columbus

The Blood of the Lamb

Once You Go This Far by Kristen Lepionka

July 20, 2020 by Jake Leave a Comment

Read as part of cbr12bingo: Gateway. I frequently recommend Kristen Lepionka’s work to budding mystery fans, especially ones looking for an LGBTQIA+ author and/or protagonist. I don’t know how long Kristen Lepionka plans to continue with this series. I believe her next book is going to be a standalone separate from Roxane’s character (and perhaps universe?). I think she’s of the modern age sort of writer that unless you really catch bestselling fire with a series (a la Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch), there comes a […]

A Voice of My Generation

The Stories You Tell by Kristen Lepionka

March 24, 2020 by Jake Leave a Comment

There’s not much left to say about Kristen Lepionka’s Roxane Weary series that I didn’t already say in my last two reviews. Lepionka is a talented writer who foregoes the frills of many a bestselling mystery book in favor of telling a good tale. In other words: there’s minimal fluff to pad the story. I appreciate that. While I like these books a lot, what makes them difficult to recommend is the voice of the narrator. Roxane Weary is not inherently lovable. She’s a person […]

Oh-hi-oh

What You Want To See by Kristen Lepionka

March 13, 2020 by Jake Leave a Comment

Kristen Lepionka’s Roxanne Weary series is one of my favorites to come along in recent years. This could be me dating myself as a end-of-the-spectrum millennial but Roxanne feels like someone I would know. And Kristen Lepionka gets her voice and atmosphere down well. This one is in some ways an improvement on book one, though I liked that one too. I don’t know why, especially because there wasn’t a Macguffin, but I got a real Maltese Falcon vibe from this story. It could have been […]

The Memoirs of a Chatty African Grey Parrot

August 20, 2018 by Jen K Leave a Comment

Bingo Square: Cannonballer Says! I saw lumenatrix’s review of this one, and was immediately intrigued. Jewish pirates during the Spanish Inquisition and Columbus? A five-hundred-year old parrot narrator? A gorgeous cover? Yes, please! Or to quote the narrator, a story about, “Pirates. Parrots. Jews. Jewels. The Inquisition. Gefilte fish. Gold. A Girl.” While I quite enjoyed this one, I also feel like I approached it in the wrong way. I was so excited about the whole Jewish pirate thing that I may have raced through […]

MsWas on “Those little bastards were hiding out there in the tall grass.”Very interesting! I read Huckleberry Finn a couple of times many many years ago. I'll be checking this one out too.
faintingviolet on Queer fantasy novella feat. shape-shifting, mammoths.Added to my to read list! My library has the audio of this and the first in the series.
Fiat.Luxury on A Quiet Book About Surviving AloneOh this sounds so interesting! Thanks for the review.
narfna on “fear is an anchor, but it’s also a bridge”The problem is that it was barely written at all. It was like a placeholder sex scene. I don't have it with me, but it...
esmemoria on “Those little bastards were hiding out there in the tall grass.”This is great to know. I’ve been very curious about this book.

Help Our Mission