Review: Midnight Is the Darkest Hour

Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure:  I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead from Sourcebooks via NetGalley as part of the C2E2 Book Club.  I'm not normally a book club person, but I have a ticket to C2E2 and figured why not get a free book to read.  

Midnight is the Darkest Hour was a really good choice for me.  It's very gothic with earth magic, strange symbols, and rituals.  I like stories of tiny religious sects and alternative Christian groups.  Is there something supernatural wreaking havoc on a devoutly Christian town, or is the answer something far more sinister?  Was there a deal with the Devil?  What makes a monster?  The answer may surprise you. Fans of Twilight may appreciate the love that series gets in this book.  If you aren't a Twilight fan, don't worry, it is not so much to distract from the rest of the story.  

Bonus points for putting the trigger warnings right at the front of the book for people who need them.  

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Review: The Feral Detective

The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem sort of defies description.  It is sort of like a fever dream.  It starts out very noir.  A woman in distress seeks out a somewhat mysterious detective to help her find a missing person.  The trail leads them to Mad Max-style desert communities except it is 2016.  Lots of people wanted to run away in 2016. I am not sure if it meant to, but the book does a good job of highlighting the urban fantasy of rural living versus the reality.  It can look so cute and quaint on Instagram, but it is really a much harder, harsher life.  At the same time, I laughed when I learned the main character was from Yorkville, the same neighborhood I live in while I was in New York City.  No wonder she has such culture shock in the desert!

Bonus points for three very excellent doggos.  I'd want to share my life with them too.

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Review: ‎The Graveside Bar and Grill

‎The Graveside Bar and Grill by Darynda Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Graveside Bar and Grill is a short story by Darynda Jones that takes place in the Charley Davidson universe.  This story takes place after the 13th book in the series.  If you haven't read the series, don't start here.  If you have read the series and always wanted a little more Donovan St. James in your life, here's your chance.  This has everything you have come to expect from this series, something dark and sinister, something supernatural, a good dose of humor, and some really hot romance.  These novellas give me hope that this series isn't totally finished.

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Review: Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem

Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem by Laurie Notaro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife Mayhem is a collection of humorous essays by Laurie Notaro.  As the title suggests, these are almost all about being middle-aged and specifically a middle-aged woman.  As I am now firmly in that demographic, I find myself asking the same thing Laurie does.  Why doesn't anyone tell you about what's it is like to get old?  The chapter, What's Happening?: A User's Manual for Your New Old Body, was absolutely spot on.  And here I thought I was the only one asking these questions....  If you are at the point in your life where your body also betrays you on a regular basis, read this for a little pick-me-up.  It won't make anything better, but laughing is the best way to get through it.

Bonus points for My Darling Girl.  Everyone should be so lucky to have a Maeby in their life. 

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Review: Upright Women Wanted

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The tagline "Are you a coward or are you a Librarian?" is what drew me into Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey.  As a book lover, I am drawn to bookish things, stories about bookstores, libraries, librarians...yes, please.  But what if something in the future happened that cause society to have to revert back to Wild West days, and Librarians had to travel across the country to deliver materials to people?  And what if the government went full-on censorship, only allowed the distribution of "approved materials" and killed anyone who wasn't a cisgender heterosexual?  Some people might be thinking, "that sounds like paradise."  For the rest of us, we can only hope people have the strength of character to become Librarians.  

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Review: LaserWriter II

LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Even I, an avowed Apple hater, enjoyed LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin.  The story will hit home most with those who loved their Macs and Apple products, plenty of praise for them here.  If you lived in New York in the 90s, you might even have used TekServe, the small business at the heart of this book.  It sounds like a fun place to work.  Love the idea that you don't have to be techy to fix tech.  While this could be a bit of a love letter to Apple products or the people who do, the company itself is still a villain.  If you haven't figured it out yet, you'll see.

Bonus points for seeing the world through the eyes of printer parts.  Delightful!

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Review: The Silent Patient

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is a real page-turner.  I'm probably not the first to think it felt like a modern Greek tragedy.  I was really fascinated by trying to solve the mystery at the heart of the story through art, psychology, and piecing together someone's life through the the stories others tell you about them.  The problem is does that tell you the true story?  If you like smart, twisty psychological thrillers with a heaping dose of obsession, you will want to give this book a read.  

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Review: The Turn of the Key

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware is so much my kind of book that I could barely put it down even when I was so tired my eyes were watering.  Epistolary novels are my catnip, and the way this one starts out sucked me right in.  But it wasn't just the style of the novel that was so compelling.  The story, oof!  A young woman takes a job as a nanny at a remote estate that is rumored to be haunted.  Add in a "smart" house.  Creepy kids run amok.  A poison garden.  Are you sold yet? This is the best kind of mystery/thriller.  

Bonus points for including two dogs who were not essential to the story but gave me comfort when things got tense.      

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Review: The Deep

The Deep by Rivers Solomon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Deep by Rivers Solomon is inspired by the song The Deep by clipping.  That song was inspired by Drexciya, an electro duo who created the concept of Drexciyans for their album, Deep Sea Dweller.  I highly recommend listening to the various sources as well as reading the book because it makes for a richer experience.  

While Drexciyans are not mentioned in this novella, they share the same common history. What if the pregnant Africans who were thrown off slave ships to drown gave birth to a civilization of ocean-dwellers?  How would they adapt?  How would they feel about land-dwellers?  How would they react to the destruction we've wrought on the world's oceans?  Lots to think about in this beautifully written story.  

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Review: Quietly Hostile: Essays

Quietly Hostile: Essays by Samantha Irby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure:  I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby from Vintage via NetGalley.

Quietly Hostile is a set of personal essays from the wickedly sharp and funny Samantha Irby.  If you prefer animals to people, are not squeamish about bodily functions, and/or dress like a modern day Dickensian street urchin, Samantha Irby will speak straight to your soul.  At least, that has been my experience.  It could also be that we both grew up in Illinois about the same time, so the references she makes are very relevant to me.  I didn't know she was involved with the Sex and the City reboot which is the only thing that makes me want to watch it even though I was a single woman living on the Upper East Side for a time and probably everyone thought SatC was a reflection of my life (it wasn't).  Instead of watching it though, I am just going to pretend her essay on the show is exactly how the episodes went and tell everyone I LOVED that show.  Finally, for any network executives reading this, I would watch the hell out of a show based on Samantha Irby's life.

Bonus points for once again killing it with the cover art.  That skunk is my spirit animal.

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Review: Roko's Labyrinth

Roko's Labyrinth by Michael Blackbourn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Roko's Labyrinth is the second book in the Roko Event series by Michael Blackbourn.  The books in this series are novellas/short stories.  Pretty quick reads.  However, you don't need to have read the first book to read this one.

I'll admit it took me a little bit to get into this novella because I expected it to pick up right where book one left off and it didn't.  Once I figured out where I was, I was in.  You don't need to know what Roko's Basilisk is to enjoy the story, but it adds to the enjoyment.  If you are like me and some days think maybe the whole "we're all living in a virtual simulation" isn't just a crazy theory, this book is not going to help dissuade you.  

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Review: Livid

Livid by Patricia Cornwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Livid is the 26th book in the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell.  I always enjoy these books, so I would recommend reading them all.  If you don't have time for that, you could start from right here.  

This book was very personal for me.  I have a friend who was a victim of Havana Syndrome.  I saw what it did to her, how she has to adapt her life to cope with the after effects, how she suffers.  Ironic that I should pick this book to read the same week another report is released saying it wasn't an attack.  Maybe it wasn't.  It's hard to know someone who went through it and not be skeptical of the official reports.  Thank you Patricia Cornwell for writing a book that gives people an idea of the real suffering someone with Havana Syndrome experiences and also offering a very plausible (and scary) explanation for it.  Someone needed to say it.  

Bonus points for not shying away from talking about COVID in a world that is eager to pretend it never happened.  

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