvas onto which we can paint our intentions for the next 12 months, is exactly the inspiration I need in the darkest months. So I want
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Murder Most Magical: Witchy Mysteries for Spooky Season
Just a few days left until the spookiest night of the year, and while October may be San Francisco’s warmest month, I’ve been doing my best to summon the spirit. The pumpkins are out, the Featherly Friends have migrated to the mantel, and I’ve stocked up on trick-or-treat candy. Of course, I need something spooky
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Fantasy politics with a mystery twist in A Drop of Corruption
Robert Jackson Bennett is back! And he’s advancing the stories of Ana and Din, an imperial investigator and her assistant. Regular readers know how much I adore RBJ, and I’ve been extremely excited for this next release. A Drop of Corruption rejoins Ana and Din months after the events of The Tainted Cup. They’ve been
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Tales of Magic, Mystery, and Other Marvels: My Top 5 Fantasy Reads of 2024
Yesterday was mystery, and today we’re moving to my favorite fantasy reads of the year… It was an interesting year for my fantasy TBR. I started the year expecting to read a hefty list of new releases… And while I read some on that list, I found a lot of joy in books published earlier,
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Myth, magic, and madness in Hearts that Cut
I have many, many apologies to make to my NetGalley list. Reading and reviewing new releases is one of my favorite parts of having this blog, and yet I’ve been extremely behind in doing my homework. We’ll be making up for that in the next month or two, starting with one of the books I’ve
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Through a glass, darkly in Catchpenny by Charlie Huston
LA has an – interesting – reputation. It’s the City of the Stars, but also all the machinations required to keep those dreams going. Wannabe actors (and now influencers) flock there, hoping for a Big Break, but the break can only come for so many. But what happens to those who get left behind? In
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TCO Reviews: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
Man oh man do I feel lucky about my January ARC lineup. It’s been a minute since I’ve really indulged in fantasy stories, but by fair my favorite sub-genre is hard fantasy. If the book has complex political intrigue and (ideally) a good dose of economic speculation, I will munch it right up. And perhaps
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The “bookish” bar: Mislabeling The Library of the Unwritten
The Library of Hell. A mysterious and powerful book. At least three librarians characters. A book combining mystery, action, and fantasy – sounds like a recipe for literary fun, right? That’s what I was hoping for when I picked up A. J. Hackwith’s The Library of the Unwritten. Specifically, I wanted a new series that
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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