Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

Library copy of Any Man by Amber Tamblyn

***Trigger Warning for violent sexual assault.***

Any Man by Amber Tamblyn was a brutal and intense look at how we treat those who have been victimized by sexual assault.  A serial rapist who goes by the name of Maud is hunting men. She looks for them online, in bars, and breaks in to their homes and what she does to the men is horrific and traumatizing.  Somehow, Maud is able to commit these crimes without ever leaving any trace of evidence-except for one terrifying piece and the police spend a decade searching for her. But Maude is never caught and her story is never told.  Tamblyn only gives us the stories of the men-told through journal entries, online chats, therapy sessions, and nightmares. We see how society treats their attacks as less than serious because they’re men and shouldn’t be able to have this inflicted on them.  We are shown how family members and friends alienate them as more gruesome details of their attacks surface. At one point, our main character Donald has to explain to his young son what happened to him and it was absolutely heartbreaking.

The book is told using many different types of writing styles-journal entries, online chats, and one section that was the most disturbing to me.  Tamblyn includes an entire section of tweets about the attacks that was absolutely chilling to read. Tweets from celebrities and news hosts received the most retweets and comments and those from police departments seeking help in find attackers received zero interactions.  Absolutely chilling to realize this is how real life plays out.

This novel was absolutely gripping-I read it in one sitting and couldn’t put it down.  While it’s an amazing piece of writing, please only read this if you feel safe doing so.  

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

Night and Silence by Seanan McGuire

Available September 4, 2018

When October “Toby” Daye, knight errant in service to the Court of Shadowed HIlls finds her human ex-husband and his new wife on her doorstep, she knows it can only mean trouble.  Toby’s mortal daughter Gillian has been taken and not only is she in danger, but it could also bring to light secrets that Toby needs to stay hidden. Along with her closest friends and fiancé, Toby sets out to discover who in faery knows of Gillian’s existence and why they would dare to threaten her.  

But Toby's team is still healing from their last adventure.  Tybalt, King of Dreaming Cats and Toby's fiancé, was brutally tortured by Toby's mother and must deal with his own emotions and recovery.  Can their relationship continue after all the hurt?  Will Gillian's kidnapping be the tipping point?  Added to all the stress, Toby has not been present in Gillian's life. In order to keep her safe from the fae and prevent her death from elf-shot, Toby used her blood magic to turn Giliian fully human.  Dealing with her ex-husband and his new wife, and why does she look so familiar, is incredibly hard on Toby.  With accusations on from both sides being thrown back and forth, everyone will need to put aside the past in order to save Gillian's future.   

But as more clues unfold, the mystery only becomes deeper and the list of who and what Toby can trust becomes smaller.  If Gillian can be saved, at what cost?

I really enjoyed this book.  It's the first one in the series that I've read and I plan on fixing that mistake very soon!  Even though it's book 12, I didn't feel like I was missing out on any backstory or had any difficulty following along.  I found the mix of magic and faery, the setting of San Fransico, and the history of the fae and mortals to be very well thought out and engrossing.  An amazing story full of fae politics, lore, and magic that keeps the pages turning from beginning to end.

I highly recommend this series.  Night and Silence is available September 4, 2018. You can preorder your copy, and help support the site, here:

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley Publishing Group-DAW and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.  While I received a free copy in return for a review, all opinions are my own.  

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

This past week, The Hubs and I took The Kid and two of our dogs for a trip down memory lane.  Twelve years ago we honeymooned in the middle of the Shawnee National Forest, cut off from easy access to grocery stores, internet, and good beer.  A lot has changed in twelve years.  We packed great food, there is now lightning fast internet, and the local gas station had an impressive beer selection.  Impressive enough that we had to cram in our selections in the apartment-sized fridge in the cabin.  But one thing didn't change-the quiet of the woods is my favorite place to read.  I plowed through three books in our four day stay and all of them were amazing.  

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik is my second Book of the Month pick and my first time reading this author.   

I know, I'm kicking myself too.  Novik is a great writer.

Spinning Silver is a gender-flipped retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale.  Miryem is the much-loved daughter of a moneylender whose kindness and leniency has left his own family in poverty.  When Miryem's mother falls ill and needs medicine and care they can't afford, Miryem takes matters into her own hands and sets out with her basket to collect what is owed to her family.  When the villagers realize that she means business and is more than capable of keeping precise records, debts begin to paid on schedule.  Her newfound success not only changes the fate of her own family, but of those around her.  Wanda, a young woman whose abusive father would rather drink the family's money than pay off their debt, is sent to work as a housemaid for Miryem's family.  Away from her father and finally receiving at least one proper a meal a day has given Wanda her first sense of security since her mother's death.  

While on a trip home from visiting her wealthy grandparents, Miryem confronts her mother's unwillingness to be proud of Miryem's success.  Why should they be cold?  Hungry? Why, when Miryem can turn silver into gold?  This last statement brings out the mysterious Staryk, the magical and lethal fey that rule the woods and have a lust for all things gold.  When the Staryk King traps Miryem into an impossible deal, her fate, and that of those around her, is put in the balance.  Across the land, another woman, Irina,  awaits her fate with the Tsar-a man who is not what he seems and wants Irina for more than her dowry.  When Irina and Miryem cross paths, the two realize that they are stronger together and the only hope for their kingdoms.  

Novik weaves a tale that is both action packed and beautiful.  I read this while sitting in a cabin staring at the forest-and hoping there really wasn't any fey kings wanting to pop out.  The white trees, embroidered dresses, silver crowns, and horse drawn sleighs made for a magical setting.  The friendship and trust that grows between Wanda and Miryem was also beautiful to watch.  As daughters, meant only to be married off and produce heirs, their intelligence and cunning was sorely underestimated.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was the perfect mix of fantasy and suspense set in a beautifully crafted world.  

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

A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

A Place for Us, is one of those quiet, beautiful books that draws you in and doesn’t let go until the last page.  Fatima Farheen Mirza creates characters that you can’t help but become invested in and care for.

A Place for Us is about an Indian family who is gathered together for the wedding of Hadia, oldest daughter to Rafiq and Layla.  As her sister Huda helps her prepare for the ceremony, Hadia is hopeful that her brother Amar will be in attendance.  After leaving the family three years ago, none of the family has seen or heard from him. A Place for Us tells the story of how the family got their start in the United States, what tore them apart, and what may hopefully bring them together.  We follow the family through joyful birthdays, trouble at school, the effects of 9/11 on a Muslim family, and how no matter how far you fall, your family is always there.  

Many parts of the story are retold in different points of view of each family member giving a complete view of each event.  What seemed as a betrayal to one was truly meant to be a well-meaning intervention.

I felt this book also showed how faith can cause such strife amongst a family, but also provide great comfort and stability at the same time.  How all families, regardless of religion, home state, or social status can have both joy and discord.

Tissue warning:  Part Four was brutal.  Beautifully brutal and the perfect ending, but I was a complete mess after reading it.  

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

Yes We (Still) Can by Dan Pfeiffer

The mere fact that I was very excited to hear Dan Pfeiffer was going to write this book and I preordered tells you just about everything you need to know about my political views.  You’ve been warned-but this post is about the book, not me.

Dan Pfeiffer is the former White House Communication Director for the Obama administration and a current cohost of the Pod Save America podcast.  Yes We (Still) Can is his take on how politics have changed beginning with the Obama administration and the effect that social media and television networks have had on the American public.  Pfeiffer is an engaging speaker and an equally engaging writer.

Pfeiffer provides insights into his early political career working on senate campaigns all the way up to his days after the White House.  One thing that I really respected about the book is it’s honesty. There is no shying away from failure. When he, or the someone on the staff, made a mistake-he gives it as much weight and analysis as any high point.  

I really enjoyed the book-it’s well written and accessible and I’ve listened to Pfeiffer on Pod Save America enough that I heard his voice in my head the whole time.

Yes We (Still) Can by Dan Pfeiffer is available now.

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

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (Copy)

It’s been 26 hours since vacation officially started.   The Kid and I took the pugs on a very slow meandering stroll through the woods, went out to lunch, and I devoured the most badass monster slaying story.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse is the grown-up Buffy* I’ve been dying to read.  When Maggie Hoskie was a child, she survived a horrific attack that awakened her clan powers.  Faster, stronger, and more deadly than any human, she hunts the monsters that roam what is left of the Navajo lands, now known as the Dinétah, after a climate apocalypse.  But it’s not just monsters that wander the earth, so do gods and beings with power.

Drug out of self-imposed seclusion to help rescue a child who was taken by a monster, Maggie  finds more than just a simple case of search and rescue. Seeking out help from her dear friend and local Medicine Man Grandpa Tah, leads to the discovery of deadly witchcraft and a new partner, his grandson Kai Arviso.  Together, they work to find the one responsible for the deadly monsters and confront Maggie’s past in order to survive.

Maybe.  No promises on that one.

This is an amazing book.  Maggie is tough and impressive even without her clan powers-but the clan powers are amazing.  The balance of old myths and legends blending with post apocalyptic droughts and magic is just perfect.  I don’t want to live in that world-Hell. No. But I want to read all of it. Coyote the Trickster is here creating chaos.  There is a magical/mystical dance hall that shows up in the desert on it’s own schedule and is a popular place for all special beings.  Kai puts some silver paint on Maggie’s eyes which allows her to see what everyone looks like without their illusions-I would love to see that on screen or in a graphic novel version.  It’s an amazing part of the book. Many of the people have some animal characteristics-like the Feather People have feathers and the Big Deer People have huge antlers on their heads. The club itself is like the Tardis where space seems to change to fit what is inside and going underground still gives you a view of the sky.  

Maggie has a lot to overcome throughout the book.  Not just the horrible attack that awakens her powers and takes away her family, but also being apprenticed by a demigod during some very formative years and her whole identity being questioned then later on in life.  There are also a lot of relationships that shift and change and with all of her trust issues, it’s a rough ride.

I really enjoyed this book.  Luckily, there is a sneak peek at Book #2 in the back so there will be more.  

Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse is available now.

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

*Side note:  We're re-watching the entire Buffy the Vampire Slayer series and wow is that problematic!*

How many books fit in a mason jar?

6!  Well, six plus three comic books but The Kid took off with his comics before I could get a photo.  

I keep a "Fun Money" jar on my desk-it's a bright green Mason jar that I don't use for canning because marinara sauce looks really weird in colored jars.  Each time the jar gets full, we cash it in and find something fun to do.  

This time around, we hit our local independent bookstore and spent every last penny.  We had nearly $87 crammed into that jar and would have been right on budget had I not seen another beekeeping book for the Hubs.  Since I was buying an extra book specifically for him, it didn't matter that we went over.  I can justify any book purchase.

I was able to pick up six titles that I've been wanting to read but didn't have at our Library.  The Hubs only reads nonfiction so I tried to find a few that would interest us both.  I can always justify nonfiction purchases because he takes forever to read a book.  I will never understand how some people can read three pages and then move on to something else.  

If that's how you read, you do you.  

My final picks were:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, Three Moments of an Explosion by China Mieville, Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott, Black Fire by Robert Graysmith, and The Backyard Beekeeper by Kim Flottum.

Now I need to finish up the three books I borrowed from the Library, the four titles that are coming out in October, four other books I ordered online, and then I'll get to these.  

Well, that's the plan at least.  Having too many books read is the best kind of problem! 

How do you buy books?  Library sales?  Independent booksellers?  Online? 

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne

If you take your favorite fairy tale and mix in some slightly off character tropes, unusual food choices, and really bad puns-you still wouldn't come close to describing this book.  Kill the Farm Boy is a hilarious and fast paced take on slightly off-kilter fairy tale retellings.  

Worstley has the worst job on the farm:  he's the pooboy.  At least, that's what the animals think of him.  But Worstley's fortune changes drastically when a pixie named Staph tells him of his status as the destined Chosen One who must go save the princess who is cursed with a sleeping spell at the very top of a tall tower in a land far away...This would have all been far more impressive had the Pixie not been drunk, haggard, and only wearing one sock but the Pixie Staph demonstrates her power by giving Worstely's billy goat, Gustave, the ability of speech.  Unfortunately the goat has some major attitude and a huge hankering for leather.   

This sets off a hilarious tale of a rag tag group of warriors, fuzzy bunnies, and a wizard whose magic is as weak as his scraggly beard.  We have Argabella, cursed to remain awake at the castle while everyone else is sleeping away for years.  Oh, and she was also turned in to an incredibly large rabbit.  She is somewhat saved by Fia, a giantess warrior who sees nothing wrong with her chain mail bikini and has a blood thirsty sword.  Together, they set off to Lord Toby to help right a horrible wrong only to find an incompetent wizard who is better at planning dinner parties than a spell.  With the "help" of his rogue assassin Poltro who can be scary when she isn't hiding from evil chickens, they set off to find the Chosen One and Grinda the Sand Witch.  

Full of puns, witty banter, and a colorful cast of supporting characters, this book is laugh out loud hilarious.  No fairy tale is safe from mockery and no character too precious to be made fun of.  Mercilessly.  I highly enjoyed this book.  I have read nearly all of the Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne-and I highly recommend that series- but this is my first book from Delilah S. Dawson and I just can't say enough how delightful this book was.

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

Kill the Farm Boys is available July 17th from Del Rey Books.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this book! 

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: