Eleanor is an emotional journey of a book, a journey that takes you to some dark and uncomfortable places. But don’t let that scare you away, because the author did an amazing job balancing the darker parts. It was actually a touching and magical story that happened to have some sad, tragic and painful elements.  Eleanor and Esmerelda were inseparable twins until a tragic accident kills Esmerelda, leaving Eleanor’s life forever altered and inevitably darker than the one she remembers from before, back when her sister was alive and at her side. It is a story about hindsight, dreams, letting go and moving forward. It is a story of loss and recovery. It is a story that really packs a lot in its pages. It may not have taken me very long to read (maybe 2 days), but it is a story that will stick with me. While this book is undeniably emotional, it was not as depressing of a read as I had anticipated, there felt to be more to it than just heartache. But definitely be prepared for some serious feels. The structure of Eleanor does contain time jumps, but they are easy to navigate and help piece together…

If you’re a fan of comics and are looking for a clever, humorous, and merciless riff on the superhero genre, then Almost Infamous is most definitely the book for you! Matt Carter’s novel is a wildly entertaining, satirical take on the characters and worlds we imagine when we picture the Marvel or DC universes, and as a twist, his protagonist is a horny, uppity teenage supervillain. To get a sense of the zaniness you’re in for, just take a peek at the book’s first few pages, featuring a “Brief History of Superheroes.” Super powers—whether you were born with them, cursed with them, granted them as a result of radioactive freak accident, changed by a gene-splicing experiment gone wrong, and so on and so forth—are just a common fact of life. Superhumans are real. Oh, and by the way, so are Atlanteans, Lemurians, magicians, aliens, demons, golems, mortal gods who walk the earth, and pretty much every kind of power-endowed beings you can think of. All real. Over time, these powered-individuals have altered the course of history and changed the face of the earth. Some of them have used their abilities for good. Others, not so much. In 1969, the conflict…

I’ve been salivating over this amazing cover for months now, and I was so excited to be able to read Mishell Baker’s debut. I thought I was going to get one type of story, but ultimately Borderline blew me away with its odd—but somehow workable—combination of elements. First, the setting is Los Angeles, Baker’s hometown, and sunny Tinseltown turns out to be the perfect setting. The story revolves around a famous film director whose “muse” has gone missing. It turns out that every creative person on Earth has a muse from a parallel world called Arcadia, where the Seelie and Unseelie Courts are real, and the fey are not just the stuff of movies. And then there is Millie. Millie is definitely a new favorite character, and despite her rough edges I dare you not to fall in love with her. Baker has given her a double whammy of disabilities. First, she has borderline personality disorder (which I didn’t know anything about before I read this book) and she’s been institutionalized for the past six months after a suicide attempt, during which she lost both her legs. So not only is she mentally ill, but she’s a double amputee as…

Fellside is my second Carey novel and coming on the heels of the very well received The Girl with All the Gifts I can say I had very high expectations.  Not always easy to follow up such a successful book but I think Carey manages to deliver a completely different style of book, a unique story and a compelling read, well written and powerful. This is a difficult book to review because of the desire to not give away spoilers.  Similar to TGWatG really!  So, what I can go with is what we’ve already been given on the synopsis. We know the story is set in Fellside, a high security prison and we know that Jess is one of the inmates.  Therefore probably safe to assume that Jess Moulson is a convict and given that the synopsis states that Jess could be spending the rest of her life in Fellside presumably she’s somebody with a serious crime behind her.  Now, Jess certainly has a story to tell and Carey tells that story in an addictive way that takes on the spirit of a ghost story with a difference. Jess is in prison for the murder of a young boy called…

Lots of interesting things are happening in the horror genre lately, as evidenced by my latest venture into Thomas E. Sniegoski’s new novel The Demonists. Imagine The Exorcist, urban fantasy style! This is also my first book by the author, and it certainly won’t be the last—not if there’s more like this coming my way. The story follows the husband-and-wife team of John Fogg and Theodora Knight, who are the world’s foremost experts on paranormal investigation. They’re even the stars of their own show called Spirit Chasers, a reality TV series that probes into supposedly haunted locations. But on Halloween night, the show producers decide to do a special episode as a publicity stunt, filming live as John and Theo investigate an old house reported to be filled with dark energy. Things should have unfolded like any other show, but then the hosts go into the basement and everything goes terribly wrong. The whole world watches in horror as the crew are massacred live on screen. John manages to survive, but not without sustaining serious injury. And Theo… Something much worse has happened to John’s wife, who is a powerful psychic medium in her own right. Though afterwards everyone was…

If you’re not reading this series yet, you should be! My love for it just grows and grows, and indeed I think In the Labyrinth of Drakes may be my favorite Memoir by Lady Trent installment yet! So many questions that I had are finally answered, and there are plenty of other major reveals for readers who have been following our protagonist on her adventures. I promise you, this is one book you do not want to miss. This is an important volume that covers the events that vaulted Isabella, Lady Trent into fame, and it is a must-read. Author Marie Brennan has written that there will be five books in all in this series, but instead of winding down at book four, Isabella’s story is simply building up even more momentum. Past installments have brought us to the inhospitable mountains of Vystrana, the sweltering jungles of Mouleen, and upon the high seas to the tropical islands of Keonga. Naturally, In the Labyrinth of Drakes is another opportunity to visit another all new biome on the quest for more dragons and more science! This time, Isabella is heading into the scorching deserts of Akhia, hoping to study the golden drakes that…

When I saw the description of this book, I was definitely intrigued. A Western Fantasy with a sharp-shooting female protagonist? Oh, yes please! I couldn’t help but immediately think of Wake of Vultures, which I loved and had hopes of loving this one just as much. So, how did it hold up to my expectations? Well, it was a fun read, I will definitely give it that. Amani lives in a small town that survives off of their local gun factory. But even with that, their town does not seem to be thriving. The culture here is one were women take a lesser and more subservient role, they are pretty much second class citizens. Needless to say, that means this is a male centered society, where they make the rules. They also get to take multiple wives. It’s not at all a a desirable place when you are a woman, especially a woman with no one to look after you. Amani has lost her parents, and has been living with her uncle and his plethora of wives and children. You quickly assess she is not valued or loved, but she does soon learn she is a commodity. Facing the prospect of a…

Urban Fantasy is such an exciting genre right now because of books like The Brotherhood of the Wheel. While mythological creatures and vigilantes have long been a mainstay, R.S. Belcher has shaken up these conventions and breathed new life into UF by looking at a slice of American culture that arguably hasn’t gotten a lot of attention: Truckers. Motorcycle clubs. The U.S. Interstate Highway System. Meet Jimmie Aussapile, an independent truck driver who lives a double life as a knight of an ancient order, protecting the country’s roads and its travelers from monsters—both the supernatural and the human kind. He and others like him are part of a brethren who call themselves the Brotherhood of the Wheel. One night, Jimmie picks up a ghostly hitchhiker and follows her message to a number of unsolved missing person cases. Along with his new squire Heck Sinclair, the two men uncover a terrifying situation involving a supernatural serial killer known as the Pagan who has been using the highway system to prey on children since the mid-1900s. Meanwhile, Louisiana cop Lovina Marcou has been conducting her own investigations into a group of missing teenagers, leading her to creepy internet stories about abductions by…

Masks and Shadows is a delight of a book full of mystery, music, court politics and romance. Oh, and lets not forget the nefarious shadows and disturbing deaths. This was a quick and wonderful read for me, I read it in about a day and really enjoyed just immersing myself if the world and characters Burgis created. While we get several different POVs in this, I really felt Charlotte was the central character. A young widow, she has decided to visit her younger sister at Eszterháza Palace. This is a wonderful place, or appears to be at a surface glance, where Prince Niko has built his own opera house complete with one of the most renowned conductors of the time. The music and opera were a wonderful feature of this story, giving rich details and wonderful characters and interplay. Maybe I am just a sucker for stories that feature theaters and performers, but regardless, this was very well done. We quickly learn that Charlotte is a person who is always scrambling to please others and abide by the rules. If anyone has expectations of her, she does whatever she can to not let them down, even when their expectations may not match…

Arena was not the story I was expecting; it was a little less video games and little more love than I would have preferred, but it also had a several things I was impressed by. In the story, Holly Jennings dives into the troubles females face daily, the pressures that athletes of all sexes deal with in their sports, the prejudices that minorities encounter their whole life, and the use and battle with drug addiction to overcome all these issue in life and more. Kali Ling, know as “The Warrior”, is one of the top RAGE tournament players in the world. Being both a female pro-gamer, and of part-Asian descent, has made her path not an easy one, but now that she is in the pros, life is not any easier. Forced to pose for adds in gaming magazines that highlight her female and Asian qualities, and being forced to go out at night to clubs by her team’s manager, are things that are now frequent for Kali. The escape she needs, and craves, to get away from this life, is the virtual gaming world – RAGE. It is in virtual reality that things feel real to Kali and she…