Long before the mammoths and sabertooth tigers of the ice age, even more prehistoric mammals roamed the earth, pioneering traits that would one day make us, us.
Read MoreBook Review: Beasts Before Us
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Book Review: Certain Dark Things
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Between Mexican Gothic and Certain Dark Things, Moreno-Garcia has, in my opinion, very quickly risen to the top of the contemporary horror game. Drawing on classic noir tropes with an alternative future-driven twist, she creates a very vibrant version of Mexico City as a safe haven in the center of a country plagued by drugs, disease, and a melting pot of cross-cultural vampire lore. When Domingo spots Atl on the subway, he’s taken by her and decides that he’ll do anything to get her attention, including putting his life on the line for a girl who is more than just a normal girl.
am a HUGE fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the rerelease of Certain Dark Things for a hot minute. I got to listen to an advance copy of the audiobook, and folks, the anticipation was worth it, I loved it. Very rarely do I feel as immersed in a story as I did with this book, and I am so genuinely excited that this book is being rere
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Book Review: The Girl From The Sea
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Morgan likes to keep her life compartmentalized— friends, family, her dreams of going away to college— but her big secret, that she thinks she likes girls, makes her afraid that she’ll lose everything that she loves. But when Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl from the sea, she starts to learn that being her true self is the most magical thing of all.
This book is just pure middle-grade and early high school sweetness. It’s the coming-of-age graphic novel that I wish I had growing up. It’s a fast read (or maybe it was only fast because I tore through it), but has so many shining moments. It’s sweet and funny, occasionally heartbreaking and tense, tender and joyful. I would consider this a full family must-read that made me wish I could go back and give a younger version of myself and my siblings this book.
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Book Review: When We Were Magic
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This book has been on my TBR list for a while, and I honestly am sad that it took me this long to read it because it was such a joy! This was the last Sarah Gailey book that I had yet to read, and it was as witty and wonderful as I’ve come to expect all of their writing to be. They really capture the in-between-ness of the changes that come with the end of high school and then played them up in the most extreme way, and I really think that this is something that they really shine at as an author.
Behind a layer of magic, this story is so unapologetically realistic about the end of high school. When We Were Magic is one of those books about teenagers that, while they definitely are somewhat mature for their age, really reads like it’s truly from the perspective of teenagers. There’s so much awkwardness around crushes, relationships with parents, and navigating labels and how the characters understand themselves that it just felt undeniably high school.
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Series Review: Dauntless Path
This is my first foray into reviewing a full (or as-published) series, but I’m hoping it will not be my last because boy howdy do I love a series! I picked up a copy of Thorn from the local authors table at Downbound Books, and I was hooked on this duo.
Thorn and Theft follow the stories of two girls from two completely different worlds, who are swept up into the politics and secrets of the city of Tarinon. While I do think that either could stand alone, as companion books, they’re a delight to read together— with more robust world building, Easter egg-type character cameos, and continuing character development that makes reading both more worth it in the end.
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Book Review: The Maidens
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Therapist and recent widow Mariana’s life couldn’t get any more out of her control, until she receives a call from her niece that her friend has been murdered, and she thinks she knows who did it.
This book made me ask myself if I’d ever see a book that is so aggressively marketed to be THE hot new book of the Summer that promises to be a combination of some of your favorite books and not have high hopes for it. I was very determined to stay neutral on this book when I went in and not let the expectations that I had for it ruin my enjoyment of it.
Usually when I go to write a book review, I have a single post-it of mid-read thoughts to consider, instead of just my post-read reaction. I had so many thoughts reading this book that I ran out of post-it space and wrote a full essay instead, so please enjoy reading said essay.
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Book Review: The Icepick Surgeon
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Amongst all of the genres that I read, nonfiction about medical history is one of my top favorites. I especially love audiobooks that walk you through the weird, gross, and somewhat backwards world of pre-FDA medicine, so I was very pumped to get an advance copy of the audiobook for Sam Kean’s newest release, The Icepick Surgeon, expertly narrated by Ben Sullivan.
At its heart, the message that this book is trying to get across is that the ethics and human cost of research is something that we need to constantly need to evolve, scrutinize, and be conscious of. Kean uses true crime-style case studies to discuss the crimes that scientists have committed in the name of advancing our understanding of medicine
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Book Review: Locked In Time
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During my time being a guest on Atlas Obscura’s Dino 101, I met so many truly wonderful people, so I jumped at the chance to read an advance copy of Dean Lomax’s Locked in Time following his appearance on the show. Even though he beat me in a game of Opinion Dominion, it was honestly impossible to hold it against him in writing this review because his book is so wildly good.
There are very few dinosaur (and other extinct species) books that really can get me as excited about them as talking to people does for me, and Locked In Time really did that. Not only does it bring childlike awe to seeing these animals come to life on the page, but it gives them a Planet Earth-esque storyline. We see them play, hunt, take care of their babies, and so much more, and it, at times, made me so emotional for these long dead critters.
Read MoreBook Review: Written in Bone and Out Cold
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To celebrate the start of a new month, six months(-ish) on Bookstagram, and the release day of 2 ARCs that I got to review, so why not start an actual blog to post reviews on?
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