Time for Saunders' 166-voice full cast audiobook!

Snagged an e-galley of the Kowalski reunion novel, What It Takes, and I'm loving seeing one of my favorite romance families back in action.

This sequel to 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet' finally released on audio last week and I've been LOVING it.

"The margin between collusion and respect can be narrow," is an incredibly important message right now.

I have mixed feelings about this one. If you follow me here or elsewhere, you may know I think the first Newsflesh novel, Feed, is an almost perfect near-future SF book. I was less impressed with the next two books.

Feedback takes place concurrently with Feed, following a different team of bloggers who are working for the Democratic candidate. The setup felt VERY slow, particularly considering the world is so fully fleshed out. A very 'meh' read.

This arrived at my house while I was out of town and it's STUNNING.

Kat Howard's debut novel is a gorgeous work of modern fantasy. It's a meditation on art and passion, full of intense familial and romantic relationships and breathtakingly beautiful prose. It also has moments like this, brief reposes of humor and insight into the less glamorous aspects of life as an artist.

It's time to finish the Harry Potter reread. I don't think I'm ready for this.

JKR is a dab hand at using quiet moments to drive home how dire things really are. Also, I'm literally never over the tragedy of the Weasley family. 😭

Second to last book in my Harry Potter reread! I'm on pace to finish the series in time for the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

This book is probably my least favorite of the series (CAPS LOCK HARRY isn't a joy to read), but JKR really knows how to pluck my heartstrings. I have SO MANY FEELS about thestrals and the students who can see them.

"Tired of walking in on Harry, Hermione, and Ron all over the school, Professor McGonagall had given them permission to use the empty Transfiguration classroom at lunchtimes."
Context is important. ???

Today's awesome SFF reads 🎉 I'm thrilled to get my hands on the second (and new this week!) book in Wendig's Aftermath trilogy. Have been 'warned' that it's full of 'SJW nonsense' i.e. gay people so yay!!! 🌈🌈🌈 Plus, I'm on to Order of the Phoenix in my Harry Potter reread.

Time for some window seat tome toppling. Planning to conquer these two monsters over the next few days.

Incredibly behind on my Harry Potter reread (too many exciting new things, lately!), but I'm settling in to finish Prisoner of Azkaban with some fresh farmer's market cherries & tea in my favorite mug. Perfect way to enjoy some early morning patio time before the weather goes from boiling to deadly.

Release day for A Darker Shade of Magic writer Schwab's latest YA title! The first in a duology, This Savage Song is astonishing. "Once upon a time a girl wanted to be seen & a boy wanted to be heard & they both thought they would give up everything they were & they were right & they were wrong."

I'm 100% onboard after once sentence.

This anthology is such a gem. Cranky Ladies celebrates 22 women who challenged conventional wisdom about appropriate female behavior, from the ancient world to the 20th century. Some are iconic, while others all but forgotten by history. Sometimes you have to break the rules before they break you.

It's a beautiful day for baseball and I'm revisiting this gem while waiting for the Giants v Diamondbacks game to get started. P.S. Henry Skrimshander is the best.

Julia Quinn's latest is on sale for $1.99 on Amazon, today only (June 25)! A new entry into the world of the Bridgertons, this prequel is a fun frenemies to lovers historical romance.

All three books in the Off the Grid series are on sale for $0.99 today! Cole writes award-winning, diverse historical, SFF & contemporary romances. This series is a rich, atmospheric trilogy of post-apocalyptic romances (I know, I was skeptical, too, but GREAT). POC MCs and book 2 is M/M. Very cool!

What better reason to revisit Representative John Lewis' graphic novel March than #NoBillNoBreak. Demanding action in gun control, House Democrats are staging a sit-in on the floor. Republicans have turned off the cameras and microphones. C-SPAN has resorted to Periscope footage. #holdthefloor

Happy pub day, Newsflesh fans! This collection of Grant's short works in the world of Feed includes all eight previously published short stories and two all-new novellas. Perfect way to tide readers over until the next full length novel, Feedback (a parallel novel to Feed), drops on October 4th.

I'm so excited to start reading the latest novel from Connie Willis (who wrote my all-time favorite book, To Say Nothing of the Dog), which comes out on September 20. Near future scifi romantic comedy of errors with a badass tech exec heroine? Yes, please!

Spending the morning with my nephew and we're both loving this ARC from Netgalley. Perfect for nap time or bedtime.

This book is an alternate history in which a skinshifting death camp survivor must win a transcontinental motorcycle race to win an audience with Hitler at Emperor Hirohito's Victor's Ball in Tokyo. So she can kill him. Hitler, that is. Obvious trigger warnings, but wow am I here for that premise.

Wow. WOW. So I haven't been able to put this down. I only have a few chapters left and I'm blown away. MKR's writing is typically superb, deftly weaving fistfuls of plot threads with ease in a world that's rich & full & wonderful & terrible. WWI writ fantastic, murder mystery, & romance all in one.

There may have been undignified jumping & shouting when Netgalley approved my request for this one. Willis is consistently one of my favorite writers. Her Oxford Time Travel series is excellent; I suggest starting with To Say Nothing of the Dog. Crosstalk sounds like madcap romantic SFF, so I'm in!

Enjoying a reprieve from the day's heat (it was only 102° instead of 118° in Phoenix, today!) on the patio with a cuppa and Jefferies' US debut. This was a Sunday Times' bestseller & releases in the states in September. From some of the blurbs I'm a bit concerned about Orientalism, but we'll see.

Until the end of the day (Sunday, June 12), any Tor books you own in hardback or paperback can be entered into the Shelfie app and you'll get the ebook version for free! Nice way to double up for the sake of portability (or if you're like me and have a habit of leaving books on ✈️🚇🚂🛳).

Utterly charming. Perfectly paced novella for mystery or historical romance fans. Enough twists and turns for a compelling final reveal. Gray gives the leads enough room to feel like fully realized characters. Refreshing to see romance with two mature people who've lived full, interesting lives.

I like Shaun Mason a lot & listening to his internal dialogue as he goes completely off the rails is fascinating. Unfortunately, Deadline suffers from Middle Book Syndrome and drags out its few plot points to a ridiculous degree. The final reveal is truly spectacular, but isn‘t worth the long ride.

"Hurley writes essays that piss people off." Rarely have I been this excited for a book birthday. Congratulations, Kameron! May you continue to challenge the 'women, cattle, and slaves' narrative.

As close to a perfect 1st book in a trilogy as you get. A brilliant mix of political intrigue, stellar SFF worldbuilding, & compelling characters, Feed paints a terrifyingly believable picture of America post-zombie outbreak. Georgia has a distinct voice & the use of tech/social media is brilliant.

This book is utterly gorgeous.

Candlewick Press is always interesting & I'm thrilled my library nabbed a copy of Burn Baby Burn. Cuban-American author Medina serves up hard hitting YA w/a twist. Protagonist Nora has a sweet older boyfriend, an apathetic mother, & a violent brother. Oh, yeah, & it's 1977 in NYC: the Summer of Sam.

Starting the Great Temeraire buddy read with lovely booktuber and friend Claire Rousseau. Very excited for the final installment releasing next month.

That is a masterful opening paragraph. I love starting in medias res and Simonson manages to pack a ton of characterization into a handful of lines.

My 1st Riordan read (thanks for the rec, kdwinchester!) & I'm really excited. Less exciting? The fact that I bought the ebook from B&N & it took 1/2 an hour of reinstalling their app & archiving/unarchiving the book to make it function. If I can't read in-browser, their proprietary app should work!

The female friendships in this book are phenomenal and the dialogue is hilarious!

This is my first Leigh Bardugo read and, though it's set in the world of her Grisha Trilogy, she does strong enough worldbuilding that I don't feel as if I'm missing something. It's a dark, fantastical YA heist novel with a sprawling ensemble and alternating POVs. Bardugo's prose is GORGEOUS.

I picked this audiobook up in Audible's 2 for 1 credit sale. I'm a fan of author memoirs and writing books that are memoir-ish (more Stephen King's On Writing than Ursula Le Guin's Steering the Craft) so Bird by Bird looks like it will be right up my alley.

This debut novel from a much-loved short fiction writer is a contemporary fairytale about sisters (one a writer, the other a dancer) accepted into a post-grad arts program. Nothing is as it seems at this NH artists colony. I'm excited to dig into this story of sisters & the true price of success.

My Smart Bitches, Trashy Books RITA Reader Challenge review is live! I talk about disappointing reads from fave authors and what a hero can do that's actually unforgivable. Also: introverted heroines, Plot Moppets, terrible musicales, Mistaken Identity, and 'you've gotta be kidding me' plot twists.

I recced this in my first Book Riot post and flipping through it today I still love it so much. The Phil Noto art is gorgeous (check out that great Jessika Pava/C-3PO illustration!) & Jason Fry's written one of the most compelling, true to canon depictions of Luke I've ever had the pleasure to read.

Eisner award winning artist, writer, & all around excellent human Darwyn Cooke passed away this morning. To celebrate his life & profound contributions to the comics community, I'll be revisiting his work, like New Frontier, & donating to The Hero Initiative, which supports comics creators in need.

This prequel/spinoff of Quinn‘s Bridgerton series is a compelling frenemies to lovers historical romance. It falls to 1st in Series Syndrome, so there are some plot threads left dangling, but the leads have great banter and the rest of the ensemble has me interested enough to pick up the next book.

Bloodline is now tied w/Wendig's Aftermath for my fave SW novel. Gray serves up a deftly plotted, well-paced political thriller w/then-Senator Leia Organa as a savvy, but weary, player on the shifting galactic stage. I especially liked the depictions of intergenerational & male/female relationships.

Halfway through Bloodline and I'm absolutely blown away. Plotty political maneuvering, exciting action sequences, spy shenanigans, and badass Leia. The audiobook is beautifully produced, with great musical transitions, sound, and voice effects. Thanks for the rec, Swapna!