Featured Review Archive

These reviews, which were promoted in CBR social media, on our homepage, and in Pajiba Love, appear below by review publication date, not by date featured.

“It’s not like I grow up to be some great war hero or any all-important savior but thanks to my parents at least I get to grow old. Not everyone does.”

Saga (Volume 9) by Brian K Vaughan

March 16, 2023 by cheerbrarian 4 Comments

Back again with another Saga installment! I can’t believe I’m almost finally caught up. What a roller coaster this series is. I saw that when this series first came out, it was billed as “Star Wars meets Game of Thrones” and I give two thumbs up to that comparison. The only thing I would clarify there is that it’s less “Star Wars meets Game of Thrones” and more “Game of Thrones set in a Star Wars-ish Universe” because every other volume has it’s own Red […]

Wolf Women

Watch the Girls by Jennifer Wolfe

March 15, 2023 by Jake 3 Comments

Whew. This book is something. Don’t know if I loved it or hated it but I know I won’t forget it! I almost quit it five times and yet I couldn’t put it down. I can usually handle bleak, depressing crime fiction but oh man, this one is bleak!* It mostly works until it doesn’t…but the ending kind of comes together but it doesn’t? I really need more people to read this so I can parse it out. A few more points… -Loved: Jennifer Wolfe […]

Dueling novels

Scary Monsters by Michelle de Kretser

March 13, 2023 by booktrovert Leave a Comment

Michelle de Krester gives the reader a (granted, limited) choice in this duology packaged as a single book – you can read these stories, each essentially a novel in itself, in whichever order you prefer. One is called “Lili”, and set in the early 1980s. The other is called “Lyle” and set in the near future. The stories are, of course, siblings but there’s not a specific through-line. They are connected without really connecting. Both stories are about Australians who had emigrated from nearby Asian […]

“I think everyone should just figure out what works for them and enjoy it on their own terms.”

I Think Our Son Is Gay Vol. 3 by Okura

I Think Our Son Is Gay Vol. 4 by Okura

March 12, 2023 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

This is a very sweet slice-of-life series that follows Tomoko, a mother who suspects that her son Hiroki is gay. Throughout the course of the series, she challenges her own internalized prejudices and learns more about how to support her son even if he’s not able to come out to her yet. I think what stands out to me the most with this series is how grounded in reality it is. The author, Okura, is gay, and I think that lends itself to the books […]

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I had such a good time with it.

Bitch: On the Female of the Species by Lucy Cooke

March 10, 2023 by narfna 2 Comments

I haven’t written it yet, but I’m fairly certain this review will mostly be made up of quotes. That’s the reason I have been letting it hold up my review queue, because I haven’t had enough spoons to sit down and go through all my tabs [see below for picture] for my favorite bits, and then organize the bits into some sort of order, and then finally think up smart things to say about them. And if not smart, then at least entertaining. I picked […]

A thriller based in gentrification

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

March 7, 2023 by Mobius_Walker Leave a Comment

When I was reading through the categories for Read Harder 2023 challenge, I was stymied by number 23: Read a social horror, mystery, or thriller novel. I had no idea what a social horror novel was. I had never heard of this genre. I did a quick search for “social horror” and found a few lists. Wouldn’t you know, it turns out I love this genre! The Only Good Indians, Lovecraft Country, Mexican Gothic (which admittedly I loved in concept but not execution) are all […]

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