Wayward Bookshelf

Fiasco by Constance Fay This is the second in the Uncharted Hearts series, and Fay has proven that they really know how to write a prickly femme MC with a soft center. Like Temper from book 1, Cyn is on her own as a bounty hunter, and she has developed a tough outer shell to protect herself. The only beings she seems to let in are her pet lizard and her feisty older neighbor. Cyn has long wanted to catch the kidnapper who killed her cousin, and when an opportunity comes up to resume the hunt, she joins the crew of the Calamity and follows the trail to her home planet, which she hasn't visited since her cousin's death. It was fun to be back on board the Calamity (from book one), to see the crew through Cyn's eyes, and to watch them each offer acceptance to the prickly bounty hunter in their own ways as they begin to work together. There were a couple fun plot twists that made this a truly engaging read, and a solid on-board romantic thread to keep things interesting. As al...

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher I enjoyed a lot of details in the book, but the thing I loved most was our narrator. Thornhedge is a fairytale inspired by Sleeping Beauty, told from the perspective of the fairy who gives a gift to the princess on her christening day, and things don't go exactly to plan. Our fairy is named Toadling, and she is so gentle and humble and determined not to do any harm and to right her past mistakes. I just loved her. Other characters are not exactly what you'd expect from the original tale either, the princess and the knight in particular have also undergone intriguing changes in this retelling. This tale also turns the original quest on its head by asking the question, 'what if some curses aren't meant to be broken?'. When the knight discovers Toadling's brambly hedge, that question is put to the test. Thornhedge may be a quick read, but it brings a fresh take to this familiar tale, and the focus is on the journey through the story, n...

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett This was more or less exactly what I'd hoped for from book 3 in this series! Emily continues to try and tackle problems using her scholarship and study, Wendell continues to be both fearsome and endearing by turns, and the majority of this book actually takes place in Faerie.  My only real complaint is that while I really appreciate how much our two have grown to trust each other to be competent in their own strengths, and it is very sweet to see them so in love, I did miss some of the bickering and banter that we saw in the first two books. I would have liked to have more of that, perhaps with a more playful or teasing tone as their relationship matured. I really enjoyed the nature of the problem that they were trying to solve, the stakes felt a little higher, and the application of storytelling and fairy tales applied to searching for a solution was excellent. And I especially liked spending more time getting to know...

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear is an even-numbered installment in the Wayward Children series, and as such it is a portal fantasy in which we get to see one of the children first find their Door. This book follows Nadya, a Russian orphan who loves turtles. Without getting into spoilers, I really enjoyed Nadya's character. She's tough, confident, and fiercely independent. I especially liked the discussion around her being born with a physical disability, but she doesn't see herself as anything less than whole, regardless of how others might perceive her. The world that her Door leads to was pretty fascinating as well. I really liked the somewhat surreal quality of the environment and breathable atmosphere, and as always in McGuire's portal worlds, there are inherent dangers that come along with the more wondrous elements. I would recommend this book for those who have enjoyed the Wayward Children series thus far,...

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune An excellent follow-up to The House on the Cerulean Sea, this book is chock full of this found family fiercely protecting the space they've carved out for themselves, with plenty of reminders that our choices and actions are what define our character, and not the stereotypes or labels the world might want to put on us. Linus & Arthur have filed paperwork to adopt the children at Marsyas island, but the government decides to throw a few more hurdles their way instead. I enjoyed the fact that the children have learned enough from Arthur that they start expecting him to follow his own advice instead of bowing before unfair restrictions, and they regularly inspire hope through their creative shenanigans and refusal to be anyone but who they are. There are a few unexpected surprises, and the ending and epilogue were incredibly satisfying. This was a delightful read imbued with hope and the determination that even inspiring a small change in t...

Fire Spells Between Friends by Sarah Wallace Wallace & Callahan have done it again with another lovable duo in their Fae & Human Relations series! This book primarily follows the story Torquil Pimpernal-Smith, an editor of a gossip publication not unlike that of Lady Whistledown, and one of their main subjects for gossip, Emrys Wrenwhistle - an heir who is determined to find a partner during the Season. Meanwhile, Torquil also happens to be thrust into a more public role because of their half-fae, half-human pedigree. In a London that is just starting to figure out what it means to integrate its fae and human members in both social and systemic ways, this book builds on the work of the first book with encouraging more fae/human courtship and spending time with the Council rewriting Society's magical testing system to allow for humans, fae, and fae-humans to test under a rubric that takes the unique magical style of each group into account. As always, I most enjoyed the di...

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher I enjoyed this book! It had a slower build-up to a pretty wild ending. I didn't read it particularly fast at first, but found myself really enjoying the last third or so. Things I liked: - Minor horror elements that didn't squick me out. As someone who's not a fan of horror in particular, but appreciates fantasy with some darker bits as long as I can stomach it, finding an author who's able to strike that balance is always exciting. - Romance and true friendship between the older characters. The MC in this book is a YA character, but she's not part of the romantic thread, nor is she at all interested in romance because she's focused on surviving with a monster for a mother. The story's one true romance is between a couple that reads as being somewhere in their 50's-60's, and I thought it was very sweet. And the friendships that ring as the most lasting and true are also between three middle-aged ladies. I...

Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore My rating: 4 of 5 stars Rules for Ghosting is a charming little book set around a family run Jewish funeral home. It has bits of found family & romance along with a healthy dose of what it means to do life and death as part of a community. There's a pretty wide and diverse cast of characters who are on the whole very real and relatable. Our main character is a trans young man named Ezra who is in the process of learning to recognize his own worth, while figuring out which boundaries to hold and which to let go of. He's also just a little psychic, which is made more interesting by the fact that his family runs a funeral home, AND he's also starting to have feelings for a widower. The plot was fairly messy, but mostly in a good way. It felt like real life, stuff happens, and sometimes it all happens at once. This book is just a slice of life where Ezra is in a season of a lot happening. Families are messy sometimes. That said, it...

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo I've really enjoyed the Singing Hills Cycle in general, Nghi Vo has a distinct voice and a way of weaving a narrative that is really captivating. The Brides of High Hill is unique in the series so far because it starts off with a bit of an unreliable beginning as the story has already begun, and the reader joins in when Cleric Chi wakes up in the back of a cart with a bride & her parents, Almost Brilliant isn't around, and the cleric doesn't remember quite how she got there. The reader is along for the story as, this time, it unfolds around the cleric as she tries to uncover the reality of the situation and her new friends. This book was more mysterious and perhaps felt a little more sinister than others in the series. There has always been some inherent danger in Chi's travels, sometimes more implicit than others, but the mystery of not knowing exactly what we were dealing with was a new angle and gave this tale a more dangerous...

The Spellmaster of Tutting-on-Cress by Sarah Wallace This book was such a lovely read, probably even more so than I expected - and I've been hoping for Gerry's book ever since finishing Letters to Half Moon Street! In the series thus far, we've watched Gerry becoming pretty protective of her independence after having found purpose in taking over the running of the spellshop in Tutting on Cress, while also enjoying the support and proximity of her family and friends. And having a book focused on Gerry means we also got a lot of time with this world's magic system, which is always fun. Basil is our newest character, and is a very thoughtful and somewhat lonely man, who's found himself a little out of his depth after becoming the head of a family consisting of whole pack of little siblings and his widowed stepmother. I found it touching to watch this particular family's dynamic unfold, while also getting to know all 7 of the little siblings and their antics. One ...

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall I really enjoyed the world that Cathrall has created. With the under-sea setting, and all the lore that exists within both the scholarship and fiction of the world, I found it very intriguing. Without giving away any spoilers, let's just say I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book, and the promise of getting deeper into the world and it's lore. The epistolary format also made this the perfect book to pick up and read just a few minutes before bed during a particularly busy work season. By about the third letter, a mystery was revealed and I was hooked. I was pleasantly surprised that the investigative nature of the story meant that the letters, articles, and journal entries included are from a whole cast of characters, and not only going back and forth between two people. This added a lot more texture and nuance to both the world and the mystery that was unfolding, and allowed the author to remain really true t...

The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang This book has some great themes that sold me on wanting to read it. Lin Chong is an arms instructor who gets targeted when a powerful man decides she'd be better off dead. Her options are to die, or to run from the law and its corruption. As an outcast herself, she reluctantly begins to understand what drives the bandits who live at the margins of the Empire. She is recruited by them, and a story of stubbornly trying to right injustice and claw their way to a more equal society unfolds. It's a tale of anti-heroes becoming legends. Some elements that I particularly enjoyed were the alchemy and the scholar's skills that explored super-human capabilities in fighting and channeling power. I also found the camaraderie and intense loyalty between the bandits to be compelling, as well as all the detail in their governance and operation. The characters surrounding Lin Chong were vibrant and complicated, and there was a good amount of growth and cha...

Calamity by Constance Fay I was ready for something lighter, and this book was just the thing! It's a romp in space following a found-family type crew who get hired for a scouting mission, and it doesn't turn out to be quite as straight-forward as expected. I enjoyed the mash-up of Science Fiction and Romance, and found myself really flying through the book. The plot starts right in with action, and the pace pretty much keeps up all the way through, making this a pretty fast-paced read. The characters aren't terribly deep, but they're mostly likable types as we get to know them. The main character, Temperance Reed, has been knocked down by life a few times and copes by being snarky, self-deprecating, a little reckless, and fiercely protective of her crew. Sometimes this comes off as insecurity or incompetence, but I have to say I kinda liked her for it. The world has some definite political dynamics in play, and I thought it worked to add some intrigue to the story. A...

Aftermarket Afterlife by Seanan McGuire The reviews get harder to keep spoiler free the further into a series we get. But I'll do my best! Things I liked: This book is from the perspective of Mary Dunlavy, the ghost babysitter who has helped raise 3 generations of the Price family, and that combined with her ability to bounce between family members who call her, means she is uniquely placed to be a very effective narrator for this book and the events unfolding in it. McGuire continues to handle big emotions and hard conversations between her characters with her signature pragmatism and insight that I find to be so effective. And that's especially important since there are a lot of big feelings in this one. Things I didn't like as much: Mostly that this was just a heavier book. Things ramp up with the Covenant in a big way, and this read was definitely not as fun or light-hearted as some other Incryptid books have felt. That doesn't mean it's not an excellent book,...

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst My rating: 4 of 5 stars Spellshop is a very cozy read that hit all of the right cozy fantasy beats: leaving an old life behind, starting over somewhere new, finding a community and a purpose within it, and a little no-spice romance. Bonus points for a sentient spider plant, bookish characters, mermaids, and a few other pretty cool magical elements. I did struggle initially with the main character's insular attitude towards other people, but she has a decent growth arc. So if you find yourself rolling your eyes at her at the beginning, I'd say to stick with it knowing she's going somewhere. And it's arguable that her frame of mind at the beginning does have a function in keeping the tone of the story lighter, because there are some rather high stakes things happening in the larger world, but her world view keeps our focus pretty small with everything else being more in the background. This was an easy read, and cozy cottagecore is an ...