Adult Fiction

Witch King

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by Martha Wells
First sentence: “Waking was floating to the surface of a soft world of water, not what Kai had expected.”
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Content: There is violence, and some swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

If you read the jacket summary of the book, you don’t get a whole lot of information. Kai, a demon, has just woken up from being entombed, to find the government coalition he helped form falling apart. This is all true, but the plot is so much more than that. It’s part mystery: Kai and his friends have to figure out why he (and his witch friend, Ziede) was entombed and where Ziede’s wife, an Immortal Marshall is also missing. It’s partly a telling of colonial conquerors and how Kai helped (almost accidentally) overthrow them. It’s a friendship story, one of trust both made and broken. And it’s an adventure story, as you get to see more of the world that Wells has created.

I’ve only ever read the Murderbot series by Wells, but I trust her writing. She’s an excellent world-builder (I could see some of the same elements that I really enjoyed in the Murderbot books) and I liked the magic system she created. She’s got great characters – both main and secondary – and she knows how to make readers care for them. There are Stakes here, and people could die at any point (well, not Kai, since he’s a demon). It was a really great book, and I appreciated that it stood on its own, while leaving threads open to follow, if she chooses to write more.

I don’t know if I’ll go back and read some of her older books, but I quite enjoyed this one.

Funny Story

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by Emily Henry
First sentence: “Some people are natural storytellers.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
ARC pilfered from the box our awesome Penguin rep sent the store.
Release date: April 23, 2024
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and on-page sex. It will be in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Daphne has uprooted her life and moved to northern Michigan – a smallish town on Lake Michigan – because her fiance, Peter, wanted to move home. All is fine and good: she has a dream job as a children’s librarian and she’s planning their wedding. Until the night of Peter’s bachelor party, when he decides he can’t live without his best friend and love of his life, Petra. He calls off the wedding, and heartbroken, Daphne turns to the only person she can think of who can understand her heartbreak (and has an empty room): Petra’s ex-boyfriend, Miles.

Their stint as roommates is uneventful until they get invitations to Peter and Petra’s wedding. Then, when they drunkenly RSVP and Peter calls to ask why, Daphne lets out that she and Miles are “dating”. Thus begins the fake dating scheme to get back at Peter and Petra, which might just turn into something more.

Henry is a solid romance writer, and this one is right up there with the best of her work. I think she’s justifying her leap to hardcover: this one is as much about Daphne’s self-discovery and learning to make and cultivate friendships as it is about hitting all the romance tropes. I love that both Daphne and Miles are complicated characters, but that they learn, develop, and grow together in ways that are just delightful. Henry knows how to write banter with the best of them, and even though the characters aren’t enemies, there’s some pretty smart and fun banter going on. And there’s palpable tension coming off the page when they get together.

If Henry decides to publish her grocery list, I’ll read it. She’s just that good. And this one is no exception.

Hogfather

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by Terry Pratchett
First sentence: “Everything starts somewhere, although many physicists disagree.”
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Others in the series: It’s part of the Death cycle in Discworld, but you can read it as a standalone.
Content: It’s Terry Pratchett. Do we really need to discuss content? It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

It’s Hogswatchnight, and mostly everything is normal in Ankh-Morpork, with celebrations and everything. Except it’s not okay: the Hogfather has gone missing. And in order to save humanity (just go with it), Death has taken over the Hogfather’s duties. (Albeit very awkwardly.) Once Death’s granddaughter Susan realizes things are not right, she embarks on a journey to find out what happened to Hogfather.

I have been meaning to read this for years. I love it whenever I visit Discworld; Pratchett’s humor and observations hit the spot. I giggle, I cry, I am amused and delighted at the characters. It’s a maze of a book; I was sometimes wondering where the plot was going, but I trust Sir Terry and he did not disappoint. I adored Susan, and in the end, Sir Terry pulled off a remarkably delightful book.

Bride

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by Ali Hazelwood
First sentence: “This war of ours, the one between the Vampyres and the Weres, began several centuries ago with brutal escalations of violence, culminated amid flowing torrents of varicolored blood, and ended in a whimper of buttercream cake, on the day I met my husband for the first time.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: February 6, 2024
ARC pilfered from the shelves at my place of employment.
Content: This is very, sweary, very violent, and very, very spicy. Quite a bit of on-screen interspecies sex. It will be in the romance section of the bookstore.

Misery is used to being, well, miserable. Having spent her entire childhood as the Vampyre collateral in the human world, she never really fit in with her people. And because she’s a vampyre, she doesn’t fit in with the humans, even though she’s been “passing” for a few years. And now, as she’s being “given” (generous word; forced? compelled?) to be the bride of the Were alpha, she figures it will just be another place she doesn’t fit in. In fact, the only person she cares about is Serena, her companion in childhood and best friend, who has gone missing. Misery is determined to figure out what happened to Serena, and she won’t let anyone – least of all her Were husband – get in her way.

The only other Ali Hazelwood book I’ve read is her YA Check & Mate, which was cute, so I really don’t have a frame of reference for her books. On the one hand, she’s doing some fascinating things with vampire and werewolf lore. I liked that she leaned into them being different species, and the politics of dealing between the three – humans, vampires, werewolves. I can see where she’s pulling things from – the idea of mates on the Were side, or how vampires drink pre-packaged blood – but I thought she had a fresh take.

The sex scenes were good, although, by the end, I had issues with the direction she was taking them. I just felt that Misery at the beginning was not quite the same character as Misery at the end. The best part of this one, though, was the secondary characters. They were a lot of fun and kept me going through the book. There was a pretty good twist I didn’t see coming, but it didn’t bother me. I thought it was pretty clever. i am guessing it’s going to be a series, based on the ending, and I do have to admit that I’m curious as to where Hazelwood is going to take the story.

Audiobook: Bookshops & Bonedust

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by Travis Baldree
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Others in the series: Legends & Lattes
Content: There is swearing, including many f-bombs, and some violence. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

In this prequel to Legends & Lattes, Viv finds herself injured and unexpectedly laid up due to an injury in the seaside town of Murk. She’s accustomed to being active, so having to convalesce is not something she wants to do. In her wandering around the down, she discovers a run-down bookshop whose owner, Fern, struggles to make ends meet. Viv discovers the benefit of knowing a good bookseller (!) and falls into a friendship with Fern. She also has a sweet summer romance with a baker in town. And, on top of everything, there’s a mysterious man in gray who leaves behind (well – he dies, so kinda) a bag full of bones that turns out to be a homunculus named Satchel.

Like the first one, not much happens in this book. (Granted, more happens in this than in the first one.) But, it’s still sweet, charming, super cozy, and enjoyable. The characters are fun, and the world Baldree has created is clever. I have really come to enjoy his narration as well; it’s incredibly engaging. So, no, there’s not a lot of plot in these, but they are so much fun to listen to. 

Audiobook: Iron Flame

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by Rebecca Yarros
Read by Rebecca Soler & Teddy Hamilton
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Others in the series: Fourth Wing
Content: It’s super sweary, super violent, and lots of on-screen sexytimes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Spoilers for Fourth Wing, obviously.

This picks up right after the events of Fourth Wing, with Violet recovering from the venin attack. From there, they go back to Basgaith for graduation and year two. But this year is a lot different. First off, Xaden and his dragon are stationed away from the War college so he and Violet are basically forced to spend their weekends together because of their bonded dragons. Of course, they don’t mind. (#sexytimes) Then there’s the wacked-out, facist new head of the war college, who has it out for Violet – like to the point of nearly killing her several times. And then there’s the whole rebellion and the fact that Navarre is hiding the impending Doom from its citizens. 

On the one hand, Soler is still delightfully unhinged (especially sped up 1.5x) and makes these books enjoyable. Because, there’s so much that is just plot holes. I was actually shouting at the audiobook this time; Violet – nay, all the characters, really – were just slow and not askign the right questions. And there were several WTH moments. And then there was the fact that it was just a LOT. A LOT of violence. A LOT of sex. A LOT of trying to make relationship work. A LOT, period. 

Will I read the next one? Maybe. Probably. They’re still fun, even if this one wasn’t as much fun as Fourth Wing was. 

Expiration Dates

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by Rebecca Serle

First sentence: ” The paper is blank save for the name: Jake.” 

Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Release date: March 19, 2024Review copy pilfered off the ARC shelves at the bookstore.

Content: There is some off-page sex, and swearing, including a few f-bombs. It will be in the Romance section of the bookstore. 

Since high school, whenver she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with a name and a number on it – the exact amount of time that she will be with the person. Sometimes, it comes before the meeting. Sometimes, a ways after. Either way, when the time on the slip is up, inevitably, there’s a breakup. Then one day, she receives a slip of paper with just a name. No date. Does that mean this is “The One”?

I’m still pretty new to Serle’s way of storytelling, so I don’t know if this is typical for her. I really liked the way the story unfolded, though. It’s got some twists and turns, and is a bit of a love triangle, but not really. It’s exploring the idea of destiny and how we make choices based on expectations and the information we’re presented. I adored the characters, and I thought it was fascinating as Serle presented Daphne’s history with men and with the mysterious papers.

It’s not a typical romance, though it does have a hopeful ending, but I really enjoyed my time with it.

Audiobook: Legends & Lattes

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by Travis Baldree
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some violence. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Viv, an orc barbarian, is tired of being a hired thief-assassin, and so hangs up her sword (somewhat literally) and opens a coffee shop in the town of Thune. She’s starting from scratch: no one in the town has heard of the gnomish drink, and so she and the group of friends she collects once this project starts set out to create a spot. There are problems including a mafia boss to win over and a former companion who is convinced Viv has something extremely valuable. But, mostly, it’s a book about starting over, making friends, finding love, and a good cup of coffee with an excellent pastry.

The subtitle of this book is “A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes” and that pretty much sums it up. Not much happens. Even the problems don’t amount to much. But, it was delightful to listen to. Baldree did an excellent job narrating his book, and I was delighted to listen as they invented iced drinks, cinnamon rolls, biscotti, and chocolate croissants. So, no, nothing happened. But it was incredibly enjoyable anyway.

Godkiller

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by Hannah Kaner
First sentence: “Her father fell in love with a god of the sea.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is a lot of violence, a lot of swearing (including f-bombs), and some off-screen sex. It’s in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Kissen has spent the past 15 years, since her family was sacrificed to the fire god Hestra and she alone survived, learning how, and actually killing gods. It helps that the king of the country she lives in has banned all worship of gods; it makes her business as a veiga is lucrative. And then one day, a 12-year-old girl, Inara, finds Kissen, asking her to help find a way to split her from the god (of white lies) that she is bonded to. Which means a journey to Blendaren, the home of the Gods. Along the way, they meet a baker-knight, who is on his own quest, and the three of them will face the city of the gods together.

Except this book is a lot more than “a godkiller, a girl, and an errant knight” go on a quest. There’s an exploration of trauma, of duty, of loyalty and honor. But there is also some bad-ass demon kicking and god fighting. I adored the characters, I loved the way they interacted, and the world Kaner built. We’re just beginning to explore the mythology of all the gods and the politics of the world, and I am here for it.

Absolutely worth the hype.

Audiobook: Stars in Your Eyes

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by Kacen Callender
Read by a full cast
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Release date: October 10, 2023
Content: There is a lot of swearing, drinking, and some off-screen drug use. There is also a couple of on-page sex scenes. The book also deals frankly with sexual abuse and trauma. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Mattie Cole is Hollywood’s Golden Boy, an up-and-coming actor who can’t do any wrong. Logan Gray is a pariah in Hollywood, a child actor with a reputation for being difficult, and a playboy. It’s one thing that they’re cast as romantic leads in a new rom-com, but it becomes more complicated when the are told to pretend to be in a relationship for publicity’s sake.

It sounds like a delightful romance, yes? Except this is Kacen Callender we’re talking about. They don’t write fluff. No, Callender has taken the grumpy/sunshine fake-dating tropes and layered on individuals dealing with their own trauma, which makes things so much more complicated. There are issues of sexual abuse, neglect, shame, accepting one’s true self, consent… and the list goes on.

What you will get in this book is a gut-punch of emotions, and characters you genuinely care about. I also ended up thinking a lot about the way society treats celebrities, and the things that are expected from them to “satisfy” their “fans”. it’s a complex, profound book, that is only masquerading as a romance.

And I loved it so much.