A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis: Book Review

Synopsis from GoodReads: This new, expanded edition of Miracle and Other Christmas Stories features twelve brilliantly reimagined holiday tales, five of which are collected here for the first time. Christmas comes but once a year–which is too bad, because the stories in this dazzling collection are fun to read anytime. They put a speculative spin on the Continue Reading…

Continue Reading

Renegades by Marissa Meyer: Series Review

4 Stars. I loved Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles so I eventually decided to read her take on a superhero story. I like superhero movies but that’s about as far as I go (no comics or other books), so this was a bit of a step outside my comfort zone. I really liked it. Sometimes superhero stories feel entirely too “good vs […]

Continue Reading

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells: Book Review

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

4 Stars. These novellas read like engrossing episodes of your favorite science fiction TV show and I inhale them like popcorn. Murderbot is an unexpected, understated delight and its dry sense of humor keeps me smiling. Its observations of humanity are on point and hilarious. It’s teamed up with ART (short for Asshole Research […]

Continue Reading

The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer: Story Review

The Secret Life of Bots by Suzanne Palmer Story Cover

4 Stars. I just finished Artificial Condition, the second book in the Murderbot Diaries series, and really liked it. Greg at Book Haven noted my excitement and recommended this short story to me. “The Secret Life of Bots” is not related to Murderbot in any way but they do have a similar feel. There’s a…not entirely compliant […]

Continue Reading

All Systems Red by Martha Wells: Book Review

All Systems Red by Martha Wells Book Cover

4 Stars. My husband isn’t much of a reader. He usually has a book on his Kindle (which I bought him) but he takes his time with it and usually only reads a handful of books each year. I thought he would enjoy this series and the way that the author mostly just plunges into the action. So I downloaded the audiobook and made him […]

Continue Reading

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston: Book Review

Heart of Iron by Ashley Poston Book Cover

3 Stars. This was pretty good but it never fully grabbed my attention and I can’t say why. I liked the main characters well enough, though the secondary characters weren’t very distinct in my mind. Ana was a bit too stupidly headstrong for my taste but I mostly liked her well enough to overlook it. I’m always a fan of found […]

Continue Reading

The Giver by Lois Lowry: Book Review

4 Stars. This was published in 1993, when I was 15 years old, and I must have just barely missed having it as assigned reading in school. While it’s probably a classic to many of you, this was the first time I’ve read it. I was surprised by how unsettling it is. Jonas’s world seems almost perfect at first. Everyone apologizes […]

Continue Reading

Time and Again by Jack Finney: Book Review

3 Stars. I’m not a fan of New York. To be fair, I’ve only spent one day there and that was the day after my best friend’s funeral; still, nothing about the city has ever appealed to me. That said, Time and Again didn’t work particularly well for me but I think those who love New York and its history will relish it. I don’t […]

Continue Reading

Wires & Nerve by Marissa Meyer: Book Review

4 Stars. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of The Lunar Chronicles (especially on audio), so when I stumbled on these books at the library, I had to bring them home. Iko has always been sort of the comic relief of the series for me. Even if she isn’t truly being funny, she still generally provides lighter moments when the story […]

Continue Reading

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer: Book Review

4 Stars. I needed these Lunar short stories to get some closure after the emotional turmoil of Winter. (I was so angry at Levana that I almost gave up on the book. It was that torturous). When I realized that this book was happening, I jumped on it as soon as I possibly could at the library. Most of the stories are prequels to Cinder […]

Continue Reading

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne: Book Review

3 Stars. Eh. Axel was a whiny wimp who complained endlessly about having to go on the trip. The minute his uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, started to get the least bit angry with him over his dithering, Axel would cave and blithely go along with whatever ridiculous plan the professor has in mind. Axel was generally the one with […]

Continue Reading