Review: Marion

Marion by Leah Rowan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a pre-release copy of Marion by Leah Rowan. Below is my honest review.

One of my favorite musicals ever is one called "& Juliet." It posits the following: what if Juliet didn't kill herself for a dude at the end of Romeo & Juliet, and instead woke to find Romeo dead and decided to run away and travel Europe, find a meaning to her life?

This is a similar set up: What happens if Marion Crane turns the tables on Norman Bates when he attacks her with the knife in the shower? What if she kills him? What kind of fallout would there be?

It's a really fun twist on Alfred Hitchcock's classic Psycho, but it's been modernized and some of the names changed a bit. And there's even a little Alfred cameo in there, which I think Hitchcock would have loved.

All in all, I think it was a really solid book. I had a few issues with the ending of the narrative feeling a little abrupt, but it was a great read overall.

Highly recommended, 4.5 stars rounded down.

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Review: "What Do You Mean, Murder?" Clue and the Making of a Cult Classic

"What Do You Mean, Murder?" Clue and the Making of a Cult Classic by John Hatch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions

Velveteen vs. The Consequences of Her Actions by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Subterranean Press for the pre-release copy of Seanan McGuire's Velveteen vs. the Consequences of Her Actions. Below is my honest review.

It would seem Seanan has a thing for personifying the seasons into fun characters (see: Alchemical Journeys series), because this one has Velveteen visiting three of the seasons - Winter, Spring, and Autumn - to see if she wants to pledge herself to any of them. She's doing this as a result of the promise she made in the last volume, and boy do the seasons have it out for her. So of course, lots of hijinks ensue.

I love all the characters in these, and I love how much McGuire makes sure to show how deeply the characters care about each other and the lengths they will go to in order to save one another.

This one was lots of fun (for the reader... the poor characters are put through hell!), and I was really happy with how it all tied up.

Highly recommended, but hopefully you've read either Volumes 1 & 2 or their omnibus combination, Velveteen vs. The Early Adventures. This is a direct continuation of that storyline, consisting of Volumes 3 & 4.

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Review: An Ordinary Sort of Evil

An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's/Minotaur for the pre-release copy of An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong. Below is my honest review.

This is definitely one of my favorite entries in the series thus far! I loved the mystery, I actually didn't guess the solution, I enjoyed the case-related characters (especially Art), and I absolutely adored the development of our main characters and their relationships.

If you haven't read this series and you're a mystery fan, you should definitely pick this series up. Start now before it gets even longer and you're behind that much more!

If you're a fan of time travel or things like Outlander or The Chronicles of St. Mary's, you're probably going to enjoy this series.

Five stars, highly recommended.

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Review: The Dorians

The Dorians by Nick Cutter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the pre-release copy of Nick Cutter's The Dorians. Below is my honest review.

What a ride! I really enjoyed this one by Nick Cutter, my first by him but not my last, mostly because I really cared about (some of) the characters and was hoping for something happier for them. It's hard to hope when the book literally starts with them on the verge of death!

But what happens when someone without the maturity or social awareness or ethical foundation decides to play god and mix the dna of some creatures/plants that defy aging? Nothing good or happy, let me tell you that much!

This one would make a great movie, especially in today's CGI age where they could cast a younger group and age them up for the beginning part.

Highly recommended, five stars - mostly for horror/thriller/sci-fi fans.



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Review: A Parade of Horribles

A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman. Below is my honest review.

WHAT A RIDE (literally)!

This one takes place on two floors of the dungeon, floors ten and eleven. Ten is like Wacky Races, the old Hanna Barbera cartoon, but with death and destruction and dismemberment and disgusting things. Our crawler fam find themselves on random mounts/vehicles, racing through weird places, hoping to avoid awful deaths, all while working through quests and storylines that the AI has been setting up all along AND attempting to rescue as many sentient beings from the dungeon as possible.

I won't spoil how that turns out, but then comes the Parade of Horribles, also known as floor eleven, and a weird little reenactment of past events and the crazed AI's pontificating... followed by an Arena where CHAOS HAPPENS, of course.

And of course, the way our faves get themselves out of messes is wildly entertaining... and leaves me ready for the next installment and really dreading the long wait.

Five stars, highly recommended for DCC fans, fans of talking cats, and fans of silly fun extremely ridiculous awesome LitRPGs. But do yourself the favor and start at book one if you haven't read them all!

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Review: Archangel's Eternity

Archangel's Eternity by Nalini Singh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for the pre-release copy of Archangel's Eternity by Nalini Singh. Below is my honest review.

So I'm torn on this one. It was a great tie-up to a fantastic series. It gave us reunions, rebirths, new births, updates, new matchups, etc. But it didn't really have a plot. It literally felt like a giant epilogue to the series, rather than its own separate installment. Lots of loose ends tied up. Lots of happy moments. Lots of setting up a long-term joy for almost all the characters. But no plot, no story thread that made it its own novel.

This is definitely a good one if you're a fan of the series. In fact, it's mandatory. You must read this and enjoy reaping the benefits of 17 prior books of fight, struggle, danger, war, and overcoming obstacles. But just be prepared going in for the fact that it's an epilogue. Knowing this, you'll enjoy it much more.

Four stars - one star off for not really having a plot, but the other four for being a perfect epilogue to a grand series.

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