The City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp

I have never been to New Orleans but it’s one of my very favorite settings for books.  Bonus points for bringing in magic and the supernatural. From Anne Rice, to Sherrilyn Kenyon, some of my favorite books have taken place in New Orleans.  Confession-I love the t.v. show The Originals. Vampires, witches, and shifters in NOLA? Yes, Please! I’ve been looking for another great fantasy series now that the Kate Daniels series from Ilona Andrews is wrapping up and this book was everything I was hoping for.

This book takes all the very best of the magic, myths, and music to create an engrossing tale of murder and rebirth.  After Katrina devastated New Orleans, Jude Dubuisson shut himself off from his magic and the needs of the city. A demigod with ability to find all things lost, he has spent the last six years with his senses overwhelmed by the incredible loss of the city and its inhabitants.  

Jude is abruptly ripped away from his self-imposed retirement by a former colleague, Regal Sloan.  A mysterious invitation leads to the murder of the city’s fortune god during a poker game and Jude is in the middle of the fallout.  Now, Jude needs to find the murderer before he becomes the #1 suspect. With clues scarce and trusted friends even more so, Jude has to use every gift he has to stay alive.  

Regal Sloan, former colleague and friend, hasn’t seen Jude in over six years.  When she shows up with the mysterious invitation to a game with the gods, Jude doesn’t know if he can trust her.  When a string of murders follows Jude wherever he goes, Regal is top at the list of suspects. Adding to the mystery, Jude’s mother paints a chilling and prophetic painting that leads Jude on a dangerous path. 

I wish I could do the book justice-it really is an amazing read.  It pulls you in with the music and the food and dark and sweaty bars.  I felt torn between wanting to yell at Jude to buck up and do his job-the city needed him-and cringing from the thought of  drowning in all those feelings of loss. To have that power and have to walk down streets with empty houses that have lost their owners.  To be surrounded by people who lost everything in the storm-no wonder Jude shut himself off. I loved this book. It looks like it’s the first in a series?  I really hope so. The ending was open enough to want more-but also satisfying enough to stand alone. I know, I’m not doing it justice.

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill

Unmentionable:  The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners is a deep-dive in to all things ladylike.  From the type and care of your crotchless panties, (not nearly as fun as it sounds) to how not to look like a slob at the dinner table, this book covers it all.  

It’s a snarky and intelligent take on how women’s lives were strictly controlled by society’s rules and expectations for behavior and appearance.  

The cover for this book is amazing.  With a shocking pink spine and the saucy corset photo on the front, it’s hard to pass up.  I did have to answer a few questions from The Kid…

The book is written as though The Reader has been transported back in time to Victorian London.  Luckily, we are transported back with wealth and status to ensure we don’t have to handle our own chamber pots or deal with the toxic and harsh chemicals used to launder our clothes.   Our Guide takes on a tour of all things lady: from our clothing, bathing, how to move in society and how to move our bowels. What fork to use, because there are twenty, and how to keep a husband happy.  Or at least, how to keep a husband from putting us in an asylum.

It’s both fascinating and terrifying:  toxic makeup, patent medicine, streets lined in dung.  How did we survive? Especially with our crazy wombs that are the root cause of all illnesses.  Just ask the men.

I loved this!

Unmentionable:  The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners by Therese Oneill is available now from Little, Brown and Company.  

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Florida by Lauren Groff

Florida is a compelling collection of eleven short stories that weave together the hot, humid, buggy, and often dangerous aspects of the snake filled state.  From the casual surveillance of the neighborhood to alligator filled waters, each short story is filled with engrossing characters, many of which were very difficult to like.  In each story, you can almost feel the hot, humid heat raising tempers that are already dangerously high.

In one story, two little girls are left on an island during a dangerous storm.  How they land on the island is just as terrifying as the creatures hiding in the leaves.

My favorite story is first in the collection.  A tired, overworked mother walks her neighborhood to escape the stress of bedtime rituals with her sons.  Leaving her husband to deal with the boys, she prowls the neighborhood keeping watch on her neighbors and the nighttime creatures she encounters on her walks.  With each new season, the people change as much as the neighborhood. Slimmer bodies, missing trees, new babies at the pond and a nunnery closing down only to be brought back to life by a new owner, all change as much as the mother.

The stories in this collection were incredible.  I had heard many positive reviews on the many book podcasts I follow and talked the Director into ordering a copy for the Library.  I gave it three days on the shelf before I checked it out for myself and read ¾ of it on my lunch hour the same day. One thing I’ve grown to love about short story collections is that if one of the stories doesn’t suit your tastes-you skip it and move on.

Florida by Lauren Groff, is available now from Riverhead Books.  

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

The Garden Party by Grace Dane Mazur

Available July 10, from Random House 

A quiet story of how two families, one artistic and contemplative, and the other, practical and elitist, interact during a rehearsal dinner.  Beautifully written, the author drops you into conversations and memories as the two families try to navigate new relationships and contemplate the state of their current lives.

The story is told in courses, just like a dinner party, with as many characters as ingredients.  Adam Cohen and Eliza Barlow are to be married the next day and thrown a rehearsal dinner by Adam's parents Pindar and Celia.  Pindar would rather be translating his ancient Babylonian tablets than assist his literary critic wife in navigating difficult dining choices and seating charts.  Sara Cohen is trying to resolve her feelings for Dennis, a priest who can never marry.  Naomi Cohen is still recovering from the traumatic stress of volunteering in an orphanage in Romania.  The Barlows have their own personal dramas.  Marriages falling apart, careers ending, and secret second families are camouflaged by stiff manners and high noses.   

Meanwhile, throughout the preparation for and during the dinner, Adam and Eliza learn that the wedding will never be about them and their love for each other.  Can they manage to elope while never leaving the table?

I really enjoyed this book.  Straight-up literary fiction isn't something that I read often but I'm very glad for the opportunity to have read this.  

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book. 

You can get your copy here:

The Garden Party: A Novel

By Grace Dane Mazur

Buy on Amazon

Gunpowder Alchemy by Jeannie Lin

This series has some gorgeous covers!

Gunpowder Alchemy is an alternate history steampunk adventure set in 1842 China.  It is brimming with family drama, dark secrets, political intrigue and lots of steam.  Steam of all kinds...wink, wink.

Jin Soling has worked hard to maintain her family’s dignity after her father is banished from the royal court.  Once a respected family led by one of the Emperor’s top engineers, Jin’s father has been executed, her mother is addicted to opium, and her brother is too young to help carry the burden of caring for the family.  

During a last ditch effort to sell one of her father’s clockwork creations, Jin is captured by the city guards and interrogated under suspicion of treason against the Empire.  When Jin finally invokes her deceased father’s name, her interrogation takes a dramatic turn. Her world turns upside down, yet again, as she finds herself in front of the Emperor himself, the son of the man who had her father executed.  What Jin learns from the Emperor changes everything Jin has ever been taught to believe.

Jin must now try to survive a journey that will lead her to foreign cities and people from her past that she never thought she would see again.  Between steam powered sailing ships, a secret explosive formula, and mysterious characters, Jin never knows who she can trust or where she will end up next.  But Jin’s drive to reunite her family and help her mother overcome her addiction keeps Jin from ever giving up-no matter the cost to her.

This was an exciting and page turning read filled with amazing world building and complex characters.  I really enjoyed JIn’s character-she’s brilliant and hard working without it ever being too precious. You could really feel how burned out and exhausted she was trying to balance her family and work.  This is the first book in a series and I really liked how many of the characters were left open to play important parts in future books.

BONUS!!! While looking up links to the book, I found the second book in the series, Clockwork Samurai, is only $2.99 for Kindle!  

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Mae Vol. 1 by Gene Ha

Loved this!

Mae's big sister Abbie disappeared nine years ago without a trace. Now in the present day, Mae is trying to live her life and take care of her sick father when a phone call from the police changes everything. Abbie is back without any warning and in jail for beating up some of the local boys at a bar. In what Mae believes is a drunken rambling story, Abbie tells her about being made Queen and overthrowing tyrants and that she carries axes to defend against monsters.  What really sounds crazy?  That she's been somewhere without a McDonald's.  Yep.  But Mae doesn't believe her sister found a new world through a mysterious portal-just found a new favorite drink at the bar. When Mae and Abbie's father goes missing, all clues point to the House of Zemetrasi from the other side of the portal. With no other options left, Mae and Abbie set out for the portal to find their missing father. Mae enters a world far different than her own where her sister is a famed warrior and chocolate is worth it's weight in silver. This is an action packed ride full of humor and heart. Amazing artwork and a compelling story that draws you in until the last page.

Mae Vol. 1 is available July 3rd from Lion Forge.

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Thank you to Netgalley and Lion Forge for the opportunity to read and review this book! 

A Life Less Throwaway by Tara Button

Sometimes in life we need a reminder on how to be a grown-up.  At least, I frequently do.  In A Life Less Throwaway, The Lost Art of Buying For Life, Tara Button provides concrete steps for choosing and purchasing items that will last a lifetime-not just this week's trend.  

Reading this book was like having a great conversation over coffee.  Button provides anecdotes and exercises on how to discover your personal style so you can make careful choices about your purchases.  She describes how buying less, but purchasing high quality items that last a lifetime, can simplify your life while also freeing up some space in your pocket book.  

Tara Button covers a range of topics from why items don't last like they used to-I'm looking at you washing machines-to how advertising affects our buying habits.  There is also information on how she created her website and her own story of how overspending and keeping up appearances led to debt and unhappiness.  

I found this to be an enjoyable read and I catch myself thinking about it while out shopping.  I never thought I'd spend as much time comparing the hinges and type of plastic on camping coolers as I did the other day.  

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Thank you to Netgalley and Ten Speed Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.  All opinions are my own. 

Tangerine by Christine Mangan

This book came highly recommended from a Library Patron whose judgment I trust.  I checked it out, admired the gorgeous cover, and then left on my desk for a week.  Why?  The first few pages left me confused and I was trying to read it while The Kid was at dog class and it just didn't seem like a good fit. 

Then I gave it the time it deserved and I finished it in one sitting, staying up way past my bedtime.  

Alice Shipley and Lucy Mason are roommates at an all female college in the 1950's.  When life takes them in different directions, they end up together again, years later in Tangier.  Lucy shows up at Alice's new home unannounced and uninvited and is concerned that her friends has lost her sense of self after marrying an overbearing and egotistical husband.  Alice is terrified of the crowded markets and the language barrier she encounters every day in her new country and spends her days holed up alone in her apartment.  As the two women look back on their time together at Bennington, secrets and past suspicions come to light that will change both women forever.  

Christine Mangan's writing makes you feel the heat of the streets and leaves you enveloped in the scents of spicy meat and sweaty, crowded bars.  I spent the entire book not knowing which character to trust, and the characters became more unreliable as the book went on.  The book alternates between the different women's points of view.  Watching the same interaction being told from the different angles really left you wondering which interpretation was true-or if any of it was true.  There were several times that I wondered if the author was completely fooling us and neither woman told the truth.  There are more twists and turns to this story than any I have ever read before and each one kept me rethinking who the bad guy was.  Several left me wondering if there even was a bad guy.  

This was a great book, I really enjoyed it.  If you'd like, you can get a copy here, and help support the site:

Bruja Born by Zoraida Cordova

This book was everything I was hoping for and more!  Lula Mortiz is a high school senior on her way to the big game with her boyfriend when her world turns upside down.  After a horrific bus crash that kills all of her friends and nearly herself and boyfriend Maks, Lula uses her magic in ways that can only lead to devastating consequences.  With the help of her magical sisters, Lula must use all of her strength to save her city, her family, and herself.

This book was amazing!  Lula and her sisters are strong, intelligent, and brave young women who use their wits and combined magical history to save their family and right the terrible wrongs created by a moment of weakness.  The nonstop action combined with Lula’s heartache over Maks and worry for her family’s safety creates a compelling and exciting story.  This hit all the right notes-witches, not-quite-zombies, vampires, hunters and family drama.  Such an amazing story and I really hope there is a book three!

Bruja Born is available now.  You can get your copy, and help support the site, here: 

Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas)

By Zoraida Cordova

Buy on Amazon

Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris ***Ebook Sale!***

Midnight Crossroad is only $0.99 on Kindle!  This is a great series that I really enjoyed and for this price, how do you pass it up?

From the publisher because they say it best:

"Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and the Davy highway. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop with three residents. One is seen only at night. There’s a diner, but people stopping there tend not to linger. There’s a newcomer, Manfred Bernardo, who just wants to work hard and blend in. But Manfred has secrets of his own..."

Here's the link to purchase:

Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews

The list of "Automatic Pre-order" authors that I have is pretty short.  Ilona Andrews is top on that list.  Not only is this a new book, it's the start of a new series!  A new series is always, always good news from this amazing writing team, especially since the Kate Daniels series is wrapping up with book 10 this year.  If you haven't read any of the Kate Daniels series, I wouldn't really worry about.  Definitely read it, because it's amazing, but the authors do a a really great job of filling you in on the necessary backstory.  

From the publisher because they say it better:

"The Iron Covenant Book 1
No day is ordinary in a world where Technology and Magic compete for supremacy…But no matter which force is winning, in the apocalypse, a sword will always work. 
Hugh d’Ambray, Preceptor of the Iron Dogs, Warlord of the Builder of Towers, served only one man. Now his immortal, nearly omnipotent master has cast him aside. Hugh is a shadow of the warrior he was, but when he learns that the Iron Dogs, soldiers who would follow him anywhere, are being hunted down and murdered, he must make a choice: to fade away or to be the leader he was born to be. Hugh knows he must carve a new place for himself and his people, but they have no money, no shelter, and no food, and the necromancers are coming. Fast.
Elara Harper is a creature who should not exist. Her enemies call her Abomination; her people call her White Lady. Tasked with their protection, she's trapped between the magical heavyweights about to collide and plunge the state of Kentucky into a war that humans have no power to stop. Desperate to shield her people and their simple way of life, she would accept help from the devil himself—and Hugh d’Ambray might qualify.
Hugh needs a base, Elara needs soldiers. Both are infamous for betraying their allies, so how can they create a believable alliance to meet the challenge of their enemies? 
As the prophet says: “It is better to marry than to burn.” 
Hugh and Elara may do both. 

This book is an amazing start to a new series about respect, redemption, love and loss.  This book hits all the best points of fantasy and romance-strong characters, lots of magic, ancient creatures, and action that keeps the pages turning long after bedtime.  

One of the best parts of this book is the world building.  A castle that was shipped in brick by brick to please the former mistress in modern day Kentucky is now inside a dark magical forest after the magical shift occurs.  There are tunnels under the castle that people don't come back from and no one knows why.  There are druids, shapeshifters, magic, technology, gods, and creatures that are completely unknown.  It would seem chaotic except the authors have made it all make sense and believable.  

Elara's character is absolutely incredible and mysterious.  The way the authors are able to weave in old mythology with this insanely bonkers world they've created is fascinating.  Elara's character is both beloved and respected by her people for her ability to keep them healthy and safe, but there is a secret that everyone is hiding.  We do get a glimpse of what she truly is, but it's only a glimpse and I hope more is revealed as the series progresses.  

Hugh d'Ambray has spent his life powerful and feared.  Without Roland's magic and support, and now no clear agenda, he falls apart.  All the way apart.  When the opportunity comes along to save his soldiers and himself, he reluctantly takes it.  Hugh's character is such a contradiction-he is feared and brutal but also incredibly loyal to his Iron Dogs.  At one point, he talks over breakfast about how he killed a woman and then later on saves a dog.  I really feel the authors did an amazing job of making his character very slow to like.  It was as if he had to prove to himself that he was worthy of respect before the reader could believe that as well.  

The relationship between Elara and Hugh was also very unique.  It's easy to groan about the arranged marriage trope but this was the farthest thing from trope-y.  Their relationship was built incredibly slowly and all on the basis of respect.  Both characters were fiercely protective of their people and not afraid to do whatever it took to keep them safe.    

I just can't say it enough-this book is amazing.  These authors are amazing.  I can't wait to see what comes next in this series.

Iron and Magic is available June 26th and you can pre-order this book now here: 

Thank you to Netgalley and NYLA for the opportunity to read and review this book-all ramblings and the overuse of "amazing" are my own opinions.  

Also, there are other amazing series from these authors.  May I suggest:

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Post-Civil War epic zombie battles that are fought by bad-ass teenage girls? What more do you want?  Justina Ireland has created an amazing world that is both horrifying and inspirational.  

Jane McKeene has a very complicated life. Born to a wealthy mother and pampered as a child, her life takes a dramatic turn when she's enrolled at the Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore.  Training to become a skilled zombie slayer is hard work, made even more difficult by the constant racism and sexism she faces.  Becoming an Attendant, a bodyguard for the wealthy whites, is one way to a better life.  Unfortunately for Jane, her chance at a better life is taken away when she is caught trying to locate the families who have gone missing in the area.  When Jane and two of her friends find themselves on a train headed west, she knows their days are numbered.  What Jane finds next is even more frightening than zombies.  

Jane is such a smart and strong character.  Her determination and will to live is inspiring.  No matter how horrible her circumstances became, she always had a plan to get her through another day.  Much of this was hard to read, not because of bad writing-quite the opposite.  The way that people of color were treated in history, and today, is appalling.  When Jane is acting as an Attendant at a fancy dinner party, she contemplates her future being treated as a piece of furniture-useful, nice to look at, but replaceable and that is not how she wants to spend the rest of her life.  

This is an absolutely amazing book.  I feel like the ending left an opening for another book and I'd really like to see what comes next in this world.

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Dread Nation

By Justina Ireland

Buy on Amazon

In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

Would you look at this amazing cover!  This is the prequel to the Wayward Children Series that begins with Every Heart a Doorway.  This series came recommended from one of the many book podcasts that I listen to and I can't agree more.  It's an amazing series full of twists and turns, bad fairy tales, and teenage angst.  I found the series very imaginative and compelling and I can't wait to get my hands on this when it comes out in January 2019.  

Ugh.  That's so far away.  

Dark Ark Vol. 1 by Cullen Bunn and Juan Doe

I never realized how rough I was on books until I had to show them to other people...

Oh, Dark Ark, you beautifully drawn tale of how the world's worst creatures were saved alongside Noah during the Great Flood.  Picture this:  a massive ark containing vampires, werewolves, minotaurs, and blood thirsty demons.  And unicorns.  Unicorns!

Shrae and his family are on the Ark trying to survive the Great Flood.  Unfortunately for them, they are not on Noah's Ark, they are on the Dark Ark which contains every evil creature alive.  Shrae is doing his best to keep the tenuous peace, but there is no way for that last.  Allegiances between the creatures are tested when a murder occurs and everyone is a suspect.  When justice is dealt out, it becomes even more unclear as to who or what Shrae is, and why is he protecting these creatures?

The art is amazing and this story is so well told.  There are twists and turns alongside really dark humor.  I really enjoyed this one and I can't wait to see what volume two holds.  

You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:

Dark Ark

By Cullen Bunn

Buy on Amazon

Mean Girls Club: Pink Dawn by Ryan Heshka

THIS COVER!!!!!

This book is not for the faint of heart.  If swearing, drinking, violence and badass women are not your thing-don't pick up this book. 

It's my thing and I absolutely loved it!  I found this book after my boss circled it in one of our independent publishing catalogs we get at the Library.  She knows me well.  

From the back cover-because it's the best:  "The lascivious ladies of the Mean Girls Club have been raising a riot around town, and the cops are onto them.  Prepare for a mad-dash of boozing, skull-busting, and general mid-century mayhem as they deliver a swift stiletto-stab to the crotch of the patriarchy."

 These ladies are done with being used and hurt by others.  When their latest raid on the town gets too close to the Mayor and his pocketbook, the mayor blackmails his mechanic, the beautiful and vulnerable Roxy, to infiltrate the club and help take them down.  All Roxy wants is the vital and expensive medicine that her Grandpa needs to survive.  Left with little choice, Roxy approaches the clubhouse and is met with all the ladies and their guns.  But luckily for Roxy, the club's car Black Betsy was damaged during their last firefight with the police.  After repairing the car and then showing off her fighting skills when she's attacked by Wanda, Roxy spends the rest of the night in a drug and booze filled initiation where she learns all the backstories on the ladies and what fuels their obsession with taking down the patriarchy. 

Meanwhile, we learn that the disgusting Mayo Schlomo is in league with two cult leaders who are brainwashing the town's young girls into being subservient slaves.  When the cult leaders and the mayor set up a decency league called Reclaim Our Town, or R.O.T., the Mean Girls know they have to step in and do something.  Unfortunately, it's a trap and Roxy helped set it.  The Girls aren't led away quietly, in fact, Wanda's lines on page 58 are pretty amazing.  

The Mean Girls are now lined up in the execution chamber on display for the town to see.  At the same time, sick over her actions against the Club, Roxy finds herself at the clubhouse drinking away her grief.  When she stumbles upon the journal that tells of the club's beginnings, Roxy knows she has to do something to save the women. 

This book is so intense!  These women are not holding back anything.  The art and the writing are amazing and it's very tempting to buy another copy so I can cut some pages out and frame them.  

It's so good!

You can help support the site, and get your copy here: 

Mean Girls Club: Pink Dawn [Graphic Novel]

By Ryan Heshka

Buy on Amazon

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

I love putting great books on the shelf!

Poor Prince Sebastian, his parents want him married and he is far from interested.  

Frances only wants to become the hottest dress designer but her designs are too daring for the public to handle.  After creating a party-stopping dress for a client, her job is threatened.  But there is one person who loved her design and comes to Frances with an offer that it is too good to be true.  And it turns out, it is too good to be true.  Her new client is Prince Sebastian!

Sebastian just wants to wear dresses and take Paris by storm as his alter ego Lady Crystallia.  With Frances as his new dressmaker, the two of them go to lavish parties where Lady Crystallia is the center of attention.  But Sebastian is still a Prince and his parents don't know about his secret night life.  Also, Frances can't tell anyone that she is the one designing all these amazing dresses because she has to safeguard Sebastian's secret.  

When the stress of society's expectations become too much for everyone, the friendship between Frances and Sebastian is put to the test. 

This story is beautifully told and is so engaging!  Since The Kid is only reading graphic novels these days, we have read a really wide variety and this one had him talking him the most.  Frances and Sebastian have such a supportive and accepting friendship.  It's one of those relationships that we need more of.  The art is beautiful and the colors are amazing and I can't wait to see more from Jen Wang.

You can get your copy here:

The Prince and the Dressmaker

By Jen Wang

Buy on Amazon

Jackaby by William Ritter

If you took Sherlock Holmes and crossed him with Newt Scamander you'd get Mr. R. F. Jackaby. 

This book was pure fun!  

It's 1892 and Abigail Rook has left her boarding school to follow in her father's footsteps and join an expedition to the Carpathian Mountains.  But her dreams of finding new dinosaur species are quickly dashed and instead, she spent months digging holes and living in uncomfortable conditions.  When she finally has enough, she leaves the mountains and tries to find passage home only to realize that her ship is going in the wrong direction.  Now in America, Abigail needs to find a place to live and a job to help buy time before she has to face her parents again.  Not long after leaving the ship, Abigail encounters an unusual gentleman who appears to know more about her than he should.  

After a fruitless job search, Abigail sees an interesting job posting for an assistant at a detective agency.  Why is she not to stare at the frog?  Because staring at the frog makes him mad causing a foul smelling gas cloud.  As the cloud becomes more dense, the mysterious man is back and on his way out the door.  Chasing after him to both collect more information and outrun the gas, Abigail learns that our mysterious man is the detective R. F. Jackaby.  Having a job interview while investigating a crime scene is quite the experience for Abigail.  But Abigail isn't easily scared and does her best to impress her potential new boss.  But it's the boss that impresses Abigail.   Jackaby claims he can see mysterious and unusual creatures and seems to have a strained relationship with the police.  After seeing the condition of the murder victim, strange creatures are the only option for murder suspect and Abigail goes on to meet a ghost, a duck who used to be a man, a werewolf, and a woman who no one can see but them.  Trying to solve this crime puts everyone in danger and Abigail finds herself way in over her head. 

This book is full of adventure, mysterious creatures and even more mysterious people.  I really liked the characters and how there is not a love story between Abigail and Jackaby.  It's nice that her character didn't start swooning over the first guy who was nice to her. 

Jackaby's house is a character in it's own right-there is a pond on the third floor.  Like a real pond.  It's also home to a ghost and a duck that used to be Jackaby's assistant Douglass.  I'm sure there's even more that we'll learn about as the series continues.  And Jackaby is so used to his wacky way of life that he completely forgets to introduce Abigail to his housemates and doesn't explain anything.   It's a great book and amazing start to a series! 

You can get your copy here, which also helps support the site:

Jackaby

By William Ritter

Buy on Amazon

Ghostly Echoes: A Jackaby Novel

By William Ritter

Buy on Amazon

The Dire King: A Jackaby Novel

By William Ritter

Buy on Amazon

Her Body and Other Stories by Carmen Maria Machado

My library hold finally came in!  This one seemed like a really well-loved copy.

This book is scary, sexy, stunning, and spectacular!  Her Body and Other Stories is a collection of short stories by Carmen Maria Machado that tell of the different ways that women deal with violence against their bodies.  

In "The Husband Stitch,"  a woman meets her husband at a party while they are still young.  When he asks about her green ribbon that she wears around her neck, she only answers that it is hers and he can't touch it.  Throughout the story, the husband asks over and over again to touch the ribbon only to be denied.  In the end, after becoming a mother and seeing her son off to university, the husband asks about the ribbon again. This time, the wife allows him to untie the ribbon and her head falls off.  Ouch.  

The story "Inventory,"  is one of the most unique stories I've ever read.  A woman is recounting her past lovers and their experiences, but it's through these that we learn a plague is affecting the world.  It's wild-in a very good way.  

In "Eight Bites," a woman and her daughter deal with the consequences of weight loss surgery and how they view each other's bodies.  This one really made me think about how family encouragement can also be taken as criticism.  

There are eight stories total and each of them is incredibly unique.  In many of them, you can feel that something is just slightly off but you don't realize how far off until the very end.  

Amazing collection of stories and I highly recommend for those with strong stomachs. You can get your copy here, and help support the site all at the same time:

Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

By Carmen Maria Machado

Buy on Amazon