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Posts by Jane J

Fresh off the farm

Cover of Garlic & the Vampire
A review of Garlic & the Vampire by Bree Paulsen

Garlic, of the title, is one of the vegetables brought to life by a witch named Agnes. They all work with Agnes in her garden and at her market stall. Garlic is happy and eager, but she's also anxious that she gets things right - at which she doesn't always succeed. One day after returning from the market Potato notices that there is smoke rising from the castle in the woods. Since the castle is supposed to be empty, the vegetables are alarmed. When Agnes tells them that it may be a vampire has returned, their alarm turns to panic.

Aug 5, 2022

Kingfisher's cure-all

Cover of Paladin's Grace
A review of Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher

I've mentioned in a few other posts how my reading tastes lately have leaned to stories that take me to other worlds and center on honorable characters. And with that reading quest in mind, a co-worker (thank you Amy S!) suggested T. Kingfisher. And a better balm to the soul, it would be harder to find. In this, the first in the Saint of Steel trilogy, we meet a paladin whose god has died and a perfumer who has escaped an abusive past.

Aug 2, 2022

The play's not the thing

Cover of The Appeal
A review of The Appeal by Janice Hallett

I started this novel with not much information. I thought the title referenced a legal appeal, and there is one on deck here, but it also references an appeal for money in a fundraising campaign for a child with cancer. A couple of junior attorneys are tasked with looking back at the epistolary record of a case (emails, letters, texts, etc) and determine if there is an argument for a legal appeal.

Jul 28, 2022

Be careful what you wish for

Cover of Nothing But the Truth
A review of Nothing But the Truth by Holly James

The night before her thirtieth birthday Hollywood publicist Lucy Green is waiting for her boyfriend, again, when the bartender offers to make her a special cocktail. As she takes her first drink Lucy makes a wish for a perfect birthday - perhaps on which her boyfriend will finally propose. Little does she know that that wish will upend her entire life. She wakes the next morning and soon realizes that she's not able to lie. What's a publicist, who lies pretty routinely for her very sensitive and temperamental clients, to do?

Jul 22, 2022

One more gig

Cover of Kings of the Wyld
A review of Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

Kings of the Wyld has a Band of old, fat and worn out men getting together for one last tour. Only this is a band of mercenaries once known as Saga and the tour is a trek across the realm battling monsters, magicians, crooks and other mercenaries along the way. Their quest? Defeat a horde of thousands of monsters to reach a besieged city and rescue the daughter of one of the members. Easy, peasy, right?

Jul 7, 2022

Donuts and the Devil

Cover of Light from Uncommon Stars
A review of Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

Katrina Nguyen escapes her abusive home with nothing but a few dollars and her violin. A connection within the LGBTQIA community brings her to the San Gabriel Valley in hopes of starting fresh. But the scars (literal and figurative) of her past are not easily erased and she's not sure what she'll do next when her beloved violin is stolen by the "friends" who promised to help. Enter Shizuka Satomi.

Jun 16, 2022

Space western done very right

Cover of Ten Low
A review of Ten Low by Stark Holborn

In a recent review I made mention of how cozy fantasy novels have been a soothing mental escape in recent months (years?). Totally true. Also true is that I am finding mental solace in darker fare as well. The common thread for both of these forms of reading relaxation are places and stories that can transport me and protagonists with a strong sense of self and their own code of honor.

May 26, 2022

A place to call home

Cover of Legends & Lattes
A review of Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Travis Baldree's debut novel is a member of what's being called 'cozy SFF' in some parts of the interwebs (okay, I admit I found it on #booktok). Cozy science fiction and fantasy is just that, it's certainly imaginative and involves beings and creatures fresh and innovative, but it's also warm,  good hearted and even funny. Sample titles, in case you need more of an idea, All Systems Red by Martha Wells or The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J.

May 16, 2022

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