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by Linda Holmes
First sentence: “The trick was not to be noisy.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: Feb 25, 2025
Review copy sent by the publisher and given to me by a coworker who knows I like Linda Holmes’s books.
Content: There is some swearing, including a couple f-bombs, and some off-screen, mostly fade-to-black sex. It will be in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Cecily is a podcast producer and mostly likes her job. She’s not really valued at the company she works for – her ex took the only successful show she ever worked on and that was four years ago and she’s stuck doing mostly the jobs no one wants to do. That is, until the bosses decide to create a dating podcast, the premise is that the dating influencer Eliza will set Cecily up with her perfect mate using Logic and Data and not her gut. Cecily has no interest in a relationship, but she agrees to the premise, if only to protect her job and that of some of her co-workers.

The problem comes when Cecily accidentally meets a guy – Will – who is nothing like the men that Cecily wants her to date. And even though she’s trying to give the podcast her all, she keeps bumping into Will, and they seem to have that undeniable Chemistry. But, will she give in to her heart? Or what Eliza and the demands of the podcast?

In many ways, this is a lot like Is She Really Going Out With Him? – similar enough to be notable. But, even though it’s similar, it’s not the same. I liked Holmes’ take on podcasts (she should know, being on the long-running NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour) and it was interesting to see the work that goes into producing a successful podcast. I did like the logic vs. heart aspect of the story (spoiler, though not really: heart wins out) and Cecily’s journey to figure out what she wants in a relationship and how to get it. I liked the banter between Cecily and Will and the way that their relationship developed. Holmes is good with chemistry, though I think she’s just good at writing normal people well. I liked that Cecily would do anything for her sister or her friends, and the female bonds in the story.

In short, it was a good all-around, charming book.

It’s Cybils Day!

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And, being on the Round 2 panel for Elementary/Middle-Grade Fiction, this is my to-read pile for the next 6 weeks:

Not pictured: Grow Up, Luchy Zapata by Alexandra Alessandri because I gave away the ARC and another copy hasn’t come in yet.

You can see all the lists here!

My Best of 2024

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It’s been year, honestly. I read a LOT more romance than I have in the past; I blame my co-workers, but I haven’t really minded. I read a lot less YA and Middle Grade than usual, but maybe times and seasons. Even so, ending the year at 130 books is nothing to sneeze at.

By the numbers:

Middle Grade: 28
Young Adult: 10
Graphic Novels: 21
Adult Fiction: 54
Non-Fiction: 17
Total: 130

Number that were Speculative fiction (not including graphic novels):
Number that were by BIPOC authors: 28 (21% this year, and most of it was by Asian authors, though I did read 4 books by Indigenous authors, which is a lot for me.)
Number by Latine authors: 5
Number I reread: 9 (well, 8 Amulet books and one other book)
Number I abandoned: not sure, actually…. probably more than I think.

And the way I read books?

The top three I turned in at work:

A Sorceress Comes to Call

(And the bonus three best that were new to me this year, but not new out this year):

My genres:

(The Horror there isn’t really a horror book…)

The authors I read most this year?

(I reread the entire Amulet series, which is why Kazu is up there on number #1!)

And it’s been such a middling reading year for me…

So my personal top ten would probably be these (I’m not counting re-reads), not in any particular order:

A Sorceress Comes to Call
Here We Go Again

So not a bad year, in all.

Here’s to 2025!

(A plug for the Cybils finalists announcement dropping tomorrow; I’m excited to read for the Elementary/Middle-Grade Fiction category!)

Monthly Round-Up: December 2024

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Between the Christmas movies and activities and just the busy-ness of working retail at the holidays, I just didn’t get a lot read, and most of them were short. Oh well. Some months are just like that. I’m going to pick the only holiday book I managed to read this month as my favorite:

Let It Glow (audiobook)

As for the rest:

Adult Fiction:

Swordheart
Is She Really Going Out With Him? (audiobook)
Thornhedge

Graphic Novel

Fresh Start

Middle Grade

The Bletchley Riddle

Non-fiction:

Bone of the Bone (audiobook)

Up tomorrow: my year in review!

Thornhedge

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by T. Kingfisher
First sentence: “In the early days, the wall of thorns had been distressingly obvious.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some mild swearing and a couple instances of violence.

Toadling is a human who was raised in faerie and sent back to the human world with one purpose: to protect the humans from the changeling that was left in Toadling’s place. It didn’t go well, and as a result, Toadling put the changeling to sleep and grew a hedge of thorns and brambles around it to keep people out. Two hundred years pass, and eventually, a semi-failed knight, Halim, comes around asking questions. Toadling tries to warn him off, but he becomes fascinated by her, and eventually, she warms to him, and she knows she shouldn’t tell him about the maiden in the tower…

Ah, much like all of the other Kingfisher books I’ve read, there is a heroine that’s not badass or charismatic or even beautiful. There’s a small problem that needs to be solved, one that will get bigger if it’s not. And even though she doesn’t think she can, the heroine always manages to do what needs to be done, even if it’s only by accident. They are charming books, but also ones with teeth, for the worlds Kingfisher creates are never not dangerous. I adore her writing, I adore her storytelling, and although I’m not brave enough to read her horror (yet), I will happily read everything else she’s written.

Audiobook: Is She Really Going Out With Him?

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by Sophie Cousens
Read by Kerry Gilbert
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some swearing, including multiple f-bombs, and a couple of fade-to-black sex scenes. It’s in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Anna Appleby is just trying to keep her job as a columnist at a Bath magazine. Except there is someone – Will – in-house who is trying to steal her thunder and the new bosses want something more “intimate” out of her. So, she finds herself with a gimmick: she and will will run complimentary dating columns, and hers will be an offline one, where her two kids (ages 13 and 7) pick out who she’s going to date.

As Anna goes on both weird and interesting dates, she comes to realize that the one person she keeps thinking about is probably out of bounds. And she’s not really interested in a relationship. Or is she?

This one was incredibly charming. I liked the premise a lot – there were silly dates and uncomfortable dates, and the people Anna met (and not just the ones she went out with) were just delightful. I did like the push and pull between her and Will and thought that they were both stubborn and fun together. I did like the added level of Anna dealing with her ex and his new girlfriend, and the complications with co-parenting.

And Kerry Gilbert was an absolutely delightful narrator to share the journey with. This one was lot of fun!

Fresh Start

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by Gale Galligan
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work
Release date: January 7, 2025
Content: There is some online bullying and talk of periods. It will be in the Middle-Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Ollie moves a lot because of her dad’s job and so she’s decided that nothing she does really matters. Embarrassing moment at school? Doesn’t matter; we’re moving soon. Fallout with friends? Doesn’t matter; we’re moving soon. Until her dad takes a job in Virginia (after being overseas for much of Ollie’s 12 years) and her parents buy a house: they’re going to stay put for a while.

Which means Ollie actually needs to adapt and figure out how to make friends and find her place in the world.

This one was super fun and charming. I loved Galligan’s illustrations, and I liked that she balanced Ollie figuring out how to fit in with people who had grown up together and stay true to herself. I loved the relationship Ollie had with her sister, Cat, and that they had some honest struggles with their parents. I liked that Ollie’s mom is Thai, and there was that cultural element as Ollie struggles with not being “Thai” enough.

It was just all-around enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Swordheart

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by T. Kingfisher
First sentence: “Halla of Rutger’s Howe had just inherited a great deal of money and was therefore spending her evening trying to figure out how to kill herself.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: February 25, 2025 (though you can get the original paperback here)
Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work.
Content: There’s some swearing (maybe some f-bombs? They didn’t stand out), and some fade-to-black sex. It will be in the Romance section of the bookstore.

Halla is a respectable 36-year-old widow who has spent the past 15 years carrying for Silas, her dead husband’s uncle, as he aged and eventually died. As payment (thanks?), Silas leaves everything to Halla, something which her dead husband’s other relatives have issue with. So, what she decides is that all of this would go away if she were dead, and she unsheaths an antique sword Silas had tucked away to do the deed. Except the sword turns out to be a man – Sarkis – who is tasked with serving the wielder of the sword, which happens to be Halla. What Sarkis expects is a lot of fighting…. what he gets is a very long journey to the temple of the Rat God to petition for help solving the inheritance problem, and then a very long journey back.

It sounds like a whole lot of nothing, but Kingfisher is brilliant in making the nothing so much fun. There are laugh-aloud moments, there is a lot of back-and-forth silliness between Sarkis and Halla (not to mention the Rat Priest, Zale, who is pretty delightful themselves) and a very charming slow-burn romance. I usually don’t like the slow burn ones, but this was, well, charming, cozy, delightful, and very rewarding. It’s not spicy, but I found it didn’t matter. It’s very much like a warm hug of a book, one that you read with a smile on your face the whole time. I wanted to finish it faster than I did, but I’m glad I lingered. And yes, I would happily revisit the land for other stories (I think this is a reprint of a book that’s part of a series? I am going to see if I can find the others) set here.

And I’ll reiterate something I’ve come to believe: I’ll read pretty much anything Kingfisher writes (I’m trying to work up the courage to read her horror, too).

Audiobook: Let it Glow

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by Marissa Meyer and Joanne Levy
Read by Gabi Epstein & Rebecca Soler
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is the relative safety issue of the girls switching places that some parents might have a problem with. Also, one of the grandparents in the story has a fall and ends up in the hospital. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Aviva Davis wants to have the perfect Hanukkah, something which her not-very-observant Jewish family doesn’t seem to do. She wants everything perfect from the menorah to the latkes. And while she wants to participate in the pageant her grandmother’s retirement center is putting on, she’s not sure she’s quite qualified to be the Jewish representation. Holly Martin is just at the retirement home because her mom is trying to convince Holly’s grandpa that he needs more help than they are able to give him at home. Holly has no intention of being a part of the pageant, but then she stumbles on Aviva, who is a carbon copy of Holly. They’re both adopted, they both have the same birthday, they both look alike… is it possible they are twins?

From there, the plot spins out in a very Parent Trap-like direction: Aviva and Holly trade homes to experience what the other holiday is like (Holly celebrates Christmas), while trying to figure out if their parents knew about being twins and just didn’t tell them. It’s a lot about blood family versus adopted family,

This was a very sweet holiday story, made better by the narrators, who were just amazing. I liked how they brought both Holly’s and Aviva’s personalities to life, how they made all the improbabilities of the whole situation make perfect sense. It was charming and adorable, and I enjoyed every minute of the audiobook.

Audiobook: Bone of the Bone

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by Sarah Smarsh
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen on Libro.fm
Content: There is talk of sexual assault and swearing, including a few f-bombs. It’s in the Kansas section (I think? It’s kind of everywhere right now.) of the bookstore.

This book is a series of essays Smarsh wrote for other publications, spanning from 2013-2024. They hit upon all her usual subjects: class divide, political issues (especially ones here in Kansas – both Brownback and the 2017 special election in Wichita made an appearance), and the rural-urban divide all made an appearance.

And that, in the end, was my problem with the book. At the beginning, I thought it was smart and relevant and interesting… but as the essays went on, I realized that Smarsh really only has one thing to say: rural people are not a monolith and they deserve respect and political attention. Which is a good thing, to be sure. But, a whole book where each new essay is a re-hashing of something she said in the previous essay gets tedious. On the one hand, I’d rather people be reading this than Hillbilly Elegy; on the other hand, I’d rather they be reading Poverty by America than this. And honestly, if you want to read a Smarsh book, read Heartland.

I did bail on this one after about listening to 3/4 of it. Smarsh is a fine narrator of her own work, I just got tired of the same thing over and over. Maybe, if she decides to write a work of long-form journalism, I’ll read that. This one wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t absolutely enamored with it, either.