"'You're a blasted idiot, is what you are,' the old man growled in a voice too loud for the middle of the popular downtown diner." I've got a real liking for a 'palate cleanse' of a cosy mystery in between more serious reads, and finding a new series to try is always exciting. I've got … Continue reading Digging Up Trouble – Kitt Crowe
"Keep far away from Orion Lake." Welcome back to the Scholomance, the school that makes Hogwarts look like day care and the most brutal prison seem palatable in comparison. Four years without real daylight, proper food, or any supplies you didn't bring with you at the start. Sure, there are no teachers, but the classes … Continue reading The Last Graduate – Naomi Novik
"The bike lay on the side of the road beneath a grey oak, the handlebars at an odd jutted angle, as if it had been thrown with angry force." It seems like such an appropriate coincidence to have an historic tennis finale happen just as this book publishes, as it tells a tangled story of … Continue reading Apples Never Fall – Liane Moriarty
"Nail lacquer, the woman called Helge reflected as she paused in the antechamber, always did two things to her: it reminded her of her mother, and it made her feel like a rebellious little girl." The first time I read The Bloodline Feud I wasn't wholly impressed, and despite buying the next two volumes I never quite … Continue reading The Traders’ War – Charles Stross
"Homo sapiens had been gazing up at the stars for about three hundred millennia before they finally managed to launch themselves off the planet of their origin toward those countless points of light." After the success of the first two Alien movies, the early nineties tried to replicate the success by continuing the franchise. We'd left Ripley escaping … Continue reading Alien 3: The Lost Screenplay – Pat Cadigan & William Gibson
"I decided that Orion needed to die after the second time he saved my life." In a world where magic is real, the downside is the existence of maleficaria (mals): nasty, dangerous creatures that feed on wizards and their mana, or power. Children, coming into their powers, are prime targets, and so a few hundred … Continue reading A Deadly Education – Naomi Novik
"I can't move in my coffin." The First Sister didn't end on a cliff-hanger per se but it left plenty of story to be told and so I was absolutely delighted to be able to dive straight in with the sequel. And my absolutely only complaint about it is that I will have to wait to … Continue reading The Second Rebel – Linden A Lewis
"The new captain arrives in two hours, so I sort my belongings and pack them into a small bag." First Sister, a nameless, voiceless priestess of the Goddess, serves aboard an interstellar ship, the Juno. She's been the captain's favourite, his interest saving her from the attentions of the rest of the crew. For, the … Continue reading The First Sister – Linden A Lewis
"Amahle could no longer remember how old she was." Amahle is a Light Chaser: genetically enhanced for near-immortality, spending her life travelling between the stars and collecting life stories from the inhabitants of the planets on her route. Alone for decades, more, with only a ship's AI for company, she often watches these collected recordings, … Continue reading Light Chaser – Peter Hamilton & Gareth Powell
"Break free from anxiety and build self-compassion in 30 days!" Perfectionism is one of those 'joke' answers when asked in an interview about your biggest weakness. Oh, I'm such a perfectionist - like it's a good thing. But it's really not much of a joke: it can be a debilitatingly stressful way to live, and … Continue reading The Monkey Mind Workout for Perfectionism – Jennifer Shannon
