#BookReview: The Mulai by Munir Hachemi translated by Julia Sanches

My Review: "It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so" - according to Mark Twain. The saying is a longer version of the old saw about “assume” making an “ass” out of “u” and “me”. It’s the same idea at the heart, the idea that what we “think we know”, what we’ve already decided, what we “assume” is what gets us in trouble, because we’re so certain of our certainties that we don’t see that those certainties are certainly incorrect no matter how much that incorrectness does its damndest to beat us over the head with a clue-by-four.

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#HugoReview: Laser Eyes Ain’t Everything by Effie Seiberg

My Review: This year’s Hugo readings are winding down with this penultimate (next-to-the-last) short story. Which is a surprisingly fun bit of a wind-up, albeit with just a few caveats. On the one hand, this is very much message fiction. And on the other, it’s a surprisingly good story AND an equally surprising if very short readalike for Hench and Assistant to the Villain. The story takes place in a world where superheroes are commonplace. Or at least common enough not to need secret identities. What they do need - and have - is a union.

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Grade A #BookReview: Heart of the Nile by Will Thomas

My Review: This was definitely one of the “fun” entries in the Barker and Llewelyn series. Not that death is ever “fun” per se, but that the story surrounding this investigation had a lot of fascinating if familiar elements wrapped around the unfortunate murder that kickstarts the story. It begins in both triumph and tragedy. The triumph that British Museum volunteer Phillip Addison has discovered something both unexpected and precious inside one one of the many, many mummies stacked like cordwood in the museum’s basement. Unfortunately for Addison, his discovery occurred near midnight, when he shouldn’t have been working in the first place.

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The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 8-2-26

It's the second of August. It feels like we're still in the midst of summer. And yet, The Summer Giveaway Event ends this coming Saturday, which just seems weird. Summer's not OVER, but we're already making way for FALL! OTOH, school starts this week around here, and that's weird as well. Today's cat picture is of Tuna looking over George's shoulder. The boys are buds, they hang out together a lot. Which really means that George goes off by himself and Tuna hunts him down because Tuna really, really needs someone to cuddle with.

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Stacking the Shelves (716)

There's a lot of creep in this stack. So much so that it's a pity I couldn't save it for Halloween. I mean seriously, the 'pretty creepy' way outnumbers the 'pretty' by a considerable margin. Even the rather pretty cover for The Moonlight Runner has a touch of the gothic about it. There's The Glowing Hours, Hex House, A Spell for Drowning, This House Will Feed, To Kill a Queen, Witch of the Shadow Wood,  and Women of a Promiscuous Nature (love the title, tho').

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Grade A #AudioBookReview: The Lion’s Tusk by Robert Jackson Bennett

My Review: Lions don’t HAVE tusks - not in our world. Not even in the world of the Shadow of the Leviathan series, where Ana Dolabra and her assistant Dinios Kol travel around the empire shoring up the foundations by solving mysteries and restoring a tiny bit of order, one case at a time. Which should have been a clue to someone that something wasn’t quite what it purported to be. But “The Lion’s Tusk” was a legendary relic, making it the perfect wedding gift from a high-ranking church official to a rich reprobate that he hates and the despicable man’s unfortunate bride upon the occasion of their wedding.

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#AudioBookReview: Matcha on Monday by Michiko Aoyama translated by E. Madison Shimoda

My Review: Tokyo’s Marble Cafe, the center of the interconnected stories in Hot Chocolate on Thursday, is never open on Mondays. At least, not unless the cafe’s owner, the Maestro, decides to hold a special event. Special events are always scheduled on Mondays, when the Marble Cafe is officially NOT the Marble Cafe. On one particular Monday in January, the Maestro decides to open a Matcha Cafe. He’s helping out the son of an old colleague, by providing the young man a preview of what his life might be like opening a branch of his family’s traditional matcha cafe in Tokyo, where matcha isn’t currently as popular as it is in Kyoto, where the family business is based.

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#HugoReview: When He Calls Your Name by Catherynne M. Valente

My Review: First, if you've never heard Dolly Parton’s classic song, "Jolene", it’s probably best that you listen to it AFTER you read this take on it. "Jolene" is clearly the basis for this novelette, but I’m honestly not sure whether knowing the original will help or hurt in your interpretations of this re-interpretation. At the same time, and in the same thought, if you’ve never heard, or heard of the Eldritch Horror version of "Jolene" , you REALLY don’t want to look that up until after you’ve finished the story.

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A- #BookReview: Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd

My Review: This turned out to be a lot. A very good lot, but a lot. I know I’m going to have to explain that, and I kind of need to in order to process the whole thing. But it’s definitely a good lot. I’ve been waiting for this one for a while, because I loved Nora Breen’s first investigation, Murder at Gulls Nest and was hoping for more of the same. I certainly got the more, but it couldn’t be exactly the same, because the Nora Breen in this second book isn’t exactly the same Nora Breen that she was in the first book.

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#AudioBookReview: Cinder House by Freya Marske

My Review: Just as the blurb says, you think you know this story. If you’ve ever read Marissa Meyer’s Cinder, or Alix E. Harrow’s Fractured Fables duology (A Spindle Splintered and A Mirror Mended) you may think you have a handle on all the variations on this story as well. We’ve all grown up on it, after all, thanks to Disney. The wicked stepsisters, the drudge who wants to go to the ball, the fairy godmother (or mothers), the prince, the shoes. And all those elements are here in…

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The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 7-26-26

I very nearly left one of the entries for this coming week as "TBD". Not that I don't have PLENTY of books to choose from, but they weren't  hitting the right note. At least not until I remembered that the Amazon Original Stories Magic & Mystery collection will be released on Tuesday. And I KNOW I'm going to dive right in. This should be GRAND - and I can't wait to find out. At least I'm admitting things up front this week. Last week I sorta/kinda knew that I'd be switching…

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Stacking the Shelves (715)

This is a stack with some of absolutely everything. I mean it. EVERYTHING! First, even though it's only July, there are TWO holiday books in this stack, Eight Ways to Say I Love You and Mingle All the Way. Somewhere, someone should be receiving a ten-yard penalty for rushing the whole, entire season! The pretty book, and there is one this time around, is The Jeweled Book. Even the title is pretty! The cutest book is, OF COURSE, A Fellowship of Curses & Cats, with an honorable mention for…

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#AudioBookReview: The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood

My Review: Judith Potts is off her game in this fifth entry in the Marlow Murder Club series. A young woman has barged into Judith’s life, utterly convinced that Judith murdered her father three decades ago, and determined to hound and harass the older woman until she confesses to her crime. That Eleni Paphides’ father was, at the time, Judith’s abusive, unfaithful husband - adds more than one layer of complication to the accusation, as Judith seems equally determined to keep her thoughts and memories shrouded, even from herself, AND keep her sleuthing friends Suzie and Becks out of her business.

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A- #BookReview: Return to Dark Earth by Anna Hackett

My Review: There have been three HUGE questions hiding in the background of the first five books in the Phoenix Adventures series. All those stories have had their very own happy endings, but there have been a few issues hiding in plain sight - at least some of the time - from the very beginning. First, there’s the tease - all the teasing - about rival treasure hunter Nera Darc. She’s good, she’s very good. She’s especially good at swooping in after the Phoenix brothers have done all the hard work and sprung all the traps.

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A- #BookReview: The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances by Glenn Dixon

My Review: Harold and Edie’s house is a Smart House in this AI controlled, near-future dystopia. But the smartness of their Smart House makes their increasing isolation comfortable as long as nothing changes. The Grid-controlled services of Harold’s Watch control all their other appliances; Clock, Fridge, Auto, and Thermostat, and in turn they keep the rest of the appliances in line. Except for the little Roomba, R1v984, who wants to be called “Scout” after the character in Harold’s favorite novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. So much of the story is encapsulated in little Scout’s desire to have a name of her own.

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A+ #BookReview: The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan

My Review: There’s both a hush and a halo that settles over the places where books are present in large quantities. Meaning that both libraries and bookstores - and the people who inhabit them - are believed to be a lot quieter, safer and even more trustworthy than many of them deserve. (It’s that atmosphere that gives libraries their “mom and apple pie” feeling as well as the reason that entirely too many people believe that they are safe places to leave their belongings and their young children completely unattended when in fact, they are no more - also no less - safe than any other large and open public space.

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Grade A #AudioBookReview: Never Eaten Vegetables by H.H. Pak

My Review: The title of this Hugo-nominated novelette didn’t give anything away. I mean that seriously as I came into this one with no idea what it was about. Some titles are spoilers but this one may have been the opposite. I certainly wasn’t expecting “Never Eaten Vegetables” to be the name of a tadpole. Or a ship. But it’s both. This is a colony-ship story. It has echoes of Mickey7, not in the humor but in the predicament. In a scenario where there is no faster-than-light travel, colony ships are an expensive, iffy proposition.

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The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 7-19-26

Today's cat picture is a photo of "peace in our time". At least in Hecate's time. She STILL wants to be an only child. It's never happened and it's not going to, either. But she lives in hope - and grumpiness. This picture was a surprise. Both of the girls haunt Galen's office, but not usually at the same time and especially not in this close  proximity - although Galen often serves as the "Berlin Wall" between their two opposing forces. On this particular afternoon, they either both needed their "security human" too much to quibble about the other's presence, or were both just too much in need of a nap to care.

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Stacking the Shelves (714)

The "natural" covers turned out to be the pretty ones in this stack. By that I mean The Library of Flowers, The Slantwise Histories, and Strangebrew Apothecary. They all feature something from the natural world, either flowers or birds, and are just composed in an appealing way. (At least to me.) Although Family Drama gets points for looking like something Norman Rockwell would have done. Just Friends and Only Friends are both pretty cute and get extra credit for having a little theme of their own going.

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Grade A #AudioBookReview: A Pair of Aces by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

My Review: Eunice Hunton Carter and Polly Adler couldn’t have had less in common - or seemingly less reason to find common cause - if they’d tried. Carter was an attorney, the first black female prosecutor in the State of New York. The woman who helped to bring down one of the country’s most notorious mobsters, Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano, as part of New York County Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey’s ‘mob’ of Assistant District Attorneys intent on bringing down mob and political corruption in New York in the mid 1930s.

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Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Sip Sip Hooray Giveaway Hop, hosted by Mama the Fox and Mom Does Reviews! The graphic for this hop does give the theme away, doesn’t it? There are some marvelous ice cold drinks that are just made for quenching the thirst brought on by a hot summer day. For some, it’s tart, sweet, citrus-y lemonade. For others it’s the sharp bite of iced tea, whether sweet or unsweet. And there are more iconic summer images of condensation sliding down a bottle of beer as its being tipped up and swallowed down than everyone could ‘shake a stick at’ – even simultaneously.

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#AudioBookReview: Missing Helen by Tia Tashiro

My Review: Is this Helen talking about Elaine, or Elaine talking about Helen, or both of them observing Mark from a supposedly objective perspective? Is it all of the above? Or is it just narcissism all the way around? If that’s a bit confusing, that’s fair, because that’s the way this story left me. Confused. Also entirely certain about the narcissism under the literary trickery - and maybe that was the point. As I keep saying in these Hugo readings, the shorter works this year have been more interesting and/or clever and/or thought-provoking than they are fun.

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Grade A #BookReview: Rathuun: King of the Prairie by David Fitz-Gerald + #Giveaway

My Review: I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into when I picked this up. After all, “classic westerns” are something out of the “thrilling days of yesteryear”. Then again, that “yesteryear” is exactly the place that Rathuun himself thundered out of, leading the last vast herd of buffalo across the Great Plains of the American West in his search for the buffalo equivalent of “The Promised Land”. There’s a lot to unpack in that description. But I am going to try because the biggest surprise of Rathuun’s story is that he’s the one telling it.

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A- #BookReview: Null Entity by Seth Haddon

My Review: I picked this up for two reasons. First, because I read the first book in the duology, Volatile Memory, and was really curious to see how Wylla and Sable’s story would end. Admittedly, I kind of expected it to end the way it began - in a hail of blaster fire. And it kind of did - but it also didn’t. Second, because a more recent book, And Side By Side They Wander, reminded me of Volatile Memory quite a bit, and I found myself both curious to see if my memory was correct, AND hoping that…

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The Sunday Post AKA What’s on my (Mostly Virtual) Nightstand 7-12-26

George hasn't been the featured cat for a number of weeks. Based on this picture of George as ball of grumpy sunshine, I think he's aware. And not thrilled. Also very serious, but George is ALWAYS series. There's just something about his face that always looks very concerned about everything, even when he should just be happy to be soaking up some rays! Current Giveaways: $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Sparkle Time Giveaway Hop $10 Gift Card or $10 Book in the Summer 2026 Seasons of Books Giveaway Hop…

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Stacking the Shelves (713)

Now entering this week's cover sweepstakes... In the pretty column we have How to Grieve Like a Victorian and A Steep and Savage Path. In the pretty cute column, there's Dragons, Heists, and Other Retirement Plans (with an equally cute title!) and The Forgotten Book Club. And in the blah cover but really intriguing title category, there's I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend for $200. Whatever's going on there, I'm really curious to find out! What about YOUR stack this hot and steamy summer weekend? For Review:

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Grade A #BookReview: Henry Tudor Must Die by Jillian Laine

My Review: This alternate, paranormally tinted historical fantasy of the Tudors begins, but not with Henry VIII’s whirlwind, clandestine courtship of Anne Boleyn. It begins at the other end of the story - or what should be the end of the story. With Anne imprisoned in the Tower of London, the night before her execution. Her intended execution, which is where the story takes a turn into the paranormal and the fantastic. At first, Anne thinks her visitor is the ghost of her misdeeds. Catherine of Aragon is the very LAST person Anne expects to see - except as an apparition or a hallucination.

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A+ #BookReview: The Teacher by Tim Sullivan

My Review: The books in the DS Cross series, so far at least, have been titled after the profession of the victim in each case. Also, at least so far, that victim is almost never what one would call a good example of their profession. And that’s particularly true in this sixth book in the series, whose titular victim is a retired teacher. At first, it’s the retired part of that description that grabs the case. The dead man is eighty years old. He lives alone, he doesn’t get along with his neighbors and we’re not surprised because they’re awful.

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#BookReview: Worth the Fight by Anna Hackett

My Review: Something about the opening of this one struck a bell - and that’s not JUST a pun. The scenario reminded me of any number of fantasy romances where the romance begins with the MMC (male main character) swooping in to rescue the FMC (female main character) after she’s been put up as the prize in some type of no-holds-barred and quite possibly illegal fight. Or a tournament of some sort. Lili’s father is a former fighter and current coach for an illegal fight ring, as well as a spineless toady for the rich asshole who runs the operation.

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A- #BookReview: Foundling Fathers by Meg Elison

My Review: I picked this up on the Fourth of July, because it looked like it would be the perfect read for this mixed-feelings semiquincentennial birthday of the United States AND because that cover was so intriguing I couldn’t resist. And it was perfect for this particular weekend. Not because of its SFnal premise - which has been done before - but for what it says about the U.S. at this particular point in time. And that it says it with dry wit and dark humor and more than a bit of satirical poking at our beliefs in American exceptionalism and the current state of affairs in these (not so) United States.

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