I started reading YA when my daughter was old enough to start reading YA books. That was over 20 years ago, and we both continue to enjoy reading lots of YA. Many people think YA books are somehow less worthy than other genres of books. Yes, there are YA books that are poorly written, predictable, … [Read more]
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
I really wanted to love this one, but it ended up not working out for me. That does not mean I won't be reading this author again in the future. This book showed a lot of promise, it just kept hampered I think by Mandanna not breaking this up into two novels. I really wanted to know more about … [Read more]
Daughter of Crows by Mark Lawrence
More fantasy with older protagonists please! With Daughter of Crows, Mark Lawrence is giving us a new trilogy—one that is not meant to be tied back to his previous works. Despite this, I thought we might end up covering some old ground when I first read the synopsis: a magical academy that exists … [Read more]
Strange Houses by Uketsu
Strange Houses was the first book I read this year, back in January, and it has taken me entirely too long to just sit down and jot down my thoughts about it. Part of it is because I was very disappointed with how promising the premise was and how it fully deflated by the time I got to the end, so … [Read more]
The Unsuspected by Charlotte Armstrong
All I knew about this book before picking it up was that it had been adapted into a movie starring Claude Rains. I caught part of that movie on TCM one time and it looked intriguing so I thought I would check out the book. However, the novel is unfortunately really a very silly little thriller, … [Read more]
The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom by rle Stanley Gardner
Back to the curious mid-century rules of divorce, especially in a community property state like California. No-fault divorce did not yet exist, so if either party wanted to get out of the deal fast, they had to file in the state of Nevada, and even then there were certain rules regarding … [Read more]
Guinea Pigs Don't Wear Pants by Chris Paul Farias
The email came that said: PW's Grab a Galley - Guinea Pigs Don't Wear Pants. It continued Dear You Thank you for requesting Guinea Pigs Don’t Wear Pants through Publishers Weekly’s Summer 2026 Grab-a-Galley event. I’m excited to share that your name was selected as one of the winners for the … [Read more]
