MADreads

Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors

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.

Posted by Jane J on Aug 5, 2022

Party girl, intellectual, recluse

Cover of Sex and Rage: Advice to Yo
A review of Sex and Rage: Advice to Young Ladies Eager for a Good Time by Eve Babitz

Eve Babitz is a woman who will not be pigeonholed. A fixture of the 1970s Los Angeles scene, she was an infamous party girl and muse. She was also an intellectual, artist, journalist, and novelist, whose talent was often overshadowed by her buxom stature and a hedonistic appetite for men, booze, and food. Now an elderly recluse, Babitz is receiving a righteous rediscovering, with a steady reissuing of her works over the last few years.

Posted by Tyler F on Aug 3, 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.

Posted by Jane J on Aug 2, 2022

A deadly crossing

Cover of Miss Aldridge Regrets
A review of Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare

In 24 hours, Lena Aldridge’s life has been turned upside down. She’s lost her job, witnessed a murder, possibly committed a few felonies and been offered the chance to make it big on the Broadway stage by a previously unknown family friend. For the young chanteuse, London’s Soho has always been home, but the lack of a job and entanglement in a murder offer little choice but to board the Queen Mary for New York. But first class on the luxury liner is no safe haven.

Posted by Katie H on Aug 1, 2022

A quest to save the future of all creatures

Cover of Wingbearer
A review of Wingbearer by Marjorie Liu

Zuli is determined to find out why the souls of birds have stopped returning to the Great Tree and bring them back. Adventures and mishaps happen one after another as she gets closer to finding out who’s responsible and learns about who she really is and what she’s capable of. There’s magic and a slew of magical creatures like goblins, griffins, a dragon  and the cautious, yet faithful owl, Frowly. The cliffhanger promises more adventures with Zuli’s newfound friends and more information about her past.

Posted by Jody M on Jul 29, 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.

Posted by Jane J on Jul 28, 2022

The other Kennedy

Cover of Kick Kennedy: The Charmed
A review of Kick Kennedy: The Charmed Life and Tragic Death of the Favorite Kennedy Daughter by Barbara Leaming

Very interesting look at the life of Kathleen Kennedy. I knew her name but that was about all before I started reading this biography on the recommendation of a friend. Kick and her brother Joe Jr. had a lot in common as favorites of their father Joseph Kennedy, they both had in many ways a silver spoon existence with a lot given to them materially and in status. But along with that came the pressure to live up to their father’s expectations, and yet somehow also establish themselves as individuals. And World War II gave them both the chance to do so.

Posted by Liz C on Jul 26, 2022

The oldest of five daughters

Cover of Amal Unbound
A review of Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Amal is the smartest student in her Pakistani village with the best grades, highest scores, and a desire to become a teacher. Her family is in crisis after the birth of a fifth daughter and Amal struggles to care for her younger sisters, complete homework, and help around the house while her mother recovers. Well aware of how she's treated differently because she's a girl, Amal wants another kind of life for herself. She misses school and her classmates and especially her best friend, Omar.

Posted by Molly W on Jul 25, 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?

Posted by Jane J on Jul 22, 2022

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