Books I’ve already reviewed
The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine
Stray and The Silence of Medair by Andrea K. Host
Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers–I listened to the audiobook, which was okay, but I wished that Ian Carmichael would turn off his plummy accent for the actual narration. Occasionally made it difficult to tell which was the narrator and which Lord Peter. However, he does women’s voices well, which I have learned is apparently a problem for some male voice actors.
Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart: Leila was talking about this one recently and I realized I had to re-read it!
Blackout by Connie Willis: I’m glad I have a friend who doesn’t mind me spamming her with all my feeeeelings, because re-reading this book involves a lot of feeeeelings.
Other books
Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers: My first Courtney Summers book! I KNOW! It’s so good, such an interesting complex look at a character who has been the villain in many a YA book. I’m sure there are readers out there who hate Parker, but I loved her prickly, slightly-evil-but-never-as-evil-as-she-wants-to-be self.
Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell: I really liked Merrie Haskell’s first two books, and Castle Behind Thorns was one I definitely looked forward to. I liked it a lot, especially the way she showed the relationship between Perrotte and Sand. This is a very different, but quite compelling, take on the Sleeping Beauty story.
On the Fence by Kasie West: I was a bit worried about the “girl who doesn’t know how to girl” storyline before going into this one, but overall I thought West handled it pretty well. I liked the friends growing into romance storyline, although I did think some of the plot twists were a little unnecessary.
Faking It by Jennifer Crusie: This is one of my favorite Crusie books and apparently I’ve never actually reviewed it here! But let me put it this way: if you love “How to Steal a Million” (which you should, because Audrey Hepburn! And Peter O’Toole! And hijinks and romance in a cupboard!), you’ll probably like this book. Even knowing the whole plot, it’s entirely enjoyable as a re-read. Plus it’s set in Columbus, OH, where I grew up!
Lulu and the Cat in the Bag by Hilary McKay
Lulu and the Rabbit Next Door by Hilary McKay: Although I love Hilary McKay’s books for slightly older readers, as has been well documented, this recent early chapter book series is so lovely! Lulu loves animals and collects them everywhere she goes. Usually this involves the help of her cousin and best friend Mellie, who is a very different personality but understands Lulu. Hilarious, wonderful, and a nice example of everyday diversity, there’s nothing not to like here.
The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic by Uma Krishnaswami: I loved the first book when I read it earlier this year, and The Problem With Being Slightly Heroic definitely lived up to my expectations. As with The Grand Plan to Fix Everything, the story is sweet, funny, heart-felt, and just a bit larger than life.
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins: After a long wait, Isla is ours! There were points when I felt a bit nervous about this one, but in the end I did like it a lot. The idea of the happily ever after is presented fairly straight, which is not my favorite trope ever, but I was rooting for Josh and Isla. And I definitely liked the cameos from the earlier books!
Sisters by Raina Telgemeier: Sisters is a graphic memoir, and I really liked it. Perhaps I’m also the oldest child of three (two girls and a boy in that order), and that so much of the sisterly dynamic seemed familiar to me, but I found myself totally engaged in the story Telgemeier told. I also loved the flashbacks to earlier family events, and the PETS!
Voice of the Lost by Andrea K Host: This was amazing! I loved the way Medair resolves her difficulties, I loved the romance, I loved the questions that the worldbuilding brought up. I felt in a couple places that the pacing could have been just a little tighter, but honestly I was invested enough in the characters that I didn’t really care.
The Eighth Day by Dianne K. Salerni: I really loved Salerni’s The Caged Graves when I read it for the Cybils last year. This went in an entirely different direction and, while I enjoyed it, I didn’t really find that it had much emotional resonance with me. Kids who like adventure and heroes with a bit of Arthurian mythology should like it, though.
Traveling with the Dead by Barbara Hambly: Second James Asher book. I liked getting more of an insight into Lydia’s perspective, and Don Ysidro as well, but the pacing and setting of the book seemed a bit too full of dashing about. Part of the strength of the first one was how well it conveyed the moody atmosphere of foggy vampire-laden London. I felt here that I never had time to quite settle into the story.
Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan: I’ll put up a review closer to the release date, but for now I’ll just say that SRB is the dark mistress of my heart. She does terrible things and yet I love them.
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Things I wish to share
– You can still be a Cybils judge! Apply here by September 5th
– The latest installment in my series of historical fantasies: the Victorian era. Some interesting comments on this too–check them out! Also, I posted a primer for people who would like to start reading that subgenre.
– Made & Making for this month–I posted this late last night so it could technically be an August post.
– And finally, I noticed that I’m listed on the “Places We Love” sidebar on Lady Business. I am tremendously flattered!
By Singing Light 