The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi

Gretchen Trujillo is now a mid-level bureaucrat ten years after a hard won peace has been gingerly accepted across the universe. Different species have been trying to work together to maintain the peace, but the Consu have made a decision about Earth which threatens everything.

I don't think I've tried to disguise that John Scalzi is one of my favourite authors and he knocks it out of the park again. The seventh book in the Old Man's War series, you really should read the first six, but you could read this one as a standalone, there's enough exposition dropped that things should make sense.

One of the things I love about Scalzi's writing is that he evokes the best of the Golden Age (Heinlein, Asimov, etc) without the baggage from that era. The Shattering Peace is a space romp and you should go read it right now!

Recommended for all!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Maiden and her Monster by Maddie Martinez

Malka knows that the forest eats the young women of her village if they are out after dark. The Ozmini Church doesn't care about that, it only cares about the tithes it wrings out of her village and others. When her mother is taken by the Church, Malka vows to kill the monster to prove to the Church the monster is real and save her mother. But the monster is not what Malka expects and together they may save their world.

This is an exquisitely written adult fairy tale. Martinez underpins her story with Jewish mysticism, giving it a depth of feeling that will resonate with you. I very much enjoyed this. Recommended highly.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Gnomes of Lychford by Paul Cornell

What could be terrorizing the village of Lychford? (Hint, it's gnomes.) And what could these diminutive people want? Why are they focusing on the village war memorial? Is the BBC podcaster now a believer? Will his tech person get a promotion out of this? Luckily, all these questions are answered.

Cornell provides a quick precis of events for those of us who may be a bit fuzzy which is greatly appreciated. I did like this, it's a quick read and feels very appropriate for world events right now. Don't start with this one, start from the beginning of the series or you will be somewhat lost.

Recommended!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Love Bites by Cynthia St. Aubin

Hanna Harvey needs a job so her cats will stop eyeing her up for snackability. She fudges a bit on her resume (we've all been there) and fakes her way through an interview with gorgeous art gallery owner Mark Abernathy for an assistant job. Thrilled to get the job, she is less thrilled when her boss' exes seem to start turning up dead and Detective James Morrison (I admit, I snickered every time I saw his name on the page) is determined to arrest Mark for murder.

Okay, I loved this! It's a quick read and I'm very happy that it's the start of a series. Funny without contorting the characters and plot just for laughs, I'd recommend this for adults, it is a bit spicy.

Looking forward to book two later this year!

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Honeyeater by Kathleen Jennings

Honeyeater is a fever dream of a book. It reads like a dream edging into a nightmare, that's really the best way I can describe it. It is deeply unsettling and will stick with you. I don't think I'll look at water courses quite the same way for a while.

Recommeded.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Starting from Here by Paula Saunders

Rene is fifteen and her ballet teacher has retired. Another teacher is in Phoenix, so Rene uproots herself and moves to Phoenix to board with another dance student's family. When that placement doesn't work out, she moves to Denver to continue her studies. Her coming of age in Phoenix, Denver, and finally New York is explored in this novel.

So this is what I like to refer to as a “book club book”. It is unrelentingly 'real life' and actually reads more like a memoir than a novel. It is bleak, bleak, bleak and there's no real resolution at the end. It's well written, and a fairly fast read, but there's not one thing that will make you smile or chuckle. (Look, I was born in the seventies, but surely to goodness they weren't this bleak, were they?)

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Toni and Addie Go Viral by Melissa Marr

Toni Darbyshire is in Scotland presenting at an academic conference when she finds out that her deceased grifter father has one last surprise for her – he managed to get her mother to sign for a lien against her house. Toni was hoping to be able to sell the house to afford her mother's memory care home.

Disheartened by this last act from a father she could never count on, and hoping against hope that her literary agent best friend can sell the novel she wrote as a break from her dissertation, Toni is very open to an encounter with a beautiful women dressed in a Victorian nightie (and Victorian appropriate undies).

Addie has been cyber stalking Toni as Toni makes Victorian history accessible for her, and she desperately wants a part in a stage play (aside – I would go see the play as described, it sounds really good!) to launch her acting career. Following Toni into a bar dressed in a Victorian nightie seems like a really great way to possibly get to know her....

Okay, I loved this book. Melissa Marr touches on a bunch of my favorite tropes, and while she also does one of my least favorite things (“just TALK to each other” I hiss at the book as I keep reading), in this particular book, it actually makes sense, so she's forgiven for that.

I was also touched by Marr's descriptions of Toni's mother – I watched my mom go through dementia as well and many things had me nodding my head. (Luckily, I never had a shoe thrown at me, although I did have to take away her knitting needles.)

Compulsively readable and recommended for adults as it's pretty spicy.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.