Wayward Bookshelf

A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire After the last few books of huge surprises, and big emotional moments, I wasn't sure what to expect with this one, beyond knowing from the blurb that we would be revisiting Blind Michael's skerry again. This time in pursuit of Luna, who has abducted Raysel when she is just starting to make progress on getting better. Naturally, Toby goes into full mama bear mode, and I love how fiercely she fights for all her chosen kids. Also, can poor Raysel get a break already?! I enjoyed that this book called back to earlier in the series by traveling to Blind Michael's skerry by the light of a candle, and re-encountering his magic, with Tybalt by her side this time. And since Toby is older and wiser, she does seem to view the skerry a little differently. This book shows us who the monsters really are, reminds us that the protective bonds of chosen family can run just as deep, and hints that we haven't fully plumbed the depths of Toby's magical...

A Certain Kind of Starlight   A Certain Kind of Starlight is cozy magical realism with lots of talk of baking, family, and finding our way back to who we want to be. The baking tips that precede each chapter were great, the tone was in the voice of the characters, but the advice would serve the reader in their own kitchen. Those tips might have actually been my favorite detail of the book! I picked this title up because I enjoyed Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, and was interested in trying more from the author. This was one very similar. Probably a little too similar to my taste if I'm honest. I definitely like the general themes of family, community, and coming back to oneself, but could've done with more novelty in the details between the two books. The protagonists also have to make several leaps in logic to tie up remaining threads for the reader at the end. This could've been done more convincingly and gradually for a more effective reveal. That said, on it's own,...

Butterfly Effects by Seanan McGuire Butterfly Effect continues to follow Sarah's journey after becoming a cuckoo queen, and in doing so gaining the attention of the species' home planet, Johrlar. Thoughts in no particular order:  Since cuckoos are basically human-shaped wasps, Johrlar is wildly different from Earth as far as vegetation, life, infrastructure, and society goes. The more recent InCryptid books have done more dimension hopping, and I've really enjoyed McGuire's ability to world-build a planet so quickly. She's at her best with Jhorlar. Mark (the cuckoo king) was probably one of my favorite parts of this book, he's wholly unexpected by the Johrlac, beholden to Sarah for her actions in earlier books, and hilariously surly about having to participate in any of this Price family shenanigans. Two interesting themes came to the forefront for me in this book. One was the balance of community goals vs. individual desires, and the other is how a society ta...

A Long and Speaking Silence by Nghi Vo Starting off with something mundane that I really enjoyed, one thread that has run through all of the Singing Hills books is excellent descriptions of food. If I don't have snacks with me while reading one of these, I will have to go get some, because they make me hungry! This book has an extra dose of that since Chi is spending lots of time in and around a restaurant. Readers who likes to know what the characters are eating will love this one. This installment finds Chi in a port town that has received several waves of immigrants over its history, and the tale takes a close at the displaced peoples and how they are received. The tensions explored were palpable, and Chi has to decide whether to remain an observer or take action in the midst of it. One curious thing was that, for me at least, this tale felt like it took place earlier in Chi's story than previous books. They felt younger and less experienced, and their neixin seemed younge...

Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst The third installment in the Spellshop series follows Marin, a supply runner who sails throughout the Crescent Islands, as her regular routes becomes more fraught in the aftermath of the uprising at the capitol city. Marin enjoys a life of solitude onboard her boat, with her only constant companion being a sea serpent named Perri, and a smattering of friendly acquaintances along their routes. Things I really liked: Perri was my absolute favorite character! Closely followed by Ree. The world building of the Crescent Islands really expanded since we were able to travel around with Marin's ship. Lots of new magical animals, mostly cozy, but some are admittedly a little more intimidating. The tension, upheaval, and recovery in the capitol was explored more with Marin making occasional visits there to deliver messages. The theme of finding your crew, and allowing oneself to be known and loved is always worth reading. Ree (sentient shrub from The Encha...

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow What an excellent read!  I loved how the story unfolded the deeper in it went, and so many of the components hit the mark: The groundhog-day-esque time travel aspect is really well done. Harrow has once again (a la Starling House ) created anti-heroes in Owen and Una that you end up rooting for so desperately. An excellent villain. Smart, ruthless, and a step ahead. For a book that moves through a huge span of time and place, the storytelling is focused and doesn't lose hold of the thread.  Compelling magic, including mysteries about why artifacts work the way they do.  When I finished reading and tried to think of a quick way to describe the book I came up with 'Fforde's Eyre Affair meets Arthurian Legen with a splash of Orwell's 1984.' That doesn't capture it entirely, because the characters come alive more than either of those, but there's a certain bleakness and absurdity that put those other titles in my mind. There a...

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold by Seanan McGuire This installment of the Wayward Children is a quest (even though quests are strictly not allowed!) that takes place in the eerie Halls of the Dead. Or for readers of earlier books in the series, it's the world where Nancy's door led. Several of the students at the school for Wayward Children have particularly morbid skill-sets that are particularly useful in these Halls. Things I liked: The pace of the suspense. As someone who is not a huge fan of long, drawn out suspense, McGuire's handling of the pacing and resolution within the novella length worked well for me. Taking care not to be spoiler-y, I will just say that I particularly enjoyed when the students, in no uncertain terms, called out an adult who was not holding up their end of things. Continued glimpses into how the school is changing. Eleanor is getting older, things are shifting. That larger series thread is getting interesting. This is a book about friends wh...

Cleaning Spells Before Courtship by Sarah Wallace Sage Ravenwing has a bit of a reputation. Yes, that kind, but also for sometimes being a bit mean. And to be fair, both are probably well earned. BUT that's not all there is to his story, and in the final Fae & Human relations book, we get to see some of what's been going on behind his facade. The setting is a weeks long house party in the English countryside where the Wrenwhistles have invited all of their closest friends, plus Sage hoping for a redemption arc, to spend the off-season away from London. There is a lot of silliness, and a lot of very 'in love' folks from the earlier books. In the background, the council is still looking for one more human member to balance out the numbers as society works to integrate Fae & Human folks. And to top it all off, an unexpected guest unintentionally crashes the house party bringing up a lot of questions and maybe a few answers. This installment was different from the...

A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo Just as a fair warning, this book went darker than I'd expected. The Singing Hills books haven't all been sunshine and rainbows, but this one was definitely grim. I don't want to get into spoiler territory, so I'll just say there could be trigger warnings for starvation and the types of decisions starving folks might make. With that out of the way, this is a thought-provoking and haunting book, and it was really a good read, if not always an easy one. Chi finds themselves in a town famous for a particular pork dish, and goes in search of stories of the region's food history. And things start to get interesting when some would prefer that certain histories stay hidden. Nghi Vo is an excellent storyteller, and does really well with these novella length snippets of legend and lore. I enjoy reading the Singing Hills books so much, and Mouthful of Dust is a moving new installment in the series.

Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz This book was so much fun! It's cozy and real while still being in a magical world. Meet Violet Thistlewaite - a recovering evil witch who is determined to do good and starts by opening a plant shop in a small town. I love cozy reads that have really good community in them, and this book does that so well. The townsfolk who surround the main characters and provide lots of color to the story are wonderful and so well done. There's teamwork and problem solving that embraces the wide variety of skills the different folks have. It's great. I also really like Nathaniel and Violet as our main characters! It's definitely a bit of a grumpy x sunshine, and it works. They're both carrying their own burdens and the perspective they gain from getting to know each other helps them move forward. If you like plants, magic, and community in your cozy romance, this one is worth checking out!

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab I really wanted to love this book, I've really loved most everything else I've read by VE Schwab, but on this one I've landed in the 'maybe it just wasn't for me' camp. That said, it wasn't an unenjoyable read, and there's some really beautiful prose. It's just so similar in tone to some of her earlier works (particularly Addie La Rue), and the plot and characters just don't hold up in the inevitable comparison. This is a somewhat classic story of an older vampire turning a younger one and the two become an item through the centuries with a somewhat unequal power dynamic. I was hoping for a new take on the trope, or on vampires in general, because I think Schwab can be very good at monsters that lurk in the dark. This fell a little bit short of that hope. BUT if you like that old tried-and-true vampire story, this is a prime example of it by a writer who certainly has a way with words and knows...

Silver and Lead by Seanan McGuire Toby has recovered from the chaos that was books 17-18, and is getting ready to have her baby! . . .But of course, Toby's life as a knight and hero of the realm mean she's never left alone for very long, and she is recruited/ordered by Arden to investigate some shady stuff going on. It's not supposed to be very complicated or dangerous since everyone is aware she's super pregnant. And. . . let's just say it doesn't go to plan. I love that Toby now has a very deep bench of talented friends she can call on when she has to go on these quests, as well as some old nemesis that we can immediately dislike. THERE BE SPOILERS & PERSONAL STORIES AHEAD: * * * Trigger warning for birth trauma * * * So here's the thing about me reading this book in this particular year of my life. I had a traumatic birthing experience earlier this year, and long story short, after a couple very long days I delivered via an unplanned C-section. Read...

Shade Spells with Strangers by Sarah Wallace This is a book of two strangers, Keelan and Silas, who connect briefly, and then spend a while finding their way to each other again. If you like a healthy dose of yearning in your romance, you'll like this one! This title also continues to explore the nature of human and fae magic in the world that Wallace and Callahan have created, and that is probably my favorite part of these books. Shade Spells takes it to a whole new level with the recruitment of several fae-human individuals who test out the rubric developed by Roger et al in the earlier books. This makes for a fun ensemble cast of characters of varying likability, and I love the discussions on different raw vs prepared materials that go into performing the spells, and how a preference for fae or human magic can affect the effectiveness of different elements. It's a very methodical magic system, well thought out, and lots of fun to read. Fans of cozy fantasy romances or deta...

Installment Immortality by Seanan McGuire Installment Immortality has us continuing to follow ghostly babysitter, Mary Dunlavy, after the climactic events of book 13. The anima mundi has a job that Mary is specifically suited to, but she needs the help of a couple human family members to pull it off - so Archie and Elsie get to spend a little time in the series spotlight. I enjoyed that we got some different family members in the main action this time, and since Archie in particular is a bit of an ongoing loose thread in the series at present, I liked getting to spend more time with him and see how his situation is shaping up. With a ghost as our main character, this is ultimately a ghost story this time! Lots of hauntings, and the lore shared around the different types of ghosts made for some interesting moments as each type of ghost has a specific skill set associated with their classification. I liked this book, but I have to say I didn't LOVE it quite as much as I have some o...

Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne I have to say I was happy to get my hands on an ARC of this one after the cliffhanger ending in book 3! (Thanks Netgalley!) In this one Kianthe & Reyna find that their roles as high-profile figures begins to catch up with the little slice of home they've carved out for themselves in Tawney. From kidnapping, conferring with dragons, and hunting down alchemists, to city planning and tourist crowd control, this book really has a little bit of everything. As these books have gone along, they have gotten decidedly less simple and cozy, but I guess that's true to life. As soon as we find something to settle into, something else comes along to shake us up. I really enjoy how the found family that began in book 1 has continued to grow in size and strength of bond. As well as the discussions on magic, it's origins, and uses. The scope of the book has it feeling a little scattered or less focused, as there are multiple pulls on Reyna a...