Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger: Book Review

Sophronia Temminick is a tomboy in Victorian England. The youngest of innumerable sisters, she is left alone to pretty much do as she pleases. What pleases her is climbing dumbwaiter shafts, spying on her sisters, and generally acting in ways not becoming to a lady. When she is packed off to finishing school one day, […]

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Time Stops for No Mouse by Michael Hoeye: Book Review

Hermux Tantamoq is a quiet, rather shy watchmaker who just happens to be a mouse. His world is turned upside down when the lovely Linka Perflinger walks into his shop and asks him to repair her watch. She never returns to pick it up, even though it seemed to be important to her. When a […]

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gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson: Book Review

Arlene left her hometown of Possett, Alabama after she graduated from high school and never looked back. She has withstood bribery, threats, and guilt trips from hell from her Aunt Florence and remained in Chicago for ten years. But now Alabama seems to have found her. A face from Arlene’s past shows up on her […]

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Gulp by Mary Roach: Book Review

Mary Roach has a gift for making science accessible and–dare I say it?–even funny. In this book, she tackles the digestive system. Covering topics ranging from thorough chewing (as in 700+ chews for One. Freaking. Bite.) to the miraculous properties of spit, from being eaten alive to the possibility (or not) of chewing your way […]

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The League of Seven by Alan Gratz: Book Review

It’s 1875 and Archie Dent’s parents belong to The Septemberists, a society dedicated to remembering the damage caused by monsters called the Mangleborn and to preventing them from rising again to destroy civilization. On a routine trip to the Septemberist headquarters, the older Dents are taken over by Manglespawn, children of a Mangleborn, and forced […]

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Walden by Henry David Thoreau: Book Review

Soooooo……..yeah. I just rated Walden, one of the great American classics, two stars. That probably says more about me than it does about the book, doesn’t it? Don’t answer that. But here’s the thing–well, a few things. 1. I’m not generally an abstract ideas kind of person. I like narrative and stories and characters that […]

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This I Believe, edited by Jay Allison: Book Review

In a collection of short essays, men and women from all walks of life share their defining beliefs. I listen to NPR in between audiobook downloads but I seem to only be in the car for the news and Marketplace, so I’ve never heard any of these essays. I enjoyed them immensely. Ranging from funny […]

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Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen: Book Review

3 Stars. When I first read this, I thought it was another solid four-star book from Sarah Addison Allen. But now that months have passed, it’s faded away and I’m only left feeling that it was a decent entry in her body of work. I’m bumping it back to three stars. Devin may have been my favorite character. She’s a bright child […]

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The Bat by Jo Nesbø: Book Review

Norwegian Inspector Harry Hole is sent to Australia as something of a consultant/observer in the investigation of the murder of a Norwegian woman. Based on this, the first book in the series and my first Harry Hole book, I’m not clear why these are so popular. I can only assume they get better. Maybe it […]

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Dreadnought by Cherie Priest: Book Review

Mercy Lynch is a nurse in the Civil War, which has been lingering on for decades. Like many people, she has torn loyalties. She’s a nurse for the Confederacy but her husband is a soldier in the Union. Shortly after she receives word that he died in a POW camp, she receives a telegram notifying […]

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The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood: Book Review

I seriously did not think I could love an audiobook performance more than I love Katherine Kellgren’s narration of the Bloody Jack series by L. A. Meyer. And then she narrated The Mysterious Howling. Holy cow. I am in awe of Ms. Kellgren’s talent! Old men, teen girls, simpering married women, wolfish children howling at […]

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