Book Review: Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Pros: feel good fantasy, low stakes

Cons:

After completing her last job as an adventurer, the orc Viv takes her final prize, the magical Scalvert Stone, which stories say can draw the heart's desire. She buys a used livery in Thune and fixes it up into a coffee shop. She has to find trustworthy workers, deal with the city's 'protection' gang, and show people who've never heard of coffee what they're missing.

This is a low key, feel good fantasy novel. Viv's a fun character with a shady past and her desire to start fresh is fun to watch. The book moves slowly and basically feels like settling back with a cup of coffee yourself, watching her go through the motions of setting up shop and then dealing with the challenges that come up. There's a hint of romance, but it's understated with very little tension or conflict.

It's a novel about friendship and doing your best and was a pleasure to read.

Book Review: Bound to be Beautiful by Bari Zaki

The book has 12 chapters plus an introduction, glossary, and resources. The first chapter goes over necessary tools and techniques for making the books included. Then the chapters cover a variety of binding options and book types, like accordion books, screw-post spines, and coptic-stitches. Some of the books use envelopes, and some of the 20 projects include things like covering pencils and butterfly clips with fancy paper.

There are 16 distinct bookbinding projects. Each project starts with a list of required materials and tools. Numbered step by step instructions are accompanied with letter labelled illustrations of most of the steps, so for example, step 2 is illustrated in image C. Bookbinding is complex, and Zaki does a good job of breaking down the steps. Having said that, it can be a little intimidating seeing everything required to put a hand made book together.

As an absolute beginner I felt lost sometimes going through the book. Some of the steps are a bit confusing. Sometimes it feels like there's a step missing, or I'm misunderstanding what's required. I had to read the instructions on what a paper sandwich was a few times to understand that this is to make a lined cover for softbound books. A short paragraph explaining what the paper sandwich was would have been helpful, not just the instructions on how to make one.

While the book has a lot of photos, I was surprised that the project chapters don't all start with an image of the finished binding/project in question. To see what you're making, you often have to skip to the end of that chapter, or even the end of the book.

The book is well made, but I feel like it's designed for people who have at least some experience with book binding already, enough that they're familiar with the terminology.

Book Review: Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim

Pros: thought provoking, unique mechanic

Cons:

When people move between boarders there's a chance that their curiosity and uncertainty will create an instance of themselves, a version that stays behind while they move forwards, allowing them to, in essence, live both possible futures. When Soyoung and her mother moved from Korea to the United States, they left instances behind. Twenty years later, now going by Rose, she's invited to visit Korea for her grandfather's funeral where she meets her instance that stayed in Korea for the first time. She doesn't know that her grandfather has left her some possessions in his will. She doesn't know that her instance is considering his dying wish, for them to reintegrate.

The book is told from the alternating points of view of Rose and Soyoung, with Yj and Yujin also getting chapters later in the book. Chapter headings explain whose point of view you're inhabiting. The narratives are first person present, which gives the book a feeling of immediacy. It's strange to read though, and took a while to get used to.

I love how the author uses historical literature to give intancing a historical precident. It makes the idea feel weightier. The idea of instancing itself is a unique mechanic for examining how people act and how their own histories change them. It's especially interesting to see how the characters actions and desires change as they learn more about themselves as the book progresses. The book seems to propose that the conditions that lead to forming an instance upon crossing a border also leaves both parts less decisive moving forward. They end up in a state of stasis, unable to move forward with their lives. The book's premise poses a lot of thought provoking questions.

I wasn't really a fan of Rose or Soyoung, as they're not the nicest people. But I found them compelling characters to follow. At times I wanted to take one or both of them aside and tell them to think about the consequences of their actions before they did something drastic. I started out liking Yj and Yujin more, though my feelings toward them became complicated as their relationship became more complex

The book includes a lot of untranslated and unexplained Korean terms. They're mostly food items, but some cultural terms are used too. I felt a little left out as a result, as I couldn't fully understand the text, but I don't think it harms the book at all. And honestly, feeling a little left out gives me a window into how all of the protagonists in the book feel. That the other version of themselves had what they lack. Obviously there will be some readers who know all the Korean, so I suspect this was just a thematically lucky coincidence.

The more I think about the book the more layers I uncover. And there's a lot to think about. It's a challenging, brilliant first novel.

Book Review: Chai and Charmcraft by Lynn Strong

Pros: interesting world building with a mix of Egyptian deities and catfolk, conversations feel realistic, highly descriptive

Cons: very long chapters, slow pacing, some confusion about the world and untranslated terms

After a lifetime of following the rules and causing no trouble, the God-Emperor's brother and prophet, His Imperial Highness Nur-ul-Shuruq Faraj al-Nadhir, sneaks away from the palace in which he lives to visit the proprietor of a bathhouse from his prophetic visions, in the Catsprowl for a night of unbridled passion. When his lover is forced to resummon his cat familiar, Faraj ends up accidentally summoning his own spirit-summoned familiar, a pregnant cat. But the palace doesn't allow cats, especially not ones tied to the soul that can be used to harm or spy on members of the royal family.

The book's stakes are fairly low, trying to change things so cats - or at least Faraj's familiar - are allowed in the palace, and hiding the identity of Faraj's low class lover, so he can't be used against the prince. As the book progresses, there is a decent amount of talk about political maneuvering, especially around the various priests congregating in the city. There was one fairly tense dinner scene, but for the most part the book maintains a low key, cozy feel to it.

The world building is such that the place feels lived in. There's a real ambiance to it based loosely on medieval Egypt. I absolutely loved the catfolk and the complex mix of gods and goddesses worshipped. The author sprinkles in a lot of untranslated terms that are mostly understandable from context. Though it did take me most of the book to realize that kulhad were cups holding chai, rather than denoting a drink. Some things about the world weren't really clear to me. I was confused by whether the priests of Upaja and Bastet worshipped in the same temple or had their own distinct practices. I also questioned a few aspects, like the priests of Upaja were said to carry no coin and collected alms so they could cook and provide food to the poor. These priests are also said to be rotund and when the High Priest serves Faraj he has access to high end snack foods. While the citizenry apparently joke about their weight, no one accuses them of eating the offerings themselves thereby taking food from starving supplicants. When orders devoted to poverty start having overweight clerics, that's usually a sign of corruption and lax devotion.

There is a vocabulary and condensed character guide at the end of the book, though a lot of terms, like kulhad and haveli aren't included. Though the guide is mentioned in the table of contents, I didn't realize it was there until I finished the book. The guide does go over a bunch of terms and the identities of the priests, so it's a good reference. There are also recipes and some other end notes.

The prologue contains an off page gay sex scene. There are mild flirtations and some foreplay, but there's nothing detailed beyond kissing. Later in the book there's some more flirtation and innuendo, but it's otherwise a tame book.

For some reason the first chapter is called a prologue. Prologues are generally set off from the text by time, distance, or character point of view. So it's really strange that the author put the events that kick off the plot in one. Apparently some younger readers are skipping prologues these days, feeling they're unnecessary, and will find themselves very confused if they do that with this book as chapter 1 picks up the morning after.

The early chapters are very long and while the conversations feel realistic, they often stall the story's momentum. The prologue and first chapter set-up the scene, but then it takes several chapters for Faraj to arrive back at his palace and anything new of interest to happen. Scene changes were nice, and the first few pages of each chapter were interesting, but quickly got bogged down in long-winded chatter. I found on the whole that the second half of the book was much more engaging as it brings in a lot of political intrigue. There may be too much intrigue if you're looking for a relaxing cozy, as it made me think about justice, laws, and fairness in society.

There are some sweet scenes of people preparing food together and seeing the kittens of the Catfolk ask Furaj for treats was fun. Faraj and his lover, Asharin, are both very kind and I was hoping to see more of them together in this book. My favourite character was the heretical Archivist Najra who steals every scene she's in.

Overall, while I thought the book had some good points, like interesting characters and detailed prose, the length of the book became a hindrance for me.

Book Review: Stay a Spell by Amy Coombe

Pros: caring protagonist, bookshop setting, saphic secondary romance, really tugs at the heartstrings at times

Cons: made me cry

Princess Tanadelle de Courcy is in Little Pepperidge to dedicate it's new market square when she runs out of books to read. Desperate for a distraction from her boring royal duties, she visits a bookshop. Her world is turned upside down when she's cursed by the owner to stay until she discovers her heart's desire. Now in charge of the shop, she relishes the first real freedom she's ever had, flirting with a handsome sailor and trying to drum up customers. But she dreads her parents' reaction, knowing they will stop at nothing to break the curse, even if it means sending the 7 princes of the realm to kiss her.

This is a sweet, cozy romance with a lot of heart. Tandy's such a warmhearted and loving princess, and she tries so hard to make everyone around her happy. It's hard not to follow everyone in the book's example by falling in love with her. Watching her learn how to flirt with the sailor is almost painfully cute. I loved seeing her become self-sufficient, learning simple magic to cook and clean, and watching her joy at being able to read any book she wanted late into the night.

The book is LGBT friendly, with a fun romance between two teen girls who end up helping Tandy with the shop.

There are some mildly humiliating things that happen to Tandy, which made me feel bad for her. The book tugs at the heartstrings at times and made my cry at more than one point.

This is a low stakes story with a low spice level that has one fade to black love scene and some cute flirting and banter. The story is heartfelt, sweet and lovely. It is suitable for YA and adult readers.

Book Review: The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst

Pros: sweet story, gorgeous and inventive setting, interesting magic

Cons:

Cursed to become a statue for performing an illegal act of sorcery, Terlu is surprised to be awakened in a snowy forest. She finds herself on an island full of enchanted greenhouses whose magic is failing. Their keeper, Yarrow, believes she can fix them, but she doesn't know how to and isn't sure it's worth the risk of performing more illegal magic.

I loved the book. It's the second in the Spellshop series but stands alone very well. I haven't read the first book yet, but plan to after reading this. The stakes were mostly low key, so I never felt stressed about how the plot would be resolved. And I really needed to read something cozy and unstressful. The few tense moments the book had were filled with hope and heart and people doing their best, working together in difficult circumstances. Terla and Yarrow were both honestly good characters who wanted the greenhouses to survive for each other to be happy. The food Yarrow cooked sounded delicious, though I did start to wonder why everything tasted like spring or summer to Terla.

While the idea of greenhouses on their own isn't inventive, Durst fills them with a mix of practical garden vegetables, beautiful flowers, and exquisite magic. Some of the rooms and the creatures within are wondrous and I'd love to visit for real and see them for myself. The sentient plants were a mix of fun and annoying, but I love the idea of them and enjoyed the variety of personalities on display. I loved how magic worked in this world. As someone who's studied several languages, it was neat seeing Terla parse the various meanings words can have and experiment with spells. I loved the winged cat and feel that more fantasy worlds should include them.

The romance was understated and sweet. It progressed naturally and felt measured. There's nothing on the page beyond a few kisses and cuddles, making this appropriate for YA and adult audiences. It is LGBT friendly, with one lesbian couple showing up a side characters later in the book.

If you're looking for a feel good romance with a lot of plants and no spice, this is for you.

Book Review: The One by John Marrs

Pros: interesting characters, constant plot twists, suspenseful, thought provoking

Cons:

What would you do if there was a scientific way of finding THE ONE, that one person in the whole world who completes you? This is the story of 5 people who take the test, get their matches, and discover that finding THE ONE isn’t at all what they expected.

The book is a near sci-fi psychological suspense. While I did anticipate a few twists, the characters made so many unexpected decisions and were thrown such wild situations that I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next.

The book cycles through the five protagonists, and leaves you on constant mini cliffhangers as they discover something new before the narrative swaps to the next character. This keeps things fast paced and interesting. The characters themselves were intriguing and varied, with all of them coming from different backgrounds and wanting something different from their match. It’s interesting seeing what they’re willing to give up and do for their matched partners.

I found the premise thought provoking and the author does a great job of showing how a variety of people react to finding their match. While a lot of the turmoil the program unleashed is hand waved away by some of the protagonists, it’s clear that this has largely reshaped the world and how people approach marriage and relationships.

I though the ending followed the consequences of the protagonists choices and so felt satisfying.

This is an exciting, quick paced, read.

Book Review: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold By Seanan McGuire

Pros: interesting world-building, beautiful prose

Cons:

The book picks up a few months in our world after the events of Mislaid in Parts Half-Known. Nancy, living in the Halls of the Dead, where time passes slower, is forced to flee when the hungry ghosts start killing her fellow living statues. She asks her former classmates at Miss Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children for aid, and though it’s against the school’s rules, they embark on another quest.

The book has a beautiful lyricism to it. McGuire’s prose often reads like poetry with a lot of pointed commentary on the human condition. Though the Halls of the Dead have shown up in previous books, we get to learn more about it and it’s rulers. We also get to learn more about Talia, who’s briefly mentioned in the previous book.

It’s cool seeing how the kids’ various talents help them solve the problem. The novella’s the perfect length for this adventure.

Book Review: System Collapse by Martha Wells

Book 7 of the Murderbot Diaries

Pros: character development, some interesting fight scenes

Cons: some of the quieter sections dragged a bit

System Collapse picks up a short time after Network Effect. Perihelion’s crew is trying to help the colonists on the colony planet reject the claim over them by the Barish-Estranza corporation. They learn of a group that split off and is living in a blackout zone, so Murderbot and a small group go to warn them of what’s going on.

A redacted traumatic event has reduced Murderbot’s operating capacity and lowered its self-confidence. Murderbot’s avoidance of emotion hampers its recovery, even as it makes the SecUnit less able to do its job. Murderbot feels the most human in this book. I thought their resolution to the separated group was brilliant. There are a few honest laughs and more snarky humour.

There are a few fight scenes, but not as many as the previous book.

I did find some of the exploration scenes tense, but they got a bit boring as they stretched on. Though I felt that more my second time reading it than the first.

On the whole it’s an interesting story with Murderbot having to face its trauma, despite its attempts not to.

=> The next book is Platform Decay, coming out in May 2026.

Book Review: Network Effect by Martha Wells

Book 5 of the Murderbot Diaries, but chronologically comes after book 6, Fugitive Telemetry

Pros: lots of character development, fight scenes, exciting twists

Cons:

Network Effect starts with the survey mission mentioned in Fugitive Telemetry. The survey team returns to Preservation space and is immediately attacked by a transport. Murderbot is horrified to learn it’s ART/Perihelion. It needs to learn what happened to its friend while keeping Mensah’s daughter alive.

The story is novel (rather than novella) length, and it needs the space. It’s a fast paced story with a lot of exciting twists. There are some nice flashback scenes on Preservation planet that help develop Murderbot more as a complex entity. This novel also brings up trauma more and how individuals (human, bot, and construct) deal with it. There are some great fight scenes and banter among the characters. Murderbot’s narrative is sarcastic at all the right times.

There’s so much going on and such fun conversations that this is probably my favourite book in the series.

=> The next book to read is System Collapse.

Book Review: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Book 4 of the Murderbot Diaries

Pros: lots of action, clever hacking and planning, character development

Cons:

After its mission on Milu, Murderbot learns that Dr. Mensah has been kidnapped by the GrayCris corporation and heads to TranRollinHyfa to rescue her.

It’s nice seeing some of the characters from All Systems Red again, and how they react to Murderbot’s evolution. There’s a lot of clever hacking and some great chase and fight sequences. Seeing Murderbot back with its favourite human was awesome. I had *feelings* when Murderbot let Mensah hug it. We also learn why it likes The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon so much. As the books progress there’s more subtext regarding trauma and how different entities are impacted by it. An event at the end of the book shows Murderbot some of the benefits of its human side, which is neat. As always, Murderbot's narrative is full of an enjoyable dry humour.

This is one of my favourite novellas in the series.

=> There’s a short story called “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” that fits in before the next book. It deals with Mensah on Preservation Station and how she’s coping in the aftermath of her kidnapping.

While Network Effect was published as book 5, Fugutive Telemetry chronologically comes next.

Book Review: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

This is the 3rd book in the Murderbot Diaries series.

Pros: complex fight scenes, character development

Cons:

This novella picks up where Artificial Condition leaves off, with Murderbot on a transport arriving at RaviHyral station. It sees an interview with Mensah talking about a terraforming platform recently abandoned by GrayCris, and decides to check it out to see if they’ve left any incriminating evidence behind. Sneaking aboard means befriending a bot and protecting a new group of humans.

Murderbot needs to lie its way through a bunch of human and bot encounters, trying to keep its story straight. There’s corporate intrigue and some great fight scenes. Since it doesn’t have access to a repair cubicle or medsystem anymore, Murderbot needs to be more careful about taking damage. So it’s getting clever about how it approaches conflict. It’s really cool seeing it learn and develop as the series goes on.

Murderbot’s dry sense of humour shines through. The fight scenes are great and again, while the novella is short, it’s impactful.

=> The next book in the series is Exit Strategy.

Book Review: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Book 2 of the Murderbot Diaries

Pros: interpersonal conflict, new settings and characters, lots of hacking

Cons:

Beginning directly after the events in All Systems Red, Murderbot hitches a ride on the intelligent transport ART to the mining installation where its mass murder event took place. It needs to reconcile its past before it can decide its future. But visiting the installation means pretending to be an augmented human security consultant. Luckily ART has some ideas to help it with that.

Murderbot and ART are both sarcastic and start off rubbing each other the wrong way, making their interactions very entertaining to read. You get a great feel for the concerns Murderbot has about getting caught while trying to investigate its past. It doesn’t know how to act like a human, so it’s fun watching it help the young humans who don’t know what they’re doing either. More of the wider world is hinted at, with other corporations that put profits over people.

It’s a novella, so it’s on the short side, but the story packs a punch.

=> If you’re reading the short stories as well as the novellas, here is where you read “Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy”. This story centres on ART/Perihelion’s crew and a mission they’re on as they wonder why their intelligent transport seems different after it’s last unmanned cargo run.

Otherwise, the next book in the series is Rogue Protocol

History Book Review: Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year by Eleanor Parker

The book details the seasonal beliefs and festivals of the Anglo-Saxons by examining each season and some of its special aspects. After the introduction each season has 3 chapters breaking down it’s most important aspects, followed by references and bibliography.

This is a fascinating book. It’s interesting seeing how daily life changed with the season but the author does so much more. She examines how the Anglo-Saxons FELT about each season, like how winter ice kept them landlocked and trapped. She goes over various terms they used for the seasons and holy days, if and how those changed with the coming of Christianity. To the extent that the primary sources allow, she also details how various holy days were celebrated

There are lots of quotes from various Anglo-Saxon works. I learned about a few new sources I’d like to look up. There are no illustrations in the book, but it doesn’t really need them. This isn’t a visual tour, it’s an intellectual and emotional one.

I found this an interesting book that taught me a lot about how Anglo-Saxons thought about the world and how they lived and celebrated throughout the year.

Book Review: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire

Pros: great characters, thought provoking

Cons:

Nadya was abandoned to a Russian orphanage on birth, having been born without a right hand. She never considers herself lacking something until a Christian American couple adopts her and gets her a prosthetic. Unsure of her future, she falls through a door into a world with giant talking turtles.

This is book 10 of the Wayward Children series, but it is an origin story novella, so while Nadya is a main character in Beneath the Sugar Sky (book 3), you don’t need to read that to understand her story here. Nor do you need to have read any of the previous book to have a full understanding of this book.

McGuire is a master of creating empathy with her characters. Her clear but lyrical prose allows you to follow Nadya’s thoughts regarding her missing hand - how she doesn’t feel its lack, nor does she feel it needs replacing to be ‘whole’. Too often books align with the parents in this situation, expecting gratefulness from the recipient of their ‘aid’, unwanted and unnecessary as it may be.

It’s a thought provoking read, not only for the prosthetic, but also about Nadya’s adoption and some reasons why families choose that option and how it can affect the child in question.

I loved Nadya’s spirit and cleverness. Her kindness. Her resilience.

Belyyreka’s a challenging world to get your head around. I loved the giant turtles and how they were used in the story.

The ending, as usual for the origin novellas in this series, has an abrupt ending. We do know what happens to Nadya next, after this story ends. Strangely, that knowledge left me with more questions of how things go after the end of Beneath the Sugar Sky. Maybe those will be answered in a future novella.

If you haven’t read any of the Wayward Children books, this is another entry point that requires no previous knowledge, and it’s a great little story.

Book Review: Providence by Max Barry

Pros: interesting characters, asks some interesting questions

Cons: standard aliens, not the most charismatic crew

Jackson, Gilly, Beanfield and Anders are the human crew on the 5th Providence AI ship sent to battle against the alien “Salamanders”. But as their 4 year mission drags on they realize just how little the ship needs them, and how much the aliens seem to be learning from their encounters.

The chapters are told from the point of view of different characters, mainly Gilly, their Intel officer, and Beanfield, the Life officer (whose job it is to keep everyone sane). Things on the ship aren’t as they anticipated, and the characters have personalities that clash more than they complement.

I didn’t really like any of the characters for the first half of the book. Gilly seemed the most relatable, in certain ways. But as the story changed and you got POVs from all of them, their quirks became more understandable as you learned more of their histories and why they act the ways they do.

A lot of emphasis is put on manipulating people on Earth to pay for the war effort. Making videos showing how heroic the Providence crews are, risking their lives. I appreciated the extent to which psychology played a role in the book. There’s so much behind the scenes manipulation that the crew only become aware of as time passes.

The aliens, called Salamanders by the army, are the standard ‘bug’ that comes up in SF a lot. They have hives and appear somewhat intelligent, even if they mostly swarm ships en mass.

It’s an interesting read, with some good commentary on war, AI, and how humans manipulate each other.

Book Review: The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Pros: unique world, interesting characters, complex mystery

Cons:

Signum Dinios Kol is still an apprentice and only recently became assistant to the Iudex Investigator Anagosa Dolabra. So he’s nervous going alone to a murder scene and examining it for evidence. But he’s an engraver, altered to have an eidetic memory. The mode of death is horrifying and unusual enough that the investigation kicks up more questions than answers. When several other people die in the same manner in a city close to the sea walls, they go to investigate. But the wet season has started, and with the rains come monstrous titans, whose rampaging path has not always been stopped by the walls.

This is a murder mystery set in a very unique fantasy world. The first few chapters require a LOT of concentration, as you’re learning about the characters, the world, and the murder. Once the story moved to Talagray I found things easier to keep track of and really started enjoying the complexity of the case.

The Empire is large and complex. The book gives a real feel for the beaurocracy the underpins its workings and how important maintenance and the Legionnaires that man the walls keep it safe. I loved learning about the Sublimes and how various people have been altered to do specific jobs. I’d love to learn more about Apoths and their work in later books.

Dinios is dyslexic and needs to keep that fact hidden. His inability to easily read and write causes some problems with his investigations. He’s a serious young man and believes in the importance of what he’s doing. He notices everything, making him the perfect protagonist for a mystery novel.

Ana’s clearly autistic, and it’s interesting seeing how her direct questions and observations disconcert people. She absorbs a lot of varied information and is able to see connections others miss.

I appreciated that you’re given all the information the investigators have, so it pays to pay close attention. I found the case fascinating, with several interconnected parts, and enjoyed trying to piece things together on my own. I managed to figure out several things before they were revealed, which is always fun.

If you’re looking for a very different fantasy world and like a good mystery, pick this up.

Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Pros: interesting protagonist, optimistic SF

Cons: got a bit tedious at times

When Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship in an unknown location next to 2 dead astronauts he doesn’t know what’s going on or who he is. As the days pass he slowly pieces together that his mission is humaity’s last hope of stopping an invasive microscopic alien species that’s slowly devouring the sun’s energy. After arriving at his target, he learns that humanity isn’t the only species at risk.

This is a mostly hard SF novel. That is, there’s a lot of accurate science and math used to flesh out the made up scenarios. I appreciated that as an elementary school science teacher Grace explains complex things in simplistic terms, but towards the end the constant asides of formulas and calculations got a bit tedious.

The plot is interesting. Learning what happened on Earth via flashback’s that directly relate to what Grace is doing in the present was great. It allowed for character development and story progression. Rocky is also a wonderful character.

The book deals with alien contact in unique and often unexpected ways.

Humour is very subjective and hard to pull off well. I thought the author did a great job. While nothing was laugh out loud funny, I enjoyed how the author bypassed swearing. A few jokes were low brow body humour, which I am not a fan of, but I didn’t find anything particularly objectionable.

I loved how the world came together to build the Hail Mary. So often science fiction pits nations against each other, so having them co-operate made this feel more optimistic as a result, even though the situation was dire at times.

It’s a great book. I found it mostly fast paced and fairly quick to read.

Book Review: Fray by Rowenna Miller

Pros: interesting magic, political intrigue

Cons: pacing is a bit uneven

Several months have passed since the attempted revolt at midwinter and the Council of Nobles are preparing to vote on the new Reform Bill that Prince Theodor has advanced. Sophie Balstrade prepares to give up her seamstress business and accompany the prince to a trade conference in West Serafe. But trouble from home follows them there, as the nobles don’t intend to give up their power. Meanwhile Sophie’s casting ability has been faltering and she needs to figure out why, and if it can be recovered.

This is the second book in the Unravelled Kingdom series, and heavily depends on knowing what’s happened in book one. There’s less sewing and more magic and politicking in this book.

I love Sophie and seeing her relationship with Theo deepen is a real pleasure. They sometimes butt heads, being from different social strata, but work out their difficulties.

The magic is interesting. I love how Sophie sews charms, and seeing her abilities expand is fun. The musical magic gets examined a bit more and Sophie develops a new form of casting.

There is a lot of political intrigue. I love that there are no easy solutions to how to resolve problems of social and economic change. People in power don’t want to give that up. The book shows very realistic responses to the various solutions proposed. The brutality of people fighting for their future comes across.

I did find that some parts of the book were more interesting than others. The pacing got a bit uneven at times.

I enjoyed the book and can’t wait to read the final volume.

Book Review: Charming by Jade Linwood

Pros: fun characters with some unique takes on fairy tales

Cons: the story meanders, convoluted plan

Prince Charming has been rescuing women - and paying himself with half their treasuries - for years. Now, a group of his victims has banded together to bring him to justice.

This is an entertaining reworking of several classic fairytales, but with the idea that Prince Charming is a real cad. I enjoyed seeing how the author would rewrite each woman’s history. The characters were fun to watch, even - especially? - Charming.

Once the women got together and started their plot, things began to meander a bit. Their plan, as it’s revealed through the story, is so convoluted when you consider it after the fact, that it’s hard to believe it succeeded. The ending was also a bit lacking of consequence.

I did find it strange that with how many women he’d defrauded and how THEIR part of the stories travelled, that the prince wouldn’t be more easily recognized. He’s using the same name, just translated for new languages after all. Seems with a detailed description and his modus operandi new potential victims could be warned away.

It was a fun, quick read. Don’t think too hard about it. Just go along for the ride - and the reworked fairytales.