freshlybrewedbookreviews

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Wool (Silo #1) by Hugh Howey

This book was fairly fast-paced and examines power structures in a way that is compelling. I liked our protagonists, and I liked that there was a feeling that no one was safe, because it made me more invested in the success of the characters' quests. I am hoping to check out the other Silo books by Howey.

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No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity by Ashlee Piper

I am giving kudos to Piper for reaching a wide audience. I think if this is your first time encountering a low-buy or no-buy, Piper walks you through the hows and more importantly the why of trying not to buy new things. I found some of her approach a little flippant or crass (I'm no prude but I wasn't a fan of the swearing), but on the whole I think this is a supportive and well-researched guide to start folks on their journey toward understanding overconsumption.

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The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

I enjoyed this book while I was reading it, but it started to feel like it dragged, and then (sort of spoiler?) I felt like it just ended. It didn't feel like there was any progress in either plot or main character, and at the end of the book, I was left thinking "what was the point?" which is never how I want to feel upon finishing a book. It might be a fun movie, but I'm not sure I'd see it.

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There was nothing more dangerous than a woman with a pen in her hand.

Leigh Bardugo (The Familiar)

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This was the fear of wanting something he had forced himself to believe would remain forever out of reach.

Leigh Bardugo (The Familiar)

[freshlybrewedbookreviews]

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

This book took me forever to read, because I'd started it and then had to put it down for many months (darn it, Libby!) It was also a slow read; it was very good, but it was a slow go for me (sometimes period pieces are like that for me). I got all the best The Historian/Dracula vibes, and the prose was beautiful. Bardugo has really honed her writing skills, and this novel is exemplary in showing exactly how.

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Gothictown by Emily Carpenter

This is another book that didn't do it for me. I'm not sure it would have in general because it felt predictable, but it also had the misfortune of being the book I read right after Bloodline by Jess Lourey, which was a very similar story told in modern times. I also went in blind, and was expecting a take on a gothic novel, so that's my own fault.

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Bloodline by Jess Lourey

This book didn't do it for me. It felt predictable and also like the main character didn't have a clue, so it was frustrating to be with her as she uncovered things that seemed obvious (but maybe that's the benefit of being a modern reader reading a novel about a woman in the 1950s who doesn't know she's a character in a thriller.)

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The Furies (Charlie Parker #20) by John Connolly

John Connolly never misses. That's it, that's the review. I've yet to read a Charlie Parker novel that I haven't loved and that hasn't scared the pants off of me. I'd read The Sisters Strange during the pandemic as it was released, but I couldn't remember it all that well, and The Furies had one of the scariest moments of a book I've read to date (it involves a ladder, if you've read it). 

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I step into the world where you once existed with an assurance that⁠—yes, you are gone, you are no longer here, but oh, how good life felt when you were. You once existed. And those moments with you still exist.

Kay Synclaire (The House of Frank)

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The House of Frank by Kay Synclaire

The House of Frank is a borderline cozy fantasy that examines grief through the lens of fantasy creatures. It was sad, yet hopeful. The writing didn't always connect with me, but when it did, it packed a wallop. I think this is a good book for any who's looking to move through grief in a gentle way and wants some fantastical friends to help them.

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It was funny, she thought, how many relationships one could have with the same man, over the course of a lifetime together.

Liz Moore (The God of the Woods)

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The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

A few friends had recommended this book to me, and I'm glad I picked it up. I really enjoyed this book. It kept me guessing, and it was smart and well written. I thought the ending was satisfying, and I appreciated the journey Moore took the readers on to get there.

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The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant

This one wasn't my favorite. The plot felt light, and I felt like the author really wanted to share her knowledge of how to be outdoorsy. That could be my bias because I know a lot about spending time outdoors, but it felt like too much explanation was happening about how to appropriately pack a bag for a backpacking trip and not enough time developing the mystery. It dragged for me because of those explanations. 

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Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was funny, smart, and had fairies, what more can you ask for. I'd like to read more in the series because I thought this was a great start.

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He’d been more than my best friend—sometimes a person was bigger than that. Sometimes they were your freedom. The whole woods, the channel through which you first fell in love with the earth, felt at home in it. Sometimes a person was your home, the love you learned to grow for yourself, stored in another’s body. Sometimes they were the way your body first learned what it wanted. Sometimes they were an awakening.

Ashley Winstead (Midnight is the Darkest Hour)

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Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

This book shows the perils of religious zealotry. On the whole, I enjoyed the read, though I found it painful at times to read about a friendship/romantic relationship that wound the two main characters together so tightly, as it brought up some memories. I also felt disappointed in the end, and it made me not enjoy the read on the whole as much as I had up until that point. Not sure I'd be recommending this thriller for that reason alone.