A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

 T. Kingfisher does an excellent job creating modern-day fairy tales that the Brothers Grimm would enjoy. Her dark tales are imaginative with a wicked sense of humor. A Sorceress Comes to Call is no exception.

Fourteen-year-old Cordelia has two friends: her horse Falada and a neighbor girl who is too polite to ignore her. Living with her mother, Evangeline, who can control Cordelia's movements and speech at will, Cordelia yearns for a normal life. Evangeline, however, has aspirations of marrying Cordelia to a wealthy man. To get a toehold in society, Evangeline enchants a wealthy Squire for herself to better Cordelia's chances of finding a worthy husband. Feeling helpless to stop her mother from using her magic on the Squire, Cordelia grows close to the Squire's sister, Hester, who recognizes what Evangeline is doing. Together, they try to outwit Evangeline, but can their cunning overcome magic?

This is a well-written book with excellent pacing and interesting characters. It contains mystery, murder, and intrigue. Kingfisher is a master storyteller who makes magic both believable and otherworldly. I found the book both engrossing and entertaining. 

5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Books, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is August 6, 2024.

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The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey

 The two authors who penned The Expanse series are back! The Mercy of Gods is a promising start to a new space opera series built on a grand world-building scale with interesting characters and non-stop action.

The humans on Anjiin are caught up in the politics of the moment when the Caryx invade the planet, killing the population into submission and then taking the best and brightest to their home planet. One captured research group is kept intact and given a problem to solve in competition with another enslaved species. The stakes are high: whichever group succeeds lives while the loser dies. Led by the brilliant but mercurial Tonnar Freis, the team must overcome technological obstacles and assaults from the rival research team to solve the problem. Dafyd Alkhor rises above his role as a research associate to understand what drives the bloodthirsty Caryx and see what they need to do to survive long term. Now, he must convince the others.

The Mercy of Gods has an expansive yet complex plot, finely drawn characters, and alien races. It is a fast-paced book full of political intrigue. I especially liked the descriptions of the Caryx and some of the other oddly-configured species. The literary license taken about how these races exist in the same air and gravity bothered me at times, but I was so engrossed in the story that I let that slide.

I am looking forward to many more books about the exploits of Dafyd and his friends. 

4.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Orbit, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is August 6, 2024.

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One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day

 I enjoyed Jamie Day's previous book, The Block Party, so I was happy when I got an advance copy of One Big Happy Family to review. While this book is also good, I didn't care for it as much as The Block Party. The characters, while good, aren't as interesting, and the plot is not quite as engaging.

On the eve of a hurricane hitting the isolated Precipice Hotel in Maine, the three Bishop sisters, Faith, Iris, and Vicki, gather for the reading of their recently deceased father's will. A shared secret from their past binds the sisters together, but is that enough to overcome how their father divided up his six-million-dollar estate? Watching the events play out is the hotel maid, Charley, who quickly becomes embroiled in the sister's turmoil. As the hurricane increases in intensity, cutting the sisters, their families, and Charley off from the outside world, emotions run high when a death occurs. Someone among them is a murderer, but who and why are questions that arise?

I liked Day's sometimes snarky humor and the plotting of the book. The pacing is good, and some twists surprised me, but the isolated characters with a killer in their midst have been overly done. This is a thriller with interesting characters, i.e., a boy who only speaks in rhyme and a big-hearted maid who carries the world's weight on her shoulders, but the sisters themselves aren't very likable. Overall, this is a fast read that satisfies. 

4/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is July 16, 2024.

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The Bang-Bang Sisters by Rio Youers

 I discovered Rio Youers a few years ago with his rollicking good book Lola on Fire. His follow-up novel, No Second Chances, was even better, but this, The Bang-Bang Sisters, is the icing on the cake.

Jessie, Brea, and Flo are sisters—Jessie and Brea by blood—but blood is only part of the bond. Together, they are a rock band touring clubs and dive bars across the country, but that's just a sideline; they are also vigilantes seeking justice where the courts have failed. Working with grey-hat hackers, the three women mete out their brand of justice. All is going smoothly until they get a tip that a serial killer known as "the wren" has been found in Reedsville, Alabama. Unable to pass up the opportunity to put paid to this killer, the women head to Reedsville and into the arms of wealthy mobster Chance Kotter, who has a personal interest in seeing them dead. Pitting sister against sister in a deadly game where only one sister will survive tests their love for each other.

This story is a roller coaster ride from start to finish. It is action-packed with memorable characters—good and evil—and twists I didn't see coming. It is intricately plotted and perfectly executed. It is a story about vengeance and the strength of love, and as the body count rises, it becomes a satisfying read that left me wanting more of the sisters. 

5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is July 16, 2024.

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The Lost Victim by Robert Bryndza

 

Both of Robert Bryndza's murder mystery series feature strong female protagonists. This, the Kate Marshall series, features a private investigator, while his Erika Foster series is a police procedural. Both are excellent.

A true-crime podcast company hires Kate and her partner Tristan to try and solve the thirty-year-old disappearance of thirteen-year-old Janiey Macklin. As they begin their investigation, leads are pointing toward Peter Conway, a convicted killer with ties to Kate's past. Digging deeper, they find three friends, one of whom has already been acquitted of her death may hold the key to her disappearance--but can they be believed?

This is a twisty, compelling read—one of Bryndza's best. Red herrings, subplots, and unreliable characters make this an intricately plotted book that sizzles from start to finish. Although it is the fifth Kate Marshall book, it can be read as a standalone. 

4.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing, for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is July 11, 2024.

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The Wide Wide Sea by Hampton Sides

In this excellently researched and written account of Captain James Cook's last voyage, Hampton Sides captures the intrigue of what happened to Cook on his fatal final exploration.

In 1776, Captain James Cook set out with secret orders to find the Pacific entrance to the fabled Northwest Passage. He was also tasked with returning a Tahitian man to his Pacific island home after his time in England, where he was hosted by luminaries such as Lord Sandwich and King George III. This was the much-lauded Cook's third exploratory voyage, and he would be perhaps the first to encounter the people of the Hawaiian islands--an encounter that proved deadly.

Hampton Sides's descriptions of the natives Cook encountered and Cook's demeanor, both to his crew and to the native people, raise questions about Cook's suitability to lead this voyage. His sometimes rash actions countered his first two successful voyages and raised questions about first contact with native islanders. Cook's detractors depict him as an arrogant man who spread disease and robbed natives of their culture. Given today's attitudes and philosophies, I credit Sides's even-handed portrayal of Cook's encounters.

5/5 stars.

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Ladykiller by Katherine Wood

This sounded like a promising book, and although it didn't meet my expectations, it was good.

Gia comes from a privileged background, but when her father dies and leaves his fortune to charity, she unexpectedly needs money. To solve her problems, Gia decides to sell the one thing of value: a villa on a Greek Island. Newly married, Gia and her husband are at odds about what improvements need to be made to sell the house. Tension develops in the newlywed's relationship. Gia's best friend, Abby, whose mother worked for Gia's family, is working hard to become a partner at her law firm. When Gia, decides to celebrate her birthday in Switzerland with just her brother Benny and Abby, Abby drops everything to go to Switzerland. Gia fails to show up, so Abby and Benny head to Greece, only to find Gia has vanished.

The book started quickly but slowed down just as fast. I found the descriptions of the characters lusting after each other and the sex descriptions distracting. They didn't move the story along, and I wondered why so many romantic scenes were needed. The mystery surrounding Gia was good, and there were some twists, but overall, this falls short of being a thriller. 

3/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bantam, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is July 9, 2024. 

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